Sandra Mizumoto Posey

Good Mystery, Extraneous Romance

Revisado: 03-26-22 El oyente recibió este título gratis

The Long Road Home is an engaging mystery about Jacob, a biker recently released from prison who has been waiting for his opportunity to get out so he can find out who killed his pregnant wife Maria and see that justice is served. His only remaining family are comprised of a half-brother and his true brothers, the members of a biker gang who value loyalty above all else. Firmly rooted in the New Mexico landscape that he has always called home, there's a strong sense of how place and chosen kin can ground you when all else seems lost. This narrative thread is paired with a completely disposable romantic narrative -- the return of his childhood friend from New York to New Mexico for her father's funeral, Faith has grown into a lovely but stereotypical (for the romance genre) top New York fashion magazine editor with a fiance who is a dashing cad and whose personal assistant is also her best friend. These characters are mere cardboard cut outs and the novel would be much improved if this entire storyline were excised from the book. Jacob's wife, after all, died a violent death not terribly long ago and it would be a much more poignant ending had Jakob come to terms with her death without having a just add water insta-love interest ready to jump into her place. Despite this, I enjoyed the core story. The narrator's voice acting was superb - he has that deep, resonant kind of voice that is a pleasure to listen to and is skilled enough to furnish enough subtle differences in each character's speech that you can tell them apart. Unlike some audio books, his female voices don't sound like male voices trying too hard to get into the proper range and cadence -- I never once was shaken out of the world of the story by the fact that the entire cast is read by one person. Overall I'd say despite some pretty devastating circumstances for the protagonist, the suspense and mystery elements made this an entertaining light read (or listen).

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So sexist

Revisado: 03-13-21

Couldn’t stick with it. Women scientists are objectified and belittled by male scientists. They’re ogled and their hypotheses ridiculed.

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Hit & Miss & Hit Again, But Still Worth Your Time

Revisado: 06-18-19

You do You, released for Pride Month, features seven stories highlighting a range of challenges faced by LGBTQIA individuals — though there was a noticeable absence of “I” or “A” in the mix. The seven artists share their journeys couched in sometimes uproarious humor, and as a result their struggles slide down easily for the listening audience. No doubt some of these events may not have been quite as funny at the time they occurred. Tan France and Nikki Levy provide introductions and commentary between performances (Nikki shares a story of her own as one of the featured seven but Tan does not). Unlike the stories themselves, performed in front of live audiences, Nikki and Tan’s brief studio-recorded interludes often feel canned rather than spontaneous — a flaw I can overlook because of the rich content of the stories themselves. All the stories are well worth listening to, but they can be inconsistent. A number of them unwind a bit at the end — as if their conclusions were not well-planned (the opposite was true of Alexandra Billings whose meandering yet no less captivating story ends with an uplifting directive sure to leave listeners both determined and hopeful). Best among the stories was that of Emma Willmann. While the plot itself follows Emma as she takes on the onerous task of being her sister’s maid of honor, it is the relationship between Emma and her mother that is the true heart of this story. You really can’t say enough about a woman who is willing to pretend the porn that appears on her laptop at the Apple Genius Bar is her own (rather than blaming it on her lesbian daughter). That’s the kind of mother we probably all wish we had and certainly the kind of parent or mentor we should all aspire to be.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Loss, Survival, and Transcendence

Revisado: 06-17-19

One would not expect that a girl growing up in an opulent mansion would have to face such despairing hardship, parental neglect, and loss. Cinelle Barnes’ memoir paints a vivid portrait of a lush, dazzling world of wealth and abundance soon destroyed by more than just rain and wind, though these certainly play a part. As his fortunes fall, her father leaves, promising to return. Her mother, ever hungry for love, affirmation, and the status she once held, replaces him with ambitious con man who only brings chaos, violence and ruin into the home. The water in the mansion is turned off to save money, the children left largely to fend for themselves, and the once grand ballroom is transformed into a stadium for chicken fights. How she survives and escapes this world, emerging to recount her life with such grace, is no less than a miracle. This is a thorough immersion into a world both beautiful and horrific.

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A book about so much more than the title suggests

Revisado: 05-14-19

Joshua Hunt’s book University of Nike is a must read. It is so much more than a book chronicling the rise of Nike as a company or how it then used its seemingly infinite resources (and market recognition) to influence higher education at the University of Oregon. Further, it is also more than a book about how college sports have come to overshadow other aspects of the mission at public research universities throughout the U.S.. Stories of individuals at the center of the crisis who faced ethical choices with far-reaching impacts they possibly never anticipated are woven together with the larger historic arc of legislative and economic conditions that left public higher education vulnerable to exploitation, Hunt demonstrates in exhaustive detail the reason these institutions exist, how we as a society lost sight of their importance, and what they are now becoming. I initially hesitated to purchase this book because I have zero interest in collegiate athletics. I am glad I took the risk. While I was already suspicious of changes at universities brought on by the increasing importance of sports on college campuses, the story Hunt tells is much more comprehensive, fascinating and, sadly, much more dire than I expected. Whether you are a faculty member, a university administrator, a high school student deciding where to go to college, or even a booster for your alma mater’s football team, you will find information here that will surprise you. For legislators and tax payers (i.e., pretty much everyone), this should be required reading.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Getting Unstuck

Revisado: 05-09-19

Instead of a boring step-by-step plan for switching careers, author Sara Bliss shares real-life stories of people who extricated themselves from a variety of professions they didn't enjoy to pursue others closer their hearts. I was drawn to this book because I'm considering career change myself but I struggle with the prospect the of leaving an established career -- one that financially supports both myself and my daughter -- only to start all over again. These stories provided a much needed shot in the arm to keep going. Sometimes just hearing that something can actually can be done is exactly what's needed to propel you forward. The profiles in the book, however, are inconsistent. There were some I didn't think belonged in the book at all because some career changes seemed more like subtle adjustments: a young adult in an entry level position who then moved to a higher position in the same industry. Others left high-paying positions (that no doubt allowed them to save a good deal of money) and were easily able to take the time off they needed to ponder their lives, to pursue additional training, or bankroll a new venture. While It's always nice to see people finally doing what they love no matter what strata of society they come from, to those of us with less in the way of financial safety nets, these stories can actually hinder us from believing we can "take the leap." Nonetheless, though I personally couldn't relate to the all of the examples, I do want to reiterate that there were enough stories I *could* relate to that made listening to the book more than worthwhile. I suspect most people will find at least a few anecdotes or tips they will find useful. Whether we start with money or not, we could all use reminders now and again that our dreams are possible. Let's hope so anyway.

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esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Almost insightful...but not quite

Revisado: 05-08-19

After becoming a mother, National Book Award finalist Megan K. Stack found challenges her experience as a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan hadn't prepared her for. As a stay-at-home mom in Beijing, her sanity and sense of self eroded amidst the chaos of caring for her infant son. Like many expatriates, Stack hired local domestic workers to help, an arrangement that allowed her to be both a mother and a writer. Later in Delhi, she again recruited local women, some of whom had to leave their own children behind in order to care for hers. Initially Stack tried "not to think about how making things nicer for one person always seemed to make things worse for somebody else," but the disparities were difficult to ignore. Turning her gaze toward the problem instead of averting her eyes, she begins to interview women who had worked for her, even returning to China to find women who had worked for her in the past. Unfortunately, these conversations come late in the book and Stack's reflections fall just short of true insight or action. She presents the problem of the structural inequity but offers no solutions: When it is once again time for her family to relocate, Stack considers inviting her long-time servant, by then old and infirm, to come along but knew she would never actually make the offer. "We’ll simply leave," she acknowledged, "and that will be the end.” For her perhaps, but for these women and those like them probably not.

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This is an audio book, but still a page-turner

Revisado: 05-08-19

Told entirely through a series of phone calls and voicemail messages, Evil Eye begins as a lightly comic family story: Born in India but raised in the U.S. 29-year-old Pahlavi negotiates the cultural divide between she and her mother Usha. Living once again in India, Usha doggedly and repeatedly arranges dates with suitable gentlemen for an exasperated Pahlavi. Had this story remained centered on loving conflicts such as this one that will feel familiar to many Americans with immigrant parents, I still would have given it a good review because author Madhuri Shekar captures their differences in a way that is both funny and authentic, never belittling the perspective of either character. Shekar, however, has something else in mind for listeners as she pivots the story in a surprising direction that I will not reveal here. Suffice to say, Shekar deftly packages a wry but important reminder that we should always be careful when characterizing the beliefs of immigrants as mere superstition. A delightful and gripping tale.

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esto le resultó útil a 36 personas