jess
Not what I expected in this set of three books. The first three and second three books are remarkably different in terms of characters, setting, and pacing, but I can't imagine following the second set without starting at the beginning.
Wayne is absolutely the best character in the series. I hope to encounter him again.
Blargh. This book has so much going for it. Colorful characters, a meaningful story, a relatable setting, teen angst, etc.
The big drop for me was the nonchalant drug and alcohol use with no repercussions.
Not a book I would want my kids to read.
This one is a fun glimpse into Mayan Mythology.
I especially enjoyed the strong female POV heroine. She wasn't flamboyant or magical, but she had strength and power all her own.
Margaret Fuller is an interesting character who moved among the intellectual “elite” of New England (and in early life, the political elite) but struggled with her own identity and self-worth in the incredibly patriarchal society. Her life ended tragically when returning to the US after time in Italy - and the only known journalistic account of the Roman revolution (hers) was lost with her and her family when the drowned just off the coast of New England. Between her young, relatively pampered, and her tragic death, she left a mark on American women. I read this book after reading Maria Popova's Figuring [b:Figuring 40277347 Figuring Maria Popova https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541193905l/40277347.SY75.jpg 62562977]. I had to know more about this character. In retrospect, Popova's treatment covers most of the drama and enduring legacy of Margaret Fuller's life in a more memorable fashion. Worth reading for the detail on early life and connections...and the bit of mid 1800's history included. However, the entire biography is slow and plodding.
A bit of a popular topic these days - Chang covers some of the issues with the culture of Silicon Valley that excludes women - not only by hiring practices but also by the way that decisions are made.
I found this book to be depressing and hopeful at the same time. The narrative takes us through the history of high tech - with early female success followed by some disturbing stereotype creation. It seems like the ending is optimistic.
Women can succeed and lead in tech. I'd recommend reading it if you want more details on some of the stories that we've heard in the news lately or if you are in tech. I don't think the issues are completely limited to Silicon Valley or computer tech. Women engineers everywhere can probably relate.
The history and culture described in this book help explain nuance in Japanese language. The stories drive home the author's points. A short book...but not a quick read. The content is best mulled over and tested.
What a delightful dive into the background of a well known story.
Reminiscent of Gregory Maguire's expansion of Oz. You get to love the villain.
A delightful end to the story. What adventure and madness awaits our heroes of time and space.
Well paced book with deep topics. It is hard not to like the POV character who just keeps trying. A good book to talk about civic engagement and doing what's right for you - with middle school and older kids
What a curious world. Lasky endears us to a young barn owl named Soren. Follow Soren through an unnerving adventure and meet some other interesting (and some not so nice) owls along the way.
I'd recommend this to readers starting in maybe 3rd grade. It's appealing enough for young readers and still interesting for older readers. There is a small amount of cartoon violence, but no humans.
These short stories are great for a fix while all await the next book in the series. Love the background here.
An immersive and interesting world with curious characters and other creatures. I truly enjoyed this book and it barely even scratched the surface of the world that Rothfuss has made. I can't wait to read what happens in the next book.
I'd recommend this to fantasy fans junior high and up. There are traveling entertainers, a school of magic, thugs, myths, and evil creatures. What's more to want? I don't recall any extreme gory violence or explicit content that might be a concern.
Absolutely read this book. The characters are so real that you know them. You feel them. It is full of doubt and pain and wonder and hope. Life: it goes on.
Audiobook Review: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink
When is a book about how timing of things (during the day, during a project, during a season, during any period) matters. Daniel highlights - with short, engaging narratives, a number of interesting findings from research on time. He argues that “when” may need to have a more prominent place in our minds next to “what”.
I found a number of useful takeaways from this book: schedule medical procedures in the morning, don't go to a teaching hospital in the summer, write letters to future you (they will be more meaningful than you expect), schedule actual breaks (no work) ideally with nature, movement, and possibly other people, try a restart if something is not working (pick a day, make it meaningful, start again).
I'm in the process of tracking down the books he recommends for further reading. He says the Roenneberg one is hands down the best reference for chronotypes. I'm pretty sure that the Currey one will not make for good audio because I've seen some images from it - that's a book for paper.
- Laura Venderkam, 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think
- Robert V. Levine, A Geography of Time: Temporal Misadventures of a Social Psychologist
- Mason Currey (ed.), Daily Rituals: How Artists Work
- Till Roenneberg, Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You're So Tired
- Edward T. Hall, The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time
- Alan Burdick, Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation
Planning to listen? This book runs just over 5 hours on regular time. I listened to it on 2.8X speed on Libby over two runs.
This book and series are a nice bit of escape.
The end of this book was tidy but keeps the world open for more story.
This series has a little bit of fantasy, a lot of myth/world interest, magic, intrigue, simple characters, and a little bit of romance. The romance is PG and a little awkward.
I loved the tidy ending. Also, the author's after word was well done and added context to the book.
This book takes down the idea of productivity with an approach to focusing on what needs to get done and what is possible.
There are many useful examples, and the book is broken up in a way that makes it easy to digest.
After getting through this whole series, I modify my recommendation slightly. The story is still interesting, the Egyptian mythology is useful, the writing is still clever. However, there is some dissonance between the stated age of the characters and their actions. Both characters act in ways that at least one more year is almost mentally required to make this work.
I find this most odd with Sadie, who is 12 and 13 in the series as she is completely infatuated with characters in a way that is beyond her years; she is constantly (in clean terms) discussing her romantic physical urges. She also expresses some social and human consciousness that is more adult than her age suggests. Parents and younger middle grade kids may find the romance a bit off-putting. Slightly older middle grade readers may find it relatable if they don't think too hard about the age of the kids. Note that there are NO truly romantic scenes or sensitive topics.
I have so much in the way of mixed feelings about this book.
The main characters have excellent situational potential. The world contains characters and peoples with different backgrounds and reasons for them. There is interesting magic and danger. There are many events X people that move the plot. So much good here.
Unfortunately, there are repeated thoughts and phrases. Characters come to the same or the cusp of the same realization multiple times. There is violence and rape for the sake of violence and rape. There are oddities that don't seem to have a reason (such as the shape of the lake tribe heads) that comes up again and again. A bunch of little things bring the reader to mind that you are indeed reading a story and no longer immersed.
I wanted this book to be better. I'm not sure if I'll read the rest of the series.
Our lives are made of stuff...well, in our relationship to stuff.
This very approachable book gives a quick glimpse into some of the stuff that is most prevalent (and largely accepted as background) for modern humans. He helps to connect the dots between the culture and the science with narrative story. Parts of the narrative made me reconsider my own relationship with materials - for example, why do we not celebrate glass and concrete more often? with more exuberance?
I loved Mark's relatable tone - I can see myself in young Mark's lack of interest in the museums, in his fascination with the possibility of a bionic replacement for his broken leg. I can only be thankful that he was taken with a fascination with steel after a traumatic childhood incident, ultimately leading to his study of material science.
This continuation of the Book of Ember covers the attempt to assimilate into the surface world.
It was interesting to picture the world and see it fresh from an Ember perspective. However, much of the story felt missing. There is so much that Jeanne has created in this world, and I think I just want more of it to show up in the stories. Perhaps because the book is meant to be a simple quick read for children. I am not sure.
A fun read about life, adapting, acceptance, and forgiveness.
The days go by quickly as the main character settles into his new school. You may be able to read this whole book in a few hours.
Doerr has wrapped a gift in this story. The quick pacing and well developed characters draw you into the story. At once tragic and heartening, you follow two children, Marie-Laure and Werner, as they grew up before and during WW2. Their lives touch in unexpected ways, and they are never the same. This is a remarkable story of human goodness and beauty.
I would recommend this story to anyone over the age of 14. There are some themes related to war and loss that I don't think younger readers would appreciate or understand.
Short book. The whole book has an intimate feel to it.
I had a few takeaways:
(1) Give yourself permission to have fun. She says she actually uses written permission slips for this.
(2) “It's hard to hate close up” Get to know people, listen without judgement. Yes, this will be hard
(3) sharing joy and grief with others makes us happier - do things with other people in real life.