April 21, 2014

Currently Reading:

• The Bohemians: Mark Twain and the San Francisco Writers who Reinvented American Literature by Ben Tarnoff
• Veronica Mars: The Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
• Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
• Troika  by Adam Pelzman (received through LibraryThing)
• We Were Liars by e. lockhart (received through the publisher)
• How Not to Calm a Child on a Plane: and Other Lessons in Parenting From a Highly Questionable Source by Johanna Stein (received through NetGalley)

On Deck:

• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
• Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
• From Souk to Souk: Travels through the Middle East by Robin Ratchford (received through NetGalley)
• Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
• The Harm in Asking: My Clumsy Encounters with the Human Race by Sara Barron (received through Goodreads)

 

Recent Reviews:

A Journey to the Dark Heart of Nameless Unspeakable Evil: Charities, Hollywood, Joseph Kony, and Other Abominations by Jane Bussmann (received through NetGalley)

5 stars

Jane Bussmann, a dispirited celebrity reporter with an irreverent sense of humor, decides to become one of the “useful people” after an encounter with Ashton Kutcher and his lawyer.  She discovers a tireless human rights activist, John Prendergast, and doggedly pursues ventures that would allow her to write about his efforts in Africa.  During her trip to Uganda, she discovers that the links between government, despotic rebel leaders and aid agencies are a bit more complicated and crooked than she ever imagined.  This book contains tough descriptions of child kidnapping, sex slaves and violence but the overall tone remains that of a tragic comedy.  Jane Bussmann remains searingly honest about the situation and I found myself laughing at her observations…not an easy feat with such a desperate subject.  This is one of the best books that I have read about the contradictions of aid agencies in developing countries and I appreciate the author’s approach to writing about the situation.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.