Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Genre: Inspirational/Non Fiction

Date of Publication: 1997 (No specific date could be found.)

Memorable Quotation: “I don’t want to leave the world in a state of fright. I want to know what’s happening, accept it, get to a peaceful place, and let go. Do you understand?”  I nodded. Don’t let go yet, I added quickly.  Morrie forced a smile. “No. Not yet. We still have work to do.” (pg. 107)

If you liked these, you’ll like this: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Lasting Impression: Flavia Weedn once said, “The world knows little of it’s greatest heroes,” and in the case of Mitch Albom’s college professor/friend Morrie Schwartz, that’s exactly what he is: a hero; a man with a message about life, love, and death that should be required reading to fully understand the human experience.

Subject: A+

Delivery: A+

Pace: A+

Ending: A+

Overall: A+

NOTE:  I just realized this is the first Non-Fiction book I will be reviewing! (I’m not talking about a guide or a collection of work; I mean a true story.)  SO, my rating system will be different.  Here are the explanations for the two new rating criteria:

Subject: Was the person or event the book is about interesting?

Delivery: Was it written in a conversational tone? Was the author/subject relatable?

Thank you and enjoy the review!

If everyone could be so lucky to have such a beautiful memoir written about them, the world may be a different place.  Fortunately, Best-Selling Author/Sports Journalist Mitch Albom was able to record the legacy of Morrie, a man who continues to inspire hope even after his death.  Morrie was diagnosed with ALS in his late seventies and through his strong spirit and high hopes against the merciless disease, Mitch wind up learning about Morrie’s condition and began visiting every Tuesday; where the two talked about some of life’s most important subjects, including marriage, emotions, death, etc.

I have always been a fan of Mitch Albom but this book made me love him and his work even more because on every page, I could feel the love and admiration he had for his old professor; describing Morrie in such a way that everyone feels they had known him as long as Albom did. 

The more I read about Morrie, the more I wished I could have hugged him, thanked him for such inspirational words, told him that I wanted to be a better person because of him.  

I can almost guarantee that I will read this book again and again; when I need my faith restored in humanity or just a little hope about life, and when that time comes, Morrie will come back to life for a little longer and he will repeat to Mitch, to me, the lessons that will help us create better tomorrow for ourselves.

~Shelly-Beans

The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox

Genre: Business/Fiction

Date of Publication: 1984 (No specific date could be found.)

Memorable quotation:  “If I were to just tell you the answers I know, all you would get is an earful of advice.  But if you discover the answers for yourself, then you own those answers.  They’ll be yours to keep, and you’ll believe in them so much more because you found them yourself.” (pg. 269)                                

If you liked these, you’ll like this: Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson and The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield                                          

Lasting Impression:  This is a must read for anyone interested in/involved with economics, business, or management for the business strategies that are discussed. For everyone else, the growth and problems of Al Rogo are things that anyone can relate to.

Storyline: A

Pace of Story: B+

Characters: A

Ending: A+

Overall Grade: A

   

I recently changed careers and started a new job, in advertising (Hooray!) so my new boss recommended I read this novel to understand more about the business and how to succeed, so although this wouldn’t have been my first choice of a novel, I definitely gained perspective from it.

Here’s the premise: What would you do if your manager told you one morning that your division of a manufacturing plant has not been making money for so long time that if things didn’t pick up in three months time, your division will be shut down?  This is the situation Al Rogo is faced with, and if that isn’t hard enough to deal with, his marriage is crumbling as well.  With the help of his old physics teacher, Jonah, Rogo begins a journey of not only a re-evaluation of everything he thought he knew about business but also how to manage his time better with his family.

The book focuses on the ideas of throughput, bottlenecks, and ROI (just to name a few) and for those who feel daunted by those terms (like I did), Goldratt writes in a way that is easy to understand, even though at times I was bored by the amount of business terminology used in certain scenarios.

What annoyed me the most about the novel was how it was described on the jacket. It was stated that this would be a “thriller” and it was a “compulsive” read. For a reader like me, these words made me think of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (maybe for business people, this is a thriller) but when I read it, I had to push myself at times to get through the sections that went deep into the ethics of business.

When I was done with the book, my boss asked me what I got out of it, and I told him some of the terms I remembered and how the goal of The Goal is to make money. He nodded in agreement with everything I said but stated when I was done, “Einstein.  Albert Einstein said a very important quotation that Rogo followed unknowingly and I want you to remember it. If you do, you will be successful here.  The quote is, ‘I don’t need to know everything; I just to know where to find it when I need it.’ ” 

That's exactly what Rogo did; when he didn’t know the answer, he went to Jonah for help and soon realized that the goal of any business is what the book said, to make money, but it really is more than that. The goal is to admit you can't know everything so it is important to have the resources that can lead you to the answer.

N0S4A2 by Joe Hill

Genre: Horror/Fiction

Date of Publication: October 15, 2013

Memorable Quotation: “You look at birds all of your life without ever knowing what was a Sparrow and what was a Blackbird, but we all know a Swan when we see it. So it was with cars. Maybe you could not tell a Firebird from a Fiero but when you saw a Rolls- Royce, you knew it.” (pg.52)

If you liked these, you’ll like this: The film 'Wanted', Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

Lasting Impression: As Vic McQueen takes you on a wild ride in this fast-paced story, full of secret bridges, unique characters, and the illusive Christmasland, N0S4A2 may have you look at the holiday season differently for a long, long time!

Storyline: A+

Pace of Story: A-

Characters: A+

Ending: A

Overall Grade: A

*NOTE* I am adding a new section to my reviews, “If you liked these, you’ll like this.” I say in my reviews (or at least, I write a lot in my notes) how this book reminds me of this film, that book, etc. SO, to help peak your interest more, I will be putting in a section of what the book reminds me of (if anything). Give me your feedback! In the meantime, enjoy N0S4A2’s review!

This is probably one of the most visually-stimulating books I have read in a LONG time. What I mean by that is throughout the entire book, I could see everything that was happening, like a movie in my head. Although some aspects were a bit disturbing (which is expected from Hill) and other parts heartbreaking, the story overall packs a great punch and kept me glued to the pages as I rode along with Victoria McQueen through her journey.

The story centers around Vic “The Brat” McQueen and her Raleigh Tuff Burner bicycle (later on, her Triumph) and how she can cross the “Shorter Bridge” to find lost objects.  Eventually, she meets a warm-hearted junkie/librarian/champion scrabble player, Margaret Leigh, who warns her of Charles Manx, a child kidnapper and creator of Christmasland, and his 1938 Rolls Royce through the help of her scrabble pieces that can predict various things.

Eventually, as Leigh’s scrabble pieces predicted, fate leads Vic to Manx and the trouble only begins there.  Following the travels of Vic, Leigh, Manx, and other unforgettable characters, Vic is lead to Christmasland on a rescue mission. To become victorious, Vic will need the help of those who love her most, and only then will she find the strength to face Manx directly and give him what he deserves.

Hill does a great job with this novel on so many levels. The pace was good, although it is became too fast at times, reminding me of Vic on her bikes; at times going too fast, making things feel out of control, but once they slowed down, everything evened out.  I was also very impressed by the subtle, clever elements Hill integrated into the novel, especially the title (which I won’t spoil for you, you’ll have to read the book to understand, unless you wanted to say the title quickly *cough cough*).

Everything really fell into place with this novel. There were some structural and grammatical issues that bothered me and at first, I thought the ending was going to be a disappointment but after giving the ending more time to develop, it flourished and really tied everything up nicely, like a newly wrapped gift for Christmas.  

~Shelly-Beans

October Books That "Did Not Make the Grade"

As this month comes to a close, I am sad that I was not able to review as many books as I would have liked, but I am reading one now that is sure to please for next month!

In the mean time, here are the two novels that unfortunately "did not make the grade:"

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight: I liked the concept and how the character's could easily be seen with individual personalities, but there were a few problems that left me uninterested in continuing to read.  The biggest problem was that the storyline did not hold my interest; it reminded me of the film, "Mean Girls"  but with a sadder twist.  I was hoping my mind would be changed but some of the characters irritated me and I didn't care to learn more about what really happened.

The Translator by Nina Schuyler:  To be honest, I fell out of reading this novel because I wasn't sure where the plot was going, although it was written very well.  I can definately say that I would try reading this book again, maybe when I have a little more patience in finding out where the plot leads us.

Happy Halloween (for tomorrow) and I look forward to writing more next month!

~Shelly-Beans

Relative Identity by Holly Patrone

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Date of Publication: January 15^th, 2013

Memorable Quotation: “It was Saturday night and people were jammed so closely that it would take a crowbar and a vat of petroleum jelly to navigate the crowd, and from the looks of it, half of them would have enjoyed the combo way too much.” (pg. 63)

Lasting Impression: Great humor, good characters, but sometimes a little corny, Relative Identity is an easy, enjoyable read for anyone who can relate with the curveballs life throws at the most inconvenient of moments!

Storyline: A-

Pace: B+

Characters: A+

Ending: B-

Overall: A-

When a spouse passes away, it is always hard for the survivor to live everyday to the fullest without thinking about their late significant other.  However, what if they never really left, and were always watching, for better or for worse?  That is the conundrum that April Serao faces everyday as she deals with her deceased husband Sal, now an angel after dying from a vigorous round of birthday sex six years ago. 

Not spiteful in the least, Sal watches over April, which is sweet and all but since she is the only one who can see him when he visits her, most would think she worries that her new boyfriend, Jack, and her three sons consider her crazy for talking to herself.  Things get a bit crazier, though, when April is told that her deceased husband’s identity has been stolen and only through numerous haphazard events and humorous occurrences does April find the culprit behind the theft and the real reason why Sal continues to watch over her.

The pace of the novel is nice and easy, so much so that you feel like April is one of your friends, telling you a crazy story.  The other characters are also relatable, each having their own quirk and identity to set them apart from everyone.  What I loved most about Relative Identity was the way you could really engross yourself into the Serao’s family life and relate to them as if they were your own.

Although I loved the storyline and the characters, I had two problems with the other aspects of the novel.  First, the dialogue does not always flow naturally and second, the ending is not the big bang the characters try to make it out to be.  Instead, the ending seemed forced compared to the easy flow most of the novel held.

This is a nice novel, overall; there are no deep topics to sit and contemplate, no confusing plot twists, but its simplicity is what gives it such depth.  Although some parts are overly-exaggerated for stock value, Relative Identity is a fun novel based around humor and how family should always stick together, especially in the strange, amusing circumstances the Serao family faces.

~Shelly-Beans