The Curiosity: A Novel (Stephen Kiernan)

Why I have this book: It was our book club pick for this month.

I would like to begin my review with a quote from the main character in the book (The Honorable Jeremiah Rice) in regards to the foul language he hears all around him:

"Had no one told them that coarseness lacks dignity?"

I find it very ironic that the author penned those words on behalf of his dignified and respectable protagonist, then filled the rest of the book with vulgarity. Hmmm... really? Might want to listen to what your friend, Judge Rice, has to say.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the story is interesting. I thought the general plot was good. The last third of the book kept me pretty engaged... I stayed up past midnight to finish it so I would know what happens. The conflict of ethics was somewhat thought-provoking, except that the scenario seems pretty far-fetched. It doesn't lend itself to deep thought for me. (Then again, maybe I'm just ignorant about what is happening out there in the scientific world.)

On the other hand... the writing was mediocre. The story is told by four characters. The female voice sounds... not distinctly female. (I know the author is male, but the author of Honolulu - reviewed earlier - managed to pull off a female voice even though he is male...) One character's way of speaking is almost like the author tried too hard to make him sound "different" than the others. In fact, even with Jeremiah, it sounds like he is trying too hard to "create" his early-1900's personality. I don't know... for the most part, the writing just didn't mesh for me. And the early chapters were entirely too scientific and boring.

I cared about a couple of the characters, not so much about anyone else.

The strength of the story isn't really worth wading through the muck of the profanity.  So... if this was a print edition, I'd probably donate it to the library. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I'll be deleting it from my Kindle.

Tons of profanity, including abundant use of the F-word. A couple of sentences mention sexual attraction. Some coarseness in male oggling of women.

The World's Strongest Librarian: A Memoir of Tourette's, Faith, Strength, and the Power of Family (Josh Hanagarne)

Why I have this book: A friend of mine checked it out of the library and had me read it before it was due overdue by too many days.

I had seen this author on the local news several months ago.... I found his story interesting then, but had no idea he had written a book. (Maybe it was mentioned in the news story and I just didn't catch it.)

So my first impression is, "I loved this book!" In fact, when I closed it at the end, the first thing I said to my husband was, "What a good book!" And it is. I enjoyed his writing style, I learned some new things about Tourette's, libraries (mostly that I'm even more convinced that I prefer to buy new books or borrow on my Kindle than actually go to a library and borrow books that have been who-knows-where), and humanity. I really admire his family life. What a neat woman his mom must be! What a great dad! His wife seems amazing, as well. Really, for examples of pure love, his family is tops.

A few disappointments: Why, oh why, must authors use profanity??? I understand that in some stories, to keep things true, the use of profanity paints the picture the author wants the reader to see. I think that's very rare. I also don't think this book is one of those books. The story would have been just as complete without the profanity, and would have been easier to recommend to others. Really, he uses the "big" bad words, and not just a few times. It's curious to me that his devout LDS mom and wife didn't persuade him to leave them out, if his own LDS background alone didn't convince him. Even leaving religion out of it... isn't there just a standard of decency authors can choose to follow?

Also, there were a few things in there pertaining to sexuality that didn't need to be shared. Really. Not necessary.

The story of his religious journey is well written. I found it interesting and touching... and somewhat contradictory at first glance. But I think there are many people who have undeniable spiritual experiences who still doubt.

The stories of his family of origin and the family he created are inspiring. There are such good people in this world, and most live quiet lives that nobody notices... except those who are touched by them. There is a lot to respect in those who live extraordinary lives without needing fanfare.

All in all, this book was thought-provoking and enjoyable to read. I'm glad I read it and will totally recommend it to those who can overlook the profanity and other unnecessary passages to see the deeper story of humanity.

One question though: Did he win? At the end of the book... Did he win the contest???

This book contains profanity, including the worst of it, and not just a few times. There are a few not-really-graphic sexual references, as well.

P.S. The Amazon page for this book contains a "book trailer" video in the words of the author.

Also, a couple of quotes I liked from this book. (I usually highlight in my own books, but as this is a library book...)

pg 208: "A mind can be lost without its owner's death. A mind that no longer questions only fulfills the rudimentary aspects of its function. A mind without wonder is a mere engine, a walking parasympathetic nervous system, seeing without observing, reacting without thinking, a forgotten ghost in a passive machine.

The mind that asks and experiments and evaluates will die one day, but will provide a richer life for its owner."

pg. 244: "If your body is your biography, then you are, at any given time, a perfect representation of all of your resolved and unresolved stresses."

(You can see this book covers a lot of topics the author has thought about.)

The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the e-book library when my friends mentioned that they were reading it for their book club.

My own (former) book club read it years ago, but I didn't. I don't remember why... but I know I wasn't really itching to read a book narrated by Death. The very idea of that sounded creepy, dark, and depressing. I actually borrowed it on the ebook library in the last year sometime, but decided to return it without reading it for the same reason.

This time I braved up and began the book. It starts a little slow and it takes a bit of time to figure out the rhythm of the writing, but once I did, I fell in love with the story.

The book is set during the Holocaust in Germany, but it's not really about that, in my opinion. It's about people and relationships and how life continues on during unbelievably horrific circumstances. It's about the choices we make and the choices others make. It's about humanity... and it is deeply moving.

I've already recommended it to several people and if I owned a copy, it would definitely be a keeper.

This book isn't dark and creepy, but it does involve the Holocaust, death, and war. There are difficult family issues that are touched on, and there is quite a bit of swearing (including using the Lord's name as an exclamation of emotion.) For me, the enormity of the story overshadows the muck.

Attitude is Everything: Change Your Attitude... Change Your Life! (Jeff Keller)

Why I have this book: It was recommended somewhere... I can't even remember where or by whom...  Anyway, I bought it on Kindle because it was only $2.99.

This book totally reminded me of books by Dale Carnegie. It had the exact same feel to it. To be honest, that was a bit of a turn-off for me, because it just seemed like it wasn't really original. The message is good, but it wasn't anything that couldn't have been written in a magazine article. And it was a little like being at a motivational convention. Kind of "rah-rah"...

It also seemed mostly directed towards business situations, so I couldn't relate to that... I had to think a little harder to make it applicable to my life.

Overall, a good message and a quick read. Nothing new as opposed to the Dale Carnegie books, although the stories and examples are more current. (Dale Carnegie died in 1955, so obviously his stories - although not the meaning behind them - are dated for a younger generation.)

Clean.

Confessions of a Molly Mormon: Trading Perfectionism for Peace, Fear for Faith, Judging for Joy (Elona K. Shelley)

Why I have this book: I was browsing the book table at Costco (which I hardly ever do anymore, because I buy most of my books for Kindle), and I saw it. It looked good, so...

I liked this book. At one point, I thought, "Sheesh, this lady was sure an over-thinker for most of her life!" (Takes one to know one?) But really, I liked the perspective she put on how we often "live the gospel" based on rules and guilt and fear... and how different it can (and should) be.

Her words gave me a lot of good things to think about. She put down on paper how I have often felt about this very subject and it was helpful to see it through her experience. I'm really glad I read it.

Clean.

Keeping it Together in a Pull-Apart World (Mary Ellen Edmunds)

Why I have this book: I bought it for the Deseret Book app.

This is a short book (64 pages in the hardcover edition) and I read it in an evening. Another lovely book by MEE. I just love her. In fact, I have two of her books still on my wishlist.

You can't go wrong with books by MEE. :)

Clean.

Moloka'i (Alan Brennert)

Why I have this book: I've had it for years. It was a book club pick a long time ago, but this is the first time I've read it.

This is a novel set in the leper colony of Hawaii on the island of Moloka'i. I don't think most Amercians are really familiar with leprosy... it's not a disease that is common in the States in this day and age (thankfully), and until I saw a documentary on it a few years ago, I didn't even know it was still common in other countries.

I liked this book for the most part. I liked it a lot... for the most part. There were things that could have been left out of the story and it still would have invoked the same emotions for those who were the victims of this disease and all the social repercussions it brought.

In both this novel and the other I read by this author (Honolulu, reviewed a few posts ago), there is quite a bit of talk of sexuality. It's not graphic or vulgar... it's just treated as a natural urge that is a part of life. There is no morality attached to it, really... he doesn't seem to have an opinion one way or the other on religion. He writes about it in a detached way, I think. He also brings a character into the story who is transgender. I'm not sure why... he doesn't mention this character as a "real" person in the author notes, so it must just be a storyline he threw in there to make things interesting. It didn't bother me (she is actually a likable character), but I wonder what the point was.

Interestingly, he talks about "The Church of Latter Day Saints" on the island. He not only got the name wrong (should be "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints"), he also didn't do his research on how the ministry works. He called the congregation leader "pastor" and referred to a "deacon"... which was used more in the way a deacon would be used in a Protestant church. It's something that would be overlooked by any reader who isn't familiar with the LDS Church, but I found it curious that with all the research he did on other subjects, this fell through the cracks.

All in all, I'm glad I read it. It was informative, interesting, and emotionally compelling.

This book contains some bad language (including the Lord's name as an exclamation of emotion), non-graphic sexuality (although I now know the Hawaiian word for "boy parts"), some descriptions of the wounds caused by leprosy, and there is plenty of death for obvious reasons. There is also a transgender character.