Sarah
I read this years ago and remember liking it but now, reading it for my book club, it is a struggle to get through. I'm finding Gelman arrogant and incredibly condescending, mostly to the reader but also to the people she meets along her travels. Gelman also harps on about this wonderful “sisterhood of women” that screams 70s feminism and annoys me. Gelman referring to herself a nomad also annoys me.
Once she was living in Bali, Gelman's writing changed to a more peaceful and less harping travel memoir, so I was able to finish the book :)
Still, if you're in search of a good female adventure book, try The Singular Pilgrim.
Who knew I would enjoy jockey mysteries? I'm not ready to hop on the racetrack and buzz through the series, but this was an enjoyable listen, and i only figured out the whodunit, not the why :)
DNF. I should have NF'ed earlier, but I was on a long drive and needed a book. Too rote and predictable. There are important topics here that deserve more recognition, but this book didn't cut it for me.
I guess I wasn't as enthusiastic about this book as Oprah ;) I loved The Corrections, but found Freedom too...sad? Tragic? I saw the satire, and enjoyed the writing, but felt empty despite the ending. I realize that is part of the power of the book, but it doesn't make me like it better.
I literally could not bear to put this book down! It was gripping. I agree with Jill that the ending wasn't perfect - it came up a bit fast for me after 300 pages of suspense - but it was the meat of the book that left an impression on me so the unimpressive ending didn't really matter.
These are easy, fun little mysteries that you won't have to hide away if you are an English major!
Cute and clever, although I preferred Stewart's latest in the series, The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict. Great for kids around 10 years old.
I quite enjoy Miss Maisie Dobbs and her sleuthing abilities. Thoroughly British and proper, these are good, light mysteries and make excellent audiobooks.
This is a juvenile (as in age group/reading level) book and it feels almost timeless. Although this is set during the Depression, there are themes to which contemporary youth can relate - abandonment, finding your place in a new town. Good literary kid read.
This was certainly interesting and educational, but Wilkerson kept repeating herself, almost verbatim, leaving me wondering if I'd lost my place in the book. I understand that this is a lengthy book and readers might become confused by all the names and life stories, but perhaps Wilkerson could have given us the benefit of the doubt and at least altered her phrasing.
Meh. This strikes me as a very male mystery. I did appreciate the fun with Jane Austen titles, however.
Although I do love Fforde's wild imagination and great appreciation for literature, I found this book a little hard to follow. Still, it's a nice summer read if you liked the other Thursday Next novels.
Just delightful. It made me very nostalgic for the movie, which practically played in my head as I listened to this book. I had no idea the script was so faithful to the story.
This was a fascinating book and well worth listening to. Although long, I learned a lot and found myself trolling Google for images and movies of rogue waves. I still cannot imagine the 1700-ft wave that smacked Lituya Bay, Alaska in 1958. That's nearly 1/3 of a mile. Tall. Clearly, hundred-foot waves are not the impossibility scientists once believed, and this is a fascinating peek into the surfers who seek out these monster waves.
Amazing so far - it has kept me inside on a gorgeous day and prevented me from falling asleep because I was so engrossed!
I see that most readers gave this book more stars, but I found it depressing and a bleak take on what goes on within National Parks. It's a good thing this author got out of the Ranger business since she can't seem to see the beauty of wilderness for all the death and trauma witnessed in Parks. Surely some nice things happened during her career, but you won't read about them here.
Also, the chapters are not well connected - the book reads like a series of short, tragic essays.
A fun, fast, and interesting read, especially with all the hipster “back to the land” ideas in the air these days. Kimball gave up life in NYC for the most farm-y of farm lives, and it was not an easy transition. There's plenty of dirt, blood, sweat, and tears, not to mention exhausting and never-ending work, but the payoff is a connection to and knowledge of the food you put in your mouth.
I love, love, love the Russian accents on this audio. Excellent spy stuff - slower paced than I expected, which is not a bad thing. I appreciate the rich characters and intriguing plot.
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK if you like or have children. What the cover doesn't tell you is what this book is actually about - child molestation and abuse. Barr painted horrid mental images for me and I wish she would take Anna Pigeon back to the National Parks to solve less violent crimes.
Amazing, yes, but simply tragic. I listened to it in the car, which may have been harder than reading it.
I enjoyed this book - there is practical, studied advice for improving a relationship, as well as plenty of optimism about the state of marriage in general. I appreciated the scientific approach to understanding marriage. Useful for those about to get hitched (ahem, moi) and especially tailored to those who are married - whether the relationship is strong, good, or needs work.
This was quite interesting, even to someone who knows next to nothing about football (but I'm trying to learn!). Great behind-the-scenes details that are rather rare to glean from the NFL (which seems to be an organization as publicly popular and secretive as the CIA). There are A LOT of names, and that gets very confusing for the NFL novice, but I still enjoyed it.