I do not consider this to be the best of Stephen King's story collections. The depth and breadth of the tales is impressive and the writing itself is I do not consider this to be the best of Stephen King's story collections. The depth and breadth of the tales is impressive and the writing itself is stellar as usual from King, but too many of these tales simply drift off into vague endings for my liking (truth be told, this is why I prefer King's longform tales). There are four stories here that did have me 100% engrossed from beginning to end...
The Moving Finger: One of King's all-time best. What would YOU do if a finger beckoned from your sink drain?!
Sorry, Right Number: Basically a Twilight Zone episode--even in similar screenplay format!
Umney's Last Case: A writer reckons with his fictional creation--but who ends up with the upper hand?
Head Down: A nonfiction essay that captures the essence of small-town Little League baseball like no other.
Like I said, I can give this collection an "it's okay" 3-stars for it's imagination, but when only four tales really stood out to me that's about as far as I can go....more
The one thing everyone can agree on regarding NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is that he is a tremendous signal-caller—truly one of the all-time greatesThe one thing everyone can agree on regarding NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is that he is a tremendous signal-caller—truly one of the all-time greatest to ever do it. Everything else about him? Seemingly up for massive debate or speculation. Is he an egotist—or just extremely confident? Is he a political wackadoodle—or just an independent thinker? Is he a jerk to his friends/family—or just intensely private about who he lets into his inner circle? In “Out of the Darkness”, author Ian O’Connor cannot, of course, put a definitive answer to any of those quandaries. But O’Connor does give the requisite background from which to glean an informed opinion on the matter.
Notable from the jump in “Out of the Darkness” is how Rodgers made himself available for some interviews while also putting few (if author O’Connor is being truthful) restrictions on who could be contacted during the authorship/writing process. This quells—at least to me—any sentiment I may have had about the book being a “hatchet job” or absurdly pro-Rodgers.
There are times in “Out of the Darkness” in which Rodgers is painted as an extremely generous friend and co-worker—in contrast to many others in his profession (especially the QB he succeeded in Green Bay—Brett Favre). High school and college peers have almost nothing but praise for his performance on the field and demeanor off it, while only a handful of later-career figures have roundly criticized him.
There are other times where Rodgers can come off as quite strange in his interactions with family, close friends, and the outside world. Not “crazy” or “out of bounds”, but simply—strange. One day you may be his closest friend—the next day exiled for days, weeks, or even years. Many of his public interactions like press conferences and podcasts have produced rhetoric that has gotten him in much hot water—almost all of his own accord. There are enough of these stories in the book that it lends credence to Rodgers being a bit of an enigma.
Add it all up and it makes “Out of Darkness” an extremely interesting read. Clearly Aaron Rodgers is a thoughtful individual who is perhaps sometimes too eloquent for his own good—a delightfully mad mix of “sometimes extremely confident” and “other times extremely insecure/petty”. These are people with real lives we’re dealing with, of course, so there’s no right or wrong answer to anything here (which may annoy some, but that’s simply reality). But O’Connor lays out the facts—from his own interviews/research & from the source himself—in a way that is extremely thought-provoking....more
I hate to give this book a negative review because I enjoy listening to La Velle E. Neal III on the radio and on podcasts. He's an engaging speaker & I hate to give this book a negative review because I enjoy listening to La Velle E. Neal III on the radio and on podcasts. He's an engaging speaker & storyteller who always has keen insights into the Minnesota Twins. Sadly, however, this tome is plagued by two pretty substantial issues that render it below-average.
First and foremost, roughly 80-90% of the material here is "generic Twins history". If you've read one other book about the history of the Twins you'll have heard almost all the tales here before. La Velle does include some original content/interviews--and I wish that was the whole book! Instead, this was made for the most generic audience possible and also suffers from the overlapping coverage downfall--where a chapter on Tom Kelly and chapters on 1987 & 1991 will cover the same material two or even three times.
Secondly, "The Franchise" contains more than its share of spelling/grammatical errors, typos, or downright misinformation in stats/facts. A couple of such blunders I can overlook--but not as many as are present here. Again, very sad considering Neal is so good in newsprint or over the airwaves.
Overall, though, I was disappointed in this Twins tome. Free of errors I could have given it a right-down-the-middle 3/5 star ranking, but as-is 2 stars is all I can muster....more
With time-travel fiction being a favorite genre of mine, I decided to finally re-read The Time Machine for the first time since high school. While theWith time-travel fiction being a favorite genre of mine, I decided to finally re-read The Time Machine for the first time since high school. While the prose of H.G. Wells is a little too flowery/descriptive for my personal tastes, the short novel touches on some extremely interesting concepts that hold up today and were likely utterly revolutionary at its 1895 publication.
For a very basic overview, the Time Machine tells the story of a Victorian-era scientist who creates a time machine that takes him close to 900,000 years into the future. In a story told to fellow colleagues upon his return, the scientist describes a world bifurcated into the above-ground "haves" (the Eloi), and the below-ground "have-nots" (the Morlocks) that he must navigate and make logical decisions to decipher.
I am not one much for flowery or overly-descriptive prose, so Wells' details about the geography of future-Earth or intimate description of the two "species" largely passed me by. That's the biggest reason The Time Machine does not draw a 5/5 star ranking from me.
But the story does posit and philosophically banter about some very interesting notions about the fate of humanity. Setting the explained action so far into the future as to never be overtaken by the passage of modern time is a stroke of genius, as it allows for rampant speculation and commentary without worry of obsolescence. As such, the separate nature of the Eloi and Morlocks are endlessly fascinating as the world seems to continually move in that direction (an elite class and a working class with little "middle class"). I can only imagine how revolutionary that idea was in the late 19th century, much less 2024.
So, overall I can easily give The Time Machine a solid 4/5 star rating. Fans of descriptive imagery may rank it even higher, but either way it brings enough plot/musings to the table to be interesting all the way through....more
This is the fourth or fifth Keith A Pearson time-travel novel I've read, and for the most part I've enjoyed his work (anywhere from "pretty solid" to This is the fourth or fifth Keith A Pearson time-travel novel I've read, and for the most part I've enjoyed his work (anywhere from "pretty solid" to "extremely engaging"). Unfortunately, In Lieu of You failed to grab me because of how little it actually focuses on the time travel aspect of the proceedings.
For a very basic overview, Lieu starts off like most Pearson joints: a young couple drifting apart and on the brink of divorce. In this case, Gary and Clare Kirk are seeing their future plans (romantic and financial) go up in smoke as the divvying begins. Realizing he'll be wiped out when all is said and done, Gary is despondent--until a mysterious woman named Edith Stimp gives him the improbable opportunity to return to 1996 and extricate himself from the relationship with Clare before it begins.
With Pearson's time-travel works, I generally tend to prefer when most of the action takes place in whatever alternative time period is being explored (like, say, the '86 Fix series). Yes, the stories are always about something a little deeper than simply skipping through time, but the timey-wimey aspects always speaks to me best.
That is not the tack taken in Lieu. While readers get the obligatory "astounded by a return to an earlier time period" material, here it comprises a very slim portion of the text. Instead, this is really a novel about relationships and unrequited love with time-travel only the conduit to such character development. A unique approach from this author, to be sure, but one that left this reader a bit disappointed in terms of what I was looking for or enjoy based on previous works....more
As far as self-help books for those with primarily mind-related maladies are concerned, Why Smart People Hurt is a really solid tome. I can see why soAs far as self-help books for those with primarily mind-related maladies are concerned, Why Smart People Hurt is a really solid tome. I can see why some may have issues with it, however, as it does not necessarily provide a satisfactory "answer" to the question posed in its title.
My guess is that most people will pick this book up for roughly the same reason I did--because they consider themselves intelligent and want to better understand why such a self-assessment doesn't necessarily mean an automatically happier life. The problem, of course, being that such an answer is impossible to achieve in any-sized book. But what IS here turns out to be pretty interesting and provides much "food for thought".
Basically, the approach that author Maisel takes here is that the human brain is not perfectly programmed--or even close to it--for modern problems. It would take thousands of years of brain evolution to, say, develop an "off switch" for a racing mind that once protected us from danger and now often over-runs in the face of more commonplace issues. As such, it is a very fallible problem-solving instrument not always up to the task no matter how much faith we put in our mental capacities. I found that a good summation and extremely interesting.
Maisel also spends a decent amount of time carefully explaining the "sequence of intelligence", so to speak--that being that humans (like, say, a litter of kittens) are born with inherent varying intelligence levels. Then, environment plays an enormous role in shaping how intelligence is utilized (or stagnated, in many cases). Finally, each individual has the ability to affect their will on themselves to at least some extent. That mix is a little bit different for quite literally every individual roaming this planet. Again, a great breakdown of how intelligence works.
Overall, Maisel trumpets the notion of meaning-making and/or coming to terms with unsolvable cognitive dissonance. For example: let's say an individual is at a job that pays well and has great benefits, but also is unfulfilling. That individual can live in a continuous state of fret "caught in the middle" of constant dissonant, unsolvable thoughts on the matter--or resolve that being able to "think his/her way out" isn't going to work and meaning must be formed instead within those constraints.
So, if you are expecting a feel-good pat on the back for "suffering from smartness", this isn't the place to find it. But along the way, there are a lot of interesting nuggets here that can help those with oft-racing minds, the highly-observational, and the resulting anxiety/depression....more
From Home Alone to City Slickers to The Wonder Years, Daniel Stern has had his share of iconic entertainment roles. "Home and Alone" is his memoir--anFrom Home Alone to City Slickers to The Wonder Years, Daniel Stern has had his share of iconic entertainment roles. "Home and Alone" is his memoir--and it is about as unhinged as any of those roles.
The good: Stern certainly has some great stories to tell. From discovering theatre and his early film roles to shenanigans on the sets of his well-known flicks, there are interesting tidbits here to be sure. His USO tour to Iraq and having Iraqis shout "Marv! Marv!" is a particular highlight. His late-career work as a sculpture artist is also fascinating.
The bad: Stern wears his politics on his sleeve and it gets in the way of certain anecdotes. Nothing too horrible, but it's noticeable to be sure. Also, on a few occasions, Stern absolutely calls out fellow actors or directors in profanity-laced rants. I do not think either of these threads belong in a memoir.
I might give "Home and Alone" 3.5 stars if able, but it is most certainly a "round down" rather than "round up" endeavor. While interesting and engaging in fits and spurts, it fails to fully engross the reader in the way that, say, Patrick Stewart's recent memoir does....more
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