2010 September » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

Review: The World Awaits by Paul Otteson

Posted by Anastasia on September 17, 2010 No Responses »

Sep 172010

184. The World Awaits by Paul Otteson
Publication: Avalon Travel Publishing; 2nd edition (January 30, 2001), Paperback, 250pp / ISBN 1566912431
Genre: Non-Fiction, Travel
Rating:
Read: September 2010
Source: Library
Summary from Amazon:

The World Awaits is your guide for planning an extended, independent, international journey. You’ll get practical information on visa requirements, web addresses, phone numbers, and more. Organized in three parts sequentially matched to the entire travel experience, The World Awaits also examines issues of goals, passports, shots, packing, budgeting, tickets, route planning, and life on the road. With The World Awaits, you’ll learn just how much travel can inspire, reveal, educate, and transform.

Review

This book threw me for a loop for the first 100 pages or so. It read a bit like a self-help/motivational book, and since I don’t like those kinds of books I was prepared to give up on it early on. (Not that self-help books don’t ever have anything good to say, it’s just the tone of them that I take exception to.) The first half of the book is all about establishing what sort of traveler you are: are you an all-inclusive resort sort of person? Someone who likes to hit the major cities and move quickly? Or do you like to go off the beaten path and travel slowly? While Mr Otteson says that all sort of travelers and ways of travel are fine, he makes sure to point out that slow, “threading” (what he calls the “take things as they come” way of travelling) is the best way. And I’m sure it is, but the way he said it irritated me.

I hate travelers who are holier-than-thou with the way they travel, and while I’m not saying Mr Otteson is trying to be holier than me I am saying that he’s pushing his philosophy of travel really hard in this book. Which is fine if you like that sort of thing (or his philosophy), and I know he has to have a theme for his book to tie it together and everything, but it was, well…annoying. Just a little. It reminded me of my dad when he pushes doing lemon juice-keyan pepper fasts and Tony Robbins seminars, and that’s not a good thing to remind me of.

Anyway, for the second half of the book it went into a more how-to mode, talking about what to bring and how to bring it, etc, stuff I probably don’t still need to be reading but which I find interesting. I mean, I MAY need to know what sort of sleeping bag or tiny portable stove to bring with me one day, right? Well, maybe not. But it’s fun to read about.

The real problem with The World Awaits is that it’s already almost 10 years old, and in a field where stuff is changing rapidly from year to year anything that hasn’t been updated in at least the past three years seems outdated. The World Awaits, for instance, doesn’t talk about electronics at all, when today there’s a whole subset of travelers who make money from the electronics they take with them on their travels.

But basically, if you ignore the stuff that’s outdated, the lesson in The World Awaits is to take time to get to know the place you’re traveling to and the people that live there, and to not freak out about everything. Those are good lessons, I think. I just wish they had been taught in a way that didn’t piss me off.

And

Get your own copy @ Amazon or Powell’s and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog!

Other reviews: GoNomad.com (with WAY more detail than in my review)

Review: The World's Cheapest Destinations by Tim Leffel

Posted by Anastasia on September 16, 2010 No Responses »

Sep 162010

183. The World’s Cheapest Destinations by Tim Leffel
Publication: Booklocker.com, Inc.; 3 edition (January 1, 2009), Paperback, 224pp / ISBN 1601457014
Genre: Non-Fiction, Travel
Rating:
Read: September 2010
Source: Library
Summary from Amazon:

This popular budget travel guide, now in its updated third edition, offers the lowdown on the best bargain-priced international destinations, with sample prices and key attractions.

Review

Technically I suppose I could have just Googled all this information instead of getting a whole book about, especially since price fluctuations are happening even as you read this. (omg!) But I thought maybe there’d be something more useful than numbers in here and so I requested it through ILL. I was right (of course). It’s a useful books in terms of figuring out where my Western money goes the farthest, but it’s also useful in learning more about what there actually is to DO in those cheap countries. And reading about those countries? Made me want to go there– and not just because they’re cheap.

Bolivia, for instance, was never really a country I thought about travelling to much beyond the “tour of South America” thing I was considering a while ago. But after reading The World’s Cheapest Destinations it’s definitely moved up my list of “must-see places.” Why? You’ll just have to read the book for yourself and find out! Ha. Ha.

Anyway, it’s a decent primer for finding out where the least expensive countries are, what you can do when you get there, and what the climate/society is like. Think of it like a more basic version of a country’s guidebook– it won’t tell you how to get from one place to another, or what exactly to do once you get there, but it’ll tell you what you can buy for under $1 (really interesting things, actually).

Note: I think the author keeps specific money things updated on his website, so price fluctuations aren’t that big a deal, not like changes in a country’s government/infrastructure/etc are a big deal.

And

Get your own copy @ Amazon or Powell’s and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog!

Other reviews: Budget Travel on about.com | Book Ends Meet

Review: Mexican Enough by Stephanie Elizondo Griest

Posted by Anastasia on September 15, 2010 No Responses »

Sep 152010

180. Mexican Enough by Stephanie Elizondo Griest
Publication: Washington Square Press; Original edition (August 5, 2008), Paperback, 336pp / ISBN 1416540172
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Travel
Rating:
Read: August 2010
Source: Library
Summary from Amazon:

Growing up in a half-white, half-brown town and family in South Texas, Stephanie Elizondo Griest struggled with her cultural identity. Upon turning thirty, she ventured to her mother’s native Mexico to do some root-searching and stumbled upon a social movement that shook the nation to its core.

Mexican Enough chronicles her adventures rumbling with luchadores (professional wrestlers), marching with rebel teachers in Oaxaca, investigating the murder of a prominent gay activist, and sneaking into a prison to meet with indigenous resistance fighters. She also visits families of the undocumented workers she befriended back home. Travel mates include a Polish thief, a Border Patrol agent, and a sultry dominatrix. Part memoir, part journalistic reportage, Mexican Enough illuminates how we cast off our identity in our youth, only to strive to find it again as adults — and the lessons to be learned along the way.

Review

I previously read SEG’s Around the Bloc, which I enjoyed but said was missing something. I’m quoting myself here:

The only thing that really annoyed me was how SEG never went deeper into an analysis of the politics of the countries she visited, nor her own reactions and actions to those politics.

Well! Mexican Enough did exactly what I wanted Around the Bloc to do. I don’t know if it’s because SEG is more tied to Mexico than she was to Russia/China/Cuba or because she went more recently and when she was older, so she was less annoyingly idealistic about what she’d find when she went there AND she was better at getting personal stories and later conveying it to readers. If that makes sense.

I really enjoyed Mexican Enough! It was the perfect mix this time of personal memoir and journalism. I learned so much about Mexico, Mexican culture, and the people that live there that I feel like I have a decent enough knowledge base to build on when I go there myself next year. And I learned a lot about SEG herself, too, and a little more about what it means to be biracial (or bicultural). Plus it was just plain entertaining! And slightly depressing, because Mexico (like most countries) has some serious problems, and SEG doesn’t hold back from talking about them. But she also doesn’t demonize anyone (except maybe politicians) and all in all, it seems as fair a portrayal of a country can be from an outsider’s perspective.

And

Get your own copy @ Amazon or Powell’s and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog!

Other reviews: Books: Consumed and Digested (which goes into way more detail than my review) | Philosophy and Letters

Also: An interview with SEG at Wandering Educators

BBAW Day 2: Interview with Stephanie of Reviews By Lola!

Posted by Anastasia on September 14, 2010 No Responses »

Sep 142010

Today is day two of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and it is Interview Swap day! Yay! For my swap I got Stephanie of Reviws By Lola, a 26-year-old Ohioan who works at a law firm, and who was luckily very understanding when I was swamped by school stuff last week and had to take a little extra time to answer her questions. You can read my interview with here here at her blog, btw.

My interview with Stephanie!
If you were, for some reason, on a deserted island and could only have two books with you, what books would those be? Omnibuses don’t count, and neither do how-to books.

Oh that is easy! Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole and Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell. They are tied for first place when it comes to my favorite book of all time. They balance each other out really well too, as CoD is very comedic whereas GwtW is a sweeping Civil War saga.

Where’s your favorite place to read?

95% of the time you’ll find me reading in bed. Actually I would live in my bed if I could, and it is not uncommon to find me hunkered down there for hours over the weekend in my pajamas with some coffee.

Do you like to listen to music when you read, or are you more of a “silence is golden” sort of person?

I don’t watch TV or listen to music when I read but I don’t need it completely silent. A lot of the time I will read while my husband watches TV, so as long as it’s not something I am interested in, I just tune it out.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve used as a bookmark?

A few weeks ago I was in the car with my dad and I was reading a book when we arrived at our destination, so I grabbed a nearby receipt to use as a book mark. No big deal, right? I mean, we’re talking about a receipt for $40 but apparently my dad has a thing about keeping his receipts because he immediately started going into spasms. So what does he throw at me to use as a bookmark but a $5 bill! I still can’t figure out the reasoning behind that. You would probably have to know my dad to see the humor in it, but hey, I got $5 out of the deal!

What was your favorite book you read as a kid? As a teenager? As an adult?

As a kid I was obsessed with The Baby Sitters Club books, by Ann M Martin. I was even a member of the fan club, meaning once a month I got a newsletter along with two of the BSC books. I love that the publisher is trying to revamp the series right now but I am afraid the series is still a little dated.

As a teenager, I was a big fan of the true crime genre, along with Dean Koontz. Helter Skelter, by Vincent Bugliosi, was my all time favorite book and I read it countless times. I did a LOT of re-reading back then too, which I never do now. Go figure!

As an adult, my reading has definitely evolved more. I mostly read literary fiction now.

How long would it take you to finish reading your TBR pile, if you ONLY read from that pile and didn’t add any new books?

My TBR pile is so immense because it is everywhere. Just the books on my shelves that are unread must number in the hundreds, not to mention I have scraps of paper stuck in all kinds of strange places with book titles written on them. I imagine it would take me at least 3-5 years!

What are you reading right now? Are you enjoying it?

At the time of this interview, I am just now starting The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. I don’t think I have read enough to determine whether or not I like it, but I would be lying if I said my expectations for this book are sky high! I am just excited to be reading another book for RIP V–I may read nothing but books for this challenge until Halloween!

And then if you’d like to answer the “how long have you been blogging and why” question, too, I think we’d be set!

As of last month, I have been blogging an entire year! It has gone by so fast and I am amazed at how much I love blogging. I just kind of came across book blogs accidentally and after following some of them for a few weeks, I thought I may as well start one myself!

Thanks, Stephanie!

Changes!

Posted by Anastasia on September 12, 2010 No Responses »

Sep 122010

Summer is over, and in accordance I’ve changed the blog’s look! No more bright summer colors, now it’s moody fall ones. In a new layout. And with a new header to top it all off!

So, here’s what’s new: I changed the layout. I got bored of the old one and wanted something with more color. This nifty layout has several different color options, including this brown one I’ve chosen. The sidebar is now on the right, instead of the left. I’ve added a few more things to the sidebar, including a widget listing books that are being released in the near future and another one that displays what I’ve been posting to my Twitter account. I’ve also added a smaller version of my profile picture to the intro text widget! The footer has new stuff in it because this one’s actually more useful than the old footer. The copyright notice and recent comments widgets have been moved down there. I’ve also added some new share buttons at the bottom of each post, since WordPress let me. I guess that means I can stop posting my own share button thing? And finally, I’ve rearranged the order of the pages at the top.

The header is from a picture I found on Flickr of Rogue River. Pretty nice, eh? I like how the colors look almost watercolor-like.

I really like this layout. I think I might keep it around for a while– I like how wide the sidebar is, and how useful the footer is now, and how the date is displayed on the posts. Plus, if I get bored of the colors again I can change them really easily and just switch out the header! Yay!

Contests!

Posted by Anastasia on September 10, 2010 No Responses »

Sep 102010

Bitten By Books is giving away one Kindle 3 Wifi here. US only, enter by September 12th. It’s part of Blogfest 2010, where over 200 bloggers are giving away nifty stuff! I haven’t even started looking yet, honestly, so no doubt I’ll be updating this post as I find more contests.

Keep an eye on this space?

Reviews: The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and The Kingdom Keepers

Posted by Anastasia on September 10, 2010 No Responses »

Sep 102010

*Note: Clicking on the book cover will take you to that book’s Amazon page.

178. The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Publication: Harper Paperbacks (December 7, 2004), Paperback, 400pp / ISBN 006075995X
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating:
Read: August 2010
Source: Library book sale

Review

This is one of those books that I put off reading forever because SO many people were reading it and telling me I should read it and that sort of thing really irritates me. I’m not one of those people who denies liking some previously-obscure thing because it’s now popular, but I AM one of those people who won’t read/watch/listen/etc just because it’s popular. Not unless I want to read/watch/listen/etc that something on my own initiative. You know? Maybe that sounds a little insane. Hm.

Anyway, I got a copy from a library book sale, and it’s been sitting on my shelf for about a year and a half. I suppose it’s been a sufficient amount of time since people had last told me to read it because I suddenly wanted to read it, and so I did. And okay! I sort of wasn’t expecting it to be good. (Just because something’s popular doesn’t mean it’s good, okay.) But it was! I think I almost cried at one point.

My favorite thing in it was, of course, the Ya-Ya’s. I loved every bit of the book they were in, even when they were acting insane. Sidda was less lovable and cried about EVERY OTHER PAGE, but I could understand why. I guess. To be honest, I found her sections of the book less interesting and emotionally satisfying than the Ya-Ya sections. Still, I liked how the Ya-Ya sections, where the Ya-Yas always had each other even when they were alone, contrasted with Sidda’s sections, where she’s constantly alone (or thinks she is), and how those two different experiences create a different sort of mindset in a person.

I also liked how what one person did in the past now affects the present, mostly through their offspring; but I tend to like those sorts of stories anyway. What do you call them– “you reap what you sow” stories? No necessarily depressing ones, though they do tend to be depressing, but stories that show that actions have consequences, even when those consequences show up several generations removed. I like linear things, I guess.

181. The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson
Publication: Disney Editions (April 24, 2007), Paperback, 336pp / ISBN 1423105451
Genre: MG Fantasy/Sci-fi
Rating:
Read: August 2010
Source: Bought

Review

Oh, I don’t know. I mean, it’s a book set in DISNEY WORLD in some near-future time and it’s exciting and magical and interesting and everything, but there’s something about Mr Pearson’s writing that keeps me from truly enjoying his books. Maybe it’s because his characters never seem real to me. I wouldn’t say they’re one dimensional, because I think the protagonist, Finn, DOES have dimension, and so I know Mr Pearson can do characters properly. But none of the other characters ever come to life, which is ironic in a story that’s saying the Disney characters are alive and walking around the park when no-one’s looking. Even the other kids that help Finn defeat the evil Disney characters, even Finn’s GIRLFRIEND and BEST friend don’t have any character depth. It’s like if the Power Rangers only focused on the White Ranger for every episode and never let any of the other rangers get a bit of storyline in.

The plot had some issues, too. Most of it had Finn’s mentor going “I’ll explain everything to you later” and while he DOES eventually it takes around 100 pages for him to actually do so. And then a) it doesn’t make a lot of sense and b) it doesn’t seem all that scary. Bad Disney characters will…what? Take over Disney World? Why is that bad, besides the obvious? Meanwhile, Finn and co. are floundering around saying “wtf is happening” all the time, obvious baddies are obvious, the reason for baddies doing bad stuff is “because they’re bad,” and the whole time I wished it was slightly better.

The ending was exciting, though. It almost made up for all the slow bits in the beginning of the book. And I DID like how the reason the Disney characters were coming to life was because of all the belief (from kids who visit) being poured into them, which felt very American Gods to me. Also the way the kids were part human, part hologram because…I guess because of that belief-magic mixed with some weird technology thing? It’s never really explained, but I thought it was an interesting idea.

I’ll read the next one in the series because I want to know what happens (and I already own it), but…I don’t know. It didn’t wow me.