Kids, Camels, & Cairo by Jill Dobbe

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Kids, Camels & Cairo by Jill Dobbe is a lighthearted memoir about an American family’s experience living and working in Cairo, Egypt for two years. A husband and a wife who were living comfortably in Wisconsin accepted teaching positions together in the same international school in Cairo.  It was their oldest child’s first year in college.  He remained in the State while his parents and younger sister moved to Cairo.

The memoir provides fascinating insights about Egyptian culture.  The memoir especially excels in provide the perspective of an American woman trying to adjust to social limitations a woman faces living in Egypt, and her experiences were often notably and interestingly different from her husband’s. Other insights include Egyptian attitudes on education, cuisine, immigration, and extreme poverty and extreme wealth living together in one country. I appreciate the author openly sharing her observations.

The writing style of the memoir is casual, and portions of the book read like an email from a friend.   It took a while for me to adjust to the casual style, I appreciated Dobbe's down-to-earth and straightforward writing.  For the most part the book is organization chronologically, though the writing is somewhat stream of consciousness, expounding on events out of order if they tie into something that reminded the author of it.  The memoir may have benefitted from being organized by different themes or types of insights.  For example, taking her daughter to Cairo, poverty in Egypt, learning to live in a Muslim county, adjusting as a woman in Cairo, etc.

The year the Dobbe’s moved to Cairo was their daughter’s last year of high school.  This was hard for me to read about, because it did not entirely seem in the daughter’s best interest to be uprooted from her educational and social support in Wisconsin. And it is unclear why the Dobbe’s could not simply wait one more year to work abroad after their daughter completed high school. It was mentioned that at times the daughter would cry in her room in Cairo and did not wish to attend her own graduation in Cairo because she never developed a fondness for the school or her classmates. I must admit this left a sourness for me that hung throughout the book.

The Dobbe’s had several opportunities to travel throughout the region, including the great pyramids and the Red Sea.  It is organization chronologically, though the writing is somewhat stream of consciousness, expounding on events out of order if they tie into something that reminded the author of it.  The memoir may have benefitted from being organized by different themes or types of insights.  For example, taking her daughter to Cairo, poverty in Egypt, learning to live in a Muslim county, adjusting as a woman in Cairo, etc.

The year the Dobbe’s moved to Cairo was their daughter’s last year of high school.  This was hard for me to read about, because it did not entirely seem in the daughter’s best interest to be uprooted from her educational and social support in Wisconsin. And it is unclear why the Dobbe’s could not simply wait one more year to work abroad after their daughter completed high school. It was mentioned that at times the daughter would cry in her room in Cairo and did not wish to attend her own graduation in Cairo because she never developed a fondness for the school or her classmates. I must admit this left a sourness for me that hung throughout the book.

The Dobbe’s had several opportunities to travel throughout the region, including the great pyramids and the Red Sea.  It was a delight to see some photography from their travels.  Kids, Camels and Cairo is recommended to anyone interested in traveling to Egypt and an absolute must read for anyone looking to travel to Egypt to teach.  

I reviewed this book as part of Rosie's Book Review Team.  You can find her book review website here https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/ber.wordpress.com/

Book Review of Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love Too by Emily Page

My rating: 4 stars out of 5

Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love Too by Emily Page is a profoundly raw account of one family’s experience of caring for a father with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).  The story is told from the perspective of an adult daughter (the author) who is caring for her father along with her husband and her mother. The book has three parts.  This first part of the book is much like a traditional memoir, with the author’s experience recounted in a narrative.  The second part of the book reads a bit like a series of journal entries, raw and largely unedited recounts of caring for her father.  The author is an artist, and the third part of the book is a series of paintings she created that out of her caregiving experience.

The author’s love for her father is the greatest testament of this book.  Yes, the author becomes angry, emotionally frayed and anxiety-ridden in the seven years she cared for her father, and sometimes those emotions are even directed at her father.  But she never walks from the situation. Underneath all the difficult emotion was an abundantly present love of a daughter. The first chapter recounts her father’s life before his diagnosis. It’s a beautiful celebration of his life before dementia, including his sense of humor, his extraordinary passion for trains and music, and his time as a First Lieutenant in the Vietnam War.

Frontotemporal dementia is described as disease of a thousand goodbyes, like slowly losing the person you love in stages.  The author writes: 

“When I got home, I, of course, got online and started researching the disease. What I saw was not good. Asshole internet, which so very often lies, refused to lie to me that night. The symptoms all matched: odd social behavior (disinhibition), inability to make changes or follow complicated instructions, heightened emotion, depression. Treatment was aimed at managing symptoms, not slowing or stopping the disease. There were no medications for that. Prognosis: death two to ten years after diagnosis, probably from pneumonia after aspirating food because of muscle failure. Two to ten years. Two to ten years. Two to ten years."

This book leveled me.  I openly wept several times while reading it, especially in the second part of the book that read like a series of mostly unedited journal entries. I learned a great deal about the impact dementia has on a family. I also learned a great deal about how to advocate for someone living with this terrible disease. 

The writing style is casual, and portions of the book read like an email from a friend.   It took a while for me to adjust to the casual style. I very much enoyed the artwork throughout the book.  The author uses images of elephants to portray herself, her father, and dementia itself because “an elephant never forgets” and “An elephant’s faithful 100 percent.”  The book ends with a list of songs, a playlist of the music that was mentioned throughout the book and has a special meaning or memory tied to the author and her father.  Fractures Memories is a must read for anyone who loves or cares for anyone living with dementia. 


I reviewed this book as part of Rosie's Book Review Team.  You can find her book review website here https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/

Book Review of The Bridge of the Golden Wood: A Parable on How to Earn a Living

by Karl Beckstrand, illustrated by Yaniv Cahoua

My rating is 5 out of 5 stars

The Bridge of the Golden Wood: A Parable on How to Earn a Living is a children’s book for ages 5 and up written by Karl Beckstrand and illustrated by Yaniv Cahoua. Set in the Far East, the book is about a boy who chooses to help others and finds treasure as a result. It begins with “There once was a boy who loved to make things,” and the tone of an old parable is maintained throughout the story.

Beckstrand was inspired to write The Bridge of the Golden Wood after visiting several schools and realizing there was no curriculum provided to young people about ways to earn money. The message from The Bridge of the Golden Wood is a positive one: helping others for free gives you experience, a good reputation, and can lead to an idea for ways to make money. The events in the story are sweet and simple. However, the main character’s particular experience is not be something modern children could re-create for themselves. What pushes the book all the way up to five stars for me is the discussion guide at the end.  Children are guided through ways to look for opportunities in everyday problems and provided examples of ways to earn income by serving others and solving problems.

The Bridge of the Golden Wood is recommended for ages 5 and up.  I read this book with a three-year old and she loved the soft, cheerful illustrations. She was especially interested in the animals in the story.   I do think the money-making lesson largely went over her head, though we did talk about the importance of helping others.  She was also fascinated by some of the mysterious aspects of the parable. I read this book with her knowing the story is targeted towards older readers. Overall, The Bridge of the Golden Wood is a very welcome addition to children’s literature.

I received a copy of this book through Rosie's Book Review Team. 

Book Review of Can't Buy Forever by Susan Laffoon

My rating: 3.5 stars

Can’t Buy Forever is a YA paranormal romance set in 1950’s America, with much up the story taking place in the Adirondacks in New York. It is the first book in a planned series. In this story, readers will find a couple with a strong and loyal bond. The male lead (Nicholas Westley) has a dark and mysterious past, and the reader lives vicariously through the female lead (Odessa Drake) to learn more. Despite his traumatic past, Nicholas is a wholesome nice guy, and sometimes nice guys finish first.

The book particularly excels in creating intrigue surrounding Nicholas's past. The desire to learn more had me turning page after page to the end. The relationship between Odessa and Nicholas seemed a bit superficial at first but as their experience with each other went on, the relationship turned into something well founded and beautiful. In the first half of the story, she’s a largely passive actor in her own life. In YA especially, it bothers me when the most interesting thing about a young woman is her boyfriend, as I don't think it sets a good example for your readers. I did appreciate the lack of sexual content. I don't mind it in adult books, but appreciate when it's absent from YA. I greatly enjoyed the character of Elise, Odessa's spunky best friend.

Can’t Buy Forever is a bit derivative of the Twilight formula, but ultimately the book forged its own path into something unique. The synopsis would have done well to more overtly acknowledge there would be fantasy elements in the story. I enjoyed the twists, but as a reader I had to do some mental gymnastics when I realized I'd thought I was in for a purely historical fiction romance and wound up getting a paranormal one.

Can’t Buy Forever deserved a far more thorough editing job than it received. There are typos throughout, grammatical errors and frequent changes in verb tense. This didn’t decrease my rating because typos and errors can happen and I don’t want to judge a book based on how skilled an editor it had, but the errors certainly decreased the professionalism of the book. That said, there was still plenty to love in Laffoon’s writing. I don’t know how far along Susan Laffoon is in her writing career, but she has real talent. She’s a diamond in the rough. Some of her observations and descriptions are utterly exquisite and created an atmosphere I just wanted to *be*, though it's not sustained. The beauty of Laffoon’s writing, and the tone and writing style in general, is inconsistent throughout the book. 

However, with more practice and refinement, I honestly believe Laffoon could be comparable to Marilynne Robinson. Some of her writing is just as beautiful, complete with nods to religion. Ultimately, this was an enjoyable if slightly flawed read. I heartily encourage Laffoon to further cultivate her writing. I received a copy of this book from the author.

Book Review of Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd: The Warrior Princess of Deheubarth by Laurel Rockefeller

Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd: The Warrior Princess of Deheubarth is the sixth installment in Laurel Rockefeller’s The Legendary Women of World History series. It is a brief novelization about the life, legacy and fighting spirit of a Welsh princess (Gwenllian frech Gruffydd) who led her people into battle against the Normans. I have long been an avid reader of historical fiction, and this story is a welcome addition to the genre.

The story excels in portraying the world of Wales during the 1100’s. Simple descriptions about the daily life, the surrounding regions and annual celebrations ground the reader in the time period. Rockefeller also keeps the reader grounded in understanding how the shifting politics throughout the region and in London in particular impacted the Welsh. The most shocking part of the story was the betrayal Gwenllian faced.

Rockefeller’s love of the Welsh language is evident throughout the book. The use of the Welsh names and locations added to the authenticity of the story. However, beyond names and locations, the use of the old language caused confusion for me. Gwenllian frech Gruffydd’s native tongue is frequently interspersed throughout conversations. At one point Gwenllian sings a song while playing the harp, and the song is written entirely in her native language. A typical reader will find this incomprehensible.

The story is brief and lingers longest on the battle and events leading up to Gwenllian frech Gruffydd’s death. She was a heroic fighter and through Rockefeller’s portrayal is it easy to see why the Welsh cried her name into battle for centuries to follow. The ending of the story beautifully nods to the lineage that followed Gwenllian frech Gruffydd and muses what her option on it must be. “Surely in some place beyond this physical world, Princess Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, the warrior princess of Deheubarth watched the coronation of Queen Elizabeth Tudor, a woman born of her blood and legacy, and smiled.”

After the story there is a timeline of Welsh history from 844 to 1282 and an extensive suggested reading bibliography that provides a wealth of information for those looking to research the topic further. The timeline was thorough and interesting. In future installments in this series, I would love to see the selected events spaced along a horizontal line. Images of Wales and any remaining structures from the story, as well as artistic renderings of the individuals discussed would also be a welcome addition to the story.

10 Famous Books That Were Barely Published

Hey guys!
Today we're talking about 10 famous books that almost never were.

The vlog version of this post is available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5kdCHkaY34&t=151s

1. Harry Potter and the Sourcerer's Stone was rejected 12 times, one of the responses from a publisher told JK Rowling not to quite her day job. She was finally published, and the publisher only made 500 copies and gave most of them away for free to libraries.

2. The Tales of Peter Rabbit, the famous children's books by Beatrix Potter. Beatrix wrote and illustrated the stories herself and sent an early version of them to the bedridden son of her former governess. She then tried to get the book published, but no publishers would accept it so she self-published. The book was a success and a publisher picked it up. Peter Rabbit has been in print since 1902 and has sold over 45 million copies.  Potter had to self-publish.

3. The Martian by Andy Weir. This is a book that I don't think Weir really ever had the intention of publishing. He posted the book chapter by chapter on his blog, and people were really liking it so he made it all into one e-pub file they could download, but some people were having trouble downloading the file.  Literally if people had not complained they couldn't donwload the file, I don't think Wier would have ever self-published on Amazon Kindle. But he did, and the book skyrocketed to Amazon's bestselling science fiction list.

4. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, a philosophical work of nonfiction is often acclaimed as one of the most important books on the late 20th Century. And it was rejected by 121 publishers. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most publication rejections of any bestselling book.

5. Animal Farm by George Orwell, a satire on the Russian Revolution and Stalin's rise to power.  British author George Orwell was trying to get this book published during WWII, while the British military was allied with the USSR.  No one would publish it. It was rejected all over Britain because of concerns about being critical of the USSR while they were allied with them in a war. A really small publisher did eventually accept it, but did not actually publish Animal Farm until after the war.

6. Carrie by Stephen King.
Carrie was Stephen King's first big break, and it almost never happened.  Carrie was rejected by 30 publishers and King got so discouraged he threw the manuscript in the garbage.  This was the 70's so it wasn't stored on electronically anywhere.  His wife Tabitha fished the manuscript out of the trash and encouraged her husband to keep sending it around.  Now an image of a girl in a prom dress covered in pig's blood is a part of popular culture.  It is weird to think about books like this that are so ingrained in popular culture are almost not existing. To think about Harry Potter never existing, never having a shot a publication, is weird. To think about Stephen King, one of the most prolific horror writers, giving up on his writing career before it began if his wife hadn't encouraged him to keep submitting Carrie, it's weird to think about.

7. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L'Engle. This was one of my very favorite children's series when I was growing up. L'Engle received 26 rejections before finally getting published.  A Wrinkle in Time went on to win a Newberry Medal the following year.

8. Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Voictor Hansen.
This multimillion dollor series was rejected 140 times by publishers. The authors were told anthologies don't sell and their books were too positive.

9. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Gone With the Wind was rejected 38 times and then it went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1937

10. And last but not least...
The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer.  The Joy of Cooking is probably the most famous cookbook I can think of. In 1931, the author spent a good chunk of her own life savings to print copies of her own cookbook.  It took five years before her investment paid off and a publisher picked up the book.  The Joy of Cooking has sold over 18 million copies.

So those are my picks for 10 famous books that were almost never published.  Let me know down below if there are any others you're thinking!

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman Book Review

This is a spoiler-free review of Norse Mythology by the famous Neil Gaiman. 

This book came out last month, February 2017.   Norse Mythology is very much what is says on the cover, it's a collection of short stories about Norse mythology.  The best way I can think to describe this book is that it's a lot like when musicians will release a new cover of an old song.  Gaiman adapted fifteen stories from what very little remains of the pre-Christian Scandinavian myths in the Edda that were recorded around the 13th century in Iceland. The Edda includes the prose and poetry records of the original Norse Myths.  I will link the full text for both of them down below if you ware interested.   Gaiman hasn't done a new translation of these myths, he's added some storyteller's flourishes to the existing material. And to be fair, he's really added quite a bit to the material.  Where the original material in the Edda might have 2 or 3 sentences about something, Gaiman turns it into 2 or 3 pages of setup and comedy. He's made the Norse myths quiet a bit funnier, bawdier, and far more relevant for current readers. 

I will say, prior to reading this book I did not have a particular interest in reading Norse Mythology. I was really just reading this book for a good time, and it was a good time.  But Gaiman takes his time setting the stage with this book.  We start of with a list of all the characters in the Norse myths and descriptions of them and a tour of the Norse worlds, the 9 worlds of Yggdrasil and background about what each world is like.  The setup portion of the book reads quite a bit like a Wikipedia article on Norse mythology to me, which, at the very beginning of the book I thought, oh no, if I wanted to read a Wikipedia article on Norse Mythology, I would have just done that on my own. 

But the first short story about the gods kicks off around page 50, and from there on out, I very much enjoyed this book.  I enjoyed the inventive origin stories, including the beginnings of poetry, earthquakes and the shape of salmon. I would say if you have any particular interest in Norse mythology, read the front matter. And there's an introduction about the author and his interest in this topic of Norse myths and some background about the process of him writing the book, so if you have any particular interest in Neil Gaiman as a writer or as a person, read the into.  But if you're just looking for a good time and some entertaining stories about Norse mythology, skip to page 50 where the first story of the gods kicks off. The first story is called the "Treasure of the Gods," and Loki is delightfully mischievous. 

I think Neil Gaiman really did something special with how much personality he brought to the Norse gods.  He took the germ of what was there in the Edda and  fleshed out the Norse gods into characters you feel like you know. It's fascinating to me how flawed and how emotional and fickle the Norse gods were. And mortal and not omnipotent by any means. The story hinges on Odin, the all father, Thor and Loki. Odin, I did not realize, sacrified himself to himself, which gave him great wisdom, not omnipotent, but great wisdom. Neil Gaiman's Thor is rather dense but seems to mostly work around these limitations rather successfully by threatening violence. Loki was the most interesting character of them all.  He's a bit of a gray character. He's a villain, but not entirely. For much of the book, he's more mischievous. Like a practical joker, but he's nowhere near Marvel movies level of cackling supervillain. He does take a dark turn at the end. 

Actually, the book as a whole I would say starts off very light and gradually becomes darker in tone, culminating in the story of Ragnarok, the final destiny of the gods, which is essentially the Norse Apocalypse. It's a reminder that the gods are not immortal. Gaiman’s comedic tone gradually takes a dark turn in the book and follows the darker turn Loki takes, moving from joker to villain.