Category: Goodreads Reviews

author: Randall Robinson
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2010/03/09
date added: 2010/03/10
shelves: autobiography, biography, history, non-fiction, politics
review:
This was not the book I was hoping for — I think I was looking for more of an overview of Haitian history, and this was almost exclusively about the 2006 coup against Aristide. And unfortunately, I couldn’t even get into that aspect. The narrative style is roundabout and discursive, cutting back and forth over time, which made it hard to get a good sense of what was happening when.

Additionally, there’s only so much "Americans are racist thugs" that I can handle being lectured about. Not that he was wrong in the particulars, of course, but the repetitiveness started to get on my nerves.

Between the lecturing and the confusing narrative, I couldn’t finish it. There are a few bits and pieces that were intriguing, but mostly that makes me want to seek out another book on Haitian history.

author: Randall Robinson
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2010/03/09
date added: 2010/03/10
shelves: autobiography, biography, history, non-fiction, politics
review:
This was not the book I was hoping for — I think I was looking for more of an overview of Haitian history, and this was almost exclusively about the 2006 coup against Aristide. And unfortunately, I couldn’t even get into that aspect. The narrative style is roundabout and discursive, cutting back and forth over time, which made it hard to get a good sense of what was happening when.

Additionally, there’s only so much "Americans are racist thugs" that I can handle being lectured about. Not that he was wrong in the particulars, of course, but the repetitiveness started to get on my nerves.

Between the lecturing and the confusing narrative, I couldn’t finish it. There are a few bits and pieces that were intriguing, but mostly that makes me want to seek out another book on Haitian history.

author: A.M. Dellamonica
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2010/02/10
date added: 2010/02/17
shelves: fantasy, fiction
review:
It took me a while to get into this one, because the initial narrative is so jumbled — and on purpose. But the writing is gorgeous and the concept of the world is complex and consistent, so it won me over. Of the two narrators, the male voice is less distinctive, maybe less realistic, but not jarringly so. If I could’ve gotten my bearings a little quicker, I’d give it 4 stars. (Looking forward to the sequel.)

author: A.M. Dellamonica
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2010/02/10
date added: 2010/02/17
shelves: fantasy, fiction
review:
It took me a while to get into this one, because the initial narrative is so jumbled — and on purpose. But the writing is gorgeous and the concept of the world is complex and consistent, so it won me over. Of the two narrators, the male voice is less distinctive, maybe less realistic, but not jarringly so. If I could’ve gotten my bearings a little quicker, I’d give it 4 stars. (Looking forward to the sequel.)

author: Seamus Cooper
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2010/02/10
date added: 2010/02/17
shelves: fantasy, fiction, horror
review:
Not particularly deep, but entertaining. The ending is somewhat trite, alas.

author: Seamus Cooper
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.23
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2010/02/10
date added: 2010/02/17
shelves: fantasy, fiction, horror
review:
Not particularly deep, but entertaining. The ending is somewhat trite, alas.

author: Richard Dawkins
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2010/02/04
date added: 2010/02/17
shelves: history, non-fiction, science
review:
When he stuck to science, it was fantastic. I loved the examples, lots of interesting clear explanations.

BUT…the asides & much of the commentary were either incomprehensible (upper-crust English culture?) or aggressively snarky. There’s a tone of looking down the nose that is off-putting, even for someone who agrees with the whole damn thing. I think someone on the fence would be turned off by the tone and so unlikely to absorb a lot of the message.

author: Richard Dawkins
name: Elaine
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2010/02/04
date added: 2010/02/17
shelves: history, non-fiction, science
review:
When he stuck to science, it was fantastic. I loved the examples, lots of interesting clear explanations.

BUT…the asides & much of the commentary were either incomprehensible (upper-crust English culture?) or aggressively snarky. There’s a tone of looking down the nose that is off-putting, even for someone who agrees with the whole damn thing. I think someone on the fence would be turned off by the tone and so unlikely to absorb a lot of the message.

author: Stephen Hunt
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2010/01/28
date added: 2010/02/03
shelves: fantasy, fiction, sci-fi
review:
I’d like to give this one 3.5 stars, if that were possible. Great writing, vivid description, strange weird settings and characters, plus an ending that left me thinking for a long time. (What is a perfect society? Can its principles (or stuff) be "borrowed" by another society?)

On the other hand, I found myself very often wishing I could remember more of Hunt’s previous book; lots of little details that I think would have been more powerful if I could remember them, and that seems like a weakness of the book. Definitely not quite a standalone.

Still, totally worth reading!

author: James McCommons
name: Elaine
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2010/01/28
date added: 2010/02/03
shelves: environmentalism, history, non-fiction, politics, technology, urban-studies
review:
Excellent overview of the state of passenger rail in the US. Illuminated lots of things about how the system works: the relationship between Amtrak & the freight companies, the role of state departments of transportation, how the heck Amtrak even came to be. Yes, we have a pathetic system (if you can call it that), but there are some signs of hope.

Also, and I did not know this: in most cases ownership and use rights of Rail-to-Trail trails remains with the freight railroads that once used them, or to the companies that bought them up. In theory, a company could simply decide to rebuild and start running trains in those places without even needing permits or hearings! Crazy, if unlikely to happen.