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ajunejane's reviews
427 reviews
Passions of the Tongue, Volume 29: Language Devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970 by Sumathi Ramaswamy
4.0
Good. I understand a great deal more about the politics of language in general, as well as in South India. While I believe the Tamilians proved themselves by serious sacrifice to their language, their actions do not seem unique to me compared with other language minorities seeking political acknowledgement (and more) for their language and related values. The difference is that they actually succeeded instead of dying out or continuing to grow endangered.
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
5.0
Outstanding. Because of this book I have greater respect for the graphic novel. Not only that, but I found myself paying more attention to the story than to the art, which is usually the case. Wow. Even brought me to tears at quite a few points. Again, excited to watch the movie now.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
5.0
This book had me all mixed up and sideways. Truly a postmodern novel, deeply interwoven, but not difficult to follow.
Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea
3.0
As a lover of words and language, I enjoyed this book immensely if only to commiserate with a fellow lover of words. However, I think the purpose of the book would have been more effective if I had only read the OED myself, or if the author had contained the book to blog posts. I wanted more information but instead got a great deal of the author's personal opinion.
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Not only did it make Taoism much more easily understood by my Western, Rabbit mind, but it did so with nostalgic characters from my childhood. A quick read. I think I'll be reading this at least once a month from now on.
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
3.0
My reading of this book was mostly inspired by me finally watching the movie and the fact that I had found the book at a thrift store last summer. The deal with this thrift store was that I could take home a paper grocery bag full of books for 2 dollars. Needless to say I grabbed any classics I found and some titles I recognized, like this one. If it hadn't been for this situation I don't think I would have bought the book. While Julie Powell's style is entertaining and I found myself wanting to read the book and finish it (and also look up David Strathairn), at the end I felt like I could have spent my free time reading something else. Entertaining for a minute, causing me to leaf through a vintage copy of Julia Child's book I found at a separate thrifting occasion; ultimately not worth it. Kind of like watching reality TV. Although I identify with her ennui and seemingly lack of direction and purpose in life, I just couldn't relate to this book as much as I wanted to. The movie was much better (I rarely ever say this).
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman
4.0
Pretty good. It is a bit outdated though, being nearly nine years old. While pretty much all of the pop culture references still exist for me, I felt as if I was looking at a time capsule, not only in terms of what was popular or relevant in 2003, but also in terms of Klosterman's opinions and views on life. I feel that as a country we've moved on a great deal from where he puts us. This is not to say that postmodernism is not relevant (although I am ready for whatever comes post-postmodernism), but I don't feel that his assertions quite have the same weight they did then. Despite all the nostalgia (on my part), he writes cleverly and I found it to be a good read overall.