Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ category
Monday, February 15th, 2010

This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I picked up a galley of this book while attending ALA Midwinter, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Marilyn Johnson became interested in librarians while researching her previous book on obituaries, and running into a few fascinating [...]

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

Gringo: A Coming of Age in Latin America by Chesa Boudin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked up this book because of the title; I’m a big fan of the word “Gringo.” And for those of you who are about to get offended, know that I am the daughter of a self-proclaimed “gringo” and [...]

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

RTVE.es is Spain’s Radio and Television Corporation, and between news reports and other stories they also include reviews of the world’s literary classics. Presenter Esther Lorenzo creates brief descriptions of the story, gives some historical background, gives a little description of the specific edition she read, and encourages the listener to read the classics. Currently [...]

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

Una Botella de Ron pa’l Flaco: Crónicas Caleñas by Juan Manuel Caicedo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a collection of personal narratives by students affiliated with Universidad ICESI, which cover a wide range of Caleño society.
Here you’ll meet a young Goth woman, an old Japanese-Colombian woman, a street mime who sets up office [...]

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Razones de vida by Vera Grabe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I looked up this book because I was curious to read the story of one of Colombia’s guerilla groups (The M-19) from their point of view. Vera Grabe’s story is similar to that of many other guerrilla fighters, they want to believe that their [...]

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Anne Boleyn: A New Life of England’s Tragic Queen by Joanna Denny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In this book Denny sets out to “correct” the negative impression history has left on Anne Boleyn, but unfortunatly she goes to the opposite extreme painting Boleyn as a passive victim to Henry VIII and history.
The book is [...]

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

AMANDO A PABLO. ODIANDO A ESCOBAR by VALLEJO VIRGINIA
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is Virginia Vallejo’s version of her relationship with Pablo Escobar, and of Colombia’s history during the late 80’s and early 90’s. As Escobar’s lover she seems to have had a front row seat to some of the biggest events in [...]

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines by Stephanie Elizondo Griest
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is an interesting book, although it really only scratched the surface of the many issues it tried to explore. The main thrust behind Griest’s time abroad was to discover her roots, and while it seems she got a [...]

Monday, July 2nd, 2007

Over the weekend I finished reading “Flower Confidential” by Amy Stewart, and what a fascinating read it was! With this book Stewart gives us both the macro and the micro of the industry; in the process she covers botany, genetics, business, marketing, sales, and even addresses the ever present questions of what is our [...]