Review: Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches

Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches by John Hodgman
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Hodgman writes of his life on the Eastern seaboard, living in older houses in somewhat rural areas of Massachusetts and Maine. At times funny, droll, bleak, boyish, self-deprecating, and self-congratulating, you can sense the person behind the PC in those commercials, as well as staring in or guesting on a podcast, has this personality that is well-exposed here. I enjoyed the humor, but the many knowing wink-winks he adds made it more difficult for me to enjoy – like a guest who overstayed his welcome. He also told quite a few stories revolving around garbage and the dump and mouse droppings that, while funny to a point, ended up leaning toward the disgusting and awkward. I can see Hodgman writing a truly classic book at some point, and some bits here are golden, but this was overall a good, not great effort.

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Review: Holidays on Ice

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’ve read quite a few of David Sedaris’ more recent books, and realized that I had missed this one. Feeling in the holiday spirit, I picked up the audio. Sedaris seems changed. His stories are still a mix of outrageous, funny bits with cringeworthy episodes, the kind of humor that leaves me smiling with occasional guffaws. (That sounds a bit more like a weather forecast than I intended.) But his newer stuff is more personal, seems honed on real life situations, and is more wistful than this. Overall, this was quite fun, but if this is your first Sedaris, don’t stop here. I liked most of the stories here, the department store elf story that leads off the collection, “SantaLand Diaries”, was a narrow favorite.

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Review: The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In some of the reviews I read of “The Pioneers” before I began listening to the audiobook, I got a sense that the book told too many stories of too many early settlers, and this concerned me. I don’t do well with books with huge casts that you had to keep track of. My worries were for naught – I enjoyed this story of the early settlers of Ohio and of the Ohio country and statehood. Being from Illinois and interested in early settler history, this felt very similar to reading about my area and the people that settled there. McCullough follows the stories of a few influential people involved in initial settlement, starting with a preacher/scientist who worked with congress to enable the initial “deal” creating the Ohio Company. McCullough then describes the travails of the initial group of settlers, including many Revolutionary War veterans, as well as leaders from subsequent waves of settlers. Mixed into the narrative are plenty of interesting stories, including a mention of Lafayette’s visit and salute to the old soldiers of freedom, and of Aaron Burr’s visit with the rich Blennerhassett family on their private island in the Ohio River to plot the overthrow of Mexico. I found the book held my interest throughout – McCullough found some great stories in this area and time and drew out the historical significance of events here.

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Review: The Convict and Other Stories

The Convict and Other Stories by James Lee Burke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Having listened to most of Burke’s mystery novel audiobooks, I didn’t know whether to expect short versions of his mysteries or something else. You get something else here, a collection of very readable short stories, many touching on the same themes Burke hits in his mysteries, especially his Dave Robicheaux stories set in New Iberia parish in Louisiana. I always said Burke knows how to write an atmospheric scene that drips humidity like bayou bald cypress trees in August, and he shows some of his writing expertise here. But there are also things missing in comparison to his novels. That’s not necessarily bad. Burke tends to write long, angsty, and over-literary inner monologues for his characters, and you don’t get as much of that in these short stories. I missed them. Burke also tends to repeat plot elements in his novels, but in these short stories he’s further afield than I am used to – there’s even a story about baseball here. (I’m currently reading Burke’s “The New Iberia Blues”, and it focuses around Hollywood filmmakers filming in rural Louisiana. I believe that means that more than 10% of his dozens of mystery novels revolve around this same theme – movie making in New Iberia. I suspect the Louisiana Film Board is way more successful in Burke’s novels than in real life! These stories must have preceded that plot theme.) Another interesting difference was the narrators of the audiobooks. Most of Burke’s unabridged audiobooks are narrated by Will Patton, and he has a way of amplifying Burke’s atmospheric descriptions. I would go out of my way to listen to Patton. Here, different narrators read each story. For this kind of collection, that worked fine. The variety helped separate the stories and keep my interest up. Overall, I liked these stories. They provided a taste of the writing of Burke without the deep investment required of his novels – kind of like a tourist version.

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Review: I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life

I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life by Brad Formsma
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to admit that this was one of my guilty pleasures – reading touching stories about people that give to others and how those donations were received, especially right before the Christmas season and the overwhelm of Hallmark Christmas movies. There were a lot of personal stories here. Most were the touching, positive stories you’d expect, though the author included some stories that showed some of the issues involved in giving and receiving charity. Also of interest was the author’s personal story, building a business, then moving on to lead a non-profit. While I enjoyed many of the stories, I find on reflection, a week after reading, that I don’t recall any particulars beyond the author’s own stories. So for me, this was good for a relaxing and involving read, but more to set a mood than to provide guidance or examples.

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Review: Love the Home You Have: Simple Ways to…Embrace Your Style *Get Organized *Delight in Where You Are

Love the Home You Have: Simple Ways to…Embrace Your Style *Get Organized *Delight in Where You Are by Melissa Michaels
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So the author is a pastor’s wife. This book is about a pastor’s wife making an inviting home. It was interesting in the secret spectator way watching home shows is – you get an idea of how someone who highly values making the home inviting to visitors and livable for her family makes things come together. There were recommendations to declutter, no kidding, but not so much on organizing. This wasn’t your typical home organization book. I didn’t see much in her recommendations that I hadn’t seen previously, so this wasn’t as much of idea book as I expected. Instead, the parts I really enjoyed were her stories about buying new houses and decorating on a pastor’s budget, which was quite minimal. The author describes moving houses a number of times in her life, and how she made the best of her and her husbands house dreams given that tiny budget, including one “money pit” that had charm, and a ballroom, but also racoons and vermin in the kitchen. That made the book for me.

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Review: Hombre

Hombre by Elmore Leonard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A fine story. I’ve read quite a few older Westerns recently, including a few Zane Grey’s. The first thing I thought of when I finished this short book was that it sounded so much different than Grey’s century-old prose. This was much tighter, with a knowing narrator. It felt modern and to me, an easier read. At times, Grey felt like he was paid by the word (and he likely was), but here you get appropriate levels of description and mood setting. I will be looking for more Leonard audiobook Westerns.

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