Jeffrey's Updates en-US Wed, 16 Apr 2025 08:12:57 -0700 60 Jeffrey's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Rating847868125 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 08:12:57 -0700 <![CDATA[Jeffrey Rasley liked a review]]> /
Jeffrey Rasley liked Erin Poston's review of The Sicilian Inheritance:
The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza
"I loved this book so much! A story of womanhood and female empowerment � "
]]> Review7493284688 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:35:28 -0700 <![CDATA[Jeffrey added 'Do You Remember Elvis Presley?: The Life and Times of the King of Rock & Roll']]> /review/show/7493284688 Do You Remember Elvis Presley? by Chris Edwards Jeffrey gave 5 stars to Do You Remember Elvis Presley?: The Life and Times of the King of Rock & Roll (Paperback) by Chris Edwards
This is one of many biographies about the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley. What distinguishes it from the others is: 1. It should be enjoyable for hardcore Elvis fans and anyone with a casual interest. It is chock full of biographical and historical facts. So, not just Elvis, but the historical context and the cultural changes that occurred during Elvis's life come alive for the reader. 2. It is written by a prolific academic and pop writer. Chris Edward brings his unique point of view to bear on the subject as a serious historian, but also as a writer that understands what is of interest to a general audience.

Elvis's talent as a singer, his genius as a performer, and his mediocre acting ability are well documented. But I was unaware of his incredible work ethic. How this beautiful, gentle, and loving man descended into violent paranoia and sloth is too, but Edwards analyses the many and complex causes with academic precision, but also with compassion. Elvis's humanity shines through the brilliance of his stardom and the tragedy and sadness of his fall. ]]> Review7434455250 Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:44:33 -0700 <![CDATA[Jeffrey added 'Learning to Talk']]> /review/show/7434455250 Learning to Talk by Hilary Mantel Jeffrey gave 3 stars to Learning to Talk (Hardcover) by Hilary Mantel
The stories were a major disappointment to me. I loved Mantel's Wolf Hall Cromwell series. The writing is gorgeous and the story is brilliant. I found nothing gorgeous or brilliant in these short stories. They weren't terrible, just mediocre. Learning to Talk was published in 2003. The first book in the Cromwell series was published in 2009. Mantel really burnished her skill during those 6 years. ]]> UserQuote92714475 Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:44:27 -0700 <![CDATA[Jeffrey Rasley liked a quote by Zaman Ali]]> /quotes/11104151
Jeffrey Rasley liked a quote
59933681. sx98
� To know and have it all is about individuality because each one has the right not to live under the mercy of anyone with more power. So, for freedom and protection, one desires to know and have it all, but the questions remain. � � Zaman Ali
]]> Review7434455250 Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:43:52 -0700 <![CDATA[Jeffrey added 'Learning to Talk']]> /review/show/7434455250 Learning to Talk by Hilary Mantel Jeffrey gave 3 stars to Learning to Talk (Hardcover) by Hilary Mantel
The stories were a major disappointment to me. I loved Mantel's Wolf Hall Cromwell series. The writing is gorgeous and the story is brilliant. I found nothing gorgeous or brilliant in these short stories. They weren't terrible, just mediocre. Learning to Talk was published in 2003. The first book in the Cromwell series was published in 2009. Mantel really burnished her skill during those 6 years. ]]> Review7381560240 Thu, 06 Mar 2025 14:15:49 -0800 <![CDATA[Jeffrey added 'Alice Adams']]> /review/show/7381560240 Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington Jeffrey gave 5 stars to Alice Adams (Paperback) by Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington and Kurt Vonnegut are my 2 favorite authors. Now, having read Alice Adams, I have read all the novels of both of them. Alice is such a poignant character. She is a social climber in the worst way, but you can't help but cheer her on. She's up against class prejudice in landing a man who will elevate her status and help save her family financially. Tarkington's critique of classism is, once again, on brilliant display. Alice's development and learning curve, although slow, are written with such compassion. It is a real talent for a male writer to have so convincingly revealed the consciousness of this supercilious, pretty, and ultimately sensitive and virtuous young woman. ]]> UserQuote92516980 Tue, 04 Mar 2025 06:22:30 -0800 <![CDATA[Jeffrey Rasley liked a quote by Jeffrey Rasley]]> /quotes/12615974
Jeffrey Rasley shared a quote
228356377. sx98
� He'll never give up, but you can't hit him. It's against the rules.
The Day Big Ed Came to Parkside School ...more � � Jeffrey Rasley
]]> Review7305929154 Sun, 09 Feb 2025 11:41:12 -0800 <![CDATA[Jeffrey added 'Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by Dervla Murphy']]> /review/show/7305929154 Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy Jeffrey has read Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by Dervla Murphy (2010-12-31) by Dervla Murphy
I'm ambivalent about the book, because Murphy's descriptions of what she experienced and how she felt about it are quite interesting, but some of her cultural commentary and critiques annoyed me. Her bike ride to India in 1963 was an amazing accomplishment, particularly for a single woman. I bow down to her ability to cope with incredible challenges and physical hardship. She kept a stiff upper lift and handled searing heat, bone-deep cold, deserts, icy mountain passes, and threats from would-be paramours and bandits with cool intelligence and good humor. It was a monumental adventure and her journal well describes it.
Criticisms: 1. She romanticizes "primitive" indigenous people's way of life. Each pre-modern culture she encounters is superior to "Western" cultures. But she often points out that the local people's life expectancy is short, sanitation is deplorable, and people are sick and they stink. I've worked with the tribal-ethnic Rai people in Nepal for 20 years to help develop infrastructure to improve their quality of life without sacrificing their traditional culture. It is not easy, but it is possible to have the benefits of modernity while maintaining traditional values. Murphy thought it was one or the other. 2. Tourism is bad. Yeah, it can be, but if developed sensitively, it can raise the standard of living of local people. She was a tourist! 3. What she did is truly amazing, but she didn't ride the bike all the way to India. She took buses, jeeps, trains, and planes over certain stretches. As an adventure travel writer, I am aware of the temptation of an author to point out that what she did could not be done by ordinary mortals. It isn't normal to put yourself through the kind of torture that extreme adventure travelers do. I have given in to the temptation to brag about that, and so did Murphy.
Despite my criticisms, I honor Murphy and her bike Roz's accomplishment. ]]> Review7293834657 Wed, 05 Feb 2025 13:35:33 -0800 <![CDATA[Jeffrey added 'The Magnificent 92 Indiana Courthouses, Revised Edition']]> /review/show/7293834657 The Magnificent 92 Indiana Courthouses, Revised Edition by Jon Dilts Jeffrey has read The Magnificent 92 Indiana Courthouses, Revised Edition (Hardcover) by Jon Dilts
A very good resource for anyone interested in seeing Indiana's magnificent county courthouses without traveling to every county. As a writer who has traveled to every county seat in Indiana and photographed the courthouses for a WIP book about Indiana small towns, I was slightly disappointed by the depth of historical research about the buildings and the culture of the communities in which they were built. Still, it was helpful to my own research and I am grateful to the author and editor. ]]> Review7115419807 Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:13:21 -0800 <![CDATA[Jeffrey added 'Kidnapped']]> /review/show/7115419807 Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson Jeffrey gave 5 stars to Kidnapped (David Balfour, #1) by Robert Louis Stevenson
After finishing Treasure Island, I wanted to read Kidnapped. I thought of RLS as primarily a children's author, but Treasure Island was surprising good fiction for adult readers. It has a coming of age story, but it's not at all juvenile. It's just a great story. And I was delighted that the same is true of Kidnapped. A bonus was listening to the audio book narrated by Kieron Elliott, because his Scottish accent is perfectly lovely and he adapted it well to all of the characters' voices.
The coming of age story centers on the adventures and misadventures of David Balfour. Yes, he is kidnapped and seems to face a terrible fate orchestrated by his evil uncle. But David allies himself with a fleeing Jacobite-rebel soldier in a sort of mutiny against the sea captain who kidnapped him. Alan Breck is a delightful character, who proves to be quite a rascal and extraordinarily loyal friend. The travails and adventures of the boy and the rebel is one of the most charming buddy tales in English literature. ]]>