Accidental Asian

What DOES ethnicity mean? How do we decide the characteristics of one people group as compared to another? How do they decide themselves?

Eric Liu tackles these questions in his book, Accidental Asian. I found the book in the biography section, and the first chapter led me to believe it was a book about Eric's father Chao-hua Liu, who moved to the US in 1955. The next chapter, however, shifts attention to Eric's life in the States, so then I thought: This is an autobiography. But reading the rest of the book showed me that it is in fact a biography of all those who are referred to a "Asian American." Best quote from the book: "Ethnosclerosis - the hardening of the walls between the races."

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, full of intellect and humility, and free of victimization and fear. It's earned a high 3.

Accidental American

I don't really know what to say about this book by Alex Carr. It's supposed to be a thrilling espionage story, but the way it's pieced together makes it difficult to understand his crazy jumps from one plot point to the next. It was a short novel, which made it a quick read-through, but perhaps it would have benefited with a bit more rounding to the characters.

Just a 2

The Accidental

Sometimes the writing in a novel is so good that one can stomach the smut, just to keep pushing forward to the end. Ali Smith's writing style is somewhere between prose and poetry, but is either way VERY compelling and very creative.

Without giving too much away, the story is about a family vacationing in Norfolk, England. The plot revolves around a mysterious summer visitor and each chapter takes a look at the situation from the viewpoint of a different family member. The smut is annoying, but it could be much worse.

I won't be reading this one again, but I'll definitely check out each new book of hers that I come across. I recommend it....with my smut disclaimer.

3

ACCESSORIZING!!!

Sounds fun, right? Wrong! The Art of Accessorizing by Christi Carter makes sense in theory. Four things make up the art of accessories in the home: wall coverings, personal touches, greenery and flowers, and ambiance. But the photos and examples in the book portray a very uncomfortable space, full of junk, and leaving no surface area uncovered. Although I know Carter is an expert in this area, her implementation of ideas makes me less willing to trust her knowledge.

Sad to say, this one only gets a 2.

More about Access

I just finished reading two books aimed toward those for whom increased accessibility is a need.

The first is The Accessible Home by Nancy Baldrica. As you might guess, this book is about updating your home to accommodate those with certain physical needs (wheelchair, limited eyesight, etc.) I have absolutely no need for the information in this book, but I can say that it was clearly stated, thoughtful, and practical. It even included instructions for certain home improvement projects. I give it a 2

The second was 101 Accessible Vacations by Candy Harrington. Again...I have no use for this book, but it was still well written, including a wide range of vacation ideas for wheelchair-bound people. It includes ideas such as cruises, swimming, accessible skiing, etc. I didn't count if there were actually 101 ideas, and this book would not work as a travel guide, but it's a good start for anyone with a physical disability who needs a vacation. 2

Access to Justice

At first glance, this book by Deborah L. Rhode appears dull. I certainly judged it by its cover. The book is about the American concept of "equal justice under law" and the legal ethics involved. The first chapter is a giant soap box, over-using passionate language such as "shameful," "appalling," etc. I was happy to see that the following chapters were much more objective.
It wasn't nearly as boring as I thought, but I can't go so far as to recommend it unless you have a particular interest in the topic.

2

Access: Seattle

Another travel book!!! A word to the wise, do NOT look at this book while you're hungry. If you're traveling to Seattle, this would be a great book to have with you, but it is otherwise pointless. The book takes the whole city street by street, pointing out hotels, parks, shops, dining, etc. There is even an entire section dedicated to gay Seattle.

Not planning on going anytime soon..and now I'm even more hungry. :( 2

Acceptance World

Acceptance World by Anthony Powell is book three of the first movement of a series of novels entitled, A Dance To the Music of Time. Yep. It's that complicated. Needless to say, I haven't read the rest of the novels, but this one definitely fits in with the more...artistic crowd. The 200 pages kept my interest the whole time, although I'm still not quite sure what the book was about. The style was definitely accurate for the early 1900's and the themes were along the lines of Marxism, art, writing, etc.

Don't get me wrong. I'm an artist of sorts myself, but I generally don't find interest in books about artsy stuff. I will probably read the rest of his books when they come up, but this one only earned a 2.

Coming up next...ACCESS...and more travel.