kurtwombat's reviews
883 reviews

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

Happily read a bunch of Dr. Seuss decades ago and read this now in support of books being banned currently at many local libraries and as a comeuppance to anyone historically who has sought to do the same. Proudly borrowed from our local library. Banned because it was thought to be too violent and might inspire children to hurt themselves or others. Settle down --it's a delightful romp.
Poor Things by Alasdair Gray

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challenging dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 
My estimation of this novel rose and fell several times during my reading. I mostly enjoyed bobbing and weaving my way through this Victorian novel spoof pastiche of different unreliable narrators in different styles, formats and genres but there were a few points of tedium. The letters from abroad format went on a little too long and the third section of the novel delivered as bits of reporting were a tad too dry (more interesting when I finally realized what the point of it was). But the central idea is genius—that in order to tell the story of a smart, independent, self-actualized woman (in Victorian Scotland or even today) the story has to be approached as science fiction. Such a woman has to be the Frankenstein like creation of a man—she couldn’t come naturally by those qualities. That is the first part (maybe ¾ of the novel). Second part is the real female character telling her side—much more realistic but still skewed by her perspective. And the last part is a kind of reckoning of the two—dispatches from the time create a foundation of reality. Feels old and new at the same time—don’t settle in it will change directions. Lays waste to men as a gender—rightfully so. Presents them as foolish and temperamental and disposable just as women in literature were/are often portrayed. 
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The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I by Douglas Brunt

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dark informative mysterious slow-paced

3.5

 
The central tease of this book is the disappearance of Rudolf Diesel (inventor of the diesel engine) as referenced in the title and the subtitle. For the vast majority of the book that is the only sniff of mystery to be had. Instead we are treated to a series of articles about Diesel and the history he was born into with little hope for a cohesive narrative. The articles are informative and interesting but slow going because they don’t feel essential to the story. It was like winning a free vacation and then finding out you must sit through a sales meeting every day. Portions of each article could have been woven into a nice narrative—easily 100 pages could be lost from the book overall with little downside. The book does contain two essential surprises first that Diesel was actually a person (not having thought about it assumed it was a German mechanical term). And a rather fascinating person apparently retaining a humanity rare among those at his level of success. The second, that I would find essentially the biography of a mechanical device so interesting—more so than most of the component parts of this book. Dropping the mystery from the title and simply referencing the amazing impact the diesel engine had on history would have been a better play—making war a global event, becoming a driving force in international politics and changing the everyday life of most people living on the planet should have been interesting enough. (Amazing stuff on its own but I understand the mystery part drives sale.) Yet we have to wade thru long biographical digressions on John D. Rockefeller, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Adolphus Busch. All fascinating figures but lamentable hurdles here. The mystery is finally addressed near the end of the book—and some interesting thoughts are churned up—well worth the wait for the revelation but I found the author’s transition from supposition to fact disquieting. Likely is not the same as fact. 
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 Ah, beginnings. This first Agatha Christie novel feels more like a sketch than a painting—it’s an Agatha Christie novel but not everything is there yet. Some of the writing is a little forced, the characters are thin or extreme, and there is a lot of magical hand waving to try and distract from an overly complicated plot. Then there’s Hastings—the outsider, reader stand-in and human misdirection machine—who becomes quite tiresome. How can Hastings hold Poirot in the highest esteem when the novel begins but immediately doubt everything he says—almost before he says it. However, meeting Hercule Poirot is worth the bother of the rest of the novel. Indefatigable and charming, Poirot is a delight and gives this novel the breath it needs—opening the windows on this stuffy house of a mystery. 
Mythos by Stephen Fry

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 
Stephen Fry’s take on Greek Mythology is just plain fun. Springing from his own childhood love of Greek Myths and injected with a humorous modern sensibility, the stories come alive. Fry’s MYTHOS shakes off the dust and makes the stories feel immediate and as valid as any other myths we live by. He has fun with the stories but never makes fun of them—allowing them to maintain their dignity and importance as the foundational elements of the Roman and Christian myths that followed (as well as the building blocks for language itself).  There is very little analysis--just story after story offering delight. For a more scholarly approach Edith Hamilton’s MYTHOLOGY is accessible and fantastic.  
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was expecting a political thriller, maybe throw in some action and intrigue, but instead THE SECRET AGENT is a delicious satire of a political thriller. The book starts with Adolf Verloc’s overly dramatic walk to a secret meeting where he is immediately admonished for never doing anything dramatic. The language is pure Conrad and the story creates tension and occasional shocks (including the astonishing fates of Verloc and his wife) but winks and nods abound. If the soul has a pulse, Conrad had his finger on it. His characters motivations scream in a tone they cannot hear but is clear enough to the reader. Active participants in their own mockery, the characters are sustained by their illusions. A passionless revolution is really just a pastime and anarchy is more lethargy than dangerous lively antics. A prescient mocking of what one day would be its own genre but at the time of it’s creation was just groundbreaking, this joins my list of favorite books including a few others by Conrad (LORD JIM, HEART OF DARKNESS & NOSTROMO).  
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

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adventurous dark funny informative tense fast-paced

5.0

I’ve watched Anthony Bourdain’s food/travel show on and off for years, enjoying his long cool languid demeanor and hip, inquisitive voice. What provokes is the sense that there is a vigorously lived life idling beneath the surface. In KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL a younger than TV age Bourdain provides a florid splash of his adrenaline-fueled life as a chef. The pace is fast like his kitchens and is at turns shocking and hilarious--feeling like Jim Carroll’s BASKETBALL DIARIES meets Upton Sinclair’s THE JUNGLE delivered by Spalding Gray on speed. Because of his sad passing I had stayed clear of his shows and hesitated picking up this book. Enraptured, my concerns fell away as I realized every page celebrates his life and passion.  The book will teach you about different foods and may encourage you to learn more but you don’t have to care about food at all to enjoy KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL.  Able to pinpoint the childhood meal that ignited his interest in food, soup served cold, that love never wavers despite page after page working insane hours under grueling conditions in crazy environments for little pay. Does that sound like fun, probably not, but it certainly is.
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Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

2.5

 
I almost put this down after the first paragraph. Something very….squishy about the way the author describes the mysterious power of her face to draw stories from people. Unsettling. And then continues to throw that face on the page throughout the book. When I was able to forget her face there was some interesting stuff here with the potential for a great book. Unfortunately, this isn’t it. The interweaving of a University sexual assault scandal investigation with unraveling a personal childhood of sexual abuse is a rich narrative opportunity that is presented here with mixed results. There were portions where it hummed—the investigation was compelling and the unpacking of the author’s  dysfunctional family dynamics came into focus.  Too often the paralysis of the main character—because of frustration with the investigation and the unwillingness of her family to acknowledge her paint--traps the narrative in amber. She can’t move—we can’t move. The analysis of her feelings seems to be happening in real time instead of from a thoughtful distance—real time meaning the jumbled, confused state we live in when first going through something.  It’s important that these topics be explored so I was really rooting for this book. NPR spoke well of it. But despite the opportunities for growth along the way, it all seems to happen smack dab at the end as if she were told—we’ve reached our page limit—time to wrap it up.  And that led to a car crash of thoughts  at the end—two different drafts of the same page seemed to follow each other—and an I LANDED ON MY FEET ending that seemed out of nowhere. Wasted opportunity. 
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Last Tango In Paris by Robert Alley

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Purple Place for Dying by John D. MacDonald

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I have had four color-themed Travis McGee books sitting on my shelves for years—all old paperbacks acquired from disparate used book locations. John D. MacDonald has long had the reputation as a template for generations of mystery writers—his fans famously including Stephen King & Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.. So, 60 years after it’s publication and my birth, I finally delved into my first Travis McGee novel. And I liked it. Lean and fast with sharply drawn characters and a satisfying mystery, MacDonald’s often beautiful descriptions pepper the prose—leaving an almost cinematic impression after reading. Famously a denizen of Florida,  this story has McGee out of his element in the southwest—unfortunate for my first choice to read. Curious if I will appreciate this more or less after reading about him on his own turf. As with my own hands, the book has some age spots—the writing reflects the stereotypes of its era but that is ingrained in any work—you have to create space for that. I will be reading more.