Review of Then The Room Stopped Spinning

[Trinity Rajch]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Then The Room Stopped Spinning" by Joseph E Liston.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Then the Room Stopped Spinning by Joseph Liston is the author’s account of his life as an architect and designer. The story begins with an introduction to the author’s family, the small town they lived in, and most importantly, one pivotal moment in his childhood. As a child home from school for a sick day, his mother took him with her to her job at one of the most spectacular homes in the area. A house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. While he had admired the house from afar, it was not until he could see the inside that he truly fell in love. He was so affected by the experience, that the dizziness, or spinning, that he was feeling from being ill stopped. The house grounded him and set him on his future path.

With his new path set, Liston takes the reader on his journey to achieve these goals. He details his early schooling, his first job, the projects that he was able to work on, and interspersed between these accomplishments are snippets of his personal life. The reader can relate to the triumphs and the low points that he faced in both his professional and personal life. Although I enjoyed the mix of personal and professional life, this was also my least favorite part of the book. This was mostly due to the organization of the book. Liston jumped from point to point in his history with nothing connecting one point to the other. His story spans decades, and it became frustrating trying to decipher where on the timeline each chapter fit or if the story was in order at all. If the professional and personal aspects of Liston’s life were separated or even if there were years added to the chapters, the book would improve greatly.

Overall, I was neutral to this book. It was not great, but it was not horrible. It was a short read about the author’s life and accomplishments. Through his work, he was able to participate in the creation of many impressive architectural works, and if he had focused on that instead of including his personal life the book would be stronger. The book would also benefit from being reviewed by an editor. There were several mistakes throughout the book that should have been corrected before publishing. Due to this, I gave the book a 3 out of 5.

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Then The Room Stopped Spinning
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