Carrie Dils

Bought this at a little used bookstore. Didn't realize I was coming in to an ongoing storyline with Tommy and Tuppence. It certainly worked as a standalone, but I would've enjoyed it more if I'd read the preceding books in the series.

What a sweet little book, the kind that's written so well that you don't notice the writing.

In my experience, nothing squelches creativity like the pressure to make it earn you a paycheck. Certainly, creativity in work is a great thing, but Gilbert emphasized that we can earn a living a lot of different ways. Taking the pressure off your creativity to be your primary income earner frees you up to be more creative.

The author says these things much more eloquently (along with a lot of other thoughts/tips for living a creative life). A good read for anyone feeling “stuck.”

Absolutely fascinating.

I really enjoyed Start with Why. This book had some good nuggets in it but overall I didn't find it helpful. It's definitely geared toward a team environment (although it includes instruction for the solo worker). I can actually see co-workers going through these exercises together unless someone made them do it.

Wow. This is more than physical endurance. It's a story of the mental aspect of racing and an incredible story of overcoming physical and mental obstacles to achieve even more than thought possible. Inspirational.

Very cute. You can almost hear the voices of the characters. Great to read with a kid.

This is a book I'll read again periodically. I read it on the heels of The One Thing by Gary Keller and the two compliment each other very well.

The non-essentialist tries to make room for everything. The essentialist realizes there must be tradeoffs and says NO to many things in order to say YES to most important.

I'm actively looking for opportunities to say “no”. ;)

This was an interesting read on what “makes” up a habit (a trigger, a routine, and a reward). It's a scientific approach (vs anecdotal), although plenty of real-world examples are cited. Now, here's to see if I actually go changing any habits... :)

Good story with great character development, but it just felt slow.

This was a really interesting read, but I didn't feel like I learned anything useful and/or practical (I.e. Ways to improve the quality of split-second decisions).

Review here: http://www.carriedils.com/book-review-duct-tape-marketing/

Can't say I've ever studied the stoic's before, but I enjoyed the perspective of this book. The bottom line is how you can take anything - good, bad, or ugly - and leverage it for good (even if the “good” is just education of what not to do next time...). While it's not written from a Christian perspective, it is in line with my beliefs that God is quite capable of doing just that on a larger scale (Rom 8:28).

It has made me stop and pause when things don't go my way (even the smallest things) about how I can turn it around to my benefit. It's largely a matter of attitude.

I LOVED Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, so it took no convincing for me to pick this one up. The book starts by saying that it's based on a true story, but I guess I didn't read the cover well enough because I didn't realize it was based on Wall's grandmother. It wasn't until the epilogue that I had the delight of recognizing Wall as the descendant of this colorful woman.

The story moseyed along - literally. It could've moved at a much faster clip, but then I'm not sure that would've been at all representative of the story and characters told.

All in all, I enjoyed the story (and the telling from the voice of Lily Casey, Wall's grandmother). Made me want to go back and read Glass Castle through the lens of a more complete family history.

An interesting read for sure, but I didn't walk away feeling compelled or curious to think differently. The book is a self-admitted hodgepodge without a unifying thread. I probably should've read the back cover first - I think I just expected this book to be something it's not.

I'd rather have given this 3.5 stars, but alas, that option doesn't exist. I really enjoy his writing and reading this portion of his autobiography was interesting (especially since he spent time in Fort Worth), but the ending? C'mon, Jim!! -.5 stars for a very unsatisfying, abrupt ending.

I feel like I should give this a higher rating for its literary fame. The writing was great. The philosophical aspect was, well, philosophical. But damn, I didn't like the outcome of the story.

I enjoyed the series –mostly– but just sorta lost steam on this final one. I didn't care about the outcome, so I put it down.

This one will probably stay on my current reading list for awhile. It's a book to be digested over a period of time - Read through the top-level of each chapter first and then return over and over to the readings and meditations for a particular “pause” of the day.

I liked Mankell's writing and ability to build suspense, but he could have trimmed 100 pages from the book and it would've been a tighter story.

This was a recommended author for folks who liked Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Not sure if I will read him again.

An interesting historical novel about a monster sperm whale that sunk a Nantucket whaling ship - full of facts, but not dull or dry in the least.

Enjoying the Nero Wolfe series from Rex Stout (in no particular order). On par with Agatha Christie - quick, entertaining detective/crime solver stories.

I listened to the audiobook version. Wil Wheaton did a fantastic job on the narration. Enjoyed the story!

Gamers in particular would really enjoy this bio.

Here's the deal: I don't like the horror genre, so the story was not my favorite. That said, Stephen King is a brilliant writer and his ability to draw you into the minds of his characters made this book a “win.”

Even hooked enough to read the Doctor Sleep followup...

Good grief.

I really enjoyed the story, but the book could have been 40% reduced with the leaving out of love scenes. Not trying to be prudish – who doesn't love a heaving bosom now and then? – it was just a little overly descriptive in a way that made the story too slow.