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Nicely produced quarterly journal...looking forward to seeing what future issues hold.

Weakest element was the fiction by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki. Best was the lead story, Things Were Eaten, an account of slurping ramen at various shops in Japan.

Author Stacy Schiff tells us right off the bat that an accurate, complete biography of Cleopatra is just about impossible because of the lack of contemporary documentary evidence. So, a lot of this book is a compare-and-contrast of other historians' viewpoints (many of which are in the vein of "let's undercut the woman, the powerful, wealthy ruler, and paint her as a sexual conniver" - a huge disservice to Caesar and Mark Antony). For too long, history has been controlled by and told by men, but Cleopatra forces us to see otherwise.

The kingdom of Egypt at the beginning of Cleopatra's reign was an wealthy, educated, and generally prosperous land. The city of Alexandria seemed to have surpassed Rome in terms of cultural development. Egypt's riches (spices, gemstones, gold, warships) naturally drew quarreling (and perpetually broke) Roman leaders.

As Schiff points out, Cleopatra must have realized it was in her -- and her kingdom's -- best interests to make strategic alliances, and achieve the backing rather than the enmity of Rome. The Ptolemy family history was full of fratricide (and sororicide), so Cleopatra had no illusions about the costs of maintaining power.

It's not an overstatement to say that her tragic death changed Roman history. Octavian (Augustus), who vanquished Mark Antony and Cleopatra to become the first emperor of the Roman Empire, could not have attained his many achievements without the riches he amassed from Egypt.

This book is a historical biography, and not biographical fiction. (For the latter, I recommend [b:The Memoirs of Cleopatra|8171985|The Memoirs of Cleopatra|Margaret George|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MlCvfOdEL.SL75.jpg|12852].)

Read this while I was sick, in bed. That should tell you a lot about it right there.

Lots of filler and fluff in this book (billed as nonfiction), which had nothing to do with the main story line (toddler's babbles lead parents to believe that their son is experiencing the past life of a WWII pilot).

I know there are lots and lots of people who believe in reincarnation. I'm not convinced, and this book did not help me change my opinion. Too many unaddressed holes, as far as I'm concerned.

Goodreads defines its star ratings as follows: 3 = "liked it" and 4 = "really liked it." I was hovering between 3 and 4, 3 and 4, 3 and 4 ... So you get that what I really wanted to do was rate it 3-1/2.

It's a solid good book. I think the author did a really good job with developing the voices of the three main characters. They all felt real, and distinct, and human in that they're a mix of admirable and not-so-admirable qualities.

The minor characters were blurry. Celia Foote was a caricature, and the scene where she and Minny fight off an intruder felt unnecessary. There were no distinctive male characters. Hilly was detestable; the reader's guide at the end of the book praises her for being a good mother, but that virtue is but a scant sliver of how she is portrayed.

Some of the plot elements were chilling. How awful it must have been for a maid to be accused of stealing, and stand trial and be convicted within a couple of days; and how simple it was for her (white) employer to make an accusation. There was also great pressure on the white community to conform. I can only accept these events as based in truth.

Goodreads defines its star ratings as follows: 3 = "liked it" and 4 = "really liked it." I was hovering between 3 and 4, 3 and 4, 3 and 4 ... So you get that what I really wanted to do was rate it 3-1/2.

It's a solid good book. I think the author did a really good job with developing the voices of the three main characters. They all felt real, and distinct, and human in that they're a mix of admirable and not-so-admirable qualities.

The minor characters were blurry. Celia Foote was a caricature, and the scene where she and Minny fight off an intruder felt unnecessary. There were no distinctive male characters. Hilly was detestable; the reader's guide at the end of the book praises her for being a good mother, but that virtue is but a scant sliver of how she is portrayed.

Some of the plot elements were chilling. How awful it must have been for a maid to be accused of stealing, and stand trial and be convicted within a couple of days; and how simple it was for her (white) employer to make an accusation. There was also great pressure on the white community to conform. I can only accept these events as based in truth.

My favorable impression of this book is based partly on hearing Dave Eggers speak at the Newport Beach Library. I found his regular-guy persona to be very charismatic, his commitment to the work of the "826" tutoring centers to be inspiring, and his enthusiasm for the written word to be refreshing.

"Velocity" is funny and touching, and not what I expected (in a good way). The blurbs say this is a story about a couple of guys who travel around the world in order to give away $32,000 in one week. So my expectations centered around expecting them to be running toward something, when in reality they are doing nothing but running from.

The narrator is Will, who is traveling with his lifelong friend Hand. These two are emotionally adolescent and sometimes manic 27-year-olds who, for the first time in their adult lives, are confronted with mortality. Through a haze of airports and hotels and rental cars we learn of the defining events of their lives while seeing Africa and northeastern Europe.

The duo's backstory has to do with the death of their best friend, which also led obliquely to Will's getting beat up. Girlfriends and family play only marginal roles, but this is so much more than a "buddies hit the road" story.

Being "charitable" turns out to require much more effort than they planned, and the two are frequently accosted by touts and prostitutes. Their schemes to give away the money become wackier; at one point, they think that taping a pouch of cash to the side of a goat (so the money can be found by the goat's owner) is a workable idea. Like Will and Hand, I was left wondering what it means for Americans to come into a "poor" country and give away money.

The theme of mortality manifests as lost time. Will and Hand are constantly thwarted by airline schedules and visa requirements that prevent them from traveling where they want, when they want. They become frantic when forced to wait. For Will, being still means confronting the voices in his head.

The book, particularly the ending, was bittersweet. I enjoyed it a lot, and recommend it!

My favorable impression of this book is based partly on hearing Dave Eggers speak at the Newport Beach Library. I found his regular-guy persona to be very charismatic, his commitment to the work of the "826" tutoring centers to be inspiring, and his enthusiasm for the written word to be refreshing.

"Velocity" is funny and touching, and not what I expected (in a good way). The blurbs say this is a story about a couple of guys who travel around the world in order to give away $32,000 in one week. So my expectations centered around expecting them to be running toward something, when in reality they are doing nothing but running from.

The narrator is Will, who is traveling with his lifelong friend Hand. These two are emotionally adolescent and sometimes manic 27-year-olds who, for the first time in their adult lives, are confronted with mortality. Through a haze of airports and hotels and rental cars we learn of the defining events of their lives while seeing Africa and northeastern Europe.

The duo's backstory has to do with the death of their best friend, which also led obliquely to Will's getting beat up. Girlfriends and family play only marginal roles, but this is so much more than a "buddies hit the road" story.

Being "charitable" turns out to require much more effort than they planned, and the two are frequently accosted by touts and prostitutes. Their schemes to give away the money become wackier; at one point, they think that taping a pouch of cash to the side of a goat (so the money can be found by the goat's owner) is a workable idea. Like Will and Hand, I was left wondering what it means for Americans to come into a "poor" country and give away money.

The theme of mortality manifests as lost time. Will and Hand are constantly thwarted by airline schedules and visa requirements that prevent them from traveling where they want, when they want. They become frantic when forced to wait. For Will, being still means confronting the voices in his head.

The book, particularly the ending, was bittersweet. I enjoyed it a lot, and recommend it!

Wanted to finish this, DFW's first published work, before reading [b:The Pale King|9443405|The Pale King|David Foster Wallace|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301009847s/9443405.jpg|6498897], his last.

Broom is funny, multi-leveled, erudite without being unreadable. Overall a brilliant work. I understand that DFW refused to incorporate several edits and later regretted that decision. Would have been interesting to see how the book would have ended up, but as published, I am very impressed.

And no footnotes.

Wanted to finish this, DFW's first published work, before reading [b:The Pale King|9443405|The Pale King|David Foster Wallace|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301009847s/9443405.jpg|6498897], his last.

Broom is funny, multi-leveled, erudite without being unreadable. Overall a brilliant work. I understand that DFW refused to incorporate several edits and later regretted that decision. Would have been interesting to see how the book would have ended up, but as published, I am very impressed.

And no footnotes.

Lots and lots of historical authenticity dulled by an unsophisticated writing style and overly simplistic plot.

I was very interested in learning about the Asian-American community in Seattle during the 1940's. Actually, in the context of this book, "Asian-American community" is a misnomer; the relationship between Chinese Henry and Japanese Keiko was unusual partly because the ethnic groups lived in such separate worlds.

My favorite character was Sheldon, the black musician who takes the father-figure role for Henry. My favorite scene took place in the jazz club, where Henry and Keiko manage to sneak in for a performance.

The book spent so much time with the pre-teen Henry that I started to think that this was a book written for young adults. Other contributing factors: short sentences, easy words, "flat" characters.

Perhaps this is me being overly sensitive (my father's family was in an internment camp), but I felt that the episodes focusing on Keiko's family in camp painted too-rosy a picture.

My final criticism is aimed at the publisher, and not the author: I read an Adobe Digital ebook edition that had far too many typos (punctuation errors).

Lots and lots of historical authenticity dulled by an unsophisticated writing style and overly simplistic plot.

I was very interested in learning about the Asian-American community in Seattle during the 1940's. Actually, in the context of this book, "Asian-American community" is a misnomer; the relationship between Chinese Henry and Japanese Keiko was unusual partly because the ethnic groups lived in such separate worlds.

My favorite character was Sheldon, the black musician who takes the father-figure role for Henry. My favorite scene took place in the jazz club, where Henry and Keiko manage to sneak in for a performance.

The book spent so much time with the pre-teen Henry that I started to think that this was a book written for young adults. Other contributing factors: short sentences, easy words, "flat" characters.

Perhaps this is me being overly sensitive (my father's family was in an internment camp), but I felt that the episodes focusing on Keiko's family in camp painted too-rosy a picture.

My final criticism is aimed at the publisher, and not the author: I read an Adobe Digital ebook edition that had far too many typos (punctuation errors).