Blue sky, green trees.
Added to listOwnedwith 548 books.
Added to listBookclubwith 48 books.
I got through the intro and the first part of chapter 1, and that was all the doom and gloom that I could take.
I got through the intro and the first part of chapter 1, and that was all the doom and gloom that I could take.
Added to listAuf Deutschwith 111 books.
Added to listNaturewith 57 books.
Added to listNon Fictionwith 376 books.
It seems like recently the trend in writing has been to over-explain and overshare, telling us every little thing that happens as well as 12 random thoughts the characters have while the little thing happens. This book was so different, so refreshingly different. A cigarette is tucked behind someone's ear when a scene opens, a few paragraphs later the person blows smoke out of their nose, and on the next page it's mentioned that the person lights a second cigarette. Do you see? The author never mentioned the lighting of the first cigarette. That is good writing, that is show don't tell, that is an author trusting us as readers.
It seems like recently the trend in writing has been to over-explain and overshare, telling us every little thing that happens as well as 12 random thoughts the characters have while the little thing happens. This book was so different, so refreshingly different. A cigarette is tucked behind someone's ear when a scene opens, a few paragraphs later the person blows smoke out of their nose, and on the next page it's mentioned that the person lights a second cigarette. Do you see? The author never mentioned the lighting of the first cigarette. That is good writing, that is show don't tell, that is an author trusting us as readers.
Added to listOwnedwith 547 books.
Added to listBookclubwith 47 books.
Added to listMysterywith 125 books.
Added to listAuf Deutschwith 110 books.
Second reading: I'm feeling that achy-love feeling that comes when you've turned the last page of a really good book. What really struck me this time around was the quality of the writing, how everything is so well said and purposeful and just right. It's something that I notice a lot more as I get older, an author's use of language and style, and I have no tolerance for flabby meandering writing. Reader, this book is sharp and on point. Highly recommend.
First reading: Feels kind of like the movie “Office Space”, but better. Seriously.
The book starts off less like a novel and more like a collection of great anecdotes your friend is sharing during happy hour. This was a little unexpected for me, but it only took about a chapter to get into the flow. About halfway through the story structure becomes more linear and plot-focused.
I have to share the following passage because my office just went through the exact same thing with our second floor, and the author totally nailed the feeling:
“[Floor:] Fifty-nine was a ghost town. We needed to gather up the payroll staff still occupying a quarter of that floor and find room for them among the rest of us and close down fifty-nine, seal it off like a contamination site. Odds were we were contractually bound to pay rent on that floor through the year, shelling out cash we didn't have for real estate we didn't need. But who knows - maybe we were keeping those abandoned cubicles and offices in hopes of a turnaround. It wasn't always about ledger work at the corporate level. Sometimes, like with real people, it was about faith, hope, and delusion.”
Second reading: I'm feeling that achy-love feeling that comes when you've turned the last page of a really good book. What really struck me this time around was the quality of the writing, how everything is so well said and purposeful and just right. It's something that I notice a lot more as I get older, an author's use of language and style, and I have no tolerance for flabby meandering writing. Reader, this book is sharp and on point. Highly recommend.
First reading: Feels kind of like the movie “Office Space”, but better. Seriously.
The book starts off less like a novel and more like a collection of great anecdotes your friend is sharing during happy hour. This was a little unexpected for me, but it only took about a chapter to get into the flow. About halfway through the story structure becomes more linear and plot-focused.
I have to share the following passage because my office just went through the exact same thing with our second floor, and the author totally nailed the feeling:
“[Floor:] Fifty-nine was a ghost town. We needed to gather up the payroll staff still occupying a quarter of that floor and find room for them among the rest of us and close down fifty-nine, seal it off like a contamination site. Odds were we were contractually bound to pay rent on that floor through the year, shelling out cash we didn't have for real estate we didn't need. But who knows - maybe we were keeping those abandoned cubicles and offices in hopes of a turnaround. It wasn't always about ledger work at the corporate level. Sometimes, like with real people, it was about faith, hope, and delusion.”
