Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner is the 2nd consecutive non-fiction book I’ve read, and only the 2nd since I graduated school. I wrote about reading Predictably Irrational earlier. I borrowed this one, so had to move it up on in my way too long reading list.
Basically, the author takes questions that people may or may not have asked ever, analyzes the numbers and statistics with economic theories, and either draws their conclusions or lets the readers draw their conclusions. What are some of the questions that they ponder? They include things like why do crack cocaine dealers live with their mom? What was the cause in the sharp drop in violent crime? Are teachers helping students cheat on standardized tests? Does parenting really matter? They also go into topics such as if your real estate agent really has your best interests at heart, if sumo wrestlers cheat, and much more.
I thought that some of the questions and stories that were talked about in the book were interesting. The most interesting to me were the ones he told about parenting, and whether or not parenting really mattered to a kid becoming good, successful, etc. The statistics he provided and the analysis that he did seemed to show that how successful a child became had more to do with who and what the parents were rather than what it was that they did. A child didn’t grow up successful because his parents read to him every night or took him to museums or whatnot. He was successful because his parents had money or had him when the mother was older and not, for example, a teenager. I thought this chapter and the one about if a name has an impact on a child’s future were quite interesting. Makes the people who always make fun of parents who over-parent seem like they are correct and such.
The book is not very long and so makes for a short read. It covers some rather controversial topics as well, one in which people might cringe and cry foul in disbelief. These topics include things like abortion, guns, the KKK. Whether or not you agree with some, none, or all of what is written here, I think its worth reading if only because it will get you asking questions, both to yourself, and hopefully to others. If that happens, isn’t that in and of itself make the book worth reading?
I was listening to a podcast, I forget which one, and this book was mentioned. I thought it sounded interesting so decided to give it a shot. I do not read non-fiction books very often. In fact, this was the first one that I’ve read since probably college or high school when I was probably required to do so for a class. What did I hear that sounded interesting enough for me to try this book? The person talked about how this book is about people who do things that are irrational. But, its not just a person here or a person there. Overall, its people in general who act irrationally, and not in some random or chaotic way, but in a very predictable way.
There are many examples used in the book, and the author performed many experiments to show this is the case. What were some of them? Lawyers were asked to provide legal service for a charitable organization at a deeply discounted rate, like 30 bucks/hour. And not one of them said yes. However, when those same lawyers were asked to provide legal services for free, many of them said yes. When people order drinks or food at a restaurant out loud, they are much more likely to order things that are different than the previous people, even if what they decide to order is something they don’t even like or something that they would not normally order. If you went to a store to buy a pen that costs 25 dollars, and while at the store found out the same pen was selling for 18 dollars somewhere else many people are likely to go to that other place. However, if you went to a store to buy a suit that costs 250 dollars and while there found out another store was selling the same store for 243 dollars, you probably would not go and buy that suit at the other location even though both save you exactly 7 dollars.
The author performs these and many other experiments with his colleagues in places all over the nation. Many of them I thought were interesting, but some of what the experiments I actually found hard to believe because I honestly don’t believe that is how I would act or perform. Also, while he says that all of the results he spoke of in his book are statistically significant, I don’t necessarily buy all of the explanations for those results that he speaks of. He uses many of these experiments and while explains them tries to associate them to larger societal problems which while sound good in theory I’m not sure would really work in reality. The book does make for an interesting read for those that pick it up. It also makes you think because there are many experiments that he performs that I too would probably fall for and act “irrationally”. Makes you wonder about yourself and think about if you can really change those irrational behaviors about yourself. Its a good read and I think its worth reading. Its not very long so it shouldn’t take too long to read. I don’t think it will change your life in any way at all, but it can and might make you think about certain things here and there.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a story about 2 cousins during the pre to post World War II era. One of the cousins is a Jew from Eastern Europe, named Joe Kavalier, who goes through a difficult time trying to escape to New York, where his cousin Sam Clay lives. Joe vows that once he gets there, he will do whatever he can to get his family out of there as well. And as the title implies, he finally gets there and the story revolves around the two of them. The two develop a comic book during a time where the Superman book has taken off, and there are tons of copycats trying to find the “next Superman.” Their creation is the Escapist, a hero who rescues those who can’t help themselves. The creation takes off and makes the two of them a lot of money. The story continues as Joe constantly tries to get his family to the States and also fighting the Germans in any way he can while Sam tries to discover what he wants to do and who he really is.
I read a lot of good reviews of this book and so bought it when I saw it. I actually didn’t know what to expect when starting it. As I read more and more, honestly, I became less and less enthusiastic about it. I just thought the book was too long and dragged. It started off interesting to me, but as I read more and more, I was constantly thinking how many more pages of this do I have to read? Is it close to over yet? And where is the author going with this story? That is never a good sign to me, and for the most part means the book was boring for me.
Maybe its just not my type of book, or maybe I’m just too into action, adventure, murder, fantasy then I ought to be nowadays, or maybe I let all the good reviews give me too high an expectation, but it took me maybe 2 months to read this book because whenever I had free time, I always chose to do something else besides pick this back up. The next book I read after that, after only 2 days I’m already on page 70, to give you an idea. This book was just not interesting to me. Way too long. And I still don’t really get what the ending of the book accomplished. Not for me, and honestly, if someone asked me, I’d say not for you either.
This movie comes out on Friday, so I decide to buy this book on Amazon and finish it before the movie came out. I know that for the most part the book is always better than the movie, so now I will be setting myself up for disappointment when the movie comes out huh? Well, guess I’ll find out in about a few days time. Too bad I have to get by another week’s worth of work before doing so.
Anyway, I finished reading the book. There are no spoilers here, so no worries. I won’t reveal any more than what the movie trailer has revealed as well. Anyway, the book is about masked heroes, as most comic books are. However, there is a law that was passed and it is now illegal to be a masked vigilante. One of these former heroes is killed at the beginning of the story, and its suspected that there is someone out there hunting these now former masked heroes. Is it true, and if so, what’s the agenda? The story takes place in the 80′s, and the theme of war during the Cold War era plays a large part in the storyline of this graphic novel.
I actually had no expectations going into this reading. I had no clue what it was about. After reading it, I did not find this my favorite novel, but I did like the story and thought the ending was very interesting. I think this was originally a 12 issue comic book series that was put together as a graphic novel. I felt the story was actually quite complex and intricate for a comic book, but didn’t think the artwork was all that. I’m not sure this book is actually for everyone. Its definitely not your traditional comic book masked hero story, which may or may not turn off comic fans. And the fact that it is a graphic novel may turn off those who will refuse to read it because its just a comic book. I think, though, that its worth reading. Its not a long read, since there are pictures and such.
I now have some questions going into the movie that I’m curious about. Is the movie going to take place during the same time period, with the Cold War still ongoing, or is it going to move it forward in time and make it more modern? Are they going to keep the sexuality and violence? There is a lot of blood drawn within these pages. And how much of the original story are they going to change? Guess I’ll find all this out this coming weekend.
I bought this book a few weeks back and just finished it this past weekend. I don’t usually like sci fi novels, but this one just seemed interesting to me and so I had to pick it up and give it a whirl. The book is about a pair of fraternal twins named Diane and Jason, and their best friend, Tyler. The story is told in the first person in Tyler’s perspective. The three are very close, living together. One night they are out staring at the stars, and all of a sudden, all of the stars disappear. Somehow, the Earth has been surrounded by a membrane that blocks the rest of the universe. However, it doesn’t block things physically from the universe. It instead puts the Earth in some sort of weird time space continuum in which for every year that passes on earth, 10 billion years pass outside of the membrane. Who or what does this? Why is this done? The sun only has so long to live, so what happens when it goes out in 30 years Earth time? What do all the religions that have always preached the coming apocalypse do when it actually seems like a reality in 30 some odd years?
It was this plotline that got me to buy this book. And after finishing it, I will say that I really enjoyed it. The book follows the life of Tyler and his interactions with the twins, observing how not only they cope with this worldwide event, but how everyone else does as well. Is there worldwide looting and pandemonium? Rioting? I thought it was a very interesting tale, and felt like the ending tied everything together nicely, explaining who, what, when, where, why, etc. I’m not sure I entirely buy the non Sci-fi stuff that happens, for example how some of the people react and such. The Sci-fi stuff I’m okay with just cuz as the name implies, its Sci-fi, so its okay. The Sci-fi book genre is not usually my cup of tea, but I did like this one and I think its worth giving it a read.
I know this movie came out a while ago, as did the book. Despite that, there are no spoilers here. I did see the movie and thought it was very good. However, when the movie came out, I did not know that it was based on a book. Also, since I’m into Dennis Lehane’s books, having finished his first 5 books in the last few months, I decided to read this one too.
What did I think? I thought it was great. I can see why they decided to make a movie based on this book because it was just a good read. Each of the 3 main characters of the book are connected because of an incident that happened when they were children. They each have their good points, but each are also flawed in their own way. The book, in a very quick nutshell, is about trying to find the killer of one of the main character’s daughter.
Now, I had watched the movie before reading this, so I knew who killed her, as well as any other plot twists that came about. I never ever do this…always wanting to read before watching. The movie, I felt, was actually quite faithful to the book. The book though does a much better job in developing each of the characters and getting inside his head to see what he is really thinking and feeling. That’s understandable though for pretty much any book over a movie. Had I not seen the movie, I would of been somewhat surprised at the outcome of the book, which I think would of made it that much more enjoyable. However, the book was still, like I said, a good read for me.
So, if you want a good mystery or thriller, I’d totally recommend either watching this movie or reading the book. I don’t think you can go wrong either way. Mystic River the movie definitely was better than Lehane’s other movie adaptation Gone, Baby, Gone, which was a great book, but not so a movie.
My friend let me borrow this book and told me she really liked it. I’m always up for reading a book recommendation so gave it a shot. This book is about a little girl, who later becomes known as the Book Thief because of her penchant for that activity, living in Germany during the Hitler era. Her little brother dies and her mother gives her away, when she is later taken in by a couple living in a small town in Germany while war rages all around. The story is told from the first person point of view of Death, who takes people’s souls away when they pass. Because its told from that point of view, its pretty much 3rd person in that Death seems to know what everyone is thinking.
Death takes away the Book Thief’s brother one night, and she escaped his clutches, and so fascinates him. He then follows her around observing her life, from when she is adopted all the way to the end. Along the way, you meet her new family, her new home, her new friends, including Rudy, a boy who becomes her best friend. All this happens as World War II slowly creeps toward their little town. She instantly takes a liking and loves her new papa, who does all he can to teach her to read and write because that is so much what she wants to do and gets her by in life. Despite the harsh life with little or no food or money, she becomes settled and in her new life.
But, one day her papa decides to allow a Jewish refugee to secretly hide in their basement. And although this man eventually becomes a very close friend to the Book Thief, things start to go for the worse for her and her family.
I actually really liked this book when I first started reading it. It just semeed interesting to me, watching this little girl grow up and get over the fact that every night when she sleeps, all she does is have nightmares of her little brother dying in a train. It was great watching her new papa do whatever he could to help her through this, teach her, and just love her. When I was reading the back cover of this book, I noticed that it was written for young adults. But, I thought there were so many deep themes in this book, and was surprised at that. Just the power of friendship, of family, and even of books/literature to allow her to escape the realities of her life.
Throughout the book, Death hints and straight out tells you what will happen in the end, so you read the book knowing what will happen, but just wondering how it gets to that point. As the book progressed, I did think it got a little long, a bit slow at times. But, not so much so that I’d want to put the book down or not want to continue reading. And knowing that its told from Death’s point of view, you know that deaths willl have to be a part of the story, and the inevitable sadness that results. It was definitely an interesting book, and much deeper than I was expecting when I just read that synopsis on the back.
This is the 4th and final book of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, about the relationship between the vampire Edward and the human Bella. As many of you know who have read my previous postings of this series, I think its an okay series, but I really can’t stand Bella, who’s point of view the books are written in. As such, I can’t love the books.
That being said, what happened in this final book? Well, Edward and Bella finally get married. I don’t really know what else I can say about the plot without giving away too much of what happens in the book. In this final book, you will finally see whether or not Bella gets her dream to become a vampire and be with Edward forever, get to see what finally happens in the love triangle that involves the werewolf Jacob, and you will finally see what happens with the Volturi.
Not much of a summary, but I don’t want to give spoilers away to those who have not read it. Most importantly, what did I think of the book and did I like it? I thought that it was rather comparable to the others. The same problems I had with the others ones I had with this one, which only makes sense since they are all in the same series. If I were to rank though, I’d probably put this closer to the bottom. I still do not like Bella, though I could stomach her a little bit more at the end of this book.
Something that was a change of pace, but I thought was out of place, was that the middle portion of this book not being written in Bella’s 1st person point of view. What?!? I actually would have no problem with this if Meyer did this throughout the series. In fact, it probably would of been better since I don’t like Bella so much. But, it just didn’t feel right that she did this in the middle of the last book when every single page of every other book was written in Bella’s point of view. I won’t say which character this middle portion is written for, but after this portion, it switches back to Bella. Don’t get me wrong, the middle portion was not bad at all, and Bella still plays a large part of it. In fact, I like this character much more, and it was interesting seeing things from a different perspective. Just didn’t seem to fit in that’s all.
That was just a minor thing though. Even though I didn’t think it fit in, but it wasn’t bad. The biggest problem I had with this book was the fact that they spent the entire latter half of the book leading up to a huge event/climax. I mean, everything was pointing towards that direction. Characters in the book were preparing, the author was preparing the readers for it. And then what happens at the end of the book? Freaking nothing. Are you kidding me? All of this built up anticipation and nothing happens? That’s like the NFL playing all their games, doing all of their playoffs, then hyping the Superbowl, only to not play the Superbowl. You’ve got to be kidding me??!!? I thought that was super lame, and actually, now that I think about it, of the 4 books, this one will have to be my least favorite and not just among the bottom. You can’t tease people into thinking something will happen only to not have it happen!!!
Overall, the series in my opinion was nothing special. its definitely written more for women, and younger women at that. Don’t be expecting much action or fighing or anything of that nature. Its concentrated primarily on the relationship between Edward and Bella, and many times it gets pretty sappy between the two, where you just want to roll your eyes, or just kill Bella because she is so freaking whiny. Its not a terrible series, like it seems I’m saying. I thought the mythology that Meyer created is actually pretty interesting. And the world and cast of characters as well. Its just hard to love a series if you can’t stand the main character. Most of the women I know who’ve read this loved the series, so based on them, you should too if you are a woman. If you are a guy, well, it won’t be the worst series you’ve read, but I’m sure that you could find other things that will interest you more.
I finished reading the 3rd book in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series called Eclipse. I’ve written 2 posts on the previous books here and here. For a quick recap, basically this series is about a teenage high school girl named Bella who decides to live with her dad in the small town of Forks, where she happens to meet a vampire named Edward. The two fall in love and this series is about their love for one another, the highs and lows of their relationships. A huge series among the teenage crowd that I happened to read as well cuz I’ve been told often times it’s the best book ever! LOL. Do not continue reading this post if you do not want to know what happens in the first 2 books. However, there will not be any spoilers here about Eclipse.
In this 3rd book, Bella starts out close to graduating high school. But, she is indefinitely grounded by her dad Charlie as a result of what happened at the end of New Moon. Edward, also as a result, is in heavy disfavor and when alone, the two are almost constantly under his watchful eye. According to Charlie, Edward can do no right. And throughout, he constantly tries to push his daughter towards Jacob, probably because he doesn’t know that Jake is a werewolf. The Cullens have also moved back to Forks, and Jake’s pack of wolves has grown. Not as a result of Charlie’s prodding, but more because of Bella being such a tease/player (haha, I think Bella fans are going to hate me for that description, but she is!!!) a love triangle develops between Bella, Edward, and Jacob. Oh and throughout all this teenage love angst, someone is trying to kill Bella……again.
Of the 3 books in the Twilight series, this one was my favorite. So, if you liked the first 2 books, then you’ll definitely like this one as well. As the first two, this one is definitely written with the younger/teen audience in mind. I think that was evident in the tons of teenage kids who went to the Comic Con last week, where the stars of the new Twilight movie, coming out in December, made an appearance. Honestly, the trailer for the movie does not look very good to me. But, I might watch it regardless.
However, the same things that bothered me in the first 2 also bothered me here, namely, I don’t like Bella. It’s hard for me to call any book great, let alone the best ever, if I don’t like the main character. Its one thing if the whole point of the book is that you are supposed to hate the main character. Like the character is a bad guy and so hating them is what the author had in mind. But, based on how this book is written, I highly doubt that is what Meyer is going for. Bella is so whiny, needy, helpless, and she leads guys on even though she knows she will never be with them. And she always seems to cause pain for those around her. Why does everyone like/love her??? There were some parts of the book that I thought were somewhat predictable, such as what happens between Jacob’s pack of werewolves and the Cullens. But, it was an okay book.
The end of this book sets the stage for Breaking Dawn, which I believe comes out some time in August. Because I read the first three, I’ll for sure read that one as well. It’ll be interesting I think to see how Stephenie Meyer ties up everything. Will Bella definitely stick with her desire to become a vampire to be with Edward and his family forever? If so, what is she going to tell her mom and dad? How will the Volturi play in all of this? Plus many other questions I will not ask since they would be spoilers for this book. Read it and let me know what you think.
I finished reading the Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards and here are my thoughts. Its a book that my friend let me borrow. So, I decided to go ahead and read it. The story starts out in the 1960′s. Its about a doctor, David Henry, who due to uncontrollable circumstances one stormy winter night, is forced to deliver his wife’s baby. The baby turns out to be a healthy little boy. So all is well. Or is it? Surprising to all, another baby is subsequently delivered. This one a little girl. But, David being the doctor that he is, recognizes immediately that this new girl, his daughter, has Down’s Syndrome. During this time period, he knows that children born of this have heart problems, die young, and live a very difficult life because they are mentally and emotionally slow. What does he do? Something that changes the rest of his life, and his new family’s as well. He gives the baby girl to the nurse, named Caroline, and tells her to bring her to an institution, and then telling his wife that their baby girl was stillborn. The nurse is astonished, and does as she is told. But when she gets there, she can’t bear to give the baby up and leaves town and raises her as her own. The novel subsequently follows everyone through the decades to see how everyone’s lives turned out based on that fateful night.
This was a good book, I thought, but its not my type of book. It was very interesting to see how each person’s lives are affected as a result of David’s decision to give the baby away. He bears that secret his entire life, and so it affects both his wife and his son. As for Caroline, she also has her own difficult path in life, raising a baby with Down’s Syndrome in a society that doesn’t readily accept her. This book has sad moments, but I don’t think its a sad story/book per se. I think its more about love than anything, for love does not just encompass happiness and joy, but also pain and heartache. So, like I said, this was a good book to read. Its a story that if your friends read as well, you can have many types of conversations about it. What’s right, what’s wrong? Was it really about love, etc. Did David really give the baby away out of love for his family? Go read it, and maybe you can be one of those people I discuss it with.
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