Reading

Dean Koontz “Tick Tock”

20160420_133439I have read a fair amount of Dean Koontz by now; he’s one of my favourite authors. Tick Tock is a short novel following a crazy night of events for Tommy Phan. Tommy Phan returns to his home one night, after turning down his mother’s invitation to eat a traditional Vietnamese dinner. Upon returning to his house, he finds a rag doll with black stitches for eyes and mouth, and an X over the heart; he brings the doll inside.

Tommy’s night from that point on changes as a terrifying entity emerges from the doll, determined to kill Tommy. Tommy has until dawn to survive. If he reaches dawn, the entity will disappear.

Unfortunately, the book was not my favourite Dean Koontz book. (Maybe I’m just too engrossed by Odd Thomas’ life to move on to other characters?) The ending was a tad anti-climatic, and to be honest, left me unsatisfied. Sure, it made sense, but I thought and was expecting more from Dean Koontz.

“Reality is perception. Perceptions change. Reality is fluid.” pg. 126

“Whatever you expect is what will be, so simply change your expectations.” pg. 176

“Because reality is what we carry in our hearts, and my heart is full of beauty just for you.” pg. 335

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Khaled Hosseini “A Thousand Splendid Suns”

I finally, finally finished this lovely book. Man, do I ever need to get back into the habit of reading before bed, I am really missing this, and it definitely has played a toll on my sleep.

A Thousand Splendid Suns puts life into perspective, and was a lovely read over the lives of strong women. The book looks at the lives of two women, Mariam and Laila, and how their lives become intersected through Laila’s marriage with Mariam’s husband Rasheed.

It’s a mother-daughter story, and the strength these women endure during a period of great turmoil and transformation within Afghanistan.

Dean Koontz “Odd Interlude”

Oh20151024_104219 (2) wow. I love that feeling when a book is so good that you read at any moment you can. This is Odd Interlude. A short side-adventure, but wow, what a ride.

The chronological order for this book fits between Odd Apocalypse and Deeply Odd. Odd Thomas and his new companion Annamaria find themselves drawn to Harmony Corner where something is not right.

I loved how this book included a new perspective, that from Jolie. It was a nice inclusion and her account of the events flowed nicely with Odd Thomas.

It is now upsetting that only one book remains in this series. I’m suspecting Odd Thomas will die, as the title of the book is Saint Odd. We shall see, I guess.

 

Jeremy Scahill “Dirty Wars”

The full title of Jeremy Scahill’s book is “Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield.”

20150815_192222Professor J! I finally read this book you gave us for AN350 Terrorism & Violence. Please be proud of me even though I will never see you again.. Two months and one week later, it’s finished. I’m done! By no means is this an indication to the level of excitement for this book. Rather, life is busy and there a few moments someone can read for solid amounts of time. Add in density, small-font, and lots of information to process.

Nevertheless, Dirty Wars is an eye-opening book that makes you take another look at the American Government. This book reflects the belief that the American Government is acting like God in their occupation in the Middle East. Scahill explains the secrets and lack of transparency the Government operates under, and provides justification as to why American occupancy has done more harm than good.

Scahill wraps up the book in a single sentence: “The question all Americans must ask themselves lingers painfully: How does a war like this ever end?”

 

 

For those that would rather not read the god-like persona of the American Government, Jeremy Scahill’s has a documentary under the same name. Forewarning, the documentary does contain violent and graphic scenes, predominately featuring the horrors with Abu Ghraib.

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Sue Monk Kidd “The Secret Life of Bees”

This book is beautiful. Knowing I never read it in school, I think it should be mandatory.

I really can’t do it justice by explaining what happens, really you just need to find a copy of the book yourself and read it. Nevertheless, in sum it’s a coming-of-age story about Lily Owens, who finds herself running away from home. From there, she learns that the way she’s been seeing the world is incorrect, and the perspective has only been taught to her. The novel also deals with the power of females, and the strength they live with.

“The whole time we worked, I marveled at how mixed up people got when it came to love.” pg. 133

“You know what? You think too much. It would do you a world of good to stop thinking and just go with your feelings once in a blue moon.” pg. 155

— Now the above quote is about me. I think WAY too much. It is the worst to think constantly. And you sit there, and you begin to THINK about why you can’t stop thinking, and live like others around you. The worst.

“I watched him, filled with tenderness and ache, wondering what it was that connected us. Was it the wounded places down inside people that sought each other out, that bred a kind of love between them?” pg. 184

If these two didn’t end up eventually, I’ll be upset.

Dean Koontz “Deeply Odd”

Deeply Odd is more emotionally straining than the other books. Given that children are the main focus, be prepared to become teary-eyed. Odd’s world is becoming more complex and it will be interesting to see where this goes in the final novel.

Continue reading →

Jill Alexander Essbaum “Hausfrau”

Well, well, well. Hausfrau. This book was tough to get into, but about half-way through it started to captivate me. The “plot” picked up, had me gasping at some key points, and also made me angry.

I’m not sure what changed. Either I became accustomed to Jill Alexander Essbaum’s writing, or the writing became better. Continue reading →

Aziz Ansari “Modern Romance”

20150621_191036Aziz Ansari presents the reader with a compelling, well-researched, and entertaining read on the landscape of modern romance. I appreciated that within the introduction he had a full-disclosure of the type of research that was conducted and the type of relationship (predominately heterosexual) that would be covered. He realized that not all types of relationships could be achieved within this single book, and because of his own experiences he could not discuss them effectively.

When reading this book and knowing I would write a review, I was unsure just how candid I wanted to be Continue reading →

Howard C. Cutler “The Art of Happiness”

The full title of this book is “The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living” written by Howard C. Cutler based on conversations with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Like others, at first glance it appears as if HH the Dalai Lama would be the one who wrote this, this is not the case. Rather, the book is a write-up on a collection of conversations Howard C. Cutler, m.d. had with HH the Dalai Lama. Because of this connection between the two authors, it makes for a great comparison between the Eastern world to the Western world. Something that will help Westerners relate scenarios to their own life.

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I have a strong appreciation toward Buddhism, and even had the pleasure to see HH the Dalai Lama speak in Toronto a while back. With each day attempt to bring more of the philosophical elements into my life. This book was an excellent method to help bring happiness to my life, and has provided a look into how one can become happy. I think this book will be something that needs to be read every few years.

Something that stuck with me:
“On the other hand, without expectation and hope, without aspiration, there can be no progress. Some hope is essential. So finding the proper balance is not easy. One needs to judge each situation on the spot.” pg. 232

Alan Moore “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”

I liked it, and as far as a graphic novels go, it was a good read. Not as intense as V for Vendetta which I guess I was expecting from Alan Moore, but it was still good.

I enjoyed the first volume more so than the second volume. Drawings fit the characters, liked how it was rougher sketches.

I also enjoyed the use of classic Victorian literature mixed in with the plot lines, a good inclusion.