book review - Jason’s Feed

Review: The Secret Garden

This children’s classic is about a girl orphan and a little sickly boy who strike up a friendship because of their similar disposition and their shared interest in a secret garden. Through their friendship and plenty of play in the secret garden the sickly boy regains his health. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic The Secret Garden is a great book. Thats what makes it a classic. Like everyone else I have heard of this book and I also knew that it was a 1993 movie of the same title.

I didn’t start listening to this book for any of those reasons though. I did start listening to it because it is on my BBC 100 list. That makes it part of one of a few challenges I am completing in this year. I downloaded this book on my iPhone via overdrive and listened whenever I had a moment. It is well read by Johanna Ward aka Jennifer Mendenhall. I’m very confused as to why these narrators keep different names. I’m sure its all due to how “show business” works. David Case did the same thing.

This was the 23rd book I’ve read thus far this year. I’m about 10 books ahead of my goal of 100 books. Plus this means I have another book off the BBC 100 list. At sometime I would really like to be able to watch the movies that all these books have associated with them, but I can’t keep myself from picking up a book instead of watching television.

I liked this book. It wasn’t amazing, but again is a children’s story. It is a sold 3 star book in my opinion and I am glad I have read it. I can see why it is a classic.

Review: All Joy and No Fun

Reading All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior was a welcome break from all the fiction I have been reading. I love a good non-fiction book and this cross between a parenting and psychology book was good fun. I believe that I first heard of Jennifer Seniors book via a TED talk she gave in 2014:

Like most TED talks the speakers are very good. They are practiced and the speech comes off flawlessly. Also, like most speaking at TED then are selling something. In Ms. Senior’s case she was selling her book and doing a damn good job of it too. It worked on me. I got her book, but didn’t read it until recently.

Senior has a very interesting way of approaching the parenting book writing process. Instead of telling you how to raise your children like so many of the books out there do, she is more interested in looking at how raising children effects the parents.

What it does to us. the good and the bad. How does having children change us? It is an interesting take. I felt something was missing in this book and it could very well be the lack of child rearing advice or maybe it was something else. Funny thing is that Senior herself writes a good many book reviews. You see she works for the New York Times.

I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. As I said, I felt something was missing, I just can’t put my finger on it. All in all it was a good fiction read, well written and researched. If you are looking for a parenting self-help book that turns the question around, this is it.

Review: The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is a curious novel. I really liked the main character. I wanted to pick up this book often. It is about a butler who goes on a car trip to see a housekeeper that used to work in the same house as he did. On his trip he comes to some realizations that his former employer may not have been all that he previously thought he was. He also finds that he may have had feelings for the housekeeper that left the house they both worked at. A very interesting look into the thoughts of this man and what it means to look back at your life, if you don’t particularly like what you were then. I gave this book 4 our of 5 stars.

I really enjoy the climbthestacks reviews and Ashley happens to have already done a video review of The Remains of the Day. It is excellent and you should watch it:

What are we supposed to take away from this book, what is the butler a metaphor? Thanks to YouTube we can get it from the man himself:

Review: The Alchemist

34% of goodreads users gave The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 5 stars. I’m not sure I listened to the same book as these people read. Maybe there is some deep philosophical meaning that this book contained and my tiny mind just didn’t gasp it. I have no idea. To mean this book “read” like a children’s book. It was not written poorly. The story just didn’t appeal to me. There was nothing that grabbed me. There was no foreshadowing that I wanted to hang out for and see how it went. Therefore, I fall solidly in the only 9% of goodreads users that gave this book a measly 2 stars.