I am falling behind (2nd quarter + July books reviews)

I have read around 10 books in the last quarter + July and have failed to keep up with the reviews after I read them. Buying a house, going on tour to Europe and moving may have had something to do with it. But now I am backlogged, so I will be brief.*

I had briefly considered abandoning the practice of reviewing books, but for an unapologetic skimmer like me (my favourite justification “It just wasn’t worth my time to read more closely”—blame it on the Twitter pace of contemporary life), this is critical in helping me retain atleast some small fraction of what I read.

Sociology/History
**** Forgive and Remember (Charles Bosk) ~ I was delighted to discover that one of the judging criteria (atleast according to Wikipedia) of an ethnography is “aesthetic merit”. While this book is not primarily aesthetic, it is a well-written and compelling scholarly work. It is an ethnography of surgeons-in-training, with a focus on medical error—which errors are considered normative and forgiven, and which errors are not. Bosk also reflects on his research methodology and choices.
** The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (Max Weber) ~ This is perhaps one of the most quoted and most famous works of social science. Unfortunately, it can be tedious and dense to read as Weber traces the development of the spirit of capitalism from the protestant understanding of work and labour. He spends quite a bit of time explaining the different religious sects of Protestantism, setting up his question and justifying his conclusions. His most compelling chapter is the final one, entitled, “Asceticism and the Spirit of Capitalism”, which traces the transformation of the protestant work ethic into its modern secular instantiation.
*** The Overworked American (Juliet Schor) ~ An approachable, mostly statistics-based analysis on American work habits over the past century. Schor demonstrates that American work hours, both at home and at the workplace, have increased. Though most households have appliances such as washing machines and microwaves designed to save time, Americans now spend more or the same amount of time on housework as they did before. And generally speaking, most employees will prefer higher pay as compensation rather than more flexible or reduced hours. In addition to making these observations, Schor provides reasonable explanations: higher standards (e.g. cleanliness etc...), labour market competition, corporate incentives and consumption habits.
**** White Collar: The American Middle Classes (C. Wright Mills) ~ As always, I enjoy C. Wright Mills. In White Collar, he explores the transformation of America’s middle class from small property-owners or entrepreneurs to white collar workers, cogs in the bureaucratic corporate machine. The introduction is absolutely fantastic to read. The rest of the book is more methodical, but remains enjoyable, informative and thought-provoking. Mills describes the old middle class, the bureaucratic structures of corporations, common white collar professions, but also reflects on the changes in the meanings of work, success and status.
**** The Illusion of Freedom and Equality (Richard Stivers) ~ This book is extraordinarily well-written, easy to read and understand. Yet because of the subject matter, it requires rereading to fully absorb the extent of Stivers’ ideas. Stivers traces the transformation of Freedom and Equality as conceived by 18th century thinkers to its modern day conception. I considered trying to summarize his book in my own words, but using some of his chapter sub-headings would be more helpful. Freedom and Equality as the Modern Ideology: Freedom as Consumer Choice and Abundance, Freedom as Individual Right, Freedom as Technological Possibility, Plural Equality, Cultural and Communicative Equality. The Reality of Freedom and Equality: Freedom as Forced Consumerism, Freedom as Legal Process, Freedom as Technological Necessity, Equality as Group Conformity and Competition, Equality as Uniformity.
**** The Cold War (John Lewis Gaddis) ~ An excellent, well-written and balanced book about the cold war. Gaddis manages to be honest about America’s numerous failures and shortcomings without idealizing other countries or cultures. Gaddis also ties chapters together with thematic interpretations rather than chronological ordering. I found this book enjoyable to read and informative for someone who usually finds history books boring.
** People of Plenty: Economic Abundance and the American Character (David M. Potter) ~ The beginning half of this book addresses the difficulties in assessing and describing “national character”. The second half explores how the specific characteristic of economic abundance has affected some aspects of American character. Potter indicates that his analysis is only a sampling and by no means comprehensive. He explores how the nation’s economic abundance affected democratic ideals, social mobility and consumption practices. The book’s ideas are well-thought out and fairly interesting, but there were several sections that were a bit tedious to read.
*** Organization Man (William Whyte) ~ Written in the 1950s, this book is a classic study of American middle class conformity. Whyte describes the organization man—his aspirations, his training, his workplace and his residence of choice—the suburbs. Whyte’s journalist background is evident—the book reads well, with the exception of the first section, a theoretical reflection on individualism and conformity.
*** The Power Elite (C. Wright Mills) ~ Mills describes the various cross-sections of the American elite. He explores each group’s characteristics, but focuses mostly on the influence they have in decision-making. Mills particularly highlights the close connections between corporate, military and executive power as well as the gridlock of Congressional, representative government. He asserts that most decisions that affect American lives, are made without democratic assent.
*** The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls (Joan Jacobs Brumberg) ~ A historian explores the changing attitudes of girls towards their bodies by reading diaries from the 1830s to the present day. Brumberg particular highlights how girls’ relationships to their bodies were once primarily mediated by their family and relatives, while now it is mostly affected by the media and their peers.

Christian
*** Courage and Calling: Embracing Your God Given Potential (Gordon Smith) ~ I read this book over a 24-hour women’s retreat and remember that it was calming and reassuring in my never-ending struggle to figure out what to do with my life. If I remember correctly, the book explored the idea of vocation—that God calls us to specific tasks (not necessarily in the form of career) in different seasons of our life.
*** The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics (Ched Myers) ~ A set of essays on economics in God’s kingdom, reflecting particularly on what regular debt forgiveness and repatriation of land would mean in today’s society. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s an excellent introduction for those interested in the topic.

Fiction
? Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (Yu Hua) ~ Sometime in April, I felt compelled to read a novel about China. There was nothing available in English so I picked up Chronicle of a Blood Merchant in Chinese, because the author Yu Hua, is known to write in very simple Chinese. Yu Hua’s other novel, To Live, which has been adapted into a movie, is one of the most depressing books I have ever read. So far, Chronicle is much more light-hearted, though not as good…. Then again, I haven’t finished reading it yet… and I’m not sure when I will. I guess I will re-review it later.
** Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi) ~ This graphic novel narrates the childhood of a girl living in Iran during the political unrest of the 1970s to 1980s. I wanted to like the novel but to be honest, I was disappointed. If this wasn’t a graphic novel written about Iran by a female, I doubt it would have gained quite as much acclaim. The story is simple narration via a child’s perspective. I found it interesting from a factual and historical perspective, but did not find it emotionally moving. It reminded me of Art Spiegelmann’s Maus, a graphic novel about the Holocaust, but not quite as compelling.

* After completing these reviews, I noticed that very few of them were actually brief. Once I started, I guess I couldn’t stop. But I did use the same words over and over again: "enjoyed", "well-written", "tedious" etc...
** Enough with the computer screen, off to read and contemplate. I am currently munching on: Habits of the Heart.