Kalliope
DNF'd at 56%. This book isn't long but I simply couldn't take it anymore. This was a miserable sit. There is no joy or hope or spirit in this book. I think it wanted to be sort of like the film “It's a Wonderful Life,” centering on one community and its varied interesting characters. Imagine “It's a Wonderful Life” if every character was either Potter (mean and cruel) or Uncle Billy (miserable and pathetic). Story after story about miserable adults cheating on their miserable spouses, miserable adults who die from eating disorders, miserable adults miserable adults coping with the health decline of their miserable spouses, miserable pointless story after miserable pointless story. Olive herself being the most miserable of them all. Somebody really needed to smack the shit out of her. Am I supposed to feel bad for her, when she overhears her daughter-in-law saying how much she doesn't like Olive? And am I supposed to have a “you go, girl!” moment when Olive rifles through this woman's closet and vandalizes her things? I can't tell how the author wants me to feel about her, or any of them. Everything that each of them say and do leads me to scratching my head or outright hating them. I'm also scratching my head at the constant and distracting use of adjectives to describe how fat people are. I hated this book. I'm baffled that this won any award, let alone the Pulitzer. Do not recommend.
Got more than halfway through and decided to drop it. I don't see the similarity to Gone Girl that some reviewers are saying it has. I enjoy all of Gillian Flynn's work; she does a great job at crafting unlikable, yet interesting and breathing characters, and her story structure is tighter, making her reveals more satisfying. I found The Girl on the Train dull and uninteresting, even cliché at times.
Incredible poetry, the type I aspire to write myself. This is very much the type of poetry I enjoy, though I can't put my finger on why exactly. VERY triggering, though, at least for the first half. It deals with a lot of heavy topics like sexual assault, and for my own sense of peace at the holidays, I hope to conquer the second half some other time.
Did you know Julie Powell has had sex? She has!Have you ever heard of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Julie Powell has!
This book has been on my TBR for five years, and a weeklong vacation was its ticket onto my currently-reading pile. I've seen the movie starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams multiple times and love it–easily in my top list of movies which could be considered “chick flicks.” After considering it, I think there are two reasons it worked so well for me. The first is that the scenes of Julie Powell are paired with equal-length scenes of Julia Child, so it's both their stories and not just Julie's (in the book, 90% of the book is of course about Julie, with vignettes of Julia plopped down before each chapter). The second is that Julie Powell is played by charismatic Amy Adams.
The real Julie Powell isn't charismatic. She is whiny and pessimistic and self-righteous and turned up to eleven. She looks at adultery like she'd look at chronic nail-biting: a bad habit that adds character. I don't care about how much she curses like many others do.
I didn't hate Julie, though; far from it. In parts, her writing was charming and irreverent. I could honestly see myself reading her blog back when. But it was because of the food, the Project. She was writing about something. But quite a lot of the book wasn't about that. Julie seems to think her life is more interesting (and of course, more haaaaaaaaard) than it actually is. I didn't find myself caring much about all her long anecdotes about her “horrible” job and all the Republicans there (she mentions them ALL THE TIME). Even when they were interesting, sure enough she'd go right back to the whining, the insinuations that no one is really good enough for her (including her husband), and sexsexsexsex. You'd think she was the first to discover it. Perhaps a foretaste to her next book, Cleaving, in which she describes her affair in detail for all the world to see?
Ooky spooky! This was such a creative and chilling collection of short stories! A commonality with collections like these is that there's generally at least one not-as-good story in the bunch. Here, however, they're all equally compelling! My one complaint is that the stories were all too short and felt incomplete. I do enjoy an ambiguous ending, but some of them were too ambiguous and I felt we moved on to the next story too abruptly. I may revisit this in the colder months. :)
This was fine. I chose to listen to the audiobook version, and I'm really glad I made that choice, because this really isn't the kind of book I would sit down and read traditionally. In fact, I think the audio format suits the author's style and voice more than the written word. I don't find Ansari hilarious, but I laughed some throughout. The information was eye-opening in parts, especially the sections regarding international dating habits in the modern day. If I'm being honest, I listened to the audiobook in less than two days more to get it off my TBR than because I was really looking for a great read.
4.5 stars.
I had SUCH a fun time with this! This book's biggest strength is its action/pacing. This series has done an excellent job of ratcheting up the action book by book. This one is quite action-packed compared to Cinder, which I got bored with in a few places. I loved how much we got to see the rest of the setting; to bring up Cinder again, I felt that the setting of New Beijing was basically wasted, and I feel that that was kind of fixed in Scarlet. I was happy to see that fixed with Cress. We got to see so many places and get a real sense of life in this world, as well as on Luna!
I also really, really liked Cress as a main character. Her voice and personality are so unique amidst the others in the group (Scarlet, Wolf, Cinder, Thorne, Iko), and it was refreshing to have someone in the mix who isn't sarcastic, snarky, or cynical. Cress adds a necessary dimension to the character spread, and it's fun to see the different characters interact with her and react to how different she is. I also love Jason Clay!
The Cress/Thorne romance was just...okay. Can I just say it? I don't like Thorne that much. I loved him interacting with Cress in the desert (that was easily the best part of their romance), but after that, it went downhill. I like a character who breaks the tension with humor, but a lot of times it's like he's unaware there is any tension at all. The one exception I can remember is the exchange between him and Jason Clay (“Where's my gun?” “I've got it.” “Can I have it back?” “Nope.”). That shit cracked me up.
Anyway, the Cress/Thorne romance needs some serious development/maturity. Throughout, Cress is a perfectly devoted little angel, and he's...well, he's Thorne. I'd love to see Cress mature out of the fangirl love for him, and I'd love to see Thorne develop some sensitivity and self-awareness. UGH I WAS WAITING FOR HIM TO TELL HER HE ISN'T REALLY A CAPTAIN, BUT HE DIDN'T! In a good romance, both people need to grow as a result of being with each other. Cress has definitely evolved the most of the two. He allows her to put him on a pedestal, but when is he going to do the same for her? Yeah, he said she has a beautiful singing voice, but what else? I'm not really convinced he likes her all that much, if I'm being honest. It seems more of a convenience thing, not a conscious choice. It's certainly not the worst romance in a book. More often than not, it's very sweet and squishy and all that. I just don't love it the way other people seem to. Thorne is easily my least favorite character. There's time for more development, though! I'd love to be in the camp of Thorne fans, but as of now, I'm not there yet.
Regarding the other romances, I'm thrilled with the development of Cinder and Kai. Prior to Cress It felt a bit too much like “she's-Cinderella-and-he's-the-prince-so-it-kinda-has-to-go-this-way.” However, I LOVED their scene at the end! It felt totally earned, and so sweet! And of course, I really enjoy Scarlet and Wolf together. I liked his characterization in reaction to Scarlet's absence.
DR. ERLAND AND CRESS. THAT WHOLE SCENE. YOU KNOW THE ONE. DAMN.
ANYWAY, I'm very excited for Winter! A lot of other YA books tend to sag toward the middle of their series, but with The Lunar Chronicles, it's been the opposite! I can't wait to see where it goes from here!
Sometimes funny, always zany and surreal. Not nearly as funny as When You Are Engulfed in Flames. The main thing bringing the rating down for me was the fact that this book shuffles nonfiction essays and fiction short stories. Jumping from one to another was jarring, and most of the fiction stories (save “The Last You'll Ever Hear from Me,” “Glen's Homophobia Newsletter Vol. 3, No. 2,” and “Parade”) missed the mark for me. In no way does this mean I'm giving up on Sedaris. This is his first book and as far as I can tell, it's his lowest-rated. I was really pleased with WYAEIF and, so far, Holidays on Ice is a lot of fun! :)
I absolutely blazed through this in about 30 minutes because I was loving it. First off, the artwork and the use of framing is gorgeous and engrossing. I love the choice to use blue ink throughout rather than the standard black. There is also a great sense of atmosphere and nostalgia: the beach of your childhood, long stretches of afternoon, no responsibilities, the slow-moving beach town with both enough and not enough to hold your attention.
My one complaint is that the story cuts itself short at every turn. Every storyline could have been richer, deeper, more detailed, yet whole scenes end too soon, leaving the reader feeling, for lack of a better word, cheated. I would have read 50 or even 100 more pages of the story had it kept going because the art is so soft and childlike in the best way. I'd still recommend it, though, because the reviews are so widely varied.
I picked this up expecting a steamy, cheesecakey BDSM romance and that's exactly what I got. Some other reviewers bemoan the story's unrealistic qualities, but those didn't bother me. In my mind, that's why people read books like this–it's fun! In fact, it was quite fun to buy into the fantasy of a gorgeous and uber-wealthy woman paying off your student loans for you, when she's no more than 10 years your elder. The BDSM scenes were well-done and mindful of the realities of how to engage in BDSM safely, sanely, and consensually. This, I'd say, is the book's highest merit. I'd recommend this book to someone who is unfamiliar with BDSM outside the incredibly unhealthy dynamic featured in 50 Shades of Grey. The book didn't sufficiently hold my attention throughout, though. The scenes that did not specifically involve Mel and Vanessa's relationship were often boring and bordering on telenovela-esque. Oh, well. It's a short book, and the steamy scenes more than make up for the stale parts in between them. Really enjoyed it and will definitely explore other f/f fiction for a treat. :)
I've heard people say that this is the best book you could possibly read to learn more about Tarot. I don't know if I'd agree with that, because, for my purposes, this book left a lot to be desired. I can definitely recognize the author's amount of education and experience with the Tarot, but this book had way more information than I really needed to go out and do a reading for someone else (or even myself). No way would I recommend this book for a beginner in the Tarot. This is strictly for someone who wants a billion different interpretations (bordering on rambles) on each component of each card. Oftentimes I would read her description of what a particular card means, and walk away with more questions than answers. I also don't understand why she discussed the cards in each suit from King to Ace, rather than from Ace to King. Pollack's interpretations and way of writing simply did not appeal to me or offer any valuable information. I don't feel like I could use much of her work in my own divination.
Yay! This was such a treat. What kid (or adult) hasn't fantasized about running away from home and having an adventure? Claudia and Jamie Kincaid, the runaways in question, leap out of the book so realistically as children who often bicker and are often thoughtless, yet are wide-eyed with curiosity, adventure, and appreciation for life. I saw quite a lot of myself in Claudia, in fact; we both love a good adventure, but even moreso do we love comfort and fastidiousness than dangerous situations.
The last ~40 pages earned the book a fourth star–easily the best part of the book; it's bittersweet and a nice wrap-up for the book's overarching mystery.
The narration/POV could potentially confuse younger readers; it is not from Claudia or Jamie's perspective, but from Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, who does not enter the story as a character until well into the book. Then again, having her narrate evokes a sense of mystery and the clues falling into place as the children learn more about her. She begins the story as a faceless, rather curmudgeonly old lady, but at the end of the story she is solved as much as the story's bigger mystery is. She's also a great foil for Claudia's whimsical nature.
Overall, this is a cozy mystery well-suited for kids and adults alike. Really enjoyed it!
To quote Sean Spicer, aka Spicey, “You can't make this shit up.” Fire and Fury is funny, dishy, and almost unbelievable–and yet. However, Wolff often tries to cram too many ideas into one sentence, sacrificing clarity for sensationalism. I agree partly with other reviewers who say that there's little here that most people don't already know, or couldn't hear about elsewhere. I also often questioned how in the world Wolff was privy to certain statements or conversations. For instance, how in the world did he overheard Ivanka walking down the steps on her cell phone, saying, “I know it's a mess, we're trying to fix it”? There are statements made in here that someone like me, a researcher and a cynic, would want to double-check, but there aren't any footnotes in the book.
Wolff is also clearly awed by Steve Bannon, who arguably acts as the subject of this book more than Trump does. The book is subtitled Inside the Trump White House, meaning that it is more about the staff than The Donald. Wolff mostly focuses on Bannon's relationship with Jarvanka, Jarvanka's relationship with Bannon, and any other combination. Trump is treated like the elephant in the room, like something that has already occurred despite everyone's best efforts and must now be managed as discreetly as possible.
Overall, I started out with the book feeling like I was being let in on a juicy secret, but more than halfway through, it got stale and hard to follow. Take this review for what it is, though; I'd wager that those of you who are reading it either have already read the book, or have no plans to do so.