Reader Views

Seouled Out

Article first published as Book Review: Seouled Out by Andrew Henderson-Henderson on Blogcritics.

Andrew Henderson-Henderson is unique to say the least. His literary style in "Seouled Out" is refreshingly different and extremely funny. The book is a tickler from the intro to the last leaf of this 357-page volume. As a law school graduate, the author admits to being a failure. He admits to flunking the Bar Exam right at the beginning of the book. The reason he tells the reader this little truth about himself is so that the reader will be aware of the loathsome feelings he has for lawyers and law school. He goes on to explain that he was such a success at law school that he had to take a teaching position in South Korea.  His escapades getting the job, traveling to the job and what happens when he gets there are a mix of comedy and tragedy. The horrors of international travel are brought out in vivid detail in his commentary.

Upon his arrival at his designated work area, he is confronted with many challenges - some of which are confusing, to say the least, while others are just plain ridiculous. One of the biggest challenges Andrew Henderson-Henderson has is the language barrier. But as in most countries of the world, he managed to learn the swear words first. His experience with Korea is such a dismal one that he picks up and moves on to Bangkok, Thailand.  What he does there and his escapades in that country are nothing short of hilarious. With the number of bar girls running around it’s a wonder he manages to retain his composure and keep it in his pants; good thing, too, because to hear his narrative one would think they all had HIV. He winds up stuck in Bangkok with promises of money that is owed him but never shows up and so he becomes a street vagrant till his father comes through with money for him to fly home to Idaho.

“Seouled Out” by Andrew Henderson-Henderson is funny and tragic at the same time. There are periods of great sadness along with great humor when you think about everything that happens to this poor guy.  The events that the author describes should not happen to anyone. I gave “Seouled Out” a very solid B on my scale and if it were not for the pages falling out of the book I would have rated it higher. The writing is good and the editing up to par but the quality of the binding leaves a lot to be desired. There is some foul language in the book so I do recommend the book to all adults that appreciate a good funny story.


Seouled Out
Andrew Henderson-Henderson
Lulu Press (2011)
ISBN 9781257868049
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (2/12)

Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I’ve Lost My Damn Mind: A Manic’s Mood Chart

Article first published as Book Review: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I've Lost My Damn Mind: A Manic's Mood Chart by Derek Thompson on Blogcritics.

Except for being personally diagnosed, every aspect of my life is touched by people with bipolar disorder. From friends, to family, to my students, it seems like this disorder is more common than most people would think.  Many years ago, before it was well known, a close friend’s mother was diagnosed with it. Her symptoms were severe. When my friend’s sister and nine-year-old son also received the diagnosis, I tried to learn as much as I could about it from her. One thing that always stayed with me was that she said, “Imagine that the rest of the world is crazy and you are the only normal one.” This was what she felt her family members were experiencing.  I always tried to keep this in mind when working with my students who are bipolar.   Reading Derek Thompson’s memoir, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I’ve Lost My Damn Mind: A Manic’s Mood Chart,” about dealing with this disorder was truly a blessing for me because I feel it will help me deal more effectively with my students who have this diagnosis.  The more I can understand about what it is like to experience this, the more effective support that I can provide to them.  Providing the proper support can help have a huge impact on them completing their educational goals.

Organized in blog entries, Derek tells his personal story by organizing the symptoms into sections rather than chronologically.  I felt this idea was incredibly creative and seemed to help the book flow better. I would have expected it to seem disjointed, but since each entry stands alone, it was actually very helpful to do this in this manner.  Organized as a mood chart, he breaks the book down into three sections with differing levels of severity which are reflected by colors of the rainbow. The first section covers depressed, then normal and finally elevated (manic).

I really admired the author for writing in a manner than included a great deal of both insight and humor.  Readers will find themselves captivated by his experiences and the fact that he is able to maintain a sense of humor about all that has happened to him.   The amount of personal information that he shares is also extremely helpful because I felt that by sharing everything, even the embarrassing experiences will help others relate to him, and in turn gain a greater understanding of the experience of being bipolar.

I also think that “Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I’ve Lost My Damn Mind: A Manic’s Mood Chart” will help remove some of the stigma associated with being bipolar. Obviously, it isn’t an easy mental health condition to have to live with; however, reading Derek’s story will help people who don’t have it understand that the ones who do are human beings who deserve compassion and respect for having to ride the rollercoaster that they are on.  I highly recommend this book for people who are diagnosed with it, and for those who deal with those who have it, including both professionals and loved ones.  Derek Thompson’s memoir has had a huge impact on my life, and I really appreciate his willingness to put it all out there.


Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I’ve Lost My Damn Mind: A Manic’s Mood Chart
Derek Thompson
CreateSpace (2012)
ISBN 9781467935234
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (3/12)

We’re Eating What?: A Memoir, Recipes, and How-To-Guide from America's Longest-Running Gourmet Group

Article first published as Book Review: We're Eating What?: A Memoir, Recipes, and How-To-Guide from America's Longest-Running Gourmet Group by Shirley Law Jacobus on Blogcritics.

When I picked up Shirley Law Jacobus’ “We’re Eating What?,” I immediately got really intrigued by its subtitle. “A Memoir, Recipes, and How-To-Guide from America’s Longest-Running Gourmet Group” sounded quite ambitious, and definitely interesting. Being quite a foodie myself, and not ashamed of admitting it, I am always curious about the path other people have taken in their discoveries of new culinary delights.

The story Shirley Law Jacobus wove in this book is a fascinating and deeply personal one, dealing with so much more than just the gourmet aspects of the group that was founded nearly 40 years ago. The reader gets to know a diverse cast of characters, most of which remained a constant for the entire time the group has been in existence, and follow them through life’s ups and downs, personal triumphs and tragedies, and all manner of changes. In addition to those stories, the reader is treated to description of dinners, some way more delicious than others, as well as many recipes guaranteed to inspire and rouse curiosity. If this book truly awakens a strong desire to experience something similar, Shirley Law Jacobus also includes a well-thought-out and helpful how-to guide on what to consider if one wishes to establish a similar dining group. Her many decades of experience clearly shine through in that part; I am certain that such a how-to section could prevent a lot of potential problems for any similar group.

The parts that I enjoyed the most were the ones dealing with the actual food, its sourcing and challenges in preparing it – and sometimes eating the less successful results. Possibly the most fascinating part for me was the description of the culinary landscape and the most common foods in the U.S. back in the 1970s, which was vastly different from what we ate in Europe during that same period of time. Such cultural tidbits always intrigue me, and “We’re Eating What?” was jam-packed with them. At the same time I had to chuckle out loud a few times at things such as a “German wienerschnitzel,” imaging the faces of the Viennese if they ever stumbled upon this reference.

While I truly appreciate the memoir portion of this story, particularly in view of courage it had to take to describe all of the tragedies that happened to the author herself as well as the other group members, I simply did not find it particularly interesting, and a lot of those minutiae slowed down the flow of the narrative and made it somewhat tedious to read. I would have preferred more recipes and fewer references to weddings, visits to the emergency room or merits of different types of hair goop.

Overall I found “We’re Eating What?” by Shirley Law Jacobus an enjoyable book, and I would recommend it to anybody who is curious about the culinary adventures in the U.S.


We’re Eating What?: A Memoir, Recipes, and How-To-Guide from America's Longest-Running Gourmet Group
Shirley Law Jacobus
PublishAmerica (2011)
ISBN 9781456075187
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (3/12)

I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands: The Other Side of OCD

Article first published as Book Review: I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands: The Other Side of OCD by J.J. Keeler on Blogcritics.

I am sure most of us have jokingly said at some point in time that a certain behavior or pattern of ours or somebody else’s is due to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), but I am also sure that most of us really know preciously little about the disorder affecting quite a few among us. If there’s one thing that I am certain of after having finished reading J.J. Keeler’s “I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands,” it is that I will certainly never joke about anything like that again.

While I hesitate to categorize her book as funny, that truly is the first thing that comes to mind. Her descriptions of life with OCD, as heart-wrenching as they are, are also incredibly funny, and never ceased to amaze me with the continuous display of intelligent humor and astonishingly sharp and poignant observations. J.J. Keeler accomplished something truly rare – she not only made me see OCD for what it is, but she made me feel like I was looking at it from the inside. I was not just a mildly curious observer, I felt immersed in the daily struggles of somebody coping with OCD. This was a true revelation to me, and a much needed reminder how little is generally known about such disorders and how easily they could be misunderstood.

I would highly recommend J.J. Keeler’s “I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands” to anybody who wishes to be better informed about OCD and most certainly to anybody who is struggling with the disorder. In addition to the truly brilliant descriptions of daily life with OCD, the author offers a lot of practical advice, written in a way that should help any fellow OCD sufferer realize that they are not alone in their battle with it. Although it is all written with a big dose of humor, it is also completely serious, pointing out that OCD is a real disorder and completely terrifying for those living with it or those sharing their life with a person afflicted by OCD.  A brave book by a gifted writer, this is a winner on every level.


I Hardly Ever Wash My Hands: The Other Side of OCD
J.J. Keeler
Paragon House (2012)
ISBN 9781557788924
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (4/12)

Inside the Giant Machine: An Amazon.com Story, Second Edition

Article first published as Book Review: Inside the Giant Machine: An Amazon.com Story, Second Edition by Kalpanik S. on Blogcritics.

Chances are pretty good that even people who have never ordered a single thing online are aware of the existence of Amazon, but even those loyal customers that visit the e-commerce site on a daily basis probably aren’t aware of what goes on behind the scenes. “Inside the Giant Machine: An Amazon.com Story, Second Edition” pulls back the curtain and lets you get a look at the people that create the online magic. Even though the author hasn’t always had Amazon as an employer, he does a good job of providing a history of the company, from explaining why people shop at Amazon instead of a place called Cadabra all the way to the release of Book 2.0, known around the world as the Kindle.

The author starts things off with a “confession” about being a foreign-born author, explaining that English is his third language. However, this disclaimer really isn’t needed because Kalpanik S. has a good grasp of his third language, and the book moves along at a nice, steady pace. The author also explains early on that a good portion of the book is taken from emails and a blog, with entries from both being compiled in book form. This might present a problem if you have your heart set on reading something in the traditional format of a book, but if a more contemporary blog-like feel doesn’t bother you, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Kalpanik S. doesn’t pull any punches with his descriptions of what goes behind closed doors, providing details on how he was inspired to work for the online giant because of their supposed philosophy of starting a revolution but later realizing that employees are seen as little more than cogs in an immense machine, with all appearances of caring simply being an illusion crafted by the P.R. department.

In addition to providing insight into Amazon, the author gives us a peek at his own life, letting us see what it’s like to live an almost nomadic lifestyle as you uproot the family and move from city to city in pursuit of that next rung on the career ladder.

“Inside the Giant machine: An Amazon.com Story, Second Edition” by Kalpanik S. is a great little book that won’t take long to read, and while it probably won’t make you vow to never shop at Amazon again, it just might make you have second thoughts if you’ve been considering applying for a job there.


Inside the Giant Machine: An Amazon.com Story, Second Edition
Kalpanik S.
CreateSpace (2011)
ISBN 9781456555351
Reviewed by Marty Shaw for Reader Views (2/12)

Khuda Buksh: The Pioneer of Life Insurance in Bangladesh

Article first published as Book Review: Khuda Buksh: The Pioneer of Life Insurance in Bangladesh by Muhammad Obaidur Rahim on Blogcritics.

For forty years, Khuda Buksh has been bringing the benefits of life insurance to the people of the South Asia region. He began by laying the foundation in Bangladesh and Pakistan, struggling first to educate the people about life insurance and then to persuade them to buy it. This book is an in-depth study of how Buksh helped change the awareness of the people of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as it applies to the life insurance industry. He made the people aware of the value and benefit of life insurance in these countries. The book continues to describe Khuda Buksh as a life insurance icon.

Buksh was fighting an uphill battle, facing such obstacles as religious and cultural prejudices against the idea of life insurance. He came up against political turmoil and more in his quest to bring down the institutional barriers. It was only due to his charm and business savvy that brought him to such success. He was a determined individual that used very inventive methods to recruit and train his sales force. From 1930 to 1970, Buksh worked hard to establish the life insurance industry in the region even at the risk of trouble because of the political unrest.

“Khuda Buksh: The Pioneer of Life Insurance in Bangladesh” would be a very good book for a salesman in the South Asia region to read. It is about a very charismatic man that made a lasting impression on his countrymen. I doubt very much if it would be such a big hit in the U.S. The hard cover version is done nicely with a picture of Khuda Buksh on the front. The print and binding is quality and even though I don’t think it will sell a lot of copies in America, I gave it a B for the research and concise history that the author conveyed.


Khuda Buksh: The Pioneer of Life Insurance in Bangladesh
Muhammad Obaidur Rahim
The University Press Limited (2011)
ISBN 9789845060271
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (2/12)

Ink Splatters

Katrina was called the “great equalizer” by many, yet those of us who have actually been affected by it directly have a slew of other names for her, none as nice as this. Anybody who has lived in the area affected by this hurricane has had to deal with many issues in its wake, and we continue to do so. We all battle our demons in our unique ways, and I am not one to judge how right or how wrong are another person’s perceptions of events before, during and after the storm. What I am willing to do, and have being doing ever since those incredibly scary days back in August 2005, is to say that I hope we have all learned something positive from it, and that we are willing to move forward.

Yes, a perceptive reader of this book review has certainly figured out that I have been “there,” although not quite in the same way as JoyAnn has. We actually left less than 24 hours before landfall, so we have been spared the horrors of Superdome and/or being plucked off a roof somewhere. But I have stood in a line at the Red Cross, waiting to be registered with them, so our family and friends will know that we made it out alive. I’ve dealt with the insurance and FEMA and all the other entities involved with it. And I have my share of memories and mental scars to prove it. My New Orleans is no more and it never will be the same. That’s why I could definitely feel JoyAnn’s pain and desperation. What I could not, and would not want to feel, is a sentiment that she expresses on most every page of “Ink Splatters,” namely that the world was out to get her at every step. She kept repeating how grateful she was to God for not abandoning her, and how prayerful she was, yet I detected no sense of gratitude anywhere. Everything was somebody else’s fault. The people in Arkansas, particularly the one who tried to hit her with a car (and who, just maybe, was asleep or drunk or otherwise impaired, since it was four o’clock in the morning after all...), and those who were in charge of the apartment she rented, her employer, the USPS, her contractor, her doctor... you name it, everybody was and is out to get her. She’s saying how grateful she is, yet showing the reader a totally different picture. I also questioned the rationale for writing a book under a pseudonym, yet stating one’s full name in the first chapter of it. This was just one of many confusing parts of this narrative.

I also had a lot of trouble reading those ruminations due to truly overwhelming editing and proofreading issues, and I really wish the author would take to heart advice she so freely dispensed in the chapter devoted to giving suggestions to the other first time authors. She very clearly stated that the future author should read and re-read the output prior to release, and if she would have followed her own advice, I am quite confident that sentences such as the few listed below would not have found their way into the finished book.

- “Retirement, although inevitably wasn’t an easy choice for me.”
- “Like me, you did not pre-evacuate nor did you seek sheltered at the Superdome.”
- “... in his place is Barrack Obama.”

While I applaud Ms. JoyAnn for the courage to put her feelings on paper, I truly do not understand the purpose of “Ink Splatters” beyond it being a means of a personal catharsis. There are many books out there about Katrina and the way it reshaped our lives, and unfortunately “Ink Splatters” is not one I would recommend. JoyAnn’s Katrina is one of bitterness towards the world, and I am instead determined to remember the little old “church lady” from Iowa, who together with her friends drove a rickety old van to New Orleans to deliver warm food and who gave me a new toothbrush. As I said in the beginning, we all deal with our demons in our unique ways...


Ink Splatters
JoyAnn
AuthorHouse (2011)
ISBN 9781467039239
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (1/12)

Letters to Zerky: A Father’s Legacy to a Lost Son…and a Road Trip Around the World

Article first published as Book Review: Letters to Zerky: A Father’s Legacy to a Lost Son…and a Road Trip Around the World by Bill Raney and JoAnne Walker Raney on Blogcritics.

Many world travelers read others’ travelogues to get new destination ideas and to see if the described experiences, whether positive or negative, run about the same way as their own.  Being no different, I read “Letters to Zerky” with the expectation of following a family as they explored Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.  But what I wasn’t prepared for was Zerky.

“Letters to Zerky” is part travelogue, part autobiography, and part memorial for an extremely special little boy.  Author Bill Raney utilizes the very letters he had written to his adopted son, Eric Xerxes (‘Zerky’) during the travels as the book’s content.  Zerky was merely ten-months-old when they – Raney, his wife, JoAnne, Zerky, and their dachshund, Tarzan - set foot for the first time on the other side of the world.  Raney knew that his beloved baby would be way too young to remember this once-in-a-lifetime trip so he chronicled the family’s itinerary in a series of letters.  With each letter addressed to Zerky, he paints vivid descriptions of their lives during their 13 months abroad in a little VW bus camper.  Raney had hoped to give these letters to Zerky when he was older so that he may one day relive the trip through his father’s words.  Sadly, that day would never come.

Reading “Letters to Zerky” was excruciating because I knew that at some point in the book, Zerky would die.  Yet, I didn’t know exactly when.  With every chapter, I wondered, “Would Zerky stay safe and see another day?”  Each beautifully personal letter was chock full of love for this baby and of innocent wonder at the exotic places and people the Raneys were getting to know first-hand.  The tone is light-hearted and whimsical throughout, giving a delightful ‘hippie’ or ‘flower child’ -esque quality to the author’s personality.  JoAnne’s infrequent entries are more matter-of-fact but only add more to the overall delicious flavors of landscapes, the locals, and unique experiences as they are captured in exquisite detail.


Letters to Zerky: A Father’s Legacy to a Lost Son…and a Road Trip Around the World
Bill Raney and JoAnne Walker Raney
Nickelodeon Press (2011)
ISBN 9780982138410
Reviewed by Vicki Liston for Reader Views (2/12)

An Obsession Called Pheasant: The True Story of a Pursuit of the Elusive

Stories of obsession are intriguing. The diversity of human obsessions is vast. The range of intensity is from quietly passionate to utterly possessed. Now comes “An Obsession Called Pheasant: The True Story of a Pursuit of the Elusive,” written by Jolan Durrah. This book picks up the story of Daniel James beginning with recollections of his child leading up to his life-changing decision as a young man to pursue his passion for exotic Pheasants into the deepest jungles of Borneo. It was that trek which is the subject of the first Daniel James’ story, the award winning “Adventure in Borneo,” also written by Durrah. For those who have read that title, “An Obsession Called Pheasant” is a step back in time and provides background on James and the origins of his obsession which were lacking in the first book.

The book offers entertaining and informative anecdotes about Daniel and his family throughout his childhood. Dorrah also writes of James’ continuous observations of the birds and how his passion for them evolved beyond the birds themselves to affluent breeders and collectors throughout the United States. Sadly, the interior art in the book is in black and white. But, the striking cover art compelled me to go online and look for color photographs of the different species referenced by James.

That engaging and exotic cover art and design strongly suggest that what awaits the reader within is a vivid and exciting tale. For me it never fulfilled that promise, due primarily to the author’s writing style. Simply put, I found Durrah’s writing to be a bit too academic and his passion to be too much in check for the adventure genre at its best. But the tale was told well enough to keep me tagging along and the book does conclude with some strong emotional sparks that tweak my interest in continuing on the trail with reading similar adventures.

Among my internet research in preparation for this review, I noted that one unidentified source, writing about obsession, stated that “when you’re obsessed by something…it means that all you do is live and breathe for that thing…it’s the world to you and you will do anything to keep it and protect it.” If obsession intrigues you, if you have any interest in Pheasants in general, or you like quirky books about house pets, you will enjoy “An Obsession Called Pheasant.”


An Obsession Called Pheasant: The True Story of a Pursuit of the Elusive
Jolan Durrah
Pheasant Tail Productions (2011)
ISBN 9780981700113
Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views (11/11)

My Annie: The True to Life Story of a Liberated Woman Written by her Husband

Article first published as Book Review: My Annie: The True to Life Story of a Liberated Woman Written by her Husband by Douglas Richie on Blogcritics.

Born in mid 1926, Annie Whitaker Richie could have grown up to be exactly like all of the other girls living in this time period – quiet, submissive, a housewife and a stay at home mom, and someone with no life outside of the four walls they call ‘home’. Yet despite the negative and demeaning experiences she endured from her own mother during a difficult childhood and the cultural norm of restriction for women, she fought to break free of the general mold labeled ‘proper wife’ and went on to live an uncommon and invigorating life. Call her forward-thinking, call her educated, or call her liberated. But to her husband - and the author of her biography - she’s just ‘My Annie’.

“My Annie: The True to Life Story of a Liberated Woman Written by her Husband” is an extensive biography. Written by her loving husband, the story follows Annie from the time she was a little girl, through college and their courtship, through four children and two surprise overseas adoptions, (where they went over to Korea for one child and came back with two), through international travels and volunteering, and up to present day where she happily lives with Douglas Richie in Carlsbad, California. She describes the high points in her life but she also shares the low ones – her husband’s firing and brush with a breakdown, the eventual break from the two difficult Korean adoptees, and running away from her family to the tropical islands of Hawaii. Her amazing story is one of hope, faith, and determination.

“My Annie” is a cherished find for fans of biographies and autobiographies. The vivid recounting of the various stories is genuine and heartfelt while the sheer amount of detail included is surprising and impressive! I couldn’t believe how clear each chapter’s descriptions were – I really felt like I was put into the setting and could see what she was seeing or feel what she was feeling. For example, the meticulous elements of their first date are included: that there had been a polio epidemic that year, that the boys they hung out with were all in the glee club, that her and her eventual-husband talked of things like the trains, or that he had the same last name that the head of a work camp she’d gone to had, etc, etc, etc. Or the fact that she got penicillin every three hours, day and night, when she developed a horrible case of strep throat in college. This kind of detail is in every page, every story, and every chapter. The book took you through each phase of Annie’s life and allowed you to be a part of her thought process and growth. While written by her husband, the book relays the entirety of her story in first person. I thought this might make the story more difficult to read but it gave the tone a deeply personal feel. Douglas Richie does an impeccable job ‘becoming’ Annie and bringing her story to life. He further excels at keeping the book flowing so as not to weigh down the reader or allow things to get boring. Both organization and editing are top-notch. I was disappointed that there weren’t more photographs of Annie throughout the years, though. There are two pictures at the very end of the book – one family picture and one of her four children when they were very young. Inspirational and entertaining!


My Annie: The True to Life Story of a Liberated Woman Written by her Husband
Douglas Richie
Outskirts Press (2011)
ISBN 9781432779641
Reviewed by Vicki Liston for Reader Views (1/12)