Yvonne

Firstly, this is NOT written by Richard Carlson and I don't know how they get away with saying it is.
It is the same message that is in his original Don't Sweat the Small Stuff which I loved, and the message has been rewritten to produce a dozen or more books for various groups of people (parents, teachers, etc) but is a poor substitute for the original.

There was too little happening to keep me interested and I skipped over the last half.

Good story, great characters, beautiful writing. Just a pity it jumps around so much - I am sure I would like it better if it was just told in chronological order.

An easy to read account of a young woman's story of remarkable courage in starting an orphanage in Cambodia, and her greater courage in changing direction when she came to understand that it was not the best way to be of help. A lot of food for thought.

I found the first half of this book gripping and thought I would be giving it 4-5 stars. But the whole of the second half was ghastly and I ended up skipping to the last page which was totally predictable.

This is one of those books that is written mostly for the author as he reviews and analyzes his life. Perhaps if I had read his earlier book I would have found it more interesting but I found his introspection hard to relate to.

All I wanted from this book was more. I loved the real people. I loved the little things that made it truly kiwi. It was pure nostalgia for me.

Beautifully written story about people I don't relate to, doing very little.

I found this utterly engrossing. A well written account of some hair raising experiences.

One of the few books I read in my youth and reread twice since ~ which says all I need to say.

I read this mainly because of my interest in Hospice work, and it is absolutely the best on the subject.

I was about to give up on this book at about the half way mark as it was just trudging along, but I suddenly started to connect with the characters and liked the second half well enough. All over, it is probably my least favorite of Anne Tyler's works.

The copy I read is written in ridiculously small print which I find challenging, but in spite of that I was hooked within a few pages. A beautifully written story of small town life and endearing characters. I will be reading the rest of the series whatever size the print.

I started this keenly and enjoyed the first few chapters when I suddenly just got bored and didn't bother to finish it. Not something I often do and I can't even really explain why. It just felt as though there was nothing new to look forward to. Perhaps I missed the best part.

Charity Norman creates characters and stories that are relatable and being set in NZ is always a bonus for me. This book covers several emotional issues: Alzheimers, Huntingtons, missing persons, death with dignity. While not everybody would have dealt with one of these issues personally, there are probably few who do not know somebody who has.
Charity Norman's books always maintain a steady pace and as with all of her books I found this one hard to put down.

Like many others I was taken by surprise with this. For the first couple of chapters I thought it was very disjointed and then reaised that it is not actually a memoir as I had presumed. I found the middle chapters thought provoking but my interest waned again before the end as the advice was directed towards anybody planning to go into standup, which I am not. Although I would have loved a few more of his anecdotes I do feel I know Jimmy Carr a lot better than I did which is, I think, what he intended.

Suffice to say, I didn't find it spellbinding. I skimmed the last couple of chapters to find which of the suspects was actually the murderer but to be honest I didn't really care any more.

I am surprised that I am so far out of sync with the other reviewers but I can't give this more than 2 stars. Those are for the first two or three chapters which I found ok but it became increasingly predictable and cliched and although I persevered to the end I wished I hadn't.

I enjoyed the first half of this book but tired of it a little after that. However he seems like a fun person and I intend to look for more of his books.

I really enjoyed the first half but I wish I had never read the last three chapters.

I read this whole series when I was much younger and the fact that I remember so much of it today is the basis for my four star rating.

I saw this as a tv series and decided that I should at last read the book. Unfortunately the copy I got from the library had such small print I couldn't cope with it, which is not uncommon in older books. Hence the one star as I only struggled through the first chapter.

I expected a bit more of this book. It seems to me that the character and relationship of the main characters was too romanticized and did not ring true with the lifestyle they lived. But perhaps that is the whole point of the book - that you truly never know what is in the heart of another person. Although I enjoyed the reading of it, it left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.

I picked this up solely because it is set in New Zealand - and so am I. Although it is lighter than I usually read I found it absolutely delightful.

I thought this book may be a bit twee and that I may lose interest before I finished. How wrong I was. I loved it all.