StarofSophia's reviews from LibraryThing

The Clan Of The Cave Bear - Earth's Children by Jean M. Auel

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:07:04 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "I had been recommended this book by a few friends, but thought it was a paleolithic romance novel, so I never read it. Finally a friend convinced me to give it a try, and I have to say, it's worth reading. I stayed up all night reading this one :-) The characters drive the story, but my inner anthropologist was delighted with the cultural details."
Crown Publishers, Inc (2001), Hardcover, 373 pages

Toby and the Secrets of the Tree by Timothee de Fombelle

Tue, 25 May 2010 19:59:16 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "It took me a long time to get through this book. I loved the first book, and couldn't put it down, but I couldn't seem to ever really get interested in the second book. I'm a sucker for interesting settings, and the first book delivered in spades! Toby alone was more character driven, but the characters weren't as interesting to me..."
Walker Books Ltd (2010), Paperback, 432 pages

Rocannons World by Ursula K. Le Guin

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:21:35 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "This is Ursula Le Guin’s first novel, and wow! it’s just as good as anything she’s writing now. Rocannon’s World is a mix of sci-fi and fantasy (my favorite genre). The first part of this book was originally published as a short story, with the rest added to make it a novel. The book explores what makes a group of people a race, and how they can become divided. For example, in this world, dwarves and elves are just separate halves of the same people. One chose the light, laughter, and love, while the other chose the darkness, trickery, engineering and the creation of things (very beautiful and amazing things). They have many things in common, including group telepathy. While on a quest to save the world, Rocannon travels halfway around the globe, into the lands of legend and discovers the true secrets of the world. Reading any Le Guin book is like having sex, you have to read it in order to really appreciate it."
Ace (1981), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 156 pages

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:44:49 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "Wow. This is one of those books that made me really step back and think. Being a book by Le Guin, this book has a great story that weaves around and behind and then comes back for a perfect ending. I had started reading this book in the library a couple years ago and decided not to read it at the time, but this time around, after reading the first couple chapters, I was absolutely hooked. The story touches on many of the philosophical subjects that I sometimes think about, especially anarchism, socialism/communism, the breaking down of a utopian society, social relativity, the value of personal Will, and so on. Definitely worth re-reading more than once."
Eos (1994), Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:08:33 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "Defoe didn't have a clue abut how to write a gripping novel. This is one book where an abridged version would be better than the original. The only problem is, I've never seen a good abridgment done! Most people focus on the part of the story that takes place on the island, but that's only the middle of the book, and leaves out the pirates, other shipwrecks, problems with his family, how he got rich, the wolf attack, the time when he escaped slavery ... etc. That's a lot of cool stuff to leave out, in my opinion. Well, enough about bad abridgments. Rather than use foreshadowing in this book, Defoe outright tells you what is going to happen - again, and again, and again. Almost nothing is left as a surprise when it happens. There is also a large amount of preaching, list making and philosophizing. This is the book where I first ran into the Latin term viz. and Defoe uses it all over the place. I was impressed at his enlightened (for the time period) views on the indigenousness people, and how he didn't think they would go to hell, even though they were cannibals and had never heard of Jesus. All in all, I liked the book, I just wish it had been written about one or two hundred years later."
Penguin Classics (2003), Paperback, 288 pages

Stolen Lightning: Social Theory of Magic by Daniel O'Keefe

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:07:51 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "I haven't finished reading this book yet, but I have to agree with the previous reviewer, this is a great book, but it gets a bit too technical for me. This is one book that I would live to have in an electronic format, just so I could easily look up words as I go, and I pride myself on have a pretty good vocabulary! Worse (for me) than the obscure words though is the obfuscating language - I'm including a sentence from the first chapter that struck me as particularly hard to understand exactly what the author was trying to get across. "In addition, insofar as certain sciences are constructivist, insofar as they consist in a continuous agreement to agree that we have agreed in the Wittgenstein sense and insofar as they constitute a "technique" in the Ellul sense which has a "self-fulfilling" effect, the gulf between magic and science and hence between magical and praxis action is not always that great." Of course, it also has many more sentences that make perfect sense when read through the first time, so don't let this one scare you off."
Blackwell Publishers (1984), Paperback, 608 pages

Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:08:48 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "I picked this book up after getting hooked on the TV show, Bones. I found that I liked it for the same reasons that I like the show - the interaction between the characters and getting to look in on the life of a scientist doing her part to make the world a better place. I found the mystery itself to be not so much a mystery as waiting to see how the author would reveal things. The quest was to catch the killer more than trying to figure out who it was. I personally didn't mind - I found more to the book that I liked than getting a good twist out of it. Perhaps some of her later books will have a more hidden twist ... either way I'll probably read them. There is a bit of gore in the book, but if that bothers you, it's easy enough to skim those parts."
Pocket (1997), Mass Market Paperback

Pagan Parenting (Revised Edition) by Kristin Madden

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:09:08 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "I'm not a pagan (nor a christian), but this was still a great book. I've been struggling with how to express my spirituality, and I read this book as listening to a mother figure. There is a lot of great advice, the best being, figure out your life, and what you believe before you have to start worrying about passing it on to your children. The book was well organized, and I only felt compelled to skim past short sections at a time. It is interspersed with little antidotes, but not so many as to bog down the book. There were a few great passages that will stick with me for a while. The book does a good job of being vague enough that you can't just take the book and use it like a bible, but still remain useful for those who can apply its principles to their own situations. The biggest problem with this book was the number of typos. There weren't any (well, many) spelling mistakes, but I noticed one or two typos on every page. For a book that is in it's second printing, these should have been fixed a loooooong time ago! I am a bit shocked to find so many of them."
Spilled Candy Publications (2004), Edition: Revised, Paperback, 276 pages

Living Yoga: Creating a Life Practice by Christy Turlington

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:09:27 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "I picked up this book thinking it would be a good introduction to yoga. In actuality, the book was really an autobiography with bits and pieces of yoga philosophy thrown in, along with some great photography. It's more of an inspirational book than a yoga book, and I would say that it falls far from being instructional. As a side note, the layout and art design is above average, and was one of the reasons I picked up this book. Worth a look for all you designers out there. I didn't resonate well with the author's life story (although it was fairly written), which took up most of the content in the book. I also have questions about the validity of the informational sections, as I ran into a few 'facts' that struck my wrong. Calling Japanese Buddhism a form of yoga seemed a far stretch to me. Then again, I don't know a lot about yoga, so I may just be uninformed. But, I'll be finding a different book that I can trust more to be my introduction to the concepts (and practice) of yoga."
Hyperion (2002), Edition: 1, Paperback, 288 pages

The Usborne Book of World History by Jenny Tyler

Wed, 28 May 2008 19:15:08 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "I loved this book as a kid. I would sit and pour over it for hours looking at the pictures and reading the sections that caught my interest. Since it was published in the UK it has a different perspective on world history than I was taught in school. It is still Euro-centric, but you will be hard pressed to find an english-language history book that isn't. There are a lot of little projects sprinkled throughout the book that kids can attempt on their own. This includes a water elevator (made with straws), a mosaic and fresco, felt tapestries, and so on. There is some nudity in the earlier chapters, but nothing graphic (just boobs)."
E.D.C. Publishing (1985), Hardcover, 195 pages

Women's Medicine Ways: Cross-Cultural Rites of Passage by Marcia Starck

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:26:33 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "Disappointing, and too one-sided in its approach. I felt like there was too much emphasis on "that time of month" and other body changes rather than on the whole woman. We are more than just a sum of our parts. The cover stated: Cross-cultural Rites of Passage. It was not so much sweepingly cross-cultural than just Native American + Neopagan. There was a lot of information in the book which while not explicitly UNTRUE, definitely didn't tell the whole story. For example, in the first chapter it states, "The Pentacle is a symbol that designates membership in a coven". This may be true for some covens, but certainly not all of them, or even a vast majority. Also, it makes it sound like that is the only purpose of a pentacle, when that is certainly not the case."
Crossing Pr (1994), Hardcover, 111 pages

The Legend of the Firefish (Trophy Chase Trilogy) by George Bryan Polivka

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:15:52 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "Good prose, great characters, wonderful book design ... but the author was so heavy handed with his "message" that it sort of ruined the book for me. If you agree that no good can come of getting out of your own messes, and taking the bull by the horn rather than relying on God, then you shouldn't have a problem with it. But, really, even then, it takes the fun out of a story to have god show up as the ultimate dues ex machina EVERY SINGLE TIME any of the 'heroes' find themselves in a tight spot, or unsure of what to do next. This theme carries through the entire book."
Harvest House Publishers (2007), Paperback, 352 pages

American History Stories You Never Read in School but Should Have Vol.1 by Mara L. Pratt

Wed, 28 May 2008 19:15:37 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "Very enjoyable, and short. This is a reproduction of at least part of an old history book from the late 1800s. I don't know that the stories included in it are any more true than the Washington and the Cherry Tree bit that most of us have at least heard, but it gives a glimpse into the morals and imaginations of Americans from 100 years ago, which is something that you can't get from secondary sources."
Randall Company (1993), Paperback, 150 pages

The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education by Curtis J. Bonk

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:45:49 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "I was greatly disappointed with this book - perhaps because I had such high hopes for it. I suppose this would be a wonderful book for someone who knows nothing about the technological innovations of the last few years, but for me, it read like a simple overview of topics rather than having anything new to add to the subject. What I was hoping for was an assessment of where we are in the field of open-technology-driven education, and how to implement it into our own organizations, communities or personal lives. Mr. Bonk more or less got the first part of that right, but it was buried in bad puns, analogies and metaphors (I get the feeling that he is mainly a speaker, where such devices keep the listeners awake - but in a book, it merely bogs the reader down.) Without a clear original message, this book might have been better left as a link-list. There IS quite a bit of useful information included, and I'm planning on lending it to my friends who are big on education, but haven't really discovered all of the amazing facets of the Internet yet. (Perhaps I will take a highlighter to the more relevant parts first)"
Jossey-Bass (2009), Hardcover, 480 pages

The Medieval Myths by Norma Lorre Goodrich

Fri, 01 May 2009 14:57:35 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "I got this book, thinking it was a collection of Medieval Mythology - and it is, but it is just a collection of excerpts. This would be a good book to introduce you to good titles in the genre, but you'll have to go find the actual text elsewhere."
Plume (1994), Paperback, 304 pages

Onkelos on the Torah: Understanding the Bible Text Leviticus by Israel Drazin

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:57:00 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "As everyone else has said, this book has outstanding quality of craftsmanship. It is a pleasure just to hold it and flip through the pages. The only bad thing I have to say is that it is very difficult to tell at a glance what each section is, as the Onkelos and the Hebrew are very similar. You have to guess, or know Hebrew to be able to tell them apart. I suppose you could argue that if you don't know Hebrew anyway, it doesn't much matter which you think is which - but that seems sloppy to me. Included in the main text areas (from right to left): * The Torah in Hebrew * The Targum Onkelos translation in Aramaic * The Targum Onkelos translation in English * Rashi's commentary (sadly not translated in this edition, or if it is, it is interwoven with the modern commentary without denotation) * A modern translator's commentary, discussing many aspects of the text and their translation - not only into the Onkelos, but other translations as well. Also, I wish the English commentary flowed from right to left, rather than zig-zagging back and forth every page, it really breaks the flow of reading / comparison to the Hebrew/Aramaic. Now, on to the content. The most valuable portion of the book to me, is the translation commentary. There, the changes made by various translators are laid out, the sticky problems that you run into when trying to pick a single reading of the text - or try to keep all of the meanings in tact - all are discussed in context to a ambitious translation. As far as the Onkelos itself goes, I am solidly in the anthropomorphic camp, and so the deliberate changes to the text get under my skin - therefore, even though it is a beautiful book, unless I was going to read it in Hebrew, I can't even use this for the weekly reading. Which is a shame, since it's such a nice looking book."
Gefen Publishing House (2008), Hardcover, 376 pages

The Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:13:26 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "A quick read, without much of a plot - but it's Paulsen, and so the ride is fun with or without too much tying it all together. I felt like if he had spent just a little more time on the other characters, it would have been a much better book. Perhaps Paulsen has just done one too many solo books :-) It was a good blend of primitive survival and sci-fi adventure with a dash of romance."
Laurel Leaf (1999), Mass Market Paperback, 256 pages

Timothy and the Dragon's Gate by Adrienne Kress

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:35:03 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "I can't make up my mind about whether or not I like this book. On one hand, it was funny, had interesting characters, and crazy events, and there were a couple of good plot twists. On the other hand, I really didn't like the main character until near the end of the book, the "plot" was kind of hodge-podge, and it took me a few chapters to 'get' the humor of the book. During the first few chapters, I kept thinking, wow, this is so dumb, I can't believe it - and then I realized that that was the -point-, after which it became much more enjoyable. This book reminded me of the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, but more of an adventure and not quite as dark. I would NOT compare it to Harry Potter, they have a totally different feel to them. The Harry Potter books take themselves seriously, while Timothy and the Dragon's Gate does not. If you are thinking of reading this book, make sure you read Alex and the Ironic Gentleman first. The book relies on you knowing half the characters in the last half of the book, as well as spoiling the plot of the first one thoroughly. This isn't bad, unless you don't read them in the right order. Favorite characters: the Canadian Ninja, The Dragon!, and the Famous Architect Next Door."
Weinstein Books (no date), Hardcover, 368 pages

Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore by Sheri S. Tepper

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:05:58 -0400

StarofSophia's review: "If you have read any of Tepper's other books, you will find that much of the flavor is familiar. The setting is a blend of absolute realism and the fantastic. Tepper really knows how to bring the worlds of Fantasy into our own. This book is also much less preachy than almost any of her other books (being preachy is her worst flaw, and what has ruined a few of her otherwise wonderful novels for me). I'm also going to agree with TadAD that the True Game series is far better in almost every regard."
Ace Books (1988), Paperback

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ by Joseph Smith

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 04:39:44 -0500

StarofSophia's review: "The Book of Mormon is neither as bad as the critics say, nor as good as the fanatics insist. Why did I give it 5 stars? For the way it has influenced my life. Obviously, it was in a good way, or I would have given it a lot less! The book itself (no matter what you may think of its author) is a charming tale from the point of view of 19th century Americans. Many of it's themes which are odd today, were common ideas for the time period. Some examples of this include Hebrews in the Americas, Masonry, Polygamy (believe it or not), and the idea of a religious restoration. The tone of the book is more like fables quaint mythology than a novel - intertwining history (sometimes boring) with religion and the tales of heroes (although few (like two) heroines). A final note - to those who point out the absurdity of the Book of Mormon being written in King James English: how better to gain the trust of a KJV saturated society than to present your new scripture in that familiar tone? Vive la rationalité!"
Church of Jesus Christ of (1981), Paperback