Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

#936
Title: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)
Author: Mindy Kaling
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
Year: 2012
240 pages

 Enjoyable humor in the Fey/Handler style. The revenge fantasies while exercising bit is an especially fine concept.

Eugene (Images of America)

#935
Title: Eugene (Images of America)
Author: David G. Turner
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Year: 2012
127 pages

Great fun reading this and seeing not only places but even people I know. We don't have this kind of history in the community where I grew up! 

The Birds of America

#934
Title: The Birds of America
Author: John James Audubon
Publisher: Sterling
Year: 1947/2012
448 pages

Purchased on sale at Barnes and Noble for a ridiculously low price.

A beautiful book, created by taking apart original materials and digitally photographing them. I can see the difference compared to earlier books that include Audubon prints. The colors and lines are clear and the paper stock is pleasingly thick. Audubon's bird portraits not only represented a shift toward naturalistic depiction, but are in some cases lovely enough to make me tearful.

Ornithology nerds will enjoy comparing Audubon's Latin and common names to contemporary nomenclature. 

The Rapture of the Nerds: A Tale of the Singularity, Posthumanity, and Awkward Social Situations

#933
Title: The Rapture of the Nerds: A Tale of the Singularity, Posthumanity, and Awkward Social Situations
Author: Cory Doctorow & Charles Stross
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2012
351 pages

Amusing light science fiction with interesting things to think about without a lot of heavy lifting required of the reader.

The Cat in the Cradle (Loka Legends #1)

#932
Title: The Cat in the Cradle (Loka Legends #1)
Author: Jay Bell
Publisher: Swimming Kangaroo Books
Year: 2010
257 pages

**SPOILERS**

 This YA fantasy with a gay adolescent protagonist manages to do a pretty good job of fantasy as well as its coming of age theme. The hero needs to take the risk of acknowledging his love in order to fully find and use his magical powers. The fantasy elements hold together pretty well, though I didn't feel entirely identified with the main characters, perhaps because the narrative told rather than showed. A little sexist decision-making toward the end annoyed me, especially since the female oligarchs wielded considerable plot-changing power. It also struck me as too easy that the villainous oligarch was the only person to denigrate Dylan's love. Still, it's nice to see a matter-of-fact treatment of homoeroticism in a YA fantasy.

Fahrenheit 451

#931
Title: Fahrenheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year: 1953/1991
190 pages

Re-read, as an audiobook because that's funny. Read many times in the past. I am the first several chapters of Beowulf and an anthology of poetry, including John Donne and e.e. cummings.

Read by Ray Bradbury. 

The Mystery of the Kaddish: Its Profound Influence on Judaism

#930
Title: The Mystery of the Kaddish: Its Profound Influence on Judaism
Author: Leon H. Charney & Saul Mayzlish
Publisher: Barricade Books
Year: 2006 (publication date for audiobook unknown)
236 pages
Narrated by George Guidall
5 hours, 13 minutes


Received as a free review copy from Audiobook Jukebox.

Guidall's narration is clear and pleasant to listen to. His phrasing makes complex sentences easy to follow. His Hebrew and Aramaic pronunciation is crisp and, so far as I can tell, accurate.

While I found this exploration of the Kaddish interesting, it was not primarily a book about the evolution of the Kaddish, nor did it appear to include a great deal of new information. What I take from the book is that not a lot is actually known about the Kaddish, or at least, not a lot is known that can be well-verified by interviewing a selection of people around the world. I was expecting a more scholarly exploration of the Kaddish’s origins, changes in text and function over time, and perhaps contemporary variations. While the historical and informational sections were indeed very interesting, they formed a disappointingly small portion of the book. This material might better have been presented as a long article.

A great deal of the book was anecdotes and suppositions, some related more directly to the Kaddish and others peripheral. Woven throughout were conversations and reflections that were not well-integrated into the overall structure of the book. At times I felt that I was reading a mystical religious exposition, not a fact-based history. A more descriptive title and a reorganization of the sections would clarify the book's genre and flow.

I didn't find the Hebrew, Aramaic, or cultural information difficult to follow. However, someone who is not Jewish might have a harder time understanding the narrative or points being made. In the print version this would be less pronounced, but as an audiobook this might be difficult to follow for someone without the linguistic and cultural context. It's probably best for a reader familiar with Judaism and Jewish prayer who is most interested in how the Kaddish's history may contribute to its personal and emotional relevance.