Tricia Nelson
I wanted to read this book because watching the Bachelor(ette) shows is one of my guilty pleasures, regardless of the grief the men in my house give me. :) The book is well written and she did a good job explaining the relationship she found herself in and how she recovered from it and moved on. It was, in fact, more of a “how to survive a big breakup and move on” than a tell-all. I'm glad that it was for her sake, and I found myself feeling like maybe people deserve their privacy and deserve to live out their relationships in private. Time will tell if I ‘tune in' for the next round of the show.
Loved this book! The characters were really well developed, and the story grabbed me and I wanted to see what happened next. This was a great choice for book club - there is a lot to discuss! The biggest takeaways for me are that 1. You never truly know what is going on with those around you. You might think you know, but you probably don't. 2. While it may be possible to keep big secrets, it seems to always rob you of something when you do. Truth is messy, but ultimately for the best. 3. Hugging my family close and feeling incredibly grateful.
Wow. just Wow. This book was sooooo good. I've followed Glennon on social media and Momastery for a while now, and always love her message. It always seems to strike a chord within me somewhere. But to read this book, with her raw truth so beautifully laid out and shared, felt like I received a gift. When I read I like to jot down passages that speak to me, but it became clear to me that there were too many in here to jot down. Overall her message about being true, about choosing between being “perfect and admired, or real and loved”, her message for young women about the lies that the world wants to tell them about being a woman, about being sexy, about pretty versus beautiful, about sending out our representative or our real self, all had me saying “This! This is Truth!” I'm so glad I read this.
This was a really good book. The premise is completely different from anything else I've read. There is a good amount of science, but the author does a good job of explaining it and making some of these concepts accessible. It led to a very interesting conversation with my son, the Electrical Engineer/Physics major, which was very cool. The concept and idea behind this book and the ‘possibilities' are scary, to put it mildly. (Is this science fiction or horror? What slant will the movie emphasize?) At its core, the themes I took away: With science, just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Also, our choices define who we are - on a deep level. They inform what we are capable of, and what we hold most important.
I really enjoyed this book. I do wish it was a book with more description, rather than a play, but I still was able to picture everything in my head because I have read all the other books and I've seen all the movies. I loved the plot twists, was able to figure out one of them, and as always, JK Rowling left me wanting more.
I loved this book! It grabbed me from the first page and wouldn't let go until the last page. I am a sucker for books that pull at me and make me want to forget my responsibilities and see what happens next. The twists and turns kept coming, and I found myself anxious on behalf of the main character many times. Good book - I would definitely recommend!
This book was good, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the book as opposed to listening to the audio version. I had it in the car and would put it on between things, which made me lose some continuity. It's the kind of story that I usually enjoy, but the pace was too slow when listening as opposed to reading it. The storyline was interesting, although it felt like so much information and twists were put into the last bit of the book, almost as though the author was told to ‘wrap it up' quickly. Again, I think I would recommend reading this, but in book form, not audio.
I'm not sure I can adequately write a review of this book today. It's the kind of book that sits with you for a while and you find deeper meaning over time. It's not an easy book to read. Raw is the word that comes to mind first. It is very well written and I can see why it received the critical acclaim it has. For now, I'll say this. One of the things that I kept thinking about while reading it was that there are so many people out there who we just don't SEE. We don't see the lives behind the closed doors of their homes; we don't see who they are inside, or take the time to look for it; we don't see the struggles they face to ‘get out' or deal with their inner demons.
I really enjoyed this book. There were many themes in it that I will be pondering for some time: an ‘in between place' that we retreat to when dealing with tragedy and how you can get stuck there; objects that have a history and story to tell - do we pay enough attention to that story?; across centuries some human stories repeat themselves, although we sometimes feel like what we experience has never been experienced before.
I look forward to my book group discussion about this one!
While I can appreciate the writing, and the storytelling craft of the author, I really did not love this book. I think part of my dislike is due to the fact that I saw the movie ‘Room' about 3 days before starting this book, and with both stories about prolonged kidnap and abuse it was a bit too much. So for that, the author gets my kudos. I definitely ‘felt' something when reading this book. The story does speak to the strength of the human spirit and will to survive, and what our minds will do to protect us from horrible truths.
I REALLY enjoyed this book. I had never heard of the orphan train program before reading this, and I was in turn fascinated and appalled. The resiliency of the children who were part of it and their focus on the good really came through. I feel so fortunate to have grown up with a family and parents who cared about me.
I normally don't love books that hop between story lines or time periods, but this was very well done. I looked forward to finding out more of each of the story lines, and the ties between them.
This was a quick read, which is exactly what I was looking for between more heavy book club picks. I liked the story even though I didn't love the characters. It made me reflect and think about aging and family dynamics, as well as brought to mind a theme we recently discussed in my book club about “perfect families”, and how, more often than not, there isn't a lot of perfect beneath the public face of that family.
Good book club book; Crazy amount of characters to keep track of, so used a character map; Uses font to set the 1951 scene - very cool. Throwback with dixie cup with wooden spoon. :) Polio is a big issue; Newspaper articles help set scene and time; world has changed so much - for the better? President working in Key West because 3 week courier service; teletype on ship; Truman would walk on beach and swim in ocean - today there would be papparazzi and security.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. It is a translation, and was originally written in French, and as such, there are some themes that are universal, but some cultural differences between France and The United States. In that respect I definitely spent some time this week reflecting on cultural expectations and differences.
I really didn't like any of the characters in the book. It reminded me of when I read Gone Girl and hated nearly everyone. I do concede, however, that for a book to make me feel so strongly about a character, there is good writing there. The ending was a bit weak, compared to the 400 page buildup, but at least some good won out.
Interesting book. Would have been interesting as a book club choice.
I liked this book! It is like reading a MacGyver in space story. The main character finds himself stranded on Mars, and encounters challenge after challenge after hurdle after disaster. He sometimes gives in to being upset, and his humor and sarcasm carries him far, but his will to survive and his basic knowledge about how things work help him address what he faces.
Love his sarcastic wit dealing with NASA and his situation; situation demands risk; Could we do what he did? Are we too risk averse? How much is one life worth?
I liked this book. it reminded me of the Shadowhunter series by Cassandra Clare. Having been lucky enough to visit London a few times I enjoyed thinking about the place names in different and more literal terms, such as Blackfriars and Earl's Court.
A big take away from the book for me is how we look at life, that being happy with where we are is fine but that sometimes reaching for different or more might be scary but ultimately more rich and fulfilling.
It also struck me how small actions can take us down very different paths.
The book was a fast read for the second half but dragged a bit in the beginning. It's a better book to read in great chunks of time than in snippets. The chunks of time allow you to immerse yourself in the setting and with the characters.
