chgarland
The Seattle Public Library
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Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible ThingFriends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, BookA Memoir
by Perry, MatthewBook - 2022Book, 2022
chgarland's rating:
Added Jan 09, 2023
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible ThingFriends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, eBookA Memoir
by Perry, MattheweBook - 2022eBook, 2022
All copies in use
Holds: 28 on 3 copies
Holds: 28 on 3 copies
chgarland's rating:
Added Jan 08, 2023
How to Eradicate Invasive PlantsHow to Eradicate Invasive Plants, Book
by Chace, Teri DunnBook - 2013Book, 2013
chgarland's rating:
Added Apr 09, 2015
Love WinsLove Wins, BookA Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived
by Bell, RobBook - 2011Book, 2011
chgarland's rating:
Added Mar 22, 2015
Comment:
This is not a good book. I found it nearly impossible to figure out the author's point because the layout and writing are so extremely awful.
First, the book is printed in a sans-serif font which is never ever easy on the eyes. The paragraphing makes no sense at all. Just when you think someone made the stylistic choice to begin each sentence on a new line, you find a paragraph where this isn't true at all. Sometimes, you find this bit of formatting idiocy:
Will everybody be saved,
or will some perish apart from God forever because of their choices?
Yes, that line break after "saved," is in there.
And as to an answer to that question, "Will everybody be saved...?" who the hell knows? It's impossible to tell because the author has chosen, in the name of not alienating anyone, not to give a clear answer.
Almost every paragraph - I use the term loosely - begins with a conjunction which is so irritating that I swear I will never do it again, even in the most casual email. The writing is shot through with sentence fragments which makes the reading jumpy and painful.
Here's another little bit of fluff I came upon: "...God announces 'I am making everything new.' At the end, something new. The last word, it turns out, isn't a last word but a first word. Or more precisely, another first word in an endless succession of first words. That's what God's love does: it speaks new words into the world and into us."
As near as I can tell, the author doesn't want God to have any standards at all and so everything is always going to be new (remember: the earth was perfect when it was new) and no one has to worry about doing anything wrong because, NEW!
The crap never stops: "Now back to that original question: 'Does God get what God wants?' is a good question, an interesting question, an important question that gives us much to discuss." Then get freaking busy and discuss it, please, because saying it's "interesting" and "important" and "good" isn't getting anyone anywhere, except your printer's purveyor of ink.
The author asserts that these things are present in creation: grace, peace, love, acceptance, healing, forgiveness. The author fails to find need for confession, penance, right behavior, acknowledgement of sickness, and repentance. In short, what he wants to bestow on everyone is Bonhoeffer's cheap grace: "Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."
The author eventually gets around to telling us what he thinks we want to hear: we humans get what we want. He tries to turn it around and say that if we want bad stuff, we will get bad stuff. It's starting to sound an awful lot like "The Secret."This is not a good book. I found it nearly impossible to figure out the author's point because the layout and writing are so extremely awful.
First, the book is printed in a sans-serif font which is never ever easy on the eyes. The…
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping LoonCrouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, Book
by Andrews, DonnaBook - 2003Book, 2003
chgarland's rating:
Added Mar 11, 2015
Comment:
An entirely pleasant mystery, a very quick read. I will definitely read more in this series.
chgarland's rating:
Added Mar 09, 2015
Comment:
A joint review of "The Global War on Morris" by Steve Israel and "The Narcissist Next Door" by Jeffrey Kluger.
Steve Israel is a Democrat. Jeffrey Kluger is a Democrat. Know how I can tell? It's ruined the eyesight of both men.
Israel wrote a novel that had the potential to be funny although, really, part of funny is making fun of people and you can't do that if you're a lefty because it will make you a something-ist before you can say spit. Too bad Israel hates Dick Cheney with a burning and fiery passion and apparently doesn't realize Cheney has been out of office for six years, because Dick Cheney turned Steve Israel into a crank. Or rather Israel's hatred of Cheney ruined what should have been an entertaining book.
Then we have Kluger. Kluger's book starts off explaining what a narcissist is by giving some examples. He starts off with Donald Trump. OK, Trump has been known to behave narcissistically. Does he meet the criteria in the DSM for Narcissistic Personality Disorder? I have no idea.
But Kluger's second example of a narcissist is Ted Cruz because of Cruz's filibuster. And Kluger's third example is a congressman, a Republican because Kluger said he voted "for " the government shutdown and horror of horrors, kept 800,000 government workers from going to work, not that anyone noticed. Anyway, the problem with this congresscritter was that he was of the opinion that no respect was being shown to his side of the aisle and that makes him a diagnosable narcissist.
What makes Kluger's notions so unbearably stupid is, sitting in the Oval Office since 2009 we have had the worst case of narcissistic personality disorder that high office has ever seen, and that includes Woodrow Wilson who was very nearly convinced of his own godhood. But somehow Kluger can only find Republican examples of narcissism, just as the bad guys in Israel's book are Republicans because, of course, no Democrat ever voted to go to war in 2003.
Seriously, if a lefty is going to try to be entertaining or try to impart knowledge, just give it up now because apparently, you all aren't capable of thinking past your prejudices and you just end up wasting everyone's time.
Both books have gone on my "Started and never to be finished" list.A joint review of "The Global War on Morris" by Steve Israel and "The Narcissist Next Door" by Jeffrey Kluger.
Steve Israel is a Democrat. Jeffrey Kluger is a Democrat. Know how I can tell? It's ruined the eyesight of both men.
Israel wrote…
The Narcissist Next DoorThe Narcissist Next Door, BookUnderstanding the Monster in your Family, in your Office, in your Bed--in your World
by Kluger, JeffreyBook - 2014Book, 2014
chgarland's rating:
Added Mar 09, 2015
Comment:
A joint review of "The Global War on Morris" by Steve Israel and "The Narcissist Next Door" by Jeffrey Kluger.
Steve Israel is a Democrat. Jeffrey Kluger is a Democrat. Know how I can tell? It's ruined the eyesight of both men.
Israel wrote a novel that had the potential to be funny although, really, part of funny is making fun of people and you can't do that if you're a lefty because it will make you a something-ist before you can say spit. Too bad Israel hates Dick Cheney with a burning and fiery passion and apparently doesn't realize Cheney has been out of office for six years, because Dick Cheney turned Steve Israel into a crank. Or rather Israel's hatred of Cheney ruined what should have been an entertaining book.
Then we have Kluger. Kluger's book starts off explaining what a narcissist is by giving some examples. He starts off with Donald Trump. OK, Trump has been known to behave narcissistically. Does he meet the criteria in the DSM for Narcissistic Personality Disorder? I have no idea.
But Kluger's second example of a narcissist is Ted Cruz because of Cruz's filibuster. And Kluger's third example is a congressman, a Republican because Kluger said he voted "for " the government shutdown and horror of horrors, kept 800,000 government workers from going to work, not that anyone noticed. Anyway, the problem with this congresscritter was that he was of the opinion that no respect was being shown to his side of the aisle and that makes him a diagnosable narcissist.
What makes Kluger's notions so unbearably stupid is, sitting in the Oval Office since 2009 we have had the worst case of narcissistic personality disorder that high office has ever seen, and that includes Woodrow Wilson who was very nearly convinced of his own godhood. But somehow Kluger can only find Republican examples of narcissism, just as the bad guys in Israel's book are Republicans because, of course, no Democrat ever voted to go to war in 2003.
Seriously, if a lefty is going to try to be entertaining or try to impart knowledge, just give it up now because apparently, you all aren't capable of thinking past your prejudices and you just end up wasting everyone's time.
Both books have gone on my "Started and never to be finished" list.A joint review of "The Global War on Morris" by Steve Israel and "The Narcissist Next Door" by Jeffrey Kluger.
Steve Israel is a Democrat. Jeffrey Kluger is a Democrat. Know how I can tell? It's ruined the eyesight of both men.
Israel wrote a…
Not That Kind of GirlNot That Kind of Girl, BookA Young Woman Tells You What She's "learned"
by Dunham, LenaBook - 2014Book, 2014
chgarland's rating:
Added Feb 14, 2015
Comment:
This is an awful book, full of pretense and self-importance. Lena Dunham can't write, can't tell a story coherently, is an entirely creepy individual with no boundaries at all, and really ought to keep to herself. Or perhaps she should be institutionalized. But she definitely should not write books nor should any sane person publish them.
I know she is a media darling for being so transgressive or something, whatever that means, and I have no opinion of her TV show as I have never seen it. I can, however, say that, having read this book, odds are I would find her TV show, best case, completely uninteresting or, worst case, completely appalling..This is an awful book, full of pretense and self-importance. Lena Dunham can't write, can't tell a story coherently, is an entirely creepy individual with no boundaries at all, and really ought to keep to herself. Or perhaps she should be…
chgarland's rating:
Added Feb 02, 2015
Comment:
This was a very fast read, and I liked the main character however, in spite of never going to the gym that I could see, he is still able to beat the crap out of people, breaking arms and decking men at will. So that was a bit unbelievable. The plot was good - I did not see the ending coming in spite of having all my antennae up (because my sister who recommended this told me she didn't see it coming either). The back-up characters - well, it's hard to say when a book is the first of a series. Is the other lawyer there for a future love interest, or is she there to be a lawyer? Is the brother there to constantly be getting in scrapes, or will he be useful? Will the ex-con best friend be there to get in trouble or to help out with "the street" (a trope that I wish would die a horrible and flaming death)? Thing is, I don't know that I care enough to read any more in the series to find out.This was a very fast read, and I liked the main character however, in spite of never going to the gym that I could see, he is still able to beat the crap out of people, breaking arms and decking men at will. So that was a bit unbelievable. The…
A Deadly WanderingA Deadly Wandering, Audiobook CD[a Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention]
by Richtel, MattAudiobook CD - 2014Audiobook CD, 2014
chgarland's rating:
Added Feb 02, 2015
Comment:
An excellent book that made all other drivers scarier to me than they already were - not a simple task. I highly recommend listening to or reading this book. It uses as its hook the story of a young man who was texting while driving and killed two people because he wasn't paying attention. But there is also a great deal of science woven in, focusing on one researcher who studies distraction and attention. Very interesting and HIGHLY recommended for parents whose children may reach driving age soon.An excellent book that made all other drivers scarier to me than they already were - not a simple task. I highly recommend listening to or reading this book. It uses as its hook the story of a young man who was texting while driving and killed…
Easy Riders, Raging BullsEasy Riders, Raging Bulls, BookHow the Sex-drugs-and-rock-'n'-roll Generation Saved Hollywood
by Biskind, PeterBook - 1998Book, 1998
chgarland's rating:
Added Jan 30, 2015
Comment:
This is supposed to be a history of the change in movie-making from the studio system to the "auteur" method. What I chiefly learned from this book is that Hollywood truly is an amoral swamp and there are no good guys there, and probably never have been. All of the wunderkinds from the 70s are nasty little brats whose sole concern is making their movies and they really don't care what happens to anyone while they do it, including wives and children. I don't generally go to movies because they cost too much and the audience has no manners. I am now thoroughly put off renting or borrowing them because of the wretched moral state of those who make them.
A book like this is why I never ever want to hear the political opinions of any Hollywood star. They are silly vapid amoral creatures who think their great wealth qualifies them as intelligent and thoughtful, completely forgetting that they make their living reciting someone else's words. Once I hear the idiotic, and almost invariably hypocritical, opinions of Hollywood folks, I never want to see their movies again.
This book did not help. Making movies seems to be exactly like making hot dogs: one should simply never learn what goes on behind the scenes.This is supposed to be a history of the change in movie-making from the studio system to the "auteur" method. What I chiefly learned from this book is that Hollywood truly is an amoral swamp and there are no good guys there, and probably never have…
We'll Always Have ParrotsWe'll Always Have Parrots, Audiobook CD
by Andrews, DonnaAudiobook CD - 2004Audiobook CD, 2004
chgarland's rating:
Added Jan 15, 2015
Comment:
An amusing little murder mystery, and I have to say, I fell for the red herrings and did not guess the solution early. Lots of fun at a Con for a sci-fi TV program, including loose monkeys, loose parrots, a tiger, random hookups, oddball parents - you know, the usual. I listened to the audio version and I think the reader did a pretty good job. The highest compliment I have for readers is that they didn't intrude on the story, and that is definitely the case here.An amusing little murder mystery, and I have to say, I fell for the red herrings and did not guess the solution early. Lots of fun at a Con for a sci-fi TV program, including loose monkeys, loose parrots, a tiger, random hookups, oddball parents -…
Picture PerfectPicture Perfect, BookThe Jodi Arias Story : A Beautiful Photographer, Her Mormon Lover, and A Brutal Murder
by Hogan, ShannaBook - 2013Book, 2013
chgarland's rating:
Added May 31, 2014
Comment:
This is one awful book. The writing is repetitive and cliche-ridden, and the author seems to have no insight into human psychology or behavior at all. I recognize that it is a trope of the genre to turn the victim into a saint, but Travis Alexander sounds like a truly unpleasant person: full of himself and a sucker for any girl who would play up to him. After listening to maybe two disks, I could tell that Jodi Arias is a textbook case of borderline personality disorder, a pathological fear of rejection, but this insight didn't seem to occur to the author. This is a very tiresome book. I wanted to learn something about the Arias case as I didn't really follow it in the news, and I like true crime books. But this was a real disappointment.This is one awful book. The writing is repetitive and cliche-ridden, and the author seems to have no insight into human psychology or behavior at all. I recognize that it is a trope of the genre to turn the victim into a saint, but Travis…
Picture PerfectPicture Perfect, Audiobook CD[the Jodi Arias Story : A Beautiful Photographer, Her Mormon Lover, and A Brutal Murder]
by Hogan, ShannaAudiobook CD - 2013Audiobook CD, 2013
chgarland's rating:
Added May 31, 2014
Comment:
This is one awful book. The writing is repetitive and cliche-ridden, and the author seems to have no insight into human psychology or behavior at all. I recognize that it is a trope of the genre to turn the victim into a saint, but Travis Alexander sounds like a truly unpleasant person: full of himself and a sucker for any girl who would play up to him. After listening to maybe two disks, I could tell that Jodi Arias is a textbook case of borderline personality disorder, a pathological fear of rejection, but this insight didn't seem to occur to the author. This is a very tiresome book. I wanted to learn something about the Arias case as I didn't really follow it in the news, and I like true crime books. But this was a real disappointment.
The reader of this book, Emily Durante, is bad enough that I have made note of her name so I never find myself listening to her again. She has an incredibly flat midwestern accent, Minnesota without any charm at all. She is absolutely the worst reader I have ever heard and I listen to books in my car all the time.This is one awful book. The writing is repetitive and cliche-ridden, and the author seems to have no insight into human psychology or behavior at all. I recognize that it is a trope of the genre to turn the victim into a saint, but Travis…
chgarland's rating:
Added May 09, 2014
Comment:
This book should be read by anyone whose life has been touched by an alcoholic. I was greatly disappointed to learn that Knapp had died of lung cancer quite a while ago as I wanted to tell her just how much I learned from this book. The book is not purely linear which makes for good storytelling. The characters, her family, friends, lovers, are vividly drawn. Knapp is an excellent writer and what she says here is of enormous value.This book should be read by anyone whose life has been touched by an alcoholic. I was greatly disappointed to learn that Knapp had died of lung cancer quite a while ago as I wanted to tell her just how much I learned from this book. The book is…
chgarland's rating:
Added May 09, 2014
You Can Date Boys When You're FortyYou Can Date Boys When You're Forty, Audiobook CD[Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About]
by Barry, DaveAudiobook CD - 2014Audiobook CD, 2014
chgarland's rating:
Added Apr 30, 2014
Comment:
This is very, very derivative of almost everything else Barry has ever done. Some laughs, sure, but nothing new. So very glad I did not buy it.
chgarland's rating:
Added Apr 19, 2014
Comment:
Good story. Loathsome main character: her condescending attitude towards all of her new neighbors is appalling. Sure, some of them may be appalling but she doesn't have to be so hateful and contemptuous. I would hate to meet the main character in real life.Good story. Loathsome main character: her condescending attitude towards all of her new neighbors is appalling. Sure, some of them may be appalling but she doesn't have to be so hateful and contemptuous. I would hate to meet the main character…
Killing JesusKilling Jesus, Audiobook CD[a History]
by O'Reilly, BillAudiobook CD - 2013Audiobook CD, 2013
chgarland's rating:
Added Mar 05, 2014
Comment:
I give this 4 stars for content and a negative 18 stars for the reading by Bill O'Reilly. His enunciation is atrocious: it may be fine for appearing on television, but not for reading a book. He slurs words and is just generally sloppy. The content of the book was very interesting although it was silly and pretentious for the authors to attach exact times to some of the points in the book. I particularly enjoyed the explanation of the politics of the situation and the descriptions of Caiaphas and Annanias. In short, it's a very interesting book with this presentation ruined by O'Reilly's ego.I give this 4 stars for content and a negative 18 stars for the reading by Bill O'Reilly. His enunciation is atrocious: it may be fine for appearing on television, but not for reading a book. He slurs words and is just generally sloppy. The…
chgarland's rating:
Added Feb 08, 2014
Comment:
People keep calling this place, the setting of the book, a dystopia but what it is is a communist society, pure communism as it will always end up. People eat what they are given, people work at what they are told to work at, people are given a house that will support their family unit, everyone's sex drive is suppressed because it would disrupt their "peace." This place is a stinking nightmare where discipline rods are used on tiny children and old people, where anyone not fitting in is killed, where the old are euthanized (and who knows who decides when it's time for that). This place is a stinking, horrifying, endless nightmare that consists all and entirely of lies, as communism always has and always will. And above it all, people we never see, are the "elders" who make all of the decisions for everyone else. The peace that is here is the peace of the grave only none of the people know they are dead.People keep calling this place, the setting of the book, a dystopia but what it is is a communist society, pure communism as it will always end up. People eat what they are given, people work at what they are told to work at, people are given a…
chgarland's rating:
Added Jan 26, 2014
Comment:
The book starts off as a nice little murder mystery in Provincetown, MA. It's going along fine for the first half when I find this:
"'Doing the crime theme?' Kotowski said, making finger quotes. 'Are you talking about the Frog Marches? Those were deeply subversive paintings, Coffin. If you think they had anything to do with your conventional little arsonist, you've entirely missed the point.'
"The Frog Marches were a series of life-sized, photo-realist paintings Kotowski had done in 2008 and 2009. Frog March 1, depicting a weeping George W. Bush being led away in handcuffs by FBI agents, had sold immediatley for a price that even Kotowski thought ridiculously high. He'd done several more: Frog March 2 showed Dick Cheney being dragged into a courtroom in an orange jumpsuit; in Frog March 3 Donald Rumsfeld was tarred and feathered; Frog March 4 imagined the prison strip-search of Condoleeza Rice, complete with latex-gloved matron; and Frog March 5 showed Alberto Gonzalez, strapped to a table, cloth wadded into his mouth, eyes wide behind his glasses as a large man in camouflage poured water over his face. All had been sold to the same anoymous collector."
All that because the police chief asked a local artist to do a sketch to help ID a suspect. So the author, who is an English professor of some sort and a "poet" seems to think it's perfectly OK to be a racist and a sexist because he hated the Bush administration. Look, you didn't like Bush, fine. But to totally sexualize the imprisonment of the only black and the only female in the bunch is sick and twisted.
So very, very, very glad I didn't give this author any of my money.The book starts off as a nice little murder mystery in Provincetown, MA. It's going along fine for the first half when I find this:
"'Doing the crime theme?' Kotowski said, making finger quotes. 'Are you talking about the Frog Marches? Those…
The Everything Guide to Understanding SocialismThe Everything Guide to Understanding Socialism, BookThe Political, Social, and Economic Concepts Behind This Complex Theory
by Toler, Pamela D.Book - 2011Book, 2011
chgarland's rating:
Added Dec 28, 2013
Comment:
If you're looking for a quickish history of socialism, this is your book. On the other hand, if you are looking for something descriptive, that describes how it works, or will work, in the real world, get a different book as there's nothing of much use in here at all, not even a decent description of the labor theory of value.If you're looking for a quickish history of socialism, this is your book. On the other hand, if you are looking for something descriptive, that describes how it works, or will work, in the real world, get a different book as there's nothing of much…
chgarland's rating:
Added Dec 21, 2013
Comment:
Author tried too hard to write pretty language. A story like this doesn't call for poetic descriptions, or attempts at them anyway. He used way too many words. I've read worse writing, more overblown, but he and his editor need to tone it down.
Story is quite good although I guessed what was going on a bit too early, perhaps because of my bad habit of watching the various incarnations of "Law & Order".
4 stars for story, 2 stars for writing.Author tried too hard to write pretty language. A story like this doesn't call for poetic descriptions, or attempts at them anyway. He used way too many words. I've read worse writing, more overblown, but he and his editor need to tone it…
Diet RehabDiet Rehab, Audiobook CD[28 Days to Finally Stop Craving the Foods That Make You Fat]
by Dow, MikeAudiobook CD - 2012Audiobook CD, 2012
chgarland's rating:
Added Sep 27, 2013
Comment:
A perfectly awful reading for a not very good book. The author apparently thinks his readers are stupid and cannot understand concepts after he explains them once. Additionally, the author, reading his own book, adopts a tone of barely suppressed excitement which, again, makes me think he doesn't have a very high opinion of his readers. Third, the author likes straw men: no one who speaks in favor of a low carb diet has ever suggested that someone eat "no carbs" as the author stated in the book. All in all, a truly dreadful productionA perfectly awful reading for a not very good book. The author apparently thinks his readers are stupid and cannot understand concepts after he explains them once. Additionally, the author, reading his own book, adopts a tone of barely suppressed…
chgarland's rating:
Added Sep 08, 2013
Comment:
Not bad at all. The writing was above average but not at all pointlessly fluffy with strained efforts to be pretty or poetic.
The plot was pretty good with plenty of likely suspects. I'm not sure if I figured it out earlier than the author thought I would, but after one particular scene it seemed pretty obvious to me whodunit since we were out of possibilities by then. Once I figured out the mystery, it seemed like the book took too long to get to the denouement, but, on the other hand, if you didn't figure out the answer, it was probably just right.Not bad at all. The writing was above average but not at all pointlessly fluffy with strained efforts to be pretty or poetic.
The plot was pretty good with plenty of likely suspects. I'm not sure if I figured it out earlier than the author…
Comment: