"The Postman" by David Brin

This is the first book I have read by David Brin that I did not like. In fact, there were times when I found it to be repulsive. Ray is quite accurate when he describes the book as a Survivalist's wet dream. The characters are very shallow and 2 dimensional. Even the postman is more an ideal than a person. And the inclusion of feminism is done in an outdated and clumsy manner.

"Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen

I enjoyed reading this book, though in parts the writing was so abstract that I didn't quite understand the point. Also, the parts that waxed euphoric over musicians and music were lost on me, because I'm so unmusical. I particularly liked the way Springsteen dealt with feelings. You can tell he's been going to a therapist for decades because he has such a good understanding of his motivations. His personal revelations make him very human. I also admired that Bruce said so much, and yet so discretely, that he simultaneously preserved privacy and was bravely honest. And lastly, I have more in common with him than I expected. His father was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, so, like me, he has experience living with mental illness.

"The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters

This book was an unusual read. A large percentage of it was simply a description of the evolution of British society after World War 2, from the perspective of the boring, every day affairs of a small town doctor and a local wealthy family and their deteriorating home. And yet, surprisingly, even those sections were quite interesting. Throw in a malignant supernatural force of subconscious evil desires, released, probably unknowingly, by the doctor, and the book eventually becomes quite bizarre indeed. Nevertheless, there is a bit of something missing, that keeps it from being great. The problem for me was that even though the author finally practically hits you over the head with the doctor's guilt in the destruction of the family, that plot twist never quite feels concrete. I actually went to the GoodReads site to make sure I interpreted the ending correctly.

"Yiddish for Pirates" by Gary Barwin

I did not enjoy this read. This is what I get for reading a clever, inventive book. There was so much emphasis on the parrot's raunchy Yiddish personality and vocabulary, that it kept taking me out of the story. The worst culprit was the jokes which the parrot kept throwing in out of left field. The story was muddled because of the parrot's odd story-telling style. I was very glad when I finally finished it. Good riddance! That said, I did learn some interesting tidbits about the Spanish inquisition and Christopher Columbus's trip to the New World.