Review: First Person Singular: Stories

First Person Singular: Stories by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was just another strange Murakami book. Like most of the others I’ve read, you really inhabit the narrator’s head. The narrator gets some odd stuff thrown his way, and he always responds as if it wasn’t odd, or if it was odd, it was a normal kind of odd. You get the reasoning, which seems to always be told in a comforting way. I have wondered if it was just the way the author writes or if it had something to do with the translation into English. The feeling is always the same. Enjoyable if you like others by the author. I did.

View all my reviews

Review: Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan

Last Act: The Final Years and Emerging Legacy of Ronald Reagan by Craig Shirley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While “The Last Act” is purportedly about Ronald Reagan after he left the presidency, you get a lot on his life, especially during the presidency, and a lot on the funerals. This was written by a Reagan fan, and from a fan’s perspective. You read a lot of bits decrying poor and biased reporting against the president, putting him in bad light. I wasn’t expecting this when I started. Not that it’s a bad thing once you understand where the author is coming from. With Reagan as the subject, you will get plenty of stories and pithy remarks, and you get those reported here. There isn’t as much on Reagan’s years in isolation while slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s disease. It’s kind of what you’d expect. The author really does a good job describing the details behind planning for the various funerals and lying in state after Reagan’s death.

View all my reviews

Review: The Tale Teller: A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel: The Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novels, book 5

The Tale Teller: A Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novel: The Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito Novels, book 5 by Anne Hillerman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another entertaining little bundle of mysteries on the reservation. Here, Hillerman has her three main characters involved in cases that end up being related. This kind of thing has a tendency to happen in her stories… Most interesting to me was Joe Leaphorn’s case involving what appears to be a priceless heirloom of the Native American past, a donation to a museum, that goes missing in transit. Here Joe investigates the way he used to investigate police cases, but you also see the personal side, where he is dealing with medical problems and relationship issues. In fact, relationships are more a part of this and the last few Hillerman stories than in previous ones. Perhaps Anne is adding her fingerprints to the series in this way. Again, I read this as a digression from other kinds of books, and, even though the plot was a bit convoluted, it was a good diversion. Looking forward to the next one.

View all my reviews

Review: Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor

Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor by John C. Bogle
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you've read any of Bogle's other, shorter books on mutual funds, and you have an interest in the markets and some history investing, you probably already know what this book is about. I'd say this is about the same as Bogle's other books, but more so. More pages, more details, and more, albeit similar pronouncements. Here he explains stock mutual fund investing, but also bond mutual funds and money markets. I listened to this on audio, free from the jarring charts and tables that must have filled many a page in the paper version of the book. Did I miss those reference items? Yes, the audio version was more difficult to follow without referencing those items. Keep that in mind. I suspect I'd rate this higher were those reference items been described in the audio version.

View all my reviews

Review: The Gifts of Imperfection

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Having read a large number of similar books over the years, I find that the lessons provided rarely strike me as something new. What is memorable about these books, at least the ones that aren’t big on sharing research, is the personality of the author and their stories. Here Brown shines as a big personality not afraid of making big pronouncements. And for a book like this, that is a good thing. Probably not enough, but good as it makes it easy to read through all the lessons presented.

View all my reviews

Review: Radiant Shimmering Light

Radiant Shimmering Light by Sarah Selecky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I listened to the audiobook version, and maybe that was a mistake. The main character speaks in what I would term something like “modern self-help babble” mixed with social media speak. It’s the kind of talk I’ve heard some friends of friends regress into, a mood of “what I do is so obvious” but in an unintentionally droll yet overbearing manner. It’s not fun to listen to this character’s thoughts. I took this as a satire of this kind of person, who levels-up in self help at the end of the book, without giving the reader enough definitive examples of growth. It was fun, in its way, though annoying and sad on reflection. I’d try the author again.

View all my reviews

Review: A Private Cathedral

A Private Cathedral by James Lee Burke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have read all but one of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux novels, and I still find that I enjoy the writing. His description of the swamps and bayous and bars and fishing boats and mansions are like Westerns, where place becomes as important as characters. Characters are where Burke is wearing out his welcome, though. Or more plot. The last more than half dozen Robicheaux books have a killer with what seems to be supernatural powers that tend to show up about halfway into the story and disappear before the finale. This killer is usually not the focus of the book, but at times you feel like you’ve wandered into a bayou version of the old TV show “The Night Stalker”. Burke’s bad guys are usually rich and connected. And almost every one of his plots involve musicians or actors. This book followed his formula. And I’m hoping it’s out of Burke’s system. I can't bring myself to say this was just OK, so I'll give it 3 stars based on the descriptive writing and the narration of the audiobook by the always awesome Will Patton.

View all my reviews