Category: 2000 – 2007

Categories
2000 - 2007 Non Fiction

Difficult Conversations by Stone, Patton and Heen

Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most[ DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS: HOW TO DISCUSS WHAT MATTERS MOST ] By Stone, Douglas ( Author )Nov-02-2010 Paperback

Five words from the blurb: negotiate, manage, feelings, blame, listen

Last month I had a short Twitter conversation with @ninabellbooks about books we buy for other people. She mentioned Difficult Conversations as one she finds so useful she frequently talks about, and then buys, for other people. I was intrigued and so ordered a copy from my local library. I now know why she loves it so much and have already recommended it to several people.

Difficult Conversations is written by the leaders of the Harvard Negotiation Project and it explains how to approach a wide range of potentially volatile situations. In step-by-step guides it teaches the reader how to avoid arguments and negotiate a solution that is acceptable to all parties. It explains everything from how to deliver bad news, to dealing with difficult colleagues. It even explains how to ask for a pay rise! Whilst most is common sense there were several aspects that were new to me and incorporating some of these ideas into my conversations has changed my life for the better.

One of the main points this book makes is that there are very few bad people in the world. Most don’t set out to hurt others and if they do it is either unintentional or the indirect result of trying to help someone else. It advises giving people the benefit of the doubt, explaining how their actions hurt you and trying to understand their point of view. It cleverly includes examples where you read through the conversation, immediately come up with your own ideas about who is right or wrong, but when you read the additional information your take on the situation changes completely. I wish more novel writers read this book as it would help them to create some fantastic twists!

The book explains how everyone has their own quirks and it is only through compassion and patience that we can try to understand the other person’s point of view and have meaningful conversations. 

Sometimes, you’ll find yourself wishing you didn’t have to be explicit. You wish the other person already knew that there was a problem and would do something about it. This is a common and understandable fantasy – our ideal mate or perfect colleague should be able to read our mind and meet our needs without having to ask. Unfortunately, such people don’t exist. Over time, we may come to know better how we each think and feel, but we will never be perfect. Being disappointed that someone isn’t reading our mind is one of our contributions to the problem.

Overall this is a very important book. It will help people to live happier lives and prevent many arguments. Highly recommended.

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Categories
2000 - 2007 Crime Thriller Uncategorized

Pecking Order by Chris Simms

Pecking Order

Five words from the blurb: farm, chickens, kill, secret, project

Earlier in the year Scott Pack recommended Pecking Order and I decided to give it a try. It was free at the time, but the kindle edition is still only 99p and I recommend that you get a copy if you’d like a gripping piece of crime fiction.

Pecking Order is a psychological thriller that investigates how willing people are to follow the orders of someone in authority. It cleverly uses the plight of battery chickens as a backdrop; using the bird’s pain and fear to increase the tension of the human drama. The chickens also emphasize what is wrong with our society and, although this book can be seen as a quick, entertaining read, there are several deeper messages hidden under the surface:

As he walked back across the lawn to his own house he reflected on the concern shown for a missing cat while, if events so far were anything to go by, an old person could lie dead and undiscovered in their flat for days.

The book demands the reader’s attention from the very first page. The descriptions are vivid and sometimes disturbing – if you don’t eat free-range chickens already, you’ll certainly be more inclined to do so after reading this book!

The central character, Rubble, is deliciously evil. He enjoys his job slaughtering chickens and it is wonderful to read a book where it is a joy to hate most of the characters. The book also contains some scenes within a university and I loved this campus-novel aspect of the plot.

Overall, Pecking Order is an original, thought provoking and entertaining read. I look forward to reading more of Simm’s work in the future.

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Have you read anything by Chris Simms?

Which of his books would you recommend I try next?

Categories
2000 - 2007 Non Fiction Uncategorized

Moondust by Andrew Smith

Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth

Five words from the blurb: moon, journey, men, future, lives

Only twelve men have walked on the moon. Andrew Smith was intrigued by their rare experience and wondered how those few days in space affected their lives. He tracked down the nine moon walkers who were still alive (sadly Neil Armstrong died last year, leaving just eight) and attended space conferences in order to understand the unique place these people have in our hearts.

The book detailed the political and historical events that enabled the space program to occur, something I found particularly useful as I wasn’t alive at the time. It also gave me a new appreciation of how difficult the moon missions had been. I didn’t realise how frequently they came close to disaster and the knowledge that the entire command centre used the same memory as a couple of our modern mobile phones was a scary reminder of how much technology has advanced since then.

Unfortunately the book didn’t explain what daily life was like in space, giving only the briefest details of their time up there; instead the book focused on the way looking back at Earth changed their perspective on life.

….”with the right computer program, it would be possible to know precisely where everything else in the Universe will be ten, or a hundred, or a hundred thousand years from now. The one thing in the Universe that we can’t predict,” he concludes – and we know what’s coming, yet that doesn’t diminish the thought – “the one thing that we don’t know where it’s going to be even ten years from now, is us. We may be small, but we’ve been given the most extraordinary gift in the Universe.”

Most of the astronauts found being in space a profound, life changing experience and it was interesting to see how it had impacted each of their lives in a different way. Coping with their strange celebrity status was another issue they had to learn to master and I felt deep sympathy for the way some of the astronauts were pestered continually. 

My only complaint was the lack of photographs in this book – a small section containing a few black and white images would have been a big bonus. 

Overall this was a thought provoking piece of non fiction and I have a new-found appreciation for the men who risked their lives in order to step foot on the moon. 

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Categories
2000 - 2007

Mr Mee by Andrew Crumey

Mr Mee

Five words from the blurb: Octogenarian, Rousseau, Internet, philosophical, history

I added Mr Mee to my wishlist when Scott Pack compared the author Andrew Crumey to David Mitchell. I think he’s right to compare the two, but unfortunately Mr Mee felt a little dated to me.

The book begins with Mr Mee, a wonderfully entertaining elderly gentleman, discovering the Internet for the first time. His pleasure on discovering all the information now available at his finger tips was heartwarming and it there were a few amusing scenes involving Internet porn. Woven with this plot thread were two others: the story of two eighteenth-century French copyists who have a rare encyclopedia in their possession; and a narrative about a Jean-Jacques Rousseau professor who becomes obsessed with one of his students.

This book contained lots of interesting ideas. It reminded me of books by Scarlett Thomas in the way it combined philosophy, history and science in a clever, thought provoking manner. It was refreshing to read a book that wasn’t afraid to be intelligent, but, despite my degree in chemistry, some of the quantum theory went over my head. I also struggled with some of the philosophy. I’m sure that those familiar with Jean-Jacques Rousseau would gain more from the book and re-reading would reveal many more layers.

Historians might after all be able to understand the past, by virtue of its sheer unfamiliarity, better than those who experienced it; and the moment in which we live, like the self we inhabit, is the one we are least equipped to understand. Recognition is a faculty we are forever denied with regard to our own selves; unless perhaps one can become, at least temporarily, a person called ‘I’ who is not necessarily oneself.

The main problem with the book was that Mr Mee’s sections felt dated. Although it was only published in 2000, the Internet has come on a long way since then and details about the British high street were almost painful to read in the way they mentioned numerous shops that have gone into administration.

Another problem was that I had little interest in the historical section. This could be because my philosophy isn’t very strong or because the French copyists weren’t as well developed, but either way I lost interest whenever they appeared. The university lecturer was more engaging, but he also lacked the special spark shown by Mr Mee.

Overall I was impressed by the writing and the concept, but unfortunately too many aspects didn’t quite work for me. Andrew Crumey’s writing is impressive and I’ll be seeking out more of his work, but I’m afraid I read this one 10 years too late.

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Have you read any of Andrew Crumey’s books? 

Which ones do you recommend?

 

Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World

Five words from the blurb: unicorn, librarians, descent, tradegy, detachment

Hard-Boiled Wonderland is my fifth Murakami (I’ve read Wild Sheep Chase, Norwegian Wood, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore) but although I loved the bizarre scenes, I think I understood this book less than any of the others I’ve read.

The book contained a dual narrative: one part set in an alternative version of modern Japan, the other in a mysterious walled city. These short, alternating chapters added pace and ensured the reader was never bored.

The plot revolved around unicorns; trying to avoid strange vicious creatures called INKlings; and bizarre experiments on the mind. I loved the first two aspects, but the third confused me. I also failed to understand the book’s concept. I think I’d benefit from reading a study guide, as far too much went over my head.

The writing style was simpler and less vibrant than the other Murakamis I’ve read and I initially struggled to connect with it. It took about 70 pages before I was gripped to the plot and there was one point, about 40 pages in, where I even considered abandoning it. Luckily I persevered and was rewarded with more of Murakami’s unique brand of weirdness.

“Your shadow is on the verge of death. A person has the right to see his own shadow under these circumstances. There are rules about this. The Town observes the passing of a shadow as a solemn event, and the Gatekeeper does not interfere.”

The joy of this book is the way it transports you out of your comfort zone. It is unpredictable, entertaining and completely bonkers, but I wish I there had been more adventure and less complex mind theory.

Recommended to those who are already Murakami fans, as I don’t think this is a good place to start.

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Have you read this book?

Did you understand it?

Is it your favourite Murakami? 

To find more Japanese literature reviews head over to Tony’s January in Japan blog.

Categories
1950s 2000 - 2007 Books in Translation

Jamilia by Chingiz Aïtmatov

Jamilia Translated from the Russian by James Riordan

Five words from the blurb: husband, newcomer, village, letters, love

I knew nothing about this book, but accepted a review copy because the author was said to be “Kyrgyzstan’s best known literary figure”  and it was described as “the greatest love story ever told”.  I’d never read a book from Kyrgyztan before, but whilst it was interesting to learn about village life in this country, Jamilia was too sparse for my taste.

The book is set during WWII at a time when all the men from the village have gone away to fight; leaving the women and the elderly to run the farms by themselves. Jamilia is a spirited young woman who has little interest in the letters she receives from her husband on the front line, but the arrival of Daniyar, a stranger who has been injured on the battlefield, changes everything and they soon find themselves falling in love.  

The writing was beautiful and there were lots of vivid scenes, but I found the emotional connection to the characters wasn’t there – it was all too passive for me.

He took no notice of my presence; he just sat there, hugging his knees and gazing into the distance with a pensive, yet unclouded look. And once again I felt he was listening intently to sounds I could not hear. Now and again he would shudder and freeze, his eyes open wide. Something was bothering him and I fancied he would get up at any moment and unburden his soul, but not to me – he didn’t even notice me – rather to something vast, unbounded, unfathomable.

At just 96 pages long this novella can be read in a single sitting and I think this brevity also increased my frustration with it. I prefer a more complex plot, especially when looking for “the greatest love story ever told”. It probably didn’t help that the best love story I’ve ever read is  The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami, an 850 page epic in which I came to understand everything there was to know about the couple in love. In comparison Jamilia barely scratched the surface and I didn’t fully understand their culture or ambitions. 

I’d also warn readers who dislike spoilers to avoid reading the blurb, or most reviews for this book. Every plot point for this short story is given away, with no surprises at the end.

Overall it is worth reading this book – simply because little other literature from Kyrgyzstan is available in translation, but I’m sure there are many better love stories out there in the world.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

…a truly lovely story, that was a joy read. Bart’s Bookshelf

I am not as in love with Jamilia as others have been, but I am in love with Seit’s idea of being in love. The Stardust Reader

…a book that will linger with you long after you have put it down. Winstonsdad’s Blog