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travellingcari's reviews
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Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present by Hank Stuever
Those were actually the very last two sentences Hank Stuever wrote in Tinsel, but in a sense, they were this book. According to my Amazon wishlist when I spotted this on a price drop around Christmas, I had it on my wishlist since its publication in 2009. So of course I had to start it immediately after two false starts on books to finish out 2013: Rogues Gallery and Do You Speak Shoe Lover?
I have an odd relationship with Christmas. Christmas in our house looks a lot like Thanksgiving, just with more presents. But I hate shopping. HATE. Yet somehow, I was drawn to this book. To the author’s writing. To the people he met. After finishing the book. it was a pleasant surprise to find the photos of the people he spent Christmas with. I was way off in my mental images, but it was nice to put faces to the names.
Speaking of names, I find it amazing and generous how these folks welcomed him into their homes and their lives. While Stuever wrote at length about the growth of Frisco, it’s still very much Smalltown, USA in that respect. He came to know these people, their families, their friends. He nearly became one of them.
I read this over the course of three weeks, but if I had enough time, I’d probably have read it within a few days as it really grabbed me toward the end. It was an interesting mix of christmas, Christmas, people and shopping. I also think that pretty much describes American christmas in a nutshell these days.
I actually found this — which was his premise throughout the book to be fascinating. What is christmas these days. Is it spending money to be happy? Is it about the holiday (pagan or christian?) is it about family
In addition to looking for “Christmas”, I think the author had more than a little quest to look for “America”. Frisco, TX, land of the McMansions isn’t America any more than Jesus is the Reason for the Season describes the true American Christmas, but the author did well to try and tie both extremes together. Of those people he met: Carroll the shopaholic tither and her family, Tammie and her Hottie Elves and the Trykoskis and their lights, it was the Trykoskis I liked the most because they seemed to show me more about what Christmas is. I didn’t like Carroll and her family — although I felt them to be a good example of Shop ’til You Drop Spoiled America. Sure, Tammie decorated clients’ houses for Christmas – but that didn’t make her Santa any more than a normal interior designer. Jeff T was paid for his work in Frisco Square, but he did his own house – and the city – out of his own interest and passion.
"The Christmas lifestyle as most Americans know and celebrate it is only about a century and a half old, a straight line from Charles Dickens to Martha Stewart."
I had to chuckle at this — because the Christmas that the author found in Frisco isn’t the Christmas I’ve seen in the Northeast. Multiple themed trees? Prelit trees? Worrying about whether a neighbor’s house and Christmas is “Christ-centered”? Never mind Frisco’s obsession with Snow Powder and the Israelis who sell it.
Now that? That’s the American Christmas I know. I like how he used his journalistic background to mix in reporting with his story telling. The facts he reported on retail figures, economic growth and contraction, the history of Christmas (more Halloween then Jesus) and suburb development provided a nice back drop to the people without taking away from them. It made for substance to go with the fluff.The same could be said for the religious aspects that he discussed. While an American christmas can be religion fee, I’m not sure the same could be said for a Texas Christmas. All in all, a very good read even if it slowed down at parts. I look forward to reading his other book, Off Ramp, as I like his style and find him very readable. Also, his NPR interview about the book is a fun read.
4.0
Oh, and PS: I’d like to acknowledge the global economy, especially the credit and retail sectors, which fell apart between 2006 and 2008 and thereby made profligate Christmas shopping seem all the more interesting and a bit more inane. Here’s to you, capitalism
Those were actually the very last two sentences Hank Stuever wrote in Tinsel, but in a sense, they were this book. According to my Amazon wishlist when I spotted this on a price drop around Christmas, I had it on my wishlist since its publication in 2009. So of course I had to start it immediately after two false starts on books to finish out 2013: Rogues Gallery and Do You Speak Shoe Lover?
I have an odd relationship with Christmas. Christmas in our house looks a lot like Thanksgiving, just with more presents. But I hate shopping. HATE. Yet somehow, I was drawn to this book. To the author’s writing. To the people he met. After finishing the book. it was a pleasant surprise to find the photos of the people he spent Christmas with. I was way off in my mental images, but it was nice to put faces to the names.
Speaking of names, I find it amazing and generous how these folks welcomed him into their homes and their lives. While Stuever wrote at length about the growth of Frisco, it’s still very much Smalltown, USA in that respect. He came to know these people, their families, their friends. He nearly became one of them.
I read this over the course of three weeks, but if I had enough time, I’d probably have read it within a few days as it really grabbed me toward the end. It was an interesting mix of christmas, Christmas, people and shopping. I also think that pretty much describes American christmas in a nutshell these days.
Christmas is the single largest event in American communal life, intersecting with every aspect of religion, culture, commerce, and politics. From mid-November to New Year’s Eve 2006, shoppers spent almost half a trillion dollars on gifts, which is more than we spend on almost anything else as a people, including the annual bill at that time for ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For those who opt in, Christmas is supposed to exist as a pure moment of bliss and togetherness. We spend more money than we have at Christmas in part to get closer to the simple joy it advertises.
I actually found this — which was his premise throughout the book to be fascinating. What is christmas these days. Is it spending money to be happy? Is it about the holiday (pagan or christian?) is it about family
I went looking for an America living not only on borrowed time, but also on borrowed grace. In the Nativity pageant I’ve staged here, I cast myself merely as an extra, a Wise Man in a purple velour bathrobe and a cardboard Burger King crown, following yonder star, bearing my mother’s crystal salad-dressing cruets (my frankincense, my myrrh) on a tasseled living room throw pillow.
In addition to looking for “Christmas”, I think the author had more than a little quest to look for “America”. Frisco, TX, land of the McMansions isn’t America any more than Jesus is the Reason for the Season describes the true American Christmas, but the author did well to try and tie both extremes together. Of those people he met: Carroll the shopaholic tither and her family, Tammie and her Hottie Elves and the Trykoskis and their lights, it was the Trykoskis I liked the most because they seemed to show me more about what Christmas is. I didn’t like Carroll and her family — although I felt them to be a good example of Shop ’til You Drop Spoiled America. Sure, Tammie decorated clients’ houses for Christmas – but that didn’t make her Santa any more than a normal interior designer. Jeff T was paid for his work in Frisco Square, but he did his own house – and the city – out of his own interest and passion.
"The Christmas lifestyle as most Americans know and celebrate it is only about a century and a half old, a straight line from Charles Dickens to Martha Stewart."
I had to chuckle at this — because the Christmas that the author found in Frisco isn’t the Christmas I’ve seen in the Northeast. Multiple themed trees? Prelit trees? Worrying about whether a neighbor’s house and Christmas is “Christ-centered”? Never mind Frisco’s obsession with Snow Powder and the Israelis who sell it.
“On Dasher, on Dancer, on Master, on Visa.”
THANKSGIVING….It conveys a sense of national togetherness, pride, gluttonous helpings of iconic food items, and the moments we take to consider our blessings. Then all hell breaks loose.
Now that? That’s the American Christmas I know. I like how he used his journalistic background to mix in reporting with his story telling. The facts he reported on retail figures, economic growth and contraction, the history of Christmas (more Halloween then Jesus) and suburb development provided a nice back drop to the people without taking away from them. It made for substance to go with the fluff.The same could be said for the religious aspects that he discussed. While an American christmas can be religion fee, I’m not sure the same could be said for a Texas Christmas. All in all, a very good read even if it slowed down at parts. I look forward to reading his other book, Off Ramp, as I like his style and find him very readable. Also, his NPR interview about the book is a fun read.
Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult's Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development; Or, Why It's Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Froot Loops Are Not for Dinner by Jen Lancaster
1.0
So I realized something sad when I started to read Jeneration X, Jen Lancaster’s 2012 “chapter” of her non-fiction series: I think I’ve outgrown it. This is equal parts sad and odd because a) I used to love her non fiction titles and b) I’m at least a decade younger than she is. At some point between [b:My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass Is t he New Black, or, a Culture-Up Manifesto|7090290|My Fair Lazy One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass Is t he New Black, or, a Culture-Up Manifesto|Jen Lancaster|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349080673s/7090290.jpg|7346398] and the latest chapter in her “I’m a fancy author and now so is my friend Stacey and I have to remind you every other page”, I got bored.Also sad, it look me four weeks to get through this book, only the sixth one I’ve finished this year. I am so off pace it is sad.
I think the biggest issue with this one was a lack of filter or editor. Seriously, a book shouldn’t read like a blog, and there’s a reason I don’t read her blog.That said, there were some funnies in this book as well as some things I identified with — unfortunately they were somewhat drowned out by her egotism. Midway through the book when talking about eBay she identified herself as “hypercompetitive asshole”. At least she knows her shortcomings. Note to self: read the Amazon reviews before buying. A good number of them nailed exactly what I was thinking.
I think the biggest issue with this one was a lack of filter or editor. Seriously, a book shouldn’t read like a blog, and there’s a reason I don’t read her blog.That said, there were some funnies in this book as well as some things I identified with — unfortunately they were somewhat drowned out by her egotism. Midway through the book when talking about eBay she identified herself as “hypercompetitive asshole”. At least she knows her shortcomings. Note to self: read the Amazon reviews before buying. A good number of them nailed exactly what I was thinking.
Orange Is the New Black: My Year In a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman
4.0
The 63rd book I finished this year was certainly among the most intriguing. I never had much interest in the show of the same name, and only added the book to my library wish list after watching Pablo Schreiber as Lewis in SVU Season 15. Some 700 people later, my turn came up in the waiting list and I figured Why Not? I’d just finished the really good (review TK) The Pious Ones by Joseph Berger. I’m really glad I read it as it was an amazing, albeit dated, read.
Boston born, Smith College educated, Danbury incarcerated for her conspiracy role in drug charges with her former lover. Piper Kerman is an interesting faulted heroine, which I think makes her more appealing. This is no good girl wrongly jailed – but rather someone forced to serve her time some ten years later due to delays within the legal system.
Given that she served her time in Danbury in a time before blogs were prevalent, I found the details in the stories amazing. I imagine that some came from letters she sent to Larry? An interesting accompaniment to the book is thepipebomb.com, in which Larry provided details of Piper’s incarceration to friends and family. Most interesting there was the FAQ which, among other things, touched on the role of the “War on Drugs” to prison sentences.
Piper was also unlike many of her fellow inmates in that she was well-educated, could count on money and visitors from the outside and was not a mother. She managed to survive, and some would say even thrive there. The subsequent changes at Danbury would make that more challenging to women who were later sentenced there.
Important to Piper prior to her incarceration were the people she knew. That held true throughout her stay at Danbury FCI. The people she met – the Italian twins, Pop, Natalie, Amy, the Eminemettes (one of many small things that dated this memoir including the ’04 Red Sox win and reference to Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn as Murder Avenue) were almost as interesting as her actual stay in the camp. The generosity among the women from Piper’s initial inability to buy items at the commissary due to the check not clearing to her later paying it forward was a key theme. They may do bad things that lead them to their incarceration but there are good people in prison.
The lack of follow up about those people – she missed her reunion with Natalie at the Myrtle Avenue Halfway House due to the time spent in and traveling to Chicago to testify. I want to know what happened to them. I want to know what happened to Piper after the release. Did she get the happily ever after with a job and a home? While ending the book with her release to Larry’s arms was poignant, I didn’t find it to be much of an ending.
A good read – I’m glad I read it, but I don’t think it’s going to make me want to watch the show.
Boston born, Smith College educated, Danbury incarcerated for her conspiracy role in drug charges with her former lover. Piper Kerman is an interesting faulted heroine, which I think makes her more appealing. This is no good girl wrongly jailed – but rather someone forced to serve her time some ten years later due to delays within the legal system.
Given that she served her time in Danbury in a time before blogs were prevalent, I found the details in the stories amazing. I imagine that some came from letters she sent to Larry? An interesting accompaniment to the book is thepipebomb.com, in which Larry provided details of Piper’s incarceration to friends and family. Most interesting there was the FAQ which, among other things, touched on the role of the “War on Drugs” to prison sentences.
Piper was also unlike many of her fellow inmates in that she was well-educated, could count on money and visitors from the outside and was not a mother. She managed to survive, and some would say even thrive there. The subsequent changes at Danbury would make that more challenging to women who were later sentenced there.
Important to Piper prior to her incarceration were the people she knew. That held true throughout her stay at Danbury FCI. The people she met – the Italian twins, Pop, Natalie, Amy, the Eminemettes (one of many small things that dated this memoir including the ’04 Red Sox win and reference to Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn as Murder Avenue) were almost as interesting as her actual stay in the camp. The generosity among the women from Piper’s initial inability to buy items at the commissary due to the check not clearing to her later paying it forward was a key theme. They may do bad things that lead them to their incarceration but there are good people in prison.
The lack of follow up about those people – she missed her reunion with Natalie at the Myrtle Avenue Halfway House due to the time spent in and traveling to Chicago to testify. I want to know what happened to them. I want to know what happened to Piper after the release. Did she get the happily ever after with a job and a home? While ending the book with her release to Larry’s arms was poignant, I didn’t find it to be much of an ending.
A good read – I’m glad I read it, but I don’t think it’s going to make me want to watch the show.
Kid Me Not: An anthology by child-free women of the '60s now in their 60s by Aralyn Hughes
4.0
" Now, listen—if you put a baby in front of me, rest assured: that baby is gonna get cuddled, spoiled and adored. But even as I’m loving on that beautiful infant, I know in my heart: This is not my destiny. It never was"
This grabbed me by the title and then further grabbed me by that intro from Elizabeth GIlbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame. In less than one day of reading time, it became my 3rd book of 2015 and “K” in the A to Z challenge. So far I’m not doing well with reading the planned books. Oh well.
I’m 35. I’ve been hearing about having children for 20 years and I’m sure I’ll be hearing about it for at least another ten years. I love being an aunt and a godmother because I can give them back. Oh, and I don’t do diapers. I really like that this short anthology was given context by not only the women’s own stories of their lives but also chapter introductions that set the historical context for the year(s) in which the women were writing.
Born in 1979 I have no context of a life without the birth control pill and my entire life, let alone my reproductive years, is in the post Roe vs. Wade era. While the free love of the 60s wasn’t my life, nor was the AIDS crisis of the early 1980s. It’s almost as if the not quite Gen X, not quite Millennials live in an era of safe sex which, in the context of this book, made the question of whether to have children a different one. It’s a choice (mostly), not a social issue or political statement or fear of a communicable disease.
"God forbid, I should grow up to be an old maid. Yet as an adult, my experiences as aunt to my brother’s three children, a junior high teacher, and a witness to the dubious behavior of most of my friends’ children, made me grateful for my freedom. I found little appealing in the prospect of making an 18-year commitment, as they had, to a life I regarded as tumultuous."
It’s not that my life is tumultuous, but this is what hits closest to my personal decision as to why I don’t want or have children. I can’t make a long term commitment to a relationship, a city or an apartment, I can’t imagine 18 years to another human being. Plenty of woman eager to be a mother? Me? I’ll take being an aunt.
And Kathleen who closed the book? Yeah, she’s me to a tee.
This grabbed me by the title and then further grabbed me by that intro from Elizabeth GIlbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame. In less than one day of reading time, it became my 3rd book of 2015 and “K” in the A to Z challenge. So far I’m not doing well with reading the planned books. Oh well.
I’m 35. I’ve been hearing about having children for 20 years and I’m sure I’ll be hearing about it for at least another ten years. I love being an aunt and a godmother because I can give them back. Oh, and I don’t do diapers. I really like that this short anthology was given context by not only the women’s own stories of their lives but also chapter introductions that set the historical context for the year(s) in which the women were writing.
Born in 1979 I have no context of a life without the birth control pill and my entire life, let alone my reproductive years, is in the post Roe vs. Wade era. While the free love of the 60s wasn’t my life, nor was the AIDS crisis of the early 1980s. It’s almost as if the not quite Gen X, not quite Millennials live in an era of safe sex which, in the context of this book, made the question of whether to have children a different one. It’s a choice (mostly), not a social issue or political statement or fear of a communicable disease.
"God forbid, I should grow up to be an old maid. Yet as an adult, my experiences as aunt to my brother’s three children, a junior high teacher, and a witness to the dubious behavior of most of my friends’ children, made me grateful for my freedom. I found little appealing in the prospect of making an 18-year commitment, as they had, to a life I regarded as tumultuous."
It’s not that my life is tumultuous, but this is what hits closest to my personal decision as to why I don’t want or have children. I can’t make a long term commitment to a relationship, a city or an apartment, I can’t imagine 18 years to another human being. Plenty of woman eager to be a mother? Me? I’ll take being an aunt.
And Kathleen who closed the book? Yeah, she’s me to a tee.
The Story of Sushi: An Unlikely Saga of Raw Fish and Rice by Trevor Corson
4.0
This book made me crave sushi for the entire week that I was reading it. I’m a sushi fiend so this isn’t surprising, but it was a little odd when I was reading at 8 AM. This had been on my wish list for a long time. According to my Library Thing I got a copy in 2009, but I have no recollection of owning it. I know I didn’t read it. So I was happy to find a copy on Amazon for .99 and it also hits “Z” on the ABC Challenge.
As much as I enjoyed the info that I learned about sushi through Zoran, Kate, Marcos, Toshi and the others, I enjoyed the people. Although this was a work of documentary non-fiction, it read like a novel at times and the central figures were key. Toshi, the pioneer of American sushi; Kate the unsettled student; Zoran the teacher who disappeared back to Australia midway through the semester; Takumi the former JPop singer.
Luckily for this sushi fiend, little beyond the author’s explanation of mold’s role in miso and sushi rice made me think twice about the food I devour. I fell in love with sushi at the tale end of my first stint in Japan but never really had a huge interest in its creation. I don’t think I’ve made sushi since a friend’s obon party in August… 2002! This book made me curious about some of the behind the scenes and probably made me a more educated consumer at the sushi bar.
"Disease isn’t the only problem. Humans like to eat yellowtail, but yellowtail also like to eat yellowtail."
Of the author’s comments on fish that’s the one I loved the most. I’m picturing carnivorous yellowtail on the sushi bar. I really enjoyed the background on the rice as its status in the US is so different to its standing in Japan.
As much as I enjoyed the info that I learned about sushi through Zoran, Kate, Marcos, Toshi and the others, I enjoyed the people. Although this was a work of documentary non-fiction, it read like a novel at times and the central figures were key. Toshi, the pioneer of American sushi; Kate the unsettled student; Zoran the teacher who disappeared back to Australia midway through the semester; Takumi the former JPop singer.
Luckily for this sushi fiend, little beyond the author’s explanation of mold’s role in miso and sushi rice made me think twice about the food I devour. I fell in love with sushi at the tale end of my first stint in Japan but never really had a huge interest in its creation. I don’t think I’ve made sushi since a friend’s obon party in August… 2002! This book made me curious about some of the behind the scenes and probably made me a more educated consumer at the sushi bar.
"Disease isn’t the only problem. Humans like to eat yellowtail, but yellowtail also like to eat yellowtail."
Of the author’s comments on fish that’s the one I loved the most. I’m picturing carnivorous yellowtail on the sushi bar. I really enjoyed the background on the rice as its status in the US is so different to its standing in Japan.
LAS VEGAS' SCAMMERS, SCHEMERS, AND DREAMERS by Frank Garibaldi
Some very amusing stories and anecdotes. Garibaldi's immature writing style: @ass, f___, etc. and obsession with 60s acid trips took some away from the stories though. Could have been a bit shorter.
Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark
2.0
The shark wasn't jumped, it was pole vaulted, landed on and exploded with that absolutely ridiculous ending. That said, it was an otherwise enjoyable read although I found Emily almost unlikeable. Interesting mix of her case- the Natalie Raines murder while Emily herself was the victim of a voyeur and peeping tom turned stalker. I enjoyed the typical MHC misdirection throughout.
The Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark
typical MHC brain candy, although I felt the ending was way too rushed and tied up nicely in a bow. I had a feeling that was going to happen when I realized how few pages were left.
While I was initially confused by the number of characters, I came to find them well fleshed out and generally found myself rooting for all but Glady and Sylvie. The latter is one loose end I'd have preferred tied up, as well as Lane with her stepfather.
While I was initially confused by the number of characters, I came to find them well fleshed out and generally found myself rooting for all but Glady and Sylvie. The latter is one loose end I'd have preferred tied up, as well as Lane with her stepfather.
The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital by Alexandra Robbins
3.0
An interesting read. I liked the characters that she created of the interviews she did - and I really found that I loved Molly and Lara's stories. I didn't care too much for Juliette and her/the author's obsession with the clique. I don't honestly recall where or why I picked this up, but it was a nice, quick read (
Everything Is Bullshit: The greatest scams on Earth revealed by Priceonomics, Alex Mayyasi
While I ended up skimming some chapters that didn't interest me, I found this book to be a good read. It covered some well covered topics like wine pricing and some lesser known ones including taxi medallions and the Monopoly fraud.