Ruth Lee's Web Log - Book Review

Sharing More Bounty from FaceBook

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:36:00 -0400

Today I was taken aback to receive a request to befriend Dr. Frederick P. Lenz on FaceBook and almost broke my fingernails answering in the affirmative!!! Does his name sound familiar??? He wrote “Surfing the Himalayas” which I reported on after I returned from Tibet in June. Great writer, so I want to share with you his latest essay, published today on FB…. [More]

"Nine Lives" by William Dalrymple

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:05:00 -0400

The sub-title is “In Search of the Sacred in Modern India” and I cannot give adequate praise to the job Author Dalrymple did on this subject. It is a totally new approach to travel writing and shows off his skill at interviewing subjects who are worthy of our interest. You will also admire that his selections barely touch the world that is India now, but what he does touch is amazing and filled with love.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the hugely successful book: “Eat, Pray, Love” says about this book: Absolutely beautiful book: honest, edifying, and moving.”

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?The Runner? by Peter May

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:55:00 -0400

The fifth book in his China Thriller series, it’s the best one yet, but he still doesn’t get women. We’ll overlook it since he does a very good job of describing life in Beijing and the various things he uses to thicken the plot.

I am taking a class in Chinese culture taught by a visiting professor from a major Chinese university and it makes this book more interesting since I now have a better handle on the nuances and everyday ways of people I am determined to love and get them to let go of Tibet without any more bloodshed. You have to know what motivates and promotes people before you can ever hope to understand how to mediate or remove hate. [More]

How to See Yourself as You Really Are

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:38:00 -0400

The teachings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, PhD.

I think a few words need to be said about Dr. Hopkins before we start…He served for a decade as the interpreter for the Dalai Lama. A Buddhist scholar and author of more than 35 books and translations, he is emeritus professor of Tibetan and Buddhist studies at the University of Virginia, where he founded the largest academic program of Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West. Sooo, he knows of what he writes and you may want to check out a few other of the books he translated and edited for HHDL.

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?Once a Spy? by Keith Thomson

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:55:00 -0400

After all these years, I have switched from reading cozy mysteries and other mystery genres and picked up a thriller. I may never read another mystery! I did not recognize the author’s name, but thought nothing of it since I was venturing into the world of spy stories for the first time. Normally, I try to read author’s from their first book forward, but this time I did not bother to see what else Keith Thomson wrote in the past.

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?Journey Across Tibet? by Sorrel Wilby

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:19:00 -0400

“A young woman’s 1900-mile trek across the rooftop of the world” with Foreword by The Dalai Lama … No, she did not make this trip recently. In fact, I believe this book may be out of print or close to it. My friend, Julie, spotted it in a bookstore and happened to open to a page that had a coincidental message that had meaning to her and I and bought it for me. I just love surprises like that, but I did not get around to reading the book in its entirety until I returned from Tibet.

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Overcomers, Inc. Makes TV News

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:29:00 -0400

Got this note from Lynne today: “My 15 mintues of fame! Actually it was only 5 minutes. LOL http://www.thebalancingact.com Love you, Lynne”

Be sure to check this link out! Lynne’s message as well as her book at: Lynne Klippel #1 Best-Selling Author of Overcomers, Inc: True stories of hope, courage, and inspiration http://www.overcomersbook.com

?Gunshot Road? by Adrian Hyland

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:47:00 -0400

What a book! Written in a style like no other, but it is a style that keeps things moving. I was drawn to it because it concerns life in the Australian outback and the protagonist is an aboriginal woman. However, Adrian is a man and is limited in his ability to explain the inner workings of women and makes the same mistakes other male authors make. His women are way too tough!!! I mean physically and emotionally. I know. My work has been predominately with women of every kind (except outback ladies) and very little resonates as feminine as he describes it. [More]

"Return to Tibet" by Heinrich Harrer

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:53:00 -0400

The subtitle perhaps is what upsets the Red Chinese most now. "Tibet After the Chinese Occupation." Not sure what it is, but they want to suppress this book along with anything written by the author. How do writers get into such binds and what can we do to help get out their messages when they are banned?

Well, that was not in my mind when i purchased this book at the Kathmandu airport on my way to Tibet, but it quickly came up and was immediately discussed when i saw how deliberately and thoroughly my bags were searched that i intended to carry onto the plane. Fortunately, i had in my bag a copy of Huston Smith's "The World's Religions" and it caught the guard's eye first. She searched it carefully and pulled out each separation paper and notes and so on and then put it back. That was when she spotted the book above. She really, really went over it and looked at all the pictures carefully and looked at me and all the other stuff they do to try and intimidate travelers or whomever. I stood my ground and finally the book was reluctantly dropped into my bag without a word. [More]

?What the Dead Know? by Laura Lippman

Fri, 21 May 2010 12:42:00 -0400

What you don’t want to do is pick up a book like this one when you are snowed under with a million things you want to finish or get ready before you leave on a long trip. :) This is my first read of Ms. Lippman’s work and I found it intriguing and suspenseful, even though I generally do not like books where every chapter and even more than that the view changes and you have to get into another character again. She did a great job and was able to keep me at it.

As I have repeatedly said here about mysteries and thrillers of today: That’s where all the great contemporary women writers hide now. They can make a living and yet they can still get across to readers what they think about and believe. This book is filled with many insightful remarks and some that you just have to stop and smile when you find someone who thinks as you do. For example, I will include just a short statement that I think everyone should give a bit of thought to now. [More]

?The Geography of Bliss? by Eric Weiner

Mon, 10 May 2010 12:14:00 -0400

According to the cover, this is “one grump’s search for the Happiest Places in the World.” Eric Weiner is a correspondent with NPR. Unfortunately, I am so pressed for time that I have read only one section, Bhutan, but enough to recommend it to you now. Here is what he set out to do according to the book jacket: [More]

"Idiot America" by Charles P. Pierce

Tue, 04 May 2010 12:33:00 -0400

Starting to run out of discretionary time and into scheduled work and prep for the trek, so i have to return this book without really reading it as it needs to be. I still want to call your attention to it since Pierce has an extremely sharp wit and he has a lot to say that makes total sense today. The sub-title of this book is, get ready..."How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free" I love the cover because it graphically explains what happened to the dinosaurs, in case you are still wondering about them.

The cover depicts Noah's ark and the animals in line, two-by-two, and at the end is a huge dino and obviously cannot fit on the ark. Now why didn't we think of that??? I always thought they went extinct because they smoked three packs a day. [More]

?The Man Who Smiled? by Henning Mankell

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:48:00 -0400

So busy getting ready to travel in Asia and buttoning down my work with clients that I have little time to read for recreation now, but when I do make time I go for the great writers of our time so as to pick up what is going on outside my cave and my life now. Mankell is the best selling author of Sweden and his Kurt Wallander Mystery series has been picked up by PBS and none other than one of the great Shakespearean actors of our time portrays Wallander. If you enjoy good productions of good books, PBS Masterpiece Mystery series can’t be beat and Wallander is going to be back this summer, at least around where I live. [More]

Short Stories by Henning Mankell

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:34:00 -0400

Today i would like to call to your attention the short works of Sweden's most read author. His novels include the bestselling Kurt Wallander mysteries, and i believe i report on at least one of them here in the past. His work has been translated into 37 languages with more than 30 million copies in print worldwide. So what Henning thinks interests me and i think it will interest you as well...

The book i just finished is a collection of short stories that explore the world of ace Swedish detective Kurt Wallander in the years prior to his successful novels already in print. "The Pyramid and four other kurt wallander mysteries" includes his first case and fills in details about his personal life. [More]

?Village of the Ghost Bears? by Stan Jones

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:16:00 -0400

Enjoyed this book a lot, mostly because I like stories that teach indigenous ways and mores. As you can probably tell by the title, this mystery takes place in the wilds of Alaska—one of my favorite venues for storytelling. Stan does not get women right, but that’s okay, most male writers do not. What does he do wrong? Just makes his women superwomen with very, very strong appetites and, in this case, gets away with it because few of us now any Inuit women, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt.

Stan Jones is a native of Alaska and lives in Anchorage. As an award-winning journalist he has worked as a bush pilot and is currently the Director of External Affairs for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. This book is the fourth in the Nathan Active series and he co-authored the non-fiction work: “The Spill: Personal Stories from the Exxon Valdez Disaster.”