Reviews and Comments

knordstrom

knordstrom@ramblingreaders.org

Joined 1 year, 10 months ago

This link opens in a pop-up window

Lynda Rutledge: West with Giraffes (Paperback, 2021, Lake Union Publishing) 5 stars

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, …

A story about a trip across 1938 America with a pair of giraffes and an allegory about time itself

5 stars

An excellent book made even more excellent as it was inspired by actual event. The author took a time and event where the San Diego Zoo was obtaining their first pair of Giraffes in 1938 and being transported across the US and filled in a little bit of history, that otherwise is now unknown, with characters of her own making. Fitting their story in a small pocket of history with some of the most monuments events in US and World history filling in as the backdrop.

It's a story about change and loss and about a word constantly moving on. Even in the first chapter when we first meet the main character and primary narrator, Woodrow Wilson Nickel, he's already passed and it's a VA liaison going through his belonging who finds and reads his narrative. From there and for the most of the rest of the book it's about …

Lynda Rutledge: West with Giraffes (Paperback, 2021, Lake Union Publishing) 5 stars

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, …

An excellent book made even more excellent as it was inspired by actual event. The author took a time and event where the San Diego Zoo was obtaining their first pair of Giraffes in 1938 and being transported across the US and filled in a little bit of history, that otherwise is now unknown, with characters of her own making. Fitting their story in a small pocket of history with some of the most monuments events in US and World history filling in as the backdrop.

It's a story about change and loss and about a word constantly moving on. Even in the first chapter when we first meet the main character and primary narrator, Woodrow Wilson Nickel, he's already passed and it's a VA liaison going through his belonging who finds and reads his narrative. From there and for the most of the rest of the book it's about …

Alisa Lynn Valdés: Hollow Beasts (2023, Amazon Publishing) 3 stars

Didn't get too far into the story, only about 3 chapters in. What I read was well written for the most part but there were signs that I may eventually not be happy reading it so I DNF'd it earlier rather than later. I got the book free through Amazon's Prime picks so didn't pay for the book.

There were a couple of potential red flags that I noticed early on that made me second guess whether or not I wanted to read the story. First I noticed that it was part one of two and had just about 300 pages, many books easily have 600 pages so my guess is that the "free book" is really just the first half of an actually ~600 pg. book and may not have not definitive conclusion.

The book started out with a typical cold open that felt a little too disconnected, but …

Anthony Bourdain: Medium Raw A Bloody Valentine To The World Of Food And The People Who Cook (Paperback, 2011, Ecco Press) 5 stars

[From back cover] In the ten years Since Anthony Bourdain's Classic Kitchen Confidential first alerted …

Medium Raw

5 stars

Anthony Bourdain speaks his mind about numerous people an practices in the Restaurant industry. However it also provides better context, changes of (or more developed) opinions from his prior work Kitchen Confidential<\i> and talks at length his opinions about the state of food in the US (or at least as of 2010).

Some topics now will be dated which left me wondering if we ever managed to avoid catastrophy or if we just gave up completely since then. However the book is timeless as a way to see into the thought processes and beliefs of Bourdain at the time that the book was written and published.

And of course as of 2018, Bourdain is no longer with us, so some topics presented in the book can take a very different feel with hindsight.

Anthony Bourdain: Medium Raw A Bloody Valentine To The World Of Food And The People Who Cook (Paperback, 2011, Ecco Press) 5 stars

[From back cover] In the ten years Since Anthony Bourdain's Classic Kitchen Confidential first alerted …

An excellent book. One that I wish I had read much sooner (I've owned it for probably 6+ years). Despite the fact that the book is quite dated now, having been originally published in 2010, it still provides an excellent insight into how Bourdain's mind worked and who he really was, so long as you pay attention as to why he's saying what he's saying.

Hugh G. Evelyn-White: The Theogony, Work, and Days, and The Shield of Heracles (Paperback, 2008, Digireads.com Publishing) 5 stars

[from back cover] Contained in this volume are the three best known works of the …

A Classic translation of Historically Important Stories

5 stars

Giving this book a 5 star review as who am I to say anything negative against stories well over 2 thousand years old and a translation that is approximately 100 years old now, that is considered seminal. And the book does provide an amazing insight into the Greeks life and philosophy.

Both The Theogony and Work and Days are very academic, the first being a long list of the Greek Gods and their origin and relation of one to another and the later being best practices for farming which would obviously be important for the ancient society and a great interest to scholars but not the most interesting to read. The Shield of Heracles is by far the closest to an actually story and is written in a very entertaining and engaging way, however it is also the shortest story at around 10 pages.

However my recommendation would be if …

Hugh G. Evelyn-White: The Theogony, Work, and Days, and The Shield of Heracles (Paperback, 2008, Digireads.com Publishing) 5 stars

[from back cover] Contained in this volume are the three best known works of the …

Finally finished reading, I assumed that such a short book would be an easy one to hit my reading goals that I have reestablished this year. And a book like this where I knew it would be challenging going in, I also felt like it was something that I wanted to finish at some point anyways.

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Fall of Gondolin (2018) 5 stars

"In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in …

An excellent book, not recommended for anyone who skipped the appendixes in LOTR. The book is far more moved by descriptions than events and action than what most modern readers are used to. But invaluable for anyone who loves Tolkien's stories, especially the one edited by Christopher Tolkien.