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Of Interest: Trout Fishing
3 years ago
Geek Art: Lady Edition
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I would really love to get my hands on a copy of these superhero lady prints by Baz Pringle. They remind me of my more innocent days on those saucy nights when I was a little nipper staying up late reading comics and would catch a frame of Catwoman or Wonder Woman and my tiddly-bits would get all tingly. Of course those were the olden days...
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Book Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
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Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As I gobbled up this book I felt so very conflicted. I was stuck between a perverse fascination with the misery that is so commonplace in the lives of the characters in this story while also ashamed and guilt-ridden for being able to read this book on a Kindle while I lay on a down pillow. It is hard to believe that this story could be true - however, it is, and it is a painfully delicious tale of poverty and suffering.
From page one I was captivated by the lives and struggles of the people living in the Annawadi slums of Mumbai, India. Looking from the outside it is nearly incomprehensible that people can live this way while many of us sit in spacious homes in front of big screen televisions and complain about our lack of luxury. But beyond the political statement that is contained inside this well-crafted tale, a message of hope and change is there - subtle, but it's there.
While most of this book is fairly heart-rending, there is no doubt that Katherine Boo is a wonderful author. She transformed a terrible collection of tragedies into a work of art. This is a fantastic book that is very worthy of the praise it has received.
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Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine BooMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
As I gobbled up this book I felt so very conflicted. I was stuck between a perverse fascination with the misery that is so commonplace in the lives of the characters in this story while also ashamed and guilt-ridden for being able to read this book on a Kindle while I lay on a down pillow. It is hard to believe that this story could be true - however, it is, and it is a painfully delicious tale of poverty and suffering.
From page one I was captivated by the lives and struggles of the people living in the Annawadi slums of Mumbai, India. Looking from the outside it is nearly incomprehensible that people can live this way while many of us sit in spacious homes in front of big screen televisions and complain about our lack of luxury. But beyond the political statement that is contained inside this well-crafted tale, a message of hope and change is there - subtle, but it's there.
While most of this book is fairly heart-rending, there is no doubt that Katherine Boo is a wonderful author. She transformed a terrible collection of tragedies into a work of art. This is a fantastic book that is very worthy of the praise it has received.
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Book Review: Outbreak by Robin Cook
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Outbreak by Robin Cook
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I read Outbreak once before in my high school years and recall thinking it was incredibly exciting and intense. As I jumped into Outbreak for a second read, my opinion of it has changed dramatically. Perhaps it is the fact that I now have a medical education, or that I am simply older and have read more books, but I found my experience of reading Outbreak dreadfully painful this time around.
My difficulty with the story is two-fold. First, the main character, Marissa Blumenthal, is so painfully daft that there were times that I hoped she would contract Ebola simply so a better protagonist could lead the adventure. I found it terribly unbelievable that she would be hired by the CDC in the first place, given that she seemed to have a very simplistic knowledge of medicine and that her thought processes lack any creative or analytically ability. Every decision she made caused me to chuck my kindle across the room and scream "Are you f-ing kidding me!?" If everything wouldn't have turned out so peachy for her when problems arose, her mountainous stupidity would have been enough to cause an epidemic outbreak.
My second problem with the story is the simplicity of the medical details. Now I don't want to sell Robin Cook short - he is a very well trained physician himself - but for some reason he dumbed down his medical knowledge to the point that it read like a teen novel. I was also very surprised by the way the doctors in this story were portrayed. They were little more than helpless monkeys who had no apparent knowledge of diagnosis or common medical conditions. Perhaps Robin Cook wanted to have them come across as victims as well but it was overplaying it and stole credibility to the story.
Now to be fair, there were times when the story became exciting and suspenseful but they were always outweighed by my frustrations with the faults in the book. By the end of my second reading I felt betrayed by my teenage self who enjoyed this book so thoroughly. Perhaps those who are not so familiar with medical terminology and processes might find more enjoyment in this book but I found it very frustrating to read and wish I would have just watched the movie.
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Outbreak by Robin CookMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
I read Outbreak once before in my high school years and recall thinking it was incredibly exciting and intense. As I jumped into Outbreak for a second read, my opinion of it has changed dramatically. Perhaps it is the fact that I now have a medical education, or that I am simply older and have read more books, but I found my experience of reading Outbreak dreadfully painful this time around.
My difficulty with the story is two-fold. First, the main character, Marissa Blumenthal, is so painfully daft that there were times that I hoped she would contract Ebola simply so a better protagonist could lead the adventure. I found it terribly unbelievable that she would be hired by the CDC in the first place, given that she seemed to have a very simplistic knowledge of medicine and that her thought processes lack any creative or analytically ability. Every decision she made caused me to chuck my kindle across the room and scream "Are you f-ing kidding me!?" If everything wouldn't have turned out so peachy for her when problems arose, her mountainous stupidity would have been enough to cause an epidemic outbreak.
My second problem with the story is the simplicity of the medical details. Now I don't want to sell Robin Cook short - he is a very well trained physician himself - but for some reason he dumbed down his medical knowledge to the point that it read like a teen novel. I was also very surprised by the way the doctors in this story were portrayed. They were little more than helpless monkeys who had no apparent knowledge of diagnosis or common medical conditions. Perhaps Robin Cook wanted to have them come across as victims as well but it was overplaying it and stole credibility to the story.
Now to be fair, there were times when the story became exciting and suspenseful but they were always outweighed by my frustrations with the faults in the book. By the end of my second reading I felt betrayed by my teenage self who enjoyed this book so thoroughly. Perhaps those who are not so familiar with medical terminology and processes might find more enjoyment in this book but I found it very frustrating to read and wish I would have just watched the movie.
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