Olive Kitteridge, Drop Dead Healthy, Steve Jobs, Fun Home and Perfection
by Jenners • 08/13/2012 • 4 Stars, 4.5 Stars, B Authors, Biography, D Titles, F Titles, Fiction, Health, Humor, I Authors, J Authors, Literary, M Authors, Memoir, Non-Fiction, O Titles, P Titles, S Authors, S Titles, Short Stories • 23 Comments
It seems you guys really liked my shorter book reviews so here are five more of them. Now I only have 27 or so reviews to write to get caught up.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Where I Got It: Paperback Swap
Genre: Fiction, Literary
My Rating: 4 stars
A Pulitzer Prize winner, this book feels more like a collection of short stories with a common thread (Olive Kitteridge) than a novel. (In fact, I suppose it is.) I found this format interesting, and I was curious to see how it would all come together. We get to know Olive in a variety of different ways and from different viewpoints. In some stories, Olive plays a central role. In others, she is a tangential player who makes a cameo appearance. I found this a surprisingly effective way to present a character, and I enjoyed this slim book immensely. My only complaint is that I often got so caught up in a particular story (not always Olive-centered) that I wanted more than Strout gave me.
Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs
Where I Got It: Bought it from Amazon
Genre: Non-Fiction, Humor, Health
My Rating: 4 stars
I’m a huge fan of A.J. Jacob’s particular brand of humorous, participative journalism. Whether he is trying to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica (The Know-It-All) or attempting to follow all the rules of the Bible (The Year of Living Biblically), Jacob’s has made a living out of treating his life like a bizarro experiment. In this book, he attempts to live healthier … even if it kills him. As readable and fun as always, the book will give you some food for thought and a few laughs. It was also surprisingly sad at times when Jacobs deals with a few deaths in the family. Although this wasn’t his best effort, it is still worth reading and I’ll continue to follow him wherever he wants to go.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Where I Got It: Bought it from Amazon
Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography
My Rating: 4.5 stars
The irony of this book is that it was purchased by Mr. Jenners (Apple devotee and Steve Jobs fan) and yet he never finished it (pooping out somewhere about 100 pages in). I, on the other hand, didn’t really know all that much about Apple and Jobs (although I enjoy Apple products) yet I found myself fascinated by the Job’s story. I think much of the appeal is that so much of the technology that influences our lives today (iPods, iPads, digital music, computers) were developed, perfected and revolutionized by Apple at Job’s behest. Learning why Apple is the way it is and why it is so wildly successful was really interesting to me, and Jobs himself is a fascinating person (albeit not someone you’d want to live or work with). He certainly left the world a better place than he found it, and I think most of us owe him a “thank you” for his vision and insistence on quality products that work they way they should. It also makes you think about the importance of design in consumer products—not something I ever gave much thought to but now think about quite frequently.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Where I Got It: Paperback Swap
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Graphic Memoir
My Rating: 4 stars
A graphic memoir, Fun Home is Alison Bechdel’s examination of her relationship with her father, which was complex, confusing and conflicted in many different ways. Her father, who was a closeted gay man who never fully acknowledged his homosexuality, was killed in an accident that Bechdel is convinced was suicide. Her brutally honest look at her childhood, her father’s complex personality, family relations and her own budding lesbianism are explored, and it felt so intimate to me that I almost felt guilty reading it—like I was poking around in someone’s diary. I applaud Bechdel for facing her issues head-on, but I wonder how her family felt about this book. (Turns out, they must be OK because Bechdel has a follow-up book dealing with her mother that recently came out.) The drawings are in black and white and are amazingly detailed. If graphic depictions of gay sex bother you, you should know there are some drawings of gay sex scattered throughout the book. Still, this is an unusual memoir in a unique format and it is worth checking out.
Perfection by Julie Metz
Where I Got It: Paperback Swap
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
My Rating: 4 stars
Imagine if your husband dropped dead in his 40s … leaving you widowed with a young daughter. Just that alone would provide fodder for a memoir. But imagine if that dead husband ended up having a secret life that ended up being revealed to you only after his death—a secret life that changes everything you thought was true about your husband and your marriage. That is what happened to Metz, and she writes about her attempts to come to terms with her husband’s death and deceit in this fascinating and compelling memoir that almost makes you look at your spouse and wonder “Are you hiding something from me?” Although I suspect that some people will disagree with some of the ways Metz dealt with things, I just wish her well and admire her grace and strength in what must have been a hellish and confusing time.
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I’ve heard so many things about Fun Home… I really need to read the graphic novels I hve though. I tend to put them off for “regular” books but really want to read them!!
I have been meaning to read an A.J Jacobs boon forever too. They sound hilarious.
Make time for A.J. Jacobs. He is a hoot! And I know what you mean about graphic novels. You can read them so fast and I don’t take them as “seriously” as regular books.
Oh that would be so strange to find out all of these secrets about your spouse after they passed away- cant even imagine what that would be like. Might have to read that one
I know!! It was amazing how much he managed to hide from her.
I read Olive a while back and I didn’t mind it but I didn’t love it either. I think it might have been a better read for me if it had been in novel form instead of the short stories. I wouldn’t mind reading Perfection. I’ve seen that one a few times and thought it sounded like something I would like.
Great short reviews! Your review of Olive Kitteredge has made me move it up my TBR list!
Olive Kitteredge is on my TBR list already. You do make it sound good. I think I would like the one about Steve Jobs and Perfections sounds very interesting.
My dad wanted to read the Steve Jobs book but passed away before getting to it. Now it makes me sad…..maybe one day I will get to it…..
Out of all of those the memoir “Perfection” appeals to me the most. I think all of have probably wondered what we’d do in either of those situations (spouse’s death or deception) but having them both happen would be overwhelming to say the least.
As always great reviews, it’s amazing how much you manage to convey in relatively few words.
I really enjoyed Olive Kittredge. I still haven’t picked up anything by Jacobs but I think I would like it.
One of the things I liked best about Olive Kitteridge is that she was sometimes unlikeable.
I found the Jobs books fascinating, although, yeah, I could never live or work for someone like that. What an ass!
A lot of good reading and reviews here! I’m sure I’d find the Jobs biography fascinating in many ways.
I quite liked Olive Kitteridge, but didn’t love it. It did make for an interesting format though and I liked how Olive was in each story, giving the stories a solid connection
Perfection was a jaw dropping book for me when I read it, and I am glad that you agree that it was wonderful. I have the Jobs book on audio, and curiously enough, my husband, the huge Apple man, only got about halfway through it as well! I need to give it a listen soon. I have a few of the others that you mentioned on my shelves, and will be hoping to read them soon. You do a great job with mini-reviews, Jenners!
I think Are you hiding something sounds good. I haven’t read the Steve Jobs book either. Good reviews.
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Carl started the Steve Jobs book and never finished it either – what is it with men? I really want to read Drop Dead Healthy.
I enjoyed what I read of the Jobs book – got about half way through….
That Metz book sounds interesting.
Did you read Jacobs living biblically? Just wondering what you thought.
I’ve read the first 3 from this list and liked Steve Jobs book the best. I do like Olive K as well. These short reviews work well:)
I was not a huge fan of Olive, which I guess I should have expected since prize winners are normally lost on me. I really loved Fun Home a lot, but I didn’t like her follow up much at all (review is coming). And I have Jobs and Jacobs loaded on the iPod so hopefully someday before I die I will listen to them!