Lame

Posted : 2 weeks ago on 9 July 2008 02:28 (A review of Bad Cat: 244 Not-So-Pretty Kitties And Cats Gone Bad)

Personally, I did not get much humour out of this book. To me it just seemed like a pale, and often toned-down version of LOLcats, and it was probably not meant for people too familiar to the net-talking felines. I found the jokes rough and strained at best, with the odd crude one thrown in which managed to throw you me and just stare and say “WTF?” while I pondered if the safer side of humour is really that safe at all. But as other people have given this a good rating maybe I should just look at it and say I’m just not the target market and this just isn’t my thing. Oh well.

Since I managed to laugh about a total of three times while reading this I’m sticking to my LOLcats. Roll on Caturday.

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The Jungle Book

Posted : 2 weeks ago on 9 July 2008 12:46 (A review of The Jungle Book (Puffin Classics))

I just read this for the first time because it was on the reading list for my second year Eng Lit course and I'm glad I did. I found it very interesting for a children’s story book, and it also makes you very aware that a lot of kids books these days barely touch upon deeper issues as works like these used to. Kipling's imperialist background shows through in the undertones of the work, making for an interesting work to read from both a storytelling perspective and that of a literary and historical study.

Now to find the second collection of stories...

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Hi, Dave? It's Dave here...

Posted : 2 weeks ago on 9 July 2008 12:19 (A review of Are You Dave Gorman?)

Are You Dave Gorman? is a humour/travel/random book, and the result of a drunken bet between two men. And what a result. We as readers get to follow the eccentric adventures of Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace as they attempt to find "loads" of people named Dave Gorman, and as a consequence experience a multitude of highs and lows as they progress towards their goal.

The way the book is written with dual narration from both men is highly entertaining and, I believe, a very successful means of telling the tale. Gorman and Wallace are no strangers to British comedy, being a comedian and journalist/comedian respectively, and thus the book is highly recommendable for fans of both British stand up comedy and writers such as Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry, and Terry Pratchett (though I don't think they are quite up to the standards of these three just yet). The book is funny and highly entertaining throughout, with a slight touch of seriousness thrown in just for the hell of it, and will leave the reader smiling at the end.

:)

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Average cookbook for kids

Posted : 2 weeks ago on 9 July 2008 12:17 (A review of Kids' Cooking Step-by-step ("Australian Women's Weekly"))

When my mum gave me this for Christmas I was slightly puzzled. At age 18 and living away from home and therefore cooking for myself I already know how to cook and generally don’t need a detailed step-by-step walkthrough on how to make scrambled eggs. (And I always wonder, why is it from the Australian Women’s Weekly?)

As a childrens cookbook its not a bad start, though with my bias I still prefer my old copy of My First Cookbook (though it is aimed at a younger audience than this one). It is sad to see the use of the microwave become more prevalent over time though, and with recipes advising children to use the microwave this seems like a laugh in the face of older cooking methods (I’d rather melt chocolate over a pan of boiling water any day). Microwaved scrambled eggs just seems wrong to me.

Looking at it from an older point of view I also noted the clichéd blonde freckled kids used in the example pictures, staring out with glee over their scrambled eggs and egg and bacon muffins. Slightly creepy, but maybe that’s just me.

The recipes themselves are pretty standard enough, a couple of them being more or less copouts, even for a kid’s cookbook. Toasties filled with spaghetti from a can and sliced cheese really doesn’t require a recipe, and pre-packaged pizza bases are an outright cheat for something so easy. The layout is easy enough to follow and the language clear with pictures to illustrate. Also, for healthy minded parents this book does include quite a few vegetable and fruit-based recipes, featuring the avocado with strange frequency. Plus there is the ever-useful conversions chart in the back of the book.

Eh, it’s alright, with a nice few ideas, mainly in the dinner section (but expecting a child to make a roast on their own is expecting a bit much by my standards), but its not really my kind of thing. Average at best.

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Chosen (House of Night, Book 3) review

Posted : 2 weeks ago on 9 July 2008 10:37 (A review of Chosen (House of Night, Book 3))

Thought the novel starts off a little too saccharine and childish, it certainly picks up towards the end. There's quite a bit going on in this novel and it's nice to see the characters maturing.

One of my favourite aspects of the House of Night series is the wonderful interaction between the friends. It's so nice to see a core group of kids really depending on each other and working together. Which makes it all the bittersweet when that trust and closeness is threatened in Chosen. I definitely see it as an integral part of Zoey's growth, but you can't help but feel bad about the situation.

I was really surprised about the issue of Zoey's virginity. It's hard to review or talk about without giving away too much detail... but suffice it to say you really want to give the girl a talking to. I really liked that the Casts broached the subject, rather than circling around it or writing themselve into some corner. They faced it head on, didn't gloss over it, and didn't string us along for many more books. I really look forward to seeing how the authors (and Zoey) handle all of this in the next stories.

The Hosue of Night world is also evolving and there are some great insights to future revelations. It looks like everything is not as it seems and we may begin to discover that either the adult vampires aren't sharing all their information, or maybe they don't even know everything about their kind. Quite interesting and it makes me like this universe all the more.

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The Gardens of Kyoto: A Novel

Posted : 2 weeks, 1 day ago on 9 July 2008 04:25 (A review of The Gardens of Kyoto)

I had mixed feelings on this book, some parts were very good and intriguing and some tended to ramble and lose me. This kept me reading because I hoped it would all come together at some point but it never really did for me. In the end I just felt frustrated and disappointed. It did not help that the main character narrating the story seemed so disconnected from the events she was revisiting in her life that it seemed as exciting as hearing about someone else's grocery list.

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The Best Film Resource.

Posted : 2 weeks, 1 day ago on 8 July 2008 04:57 (A review of Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2008 (Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide))

This movie guide created by Leonard Maltin, is quite impressive. It contains tens of thousands of titles, and hundred's of actor's, actresses, and director listings. It is the most in depth and complete film resource out there. Not including the internet of course. Whenever I want to know information about a film, I look in this book. It is an excellent book.

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My thoughts

Posted : 2 weeks, 1 day ago on 8 July 2008 01:28 (A review of Ursula Under)

I still think about this book from time to time, as that's how good it was. Ingrid Hill skillfully weaves together the stories of Ursula's very disparate ancestors who faced difficulties and challenges with courage, humor and sometimes sheer luck.

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My thoughts

Posted : 2 weeks, 1 day ago on 8 July 2008 01:26 (A review of The Sinner)

This was a good mystery featuring detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. I liked how they teamed together to solve the murders as well as learning more about their personal lives.


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My thoughts

Posted : 2 weeks, 1 day ago on 8 July 2008 01:25 (A review of The God of Small Things)

I wasn't sure what to think about this book when I finished. While it was beautifully written, the plot was sometimes hard to understand. Yet, weeks later as I think about it, I appreciate more the intricate story of the twins Rahel and Estha, and what happened when their cousin Sophie Mol visited one summer.


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