I am not a big business person. I mean I have worked for corporation basically since I started working; but I don't read a lot of business books. I got this book because it looked intersting. I wanted to know how sustainability was tied into the larger corporate picture.
What I found out is that this was a really interesting book. Werbach (as the former CEO of Sierra club) does a great job of engaging the reader at the beginning of each chapter. The first part of the book was focused more towards upper management but later parts of the book were more about how any individual can create change in a business.
Werbach uses a lot of very interesting real-life company (and nature-occuring) cases to start out each chapter. These case studies are very interesting and engaging. For each chapter he then goes into an aspect of his STaR plan. The StaR plan stands for Society, Technology, and Resources. He talks about managing these items to make a sustainable company and how sustainability is strongly linked with successful company performance. He also spends a lot of time discussing setting a "North Star" goal and about what that is.
Time is also spent discussing how important it is to engage employees at all levels, how important it is for a company to be transparent to both its customers and its employees, and how cultural and societal impacts of corporate action also have high impact on corporate success. The book applies well to both small and large companies. Case studies are looked at about how some successful small companies started out as sustainable companies and how larger corporations have made headway into becoming a more sustainable companies.
Overall I liked the book. I agree with the sentiment. I think that in an ideal world this book would be a good guide. I think realistically the ideas in it are much more complicated to put into practice than the book makes them seem. Still Werbach makes a number of interesting points and I may check out more of his books in the future.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith (4/5 stars)
This book is exactly what the title suggests. Some parts of the book are intact and then zombie scenes thrown in. Much of the dialog is also changed to incorporate that Britain has been overrun by zombies for the last 50 years or so.
The good stuff about this book is that parts are hilarious. The pictures in the book are also very hilarious. Sometimes I was chuckling loudly at the craziness of the whole thing. Somehow Grahame-Smith managed to do zombies in a very Victorian way. It is awesome that there are now fight scenes and zombies and ninjas! Yes, I said ninjas. The ninjas and the Bennet's combat training sometimes give the book a bit of a kungfu taste at points. So I liked that too.
Now for the bad stuff. I found the beginning of the book, with zombies, to be just as long and tedious to get through as it was without zombies. Also, since I already knew what happened in the end (kind of) the story just wasn't as interresting the second time through. I also have a stylistic quip. A big part of what makes "Pride and Prejudice" awesome is how all the characters use their subtle wording as weapons. Well, a lot of that is lost when instead of being clever about how something is said, Lizzie whips out her katana and slices her "enemies" head off. I mean it is funny but the story looses a lot of it's intelligence too...if you know what I mean.
Overall this was an okay book; it gets an extra star just for being a very novel and interesting idea. I would read it mostly if you like zombies and you like "Pride and Prejudice". If you don't like one or the other very much I think you will have trouble getting through it.
The good stuff about this book is that parts are hilarious. The pictures in the book are also very hilarious. Sometimes I was chuckling loudly at the craziness of the whole thing. Somehow Grahame-Smith managed to do zombies in a very Victorian way. It is awesome that there are now fight scenes and zombies and ninjas! Yes, I said ninjas. The ninjas and the Bennet's combat training sometimes give the book a bit of a kungfu taste at points. So I liked that too.
Now for the bad stuff. I found the beginning of the book, with zombies, to be just as long and tedious to get through as it was without zombies. Also, since I already knew what happened in the end (kind of) the story just wasn't as interresting the second time through. I also have a stylistic quip. A big part of what makes "Pride and Prejudice" awesome is how all the characters use their subtle wording as weapons. Well, a lot of that is lost when instead of being clever about how something is said, Lizzie whips out her katana and slices her "enemies" head off. I mean it is funny but the story looses a lot of it's intelligence too...if you know what I mean.
Overall this was an okay book; it gets an extra star just for being a very novel and interesting idea. I would read it mostly if you like zombies and you like "Pride and Prejudice". If you don't like one or the other very much I think you will have trouble getting through it.
Stargazer by Claudia Grey (3/5 stars)
This is the second book in the Evernight series. There are supposed to be four books in the series. This book was much like the first book for me. If you liked the first book you will like this one. It is beautifully written, the first part is kind of boring and nothing happens, and then the last few chapters are so packed with action it's amazing.
Bianca is returning to school after a grueling summer separated from Lucas. Upon returning to school she finds out that she is being haunted by wraiths. Much of the story deals with Bianca trying to get away from campus to secretly meet with Lucas. Balthazar is also in the story a lot.
The pacing of this book matched the first book. It is pretty darn boring for the first two thirds. A lot of teenage angsting going on as Bianca feels sorry for herself because she can't be with Lucas. The wraith hauntings happen at wide intervals and are the only interesting thing in the beginning of the book. The end of the book however is packed with so many revelations and action scenes that it leaves you dizzy.
This whole series has been much more well-written than the House of the Night series by PC and Kirsten Cast. Unfortunately the pacing is such that I find these books to be pretty dull. I don't really think Bianca is the most inspriing character either.
The end of the book is fantastic and almost makes up for the slow beginning. The end was enough to make me want to know what happens in the next book. This book was definitely a transition novel that builds to the next book. This book is definitely not a stand alone; you need to read Evernight first. Also this book doesn't resolve much at all; so for any resolution you'll have to hang around for the next book "Hourglass".
Bianca is returning to school after a grueling summer separated from Lucas. Upon returning to school she finds out that she is being haunted by wraiths. Much of the story deals with Bianca trying to get away from campus to secretly meet with Lucas. Balthazar is also in the story a lot.
The pacing of this book matched the first book. It is pretty darn boring for the first two thirds. A lot of teenage angsting going on as Bianca feels sorry for herself because she can't be with Lucas. The wraith hauntings happen at wide intervals and are the only interesting thing in the beginning of the book. The end of the book however is packed with so many revelations and action scenes that it leaves you dizzy.
This whole series has been much more well-written than the House of the Night series by PC and Kirsten Cast. Unfortunately the pacing is such that I find these books to be pretty dull. I don't really think Bianca is the most inspriing character either.
The end of the book is fantastic and almost makes up for the slow beginning. The end was enough to make me want to know what happens in the next book. This book was definitely a transition novel that builds to the next book. This book is definitely not a stand alone; you need to read Evernight first. Also this book doesn't resolve much at all; so for any resolution you'll have to hang around for the next book "Hourglass".
News - Wicked Lovely #4 and Alice in Wonderland
Okay I have some great news that I saw on another blog. Looks like the title for Wicked Lovely Book #4 has been released and it will be "Radiant Shadows". There are going to be five books total in this series. I've been kind of luke-warm on this series but it one of the few series out there that deal with fairy courts, which I love, so I have been sticking with it. For the original article see here: Wicked Lovely #4
Also a trailer is finally out for the Alice and Wonderland movie. Go here to link to it. It looks like a fantastic movie! Of course I am a bit bummed that it doesn't come out until next spring :-( I will be waiting in anticipation! So far there hasn't been a Burton/Depp movie I haven't loved.
Lastly Suzanne Collins book "Catching Fire" will be out in just over a month. I am soooo looking forward to this book. Anyone who hasn't read the first book in the series "Hunger Games" should; it was fantastic. You can read my review of it here.
Well that's all the news I have for now. I have three books that I have finished that are waiting for me to write reviews on them. Hopefully I will get to that tonight!
Also a trailer is finally out for the Alice and Wonderland movie. Go here to link to it. It looks like a fantastic movie! Of course I am a bit bummed that it doesn't come out until next spring :-( I will be waiting in anticipation! So far there hasn't been a Burton/Depp movie I haven't loved.
Lastly Suzanne Collins book "Catching Fire" will be out in just over a month. I am soooo looking forward to this book. Anyone who hasn't read the first book in the series "Hunger Games" should; it was fantastic. You can read my review of it here.
Well that's all the news I have for now. I have three books that I have finished that are waiting for me to write reviews on them. Hopefully I will get to that tonight!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday - Weekly Book Haul
I got quite a few new books this week too. Mainly because there were some good deals going on paperbackswap.com; that and I stumbled into a couple books in the clearance section of Half Price Books that I has been looking for. So, without further ado here are the books I got in last week.
From Half Price Books:
I've had this book on my wish list for quite a while. When I ran into it for $1 at Half Price Books I couldn't past it up.
I like Brom and after reading "Plucker" which I loved; I was excited to see he had a new book out. Okay really it was new last year, but HPB finally has it so I got it! I am also very excited to report that I am getting an ARC of "Child Thief" his next book through Amazon Vine next week!
From the Library:
I've been on the wait list for this book a while and now I finally was able to pick it up from the library this week. It's a 10 day so I will be reading it soon!
Direct from Author:
I was actually contacted by an author who offered to send me one of his books if I would review it. So, that's this book. Hopefully it will be a good read.
From Paperbackswap.com
This book just caught my eye one day on PBS website. Food, desserts, and vampires; how can you go wrong?
Another anthology of some of my favorite paranormal authors. There are also a couple authors in here I am interested in reading but have never read. I still have the anthology "Dates from Hell" to get through too. Eventually it will be done.
I was looking for more Nancy Collins books to read. I have read all of her Sonya Blue novels and everything else she has written. I loved it all, so I am hoping this is also a good book.
The second book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I think these lean more towards romance but I've been told they are really good and have awesome action scenes. So we will see. I have yet to acquire the first book in the series but I got 2-4 in a deal I couldn't pass up.
The third book.
The fourth book.
That is all for this week. Again, it is more than enough :-) Hope you all have a great week!
From Half Price Books:
I've had this book on my wish list for quite a while. When I ran into it for $1 at Half Price Books I couldn't past it up.
I like Brom and after reading "Plucker" which I loved; I was excited to see he had a new book out. Okay really it was new last year, but HPB finally has it so I got it! I am also very excited to report that I am getting an ARC of "Child Thief" his next book through Amazon Vine next week!
From the Library:
I've been on the wait list for this book a while and now I finally was able to pick it up from the library this week. It's a 10 day so I will be reading it soon!
Direct from Author:
I was actually contacted by an author who offered to send me one of his books if I would review it. So, that's this book. Hopefully it will be a good read.
From Paperbackswap.com
This book just caught my eye one day on PBS website. Food, desserts, and vampires; how can you go wrong?
Another anthology of some of my favorite paranormal authors. There are also a couple authors in here I am interested in reading but have never read. I still have the anthology "Dates from Hell" to get through too. Eventually it will be done.
I was looking for more Nancy Collins books to read. I have read all of her Sonya Blue novels and everything else she has written. I loved it all, so I am hoping this is also a good book.
The second book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I think these lean more towards romance but I've been told they are really good and have awesome action scenes. So we will see. I have yet to acquire the first book in the series but I got 2-4 in a deal I couldn't pass up.
The third book.
The fourth book.
That is all for this week. Again, it is more than enough :-) Hope you all have a great week!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Spook's Tale: And Other Horrors by Joseph Delaney (4/5 stars)
This book is more of an interlude or a supplement to The Last Apprentice series. It is well written and interesting nonetheless, but not as fantastic as a full-fledged book would have been. Although we don't have a long wait "Clash of the Demons" comes out the end of August '09.
There are three stories in this book. The first details how the Spook became a Spook. This story was okay; it gives you some background around the Spook. Nothing that is really surprising, but a decent story.
The second story is about what happened to Alice when she was in Pendle right before Tom came to rescue her. This was my least favorite story of the bunch. Again no surprises and a very brief story.
The third story made the book worth having. This was the story of how Grimalkin became a witch assassin. I think Grimalkin is a fascinating character and found this story to be an interesting read. It made me wish that Delaney would write some books from Grimalkin's point of view...maybe he can do that after he is done with Tom Ward's story :-)
Overall I enjoyed this book. It is just filler for the main event though and I am eagerly awaiting "Clash of the Demons"!
There are three stories in this book. The first details how the Spook became a Spook. This story was okay; it gives you some background around the Spook. Nothing that is really surprising, but a decent story.
The second story is about what happened to Alice when she was in Pendle right before Tom came to rescue her. This was my least favorite story of the bunch. Again no surprises and a very brief story.
The third story made the book worth having. This was the story of how Grimalkin became a witch assassin. I think Grimalkin is a fascinating character and found this story to be an interesting read. It made me wish that Delaney would write some books from Grimalkin's point of view...maybe he can do that after he is done with Tom Ward's story :-)
Overall I enjoyed this book. It is just filler for the main event though and I am eagerly awaiting "Clash of the Demons"!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Fairest by Gail Carson Levine (2/5 stars)
I was excited to read a novel by Gail Carson Levine; but this book turned out to be less than I was hoping for. It make work out better for young girls, but I seriously doubt young adults or adults will find it all that engaging. On a side note I listened to this as an audio book and that was definitely...well...an experience. They used a full casting for the audio book and all of the songs were sung in all of their full operatic glory. I was riding my bike when I started listening to this book and I almost fell off of it when all the sudden music started pelting out in the middle of my audio book....
Aza thinks that she is ugly; she is too big and has different coloring from other people in the kingdom. Her parents run an inn and love her dearly, but they are not her birth parents (they found her on the steps of their inn as a baby). When Aza accompanies a Duchess to the wedding of their new king she feels drawn to the new Queen. The Queen ends up asking Aza to be her lady-in-waiting and from there Aza gets embroiled in a dangerous plot to help Queen Ivy save face.
This book is supposed to be a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It has some similarities to that story but more differences. If you think Disney took the grim out of Grimms Fairy Tales well then this book is Disney sugar coated with a cherry on top. There is so much happy ever after it is almost sickeningly sweet. The dire circumstances of the heroine are never really dire at all; the book is completely predictable.
Aza makes an unlikely role model for young girls. Aza (who is wed at 16 years old, I might add) is fifteen going on sixteen but has the mentality of a ten year old. Her obsessiveness with her ugliness is really...well...obsessive. She easily tosses morals aside to be beautiful. At the end she says she can't believe how much she has changed throughout the book; when not a few seconds earlier she was *again* whining about her ugliness. At times the author tries to excuse Aza being ugly because she sings so beautifully. Is it a requirement that everyone do one thing outstandingly wonderful to make them a good person?
All of the characters pretty much have this shallow level of depth. All the characters are type-cast. Not one single character does anything surprising.
Is there good in this book? If you read it knowing what to expect it is an okay book. It was actually what I expected, but not what I was hoping for. It is super cute, and super sugary. I as said it is a Disney film with heaps of sweetness added. That is not all a bad thing. The book ends how you expect and all the characters are just so good that you can't help but smile at times. Of course at other times you want to slap them for being so stupid, but I feel that way about Disney films too.
If you love Disney and you love cutsey and you want to be a princess then this book is for you. I think it will probably find appeal with younger girls who still dream of being a fairy princess. I think anyone over ten years of age will have trouble finding much to love here. This book did not make me eager to read more of Levine's books. Maybe if I am in the mood for more brainless sweetness I will check other out. Instead of reading this I would recommend "Princess Ben" by Catherine Murdock; this is also a sweet fairy tale but with more guts and more interesting characters.
Aza thinks that she is ugly; she is too big and has different coloring from other people in the kingdom. Her parents run an inn and love her dearly, but they are not her birth parents (they found her on the steps of their inn as a baby). When Aza accompanies a Duchess to the wedding of their new king she feels drawn to the new Queen. The Queen ends up asking Aza to be her lady-in-waiting and from there Aza gets embroiled in a dangerous plot to help Queen Ivy save face.
This book is supposed to be a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It has some similarities to that story but more differences. If you think Disney took the grim out of Grimms Fairy Tales well then this book is Disney sugar coated with a cherry on top. There is so much happy ever after it is almost sickeningly sweet. The dire circumstances of the heroine are never really dire at all; the book is completely predictable.
Aza makes an unlikely role model for young girls. Aza (who is wed at 16 years old, I might add) is fifteen going on sixteen but has the mentality of a ten year old. Her obsessiveness with her ugliness is really...well...obsessive. She easily tosses morals aside to be beautiful. At the end she says she can't believe how much she has changed throughout the book; when not a few seconds earlier she was *again* whining about her ugliness. At times the author tries to excuse Aza being ugly because she sings so beautifully. Is it a requirement that everyone do one thing outstandingly wonderful to make them a good person?
All of the characters pretty much have this shallow level of depth. All the characters are type-cast. Not one single character does anything surprising.
Is there good in this book? If you read it knowing what to expect it is an okay book. It was actually what I expected, but not what I was hoping for. It is super cute, and super sugary. I as said it is a Disney film with heaps of sweetness added. That is not all a bad thing. The book ends how you expect and all the characters are just so good that you can't help but smile at times. Of course at other times you want to slap them for being so stupid, but I feel that way about Disney films too.
If you love Disney and you love cutsey and you want to be a princess then this book is for you. I think it will probably find appeal with younger girls who still dream of being a fairy princess. I think anyone over ten years of age will have trouble finding much to love here. This book did not make me eager to read more of Levine's books. Maybe if I am in the mood for more brainless sweetness I will check other out. Instead of reading this I would recommend "Princess Ben" by Catherine Murdock; this is also a sweet fairy tale but with more guts and more interesting characters.
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