Nik
TIL I'm not really interested in roller derby, but Lumberjanes remains as enjoyable as ever.
I enjoyed the diversity in artistic and narrative styles much more in this collection of short stories than I did in the main series. Lots to love here.
Not the most consistent series, to be sure: both artwork and stories had their highs and mehs. Nevertheless, a delightful series throughout. Enthusiastically recommended to everyone.
What a pleasant surprise! My initial outrage over the interruption of our story turned quickly into delight. Admittedly, I'd grown a bit tired, by the last book, of the same old, same old. This book approaches things from a different angle. That in itself ends up being a wonderful thing, but even more wonderful is the return of the imaginative storytelling—and creative and whimsical prose—that captivated me in the first place.
Turns out I don't like politics, even in fiction and even when made as funny as possible.
I love e-books. I prefer them. I don't want to get into a whole big thing about how they're so much better than paper books and how you're wrong for disagreeing with me, okay? I will concede that you're entitled to your erroneous opinion. I will also concede one other point: paper books are more huggable. I wanted to hug this book. But a phone doesn't have sufficient ... mass, to make it a gratifying hug. So I had to open the book on the behemoth tablet and hug that. It's just not the same, I'll grant you.
Anyway. If you are a grumpy old man like I have always been, you will love this story. If you have a soft spot for the grumpy old men in your life, you will love this story—and also, thank you. If you have strong opinions about right being right and wrong being wrong, with little wiggle room in between and very, very few, reluctant shades of grey, you will love this story. If you anthropomorphise inanimate objects and pets, you will love this story.
A Man Called Ove is about unexpected and sometimes sadly tenuous connections. It's about integrity and compassion. Most of all, it's about a surprising love and a purposeful life.
It's also about a cat.
I always worry about awarding a book five stars, because I know that one day I will read a book that deserves even more. Today is that day and this is that book. Were there a sixth star to give it, I would.
The best thing about this story was learning the identity of the greatest mathematician on the Disc.
That's ★★★ when compared to the drivel that precedes this instalment in the series and ★ overall. I keep hoping the series will get better, because I like(d? past tense, possibly) Anita Blake, but that's probably not going to happen. My interest in Blake, her story, and the decisions and choices she makes, keeps me reading in spite of the rubbish writing. sigh
In some ways, I enjoyed this more than [b:The Notebook 33648131 The Notebook Nicholas Sparks https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1483183484s/33648131.jpg 1498135]. I love stories of redemption. We've got someone who recognises that he's gone wrong and goes about trying to figure out where and exactly how, and then fix it. The ending was meant to be a surprise to the reader, I think, and wasn't, but despite that it was most satisfying.
I said when I read [b:The Colour of Magic 34497 The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1) Terry Pratchett http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168566155s/34497.jpg 194190] that I knew better books in the series awaited. This is better. Death and Luggage are fantastic.
I had forgotten how much I love whodunits. This is a decent—but not stellar—example of one. It was fun trying to solve the mystery, but there was something missing from the narrative, causing it to be less than utterly captivating.
The book begins with a list of names, which was a turn-off. The names meant nothing to me, yet, so I couldn't care about them. I skimmed the list and started the story. Not big into science fiction or war stories, I half-heartedly read the beginning.
And then they got zapped back in time. I wasn't expecting that.
From that moment, the book was mostly a page turner, a thoroughly engrossing read. My only real complaint, because of which I lopped off a star, is that I found the dialogue horrible.
When I started this story, I really didn't think I'd like it. By the time I finished the book, I was a little embarrassed by how much I enjoyed it. I got sucked in and look forward to continuing the series.