jenbsbooks's Reviews (2.41k)

Second read ... I went with a READ with my eyes, prepping for a bookclub discussion. Saved some notes and highlights. On sale at Audible, so I gifted it to a couple of my siblings (as I thought the audio narration was very well done). There wasn't quite as much discussion at book club as I might have thought. Here's my original review ... https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/dee65814-58ef-4c35-88cc-cb1e949a1988

#non-fiction November ... NOT my usual, I'm a fiction gal. When I DO non-fiction, it's usually still more of a story, not a self-help type. But just to push the boundaries, I figured I'd give this one a try. My sister and mother had listened to the audiobook and given it a thumbs up. The Kindle copy was available in KU (currently on a 3-months for $1 deal) and I was able to get the audio from the library.

Narrated by the author, she was good, very conversational.

I'm NOT a hoarder ... but I have that "frugal" part, that matches some of the issues brought up here. I am definitely one to "reorganize" and shift things around. It was interesting to recognize things that resonated - either with me, or with my Hubs/Son (and had to totally laugh at "now that you've got your things under control, work with your spouse and kids ...) My Hubs is a total tosser. He has no problem getting rid of things. Him getting rid of things has been an issue for me looking on (but ... what if ...) but I've gotten better, even before this book. My son totally used the "one in one out" with his closet, even though he had PLENTY of space in his closet. New shirt? Have to get rid of one that was in there. Everything spic and span and organized ... even as a teenager. I know, I'm lucky to have a kid like that!

This did shift some things in my mind - we'll see if I get around to implementing. The main house isn't too bad, but the closets ... mine, a couple of the kids, some storage ... definitely could use a major declutter. 

Do NOT tell Hubs I read this book though ... don't want him to get his hopes up!

I read this as part of my #nonfictionnovember and honestly ... I think I probably would have enjoyed it more if it had been sprinkled in among my fiction reads rather than another non-fiction, factual account. I think I'd just shifted a little into "school" mode. I was listening to the audiobook. The narrator and/or the writing was just a little dry (sometimes I can't really tell unless/until I actually read the text copy myself) and I felt a bit like I needed to be taking notes, recording names/dates, that I should be remembering details. I do think I learned a lot, and will retain a good portion, but I also fear much will fade into memory.  I'm interested in reading a historical fiction based in this same time (as I was looking up some possibilities, I realized I had already read [book:The Nature of Fragile Things|53398512] - I had liked it, rated it 4* ... but it hadn't made a big enough impact that I'd remembered it had this earthquake as a topic as I started this book. Probably would have if I'd read it after. I have a couple others on my list now too ...)

The title is good ... the earthquake was just one minute, but its aftereffects (the death, destruction and fire) impacted everyone.

This is one I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys learning about history. LOTS of facts and information and quotes ... unlike fiction, not really characters that you learn to love and care about. So many people, most just getting a quick mention or credit for a quote, some not even named (a 10 year old boy said " ______" a girl who was 6 at the time of the quake remembers " _____" ...

Just a quick, YA read, that has some depth to it ... it's always interesting when I read a "kids" book and think about possible book club questions ;)  The characters here are in middle school ... to me, they felt a little older, high school age; with crushes, bullying, community service, football (my middle school didn't have a football team). 

There are 30 chapters, shifting POVS (Chase Ambrose, Shoshana Webber, Joel Webber, Brendan Espinoza, Aaron Hakimian, Bear Bratsky, Kimberly Tooley) ... Chase, Shoshana and Brendan are the main characters. All the POVs are 1st person, present tense. All very conversational in tone. In the audio version, there were different narrators for the various POVs. 

I remember a TV show with a similar premise ... Samantha Who, starring Christina Applegate. I think I only got around to watching a few episodes, but the same idea; an accident, amnesia, and a changed person who can't quite believe what a jerk they were before. It brought up some interesting questions. CAN a person change like that? What are the expectations to those who were wronged before? Shoshana's parents and Joel, while both believing Chase is different than he was, still can't  just "forgive and forget" the past. Should they? 

A good book to address some of the issue of middle/high school kids, the bullying, attempts to fit in, expectations/judging, etc. Nice to have some redemption. 

This was included in the AudiblePlus catalog, and I figured I'd give a "self-help" non-fiction book a try. Honestly, they are a struggle for me, I want a STORY ;) I didn't really read the blurb, just the title heading, so I didn't realize this was first published in 1980, 40+ years ago. There were a few things that felt dated, but overall the information stands the test of time. Most of the information felt familiar ... too familiar. I've already heard all this, I know this ... not that a refresher is bad. I can see that this might be revelatory to some. It's how I felt about the Noom weight-loss program. Some people just loved it and felt it was so worthwhile, but to me ... I'd heard it all before, so it really didn't have a big impact (knowledge and actually DOING it are two different things). I'm not sure if it was my schooling (majored in Psychology) or just reading over the years (even though I'm a fiction gal when it comes to books, I did go through spurts of articles and discussions).

I went with the audio edition, and the narrator was very good ... dare I say, very "conversational" in his speaking ;) but it still got a little confusing at times, wondering if what was being said was a quote from a student, a sample/example, or the author talking. Despite the popularity - this book was not available at any of my libraries (although the audio was on Hoopla) for me to check out a Kindle copy. I did peek at the sample to see how some of the set up was in print, and I think portions might be a little more clear. Also, if one was really studying the topic, they might want to take notes and/or highlight portions.

Basically - the Table of Contents gives a good showcase of what was covered (1) Asking Questions that Promote Conversation(ie open ended questions). (2) Delivering Honest Positives (3) Listening So Others Will Talk (4) Taking Advantage of Free Information (5) Letting Others Know Who You Are (6) Starting Conversations (7) Issuing Invitations That Are Likely to be Accepted (8) Handling Criticism Constructively (9) Resisting Attempts at Manipulation (10) Requesting Change (11) Conveying Meaning by Motion (12) Reducing Anxiety in Social Situations (13) Organizing your Efforts

While "speaking/conversations" was a main topic, overall, this seemed more like a general "self-help" with much of the focus on positivity and setting goals. 

My oldest read this several years ago, so we have a hard copy in our home library. I got the audio and kindle edition from the library. Mostly listened, but referred to the text a few times. Interesting to see the updates (two "addendums" added 2010 and 2016). My audio did NOT include and reference to the addendums, looks like my library copy of the audiobook was produced in 2009, whereas on Audible, it has a release date of 2018 ... so I wonder if the Author's Notes and other changes have all been updated on the later release. I don't always look at details (publication date) but was interested enough to investigate here.

As I had a physical, Kindle and audio copy ... it was interesting to compare the Table of Contents on each. They ... for being the SAME BOOK, are SO different! It's very frustrating if one is attempting to navigate between formats! The physical copy only lists the main parts - it doesn't list the chapters in the parts. WHAT? Useless TOC! There are 53 actual chapters with individual chapter headings that should have page number references. The audiobook only listed the basic chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3 ... I guess these did actually correspond to actual chapters in the book but I really wish audio would include the chapter headers, the "parts" was not included in the TOC.  The Kindle copy ... that had the TOC that needed to be in the other two formats! Bookish pet peeve of mine. 

For the book itself - I very much appreciated the Author's Notes at the beginning, where talked about his sources and research. "Anything in quotation marks was either captured on tape, recorded by me or other journalists or police investigators at the time, published in official documents, or, in the case of casual conversations, recalled by one or more of the speakers with a high degree of certainty. When the speaker was less sure about the wording, I used italics. I have abbreviated some exchanges without insertion of ellipses, and have corrected some grammatical errors. No dialogue was made up."  Some of these distinction are lost in audio, and I'm not sure I would have remembered without referencing when reading on my own ... but still, it's appreciated. 

If this had been a fiction book, I might have complained that there were too many characters. Being non-fiction ... that's not really valid. Still, I did have trouble keeping track of everyone. Admittedly, that could be on me too ... my memory isn't what it once was.  I felt a little like I needed to be "studying" more and keeping notes to keep track. The jumping around in time was also a bit challenging. Constantly shifting from the after to the before all the way through. It just broke continuity for me, although I'm not really sure what other options the author had. 

A few of the points that hit me the most  ...

Memory - so interesting the talk of the survivors recollections, especially the principal. 

The Failures - thinking if the shooters read this book, they would NOT like their representations. This failed, that failed. I don't have distinct memories of when this was happening, although, I just checked my journal for the day (I had two boys then a newborn and a four year old), and I did write about it, so I was aware. In my journal I did mention the "guns and bombs" although I hadn't remembered the bombs at all until I read this account. How much worse it could have been if things had gone according to plan. 

Hug - In chapter 52, there is a look at some of the "after" of the survivors and their loved ones. One section was about Linda Sanders, the widow of Dave. She had become a recluse, rarely leaving the house or interacting with others when one day, she just needed a hug. She walked out of her house and looked to see if anyone was around, then started knocking on doors. When one opened, she basically asked for a hug, and the woman gave it to her.  I just tried to imagine this scenario, what I'd be thinking if I was the woman who opened the door. I too of course would have given a hug, but I feel so helpless in helping others. I never know what to say or do. This is such a minute part of the whole book, but for some reason, it hit me really hard. 

Other Books - It was interesting how much time was devoted to the "She Said Yes" book, in fact this author reviews it on Goodreads, positively, even after explaining the premise of the title is in fact false. There is a little discussion of Brooks Brown's book, but I don't think I even saw a mention of the one about Rachel. Just interesting the discrepancies ... I see now there is also one written more recently by the mother of Dylan.  I'm not sure I have the emotional energy to read more on the subject, we'll see if I ever get to these other books.

I'm glad I read this - I do feel I should have a deeper understanding of what happened. Without reading it slowly on my own, taking notes, I don't know that I have all the names, dates fixed in my mind, that I could actually give a good recounting. I feel I have a better general overview of the events though. My youngest (#5) is currently a senior in high school, perspective and personal connection does play a part in how one takes the information in. I need to talk to my #1 (who was four years old when it happened) who read this when he was high school aged ... he said it really impacted him.

I'm not really a "short-story" gal ... I like a full novel/book. I was captivated by this author's [book:The Handmaid’s Tale|38447] but didn't really get [book:My Evil Mother|60497502] (short story). The reason I sought out this one, is I had just read Atwood's introduction to the updated [book:Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition|832619] and this short story was mentioned in it. I was intrigued enough to follow up. I couldn't find just the single story, but (as mentioned) it was published in a compilation Wilderness Tips, which was available in Kindle format at the library.  Admittedly ... I only read "Age of Lead" and my tags and review are ONLY for that one short story. 

Quick read - very interesting to read the "past" portions, which were basically a quick recap of "Frozen in Time".  The compilation of stories the blurb states " In each of these tales Margaret Atwood deftly illuminates the single instant that shapes a whole life. By superimposing the past on the present, Atwood paints interior landscapes shaped by time, regret, and life's lost chances, endowing even the banal with a sense of mystery. "  I must admit, I didn't really get all that. I can see (more Google) that there are discussions/essays on the story (hidden behind paywalls for the most part) and I don't doubt that were I to dig deeper in a more studious sense I might gain more appreciation. 

Irony in the name of the MC in the "present" ... Jane. That was the name of Franklin's wife ...

This one is likely not a book that would have crossed my radar ... but my bookclub read a fictionalized story of a rescue/serach mission (manned by women) for the Franklin expedition [book:The Arctic Fury|49181796] - so I recognized the subject when I saw this book/blurb. It was also mentioned in [book:Into the Wild|1845] - I likely wouldn't have registered the reference if not for reading the bookclub novel. 

The audio was available on Hoopla, and I was able to get the Kindle copy from my library. In the Kindle copy, there was an intro by Margaret Atwood, which was very interesting. It was not in the audio. I'm not sure if the intro to the Kindle "revised and updated" edition was after the audio was recorded? The audio was updated, as there were references to the 2003 Columbia disaster (which obviously could not have been in the original, published in 1987 - per copyright, there were several updates with the latest being 2014). I would have liked the introduction to be dated, to know exactly when it was written.

This felt fairly "scholarly" to me ... like instead of just listening to the audio while multi-tasking, I should really be studying the text, taking notes. I have to admit that I probably wouldn't do particularly well if quizzed, to remember exact dates, names, etc, although I certainly have more general information in my head than before listening. 

From "The Arctic Fury" novel ... another expedition was hired by Franklin's wife, in an attempt to rescue if possible, or at least find out what happened. In THIS book, there was a statement "There is something unnerving about people who can't be located, dead or alive."  Closure is needed, and as there were (fact, not fiction) attempted rescues, and follow-up expeditions, a hope to at least learn from previous failures. 

The arctic conditions of the possible Northwest Passage were challenging in their own right - an attempt to find an alternate route from England to India by crossing the top of the Arctic, rather than having to navigate all the way around South America. Beyond battling the cold and ice, food was a concern ... people knew of scurvy, the need for fresh food, but "new" technology of "tinned" food had been thought to combat the problem.  Described as "embalmed provisions" ... doesn't sound appealing! The main takeaway from this book, is that the tinned packs, soldered badly, caused lead poisoning (this had not been mentioned at all the The Arctic Fury, but that book was also based in the late 1800s and they wouldn't have known the cause). Cannibalism was mentioned in both though. Ironically, in Into The Wild, while not lead poisoning, it WAS poisoning/starvation causing the ultimate demise there.

The audio narrator had a very strong British accent - I had been having my audio sped up, but had to slow it down to the regular 1.0 for this listen.  I loved the pronunciation of some words ... invent-ory, communal, contributed, syncope and of course aluminum. Loved the word "debility" ... I've heard "debilitating" and "disability" but not "debility".   Cache ... a little confused as it was pronounced two different ways (cash, cash-ay).  I was a little confused, as the text did seem British (several spellings ... haemorrhages, odour, etc) yet all measurements were given in the "odd to the rest of the world" American foot/miles, with the "metre" equivalent listed in parenthesis. Seems like it should have just listed the metric?

While the listen was interesting, I was glad to finish it up and move on. Looking on GoodReads I see there are SO MANY more books on this subject, both fiction and non-fiction. I might look into some additional reads, but would need to space the books out.

Ah Emma ... she has become a friend. Sometimes with a series, readers get attached and will love the continuing books regardless. I honestly don't know if I'm biased at this point :) This took me longer to get through, only because my eye-time is limited/my eyes are going bad and I keep falling asleep when attempting to read. No audio available, but I do like that while reading, I am able to highlight little tidbits that tickle my fancy ... then I can open up "My Kindle Highlights" for any and all of the Emma books and do a quick read and be enveloped back into this world.

Some Emma-isms from book 7 ...
You know you live the sort of life that would not bear up well under scrutiny.
He tends to disapprove of perfectly wonderful things, like opinions. 
Agnes scrinched her eyebrows in perplexity (Scrinched: Likely not a word). 
Do I hear the unpleasant tone of dissent?
I will look up the word understatement and read it aloud to you.
My strange, small kingdom of quirk and delight.
The word "digress" is all charm running backward, and I approve.
You of all people could have found the library! (Said by I to Emma)
Turnabout. Fairplay. And all that.
Needless to say, I sat AGOG.

What had it been? Three, maybe four full sentences said without irony, sarcasm, snap or profanity? A record to be sure. 

There is no contentment like that of sitting at one's window, reading a book, with the sounds of birdcall and the promise of spring. 

Recap mostly for MY memory (so some SPOILERS) ...

in this installment, there is a little more of the romance between Emma and Pierce, but still moving VERY slowly. More background on Hawkes (a lady in his life?) and Islington (observing the interactions here, I felt okay without a love triangle), the reprobates and a duel, Aunt Eugenia comes - requiring an appearance by Agnes Dowd. Enter Jack. Roland makes an appearance as well. Secondary characters (Arabella - not the princess of the prom, poor Victoria's/her parents, Mary-continued relationship with the professor).  The official binding of the journal takes place ... note the binding change on the illustrated covers :)

Me finding this book was so random ... my son (not really a reader but trying) saw a book-tok about "The Hike" by this author. Unfortunately, it wasn't available in audio from our library, but another of his books, "The Postmortal" was. We both liked it. As I'd looked at the author's other works, this one caught me eye. Why? Because twice now, I've had a sudden loss of consciousness (determined to be a seizure in my case), falling, hitting my head, blood/ambulance/stitches. Lucky for me, I did not have a brain bleed either time and recovered quickly with no real after-effects ... but there was enough of a similarity to draw me in (and I was attempting a non-fiction November reading challenge, I'm usually a fiction gal!) 

I did really like this. I have to wonder how broad the appeal is to everyone though ... would I have been interested in a story about a guy I didn't know about an incident that might not affect me? I was surprised though, at how much beyond the initial similarity, that I felt a connection. Everyone has had to deal with insurance (well, in the US ... I do think I'd like universal healthcare), some of the talk about hearing loss was interesting, as Hubs suffers from Meniers, so different causes, but still some personal connections. So many can connect over the loss of taste and smell after Covid hit. 

The writing itself was very conversational - I found quite a bit of humor and laughed out loud a few times. I was listening to the audio edition, which I think I'd recommend over reading (I did grab the kindle copy too, as I try to do with all my audiobooks. Luckily my library had both available). One of the top reviews (I glanced over them before starting my own) didn't care for the numerous "witness" reports ... I actually liked it a lot in audio. They switched out with a number of different narrators (the author narrates the majority of the book, the other voices are professional narrators representing the others). It went really quickly, felt like an interview, in a room talking. Similar presentation to [book:The 9/11 Papers: An Oral History Of The Terror Attacks : Delving into the history, reports, effects, conspiracy and what 9/11 revealed about America|62672530] and another recent listen [book:As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride|21412202] - on both of those I expected to recognize some of the voices (most of the latter WERE voiced by the actual individuals, but the former were all voice actors not real individuals). There have been several fiction books with that setup too ... [book:FantasticLand|28695606], Daisy Jones ... etc. I do think this came across much better in audio than on the printed page. 

Listening - I wasn't able to stop and note/highlight. I know there were times I would think "I need to remember that part, I want to talk about it in my review" and then of course, I don't really remember it all. Just little things, similarities to my experience, things that didn't match, things that made me laugh ... I remember at one point his mom makes a comment and the author inserts "what the F Mom?" or something like that.  I laughed at this tone. There WAS a lot of language (f-bomb 109 times, plus others, as well as talk of farts, poo, boogers, vomit, etc.,) 

So my original interest was to compare my (limited) experience against the authors ... also to see how much worse it could have been. I was surprised a little at how he was treated (assumed he was drunk, trying to get him to walk. My second event happened at a grocery store, no witness, but it was caught on the security footage. Police were called - just in case it was an attack, or a slip/store's fault, which it wasn't. No one knew what happened. Everyone very professional ... I was able to get the footage from the police cams afterward. I don't have a security code on my phone - which was good, as I was alone but they were able to find contact numbers for my family). 

The whole thing kept my interest though, even when it got fairly medical. My nephew suffered from loss of taste/smell during Covid. Learning more about the "training" and tests was interesting. My sister is an interpreter for the deaf, and I studied ASL myself for a while, learning about the deaf community and a bit about cochlear implants. Hubs struggles with loss of hearing in one ear. Insurance ... at one point I was sure there was going to be an issue and they were going to be responsible for payment even after the hospital had gone through pre-approval and said it was covered because they'd met their deductible and out of pocket (THIS is another unfortunate personal experience, still ongoing with us, I was glad that small thing didn't happen for the author at least). There was the discussion about insurance, in-network, will it be covered ... arrrgg.

Other totally random little connections ... "Your odds of surviving a subdural hematoma are roughly fifty-fifty: Anton Chigurh flipping your quarter and demanding you call it."  Hubs is a HUGE fan of No Country For Old Men, so I recognized this reference right away (and took the time to find it in the text to highlight and save and share with him). 

I'll admit - I hadn't heard of "Deadspin" before ... and my mind just kept going straight to "Deadpool" ... which is not the same thing. 

1st person, past tense. No numerical chapters, but divided into parts (three of them) with individual and descriptive chapter headings - I think if I was trying to find a specific part, I could.  The epilogue was mostly a "where are they now" about the others in his life ... in the acknowledgments (included in audio, thank you, I like access to ALL the extras if I want them!) I had to laugh again when he noted that the editor/copyeditor "had to deal with my all-caps fetish" ... which I noticed when I glanced through the Kindle copy. I myself am partial to ellipsis ...