Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This is a work of fiction, but it seems like it could be real. Too real. A high school girl, Hannah, commits suicide and leaves behind tapes with the thirteen reasons why she took her life. The reasons are really thirteen people who caused her agony in life. The tapes are passed along amongst the thirteen people at the request of Hannah. One of the boys mentioned in the tapes, Clay, narrates the story as he listens to them.

The book is written in a style different than most. Each chapter is one side of a cassette (or one reason). As Clay presses play on the tape, Hannah’s narration is in italics. Clay’s thoughts are expressed in regular font while the tape is playing. When Clay pauses the tapes, there are more descriptions of his where-abouts and interactions with other characters. I will give you advance notice that the book is written completely from a high schooler’s perspective.

I find it hard to discuss books like this on the blog. The issues are very sensitive. The book provides an opportunity to discuss matters. It received a lot of praise and acclaim especially for students. But even I wonder if it’s too much.

After I finish reading the next few books I have on my shelf, I am going to steer towards more positive books. All these sad books are too depressing to read.

My rating for Thirteen Reasons Why: 3 stars out of 5. Get it here!

Car Guys vs. Bean Counters by Bob Lutz

I remember reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about Bob Lutz, who was part of GM’s senior leadership team for the past decade. I wanted to know more, which led me to purchasing his book. I have to say after struggling to finish the book, Bob Lutz is not an author. The grammar and flow is off. There are tangents thrown in and his stories tend to lose focus. On top of that, there are a few typos and many more grammatically incorrect sentences. Frankly, he should not write books.

I don’t mean to bash Bob Lutz as a leader. In fact, some of the changes he implemented drastically changed GM, possibly even saving them for good. He shares his daily battles with changing the mindset of GM. The company had become full of people who only care about the bottom line and statistical ratings, known as “bean counters”. Bob Lutz is the hero of the story who comes in to save GM from these “bean counters” and return GM to the glory days when the “car guys” ran things, the people who simply wanted to make great cars.

I must say I find it discrediting for a person to write a book where they themselves are the hero and they can do nothing wrong. There is much more credibility when someone else writes about some magnificent achievement. I also think much of the story is biased. He constantly rags on the media, competitors, and the government. He hardly admits any mistakes of his own. When something's bad, it's "they" or "those people". When something's good, it's "me" or "my" or "I". 

 

My final opinion is that speaking from a book critique perspective, this is a bad book. The last few chapters do provide some solid insight into why U.S. companies are struggling and what their focus needs to be going forward. And some of the stories and lessons are great to read. I feel a book is not the most effective way to convey the message. I'd prefer more articles like the one in the Wall Street Journal. 

My rating for Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: 1 star out of 5. Get it here!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I received The Kite Runner as a gift from my “secret santa” at work. I’ve heard good things about this book and I’ve wanted to read it for a long time. However, I realized I did not know much about the actual story.

Amir is raised by his relatively wealthy father, their servant Ali, and Ali’s son Hassan. Amir and Hassan grow up together as friends in private.There is a deep bond between them, but it's harder for them to be seen as equals in public because Hassan is a Hazara, which is commonly viewed as a lower class citizen. Amir is different than most kids: he’s into reading and writing. He spends much of his childhood trying to catch the attention of his father and make him proud. That moment happens when Amir and Hassan win a kite flying competition. Amir is ecstatic and celebrating. Literally within minutes after, Hassan is cornered in an ally by a gang of guys, held down, and raped. Amir stands there, watches, and does nothing.

This divides the Amir and Hassan for the rest of their lives. Amir frames Hassan and Ali as thieves from his father and they are no longer servants for Amir’s family. As the Russians are invading Afghanistan, Amir and his father take refuge in Pakistan. Soon, they move to the United States. Amir gets married and becomes a writer. His father passes away. At the age of 38, he gets a call from one of his father’s friends, Rohan, to return home to visit one last time before Rohan passes away. On his return trip, he has a chance to redeem all of his regrets, mostly the chance to make it up to Hassan.

What happens on Amir’s return trip to Afghanistan, well, you will have to read for yourself. So much unfolds that I did not see any of it coming. A line towards the end of the book sums it up best: “If someone were to ask me today whether the story…ends with happiness, I wouldn’t know what to say.”

For a while, I almost believed this was the story of the author. In fact, the timeline does resemble the author's history. I liked how true events were intertwined with the story as it made the book more real. It seemed like two different worlds (Afghanistan and America) being described. The sad part is it’s really like that. Amir lives in both worlds and must live with the guilt of both. If I had to describe The Kite Runner with one word, it would be unforgettable.

My rating for The Kite Runner: 5 stars out of 5. Get it here!

Bonus: I wanted to mention how well received my "holiday book give away" idea was. A few responses:

- It was a great book on the power of faith and like you, I'm passing it along.

- I'm addicted to the book you gave me! So good!!

I would call it a success. I hope to do the same again next year!

A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks

You should know by now that I’m a big Nicholas Sparks fan. There are a few of his earlier books that I’ve yet to read. Hopefully by the end of the year I can finish them all. The latest Nicholas Sparks novel I read was A Bend in the Road. Right away I will say this was one of my favorite Sparks’ books. Generally speaking, I believe the first few novels he wrote are way better than his more recent books.

A Bend in the Road takes place in a small town in North Carolina (as does every Nicholas Sparks novel). A sheriff has recently lost his wife due to a tragic accident when she was killed by a hit-and-run. The driver was never found and Miles is left to raise his son on his own. Miles’ son struggles in school until one of his teachers offers to spend extra time with him. It conveniently turns out this teacher, Sarah, is recently divorced. Soon Miles and Sarah find themselves spending time together and, like any Nicholas Sparks book, they fall in love.

The only bad part is it’s incredibly obvious (at least to me) who the driver of the car was who killed Miles’ wife. Other than that, the ending is impressive. You may ask how, given that most of the story revolves around finding justice for his wife’s death. But there is so much to consider and think about. I found myself turning the pages as quickly as I could to see what happened next. There is so much you want to know about. Will Miles feel vindicated? What happens to Sarah? Will everyone survive or does someone die? 

This is probably the best Nicholas Sparks books I’ve read in the past few years. It was real. It makes you ask yourself what would you do. A Bend in the Road is Nicholas Sparks at his finest.

My rating for A Bend in the Road: 4 stars out of 5. Get it here!