Archive for July, 2009

Charming. Enjoyable. Darling. Quaint. Manipulative? Trite?

Though the ultimate outcome of the book is obvious from a mile away, there are some pops and blasts in the middle of the story that did make me catch my breath. Guernsey’s captivating and mysterious idiosyncrasies are used to good effect as a foil to contrast with the mind-blasting violence of the war. Cue some horrifying scenes in German concentration camps and bombing raids in London. There’s nothing new here, but it’s still a bit of a shake-up.

Subsumed in last week’s flurry of dumb health crap was a hidden gem: the weekend right before my surprise colonoscopy was marked by another victory in my steps toward being a comfortable flyer. A sudden opportunity presented itself on Friday–tickets to the Seattle Sounders/Chelsea FC game that Christie had–so I immediately bought an early-morning commuter [...]

In Which I go to Iceland When I think of yesterday morning in the manila-yellowed basement of the Portland Clinic, I keep thinking comedy of errors, comedy of errors over and over again, but don’t worry, in the end, it was a benevolent Keystone Kops kind of thing, not a they-took-out-the-wrong-kidney kind of deal. I [...]

Maybe it is because Wroblewski appropriated a storyline that is so robust that it cannot fail, or maybe it is that he is gifted: whatever it is, this novel is mercilessly compelling. It had me in its clenches to the last page, though its denouement was not brief. It was ceaselessly interesting. Things kept happening. But Wroblewski is more than a plot man–there were passages of enviable beauty (that is, I wish I could write like that).

“Pretty sure “surprise colonoscopy” is the worst way ever to begin a week.” — Aileen Jeffries, my Facebook wall Via a spectacular collapse in communication management (theirs, not mine), I have come to a situation wherein I didn’t know that I was less than 24 hours away from being knocked out and probed with cameras [...]

Jim’s comment on my last post reminded me of something I haven’t covered here–and I like to cover the crap out of things. That is, what I eat and drink. And the whole interaction with my little Crohn’s problem. We’ll start here. Curiously and counter-intuitively, there has not ever been any direct or observable correlation [...]

There is something like a coup in my insides, pouncing only when unexpected and I have blearily wiped it from my recollection; only when I am blithe and reporting “I feel fine now, it’s gone now” does everything in my geographical center suddenly grind to a halt and then there is squeezing almost like my [...]

Here’s a book that has infiltrated popular culture to a certain extent for over 150 years. I’ve seen derivative movies, ridden themed amusement rides, shouted ‘All for one…!’ during heated moments. But I’d never read the book itself.

Sure, I can check it off of my ‘well read’ list now. But the experience, though entertaining for the most part, left me wondering exactly what the big deal is about this novel.

In my previous post, I talked about some online resources that I used when working on overcoming my fear of flying. This post looks at some of the books and audiobooks I read, as well as some I saw reference to (but didn’t read). Flying without Fear by Duane Brown This book, brought to you [...]