D. A. Vail

The most important book you haven’t read yet

Revisado: 12-29-20

I was stunned to discover that the paper version came out 20 years ago. At the very end, that becomes clear, but what doesn’t change is the importance of the analysis, and the prescience of the book’s publication. Wondering how the world got where it is? Read this book!

One final point. Armstrong is, of course, an historian of religion, but this book also works as profound sociology of knowledge, and pretty good political science, to boot!

Do yourself a favor. Read the book!

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Satire or reality?

Revisado: 08-13-20

When reality is as strange and pathetic as the satire, the latter loses its impact, unless it’s really skillful. This has some fun names and a few good descriptions (e.g., “meth lab Lauren Becall”), but otherwise not really worth the effort.

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Erudite and entertaining!

Revisado: 05-20-19

I'm tempted to go on at length about why this book is as good as it is, but I'm opting for letting Gopnik make his own case. It's difficult to present a summary that doesn't do violence to the subtlety of his analysis, nor the skill of his story telling, but I can say that the book is grounded in a broad sweep of subtle understanding of history, politics, sociology and literature. It is, in the very best sense, a liberal sampling of what makes our lives meaningful and how the liberal "agenda," such as there is one, has made all of that possible. Gopnik is a lively writer, and a compelling reader to boot, which makes listening to the book less of a chore than one might think, given the topic. Perhaps most importantly, though, he takes the critiques of liberalism (both from the left and the right) seriously enough to address them on their own terms. He takes them seriously enough to dive deeply into what makes them strong. He takes them seriously enough to explain why he disagrees with them without castigating or belittling their proponents. It really is a fantastic book. it's exactly the kind of thing that gives reasonable people hope that reason has not abandoned us. I recommend it highly and without reservation.

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File under current affairs

Revisado: 02-19-17

Double plus good sociology, right here. Masterful social commentary--frighteningly prescient--and the perfect reader. Perfect pacing and inflection. A thoroughly engrossing performance!

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Gloriously over the top

Revisado: 09-15-15

Hahaha! What a hoot! Lots of booze and fights and a villain in the band. This is as subtle as a kick in the balls followed by puking Bud Lite Lime on a cop's shoes! Could a biography of Lynyrd Skynyrd be otherwise?

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Great contemporary noire!

Revisado: 05-09-15

Patti Smith is perfect for this reading! Cold and aloof, you can practically smell the smoke drifting up from a Lucky Strike and a warm shot of cheap bourbon! Just wonderful atmosphere and a wonderful story!

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Interesting approach!

Revisado: 04-26-15

The scientist part of my brain rebels against the research methods. The psychoanalysis part of me knows that there is a lot of truth in here. Resolving those conflicts is not likely to end anytime soon. In the mean time, I'm betting on a lot less neck pain!

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This is why authors shouldn't read their own work.

Revisado: 10-06-14

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I didn't even last past the introduction.

The author reads
in chunks of three
to four words
at a time, occasionally finishing a sentence.

Just because he wrote the words doesn't mean he's a good performer and reading books is performance.

Were the concepts of this book easy to follow, or were they too technical?

The performance was dreadful, so I didn't even make it out of the intro.

Would you be willing to try another one of Wallace J. Nichols’s performances?

Absolutely not.

Was Blue Mind worth the listening time?

See above.

Any additional comments?

Really, seriously, this is important. Hire a director who knows how to teach public speaking or get a professional actor to read books. Authors are frequently dreadful readers and this is a prime example of just such a case. Listening to this reminds me of sitting through paper after paper at academic conferences, read by people who hadn't rehearsed their presentations. I listen to audiobooks for entertainment as well as edification. When half of that equation is missing, it's a waste of my time.

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I guess everyone gets a dog every now and then

Revisado: 08-31-14

Would you try another book from Julia Keller and/or Shannon McManus?

I will give Julia Keller one more chance, but the ending of this book was close to unforgivably bad. Granted, this is summer reading, and so it doesn't have to be realistic, but this ending was singularly horrible. I have seen bad adaptations of John Grisham novels that were more believable than the ending of this book. It makes me feel like I want the previous 9:30 back. Just wretched! I love Bell Elkins; I love Rhon Rhon; I love the rest of the supporting cast (Nick, etc.) and none of them played enough of a role in this book. It was all strangers and then a preposterously stupid conspiracy and a "surprise" resolution to part of the violence that violates most of PD James's rules about what constitutes good murder mystery. Shannon McManus, however, is impeccable. She's a joy to listen to.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin

What about Shannon McManus’s performance did you like?

She nails the accent and she has wonderful pacing. She over-enunciates the letter "t" at the end of words from time to time, but it's a nice affectation. She's almost as good as George Guidall. I'd listen to her read the phone book, especially if it were for a southern city.

Did Summer of the Dead inspire you to do anything?

It almost inspired me to throw my ipod across the room when the reveal happened at the end. Really dreadful ending. Just horrible!

Any additional comments?

Here's hoping Julia Keller recovers after this one and comes up with a believable set of circumstances for the next book.

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A journey in noble silence

Revisado: 07-04-14

Would you consider the audio edition of Sex is Forbidden to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version

What did you like best about this story?

It's an accurate portrayal of the experience of noble silence. The protagonist (the book is in the first person) has been on retreat longer than I ever have, and she's more neurotic than I, but her flights of fancy and experiences confronting the fetters and hindrances are all told faithfully, exactly the way they happen. The particulars are different, but they are exactly the way they happen. It's really well-told!

What does Suzanne Heathcote bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I haven't read the book, so it's hard to say, but she is very strong at portraying the internal world of a yogi/retreatant. She understands the whimsy and the humor and the desperation that are equal parts of the process of confronting the self and the mind when you're observing noble silence. It's a thoroughly convincing performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It would have been a very long sitting, but I did enjoy coming back to it at every opportunity.

Any additional comments?

All around fine performance and strong story. The ending was disappointing for me, but the rest of it made up for it. If you've ever wondered what it was like to be on meditation retreat, this is the experience. Hopefully you're not as neurotic as the protagonist, but that shouldn't change the fact that this is what retreat is like. Well done!

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