Quitters, Inc. (audiobook) by Stephen King

My Favorite Stephen King Story

Published by Phoenix Books in 2206

Read by Eric Roberts
Duration: 45 minutes.

It is true that with all of Stephen King's lengthy tales, my favorites are usually the shorter ones and Quitters, Inc. is probably Stephen King's shortest story. It was originally part of his book of short stories Night Shift and was one of three stories in the 1985 movie Cat's Eye.

Stephen King

The premise of the story is really cleverly simple. What if you went to a non-smoking clinic that was run by the mafia? Dick Morrison meets an old friend who has kicked the smoking habit who tells him that if he visits Quitters, Inc. they will get him off cigarettes and change his life for the better. Morrison laughs off the suggestion but eventually does go for an initial consultation out of curiosity about their methods.

I cannot divulge any more about this very short story without introducing spoilers except to say that their methods are anything but AMA approved, but they do work.

The story is read by Academy award nominated actor Eric Roberts. Roberts gives an understated performance, like a man telling a story at the end of a bar after a long night. But, it works perfectly with the characterization of the mobster counselor at Quitters, Inc.

I rate this short story audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found at Amazon.com here: Quitters, Inc.

Reviewed on July 23, 2011.

South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias by Brian C. Anderson

An up and down work

Published in 2005.

I will admit, the title of South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias got my attention and it was the reason that I picked it up. For the record, I am not a big fan of South Park, but I could see where he might go with it based on my limited exposure to the series (I've seen maybe 10 episodes of the show).

I was not disappointed with the "South Park" section of the book. However, that is only a small section of the book. The first 1/3 or so is your traditional "Look how they are slandering us in the media!" finger-pointing exercise that both Liberals and Conservatives use in their books. While useful for setting up the rest of his book, I could have done without it. I've been there, done that and, frankly, I am tired of it.

The middle part, the part concerning Conservative comedy, such as South Park, Dennis Miller and Colin Quinn was very good. Anderson sets up the jokes so that they usually read as funny as they were when spoken. Actually, Quinn is funnier in the written word (perhaps he should write a book) and Miller is harder to follow because of his offbeat delivery style, but it was still enjoyable.

The last section about conservative students on campus was enjoyable but I kept wondering what this had to do with the revolt against Liberal MEDIA Bias when he kept on referring to the bias of Liberal Professors?

My copy had multiple spelling errors and one mathematical error (he refers to a book written in 1984 that influenced Clinton's signing Welfare Reform into law 22 years later - that makes Clinton President in 2006 - a scary thought indeed!)

Anderson also incorrectly refers to Limbaugh's dittoheads as people who are "ditto-ing" what Limbaugh said. In other words, just agreeing with him. Limbaugh points out in a nearly weekly basis that this is not the origin of the word. It came from the early days of the show when people would call in and say something like, "Wow! I love your show! Where has this been all of my life! Conservative ideas on the radio!" and than the next caller would say the same thing. Eventually, someone got the bright idea to say, "Ditto what the last caller said." The phrase stuck. Knowing the true origin of the word would have made Anderson's thesis all the stronger, since it implies that there were Conservatives waiting for someone to speak to their issues before the "Fairness" doctrine was overturned.

I give this one 3 stars out of 5. Very easy to read, at times very, very funny. Too much re-visiting of old wounds, not enough exploring of new territory.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: South Park Conservatives.

Reviewed on July 28, 2006.

The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life by Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens

A teacher's review

Published in 2005.

More informative than Boys and Girls Learn Differently, The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life is a fascinating look into the specific reasons why boys are doing so poorly in school nowadays. Very, very awful if you did not know - Boys are the overwhelming majority of special education students, are more likely to drop out, and are much less likely to attend college.

Gurian's strategies to help come off as a bit vague - few concrete solutions are offered. As a teacher, I want to know what a 'boy-friendly' classroom looks like. Precious few good examples are provided. But, enough information is provided to at least alert the teacher that there is a problem and that he or she needs to be on the lookout for struggling boys. I would imagine, like most things in education, the answer is not simple and it requires quite a bit of individualization, which is difficult if, like me, you see upwards of 200 kids in the course of a day.

Read as a companion to Christina Hoff Sommers The War Against Boys. It lacks her hard edge but it is very informative.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life.

Reviewed on July 27, 2006.

State of Fear by Michael Crichton

A wonderful science debate cradled in a hard-to-swallow action story

Published in 2004 by Harper Collins.

State of Fear is really two books. One is by Crichton the science essayist. Crichton's scientific comments about the environmentalist movement are most interesting and well-put. This is the only work of fiction that I've read with actual footnotes in it! Crichton throws down the gauntlet in this one and wants you to look into it for yourself. If only Dan Brown had done the same with The DaVinci Code!

Michael Crichton (1942-2008)

Crichton the story-teller is not at his best here. The plot is, for all practical purposes, merely a shallow medium to carry forth Crichton's scientific arguments. It does that but it is not, in and of itself, terribly interesting. If the scientific debates were removed from the book, the action could not carry the book on its own merit.

Read it for the different perspective on global warming, not for the plot. I give the scientific debate (with footnotes) 5 stars, the plot just one star. That's an average of 3 stars.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: State of Fear

Reviewed on July 27, 2006.

Boys and Girls Learn Differently!: A Guide for Teachers and Parents by Michael Gurian

A teacher's review

Published in 2001.

I found Boys and Girls Learn Differently: A Guide for Teachers and Parents to be a useful and fascinating introduction to the general strengths and weaknesses of males and females in the classroom.

Some may laugh or poke fun at the relatively old ideas that Michael Gurian is presenting as new in the areas of male/female brain differences. These may be old ideas in the biology lab, but someone needs to walk over to the schools of education across the country and inform them because the 'tabula rasa' theory (the mind is a blank slate and gender differences are entirely a product of culture, not nature) is alive and still kicking hard.

The only complaint I have is that Gurian refers a lot to seminars and ongoing experiments in school designs that will be helpful in teaching to the strengths and weaknesses of girls and boys. However, he comes up a bit short in providing concrete examples of how to help both boys and girls.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on July 27, 2006.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Boys and Girls Learn Differently: A Guide for Teachers and Parents.

The Jester by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

Patterson switches up big time

Published in 2003.

Known for his murder mysteries, James Patterson and co-author Andrew Gross decided to try something new and have given us The Jester, a fun, fast-paced adventure set in war-torn medieval Europe.

Hugh De Luc is a happily married innkeeper until he heads off to fight in the Crusades. The gruesome fighting and wanton disregard for life change and sicken him so he deserts and heads home only to find his wife taken captive and his infant son dead.

At this point, Patterson is on more familiar ground. Hugh De Luc must find out who did it and try to bring him to justice. Unfortunately, medieval customs and laws interfere with that search. Throw in some religious relics and a menacing group of French knights who believe they are condemned to hell and you have the indgredients for a fine book.

Patterson's descriptions of medieval life ring true, although the ending may not have worked out so well in a real medieval scenario. Nevertheless, it was lots of fun and a big improvement over the Women's Murder Club series.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: The Jester.

Reviewed on July 16, 2006.