Dnf. Loved the premise but loathed the characters and the backstory. The tie in to Loki was not enough to make me want to finish. The whole dynamic beDnf. Loved the premise but loathed the characters and the backstory. The tie in to Loki was not enough to make me want to finish. The whole dynamic between Jesse and his ex induced hard eye rolls and smothered any interest I had in the story. Not my cup of tea. Definitely having a hard time settling on something to read....more
First dnf of the year. Just not feeling this in any way which I find surprising as it’s usually the kind of book I enjoy but alas the character develoFirst dnf of the year. Just not feeling this in any way which I find surprising as it’s usually the kind of book I enjoy but alas the character development is weak. Perhaps having the dual povs is part of my problem with this. There’s a number of characters with names that are hard to be keep straight, so the dual pov adds to the confusion. The characters aren’t particularly engaging or memorable except that one could turn into a bird and has some anger issues. It’s a little trope-y and is initially (at least 40ish percent the way thru the book) reading like a bad romance novel. The thought of reading this right now makes me feel overwhelmed and discouraged. Perhaps this will be a dnf for now and I will pick it up later. I returned the audio version as I found the narrators voice grating and if I try again Ill read rather than listen. Or I’ll unhaul tomorrow. It can go either way at this point. So disappointed as I loved her last book so much....more
Got to 207 pages and could not do one more. Craft wise, it’s beautiful writing. The prose is next level of excellence. But I hated every single characGot to 207 pages and could not do one more. Craft wise, it’s beautiful writing. The prose is next level of excellence. But I hated every single character. Hated being in the minds of characters that I found just detestable and listening to it on audiobook with the voice that I found extremely grating meant that I needed to put this aside temporarily (or maybe for good) and try reading without audio at another time. It was a gazillion hours long and that’s too long to spend with a voice that’s grating on the nerves. Marked as read as to mark it as want to read at this time would be wildly inaccurate. ...more
DNF @ 27% After an initial strong first chapter, the book began to lose it’s charm for me as it progressed. I don’t enjoy first person narratives by wDNF @ 27% After an initial strong first chapter, the book began to lose it’s charm for me as it progressed. I don’t enjoy first person narratives by women whom I don’t find likeable. Those books quickly become a grind for me and even the aunties couldn’t save it. It seemed highly improbable as the story progressed. Overall, just not my cup of tea....more
Dnffed at 50%. Just cannot do another minute of this. Disappointed as I loved Elsewhere so much. But there is just too much going on and I feel compleDnffed at 50%. Just cannot do another minute of this. Disappointed as I loved Elsewhere so much. But there is just too much going on and I feel completely unattached to any of it. I get what she’s trying to do with the novel but the way it is structured with many characters povs touched by Alison’s death began to feel too much and like the story wasn’t really going anywhere. It made it hard to connect with any of it. Maybe reading it at another time will give me a fresh perspective and I’ll feel differently but right now this is definitely the wrong book at the wrong time....more
Dnfed at 28%. The writing is lovely and the main character very likeable but the book is soooo boring. I usually don’t mind a slow burn when it comes Dnfed at 28%. The writing is lovely and the main character very likeable but the book is soooo boring. I usually don’t mind a slow burn when it comes to world and character building but I didn’t have the patience for the pacing in this which seems to be predominantly about how an abandoned and abused young man copes with the responsibility and life changing effects of being thrust into court as an emperor. Lots of court politics and traditions but not enough plot line to hold my interest. I’m a little shocked to find myself dnffing my second book of the year in the same week as the first. Am I in a mood or just getting hard to please? I now have that slightly hollow feeling a reader gets when they have no idea what to read next…...more
50% Dnf. Not going to bother rating as I think that it’s a matter of this kind of book not appealing to me. In fact, I’m completely bored with it. I w50% Dnf. Not going to bother rating as I think that it’s a matter of this kind of book not appealing to me. In fact, I’m completely bored with it. I was looking for something a little light as I’m sick with a capital S and my brain can’t handle anything too challenging, but it can’t be so bad as to be induced to listening to this for another 3 hours. This was the fifth book I tried to read today and nothing is sticking. Might be time to give up and watch tv. ...more
Dnf’d a third of the way through. Really good idea but not well executed and it would have been nice to see actual quotes rather than having the subjeDnf’d a third of the way through. Really good idea but not well executed and it would have been nice to see actual quotes rather than having the subject matter interpreted and regurgitated at me. These are deep subjects by deep thinkers and to have their teachings presented in a way that lacks the depth the subject material deserved became tedious. ...more
Ugh. Goodreads really needs a DNF designation. So I had reached a third of the way through the book which was plodding along at about the same pace asUgh. Goodreads really needs a DNF designation. So I had reached a third of the way through the book which was plodding along at about the same pace as the sleepwalkers in the story, wondering a what point is something interesting going to happen when I realized not only did I know where the story was going but according to my kindle I still had over 13 hours of reading to go to get there and I didn’t care. The characters were flat and one dimensional, the viewpoints as subtle as a jackhammer and it was completely obvious where the story was going. So I thought I’d check goodreads in the hopes that perhaps it was a slow burn as a start but improves at some point and to my dismay found a lot of reviews confirming my thoughts. So I read the last 50 pages, well skimmed really because I really wasn’t all that invested at that point and sure enough it ended pretty much as I suspected it would and for the reason I thought it would. Ugh.
First off, this is in no way anything like Stephen King’s The Stand. Just no. Nor is it like McCammon’s Swan Song. I wasn’t a huge fan of that but it was a whole lot better than the Wanderers. So if you loved those books and go in expecting anything like them, you might be disappointed. I say might because people’s likes and dislikes are myriad and inexplicable so one can never say definitively who will or won’t like something.
Secondly, and why I abandoned the book, SPOILERS SO DONT READ FURTHER IF YOU PLAN TO READ THE BOOK I really, really hate the trope that somehow, we as a human race are a disease and should be exterminated because somehow we’re all so bad for the planet. Now i know that it’s ironic that I write this during a pandemic, just after a huge unrest because of police brutality and people are being pretty sh*tty to one another. Can’t even be bothered with a damn mask to ensure the well being of their fellow man. So yeah, as a species, we sometimes suck. But we are also the species from which Mozart, DaVinci, Klimt, Dickens,Dickinson, Steinbeck and Galileo sprang from. We are the species that will go into burning buildings, or flooding waters to save people or kittens or anything vulnerable and in need. We, collectively are ok. We try to do better. Even now, through the hostility and very differing views on current events you have many people trying to truly listen and do better. I kind of love us. Maybe not so much as a crowd, but as individuals, we can be marvellous. I’ll never be part of that crowd that believes we are all awful and a disease on the planet. I love us all too much for that. So mr Chuck Wendig, take your pessimistic view of people ( it shows in the writing btw not one likeable interesting character) and your subpar writing and bugger off. Well, maybe that’s a wee bit harsh, so maybe just go google people being nice and rescuing dying squirrels or abandoned kittens or something. It might make you feel better about us. Maybe I’ll go watch videos of people being nice and saving baby animals and I can put the experience of this book behind me.
Now onto something that doesn’t make me want to cry when I see how much is left to read....more
I’m very disappointed with this book. It exceeded my three eye-roll limit within the first few pages and, finally at page thirty five I realized I hadI’m very disappointed with this book. It exceeded my three eye-roll limit within the first few pages and, finally at page thirty five I realized I had zero desire to continue. The writing was at best mediocre, the character lacked depth or any discernible intelligence and read more like a teen aged boy than a woman of twenty three who has had to learn to survive in difficult circumstances. The only ‘character’ I could identify with was the sun, which according to the author was bored, ‘didn’t give a shit’ and was ‘contemplating an early descent’, which was all true for me when contemplating reading another page of this book.
Generally when reading a book that isn’t my cup of tea, I put it aside and move on to something more appealing and I don’t give it much more thought than the mild disappointment I feel about it but when a book is touted as having elements of The Road and The Walking Dead or if Jack London had written a post apocalyptic coming of age thriller it might read something like this then, as a consumer shelling out hard earned cash for the book I expect the book to have those elements it claims. Well I’ve read The Road and The Call Of the Wild and the only thing all these books have in common is snow and cold weather. I hate being duped by false statements and enticing blurbs on a book. It’s one thing to just not enjoy an author’s work. It happens. I’ve read disparaging reviews on Steinbeck’s East Of Eden (damn near sacrilegious!) but it shows we all have differing tastes. However, when a book is being promoted as being like these other novels, that’s a whole other thing then. That’s a rip off. If you’re considering reading the book based on those recommendations, be warned, this book is nothing like them. ...more
Dnffing at 33%. Read too soon after the superb reading experience of reading the source material. Liked how the author tied the narrative of their worDnffing at 33%. Read too soon after the superb reading experience of reading the source material. Liked how the author tied the narrative of their work with Jane Eyre. Thought it well done and creative in the first part but I just didn’t want to finish. There are so many good books waiting for spooky October and I just don’t feel like devoting another moment to something I’m just not feeling. ...more
Got more than a third of the way through the book and found myself passionately detesting it. The writing itself is superb but there was so much FrencGot more than a third of the way through the book and found myself passionately detesting it. The writing itself is superb but there was so much French and so little happening that I loathed the time spent reading it. So dnffed for now. Perhaps I’ll feel differently later and be inspired to try again but at this time it’s an unequivocal no. Very disappointed considering that Jane Eyre is one of my very favourite books.
And for those who may think it a cheat to mark it as read I only do so because I don’t know how to mark as dnffed and I don’t wish to put it as want to read as that would be a big fat lie. So I track in a written journal more precisely pages read and what’s dnffed so I don’t spoil my book and page count at the end of the year which will be different than what Goodreads will say it will be. So there any naysayers, there you have it....more
2020-Tried again. Got halfway through this time and just never got the motivation to pick it up again. It seems he’s borrowed an awful lot from other 2020-Tried again. Got halfway through this time and just never got the motivation to pick it up again. It seems he’s borrowed an awful lot from other teachings and traditions and with the clunky and rather pompous question and answer format appears as though he takes credit for them. I’ve read other books along this line of teaching that use a similar format of question and answer that manage to not come off as pompous and holier than thou and I think I’ll just stick with them and give this a permanent pass.
Had to let this go. I just couldn't get through it. The question and answer format was extremely off-putting for me. At times it seemed pompous and almost always felt clunky. The message is good but there are so many better books to read on the subject and time, conceptual or not, is better spent reading something that speaks more eloquently on the subject of meditation. I would not recommend it....more
While there are pearls of wisdom within there's far too much focus on weight for my well being. While the core of Thich Nhat Hahn's teachings are in tWhile there are pearls of wisdom within there's far too much focus on weight for my well being. While the core of Thich Nhat Hahn's teachings are in the book, this does not read like a Thich Nhat Hahn book. I had hoped it would be a more balanced approach to applying the practice of mindfulness to issues of food and found instead an unhealthy and unceasing focus on weight which is leading to an unhealthy and unhelpful preoccupation with weight within.
So for my peace of mind, the purpose of mindfulness after all, I'm going to shelf this one indefinitely....more
Just can't get into this right now. Too many references to people and places I'm completely unfamiliar with and which seem unnecessary to the story. IJust can't get into this right now. Too many references to people and places I'm completely unfamiliar with and which seem unnecessary to the story. I've read less than 100 pages in a month. Time to move on and try again some other time. ...more
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