Sean

Never tedious nor sensational, Wallace does a fine job of presenting biographical fact, reasonable speculation, and historical background. I feel I know Leonardo and appreciate his work much better than before I began this book.

A good reader for someone at A2 or even B1 level. the only problem I had is one I always do with books that offer selective vocabulary help–why did they define that word but not also this word and this one and that other one? But that quibble aside, it is good. I like the art and the story is interesting on its own. I liked it enough that I plan to read the next two in the series.

Beautiful art, funny jokes, and utterly delightful. (I am an adult, and consider this better suited to mare mature senses of humor.)

Good ideas, but sooooooo academic. I'm capable of dealing with academic writing, but I have no patience with it. Learn how to write English. I recommend it to those who care about the subject, but like me you may have to resist the urge to get your red pen and edit out some of the indulgent and precious academese.

I bought this book when I saw it advertised (on Goodreads.com, maybe?). It seemed to be an independently published book and I wanted to encourage the author–I like encouraging authors–and I really wanted to buy an e-book for my new Kobo e-reader. Honestly, I did not have high expectations for it. Now having finished it, I must say I am very glad I bought it and read it, and I will be recommending it to friends. It is one of my favorites of the books I read this year. I really enjoyed it a lot.

Litz has written an exciting coming-of-age story set in the post-Civil War United States. My knowledge of the time is limited, but he seems to capture the feel of the historical period and the settings very well. I can vouch more authoritatively for his ability to excite and convey sensation. Several chapters were the equivalent of a carnival ride–one episode was almost literally a roller coaster ride, and quite exciting at that.

Litz is quite good with a clever or apt turn of phrase. He wrote several sentences I wish I had written, including, among others, “The Irishman's nose was of average size but pointed north by northeast when his head bore due north.” and “The aura of innocence surrounding John and the odor of alcohol surrounding Old Man Whaley helped to protect him, but John knew not to press his luck.”

The protagonist, John, is faced with several serious and severe moral crises, and the satisfying thing about the book is that they feel real and are not dealt with easily. Life is messy and the author seems to understand that. By dealing with his crises, John grows and becomes a man, not just by increasing the flow of testosterone but by adding to his wisdom and even compassion.

Litz is a Christian writing fiction, but he did a good job of not writing “Christian fiction.” Christian fiction tends to give me hives. I find what little I have read to be, in a few cases, very very good indeed, or else, more often, gooey and sticky like molasses. Litz avoids that. He seems to have taken the advice of C. S. Lewis who wrote something to the effect that the world does not need more “Christian authors” writing “Christian books” but rather more authors who are Christian who write whatever they write. Unlike some Christian authors, Litz does not drag God into every scene by his ear whether he needs to be there or not (“Don't forget this is Christian Fiction and I'm a Christian Author!”). But unlike so many materialist authors, Litz doesn't pretend that religion (and specifically Christianity) does not exist as a real part of many people's life. (Have you read these folk whose understanding of the world seems to be so limited that the world is divided between functional atheists [which includes all the good people] and a few “religious fanatics”? After a while, it becomes tiresome because it is so limited and inaccurate.)

I really enjoyed this book and I was sad to see it end. I would be remiss, however, if I did not mention that there are more than a few words mis-used in the book, either intransitive verbs used as if they were transitive or else words simply used outside the range of accepted definition. Those cases were a bit frustrating, but unlike some other books I have read which could have benefited from tighter editing, the over-all goodness of this book easily outweighed the minor grammatical and lexical problems.

I recommend this to anyone who likes a rip-roaring excitement, who enjoys American historical fiction, or who appreciates a book dealing with male coming of age.

Very funny, and like the first book it has numerous pages I had to stop my coworkers and read to them.

Creepy, but no gore so I could handle it. (I have a very week stomach and just can't handle blood.) This had psychological suspense and moody atmosphere, and I enjoyed reading it.

A fun adventure story, but no great literary merit that I could find. I liked Jason in a “Oh, he's cute, but wow is he ever useless” sort of way. I was impressed with Medea's sense of helplessness, begging for her own safety over and over. She obviously trusts nobody and assumes that no one has her best interest at heart. That may account for why she becomes so wicked later in life.

The tetralogy is great and a thing of beauty. I believe, however, that this the fourth book is perhaps my least favorite. Perhaps it was the way Walton's 20th century voice broke through, a bit more insistently than in the previous three books. Maybe my tolerance for reading about stupid people who don't learn is making me into one of those insufferable prigs– O God, please no.

I really can't say why I like Island of the Mighty less, but whatever the reason, it is nevertheless a great conclusion to a great series. Walton did an amazing job of telling the ancient stories in a way that is simultaneously faithful to the old while catering to our modern psycholgical concerns to make a richly satisfying mythic story for people today. It is difficult to imagine anybody else doing that job as well as she did.

I am never the best person to review a graphic novel or comic, even though I love the format. I am borderline graphically illiterate, which means I sometimes do not read pictures very well. Perhaps that explains all of my difficulties understanding just what was going on, although I do reserve the right to place at least some of the blame on the artist. The pictures are great, but I think I may not be the only one who has trouble figuring out what is going on in each panel. But having said all that, toward the end when it all became intelligible to me, I was glad to have read it. The story is good so far, and I look forward to the next volume.

It is difficult for me to review this book, as most of the fun has gone out of it. I bought a copy and began reading it. The book was in my car, and I was just about to begin the last chapter when the car got stolen. I recovered the car quickly, but the book was gone. I hope the thieves enjoy it and profit from it, but unless they are more academic than I, I fear it will be difficult for them to understand. Refusing to buy another copy, I requested an Inter-Library Loan, which was lent by Mount Angel Abbey and Seminary in Oregon. I love that monastery and school, since they fulfill so many of my ILLs. God bless their library; long may it stand. I read the first few paragraphs of the last chapter, put the book down, and then couldn't find it again. After a couple weeks of panic, I found it! Huzzah. I quickly read the last chapter and conclusion before it had to go back, but Kavanagh's style is not really conducive to a quick, panicked, reading. And now I find that the immediate impressions of the first chapters are gone, as is all my joy in reviewing this book.

At any rate, here is something. I hope it is better than nothing.

I am intelligent and well-educated. Furthermore, I am known (affectionately, I hope) as “the liturgy monster,” since this is my field of study and enthusiasm. I am certainly intellectually able to read and understand Kavanagh and enter into dialog with him. But his style is so dense and “academic” that I found myself losing patience with him. I am a big fan of simple, clear academic writing, and am therefore generally disappointed in my hopes.

The first delight of the book is the first chapter's discussion of the tension between being a faithful believer and an academic. He has good and important things to say, and if I were actively in academe I would have benefited from this lecture even more than I actually did. I recommend it to everybody who is involved in the academic study of theology.

I found his distinction between liturgy as primary theology and all the talk about it as mere secondary theology to be the most important assertion of the book. When we do liturgy, we are doing the Faith. Otherwise, we are just talking about it. Reading and talking about theology is always second to gathering, praying, worshiping, giving, and receiving in the Liturgy.

I love Bloom County, and this book did not disappoint. It is especially fun to see Breathed's more “realistic” style in large format.

Annoying characters, but I learned some Spanish.

I highly recommend Villain or Victim to anybody who is interested in the story of John Tornow.

First, the complaint. I wish Lindstrom had had access to a really merciless editor, coupled with a thorough line editor and proofreader. The number of errors is distracting. One of the most annoying goes like this (Sorry, I'm not looking for an actual example): “Well, Bob, I'm not sure what to say.” Do you want to go fishing with me?” See that extra quotation mark in the middle of that bit of dialog? Frustrating as all get out. There are other, equally annoying, problems scattered throughout the book.

Now with that out of the way, let's talk about why I love this book.

Lindstrom structures his account in an interesting way. The real reporter, Dan Cloud, serves as the narrative thread for most of the story. The first part, before Tornow's “murders,” is told as a conventional fictional narrative. We see John going about his day, interacting with his family, talking in his own voice. But once we get to the part of the story where the uncertainties matter, from his first alleged killing, the author takes us aside and shows us the events through the eyes of the reporter. We know only what Cloud knows, as in the real world we know only what has been reported. That way Lindstrom avoids having to invent motivations and actions for Tornow. We are left with information and a derned good story, but it is up to us, as it really is in the real world, to decide what happened. I think this framework is masterful and the best possible choice.

The author also engages in a bit of ... I don't know what to call it .... “temporal slip stream narrative.” In the latter half of the book there are times when we slip from the narrative present to a historical present. It is a little bit disconcerting at first, and for about three seconds I thought it was sloppy writing, but then I realized it was brilliant. It puts the reader into the action and also draws him out of the action to the modern day, where he is sitting reading a book, pondering and deciding what to do with all the historical information.

I did not know as much as I would have liked about the Tornow story before reading this book, and not having done any research, I am in no position to judge how honestly and accurately Lindstrom handled his material. But unless he has pulled a fast one on us, it certainly seems accurate and quite reasonable. He does not force the reader to a conclusion, which I greatly appreciate. I think those who want Tornow to be thought of as a crazed killer can find that in his book, while other people, whom I understand better, will leave the book feeling sad for John, who just wanted to be left alone and who should have been left alone.

Such a simple idea. To hear the premise explained would surely cause one to say, “Oh, I could do that. My child could do that.” Arndt takes one simple shape and adds the letters of the onomatopoeia word representing the sound the animal makes and creates a picture of the animal. But when you compare the simplicity of the idea with the absolute perfection (and I use that word advisedly) of the execution, you see what “genius” really means. This is an absolutely delightful book, one which has brought a smile to every adult I have shown it to. [My favorite thing about sharing is watching people's fingers get involved, picking out the letters.]

Tedious at first, perhaps, but still a bit fun toward the end. But even with the tediousness at first, this book was perfectly aimed for my reading level. I could read the whole thing with no help at all, but if I wanted to understand everything exactly, I needed to look up a few words and some grammar. I was glad to see in action the vocabulary related to computers and social media and hacking. It was helpful to see the English and Spanish words intermingle when talking about something that is rather dominated by English. I learned some Spanish, and that's a good thing.

Very easy, but it does exactly what it is supposed to do. I learned some Spanish and I also got to see a world different than mine.

Ardit's books are very good for their intended purpose. They are easy to read for someone at the stated level (in this case, A2), while still presenting grammatical and lexical challenges. Granted, they are not the most interesting of books, but they aren't actually boring, and are interesting enough to bother reading. I like his books in general and this one in particular.

In Pasaje de ida, Ardit did a good job of making me feel that I had a little taste of all the South American countries that Jorge/George spent time in, and I certainly was pulling for him to make what I considered the right decision.

A book I might not buy for my own children if I had any, but which I would MOST DEFINITELY buy for a niece or nephew, since that is what uncles are for. Beautiful and just a teeny bit subversive.

I rather liked it. There were some clunky moments, and I wonder if our hero is the brightest raisin in the bunch, but it was a fun read, and I really liked the world-setting of the great cavern. The image in my mind is really rather amazing.

Well worth reading for a person who is interested in the spirituality of the Cross. A bit verbose in spots, but I highlighted enough passages of lasting importance that I am very glad I read it. I will not likely re-read the entire book, but I will definitely be returning to a few select passages.

I thoroughly enjoyed Rogue, and I plan to read Vaydensen's next book. I got a free copy, but if I had known how much I have ended up enjoyed it, I would gladly have paid full price for it.

At least one reviewer complained that it seemed to be a bit of a rip-off of Ender's Game, but I just don't see that at all. Yes, there are similarities, but one may as well say that Oz is a rip-off of Wonderland.

The action is great, especially the space battles, real and simulated. The character of Deuce is believable, with me finding myself literally yelling at him for a fool right through the (electronic) pages of the book. What a teen-aged idiot he is in his relations with other persons!

This is my new favorite book. That's all I need say about it. Read it whether you have or are a whiny child.

This book was a lot of fun, and I only almost solved the mystery before Dick did. I'll be reading the next Hardesty mystery. There is some “language” and sex, but not shocking.

I already love Mark Twain (of course), but this collection of his speeches before various groups makes him even more interesting than his writings do. I'm not sure I would want to pay him to speak to my group – he would likely insult us, as he did the well-bred New England descendants of Mayflower pilgrims. “Scathing” is a fun word, unless you are in the audience when it is being pointed at you. Clemens is amazing; read this and you will realize that even more than you already do.