The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution by Jonathan Eig

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 400

Source: Own (Book Outlet)

Genres: Nonfiction

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Publication date: October 13th, 2014

Read on: August 16th to 23rd

Thoughts: When I first heard about this book I was more than interested. I had used the pill before, but more importantly, I'm always interested in scientific breakthroughs and how they came to be (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) or just the history of a big scientific topic (The Emperor of all Maladies), so learning about how the Pill was discovered and how it came to be one of the most popular contraceptives to date was certainly down my alley.

The book focuses on the roles of Margaret Sanger, Katharine McCormick, Gregory Pincus and John Rock in the pursue, formulation and finally establishment of The Pill. A very well researched book, with all the notes anyone could ask for and as many details as one could imagine for the development of the pill as well as for the personal lives of the people involved. As a woman, even though I knew it would be approved at the end, it was quite a ride to see how hard it was for this 4 people to make the Pill what it is today: effective, approved and widely available to the masses.

Unlike what I experienced with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, where the author pushed the sentimental angle a little bit too much for my licking, Eig stuck to the point...most of the time. The Emperor of all Maladies was a dense book, but even though it alternated with specific cases of patients and then the history of cancer itself, it never felt to me that pieces of information were superfluous. Unfortunately, there were several points in Eig's book where I did get such feeling, mostly when referring to personal parts of the people involved. It's not that I didn't care for this side of the story; it's just that sometimes a line would be dropped about their characters and it wouldn't give anything to the paragraph or the chapter even.

That said, I think Eig did a wonderful job with it's narrative. Some people might think that establishing the flow in a nonfiction piece it's easier, since the time path is already there, but this is so not true. Knowing how to thread the events and the people in a consistent and fluid manner is not easy, and Eig did it skillfully.

It is a very nice micro-history about not just the pill, but the lives of people who have influenced many. 

 

 

A Rogue by Any other Name by Sarah MacLean

Format: eBook

Pages: 386

Source: Library (OverDrive)

Genres: Romance

Publisher: Avon

Publication date: February 28th 2012

Read on: July 5th to 7th

Thoughts: One of the items for the Read Harder Challenge is to read a Romance novel. Now, I've only read 4 romance novels, including this one and I will admit, based on the other ones I've tried I was a bit hesitant about this part of the challenge. I decided to go for a Sarah MacLean since the creators of the challenge (the people from BookRiot) talk wonders about this series. I will say I was not disappointed by their recommendation but I probably I won't be visiting the genre any time soon.

A Rogue tells the story Penelope, the eldest sister of her family who was once engaged, but whose betrothed left her for another woman, basically tainting her name; and of Michael Lawler, a.k.a the Marques of Bourne, the rogue in our story, who lost his family wealth in a card game and it's looking for revenge. (chanchanchaaaaaaan)

Things I appreciated in the story: The epoch descriptions seemed well researched; the characters had fluid conversations and didn't seem forced (like the other romances I've tried); the sex scenes were actually exiting and not overly pushed for shock. I liked Penelope, while she has to remain a "lady" of her time; she is strong and will voice her opinions more often than not. She is not a pushover basically. Michael got on my nerves quite often, what with his martyr, nobody gets me tone. But he does get redeemed, I mean, it is a romance novel after all.

But as it happens with this genre (for me) it gets too predictable too soon. It was a fast read and I would even say fun at times. But when I already know what's coming 3 chapters ahead I find myself skimming the book, just not grabbed by it.

I would say if you want to start reading Romance, this one is probably a good place to start. Not a lot of clichés and, at least in my case, the sec scenes didn't get me rolling my eyes. 

 

Mini Reviews: Wife of the House by Gudrun Mouw and Mi Abuelo Explicaba muy bien a los Pájaros by Ivan Castro Rodelo

Wife of the House

Format: Paperback

Pages: 100

Series: NA

Source: LibraryThing EarlyReviewers

Genres: Poetry

Publisher: Raincloud Press

Publication date: April 15, 2014

I asked and received this book through the LybraryThing Early Reviewers program for free. This review is not sponsored nor influenced in anyway. Thanks to Chronicles Books for the book.

First impression

It's been a long time since I read poetry. To be honest with you, both poetry and theater are genres that are hard for me to read; I just don't get immersed enough and most of the time I feel like I am forcing myself to continue reading. Unfortunately for me, this was one of these times. Don't get me wrong, the author manages to put a lot of feeling in each of her poems...I just never connected with them.

Final thoughts

I think that Mouw manages to show and share what she feels as a Housewife, her story of a troubled marriage, how she got there and how she got out. Her imagery can be very vivid and sad and this I have to give it to her, I could feel all that. However I was never fully engaged with the poems, and while it is a short read it felt very long, precisely because I had to force me to continue. This is no fault of the author or the writing, as you will probably notice from other reviews. The book just wasn't for me. 

Mi Abuelo Explicaba muy bien a los Pájaros

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 126

Series: NA

Source: Own (BookOutlet)

Genres: General fiction, Esoteric

Publisher: Grupo Nelson

Publication date: December 1st, 2009.

First Impression

When you look for books in Spanish in BookOutlet, most of what you will get are either bibles or books classified on the self help and religion genres. I am not a fan of either genre, but it is from a Colombian author and I was thinking of my Granpda when I bought it so here we are. This book is somehow categorized as self help and it does have some parts where the main character mentions him finding God, but the story turned out to be more than that, so I did actually enjoyed it. Told in the voice of the grandson, remembering his vacation time spent with his grandfather and the stories he told him, it was quite a beautiful story of love and family.

Final thoughts 

 

More than anything this is a story about love, represented in the grandparents relationship. The side stories of the grandfather joining the circus, and making his way to success reminded me of my grandpa and his stories of odd jobs he took along the way. The book touched a lot of personal fibers for me, and I do believe I read it in the right moment for me to enjoy it. However, as much as it made me smile while I was reading it, I find it hard to identify who else would I recommended for. It was nice and the writing made me remember zones of my country I haven't visited in years but I don't know if this would be enough for me to revisit the book in the future or to pass it along. 

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya van Wagenen

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 272

Series: NA

Source: Library

Genres: Nonfiction, Advice, Memoir

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House)

Publication date: April 15, 2014

First impression

I got this book last Christmas as a gift from very dear friends. With a line found in the jacket I was hooked:

Can curlers, girdles, Vaseline and a strand of pearls help a shy girl become popular?  

You see, I love pearls.

 

This was a very sweet read, and it felt like it was indeed written by a 14 year old girl, and I mean that in a good way. Sure, she had editors, but her voice is obviously there, she reminded me of my little cousin (she is 15 now) and her way to see the world. It reminded me of 15yo me and how all I wanted at a certain point is to be one of the “it” girls. I thought I was going to be rolling my eyes often when looks and appearance would be discussed, and I did roll them a couple of times, but not as much as I expected. Maya finishes with a very sweet, endearing tone that made me want to hug her.

Final thoughts

Maya van Wagenen considers herself to be in the lowest rank of popularity in her school, but when she founds Betty Cornell’s teenage popularity guide she decides to try a little experiment: she will follow the books advice (keep in mind this is a book written in the 1950s) and see if that takes her from top to bottom. Going from hair, to posture, to diet, to attitude, Maya sticks to her plan, without telling anyone out if her family. This book is her memoir of that year.

I had my first problem with the book when the first chapter was dedicated to figure problems… remember she was a 14yo at the time she was writing this and thinking of someone that young dieting was not easy to swallow, even if her doctor said she was “borderline obese” (for the record, in the pictures she does NOT look borderline obese). But my anxiety went down knowing that 1. She wasn’t obsessing about the diet 2. The diet, while reducing on fat foods, still kept a fair amount of protein, vegetables and fruits, and most importantly 3. She was doing it with her parent’s supervision and not taking it to extremes. Other problems are probably related with the fact that I am no longer a teenager, so let’s not mull over that for too long.

I enjoyed the little bits of her life thrown in with the experiment, this is what made it feel like a real teen diary. I loved how she took a bit of knowledge of each chapter, of each “challenge” and particularly how, when she started talking to a lot of the different clicks, you can see that she is growing more and more comfortable in her skin. And that is why I would recommend this book to my little cousin…and for everyone looking for a short, endearing book that would make you feel better at the end of it…and walk with a better posture ;)

Lovetorn by Kavita Daswani

Format: Hardback 

Pages: 250

Series: NA

Source: Own (Book Outlet)

Genres: YA, Contemporary Fiction

Publisher: HarperCollins: HarperTeen

Publication date: January 17th 2012

First impression

I bought this book after Book Riot recommended it in their South Asian YA: 5 titles to read post. It had a very nice premise; a whole family moving from India to the States, the elder girl has been engaged since she was 3 years old and dealing in general with being a teenager. The book does all this things but I was disappointed with the end.

Final thoughts

Shalini is the main character of this book and she is telling the story of how her father found a new job in Los Angeles. As a dutiful daughter, she acts exited and supportive, but the truth is that she is not that thrilled of leaving everything she knew behind, including Vikram her fiancé. Arriving to LA and learning a whole different culture would be hard enough on her, but as it turns out her mother isn't taking the move so well and soon Shalini is taking care of the household, trying to deal with bullies in her class and, for the first time in her life, questioning what for so long was supposed to be her life plan with Vikram, even more so, when Toby comes to the picture.

There are a lot of things I liked about this book and they are all related to Shalini and her family being in foreign land. The amusement of finding a place that sells the food you grew up with; the sort of challenge of explaining to others things that you've grown accustomed to; the fear of changing and losing your roots and at the same time, of not changing and losing your mind. All of these things are so real when you leave your comfort and yet they are so great to help you grow as a person.

Shalini's mom goes into a deep depression due to this move; her father tries to work hard but is afraid of what might have come of his family. Her little sister on the other hand, seems to adapt very well to her new life. All of these perspectives made the book even more enjoyable.

However it was the love story that made me hesitant to give this book a 4...for most of the book the only love interest is Vikram, and while I was interested in the idea of Shalini questioning this relationship now that they were no longer together all the time I wish it wouldn't because another boy. This made her look like a girl whose decisions revolve solely around boys and I can't like that, sorry. I think I would've rather her questioning the whole idea of being engage at 3 when being exposed to other views; if at the end of it all she felt that this was what made her happy, great! It is not? also great.

And then we have the ending. Don't worry; I will not give away spoilers. All I can say is that it felt extremely abrupt and rushed. What is worst, it felt like there was not conclusion at all. I still gave it a 4 because going to it gave me what it promised. To quote Book Riot: This is great because there aren’t a lot of South Asian YA novels that deal with this transitional period, coming to the United States as a teenager and trying to figure things out.

Solo en Berlín (Every Man Dies Alone) by Hans Fallada

Format: Paperback

Pages: 575

Series: NA

Source: Own

Genres: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Maeva

Publication date: June 2011 (Originally published in 1947 as Jeder stirbt für sich allein)

First impression

Set on Germany on the early 1940s and based on a true story, the author tells the story of the Quangels, a middle aged couple who lose their only child to war. Both were part of the Nazi party as workers but with this shock coming to their lives makes them question the whole regime. It is how they start writing post cards with anti fascist messages, questioning the Fuhrer and his actions and dropping them in places with high traffic in the hopes that their questioning might expand. The book also tells the story of their neighbours: a member of the SS forces, a Jewish widow, a pathetic tattletale with too much greed and even their post lady, who is tired of her drunken husband.

The book was actually written during the war, first published in 1946, which gave it a lot of realistic tones both in the characters and in the events going on. Unfortunately, I believe there was a lot lost in translation, particularly in the dialogues which made it hard for me to fully enjoy the read. I could feel all the important messages and nuances, but they felt buried under the effect of translation.

Final thoughts

Several members of my family read this book and fairly enjoyed it. I was not one of them. The main characters where very well constructed both as individuals and as a couple. When the book was describing what they would do and their thoughts I would be engrossed and amazed at them...but then the dialogues would come and somehow they speech seemed forced or even fake. I feel the need to point out here that the version I was reading was a translation in Spanish from Spain (or Castilian if you prefer) so my brain couldn't overlook the expressions used and the sentence construction so different from my own. Sadly, this carried all through the book and I would find myself wanting to put the book down or even wanting to skip the dialogues.

I also felt, that while the secondary characters gave extra perspectives of the war itself, there were too many of them and while the author certainly tried to give a deeper view of all of them some of them felt (to me) like a half baked idea. You can argue that books as LOTR have tons of secondary characters, and off course you would be right, but they are treated as secondary characters all along, and hence if their story ends, it doesn't feel like someone just turned off a switch all of the sudden. With Fallada's secondary characters, the feeling was that they might actually become main characters so when their parts were over I was left with an unfulfilled feeling.

The other thing that made it hard for me to engage was the pacing of the book; the first ¾ of the book felt extremely slow, while I will admit that there was a lot of build up, but more than once I considered DNF because I could not get fully engaged. My family encouraged me to continue and it is true that when I arrived to the last part of the book, the rhythm certainly picked up but it still felt a little too late.

One thing that set this book apart from other war books I've read is the keen eye Fallada had to describe human's nature, not just in the extremes moments but everyday situations.

The book was put together by the author in 24 days, a bit before his dead at age 81. It is considered to one of the first anti-Nazi novel, and it is particular not only by the fact that it is based on real facts, but because it was written by a German author, right after the war. All of this is still remarkable. However I can't in all honestly say that the book gave me more than I was expected and to a point it was limit to what I thought it would be. I would recommend this book to people that enjoy war stories with a very realistic (and sad I have to add) feel.