Review: Yes, I Could Care Less: How to Be a Language Snob Without Being a Jerk

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Bill Walsh
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Rating: 8 out of 10 (for interesting and learning); 6 out of 10 (for entertainment value in general)

Summary (I care about Goodreads): Calling all language sticklers—and those who love to argue with them! Usage maven Bill Walsh expounds (rather than expands) on his pet peeves in the long-awaited follow-up (note the hyphens, please) to The Elephants of Style and Lapsing Into a Comma.

Could you care less? Does bad grammar “literally” make your head explode? Test your need for this book with these sentences: 

"Katrina misplaced many residents of New Orleans from their homes."

"Mark had a full schedule of meetings. His first of the day was a small businessman, followed by a high schoolteacher."

"Betty was 100% percent wrong."

 My Thoughts: [I'm concerned that if this author reads this he will find something wrong with my writing but maybe he would be kind enough to not say too much about it. Here's to hoping that he is too busy to read book reviews.]

This book was hilarious. It got off to a scary start. Some of the topics at the beginning I found myself disagreeing with but I stuck it out. It was worth it. This author has A+ sarcasm and I learned things from this book too! I find myself suddenly into words and language and grammar (and generally sounding smarter) so this book fit into that perfectly. I'm well aware that most of what I learned won't stick in my brain but I also am certain that a lot of it will. I think that it was a fantastic idea to read this right before going back to school but it was also just funny. Did I mention that already? I thought that a book like this would be plain old boring but it wasn't. The examples were memorable and I laughed out loud at his comments. I found the tweets at the top of the page (from the author's twitter) to be just as entertaining as the content of the novel.

I would recommend this book to language snobs and language jerks and those of us who just like words and language but lack the jerk side of it. English majors, this one is for you too! I think that anyone interested in language could get something out of this book. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Could you care less? Personally, I couldn't.

Review: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 327
Rating: Pretty awesome. I really never feel comfortable with ratings and books like this.

Summary (thanks Goodreads): I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.

When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.

On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. 

Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.

I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed this novel...like a lot. I wasn't sure if I would because my grandma told me to read it. Okay, she sort of forced me to. She actually threw it at me. Thank heavens I have good reflexes...sometimes. I thought I'd die but I read the book anyway!

Before I read this novel, I knew of Malala. I knew she had been shot and I sort of knew why. I knew nothing in comparison to the real story. Sure, I've traveled to more of the world than other people my age. I've seen a lot of things and I've met a lot of people but Malala really paints a vivid picture of the word she lived in. Honestly, I never really considered what it would be like to live somewhere like Swat. I live a very nice, happy life in Canada. I don't have to worry about bombs or the military breaking down my door in the middle of the night. I have never even in my darkest dreams had to worry about seeing dead people on the side of the road. She really shows you how some other people live.

Yet, she was always upbeat. Malala always thinks positive thoughts. She really works to make a good difference in the world. What she is fighting for is another thing I've never had to worry about. In Canada, I am allowed to go to school. In fact, it's law that I do until I'm 18. I never even gave a second thought to my going to university. I knew that if I wanted it, I would be able to work something out. Where Malala lives, it has not been like this. They are not as lucky as I am here.

This novel made me rethink my view of school. School has always been something I have had to do. I never thought of it as a true blessing until I read this novel. I can't just think about myself. I have to think about what people go through in other countries. 

Another thing I never considered is how much one person can make a change in the world. She really has and continues to do so much to make the world a better place. It's incredible to see how much one person can do. She really is an inspiration. I would love to meet her and I will definitely be following her in the future to see what she does next.

So: This was a very interesting book. It really makes you think about how you view your world and things that you expect to always have available to you. I would love to meet Malala. If she, by some unlikely and random event ends up reading this, I'd like to thank her for all she's doing. Even if she never accomplished another thing, her spirit of positive change would live on in those, especially girls, which she has and is inspiring by her work. Keep up the incredible work.

The Essential Book of Useless Information

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Don Voorhees
Format: Paperback
Pages: 257
Rating: 10 out of 10

Summary (Did you know that Kristen and I use Goodreads?): More facts! Less substance! The newest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Useless Information series.

The useless information never ends in the newest, most crucially meaningless entry in the Useless Information series. This latest cornucopia of amazingly pointless facts and figures will have trivia buffs marveling at all the things they never needed to know.

My Thoughts: This book is great. I found it so entertaining and so informative. The facts aren't stated in some boring list format like something you would have to learn for school. The facts are sorted out in an organized way, sure, but most importantly they are hilarious. The author sometimes adds his two cents in the form of jokes. How they are worded is funny too. Actually, even most of the facts themselves are funny. Are you getting that this is a funny book because I feel like I might not be clear enough.

The one problem I had with this book was that I felt the need to share all the information with other people. Of course, this could be bad if those people don't want to hear about it. I often caught myself repeating the facts to those around me. I recommend reading it with another person. 

In Conclusion, I now know way more about some things than I want to, like some animal mating habits for example. I loved this book and will probably read it again so that I can make sure I absorbed all the information it contains. It's great to read in little pieces or all at once because the sections are split up but flow well. I recommend that you read it if you enjoy knowing useless information about random things like I do.  

The Five Love Languages

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Gary Chapman
Format: Paperback
Pages: 208
Rating: 7 out of 10

Sum it up Goodreads: Are you and your spouse speaking the same language? While love is a many splendored thing, it is sometimes a very confusing thing, too. And as people come in all varieties, shapes, and sizes, so do their choices of personal expressions of love. But more often than not, the giver and the receiver express love in two different ways. This can lead to misunderstanding, quarrels, and even divorce.

Quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch are the five basic love languages. Dr. Gary Chapman identifies these and guides couples towards a better understanding of their unique languages of love. Learn to speak and understand your mate's love language, and in no time you will be able to effectively love and truly feel loved in return. Skillful communication is within your grasp!

Thoughts: I am wholly unqualified to review this. However, my dad made me read it because he is on a self-help kick so here is just a little bit of what I think about it. It was well written, clear, easy to read, and well thought out. The stories the author uses illustrate the meaning of the book as well as the author's ideas. I believe that if one was having a hard time in their marriage, or even if they weren't, this could help to make their marriage better.  I will definitely keep this book around for a later reread. Who doesn't want to be happy in their marriage?

Bossypants

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Tina Fey
Format: Paperback
Pages: 277
Rating: 7.9 out of 10

Summary (from Goodreads): Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

(Includes Special, Never-Before-Solicited Opinions on Breastfeeding, Princesses, Photoshop, the Electoral Process, and Italian Rum Cake!)

Thoughts: I thought this book was hilarious. If my rating was purely based on comedy than it would have received a 9.9 instead of the 7.9. The reason it got a 7.9 was that this isn't really the kind of book that you would read twice...unless you are her stalker, I don't judge. I thought she had a great way of telling her stories and explaining things to the reader. I found this look at improv, show business, and motherhood fascinating. Sure, saying that sounds lame but having her view on the world was actually interesting for me. It's encouraging to know that famous people have the same problems and worries that normal people do. They are, after all, just normal people!

Tina Fey is simply perfect. She is sharp, funny, and straightforward. She knows just how to explain things and when it's useful to know things. I found myself impressed with her willingness to share stories about herself. I would never have the guts to share myself like she does.

Beware of a bit of swearing; it that bothers you, be warned. There is some other slightly...off material. Be warned about that too. It wasn't too offensive and if it does offend you. You need to pause, take a breath, and remember that it's all in good fun. Stop taking things so personally!!

My Thinking Finale: If you want a good laugh then you should look into this book. The same goes for if you have any interest in Saturday Night Live or 30 Rock. I mean, even if you don't you might still like it. I still found the 30 Rock stuff quite interesting. She has some interesting mothering tips too... Anyway, enjoy the great read. It made me chuckle.

Up in Nipigon Country: Anthropology as Personal Experience

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Edward J. Hedican
Format: Paperback
Pages: 156
Rating: 5 out of 10

Summary (love Goodreads): Arguing that modern day fieldwork has much to offer a social anthropologist, this study takes the author's experience as a worker in a First Nation community in Northern Ontario as an example of how basic research can be linked to theoretical thinking and result in epistemological value.

Summary (love Me): Hedican, an anthropologist, studies a town in Northern Ontario. This novel is about his experiences there and what he learned. This novel is often used as a textbook for Anthropology students (like me). 

My Take: Okay, I only read this novel because I had to for class. For the most part, it was interesting. He records many of his experiences and he writes them in story format. It was more like a short story book than a textbook. Sadly, we only get pieces of the story which he interrupts with how he came to certain conclusions or technical jargon. The stories are fascinating enough and I knew there would be a lot about his conclusions since it was my textbook but that doesn't mean that I had to like it. As far as ethnographies (the type of book this is) go, this is one of the better ones. If you ever wonder what cultural anthropologists do for a living, this is a solid look into that. 

In Conclusion: This is interesting for the type of book it is but I wouldn't just read it for fun and I'm an anthropology student! If you are curious, you'll be able to finish it but I wouldn't rush out this second to buy it.