Review: Ask A Queer Chick

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book free for review from NetGalley.

I've been putting off reviewing this book for five days now, which is pretty unlike my usual habits. I try to review everything as soon as I finish (unless it's like 2am and I have to get to sleep because I have work in the morning and need to actually use my brain for something other than filling the vacuum of my skull cavity), and it really bugs me to have unreviewed books staring at me every day from my Goodreads homepage.

But... I am a little daunted by this review. I have so much that I want to say and quote and point out... and I know that no matter how hard I try, all of that greatness is just not going to appear as part of this review. The longer I put it off, the less I'll be able to put into words all of the things that I want to say, and it might already be too late. Oh well, c'est la vie, right?

I just happened to be browsing NetGalley one day and this bright yellow cover caught my eye, as I'm sure, it was designed to do. Then the title hooked me, and I was instantly curious as to what this book might contain. I've never heard of The Hairpin, the site that contains the Ask A Queer Chick column. I had no idea what to expect, other than the obvious LGBTQ content. Would this be a lesbian manifesto? Or would it be a hilarious collection of questions and answers that, while funny, are relatable and insightful and meaningful? Would this just be another one of those blog-to-book conversions that just takes a bunch of the content of an existing successful project and re-publishes it in book form? Turns out, it was all of those things and more.

So… No, this is not just a book that consisted of "Export blog/Publish book". King-Miller mentions in the introduction that she decided to go for more of a narrative form than a question and answer form, which, I admit that I was a teensy bit disappointed by initially, because I thought that it might preclude possibility number two from existing, there being no questions to answer, after all. But it turned out to be the best of both worlds, the advice and answers to questions that could be asked, rather than just cherry picking interesting questions and answering them specifically. I feel like there was a lot more ground covered and information provided this way.

There was much of that relatable, insightful, and meaningful content, and quite a lot of humor as well. I really enjoyed it and found it entertaining as well as informative. There was a delightful tongue-in-cheek tone to the writing that had me giggling unexpectedly. I really enjoyed that.

However, some of the "humor" came about in the form of crudeness and vulgarity. I realize that the previous sentence makes me sound like I should put down the Prude Juice, but I promise you that I don't have a problem with it for the language or crassness itself (on the contrary, I'm the target audience), but rather for the image that it presents of the work, the writer, and the culture. Being a lesbian doesn't automatically mean that one is vulgar and crass, does it?

I believe that the author tried, and succeeded, at aiming this book towards the hip and cool people of her generation. The problem is that that's not the only type of person who might read or find this book useful, and the language and tone may turn away people who might truly benefit from it.

Part of what this book is about is inclusiveness and acceptance, yet I think that the casual crassness could alienate some readers. And that's the crux of my language and tone complaint with this book. I would expect this book to be a professional piece of writing, and for the most part it is - except when it isn't. It doesn't bother ME, but I can see some, perhaps older women who are figuring themselves out later in life, who have lived for decades in a heteronormative society, who are more traditional-minded, etc, reading this book for help and guidance through their questions - and feeling that this book really isn't for them after all. And that makes me somewhat sad.

Now I understand that the whole "accept me for who I am and who I present myself to be" argument is valid. But that's an idealistic, perfect world situation that doesn't exist right now (or ever) - and honestly I don't think that one's sexual preference or gender identity has anything to do with how professionally they present themselves in their work. And that's why I think that a book like this, one that's hoping to cross boundary and party lines, provide advice and guidance and support for everyone who may need or want it, should try to be as neutral as possible to include anyone who may potentially find it.

I only criticize for this because I think that this was a very informative, very interesting, and I think helpful book, and could benefit a lot of people who might be curious or struggling with how to deal with their sexuality or gender representation. I learned quite a lot myself, even though I'm not struggling with either of those things. This is a book that I think many, many people should read, regardless of their identification, and I want it to not offend them away by poor language choices.

Speaking of word choices, I did think that it was a bit strange that "elide" was used twice in place of the more common "omit" or "remove". Just seemed like a strange choice to me when so much of the book was straightforward, common language, and yet here's this uncommon word that just felt out of place.

Finally, and I know that this is perhaps not fair to bring up, but I am sorely disappointed in the version of the book that I got from NetGalley for review. At the end of the book, there's a whole slew of resources provided. The websites are OK, but the phone numbers are a horrible mess.

Examples:
"GLBT National Hotline Hotline Hotline Hotline 4564): peer counseling, information, and local resources"
"GLBT Youth TalkLine alkLine alkLine alkLine 7743): youthspecific [sic] (under twenty-five) peer counseling, information, and local resources"

There are six of those that are just like that. I really don't understand how that happens. It really seems like the number was formatted out or copied over or something. The little conspiracy theorist on my shoulder is whispering that it's to sell the book for the complete resource list, but that doesn't make much sense since anyone getting a NetGalley freebie would have access to the internet and could easily Google these resources for free.

OK, and just because I'm on a roll with the criticisms, there's no treasure map in The Lord of the Rings. There is one in The Hobbit, but only if one considers a regular map showing the way back to one's dragon-infested mountain home, and the way to get inside where there happens to be treasure, to be a "treasure map". (I don't… I think of pirates and The Goonies when I think of "treasure maps". But maybe that's just me.)

And since that now seems like a SUPER random comment, I'll provide the text that I'm referring to (bear in mind, that this is obviously an uncorrected edition, and this may have changed in the final copy):

"Some people will try to convince you that you have only one true identity, and that your job is to find it, possibly by acquiring and following some sort of Lord of the Rings-style treasure map."

You may now begin yelling "Nerd!" in my general direction.

And just ONE more, because this one really could have used some elaboration for me, but why is Google Chat and texting taboo as methods of coming out, when Facebook or Twitter status updates are A-OK? I just don't understand. I need more info than just "Girl. Don't."

OK, Now I'm really done with the negatives (I think). I really found everything else about this book to be pretty great. I think quite a lot of it, from the 'figure out who you are' and 'figure out what you want' bits to the 'don't settle for crap' and 'you're not alone' bits can all apply to everyone. But the segments that really do apply only to the LGBTQ community were great as well. Informative for me, at least, in how to relate to people in the way that makes them the most comfortable, and to see things from different perspectives than the one that exists inside my own head. It even validated some things for me that, I admit, I thought were just attention-seeking behaviors on Facebook. That's ignorant of me, and I'm glad that I read this because I've now had my eyes opened to a whole spectrum of possibilities. That alone is well worth the read.

So... all in all, I think that this is a book that everyone should read, even if you feel that you are open and accepting and forward-thinking. I thought that I was, but even I learned some new things from this book.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

I'm currently reading two books, so here are teasers for both. :)


"During times of stress or elation it would return, an infallible signal to those who knew him well that he was experiencing intense emotion, no matter how he might try to hide the fact. It was also an inescapable reminder -- because all of Al-Rassan was soon to learn this story -- of a blood-soaked summer afternoon in Ferzena."

Pg. 30-31 (e-pub edition), The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay



"There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending her in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature."

Pg. 17 (MMPB edition), The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin in Women & Fiction edited by Susan Cahill

Review: Harry: A History... by Melissa Anelli ★★★

Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon by Melissa Anelli

I admit it, I was a Harry Potter late bloomer. I've told the story before, so suffice it to say that it wasn't until after the 5th book was out that I became a Harry Potter fan. I immediately fell in love with the books and the world... but I missed almost all of the "Harry Potter phenomenon" as it was still in progress.

I only had a few friends (back then) that were Harry Potter fans, and we discussed the books excitedly, and re-read them repeatedly, but I didn't know that I was missing this whole world of HP fandom. When the 6th book released, the B&N in my area, rather than waiting for the midnight release, had already closed up shop by 11:30pm when I got there after racing from work. I was mad, reamed out the manager, and refused on principle when he offered to open the store again for me to buy a copy. I bought the book from the local grocery store instead. So it wasn't until the 7th book came out that I started to understand the magic of the Harry Potter release parties I'd missed... and the one I went to was small even to my naive eyes. But man, it was exciting. People were dressed up, there were games, the staff was doing trivia, people were practically doing the pee-dance in excitement... and when 12:00am came, the bookstore was like a well oiled machine. Every register opened and started ringing out excited Potter fans like it was a race.

That experience was amazing, and I'm glad that I got to have at least one before it was all over. Better late than never, huh?

Back then, I never knew the extent of the fandom. I knew there were websites, and I'd visited The Leaky Cauldron and the HP Lexicon. I knew that there was fan fiction, but I was never interested in it. (I'm a purist.) I didn't know that there were bands based on Harry Potter, or that there were podcasts, or conventions or anything like that. I'd seen a few YouTube videos of HP themed music, but I'd always thought it was a parody thing, never a true band. I hadn't realized that the NYT Bestseller list had been fractured by this series, or that it had changed the publishing industry so much. I knew that this series encouraged new young readers, but again, the extent was so much more than I'd thought. So this book was interesting to me, because it shows just how deeply this series touched peoples' lives.

There was a lot of detail in this book that I found fascinating, like the way that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone made it against all odds, and how it changed the industry as I mentioned above, but at the same time, I found some parts of the book to get bogged down in too much detail. I listened to this on audio (although I do have the trade paperback as well), and the opening section, about Melissa's excitement that "it was here", went on for too long before saying what "it" was, or giving any real context to the situation at all. Turns out, it was the release date for the 7th and final book, but I think that the way it was written tried for a bit of mystery and excitement, and just failed to get that from me. I kept thinking, "Can we get to the point?" I want to hear about the books, and about the fans and about the phenomenon itself... not one person's squeeing over some mysterious "it" thing the reader doesn't get to be in on. For a while, I thought that "it" was publishing news coming down the pipeline of an exciting new series of books - so, the START of the HP series phenomenon.

I didn't really need to know the color of the dust on the Harry And The Potters' tour van, or exactly how sweaty they were, or that they chose cashmere pullovers because they were less likely to be sweat-stinky. TMI. Really. There were a lot of sections that I feel just kind of got lost in the memories and forgot the point that was supposed to be made.

In addition, aspects of the book were repetitive and disorganized. Anelli would jump from 2007 (the section I mentioned above, once I finally found out the context), to telling the history of the books being written, submitted, published, sold, etc, then on to how Anelli got involved in The Leaky Cauldron (TLC), to 9/11, to book 5, to how Anelli first read the books.. on and on. It was like playing Frogger, hopping around, back and forth. I really, really wanted a more structured format for this book, especially listening on audio. Sometimes it was hard to follow where I was in terms of timelines.

There were several sections that were repeated at least twice, and I found that to be a little tiresome. Once we've covered the basis of 'shipping/'shippers, I don't need to rehash what it is again later. We can just move on to how it's relevant to the part of the story being told. I want the history and backstory, but I don't need to know, yet again, what the city by city fan count at a Harry and the Potters show was.

Those criticisms aside, I did really enjoy this book. It made me sad at times, especially during Melissa's recounting of 9/11 and her panic at not knowing where her sister was, but it made me happy that the community of Harry Potter fans that she'd so recently found were able to support her. It made me nostalgic for the experience of reading these books for the first time, and watching this story unfold with each book. I didn't have the long gaps in which to theorize and wonder for most of them, but each new book was a revelation in just how much a story could affect me... and it STILL affects me just the way it did the first time. I cry with certain deaths, I laugh at the twins, I cheer for Neville finding the courage to stand up again and again.

These books didn't make me a reader; I'd been a reader since I was little. What they made me was a part of a huge community of people who all share the love of an extraordinary series of books which changed almost everything. I think that Harry: A History did a good job at showing that, despite the issues I had with the writing and organization.

I can't wait to revisit Harry Potter again.

Review: Keep The Change by Steve Dublanica ★★★★

I've had Waiter Rant on my radar for a long time, but for some reason just never got around to picking it up. I waitressed for a period of about 3 months back when I was 16, and even from such a short amount of time, I had some crazy stories! I've worked directly with customers in a service industry in some way or another since then (until last July anyhow), so the premise of Waiter Rant and all that it entailed was appealing to me. Sharing experience stories with people who've been there and who know what it's like to be on the receiving end of someone else's bad day with a smile plastered on your face is only one of the aspects that appealed to me about the book. But I'd also heard that it was funny, and I love funny. And then there's the added bonus of maybe people on the other side of life seeing a bit of perspective in the "people in the service industry are people not slaves" variety...

Anyway, when I saw that the author of Waiter Rant had a new book coming out, I requested a review copy. I worked in the service industry, as I mentioned, since I was about 16, but only the 3 month waitressing segment involved tipping. Still I considered myself to be a good tipper anyway... Until now. I've learned quite a lot from this book, and find that my tipping habits don't quite make the grade except in the case of restaurant gratuities. In almost every other category, I'm abysmally ignorant of correct tipping etiquette.

My tipping habits:
- I tip 20% of the total whenever we go out to a restaurant. (Grade: A)
{Industry standard is 15% of the bill, including drinks.}
- I tip $1 a drink at bars. (Grade: C)
{Should be approx. 20% of the bill. I do not give myself a lower grade here because drink prices are pretty reasonable in my area: $2-4/beer/shot or $7-9/mixed drink.}
- I did not know to tip the doorman at hotels. (Grade: F)
{Shame!!}
- I tip cabdrivers, but generally far below average. (Grade: D)
{Should be around 20% of the fare. But in my defense, I don't use cabs often!}
- I didn't know to tip car mechanics or detailers. (Grade: F)
{Should be $20-50 or so, depending on the work.}
... This is getting ugly, so I'm going to stop now.
If an A grade is 5 points, B is 4 points, C is 3 points, D is 1 point and F is 0, my average would be... 1.8 - D minus. Ouch.

So, needless to say, I feel like I've learned something from Steve here. I feel like I've been something of a tipping stiff in my life... and this despite the fact that I've worked for tips in my life and know how hard they are to come by and live on. But, the good thing is that Steve has given me the means to mend my ways, and I intend to follow them. I kind of feel like keeping this book with me at all times, kind of like a Tipping Bible, to be used in times of need (when stepping out of a cab, or into a hotel, etc) and containing words to live my life by.

That might seem a little extreme, but honestly I don't think so. Steve represents the facts of the working-for-tips way of life, and they aren't pretty. I knew that wait staff is usually underpaid, which is why I tip 20% rather than 15%, but I had no idea that was the case with so many other service jobs. It makes me rather ashamed of myself for not realizing this was the case, and corporate America for allowing and encouraging this kind of workforce exploitation. Steve presents the situation as he sees it, and in often brutally honest, no-holds-barred way, but still with an edge of wit and humor that makes the message a little easier to swallow. It still packs a wallop, at least for me it did, but it's a necessary evil to learn these things. Ignorance is bliss... for the ignorant. For the person on the other end, another's ignorance isn't going to put food on the table or a roof over their family's heads.

I found this book to be very informative and entertaining while still providing me with information I might never have learned on my own. I appreciate that. And not only did it serve both of these purposes, but Steve seems to also something of a philosopher and has an ability to understand human nature. Probably this is from so much time working with people, but it's refreshing to see a book about human nature that's not pretentious and not full of drivel. It's refreshing to see a book which doesn't feel like its author is above the reader somehow. This is just a regular guy, trying to understand a prevalent issue. I liked that.

So I will definitely be going out this weekend and picking up Waiter Rant. I know it's a little backwards, but better late than never, right? I definitely recommend this book for anyone who is confused by tipping (as I was!)... And remember - when in doubt, ask. :)

Friday Flashback Review (8): Harry Potter & The Bible ★

Friday Flashback is hosted by Jen @ The Introverted Reader.

So I thought that it would be kind of appropriate to post this review now, since Banned Book Week was not very long ago, and since the 7th Harry Potter movie is coming out soon. I received this book from my friend Kandice, whose son was given the book by some mysterious person at his school. If there's anything I dislike, its creepy people spreading ignorance in schools. Rather than encouraging intelligent thought and analysis, Abanes encourages people to hide behind fear and ignorance in order to avoid anything they don't understand.

So without further ado, my review, which was written way back in February:

Ahh, right. Where to start... I have so much to say! I wish that you could all see my notebook. Aside from my atrocious handwriting, it is 12 full-size pages filled with my scribbled, jotted, many underlined thoughts, reactions and questions, as well as quotes, semi-quotes, references to quotes and page numbers for still more quotes.
It's not pretty. Really. But it WAS necessary. So many of the things that I jotted down had me rolling my eyes, thinking "Is this guy SERIOUS?". I just read this entire book, and I still don't understand most of his claims, arguments, assumptions and conclusions. I like Harry Potter, so I am obviously one of the "undiscerning" readers mentioned in Douglas Groothuis's foreword, in which he proclaims that I am about to read a "rare voice of sanity, reason and biblical discernment" regarding the Harry Potter books. Hmm. Well. Good thing he hasn't started off by annoying me or alienating me as a reader... Oh. Oops.

Anyway, offended by being called incapable of reason and insane before the book even starts, I still tried to read it objectively. From what I could see, Abanes's case comes down to several extremely repetitive points:

1) The setting of the "real world" makes it difficult for kids to differentiate between fact and fiction.
Apparently, because this is a fiction book that takes place in the United Kingdom where people actually live or can visit, it makes it nearly impossible for the reader to understand that it's not real. He makes reference to comments on message boards and letters (etc) which have kids saying things like "Wow! I wish I could do magic..." or "I wish I could go to Hogwarts..." and the like, and claims that these kids are dangerously close to becoming official occult followers. Which is utterly ridiculous and a huge logic leap. Kids whimsically wishing for something doesn't imply that they can't understand it's not real. I used to WISH I had a real My Little Pony to ride, but I didn't actually believe they WERE REAL. Kids know how mundane and normal and boring their life is. School. Homework. Bed. Repeat. They have no control over anything at this point - parents decide their lives. They just wish for some fun.

And, kids are much, much smarter than they are given credit for, in my opinion, although apparently not in the author's. Abanes seems to think that kids who read and like something will then rush off to try it with no thought. And while that may be true of some people, it is untrue of most. He gives an example in his book (after talking about how wormwood is used in HP and is an actual ingredient in absinthe) of someone looking up a recipe for absinthe online, making it and getting sick. He writes it in such a way as to insinuate that the person who did this was somehow influenced by the wormwood mention in HP. Another big leap. He also seems to forget parents, even while writing a book geared toward them. It is a parent's responsibility to teach their children, not JK Rowling's.

He goes on later in the book to say how Christian writers CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien both wrote fantasy stories involving magic, but these are OK because their magic is not HUMAN magic, and it is clearly in a fantasy world.

2) The magic described and portrayed in HP is actually representative of the Occult, which is denounced repeatedly and harshly in the bible.
Abanes's argument here seems to be that because JK Rowling researched and used real modern and historical practices, ideas, references, and substances (like wormwood above), as well as mythology and legend etc, that she is "thinly veiling" her belief in the occult, and not only introducing children to it, but grooming them towards it.
His "biblical" definition of occultism is extraordinarily all-encompassing, and ranges from astrology to conversing with spirits as a medium. Anything, essentially, that tries to understand or influence the world or ourselves that is NOT Christian in nature or done for the glory of God, is defined as being of the occult, and therefore dangerous and evil. He references many passages in the bible which denounce occultism, but never answers the ever present "WHY?" question. But hey, rules are rules, and the rule-maker need not explain, right?

Moving on, Abanes makes another huge leap in talking about the pets in HP, stating that they are familiars to their owners. Witches' familiars are defined here as a "low-level demon" in the assumed shape of an animal. He says, "Mrs. Norris, owned by the school's caretaker, exhibits some of the characteristics of a familiar. In Book III, Hermione gets her own familiar -- a cat named Crookshanks." He then quotes a renown Wicca practitioner, Starhawk, on the tradition of familiars, and then quotes a passage from "Witchcraft In England" which rehashes again what familiars are and confirms (again) the belief that witches used them in "the later centuries of [the:] witchcraft-belief". Abanes then says, "Obviously Harry and his friends are indeed making contact with the spiritual world." What? How is that obvious?

Abanes did include a very small section each to explain Paganism, Wicca and Satanism. I think he kind of shot himself in the foot if he was trying to turn people away from these, though. He failed miserably at making them unattractive, and to be honest, actually succeeded in piquing my interest in learning even more about them. Pagan and Wicca followers have a "reverence for the Earth and all it's creatures, generally see all life as interconnected, and strive to attune one's self to the manifestation of this belief as seen in the cycles of nature." Ooooh! DANGER! DANGER! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
I'm not going to go into the major points and details, but it is interesting, and I would recommend reading about them yourself. I did see a lot of my own "worldviews" represented in Paganism and Wicca, such as my relativism (a view that ethical truths depend on the individual or groups holding them -www.Merriam-Webster.com), which essentially means that what is good for me is not good for everyone else, and what is good for others may not be what is good for me. I'm OK with that. Abanes is not, and apparently has a problem with personal and private beliefs not in accordance with his own. He seems to feel that his way is the only way.

He did portray Satanism as being "bad", although he made clear that modern Satanism is not technically worship of Satan, but worship of the individual. Satanism "emerged when various aspects of all these (pagan, et al) traditions were blended together by persons seeking to fight Christianity's growing theological and moral influence [between 400s -1600s A.D.:]." (I got a real chuckle out of that. Apparently the Crusades and mass murders in the name of Christianity represent the "moral influence" of the faith. Best. Euphemism. EVER.)

He mentioned Sean Sellers, who was physically and sexually abused, neglected, and abandoned as a child and teen, who found himself getting involved with Dungeons & Dragons as an outlet, and later Satanism. There he found acceptance and understanding, until things started getting too deep and cult-like, which is very different from the religion started by Anton LeVey. Sellers, fearing for his sanity, reached out repeatedly for help... his parents, their Christian ministers, church run support groups, etc, and they turned their backs on him each and every time. In the end, he immersed himself in Satanism completely, and ended up murdering three people, being arrested, sentenced to death, and becoming a born again Christian in prison. Abanes blames the D&D as the "gateway" to Satanism for his downfall, but fails completely to mention the many, many people who let Sellers down when he needed help the most. (This is just one of many examples of how Abanes cherry-picks his arguments.)

3) Vulgarity, profanity and general lack of biblical morality in the Harry Potter books. (Characters lying, stealing, cheating, cursing, drinking, etc. And the amount of "gore" in the books, including Nearly Headless Nick and the Headless Hunt.)
His point is that he doesn't feel like there is enough delineation between "good" and "evil". The good guys should be all good, or if they falter, they should pay for it immediately. Bad guys should be all bad, and should absolutely pay and fail.
But MY argument is that the world, and life, is rarely delineated in such stark, black and white terms. Good people do bad things, bad people can do good things, it's the way of the world. And the real world doesn't always mete out appropriate punishment for misdeeds based on a religious belief. The world is impartial... Religion is not.
Abanes's first example of the immorality of the children is that they disobey rules. I think this is the main stick in his craw, because so much of organized religion centers on obeying without question. He also really has a problem with the word "git", which is a derogatory word that means idiot. He claims that this is profanity, which I guess is subjective, but to me, it's slang, not profanity.
Children are children, and they ACT like children. They disobey, mouth off, curse, treat each other unkindly, hold grudges, make enemies, make up, cheat, etc. But even as they do so, they are learning. Holding them to adult standards of behavior is unrealistic and unfair, especially a religious standard that was never intended to be in the equation at all.

He also repeatedly laments the increase of "New Age Spiritualism" in modern times, causing what he calls a "Post-Christian" world, which is helped along by books, movies and media, namely "occult" books like HP, etc. He repeatedly inserts statistical data, which in itself is suspect to me, as 7 out of 8 people know that 60% of all statistics are made up on the spot (as this was... :P), so... I'm a little wary of just accepting his claims. He acts like popularity itself is cause for alarm. More than once, Abanes seems to indicate that because Rowling was poor before she wrote Harry Potter that her popularity was helped along by, if not evil, definitely occult forces. He also seems to take issue with the fact that JK Rowling has not publicly made known her personal religious beliefs. As if it matters. Her beliefs are personal, and her books are fiction. They have nothing to do with each other in my mind and opinion, but Abanes thinks that because she's not proclaimed her Christianity, that she's probably an Occultist. Again with the black and white, 'with us or against us' theme.

I think that's what bothered me most about this book. I tried to read it objectively and fairly, even though I myself am agnostic, but so many of his arguments are just statements without any basis in fact. Comparisons which are... ridiculous. It's like he was writing this for people who think exactly as he does, but just didn't know it yet, and who wouldn't question his claims. At the end of the book, he gives practical advice for Christians (who should now have many, many concerns about the book) to go forth with gentleness and kindness when discussing the book(s) with others that they feel the need to educate. Good advice, yes, because I do not want someone calling me a "heathen" for enjoying these books, BUT this book only succeeded in making claims, not proving them.

Not only that, but as I mentioned before, he clearly, blatantly and shamelessly picked around the things that he didn't want to address, and beat into the ground the few points he did.

For instance, he mentions CS Lewis's Narnia series, and *spoiler* Aslan sacrificing himself for Edmund */spoiler*, but Lily's own sacrifice for Harry goes without mention. And he's not unaware, just to be clear, as he quotes Voldemort telling Harry that his mother died to save him, and that she will have died in vain, as well as Dumbledore's explanation of Lily's love sacrifice. He just ignores the sacrifice of the one, and lauds the sacrifice of the other, because it suits his theme.

He claims that the HP books are vulgar and full of violence etc, and that they are inappropriate reading material for children, yet ignores the fact that there is ridiculous amounts of violence and death in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And the bible, for that matter.

He also derides the use of runes in HP, but makes no mention of the fact that Gandalf used them in Lord of the Rings. Apparently that's OK because, while runes are definitely "Real Occult", LOTR was not set in the real world.

I could go on and on, (12 pages of notes, remember?), but I think this is enough to get my point across. In the end, it seems like Abanes is saying, "Christianity is right, and anything that doesn't shout that from the rooftops is wrong. Period. End of story." That's an opinion, but it doesn't make it the right one. I think people are entitled to believe what they choose, just as readers (of all ages) are entitled to read and enjoy what they choose. Parents have a responsibility to talk to and teach their kids right from wrong, and morals and ethics, etc. That is not the job of the Harry Potter books, or ANY books. Religious texts are wonderful and useful to many people, but that does not mean that fiction and entertainment should seek only to rewrite/retell them.

Read and make up your OWN mind about books. :)

Review: The Gettysburg Approach to Writing & Speaking Like a Professional ★★★★

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received this ebook for review from the author.

I consider myself to be something of a stickler for proper grammar, punctuation, spelling and capitalization. I have always had a knack for grammar, even though I am not an expert on the rules, and certainly don't know them upside down and backwards, I generally have a feel for them, and not to toot my own horn too much, I'm often right.

Even though I was interested in the book due to the subject matter, grammar is hardly exciting reading, so I was slightly nervous that the book might be dry, boring or tedious. It wasn't. I found the book to be interesting, informative, personable, and even funny at times. Yaffe sprinkled anecdotes throughout the text which lightened the tone of the book, and made it feel as if it was a friendly tutoring session rather than a pre-final lecture.

This book focused on expository writing, such as training documents, memos, articles, newsletters, etc, more than writing for entertainment or enjoyment. I am not a professional journalist or writer, but I do use written communication and presentations in my day-to-day work, and while I feel like I am a good communicator, I still feel as though I picked up some useful information here.

My favorite tip was the "inverted pyramid" and related tests. The inverted pyramid is a method of writing which structures your text into a lead-in section and then the supporting details in the body. The lead-in should contain all of the most important and informative information regarding the subject, and the body should contain the details which provide additional information. There are two related tests which go hand-in-hand with this method: the "Stop Reading Test" and the "Q&A Test".

The Stop Reading Test is designed to ensure that busy readers can glean as much information as possible, as quickly as possible, from your writing. The test helps to indicate how much of the article or text a person would have to read in order to obtain a full understanding of the topic -- the more they have to read, the more likely the text should be rewritten more concisely and to the point, so that a reader can stop reading after the first paragraph and still understand the entire text's purpose.

The Q&A Test is designed to answer potential questions in the body of the text to support the lead-in. As a writer adds sentences, they should anticipate questions that the reader may have, and answer them, so that by the end of the text, the reader has a full understanding of the information provided.

These are brilliant tips that I wish were used more often, especially in the workplace. I detest having to read through pages and pages of a document just to learn one bit of information that could have been explained in a paragraph-long brief up front. I wish that this technique was used more widely!

In addition to these, Yaffe's book contains many examples, exercises, tips and guidelines to help mold us into better communicators. This includes orally speaking and presenting information, which is just as important in the professional world as writing is. There are subtle differences that one should bear in mind between the different types of communication, because they are similar, but using only one set of methods for both will result in a failure to engage and interest your audience.

I found this book to be enlightening and informative, and with the exception of two typos, very well written and helpful. I would definitely recommend this to those people looking to improve their professional communication, both written and spoken.

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