Category: Books

I have honest and completely biased – cause I’m human – reviews on all the books I’ve been reading since December of 2016.

Books, Fiction

Crazy Rich Asians – Book and Movie

RaeAnna

Read Yes
Movie Watch!
Length 527
Quick Review Rachel Chu is completely unprepared to enter her boyfriend’s world of money, drama, and family. Although it comes across as a rom-commy love store, it’s more of a satire.

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Recreating the cover of Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan.

I picked up Crazy Rich Asians and its sisters right before the movie came out because I like supporting POC, especially when they’re represented in the media. I power read my way through Crazy Rich Asians in a day, so I could write and publish this the day after seeing the movie, which I saw last night.

Honestly, Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan is an interesting read. As an American with no depth in Singaporean high-society or any level of Singaporean society, a lot of the satire and poorly veiled pseudonyms were lost on me without digging a little. From the beginning, Kwan has a quirky and funny writing style. The family tree is footnoted with hilarious tidbits.

Rachel Chu is a Chinese-American living in New York as an economics professor at NYU. Her boyfriend Nick Young, a NYU history professor, is the heir apparent to a millions-upon-millions fortune in Singapore, all unbeknownst to Rachel. They take a summer trip to his hometown for his best friend’s wedding, where she is thrown into the viper pit without warning. Ensues is a level of opulence that makes The Great Gatsby look like peanuts, (although, there are a lot of similar elements between the two stories), mystery, privacy, and so much drama you can’t even imagine.

Kwan does a really good job from the very first chapter in setting up the story to demonstrate the ability the Young’s, T’sien’s, and Shang’s have at getting their way because of their money. Kwan does a much better job at crafting intriguing and well-rounded male characters. For the most part, the female characters fall flat. They lack the emotional range a real woman would have in any situation let alone one similar to that of these characters. The female characters become tropes. There is a lot of mystery and drama, which helped make the novel interesting.

I did enjoy the way Kwan wrote the book. The writing style is fun and quirky with really quippy dialogue. The narrative structure really helped the novel. Had it been told from one or two perspectives, it would have been a lot less effective, and the problems with the characters would have shown through much more. The chapters were told from the perspectives of several characters of different genders, families, and backgrounds; this was great for showing several perspectives, story lines, and mystery. The narration was in the third person, but Kwan gave insight into the character’s psyche through italicizing their inner dialogues. There were also flash back moments to fill in about their personal history or adding to the family’s.

Movie
I saw the movie last night. I really, really enjoyed it. I love that it was an all Asian cast. The acting was great. Constance Wu took the character of Rachel – who fell flat in the book – and turned her into a believable, funny, and interesting character to watch and empathize with. The rest of the cast was equally thrilling to watch. Awkwafina was brilliant.

I loved the men in this movie. Asian men are quite literally the least romantically sought after ethnic group in America because they have constantly been feminized and more. It’s a big issue. A complicated issue. We need to start recognizing Asian men as complex fascinating men just like their counter parts. I have never understood this stereotype. I love Asian guys; I have dated Asian guys; I wish they were seen as the sexy beings they truly are. Like Ali Wong says, they’re frickin’ dolphins with no body hair. What’s not to like??? This movie has HOT Asian dudes in it. Hopefully, it’s a step towards having Asian leading men (and ladies). If we’re only going to let beautiful people on screen, can I, at least, look at beautiful people of different colors.

The movie fixed the things I didn’t like in the novel but cut out the things I did like about the book. Unfortunately. I understand why. You can’t fit that kind of family drama into 120 minutes. I did not love the flat characters in the book, but the movie fixed that. I didn’t think Kevin Kwan really understood how bitchy and subversive women can be when they’re torturing other women, but the movie got it! Cut it short but got it. The movie had to reduce about 80% of the drama and mystery that made the book interesting to read, but I forgive them. The movie can stand on its own without it. The movie also gets rid of a bunch of the profanity and crudeness out of the book. It would have very much been rated R if they kept it. I did enjoy reading those bits, though. Hilarious. Debauchery comes in every culture.

Overall, the movie is fabulous. Go watch it. This weekend! Show up for POC!!! We need to support them, so we can continue to have diverse representation in media. When POC win, we all win.

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Memorable Quotes
“NEVER, EVER wear green chiffon unless you want to look like bok choy that got gang-raped.”

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright: 2013
ISBN: 9780345803788

Books

No One Tells You This by Glynnis MacNicol

RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 304
Overview A fabulous memoir about a newly 40, childless, single woman in New York learning to struggle, be proud of, regret, love, question, and live the life she has.

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No One Tells You This by Glynnis MacNicol is a new release having hit bookstore shelves barely a month ago. I jumped at the opportunity to read this, and I absolutely love it.

I’m single, childless, and getting older every day. As a woman of a certain age, I hear “when are you getting married?” “when are you going to have babies?” and “you’ve still got time.” more than often. I’m not searching these things out. We live in a time where I am not forced into a one-way path of female adulthood; I can choose, support, and live almost anyway I desire. This is revolutionary even though it’s not completely unusual. There is a serious lack of variation in female role models. Every path is beautiful and fulfilling and difficult as long as we are able to choose the path we live.

Glynnis MacNicol shares her fortieth year story as she figures out if she’s happy with the life she’s accidentally, purposely chosen. No kids. Single. Her mother’s health is failing from Parkinson’s. Her friends are getting married and having babies. She hasn’t found anyone. Does she even want babies? She spends the year she turned 40 figuring out if she wants to keep going down that path.

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I don’t want to tell you too much, but the book is amazing. MacNicol is incredibly honest with the good and the bad. She taps in to her inner voice in an incredibly sincere way. She can be sad and funny in the same moment. There are incredibly touching moments, which will resonate deeply for women of all backgrounds and lives about finding happiness and being true to oneself.

The group of friends MacNicol describes is amazing. I hope to have a support group as deep, loyal, and wonderful as the one she describes. I also love how she often goes off on tangents describing her life in terms of “if my life were a rom-com.” She has no fear in tapping into the hilariously ludicrous inner voice we all have but would probably not want thousands of people knowing.        

I highly suggest you add this book to the top of your reading list. It’s perfect for any woman and should be read by men too.

Memorable Quotes
“Women alone always seemed to be seen as an advertisement: open space, please fill.”
“What cultural markers were there for women other than weddings and babies?”
“Women my age were always being accused of getting tell serious too quickly, but in my experience, men were just as guilty of it, maybe even more so.”
“People leave, but they also come back.”

Title: No One Tells You This
Author: Glynnis Macnicol
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9781501163135
Books

The Forty Rules of Love

RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 358
Quick Review When an unhappy, Jewish mother in Massachusetts begins reading a novel by a wandering, Sufi man, she embarks on a personal journey for love, self, and truth.

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This was suggested to me by one of my followers, and I was hesitant to say the least. I am not into romance or mushy-gushy love stories. This one has love in the title. I was pleasantly surprised. The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak is not so much about romantic love as it is about being a good person and walking through the world with love in your heart.

Ella is newly 40 with a romantic daughter in college, tweenaged twins with troubles, and a dallying husband, but if she ignores it and focuses on her new job, maybe it will all go away. Ella focused on her family for many years, but now she has a new job as a reader for a literary agent. She must read Sweet Blasphemy and submit a report. The book is so drastically different from her own life, and, yet, she is drawn in to the story and the author, who she begins a correspondence with.

Sweet Blasphemy is about the friendship between Shams of Tabriz and the exalted poet Rumi. Told from many perspectives, it is a tale of friendship, love, trust, wandering, destiny, and mysticism. Shams of Tabriz is a wandering dervish, who enters Rumi’s life and Konya, Turkey changing both forever. Shams has forty rules for the religion of love. Although, I don’t necessarily agree with all of them, there are a lot of truly poignant moments and quotes.

Several people told me the ending is heartbreaking. Honestly, I thought it was the most appropriate ending. It isn’t shocking, but any other ending would be a disservice to the novel and the meaning.

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Shafak writes a novel within a novel. It’s not a new story framework, but she does it exceedingly well. Everytime the story would shift from one to the other, I would always be wondering what would happen next. Shafak has an incredibly deep belief in love and humanity as she explores prejudice and malice and blind religiosity among other things. The narrators are not always good people, but they all have a perspective that bolsters the main theme.  

Elif Shafak is a Turkish author, and her native language is Turkish. However, she writes her novels in English. As a linguist who has learned several languages, I CANNOT imagine writing novels in another language. It is incredibly hard, and she does it so well. I would have never been able to tell from reading The Forty Rules of Love that she is not a native speaker.

Memorable Quotes
“When you speak the truth, they hate you. “
“Finally I understood that whenever people heard something unusual, they called it a dream.”
“Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of the process.”
“These codes of honor had less to do with the harmony God created than with the order human beings wanted to sustain.”

Title: The Forty Rules of Love
Author: Elif Shafak
Publisher: Penguin Books
Copyright: 2010
ISBN: 9780241972939
Bookstores

Off the Beaten Path

RaeAnna

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I love independent bookstores. I try to shop at and support them as much as I possibly can. When I travel to new places, I’m trying to visit as many local bookstores as I can. I think they’re a unique look into the towns they inhabit. Off the Beaten Path is Steamboat Springs’ local bookshop, which has been open since 1990. I have been stopping in every time I’m in town my whole life.  

Walking into Off the Beaten Path is a fun experience. There are huge windows letting tons of natural light into the store, which would be very dark otherwise due to the wood. There is nature inspired art everywhere. Large multi-colored leaves hang from the ceiling. A New Release room is at the front of the store with other sections scattered throughout the store. An upstairs area has new and used books with extra seating for reading, working, or people watching. They have cute items too. I almost bought a fox shaped mug. I did buy a small bag with the words goal digger written on the front.

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They have a beautiful selection of books ranging from best sellers, to indie, to children’s, and more. I always love seeing what local bookstores choose to include in their inventory, and Off the Beaten Path does not disappoint. I could have bought more than I did, but I have a huge stack waiting for me at home.  

I have several books I absolutely adore. I love finding different editions. Off the Beaten Path had some hard to find versions of the classics. I caved and bought a leather bound edition of Edith Wharton’s Age of Innocence because it’s one of my favorites.

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In the middle of the store, there is seating around a full cafe supplying baked goods and quirky drink options. They have great Seven Layer Bars. Their coffees are named after famous books and iconic characters. I tried several, and they were all yummy. The baristas were really lovely and competent. They do serve alcoholic beverages, but I’m sober.

I have a hard time working places outside my own home environment. I was so comfortable in Off the Beaten Path I was actually able to sit down and get work done not once but twice.

Off the Beaten Path
68 9th Street
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
970.879.6830
Instagram – @steamboat_books
Facebook – @offthebeatenpathbookstore

Books

I Must Say; My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend

RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 336
Quick Review Martin Short is a comedy legend. I grew up watching his hilarious antics. His book is an emotional rollercoaster.

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I grew up in a cool house. We laughed a lot. I remember watching SNL, and I don’t mean the new stuff. We’re talking Steve Martin, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, and Martin Short era SNL. I Must Say; My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend by Martin Short has been on my reading list for a little while. I finally used vacation to read a little of the fun stuff.

Martin Short is funny. He has an enchanting quality about him that keeps you watching and, in this case, reading. Starting at the beginning of his life, the Short household was a happy, odd house in Hamilton, Canada. He was the youngest of several and always had a penchant for singing and entertaining. As a young Canadian, entertaining did not seem like a realistic or even possible career choice, but, luckily for us, he found his way to it. His book is full of huge name drops. Not because he means to, but because he genuinely grew into adulthood with a crowd of insanely talented people ie: Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Paul Schaffer, John Candy, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Nora Ephron, and many, many more.

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There were some intensely laugh out loud moments. For the most part, it was a genuine retelling of the fundamental moments and people which helped him grow into the humble comedy legend he is today. Throughout the book there are pictures of him, his family, and his friends. He sprinkles some of his most iconic characters throughout the book allowing them to have their moments in their own voices. Short comes off as a fantastically self-aware flawed man. He knows he’s not perfect, but he has dedicated his life to the arts, his friends, and most importantly his family. He comes across as the man I thought he was as a kid: a good and funny man with a bawdy sense of humor. So in other words, the perfect comedian in my eyes.

I don’t cry often. Books rarely, if ever make me cry. I did here. I Must Say may be his story, but his story is not complete without his wife, Nancy. It isn’t just a memoir, it is a love letter to his wife. From the moment he mentions her, it is evident he is still head-over-heels for her. The last chapter had me in tears.  

Memorable Quotes
“Kim Kardashian. Not so bright. She thinks “soy milk” is Spanish for “I am milk.”

Title: I Must Say; My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend
Author: Martin Short
Publisher: HarperCollins
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9780062309525

 

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Books

The Water-Babies

RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 198
Overview A Victorian children’s classic addressing themes and issues reaching far beyond a basic children’s fairy tale.

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I read The Water-Babies by Charles Kingsley in a Victorian Lit. class in college. I really loved it, but I was confused at how it could possibly be a children’s fairy tale. Yes, it’s engaging and interesting and full of wonder, but it has really deep meanings, which cannot be ignored partially because they’re constantly smacking you in the face.

Basics of the story: Tom is a poor chimney sweep, who has no knowledge of God or cleanliness or any type of kindness. Through a small bout of craziness and an old Irish lady, Tom runs away from his hyper abusive master. He ends up being turned into a water-baby, which is the water equivalent of a land-baby. There are other water-babies, fairies, and characters with names like Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid. How can you not love it?

Like many Victorian novels, it is, at its core, a truly moral fable. There is a stark moral code set out within the novel – Charles Kingsley was an Anglican minister. One thing that I was absolutely taken with in college was the fact it is such a female centric novel. The women are good, strong, honest, and resilient and the men are fools, abusive, or a combination thereof.

There are so many layers and lenses in which The Water-Babies can be read. Kingsley’s opinions are pretty evident throughout for the good and the bad. He did not support child labor, and it can be read as a satire. Throughout the story science is evident. Darwin is mentioned kindly on several occasions. Other scientific topics are pollution, method, geology, education, and biological debates prevalent at the time. Kingsley heavily criticizes close-minded approaches to life and knowledge.   

One of my favorite things about the narration, is how the narrator speaks directly to the reader. This isn’t unusual, especially at the time, but the way he does it is not terribly common. There are full on discussions, where the reader is answering questions posed by you, the reader. It is highly amusing as it can go on for several pages.

Anyways, The Water-Babies is a fun little novel. You can read it for a fun, light read, or you can deeply read it. I’m not a science person, so I would love to hear your sciency takes on it!

Memorable Quotes
“The most wonderful and the strongest things in the world, you know, are just the things which no one can see.”
“Do as you would be done by.”
“…children always wake after they have slept exactly as long as is good for them…”

Title: The Water-Babies; A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby
Author: Charles Kingsley
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Copyright: 2008
ISBN: 9780143105091