Mer Barr
My sense of humour tends more towards the British because if I can rapidly guess the punchline or the 'humour' is really demeaning and / or mean, it's not humour it doesn't rate a twitch of the cheek muscles let alone the lips or eyes.
This was really really enjoyable, probably because I loved DnD in college, the two main characters are written well and have great interactions, the announcer is incredibly creative, and the action just keeps going.
The narrator is incredibly talented with his voice. I'd swear the female voices [Princess Donut for example] doesn't sound like a male voice straining at its audible limits. And he does a fantastic job interpreting the announcer's dialog!
If you enjoyed this book give Drew Hayes' NPCs https://hardcover.app/books/npcs a try.
I want to keep reading, sadly none of the library systems I have access to have the book and interlibrary loan doesn't include audio since the '00s when the government started cutting back on funding for the arts and libraries had to cut costs somewhere.
The next book in this series was recommended but I like to start with the first book in a series. After getting in a ways, I realized I wasn't being drawn in by the story or the characters because murder mysteries are not a genre I like to read.
I'm giving it a 3 because the story, writing, pace and characters are all done well.
What a life! To leisurely wander the property and get to know the history and people of this place, that's what I wish for in a retirement. And even better if you could work from anywhere!
The writing is so vivid you can hear the bird song, feel the heat, enjoy the greenery and music.
I'm not a big fan of novellas so not happy that I have to walk thru several 'books' to get the complete story. To its credit, in this instance it appears the series may have started out as a podcast, and is an independent publisher.
The plot is intriguing because it's the 'old' west in the future, as Stephen King's Darktower is. And the audio presentation has a similar feel to another podcast called 'Old Gods of Appalachia', which I like to listen to.
So happy to see no decrease in any of the qualities that I like in a book and have seen in the previous 2 books in the series. Good storyline, movement in the storyline, characters you connect with, no straying from the storyline path, etc.
Incredibly helpful to fill in gaps in my understanding of systemic racism. And I think someone who's spent decades writing about these topics in understandable language, is someone I can listen to.
Growing up I knew just the name of 3 cultures from Central and/or South America, and that was it. Where they had lived and when, and details about them either didn't exist or I've forgotten them. This book does a great job of drilling into 1 of them, especially focusing on native sources.
It can get a bit overwhelming and drawn out but hang in there to the Epilogue and Appendix where the author goes into detail on the discovery of the sources of her information and how they relate to her story.
Her opening paragraph is up there with [book:The Gunslinger|43615]'s opening sentence on imagination- and attention- capture.
Downright gruesome, don't eat while listening! As usual for Michael Crichton's books, this is chock full of science facts weaved in with something sinister.
Due to the number of scientists involved, the story gets bogged down at the start, when each is being introduced along with their area of expertise. The storyline bogs down every now and again for the authors to dive into something going on at that moment. Thankfully it's usually short-lived and movement picks back up again.
I'm not sure what the subject of this book is. If the issue was with President Trump's failure to do a proper handoff from President Obama, the author did a great job expressing this several time with alot of exposition. Was this lack of understanding of how to run a country supposed to have had some recommendations? Or other examples than just the start of his presidency? It lacks all of that.
If this was to give folks a sample of the Sammies, the author did an excellent job of picking some great examples and providing plenty of detail.
And I have no idea what the connection between the lack of handoff and the title of the book is.
The author refers a lot to Ms. Walters' biography, which has me wondering what the author can contribute that Ms. Walters didn't already say in her memoir?
And I'm scratching my head as to why there is so much time spent on the father's biography when the subtitle only mentions his daughter. Does she feel they're that tied at the hip so to speak? I mean, it seems she was heavily involved in pulling him out of his own messes but does it justify this much of Ms. Walters' biography?
Otherwise, for those of us who didn't read the memoir, this book provides a lot of details of her personal life and thought processes that I wasn't aware of. Granted, I was still fairly young when I saw her on 60 Minutes and doing interviews with famous people, and not all that interested in knowing more about her, or reading about her in papers.
You can tell this book is written by a fellow journalist that feels research and the facts are important, not sensationalism and inflammatory wording. [a:Marie Colvin 6425697 Marie Colvin https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s name didn't ring a bell and I suspect it's because she reported for a UK news agency and I intentionally limit my exposure to news.I'm thankful I didn't read this during 2020 or the start of 2021 when my mood was dark and troubled by the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on my daily life. The horrors experienced by others is already difficult for me to deal with and adding Marie's life on top of these 2 would have been too much.The author did an amazing job of showing Marie's good points and bad points. How both aspects made her a good fit for the type of work she chose to live. I'm not yet done with the book and I suspect I'm not going to make it to the end. She's already into conflicts I remember seeing and hearing on the news that I would see on tvs that I would pass in my daily comings and goings. It's starting to add detail and the horror [which she wanted people to know about now that I think about it].Interestingly, I came across a reference to the documentary/movie “A Private War” that I watched, and which picks up where I am now in her life, to her last moments. And while writing this review I see [b:On the Front Line: The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin 19015506 On the Front Line The Collected Journalism of Marie Colvin Marie Colvin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385622146l/19015506.SY75.jpg 21378920] as a recommend. I'd love to read this, to experience her thoughts directly.... but not right now.
A good reality check for me. I've been wanting to do a walking vacation in Ireland for a long time and of course I have dreamy ideas of all the greenness, but have to remember the only reason there's green is because there's rain and cloudy skies.
Although the story is not roses and sunshine I appreciated how they shared with honesty, how they adjusted to their new life and made connections with their neighbors and surrounding communities.
Probably not a good read for someone not connected with the people being profiled but for those who are it's filled with alot of information that'll pop up in various readings and conversations. I find this helpful and fascinating when and where the references occur.
The first time I read this I actually didn't finish it. I struggled with the shifting timelines. Today, it wasn't as much of an issue, probably because I had time to follow the people rather than the timeline. I also think my short time in west Germany allowed me to better connect with the story and the places. And I'm glad I got to the end this time, or else I'd never know that 2 places near my current home will be on my to-do list and when I get there, I'll have more appreciation because of this book.
I love to volunteer at the Library of Congress and the National Archives, transcribing handwritten notes. I'll be adding the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives to my search criteria when I”m looking for a project.
It was very good for understanding what his personal feelings were and how they compared to what he was campaigning for. I wish we had similar insight and comparison in regards to today's politicians. Do they truly believe in what they're campaigning for? I'm just not sure.
It was a bit too indepth on the campaign trail; every speech, every stop; someone more interested in that aspect of a politician may like it, but that wasn't what I was interested in reading the book for.
For me, this book does a much better job explaining the Heart Sutra than the other two books that had been recommended to me: [b:The Heart Attack Sutra 13640878 The Heart Attack Sutra Karl Brunnholzl https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336581546s/13640878.jpg 19255506] and [b:An Arrow to the Heart: A Commentary on the Heart Sutra 2405629 An Arrow to the Heart A Commentary on the Heart Sutra Ken McLeod https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348053278s/2405629.jpg 2412795]. The analogies worked perfectly for me.I borrowed this from the library and I ran out of time so this is going on the list for my personal library where I can read and study it at my own pace.
This is a great beginner's book, not alot of Tibetan or Sanskrit words to memorize, he reiterates alot of the concepts and lists several times. It gives me several opportunities to let it sink in but may be too much for another person.
There was one section I really enjoyed and now have it written out as a morning intention. I'll definitely get a hard-copy to add to my library and make notes in.
I feel too old to put this book to good use. I'm past needing to negotiate my way through the male-dominant industries I've worked in for 40 years and I'm not planning to be on any big non-profits or board of directors to put this to good use.
However! I believe it's still a valuable book for any woman that needs to navigate business politics and intrigue and/or move in male-dominated environments and has a desire to work her way up the proverbial ladder.
I have to give the author kudos for taking precise notes on what his resources say and that he does his research to confirm the accuracy of the resources statements and clarify the correction in his book, but I found there was more detail than I really was wanting to know. I also found it confusing when the author put more than one resources statements back-to-back. I had to reread a paragraph now and again to make sure I was understanding which source had what perspective on Mr Hopper.
I guess I was looking for something more like a summarization with a dive in now and again for clarify. If you're looking for lots of details, this would be a great book for your education on Mr. Hopper.
Pretty ‘racy' and he got tired of writing and killed 3 people off in the last page! Not what I call good writing. I did find it a good read until then.
Well written! A great mix of research and personal experience, alot of detail and very good presentations of overarching desires, ambitions, and faults that are hard to see and condense without contemplation.
I'm glad someone mentioned this in a bookclub I belong to because I wouldn't have come across it on my own.
