Archive for May, 2010

P s You Can

Long Time Gone

Given the number and quality of this book’s other reviews on this site, I’ll keep my comments short. When a reader has a book that contains an otherwise unfamiliar setting made familiar though amazingly extensive detail, fully developed characters, a strong storyline, and subtly woven literary themes, they have a great book. Water for Elephants is such a book. Gruen’s novel is proof that the combination of exhaustive research and solid writing makes an unforgettably stunning book. This is one instance where the number of positive reviews don’t lie: Water for Elephants is worth reading.
Austin Air Allergy Machine

This scale, unlike my fancier more expensive previous one, is very consistent, gives the same reading no matter where you put it, and automatically recalibrates. The other one made weight measurements basically useless.
Tripp Lite SMART1050 Smart

The best screen adaptation from a book in years. The director has honored this well writtten work by following the book almost perfectly without omitting or sacrificing parts of the story. Lisbeth Sanders is perfectly cast. Rapace is Lisbeth. She creates a cult of somewhat envious admiring viewers wanting to become like Lisbeth. She is a fiery hellcat with an appealing naivete. This has viewers cheering for her to be avenged. Mikael too is equally well cast. Using orthodox methods, he step-by step partners with Lisbeth to peal back the layers of the mystery. Lisbeth stays always a step ahead of Mikael in her discoveries. The less well developed character Erika plays a lesser role. However, it is obvious there is bond if not a deeper relationship between Erika and Mikael. This relationship is given little emphasis in the directors efforts to focus on the real plot. Fast moving,well filmed and worth seeing.

The Girl with the

I love the furminator. I never realized how much hair the cats really had until I used this on them. It really gets into the undercoat, and when used regularly, I do notice a difference around the house – less cat hair everywhere! I had a hard time spending the money for a cat brush, but I’m glad I did.

(The reviewer was compensated for posting this review. However, the opinion stated in the review is that of the reviewer and the reviewer alone. Further, the reviewer independently selected this product to review and has no affiliation with the product maker/distributor, Amazon or the review requester.)
The Music of Man

My Friend Jesus Package

In my opinion, the hype is all this book has. I have spent my life reading most of the classics, along with best sellers, biographies, etc. I stopped counting when I got to 10,000 books read, about 13 years ago, so I consider myself to be a book connoisseur. This Catcher in the Rye is one book I wish I never read. Actually I didn’t even bother to finish it, because it is such a waste of paper and time. If you want to read a great coming of age book, read A Separate Peace or A Prayer for Owen Meany. If you want to read about a real hero, read The Real George Washington.
Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals

First pedometer I bought that works for me and it does great.Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer
Cottontails Baby Diaper Size

Water for Elephants is an interesting text because it is not especially well written, the story is pure soap opera, and yet it is an enjoyable read that at times evokes a long gone era. I think it suffers from overly effusive praise and so many readers are bitterly disappointed once they get through it.
First, let’s look at the strengths of the novel. I enjoyed the evocations of circus and train life. Gruen clearly spent some time working on these descriptions of circus life and there are little Depression era details that were nice historical jewels for the reader to mine. Also effective was her characterization of old Jacob. His voice was witty and biting and he provided the most pleasure of any character in the text. Chapter nineteen of the novel is the saddest depiction of rest home life I have read in literature. A man is forgotten by his family, and the scene is heartbreaking.
Now to examine the reasons why this book is unsatisfying. First off the characters from the 1930s parts of the novel are some of the weakest characterizations I have seen in a book in a long time. They are stock characters at best, and the villains are the mustache twirling men from melodrama. It is hard to care about any of the characters because they are so transparently fake. Even more distracting then the weak characterization is the incredibly insipid (and modern sounding) dialogue Gruen puts in their mouths. She has such nice historical details in the setting of the text, why couldn’t she also use it in the dialogue?
Many readers have found the ending unsatisfying, and although it is ridiculous, it fits the novel so I won’t argue with it. The cloying depiction of animals is also a little beyond the pale, but again, I simply had to come to terms with the novel for what it is. It is popular fiction. It is a melodrama you will get caught up in. And for those purposes it is adequate. Don’t go into it expecting more than what it is capable of giving and you will be satisfied.

Praise Presents Requested Songs