Erica Rickards

This was a good book. Even though it takes place in a lab, the author does not bog down the reader with facts and the facts provided are explained well and interesting. The book ended a little abruptly with the arrest happening quickly and the main character had little to do at that point. At times the suspect seemed out of character. I'm not sure a sociopath would get quite so flustered.

This book was assigned as part of an AP English course in HS and I liked it so much I revisited it frequently and I have never forgotten it. I think it's time for another visit and to read the other two books in this trilogy.

I was reading this book as part of a book club and at some point I had to keep reading. Robert Jordan is masterful at keeping you off balance and never being quite sure what is going to happen next. You think you know what is going to happen or who to trust but you can never be quite sure. I can't wait to keep going to see what happens.

I listened to this book on audiobook and there were times that I could barely shut my car off and times when I was driving that I wished I could shut it off. This book was recommended to me because I loved The Glass Castle. What frustrated me about the Glass Castle was the way Wells occasionally slipped awe and wonder into what were terrible and dangerous situations. Westover does nothing of the sort. Her book is a harsh glance at what rampant untreated mental illness, physical abuse, mental abuse and religious zealotry can do to a family and person. So many times as Westover tried to explain away the physical abuse that she was suffering I had audible outbursts in my car, trying to warn Westover that her brother was a sociopath and tell her it was not her fault. Her tale is fascinating as she talks about how somehow she was able to rise out of a childhood where she was “educated” believing that the Holocaust was a vast conspiracy by the Jewish people, to obtaining a PhD from Cambridge. As I listened to this book I pictured an older time where computers didn't exist but was shocked to find that Westover is actually younger than myself. Absolutely gripping and fantastic.

At the beginning of this book I didn't know why it came so highly recommended. Eleanor was not initially likeable, with her awkward social skills, judgmental nature, and how she says everything on her mind. However, I plugged on with the book knowing that there was something more. Reese Witherspoon stated that this book was “incredibly funny” I did not agree with this statement. Perhaps it's because I routinely work with children who have experienced trauma like Eleanor has. I loved Eleanor's evolution, how though it was helped by Raymond, his mother, Laura, and Sammy showing kindness to her but it was largely her own doing and it was for herself that she was working on her trauma. I also liked that there was no implicit romance between her and Raymond. One thing that did bother me, the big reveal, I.e. that Eleanor was not actually ever talking to her Mummy, that her mother was in fact dead, seemed glossed over so much so that I didn't really pick up on it until Eleanor expressly stared it.

I loved this book. Eleanor Brown brought her characters, the art, and Paris to life such that I wished I were reading this book in the warm summer sun of Paris. I liked Madeline but loved reading about Margie and her adventures, wondering how, along with Madeline, she became this hard stoic woman. It is a quick read, and I can't figure out why it took me so long. It starts a little slow as both Margie and Madeline seem to be in a state of ennui but really picks up when Madeline goes home and Margie goes to Paris.

Great informative read

As someone who sort of works in social services and sees heroin and prescription drug abuse I️ was looking for a book that provided some good information about where it all came from. This provided that and more. The writer is excellent and provides a fascinating background for this epidemic all while being non-judgmental and sowing the seeds for hope. This writer has been extremely thorough in investigating this whole ordeal and while he shows this epidemic spreading like a web throughout our country he shows the growth and progression of the epidemic using a town in Ohio which reminded me so much of my own hometown and several other hometowns in states that I️ have visited. Well worth the read

I was really excited for this book because I love “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” Mindy Kaling and her work on the Office. However, this book, while good, did not meet my expectations. It was still funny, Mindy was still love able, but at times it felt like she was whining and I honestly didn't see what she had to whine about or her stories were stories that went nowhere. While I was excited that she got to meet President Obama, the whole background story about Will went nowhere for me. As I started getting towards the end of the book I found myself checking how many pages I had left so I could just count it read which is too bad because one of her best essays was the last one. I came away still loving Mindy (and still not liking BJ Novak, seriously, who discounts a whole form of art simply because he's not entertained?) and ultimately glad I read this book.

I liked this book. It was a quick read. However, it could have been fleshed out a little bit more. The premise is interesting. I also liked that the hero of the story was a female who didn't let her lack of training stop her from trying to save the day. My only problem is, is that the book is set at the early 20th century but didn't read like a book from the early 20th century and the people didn't act like they were from that era. I understand that this is an alternate world with magic but it was a little odd to suddenly see dates in the 1800s and early 1900s. I am looking forward to seeing where this series is going next.

I'm not going to be sorry about the fact that I gave this book five stars, that I really liked this book, or the fact that it took me so long to figure out the killer. I liked the way it was written, just giving you bits and pieces, just enough to form a hypothesis before smashing it to bits. I liked the bits and pieces we received about Rachel, Anna, and Megan, forming conclusions and dangling tiny hints about them. I'm looking forward to reading her next book.

This book got a little better but it was so fantastical that it became ridiculous. Forrest's careers read like a child wrote this book. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Astronaut!” “Football Player” “Rockstar!” Part of what made the movie so wonderful was that you legitimately believed that Forrest had the ability to make these wonderful things happen. This was absent in the book. In fact, as I'm writing this review I'm decreasing my rating from three stars to two stars.

I really like Krakauer's Into Thin Air so I thought that I would read this book. I enjoyed the writing style however I struggled with the book because I did not like the main character Chris McCandless. Perhaps if I give it another chance, or read the subsequent book that was written about Chris I would like it more.

I like this book. I initially had a hard time with it, thinking about Bridget raising two kids as a single mom after Mark dies. My Dad died almost a year ago and the grief that Bridget was feeling hit me hard. The scene where Mabel looks out and sees the owl made me tear up. Mark was one of the best things about the Bridget Jones series and he left a hole that Roxster and Mr. Wallaker couldn't quite fill. Plus, the romance with Mr. Wallaker seemed rushed towards the end. I liked Roxster but to me he comes off as a sweeter nicer Daniel Cleaver with that flirty sense of humor and the ability to joke about farts, vomit, a nits. My all time favorite Bridget Jones book will always be the first book but I didn't find this one to be too bad.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was not prepared for the ending (I was reading it on iBooks and foolishly thought that when it said I had 15 more pages that I actually had 15 more pages). Semple has done a wonderful job creating quirky characters that I either loved right off the bat (Bee and Bernadette) or grew to love (Elgie). I felt as angry as Bee was at Elgie with his infidelity, his leaps to conclusions, and his complete inability to listen to or understand his wife. I cheered when Bee found her mom, happy that she wasn't at the bottom of the sea. I liked Bernadette's letter, explaining all that had happened but I wanted to see her come home, I wanted to see how Elgie and Bernadette worked out their issues, how the “gnat” and baby fit into their lives and see the growth in all of them.

I enjoyed this book up until the end. When I say this, I truly mean it, but unfortunately it ended so abruptly that I kept flipping the pages on my iPad thinking that I had missed something or part of the book ( I am not ashamed to say this has happened before). It certainly made me want to pick up the second book right away but was a little alarming.

I enjoyed this book. It gripped me from the beginning and I found myself taking every little opportunity to finish it. I'm not sure what made it that way. Cheryl is not a particularly worthy person, possibly her only redeeming quality was how much she loved her mother. Certain parts, the part with the horse, had me cringing. The reason I only gave it 4 stars is because it was rather anti-climatic. She reached the Bridge of the Gods and then... A couple of paragraphs in summation and nothing. There were no words on how her experiences on the PCT caused her to be the person she wanted to be. I would have liked to see what happened next.