perfect_leaves's reviews
452 reviews

Approaching the Qur'an started off strong with a brief overview of Islamic history and Belief, then provided a glossary of common Islamic concepts mentioned in the Qur'an. Sells's translations were the most interesting part of the book; they were clear and poetic. He followed each translated section by a page or so of commentary. After the translations, though, the books became a bit redundant. Sells went over the same passages again, this time looking at them from the perspective of sound. For someone who doesn't speech much Arabic, the analysis of sound patterns may be a bit dry, but I found the commentary interesting none the less. When I got towards the end of the book I started skimming because the information was so repetitive. I recommend the first half of the book, not so much the second half.

This book was clear and to the point. A quick read filled with excellent pointers, many of which I will keep in mind while creating a post-graduation plan. I found that some of the information boiled down to common sense, but I've learned over my years that common sense is often not so common. I didn't appreciate how frequently Palmer repeated himself. He kept using the phrase, "I mention [x thing] earlier, but it's worth repeating." If everything is worth repeating, then nothing is worth repeating, in a sense. One of the appendixes is essentially a condensed repeat of some of the chapters, but it's great for reinforcement. I'd recommend Now What, Grad? as a guide, but not a an end-all, be-all.

Review excepted from the longer version on my blog:

I was hoping to be able to add another book to my “books about China written by Chinese people” list. Unfortunately, this book was a complete dud. I’m a little leery of speaking about the use of language in Good Children of the Flower because I recognize that I read it in translation [but] I find it extremely hard to believe that such a critically-acclaimed author would turn out such underwhelming prose and overwrought narrative structure. I don't know whether to give her the benefit of the doubt and say the translators ruined the novel or to assume the translators did their best with what was a sub-par piece of writing.

I won’t comment on the actual plot of the novel other than to say the pacing was painfully slow. I fought my instinct to put the book in hopes that my efforts would be rewarded. I was sorely disappointed. Frankly, the story could have been told start-to-finish in about 100 pages. I gather from the novel that Hong Ying wanted to pay tribute to her late mother by highlighting both the suffering her mother endured during the political tumult of the 1900s and the sacrifices she made in an attempt to keep her family alive and together. Without the unnecessary detours into Hong Ying’s life, (every now and then it seems like she is bragging about her numerous awards and ruminating upon the place of marriage in her life, though neither subject holds any importance in the grand scheme of the novel) Good Children of the Flower would be a pretty decent illustration of some of the horrors common people faced during the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward. I found myself cringing and on the verge of tears when I read what her mother went through. While some would argue that my mild emotional involvement is a testament to good writing, in this case the tears came because I was disgusted that one human being could be so cruel to another human being, not because the writing was particularly good.

I most likely won’t be reading Good Children of the Flower again, and I certainly won’t recommend it to anyone else. Reading it was such a chore and the end result so poor that I’m glad I received the book for free from NetGalley in exchange for a review. I would be quite upset if I’d wasted my money.

I received a free ARC copy of this book via NetGalley, without realizing the book had been published years ago.

I'd pretty much only recommend this book to someone who already has interest in the topic, though it has the capacity to pique someone's interest.

The first sentence of the introduction of Food, Genes, Culture: Eating Right for your Origins was nauseating. In fact, the entire premise detracted from what would have otherwise been a good book. Gary Nabhan intimated that the reader would be taken on a "culinary journey." While I understand the purpose of the cliché-- if we're talking about culture, it only makes sense to travel from place to place-- I was expecting a little more creativity on Nabhan's part. Food, Genes, Culture, while peppered with facts and interesting information, is for the most part extremely anecdotal. Delivering scientific information to the general public is challenging; the writing has to be engaging enough to keep us interested and simple enough that we understand. As someone with no medical qualifications no nutrition knowledge beyond the books I've read and documentaries I've seen, I can neither confirm nor deny anything Nabhan wrote, but I will comment that the book was easy to follow. The writing wasn't spectacular, but I don't suppose it needs to be.

If you're looking for definitive answers about what lies withing your own genes, this isn't the book for you. Besides the fact that human genealogy is complex and would require many volumes to explore in detail, Nabhan's research (and the research of his colleagues) proves that there's no real simple answer to genetic and nutritional issues. Nabhan does, however, prevent quite a few leads for people who are of Native American, Native Hawaiian, and Australian Aboriginal descent. For the rest of us, perhaps the information and diets presents are worth looking into, but there's no guarantee that we will see the same results as these ancient populations.

I'm glad I waited a few days to write this review; if I had written it immediately after I finished reading, I probably would have given it a much more glowing review. TRF is a book that hits you hard immediately after you've read it, then it slowly fades from your consciousness. The plot was pretty solid, but the word choice was mediocre at best. I do, however, appreciate Hamid's rather clever play on the word "fundamentalist."

Despite our similarities, I simply couldn't connect with Changez. We have a lot in common: we're both outsiders in our respective worlds, and we are doing are best to succeed while simultaneously flying under the radar. Changez, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, bothered me. He wanted Erica, though he couldn't have her. He claimed to understand her reasons for needing to be alone, but to me, the reader, he didn't seem to understand anything at all. It was as if he wanted pity or understanding from the listener about his conflict of interests and his somewhat confused identity, but I felt nothing for him.

TRF is a decent book, but I'd only recommend it for a first read. It's not something I'd reread.

I received and ARC copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Gist: Something about this book is bloody brilliant, but I can't exactly tell what it is. I liked it but I also hated it.

I actually rated the book at 3.5 based on my parameters, but Goodreads doesn't allow half stars so I rounded up. I'm issuing a tepid recommendation of South China Morning Blues.

To be honest, I was a bit confused by this book, and within 30 pages (the number of pages I commit to before deciding to give up on a book) I was ready to quit. As someone who has lived in Shanghai for a few years and who has grown quite fond of China and Chinese culture, the complaints about and blatant disrespect towards China and its people really turned me off. To make matters worse, this book is drenched in descriptions of sexual activities, which is the last thing I wanted to read just after Ramadan, and is something I try to avoid in general. Because I agreed to read and review the novel, I pressed on.

South China Morning Blues is actually three separate books, with separate plots and characters that don't mix until the third book (actually, there may have been some mixing partway through the second book). At times I had a hard time keeping track of the characters and figuring out their relationships with one another. In this respect, those who can't read Chinese would benefit from keeping the Dramatis Personae on hand. Bookmark the page and keep returning to it if you have too. Even with the ability to remember who was whom based on the Chinese, I still got lost from time to time.

Despite the difficulty of creating and developing 12 different characters, Hecht manages the task fairly well. Hecht doesn't attempt to create twelve fully-fledged characters. Rather, he allows secondary personalities to be involved on the story while heavily leaning on the main actors. He doesn't arbitrarily focus on characters. Instead, he develops the lesser characters only as instruments to further the plot of the novel.

Throughout the novel there are a few instances of forced symbolism (I won't include them here so as to avoid turning people's subconsciouses towards them), and I was a little irritated by the stereotypical characters. I must admit, though, that part of my irritation stemmed from being well acquainted with the stereotypes presented: alcoholic writers, unqualified stoner English teachers, and lewd business men. The gratuitous sex scenes definitely hindered the novel. For the most part, the plot could have been advanced without them.

While I'm not in love with the book, it was a good, light read. I was surprised by a few of the events in the novel; towards the end I felt sorry for some of the characters I initially hated. Eliciting such a reaction shows craftiness on Hecht's part, and it is one of the reason I gave the book such a high rating. South China Morning Blues is a novel I might read again some time in the distant future, but it's not something I'd keep on my favorites shelf.

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley.

I'm posting this review several months after having read the book, so I've forgotten the specifics, but I do remember why I felt so strongly about it.

When I picked up The Joy of Argument, I thought I'd be reading something that both illustrated the benefits of excellent argument and laid out a road map for winning debates. While The Joy of Argument does meet the latter expectation, Albert Navarra's writing is so insultingly facile that I did not enjoy the book at all. Besides that, most of the tips and hints he discusses are common sense: be an engaged listener, have information on hand about what you're arguing, don't be fooled by your opponents appearance. For those who have absolutely no debate experience, this book might provide helpful insight, but for those who have been arguing for years, The Joy of Argument is a waste of time.