ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Monthly Archive: October 2020

Wednesday

21

October 2020

0

COMMENTS

Voices by Arnaldur Indriðason

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three Stars

Best for:
People who like mysteries set around Christmastime.

In a nutshell:
Detective Erlendur is called to investigate a murder that took place at a hotel a week before Christmas.

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I’m enjoying having something somewhat easy to read in between more substantial books. That sounds like an insult, but I don’t mean it that way at all.

Review:
I said in my last review that I was hoping this author wasn’t committed to having women always (only?) be the victims of the crimes his detective investigates, and I got my wish with this one. While a woman does play a prominent role in the investigation, the story involves the murder of a man who was formerly a renowned choirboy.

This story definitely has a more claustrophobic feel than the previous two books. Erlendur spends the duration of the novel staying in the hotel where the murder took place, taking his meals, meeting with his daughter, and of course, investigating the crime. It’s snowing out, Christmas is approaching, and there’s both a sense of urgency and a sense of calm in the book.

The book also does an interesting job of exploring the expectations families put on children, and how when they may not live up to those expectations — either by circumstances, or by choice — parents can be cruel in response. It also looks at how people who are perceived as being different are treated, both as children and as adults. Kind of a lot of a mystery, eh?

It took my a month to read the book, but not because it was a hard read. I just had to allow myself the time to get into it – this can’t be a book you read a couple of chapters at a time – this is a good book to pick up at lunch and commit to reading all afternoon.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it

Wednesday

7

October 2020

0

COMMENTS

Idiot by Laura Clery

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three Stars

Best for:
People who know who Laura Clery is (I’m guessing); people who like a good story about overcoming addiction; people who read The Secret.

In a nutshell:
Writer / actress Laura Clery’s memoir shares stories of trying to make it in Hollywood.

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I generally love memoirs, especially read by the author. In reality I probably should have passed it by when I saw the title, but I didn’t really even process that until I started writing this review.

Review:
Hmmm. This book might have been two stars now that I’m done with it, but I think three stars is warranted as I was definitely entertained, and at times moved. The writing is good, and the delivery of the audio book is good. Just overall the content at times was a bit rough, though mostly at the end. So maybe that’s the problem?

First, I should say that I am not at all familiar with the author – I’d not heard of her until her book showed up in the Google Play recommendations. I’ve still not sought out her work as it’s probably not my thing. The author moved to Los Angeles right after high school, then moved to New York, eventually settling back in LA. She was in an abusive relationship for years (and is able to discuss it with the seriousness it deserves while also keeping the reader entertained and interjecting jokes where possible and appropriate). She has had very substance use disorders, and has found AA to be helpful in maintaining her sobriety.

Here’s where I think I was lost – the discussion about Marianne Williamson’s philosophy of life, is just too woo woo for me. I think the ‘law of attraction’ is utter bullshit and actively harmful as it implies that anyone who is suffering just … didn’t manifest what they wanted hard enough, making pain essentially a personal fault. Not cool.

Also, the title of the book is an ableist slur, so not great.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Toss it (metaphorically; it’s an audiobook)

Thursday

1

October 2020

0

COMMENTS

Nala’s World by Dean Nicholson

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Four Stars

Best for:
Animal lovers. People who like to travel. People who care about the world.

In a nutshell:
Scottish wanderer Nicholson set out to ride his bike throughout Europe and beyond. He found an abandoned kitten and their lives changed.

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
I follow Dean and Nala on Instagram so was aware of the book and happy to support them in their travels.

Review:
Like many of Dean and Nala’s social media followers (@1bike1world on Instagram), I discovered them when a video of them was put out by The Dodo. (You can watch it here https://www.thedodo.com/videos/our-shows/guy-biking-across-the-world-picks-up-a-stray-kitten) I am a cat lover (I have two ginger tabbies of my own who we brought with us when we moved from the US to the UK) and a sucker for sweet stories.

This book details Dean and Nala’s journey so far, spreading awareness of and support for animal and environmental issues. They’ve sold calendars (and now a book!) to raise money to support animal rescue groups in the countries they visit. It’s also a travelogue, full of tales of their adventures across Europe. It ends right around the start of the pandemic, and there is some legitimate drama in there.

I don’t know what I was expecting from this – a bit of fluff and some sweet pictures, I guess. But this is a legitimately entertaining, sweet, and inspirational book. It’s 250 pages, so while it’s capitalizing on their fame a bit, there’s substance here. There are discussions about animal welfare, explorations of what to do with one’s life, thoughts on what matters. And it’s also really, really hopeful. It’s simple and sweet and frankly so welcome at this moment. It brought me joy and I’ll get more joy out of it in the future, looking over the pictures of this adorable kitten and her Scottish human.

Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Keep it