Monthly Archives: October 2012

Book Review of 12 Precious Anecdotes from Life

Author Payal Roy sent me an e-copy of the book 12 Precious Anecdotes from Life.

Description from Goodreads:
12 short stories that initiate the ball of fate rolling on the court of life. Meet Samantha, John, Amy, uncle Ben and an octogenarian amongst a dozen other faces who share their anecdotes through this book.

What do they have in common? Successful and interesting people from a diverse background, their paths cross with Anita Maher. This sets off a cascade of events that compels everyone to look back at their own lives. How is Anita affected? Other people too seem to bump into Anita all of a sudden . Does life want to convey a message to all?

12 heartfelt anecdotes from their lives kept a secret all this while, only to be revealed to Anita, when time seems limited and many ventures still left unexplored. Does life give a second chance? Find out in this book which shares their exploits and adventures through their intriguing and engaging vignettes on life.

I honestly feel like I should write two reviews for this book, one a critical analysis of the book itself and the second a personal examination of my own response to it. The two are quite different. Just as the title suggests, it is a collection of short stories, each containing an important lesson to help the reader lead a more fulfilled and meaningful life. Who can argue with the idea that it is important to value your friends and family above money or to stop and appreciate small moments of bliss? I have no qualms with what the book set out to do and, honestly, even accomplishes. I didn’t even have any real qualms with the writing, though it was painfully straightforward and repetitive at times. What it was that made my skin crawl was simply that I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate being preached at and that is exactly what each one of these stories felt like to me. Something like having my mother trying to tell me, a 35-year-old woman, how best to live my life. While acknowledging the message, I’m inclined to reject the messenger based on the emotional aversion it engenders, and it’s hard to rationalize myself past that.

This makes reviewing the book a little difficult. Should I treat it as a simple representation of my own personal opinion of the book or as a more impartial indication of the book’s worth to readers as a whole? Because, certainly, if you are the type of reader who enjoys sitting in Sunday School pondering the moral lessons implicit in the Book of Paul (or any other religious text) you would really like this book. I am not that person. I didn’t enjoy it, but I’m not ready to say it isn’t a good book.

I know it sounds like I am straddling the fence on this one, but I am rather trying to impart two messages in one review. I didn’t like it, but please don’t take that as a general denunciation of the book. It and I were simply a poor match.

The Titanic Plan

Book Review of The Titanic Plan, by Michael Bockman

Author Michael Bockman sent me an e-copy of his and Ron Freeman‘s historical novel The Titanic Plan.

Description from Goodreads:
TRUE:
100 years ago J. Pierpont Morgan and a group of Wall Street bankers took direct control of the American economy.
100 years ago radical firebrands were conspiring to create a workers revolution.
100 years ago the American government was paralyzed by a bitter political struggle.
100 years ago a great ship sank on her maiden voyage.
They said it was an accident. They said it was an error of judgment.
They were wrong.

Book Review:

The Titanic Plan is a meticulously researched historical novel set between 1910 and 1912/13. This was an economically and politically tumultuous time in America’s history, but also a time for great personalities, sweeping social movements, and amazing feats of engineering. A lot happened in those few years. There is no shortage of material to incorporate into fiction and The Titanic Plan doesn’t let you down.

Since it really is necessary to understand the political atmosphere of the period in order to follow the book’s plot and some of the characters actions/attitudes there is quite a lot of historical recap involved. This feels a little slow to read, but unless you happen to be historian to start with it’s necessary and worth it. (Plus some people really like this incorporation of a lesson into a fictional novel. It’s not my thing, but I appreciate the need.) The book makes some of the most famous people of the period feel approachable, Presidents Roosevelt and Taft, John Pierpont Morgan, John Astor, George Vanderbilt, Emma Goldman, and the main character Archibald Butt (what an unfortunate name).

Archibald Butt

J. P. Morgan

John J. Astor

George Vanderbilt

Emma Goldman

 

 

 

 

Butt’s fierce loyalty and search for the truth, combined with his  convenient position as military aide to the president sends him from New York to DC to Italy/England and back again (kind of). There were also a number of loveable side characters. My favourite was Henry, but it would be hard not to love Henry.

If you enjoy historical fiction, have an interest in the early 1900s or the sinking of the Titanic this is a great book for you. I recommend picking it up.