ChocolateChips
Edmonton Public Library
ChocolateChips's Completed Shelf
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Lives in the BalanceLives in the Balance, BookNurses' Stories From the ICU
Book - 2009Book, 2009
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jan 02, 2015
Tags (12)
Suitability
All ages
The Secret Language of DoctorsThe Secret Language of Doctors, BookCracking the Code of Hospital Slang
by Goldman, BrianBook - 2014Book, 2014
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jan 02, 2015
Comment:
This book was mostly just depressing. I've already met frustrated clinical personnel who say nasty things about patients, so I guess I was hoping for something more out of this book than just a bunch of examples of how miserable physicians, nurses and midwives are.This book was mostly just depressing. I've already met frustrated clinical personnel who say nasty things about patients, so I guess I was hoping for something more out of this book than just a bunch of examples of how miserable physicians, nurses…
Tags (6)
Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid ThemTop Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them, Book
by Graedon, JoeBook - 2011 | First edition.Book, 2011. First edition.
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jan 02, 2015
Comment:
Had some mildly interesting points, but extremely repetitive. I kind of wish I had given up after the first few chapters.
Tags (7)
Added Jul 12, 2014
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Apr 06, 2014
Comment:
Things Fall Apart was my first exposure to African literature. It was interesting to learn a little bit about tribal life before and during the arrival of white people and Christianity in Africa. The prose style is reminiscent of fables and fairy tales. Overall this novel offered an interesting first introduction to pre-colonial African society.Things Fall Apart was my first exposure to African literature. It was interesting to learn a little bit about tribal life before and during the arrival of white people and Christianity in Africa. The prose style is reminiscent of fables and fairy…
Flowers in the AtticFlowers in the Attic, BookAnd, Petals on the Wind
by Andrews, V. C.Book - 2009 | Simon Pulse paperback edition.Book, 2009. Simon Pulse paperback edition.
Added Jan 24, 2014
Wang in Love and BondageWang in Love and Bondage, BookThree Novellas
by Wang, XiaoboBook - 2007Book, 2007
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jan 24, 2014
Comment:
Okay, I'll admit it: I only picked this up because it had "wang bondage" on the front and a gay policeman on the back. Despite these two things, the three novellas were rather long and boring. Would not recommend.
Tags (6)
Suitability
Ages 14
Contains Sexual content
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jan 24, 2014
My Son EricMy Son Eric, BookA Mother Struggles to Accept Her Gay Son and Discovers Herself
by Borhek, Mary V.Book - 2001 | Revised and expanded.Book, 2001. Revised and expanded.
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jan 24, 2014
Comment:
This was a somewhat interesting read. It's the story of a homophobic Christian mother slowly learning to accept her gay son, to the point that she even becomes a gay activist. I didn't find it that exciting since a lot of the book is her slowly realizing that what she had been taught about homosexuality didn't really jive with what she saw in her son and the principles underpinning her Christian philosophy. Most of these realizations didn't have much to do with me, being neither a Christian or a homophobe, but the book might be more interesting to someone who is closer to Christianity.This was a somewhat interesting read. It's the story of a homophobic Christian mother slowly learning to accept her gay son, to the point that she even becomes a gay activist. I didn't find it that exciting since a lot of the book is her slowly…
Tags (16)
Suitability
All ages
Sex and the CitadelSex and the Citadel, BookIntimate Life in A Changing Arab World
by El-Feki, ShereenBook - 2013Book, 2013
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jun 25, 2013
Comment:
An in-depth look at sexuality in the Arab world, though the book primarily focuses on Egypt. This is definitely a book that needed to be written; there are so many misunderstandings about the Arab world on the part of Westerners and Arabs themselves that anyone stands to learn a few things by reading this book.An in-depth look at sexuality in the Arab world, though the book primarily focuses on Egypt. This is definitely a book that needed to be written; there are so many misunderstandings about the Arab world on the part of Westerners and Arabs themselves…
Tags (6)
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Feb 18, 2013
Comment:
Quite similar to The Hunger Games, but somehow even more disturbing. Full of terrifying images, well-presented characters, political intrigue and just a hint of romance. A tough but mesmerizing read.
Tags (15)
Suitability
Ages 12
Contains Violence, Frightening or intense scenes
StiffStiff, BookThe Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
by Roach, MaryBook - 2003 | First edition.Book, 2003. First edition.
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jan 05, 2013
Comment:
Not for the squeamish, but extremely informative. Who knew you could do so many things by donating your body to science (among other things...)
Tags (7)
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Jan 05, 2013
Comment:
Very sweet, very cute, and a little sad. Normally I don't go for anything too cutesy/romantic but I was quite taken in by this little drama.
Tags (9)
Suitability
All ages
Contains Coarse language
Added Jan 04, 2013
Clara's RibClara's Rib, BookA True Story of A Young Girl Growing up in A Tuberculosis Hospital
by Raina Flannigan, ClaraBook - 2010Book, 2010
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Dec 15, 2012
Comment:
A memoir of a woman who spent most of her first two decades of life in a sanatorium (tuberculosis hospital) before antibiotic therapy was able to cure her TB. I don't usually read memoirs, but this one did have some touching aspects and shows how families were decimated by TB, even here in Canada.A memoir of a woman who spent most of her first two decades of life in a sanatorium (tuberculosis hospital) before antibiotic therapy was able to cure her TB. I don't usually read memoirs, but this one did have some touching aspects and shows how…
Tags (8)
Invincible MicrobeInvincible Microbe, BookTuberculosis and the Never-ending Search for A Cure
by Murphy, JimBook - 2012Book, 2012
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Dec 15, 2012
Comment:
According to the WHO, one third of the human beings on this planet have a tuberculosis infection, and over 50% can die if left untreated. This book is a great overview of the history, biology and current extent of a disease the public needs to be more aware of. The writing is very approachable, even for kids or for people with no scientific background. Highly recommended.According to the WHO, one third of the human beings on this planet have a tuberculosis infection, and over 50% can die if left untreated. This book is a great overview of the history, biology and current extent of a disease the public needs to be…
Tags (5)
Suitability
All ages
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Mar 02, 2012
Comment:
Creepy, intense and completely engrossing. A+
Tags (11)
Suitability
Ages 12
The Color of WaterThe Color of Water, Book
by Kim, Tong-hwaBook - 2009 | English edition, first American edition.Book, 2009. English edition, first American edition.
Added Oct 09, 2011
The Color of EarthThe Color of Earth, Book
by Kim, Tong-hwaBook - 2009 | First American edition.Book, 2009. First American edition.
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Oct 09, 2011
Comment:
Though at first I didn't go for the art style, I found this novel quite beautiful and touching with a lovely atmosphere. Unlike most manga/manhwa you find in Canadian libraries, this one is big on characters, feeling and mood rather than plot and action. For me, the continual use of rain and flowers as extended metaphors walked a weird line between boring and interesting, but the subject of a young girl trying to understand her sexuality in a culture that cloaked the topic in silence really fascinated me. It sucked really hard for girls (and boys!) who wanted to know anything about sex or puberty in the days before the internet. Whenever the girl, Ehwa, tries to get any sort of answers about her body and how it works, her peers and elders just give her all these peculiar botanical euphemisms and answers that are just ridiculously vague. She also struggles to reconcile the other villagers' cruel, bawdy jokes with her mother's heavily idealized descriptons of sex. It was really interesting for me to read about an experience of growing up female that thankfully doesn't jive with my story at all. And yes, I'll admit I'm part of the "Bad Canadian Club" who was really surprised the author was a dude. Even though the book does show the injustice of how women's sexualities were controlled and demeaned in that generation, I find it interesting that so many people use the word "feminism" with this novel--to me, feminism calls up images of women doing stuff other than mooning over guys all the time. I am interested in reading the rest of the trilogy to see how my opinon on that aspect of the work settles. All in all, pretty awesome novel for teens and adults.Though at first I didn't go for the art style, I found this novel quite beautiful and touching with a lovely atmosphere. Unlike most manga/manhwa you find in Canadian libraries, this one is big on characters, feeling and mood rather than plot and…
Tags (9)
Quotations
- That is why they say that a woman is fickle...The heart of a woman blooms into a flower and sings like a bird just because an uannounced rain stops by. When it does, a ten-year drought is relieved in one second, and a one-hundred-year-old rose finally finds water. A woman is truly a strange creature.That is why they say that a woman is fickle...The heart of a woman blooms into a flower and sings like a bird just because an uannounced rain stops by. When it does, a ten-year drought is relieved in one second, and a one-hundred-year-old rose…
Suitability
Ages 12
Contains Sexual content
PersepolisPersepolis, Book
by Satrapi, MarjaneBook - 2003 | First American edition.Book, 2003. First American edition.
Added Oct 09, 2011
The Secret Notes of Lady KanokoThe Secret Notes of Lady Kanoko, Book[Volume 1]
by Tsujita, RirikoBook - 2011Book, 2011
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Oct 09, 2011
Comment:
I thought the concept of high-school-drama-meets-nature-documentary seemed pretty interesting, so I thought I would give this a try. Sadly, this manga wasn't particularly funny or touching for me and didn't draw me into the story. I'll admit that I don't read much fluffy high-school shojo stuff though, so my disappointment could just be because it's not a genre I'm interested in. If that's the kind of stuff you like, this manga might be worth a shot.I thought the concept of high-school-drama-meets-nature-documentary seemed pretty interesting, so I thought I would give this a try. Sadly, this manga wasn't particularly funny or touching for me and didn't draw me into the story. I'll admit that I…
Tags (9)
Homosexuality & CivilizationHomosexuality & Civilization, Book
by Crompton, LouisBook - 2003Book, 2003
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Oct 09, 2011
Comment:
A thorough examination of the history of homosexuality throughout the world. To someone growing up in a Western culture that has only just begun to unlearn homophobia, it is a surprise to learn about cultures like pre-globalized Japan and China, where homosexual relationships were considered just as ordinary and variable as heterosexual relationships, and about same-sex partnerships surviving both behind closed doors and in the open in Europe. All in all, it's a fascinating read, and definitely not too dry to chew through in a couple of weeks. There are a few cultural groups left out--Indians, most notably--but otherwise it's an impressive scholarly work.A thorough examination of the history of homosexuality throughout the world. To someone growing up in a Western culture that has only just begun to unlearn homophobia, it is a surprise to learn about cultures like pre-globalized Japan and China,…
Tags (5)
The Hunger GamesThe Hunger Games, Book
by Collins, SuzanneBook - 2008 | First edition.Book, 2008. First edition.
Added Oct 09, 2011
The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time IndianThe Absolutely True Diary of A Part-time Indian, Book[a Novel]
by Alexie, ShermanBook - 2007 | First edition.Book, 2007. First edition.
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Oct 09, 2011
Comment:
Alexie draws on his personal history to tell a story at points hilarious and heartbreaking in the genuine, believable voice of a boy longing for life beyond his reservation. Metaphorical boner achieved!
Tags (14)
Suitability
Ages 12
Contains Coarse language
Something Wicked This Way ComesSomething Wicked This Way Comes, Book
by Bradbury, RayBook - 1983Book, 1983
ChocolateChips's rating:
Added Aug 05, 2011
Comment: