Sarah
The Bone Whisperers: Two Women Scientists and their Work to Connect Lost Lives in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Fascinating and delicate for such a heavy subject. I learned a lot, but wish there was a bit more of a storyline to pull the reader through.
Not my jam, at least at the moment. Too depressing (it is apocalyptic) and was taking too long to get to the crime/killer part, so DNF.
I found this book through the author's post on Instagram and was excited to try a new mystery set in the Orkney Islands. I would read more in the series. It feels like Aubrey is still finding his feet - the descriptions were a little heavy handed and I hated the crime itself.
One of the more useful bathroom design idea books I have found. This has a wide range of styles, but all feel fairly contemporary (as opposed to nifty bathroom ideas from 1992).
Mind you, I thought this was amazing when I read it in high school, so that was 15 years ago. I think I would still give it 4 stars, though. And I've just re-read it for the fourth time :)
There are clever conceits here, and I appreciate the tongue-in-cheek, reflexive mystery tropes. I'm not overly fond of “Tony” (Horowitz's self-styled narrator), which puts me off the author himself. Oh well.
I'm so sad to finish this book because it means I have to wait at least a year for another installment! Proud to say I figured out the who, if not the how :) What else is there to say except that I'm so glad Rowling is still writing.
I started this book years ago and couldn't get engaged in the story. This time I listened to the audiobook and completely fell in love with it! The characters are beautiful, set within the lush wildlife of Appalachia, and I became utterly absorbed in their lives. The three central characters, Lusa, Garnett, and Deanna, have come to Zebulon Mountain from different paths and for different reasons, but each has a special connection to the environment. Southern Appalachia becomes another character weaving through each narrative. Nature is boisterously and beautifully evoked here, though I imagine the novel resonates more with readers already drawn to wilderness tales.
This should count as reading at least 3 books because it's so huge. I would not recommend the audio as I found Solomon's narration a little grating, but this is quite a fascinating book all the same. I grew a little weary of the endless examples, especially in the first half of the book, although it's always a fascinating glimpse into how families work.
I have to say that I much prefer the audio version of this book. Kimmel reads it and has a sweet voice that makes her childhood antics all the funnier. Listening while driving also makes the chapters, which are almost stand-alone essays, string together. By far one of the best-written memoirs I've read.
I always enjoy Hiaasen's juvenile books. Entertaining characters, crazy situations, a little mystery and a little humor.
I listened to this not realizing that it is a children's book, but it was sweet and enjoyable in typical McCall Smith style.
Kaling was born a year before me, so this book was like listening to a good friend reminisce about her childhood and comment on contemporary culture. It's light and doesn't claim to be otherwise. Not on the caliber of Tina Fey's memoir, but I think anyone born around 1980 would get a kick out of this.
I picked this up on a lark, just to have an audiobook in the car, and quickly became wrapped up in the story. Lowe grew up in an average, middle-class Ohio neighborhood so his early life and journey to Hollywood are engaging and relatable. I especially enjoyed his experience as a novice actor making The Outsiders. Halfway through the book, however, Lowe emerges from rehab and becomes far more conceited and less interesting.
I do not understand the hype. Nothing happens and there's a lot of plodding explication.
After having four children of their own, Greene and her husband postpone empty-nest syndrome and adopt a little boy from Bulgaria, then four more children from Ethiopia. This book recalls the hardships and hilarity of the growing family. Greene never glosses over the difficult side of adoption, especially international adoption, but also recalls the entertaining cross-cultural misunderstandings and her own parenting mishaps. Greene is a journalist and the book is well-written, heartfelt, and funny.
Interesting, fun, and different. This is well-written and funny, but also human, with all the sadness and tragedy that entails. Perhaps because it is told from the perspective of an Armenian immigrant, this book felt refreshingly unlike other novels I've been reading lately.
I kept listening, thinking I would be drawn in to this story as I have with Larson's other books, but I just didn't particularly care. It seemed to lack likable protagonists as well as an enticing narrative thread.
This is a book of people stumbling through life, suddenly finding themselves in places they never thought possible. A liberal arts grad finds herself a librarian in a small town, befriending a boy whose religious parents forbid most literature. And then she sort of kidnaps him. This was an odd book. I felt set up for disaster, but instead the ending was mild and non-confrontational. Maybe I missed something, but I'm not quite sure what others saw in this book.