Title: Columbine

Author: Dave Cullen

Narrator: Don Leslie

Publication Year: 2009

Pages: 464 (audio length: 14 hours 9 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

On April 20, 1999, two boys left an indelible stamp on the American psyche. Their goal was simple: to blow up their school, Oklahoma-City style, and to leave “a lasting impression on the world.” Their bombs failed, but the ensuing shooting defined a new era of school violence-irrevocably branding every subsequent shooting “another Columbine.”

When we think of Columbine, we think of the Trench Coat Mafia; we think of Cassie Bernall, the girl we thought professed her faith before she was shot; and we think of the boy pulling himself out of a school window — the whole world was watching him. Now, in a riveting piece of journalism nearly ten years in the making, comes the story none of us knew. In this revelatory book, Dave Cullen has delivered a profile of teenage killers that goes to the heart of psychopathology. He lays bare the callous brutality of mastermind Eric Harris, and the quavering, suicidal Dylan Klebold, who went to prom three days earlier and obsessed about love in his journal.

The result is an astonishing account of two good students with lots of friends, who came to stockpile a basement cache of weapons, to record their raging hatred, and to manipulate every adult who got in their way. They left signs everywhere, described by Cullen with a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, thousands of pages of police files, FBI psychologists, and the boys’ tapes and diaries, he gives the first complete account of the Columbine tragedy.

This book fascinated and horrified me in pretty well equal measure.

I was still in school when the Columbine school shooting occurred. In fact, I was just finishing up elementary school, and was about to move on to high school in a few months – so it was doubly scary for me when we heard about it in the news and at school. And throughout my years in high school, it seemed as if there were more and more school shootings happening in its wake. I’m not sure if it was really as bad as it seemed, or if things were just overblown in the media (something that Cullen talks about in this book), but it was scary. And a few years ago, when I finally finished school and started working as a high school teacher, school violence was definitely something that was always at the back of our minds. We talked about it in teacher’s college, and after I finished one of my practicum placements … there was a stabbing at that school a few weeks later.

And so, I’d had this book loaded and ready to read for months, but hadn’t gotten around to it for quite a while. When I finally did pick up Columbine, I found that I could only digest a certain amount of it at once. Despite the fact that I was a teenager when this happened, and that it was all over the news, I didn’t really know much about what had happened, even superficially. So I was learning quite a bit while listening to this book, and not just the “new” things that a lot of other people probably learned from it. I was also learning a lot of the basics. And it was completely overwhelming at times.

It was also completely engrossing. I wanted to know what happened, especially how something could get so out of control and become such a huge media sensation and seemingly start an epidemic of school violence in America for years to come. It was hard to put down, even when I was listening to really difficult sections.

Cullen did a fantastic job of distilling the information that is available about the Columbine incident into a book that is both easy to follow and extremely detailed at the same time. He has a knack for really laying it all out there, without passing judgement on anyone involved or influencing the story with his own opinions. Rather, Columbine is an excellent example of a reporter going back and setting the record straight on an incident that, by his own admission, he was part of the media mis-reporting of in the first place.

If you’re interested in learning more about school violence, or about teenage psychopathy – or about Columbine in particular – definitely pick up a copy of this book. It’s worth the read, and you’ll find yourself completely engrossed in both the details and the narration.

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Columbine (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: Double Dexter

Author & Narrator: Jeff Lindsay

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 352 (audio length: 12 hours 31 minutes)

Genre: Fiction

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

Dexter Morgan is not your average serial killer. He enjoys his day job as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department . . . but he lives for his nighttime hobby of hunting other killers. Dexter is therefore not pleased to discover that someone is shadowing him, observ­ing him, and copying his methods. Dexter is not one to tol­erate displeasure . . . in fact, he has a knack for extricating himself from trouble in his own pleasurable way.

Like the previous five best-selling novels in the Dexter series, Double Dexter showcases the witty, macabre origi­nality that has propelled Jeff Lindsay to international suc­cess. Double Dexter is raucously entertaining . . . full of smart suspense and dark laughs.

This may not have been my favourite of the Dexter novels, but it was fairly high up there. I think I listened to the entire book in the span of a few days. It was a little less predictable than I had been expecting, and I kept wanting to know what would come next.

One of the most interesting elements of Double Dexter was the focus on the relationship between Dexter and Rita. Rita seemed to be come more complex in this book, less two-dimensional and flat. She grew some balls and actually realized that something was amiss when Dexter was away so often and was acting funny, rather than her usual ditzy self who never really noticed a thing. I liked that: it made her a lot more believable than she’d been in the past.

I still wish that Lindsay would go back to the old narrator and stop narrating his own books … but this one also didn’t feel quite as stilted as the previous one, so it wasn’t as painful to listen to. I actually didn’t notice quite so quickly at the beginning that it hadn’t gone back to the original narrator.

Definitely give this one a read if you’re up to speed on the series. I think you’ll enjoy it.

Rating:

Double Dexter (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: The White Tiger

Author: Aravind Adiga

Publication Year: 2008

Pages: 304 (audio length: 8 hours 5 minutes)

Genre: Fiction

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

No saris. No scents. No spices. No music. No lyricism. No illusions.This is India now.

Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life – having nothing but his own wits to help him along. Born in a village in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for a wealthy man, two Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man’s (very unlucky) son.

Through Balram’s eyes, we see India as we’ve never seen it before: the cockroaches and the call centers, the prostitutes and the worshippers, the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger.

With a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn’t create morality and money doesn’t solve every problem – but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations.

I heard about this book for the first time shortly after it was published, through a student of mine. It was my first year of teaching, and a student wanted to read it for an independent book study. At the time, it looked like a good choice. Now that I’ve read it … well, I’m not sure whether some of the content was necessarily appropriate, but oh well.

Having said that, I was absolutely enthralled with The White Tiger. The most interesting part of the book is the focus on the life and circumstances of the narrator, particularly since novels tend to find more affluent people far more interesting. And granted, at the point at which he’s writing the book, the narrator has become rather more affluent than he started, but the story of how he got there is far from the typical hard-work-will-get-you-places narrative. Instead, the novel is more of a commentary on morality and the questionable choices that people make when faced with difficult life circumstances.

Basically, I don’t want to give too much away … but I do want to tell you that you should read this book. It is, by turns, utterly hilarious and completely thought-provoking. You definitely won’t regret picking up The White Tiger as your next read, in paper or audio form.

Rating:

The White Tiger (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu

Author: J. Maarten Troost

Narrator: Simon Vance

Publication Year: 2006

Pages: 256 (audio length: 7 hours 30 minutes)

Genre: Non-Fiction, Travel, Memoir

Source: Audiobook purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

After two grueling years on the island of Tarawa, Troost was in no hurry to return to the South Pacific until he began to feel remarkably out of place in modern America. He knew it was time to set off again for parts unknown. Here he tells the story of his time on Vanuatu, a cluster of islands where he struggles against typhoons, earthquakes, and giant centipedes but finds himself swept up in the laid-back, clothing-optional lifestyle of the islanders. When his wife Sylvia gets pregnant, they decamp for slightly more civilized Fiji, a fallen paradise rife with prostitutes and government coups, where their son takes quite naturally to island living.

I have to be honest here: I’m semi-hopelessly behind on reviews. I think that I finished reading this book back in … October? Or maybe late September? the very end of October. So there’s very little that I remember in the way of specifics.

Having said that, here are my brief thoughts on Getting Stoned with Savages: I liked it just as much as Troost’s other books (Lost on Planet China: One Man’s Attempt to Understand the World’s Most Mystifying Nation and The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific), with probably the same general thoughts. I remember reading it with a fondness most like how I felt after reading The Sex Lives of Cannibalsh probably means that I liked it a fair bit. Mostly, I enjoy Troost’s style of narration and his sense of humour. Also, I remember there being a bit more Sylvia (his wife) in this book, which was a good thing. It was nice to see her perspective a bit more of the time.

So, if you’ve read his other books, definitely give this one a go! If you haven’t read The Sex Lives of Cannibals, though, I recommend that you read it first. Getting Stoned with the Savages comes pretty close after it in chronology, and it’s good to have Tarawa as a reference point when reading about his take on Vanuatu.

Rating:

Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: The Weird Sisters

Author: Eleanor Brown

Narrator: Kirsten Potter

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 336 (audio length: 10 hours 25 minutes)

Genre: Fiction

Source: Audiobook version purchased from Audible.com

From the cover:

“There is no problem that a library card can’t solve.”

The Andreas family is one of readers. Their father, a renowned Shakespeare professor who speaks almost entirely in verse, has named his three daughters after famous Shakespearean women. When the sisters return to their childhood home, ostensibly to care for their ailing mother, but really to lick their wounds and bury their secrets, they are horrified to find the others there. “See, we love each other. We just don’t happen to like each other very much”.

But the sisters soon discover that everything they’ve been running from – one another, their small hometown, and themselves – might offer more than they ever expected.

A major new talent tackles the complicated terrain of sisters, the power of books, and the places we decide to call home.

There’s really not a lot I can say about this book without giving too much away. Basically, the Andreas sisters – Rose, Bianca (aka Bean), and Cordelia – all show up at their parents’ home, where they haven’t lived together for a very long time. In fact, Bean has been away in New York for years, Cordy has been drifting for almost as long, and only Rose has really been around much at all. In fact, perhaps too much … she doesn’t seem to know how to leave their hometown and move on to bigger things.

That’s really all I can tell you without getting too deep into the magic that is this story. Honestly, it’s just magic. I come from a fairly dysfunctional family, but nothing like this. There was just something so very beautiful about the way that the characters interacted with each other – tentatively and with barely-hidden hostility at first – and improved their relationships through proximity and mutual need.

At the beginning of the book, I wasn’t so sure that I was going to enjoy The Weird Sisters, but I had definitely changed my mind by the end. It’s just not something that I can explain well in words, but I’ll try: in a nutshell, what I loved most about this book was the intricacy of the story and the intimacy with which the author addressed each character’s thoughts and deeds.

If you come across this book, or if you’re into “women’s fiction” or family sagas, definitely pick it up. You won’t regret it.

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The Weird Sisters (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: CultureShock! United Arab Emirates

Author: Gina Crocetti Benesh

Publication Year: 2008

Pages: 256

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Purchased from Chapters

From the cover:

CultureShock! United Arab Emirates orientates you into a country that is moving forward at a breathtaking pace unlike any other. The thriving economy attracts a large and diverse expatriate workforce, while luxurious hotels, spectacular skyscrapers and top-class shopping places continue to draw tourists from all corners of the globe. Beneath this cosmopolitan surface though is a culture deeply rooted in Arabic tradition and tribal values that continue to exist till this day. Learn more about the Emiratis’ lifestyles, mentalities and religious practices, and pick up vital tips on how to behave, act and speak in a manner than will help you settle down into your new environment more comfortably. CultureShock! United Arab Emirates is indeed your invaluable companion in making the most of your time in this exciting desert paradise.

This is really a very specific book for a very specific purpose – information on surviving the customs and etiquette in the UAE for newcomers to the country. So I’m going to keep my commentary short and sweet, hopefully helpful for people wondering if it’s a good choice for them while preparing, but not super detailed since, well, most people probably couldn’t care less about it if they aren’t planning to move or visit here!

There was definitely some good information in CultureShock! UAE, especially about practical concerns (like the raging bureaucratic red tape) and what to expect every day life to be like here, including clothing and appropriate public behaviour. On the whole, I have found – in my three months of living here so far – that the information is rather accurate and some of it was definitely helpful while I was settling in. Probably the best thing that I can say about this book, aside from commenting on its informational content, is that it was well organized. And in a book of this nature, which is trying to get you prepared for a huge change in a very short time, clear organization and concise writing style is essential, so kudos to the author.

One of the things that I did find a bit disturbing, however, was an occasional moment where the author seemed to make very sweeping generalizations, often inaccurate, and mostly about religion. For example, the word “Arab” would often be used interchangeably for the word “Muslim” while talking about religious beliefs and customs. And it should be mentioned that Arabs are not all Muslim, and Muslims are not all (or even mostly) Arab. And for someone who has ostensibly spent years living in and/or researching the country she’s writing about, that’s a rather large mistake for the author to make.

So, in the end, I would still recommend CultureShock! UAE for anyone looking at moving to the area, or who is already living here and wanting some more insider information … just make sure to read it with a critical eye. There’s lots of good information in the book that really shouldn’t be overlooked.

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CultureShock! United Arab Emirates (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: This Girl is Different

Author: J. J. Johnson

Publication Year: 2011

Pages: 288

Genre: Fiction, Young Adult

Source: E-book from the publisher through NetGalley

From the cover:

This girl is different… That’s what Evie has always told herself and it’s true. Home-schooled by her counter culture mom, she’s decided to see what high school is like for the first time for her senior year. And what a year it is.

As it turns out, it’s not just Evie who’s Different. Lots of people are. Many of her assumptions about others are turned on their heads as she makes friends with kids her own age for the first time, discovers what’s good and what’s bad about high school, and learns lessons about power and its abuse both by the administration and by Evie herself.

I was always curious about homeschooling when I was younger, and now that I’m getting older and starting to think about the education options for my (future, theoretical) children, I find that it’s on the table again. Plus, you know, I’m a teacher – so pretty much anything to do with education tickles my fancy if it looks even remotely interesting.

So, when I saw this book in the list of offerings on NetGalley way back in January, I just had to try it out. Unfortunately, it took me quite a while to get around to reading it; I wish I had done so sooner!

The best thing about this book was the character of Evie. Seriously. She’s like, the hippie, anti-authoritarian teenager that I wish I had been. Would that we could all be that smart and brave! At times, though, I have to admit that it sort of felt like Dawson’s Creek all over again … you know, the uber-intellectual teenagers using words and ideas far beyond what real people their age would be capable of using.

Having said that, This Girl is Different was still a fascinating read, and one that I would highly recommend!

Rating:

This Girl is Different (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

So … I looked at my google calendar last week while I was away on vacation, and realized that I hadn’t updated this blog in over a month!

Really, it’s just an indication of all of the many things that I’ve let fall by the wayside since I moved over here to the UAE. School started and everything else just kind of melted into the background. It’s been super crazy and stressful (but also fun!) and I’ve just found myself with little-to-no time for leisure activities, or  no energy to do them.

(Or, perhaps, not just leisure activities. Be thankful that you can’t see the state of my apartment right now.)

Anyways! Last week, I took a much-needed vacay during the Eid break, and dragged myself to Germany. Yes, Germany! The first time I’ve ever been to Europe. I went to visit my best friend Adele, who got married in the spring and had her first baby (Isabella!) in August, shortly after I moved over here to the sandbox. So I spent most of my week with her, and also went on a side trip for a day and a half to meet some distant family that I’d never really even heard of before. It was more fun than it sounds, actually.

So! Hopefully, in addition to cleaning up my house and getting my act together, and starting to eat some real food with regularity (instead of so much takeaway and junk) … I will be posting some reviews here soon. I’ve read/listened to quite a few books this month – after reading a grand total of ZERO books in September! – and can’t wait to get back into the swing of things.

Plus, you know, I really do miss you all. I should really go tackle my very scary-looking google reader. Although, in reality, I’ll probably just be hitting the “Mark As Read” button. So if there’s anything you really want me to see that’s happened in the last 2ish months, then leave me a link.

Sunday Salon: Where I Disappeared To is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star’s Revolution

Author: Salman Ahmad

Publication Year: 2010

Pages: 240

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Review copy from the publisher

From the cover:

With 30 million record sales under his belt, and with fans including Bono and Al Gore, Pakistan-born Salman Ahmad is renowned for being the first rock & roll star to destroy the wall that divides the West and the Muslim world. Rock & Roll Jihad is the story of his incredible journey.

Facing down angry mullahs and oppressive dictators who wanted all music to be banned from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Salman Ahmad rocketed to the top of the music charts, bringing Western-style rock and pop to Pakistani teenagers for the first time. His band Junoon became the U2 of Asia, a sufi-rock group that broke boundaries and sold a record number of albums. But Salman’s story began in New York, where he spent his teen years learning to play guitar, listening to Led Zeppelin, hanging out at rock clubs and Beatles Fests, making American friends, and dreaming of rock-star fame. That dream seemed destined to die when his family returned to Pakistan and Salman was forced to follow the strictures of a newly religious — and stratified — society.

Today, Salman continues to play music and is also a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, traveling the world as a spokesperson and using the lessons he learned as a musical pioneer to help heal the wounds between East and West — lessons he shares in this illuminating memoir.

To be completely honest, I had never heard of Ahmad (or Junoon) until I saw the synopsis for this book. Not that I’m usually particularly “up” on these kinds of things, but I just thought that I should mention it.

I really enjoyed the story of Ahmad’s musical journey, and particularly how his music intertwined with his Islam, even though I will likely never listen to his music. Not that I don’t think it’s very good or anything, just … I only speak English? I don’t know. Feel free to convince me otherwise, though, and maybe I’ll give it a shot.

Even having said that, though, I really learned a lot from reading his story. There’s a lot more to it than just the story of a band – there’s political intrigue, personal challenges and conflict, and even a love story. I’m not normally the type of person who reads musical memoirs, but Rock & Roll Jihad was more than that. It told the general story of a country and a culture through the specific narrative of one person’s life.

So if, like me, this isn’t normally the kind of book that you’d find yourself interested in … I urge you to give it a shot anyways. I found it interesting, educational, and highly entertaining.

Rating:

This book is a part of the Ramadan Reading event happening here this month.

You can find other posts in the series by clicking on the image to the right, or by taking a look at the schedule of posts and reviews.

Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star’s Revolution (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life

Title: The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and That Veil Thing

Author: Sumbul Ali-Karamali

Publication Year: 2008

Pages: 260

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Review copy from the publisher

From the cover:

Since 9/11, stories about Muslims and the Islamic world have flooded headlines, politics, and water-cooler conversations all across the country. And, although Americans hear about Islam on a daily basis, there remains no clear explanation of Islam or its people. The Muslim Next Door offers easy-to-understand yet academically sound answers to these questions while also dispelling commonly held misconceptions. Written from the point of view of an American Muslim, the book addresses what readers in the Western world are most curious about, beginning with the basics of Islam and how Muslims practice their religion before easing into more complicated issues like jihad, Islamic fundamentalism, and the status of women in Islam. Author Sumbul Ali-Karamali’s vivid anecdotes about growing up Muslim and female in the West, along with her sensitive, scholarly overview of Islam, combine for a uniquely insightful look at the world’s fastest growing religion.

This book was really good as a slightly-more-than-basic primer to Islam for non-Muslims.

What I really enjoyed was the breadth of topics that the author covered, and the no-nonsense, frank and honest way with which she talked about them. I was really taken in by the voice she used throughout the book, which was very similar to the way you’d talk to a neighbour or a friend. She went into quite a bit of detail on many of the issues, far more than many of the other “intro to Islam”-type books that I’ve read before.

Having said that, there were a few issues that she glanced over (or over-simplified a bit). And she definitely approaches Islam from a slightly-left-of-orthodox point of view in some cases, so you should be aware of that going in. She’s a bit more conservative than, say, I am, but that’s common across the board; in fact, she’s closer to my leanings than almost any other book I’ve read about Islam.

So definitely pick this one up if you’re interested in a book that discusses some hard issues regarding Islam, but in a way that’s accessible to believers and non-believers alike.

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The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and That Veil Thing (Review) is original content from: Reading Through Life