Books Worth Reading on Roxana-Mălina Chirilă

Wendy Herman – Just Kill Me [Review]

Mon, 04 Aug 2014 13:53:19 +0000

It starts slowly: Freya’s online-shopping for boots when her youngest child comes up to her with a quarter and says, „Mommy, I’m pretending this is gum.” And, in the way of mothers who are slightly distracted, she doesn’t realize the full implications of that statement until a few minutes later, when she sees him clutching his throat, choking to death while his lips turn blue.

Spoiler: he doesn’t die. Not that Freya’s any help: she stands there, frozen, watching him suffocate – but, luckily, one of his brothers saves him.

Naturally, Freya remains shaken, knowing she was useless and that, had she been alone, her child would have died. Less naturally, her answer to that powerlessness is to decide she wants to be an FBI agent.

Let’s get this clear: Just Kill Me is not perfect. The pacing is slow in the beginning, and sometimes it feels like there’s a bit of a stutter in the style. The first switch between narrators (there are two) was unexpected and since both are „I”, it was confusing for a second. But, all this aside, I loved it! It’s the sort of page-turner you’d devour in a day… if you have a day to spare. Which I lately really, really don’t, so it took me longer than that since I was only reading it on the bus and in the five minutes before I fell asleep at night. But I’m just saying, if I’d had a day, I’d have gladly read it on that day.

What’s really fun about it is that there’s always a twist. Sometimes it’s a twist you’re totally expecting (is anybody shocked that, in a story about FBI agents, even people not previously known as FBI agents turn out to be involved with the FBI?). Sometimes it’s a twist you don’t see coming. But there’s always something going on, always a hook to keep you reading more. If at first I thought that it was a bit cliched, it soon became almost a parody of FBI cliches: here’s an agent! Here’s another agent! Here’s a secret group! Here’s something the government did which is very morally questionable! Here’s a friendly figure who’s out of the agent loop! Here’s a friendly figure who’s not a friendly figure! Here’s somebody who looked evil, but wasn’t! Here’s a stereotypical, yet entirely unrealistic computer genius! Here’s a long-lost relative who’s getting involved! Here’s Karate Kids! Here’s a steamy FBI love-making scene! Would you like an almond chai with all that?

A recommended read for anyone who’s a fan of surprising plots, FBI agents, feeling a constant „now what, now what?”, going on a long trip (as I’ve said, it’s easy to get lost in it – time flies when you’re reading something cool) and, possibly, secret agent loooove.

By the way, I don’t mean to brag too much, but I’ll be posting an interview with the author soon.

(Available on: Amazon, BWN.com for audio and paperback)

Suzanne Collins' "Mockingjay" [Book Review]

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:24:35 +0000

Title: Mockingjay

Series: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins

Rating: 4.5/5

Is this book for me? If you liked the Hunger Games, yes. Definitely. This is where it gets wild(er).

Book three – and the final one – of the Hunger Games. It’s lovely.

The first two books seem in a way to be a prelude to the third, which is a full-scale war complete with media coverage, rebels, strategies and whatnot. If there’s a single thing I disliked about it, it was that Suzanne Collins didn’t go deeper into explaining the world she created and how it all fits together. Aside from that…

The main character (Katniss Everdeen) was very annoying at times, but in the best of ways. She’s not the usual style of hero, ready to give her all to the Cause from greatness of soul and self-sacrificing ardor. She isn’t even the antihero who goes off the beaten path and does borderline immoral, or even downright immoral things, for the Cause. Katniss is simply… normal. She’s very real. She’s a girl who doesn’t really want to be involved in a war which kills too many people. She wants to sit it out and sulk, she wants to get away from the madness of the Games, the madness of fighting, the madness of politics. But she can’t. And she is annoying because of this very realism. She isn’t born a hero, she doesn’t want to be the protagonist, but the role is shoved on her and she eventually, reluctantly, rises up to it. She’s a reminder that we’re human and that our most heroic-looking choices aren’t always the best, nor do they have the most amazing motivations behind them.__

As for the atmosphere of Mockingjay… A friend criticized Collins’ battle scenes as weak, but I think they have their own sort of „The Red Badge of Courage„-style quality to them. Well. Except „The Red Badge…” had nearly no plot and it mostly consisted of here-now descriptions of battles and confusion. Mockinjay, on the other hand, lets you see quite a lot of the war otherwise – from bits of things behind the scenes to media coverage and ruthlessness in strategies. It has surprising twists and turns and a powerful atmosphere. Collins keeps you wondering until the very end, and a bit after.

(Currently, Mockingjay is super-cheap on Amazon UK and on sale on Amazon US. Again, I’m not sure how much that will last. And there’s always free shipping on the Book Depository.)

Suzanne Collins' "Catching Fire" [Book Review]

Fri, 19 Jul 2013 14:47:51 +0000

Title: Catching Fire

Series: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins

Rating: 4/5

Is this book for me? If you liked the Hunger Games, yes. Definitely. If you didn’t read the Hunger Games, then go read it. If you didn’t like it, then no. Simple enough.

Book two of a trilogy. We already know the characters and the premise, but how does the second installment work?…

Well, it isn’t quite as interesting from start to finish as the first book. The beginning (or the first half, rather) is somewhat too long and drawn-out. I suppose the purpose of said length is to bring more tension to the story, to have an ominous calm before the storm. It just doesn’t work for me.

So. Our protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, is in trouble. Deep, political trouble. Her family and friends are threatened by the president and she must play a certain role to save them. She’s a survivor, so she tries. But she’s also a crappy actress, so it isn’t certain she can play that role.

Still, the drawn-out beginning means we get to see more of the world of the Hunger Games – the Districts, the growing social restlessness, the society of the Capitol. Unfortunately, what we get is insufficient to really understand the implications of some of the facts that we’re given. A revolt is about to break out, but we don’t know the relative sizes and strengths of the revolting Districts versus the oppressing Capitol. We’ve seen the vast difference in technology between the oppressors and the oppressed, but how strong is the strongest tech? How much of it is there? The vagueness doesn’t work in the book’s favor.

The second half of the book, though, is where the pacing is restored. We go back to the arena, back to the 24 people who need to be in there, back to the idea of a sole survivor. Initially, I feared that Collins would recycle her ideas from the first book and give us the same thing over again, quirking just enough elements to have us be annoyed at the repetition. Not so. The arena doesn’t look very natural, as did the first book’s forest. Instead, it’s clearly a man-made construct, a mechanism with artificial rules to be figured out. And the dynamics between the contestants are almost entirely different. The seventy-fifth edition of the Hunger Games is just as exciting as the seventy-fourth.

All in all, Suzanne Collins manages to create something new, to spin the story in such a way as to avoid the pitfalls of having to reuse a unique idea in a sequel. The only thing that really draws it back is the first half, with its faults. But even so, it’s an interesting, fun, engaging book.

Currently, like the first Hunger games book, it’s on sale on Amazon UK and on Amazon US. Again, I’m not sure how much that will last. And there’s always free shipping on the Book Depository.

Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" [Book Review]

Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:59:43 +0000

Title: The Hunger Games

Series: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins

Rating: 4.5/5

Is this book for me? Unless you’re averse to sci fi/fantasy, the answer is probably yes. Easy to read, but not lacking in deeper issues. Well-paced, action-filled, with believable characters. Gripping.

The book is essentially about this: 24 teens locked into a huge, forest-like arena with a bunch of deadly things ready to kill them – and only one gets out alive. It’s „Lord of the Flies” meets „Mortal Kombat”, with a dash of shooter video game and a liberal serving of plots, psychology and politics. That’s what the Hunger Games are: deadly, violent events where nearly everybody dies for all sorts of reasons.

Well, for all sorts of physical reasons, anyway. The underlying motive for the Hunger Games is a political one. It’s implied that most of the world went off and killed itself in some sort of disaster. Humanity has rebuilt itself into a new type of society a very long time before – unfortunately, not in a very egalitarian way. The leaders are in the Capitol and they live amazingly flimsy and hedonistic lives, while the ones doing all the work are in the Districts (One to Twelve), who live in constant deprivation and hunger. The Capitol looks very sci fi: there’s a lot of tech that’s so amazing it might as well be magic, people modify their bodies for fashion reasons etc. The Districts are nearly medieval. Naturally, at some time there was a revolt and, 74 years on, the Districts are still punished for it by sending two ’tributes’ to the arena every year.

Katniss Everdeen is from the mining District, Twelve. She poaches for food and is an amazingly good shot with a bow and arrow. Which is great, because she ends up as a „tribute” in the Hunger Games. Now, this is where I really appreciate Collins: her main character is very much to the point. Katniss isn’t the sort of girl who is interested in boys, or who’s more interested in looking good than in doing well. She’s a real girl, with actual issues, some interest in romance, but not too much. She isn’t always likable, but she’s realistic, strong and a survivor. She’s someone I think guys won’t have much problem reading.

What happens is a multi-layered story. There’s the obvious action/survivalist component: Katniss in the arena, with weapons and survival kits, trying to find a way to stay alive. Then there’s the political component, which we only get hints of through Katniss’s eyes and thoughts: the slightly suspicious way of acting of some of the people she comes in contact with, the warnings she gets from her mentor in the Games, the descriptions of people in the Capitol. It’s very subtle, but it’s there. Then, the psychological component, where Collins shines: the people Katniss comes in contact with are well-rounded – and when she means to make them mysterious and confusing for the purpose of the plot, she damned well manages it.

The style is simple and a pleasure to read, letting you sink into the story and live it vividly.

The only issues I can really find with it is that the world isn’t described in a bit more detail (I’d’ve been curious) and that __I’m not sure exactly how plausible the premise is.

All in all, very much recommended. Currently it’s on sale on Amazon UK and on Amazon US, but I’m not sure how much that will last. And, of course, there’s always the Book Depository for free shipping to all sorts of countries.

Sorana Corneanu's "Regimens of the Mind" [(Academic) Book Review]

Sun, 14 Jul 2013 09:12:51 +0000

Title: Regimens of the Mind: Boyle, Locke, and the Early Modern Cultura Animi Tradition

Author: Sorana Corneanu

Rating: 4/5

Is this book for me? Probably not. It’s an academic book of the difficult sort and far, far from an easy read. But if you’re up to a challenge, it can be pretty damned fascinating.

This review is way overdue, considering I finished reading the book awhile back. Still, this morning I was cheerfully reading an article on psychology and the scientific method which brought Regimens of the Mind back into my thoughts. So, time to discuss it.

I’ve already mentioned in another article that I believe the humanities have a horrible academic writing style. Most of the books I’ve been subjected to as an undergraduate student and afterward are highly difficult to read because of their sentence structure and their assumption that the reader has a highly specialized vocabulary and kick-ass history and culture skills. Regimens of the Mind is pretty much like that. You’ll find yourself googling terms like ‘postlapsarian condition’ (it’s the first that came to mind now. It means ’the condition of humankind after the Fall from the Garden of Eden’, yes?). Or, you know, looking up ‘regimens’. You’ll find yourself re-reading that last paragraph because you somehow failed to catch the meaning. Still, it’s a lot more readable than a lot of other academic texts out there – if you’re up to it, it’s a fun challenge.

Enough of my inner editor being a bitch. Because the humanities’ cryptic academic style is the only minus I think the book has.

You can’t tell from the title, but Regimens of the Mind is a book about the origins of the scientific method, of objectivity and reason – the way we take them for granted today. Imagine a world where people are trying to figure out what’s real and what isn’t, which arguments stand and which don’t. There’s no path that’s been laid down for it yet – sure, Aristotle went around explaining basic logic in Ancient Greece, but there’s a huge difference between theory and practice, between the simplicity of ‘if all A are B and x is an A, then x is B’ and being faced with the entirety of the material world and of the spiritual world, trying to tell when you’ve picked the right terms for your logical sentences. So people devise ways of explaining how to do that.

As an aside: you’ve got to love mankind, no? When we need something new, we create it. Whether it’s a computer, in order to decipher secret messages, or ways to further knowledge and understanding through providing clear guidelines of what to do and what not to do.

And there’s Francis Bacon, who starts discussing „idols of the mind”, false ideas which stop us from seeing the truth – because we have preconceptions and think we see more order in the universe than there really is, or because we simply like or don’t like certain things and want them to be true/not true. Or there’s John Locke, saying that sometimes we don’t see the truth because we subject to a higher authority telling us what to think – what the ’truth’ is. I’ll stop with the examples here – Sorana Corneanu presents them and their connections much more neatly than I would.

So here we are, in this interesting world where objectivity and rationality emerge. It’s a fascinating read, especially if you’ve read theories of rationality in the contemporary world and have heard of a lot of reasoning mistakes by their modern, fancy, scientific-sounding names. Because things, as Corneanu presents them, are a bit more fascinating than you’d think.

Have you looked up ‘regimens’ and ‘cultura animi’ yet?… Because they explain the fun of it: ‘regimen’ means something like work-out, therapy, training – the sort of process you go through to make yourself better. And the ‘cultura animi’ isn’t far from the intuitive translation you might come up with: a cultivation of the soul. So all this reasoning stuff?… Thinking correctly about things, seeing nature objectively, as it were?… It’s not just for science, not just a method to figure out physics or chemistry. It’s for personal development. It’s a way to grow yourself. It’s a spiritual endeavor. It’s a way of life, of religious practice. The ‘Christian Virtuoso’ seeking to better himself through educating his mind, the ‘Lover of Truth’ pursuing reality are on the move, searching, in a pilgrimage of the soul.

That’s what makes Regimens of the Mind fascinating. Corneanu looks deep into the motivations these philosophers had for seeking the truth, for devising methods to discover it and to avoid mental traps. It’s an insight into another world, into a rich spiritual tradition that basically led to science being what it is. And she stops there, where you can pick up this strong, memorable insight into the past and consider it from any number of points of view.