My son is a big fan of Hardcore History podcast, and he introduced me to Dan Carlin and I like him. He talks about history in a way that is really accMy son is a big fan of Hardcore History podcast, and he introduced me to Dan Carlin and I like him. He talks about history in a way that is really accessible (in fact I wish he'd done the book on the Six Day War I'm reading, because it's Wander City for me and that book...but I digress.)
Carlin takes an interesting position here, and goes through history and essentially tells us all the catastrophic stuff humanity has already survived. War, Famine, plague, dictators ... Hitler. So you can look at this one of two ways ... we're always on the brink of extinction and you never know where it will come from, or humanity has survived this long, and will likely survive "this" too. Whatever this is. Currently "this" for me is orange and unpleasant. ...more
This was a funky little book. I'm not sure what Nobel uses as their criteria and if this book was specifically awarded or just the author, but it was This was a funky little book. I'm not sure what Nobel uses as their criteria and if this book was specifically awarded or just the author, but it was ... funky! haha.
An old woman lives on a mountain on the Polish/Czech border. She's eccentric - to say the least. Her village is suddenly plagued by a rash of deaths, and she is convinced it's nature fighting back against man.
To me, this book wasn't about the story. It was about this character, and her inner monologue. I found it a bit philosophical. That's normally not my jam, but she was just quirky enough I was really engaged.
I felt pretty certain it was getting 5-stars for a lot of the book, but I didn't love the end.
Not sure I'd rush to read more of this author, but I'm glad I read it....more
I know ... I know .... I'm in the minority. A few things that are my issue - 1. I'm probably done with fantasy, I just don't seem to enjoy it anymore.I know ... I know .... I'm in the minority. A few things that are my issue - 1. I'm probably done with fantasy, I just don't seem to enjoy it anymore. 2. The audio was crap. 3. Books about books annoy me and feel pretentious.
Let's start with the audio, Zachary a "university student" was voiced by an 800-year-old man. OK, he's 66 but his voice is 800. It's a "full cast" audio production, but in actuality Hoffman narrates 90% of the book.
Structurally, the book put me immediately in mind of the Night Circus, like a Morgenstern formula. I wasn't expecting that for some reason. Characters were flat ... I didn't care a single bit for any of them, or what happened to them. I think I even lost track of some of them; they melded into one. It was unnecessarily long, and I just didn't find the world particularly interesting. I was completely bored. Not even good writing could save it.
I didn't plan to finish it, but I ran out of audio books so I just suffered through. I thought it might get better at the end, but it never did for me. Nothing really happened, it was all about the "world" and the uninteresting people. I'm really quite surprised.
Certainly understand that I am the voice of dissent here, so take it with a grain of salt.
After Underground Railroad I felt I was pretty much done with Whitehead. I read one book of his that I really liked, and the rest just haven't worked After Underground Railroad I felt I was pretty much done with Whitehead. I read one book of his that I really liked, and the rest just haven't worked for me. It's probably not him ... but maybe.
I listened to this book because I wanted to know what the spoiler was. ha! It was OK ... mostly I found it a bit of a slog.
Important story, important message, but meh ... ...more
Well, fascinating ... disgusting ... not surprising and yet, shocking. The way some rich and powerful men in this world behave is mind boggling. EveryWell, fascinating ... disgusting ... not surprising and yet, shocking. The way some rich and powerful men in this world behave is mind boggling. Every single one who gets caught and their money can't save them, is a small bit of justice. They cannot fall hard enough as far as I'm concerned.
If you don't know, this book is primarily about the investigative reporting into sexual assault/harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein and others and the lengths that both Weinstein and NBC went to in order to bury the story. I mean, not only was his behavior reprehensible but don't worry there was more reprehensible right around to corner to protect it. I guess I'm angrier about all this than I realized, LOL.
The book was well-written and well-paced. Fairly comprehensive. Parts of it felt like fiction. What just absolutely BOGGLES my mind is - how much sex does a person need to have in their lives? And with how many partners? Good lord, I just don't get it.
Probably would have been a 5-star read, but I did the audio. Farrow read it himself, and he was actually a great narrator until he did the accents. This is a serious topic. Don't cheapen it with your caricatures - I know your mom is Mia Farrow, but there's a time and place and I didn't feel this was the time for Russian spy voice, Trump and Woody Allen impressions, etc. So I dropped a star for that. Sorry, Ronan. Other than that, it was great. ...more
I'm not a celebrity biography/autobiography person, but when it came to Chrissie Hynde and Elton John, I felt I should make an exception (plus, I'd seI'm not a celebrity biography/autobiography person, but when it came to Chrissie Hynde and Elton John, I felt I should make an exception (plus, I'd seen Rocketman and wanted to know what was real, and what wasn't.)
I don't like drugs, I don't like drug culture, I'm not interesting in hearing about the use of drugs, so note to self --- no more celebrity bios.
I think this gave a good overview of Elton John's life, and his songwriting process was truly amazing. Imagine just being handed some words on a page (brilliant words, no doubt) and then coming out with Levon or Tiny Dancer in a matter of minutes. Hearing music by seeing words. Mind boggling.
As for the rest of the book, Elton's parents were horrible and he had a LOT of celebrity friends, and a lot of them died. And he cried a lot. And he had a temper, and a lot of falling outs. There was a lot of name dropping and a MASSIVE EGO. I think even when he tried to be self-effacing it came across as bragging.
Look, I get it - He's Elton John, but I would have been better off NOT knowing all this about him. ...more
My attention span is wrecked, so these days if a book grabs me and doesn't let go, it's a wonder. I was totally entertained by this book. I liked thatMy attention span is wrecked, so these days if a book grabs me and doesn't let go, it's a wonder. I was totally entertained by this book. I liked that it was current. It reminded me a lot of the true crime podcasts I listen to, which is part of what got my attention.
It's one of those books where you know who did it but getting there was still somehow suspenseful. I thought the writer did a really good job, and she was funny. I will definitely look for more books by her....more
The Handmaid's Tale has become such a huge part of pop culture (and women's nightmares.) The book was fantastic, and the television show elevated it The Handmaid's Tale has become such a huge part of pop culture (and women's nightmares.) The book was fantastic, and the television show elevated it even further. Atwood NAILED it.
We know it well, and as exciting as it was to know The Testaments was coming, the book just couldn't live up to the hype. We're numb. It was great that Atwood wanted to give a gift to her fans, but there really are no surprises left. I know know if she was trying to be stealthy with the reveal, but I guessed the outcome in the first chapters.
To boil it down - Atwood deserves to be revered and lauded for The Handmaid's Tale. The Testaments is more like fanfic. I enjoyed it well enough, but it made no impact on me and I don't think it deserves a spot on the Booker list....more
I've read a lot of Lisa Lutz's books, (perhaps all of them) and I found this one to be the weakest. I'm sure I'm not the target audience for this, butI've read a lot of Lisa Lutz's books, (perhaps all of them) and I found this one to be the weakest. I'm sure I'm not the target audience for this, but it was riddled with silliness. If you think about the title for about 10 minutes you can come up with premise of the book. High School boarding school, mixed boys and girls ... boys have a contest that the girls don't know about. They rate the girls on their performance of oral sex.
The whole book is this coming to light and what the girls and teachers do about it. Sorry if that's a spoiler.
The writing was good, there was some humor. It's 2.5/5 stars for me. A little too try hard in delivering its message. ...more
I finished this book just hours before the Booker shortlist came out. I had already made my predictions on the shortlist and as much as I would have lI finished this book just hours before the Booker shortlist came out. I had already made my predictions on the shortlist and as much as I would have loved to see this book on the list, I just didn't have a good feeling about it.
This book as an example of "less is more" in terms for writing. A whole life is told from a ferry terminal in 224 pages. The writing was exemplary and clever. Funny!
Two old friends discuss their lives, their friendship, their enmity, love, a daughter.
I must have the soul of an Irish because I'm telling you, I love these Irish authors.
"Watch your words most of all. Watch for the glamorous sentence that appears from nowhere - it might have plans for you. Watch out for the clauses that are elegantly strung, for the string of words bejeweled. Watch out for ripe language - it means your words may be about to go off." ...more
I consume most of my books on audio at this point, and I feel like sometimes I'm missing out. For example, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous must be reI consume most of my books on audio at this point, and I feel like sometimes I'm missing out. For example, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous must be read, whereas, Daisy Jones and the Six was enhanced by the audio experience. At first I thought this book should be read. It's narrated by the author, and I found her narration rather flat, though I was utterly enchanted by her mild accent.
But this is a book about (among other things) the sounds in our lives and after about an hour of listening, I knew this book was designed for audio and nobody could have read it but the author. This book felt deeply personal - as if she were telling us about this point in her life. A crossroads where relationships and careers should be examined.
There's a road trip, the border crisis, history, a girl with a brother, a boy with a Polaroid, a man with mission, a woman with a map and children .... Lost. Found. Other.
It's a multi-media experience (the audio comes with a 30-page PDF) and great decisions in the audio performance that I feel would have been lost in the reading.
It was an original story, relateable and beautifully told. ...more
I empathize with people who feel their history so strongly and partially because of that, and partially because I love Coates, I so wanted to love thiI empathize with people who feel their history so strongly and partially because of that, and partially because I love Coates, I so wanted to love this book.
It is another tale of the underground railroad with a magical realism component. (I didn't love the Whitehead either.) It's sort of heartbreaking that to get through they had nowhere to look but magic?
Sadly, the book wasn't magical. I found it leaden, and hard to get through. Coates is a fantastic writer, and the writing was good. There was perhaps just too much of it.
I certainly didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. It will be interesting to see if it pops up next award season. ...more
This book is astonishing. The writing is magical - triumphant - perfect. It makes me want to cry it's so good. Like, I wasn't even envious of the writThis book is astonishing. The writing is magical - triumphant - perfect. It makes me want to cry it's so good. Like, I wasn't even envious of the writing because it's so beyond anything I could imagine.
You guys - This book was written in a closet by a guy whose first language was not English. I don't even know how to say what I want to say about his use of language other than to say it was masterful. I've never seen anybody do with words what he did. I don't want to oversell it, but I'm not sure that's even possible.
It's a coming-of-age story and an an immigrants story. It deals with women suffering PTSD from the Vietnam war, and who come to America and work in a nail salon. Will I ever look at those women the same way again?
This book is short and a quick read (and it should be read vs. listened to) yet somehow it managed to convey lifetimes.
It is perfect.
(it should be noted that this book contains explicit homosexual content, if that bothers you then walk on by.) ...more
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