Montgomery Webster
STAY AWAY FROM THIS BOOK!
I'm not sure how this book ended up in my To-Read list. I wouldn't have read it on holiday either, if I had known it was so long. In fact, I generally do not read extremely long books (> 600 pages) by authors until I've vetted a shorter work first. All this contributed to an extremely unpleasant read.
Infinite Jest is partly about a dangerous film of the same name: People that interact with this film cannot stop watching, until they die of corporeal neglect. Ironic that my experience of the book was the exact contrast, since I had to struggle against giving up on it at every turn. About 2 / 3 of the way into the book, probably around page 650, some of the story arcs appear to begin to approach one another. A few pages later, it was clear this was a feign and the book continues without direction or regard for the reader, ending with a random flashback.
Story: 2 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 7.5
Prose: 7.5
Tags: Sports secondary schools, training, addiction, revolutionary groups, politics, neuroticism, corruption, toxic waste, technology, family
Story: 10 / 10
Characters: 9
Prose: 7
Content density: 9
An absolutely incredible book and I don't even watch sports.
Moneyball will probably teach anyone to love data, numbers, and mathematics.
Highly recommended.
¡NEVER STOP A BOOK IN THE MIDDLE! This book started out bad. The writing was fine, but the story simply was not going anywhere. Then suddenly it is interesting (and especially relevant to me) and continues through to the end. The Bell Jar, that demon! Luckily mine is behaving right now, though we all live with the preparation and knowledge of its eventual persecution.
My first romance book. Not amazing, but simple, bittersweet, and short. Will not read another Nicholas Sparks book though...curious about the movie now.
BESTIALITY was definitely not what I expected when I picked up my first SF Masterworks book. Frankly, it is very light, science-fiction and might altogether belong in another genre. Either way, the book is extremely well written and interesting, especially the taboo romance.
5.5/10
Beautifully written, but simply not enough story. Probably better than the film, though altogether similar. Will not revisit McCarthy again.
Story: 3 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 6
Prose: 4
Haven't read Mishima in years, but this is not what I remember falling in love with.
Story: 6.5 / 10
Characters: 9.5
Setting: 8.5
Prose: 10
The highest prose I can recall reading. Nevertheless, the story is not as good as the first read through 20 years ago, when I was a teenager. Could be because I haven't read much literary fiction since then though. Still my preferred Mishima book.
Very interesting story and has altogether sold me on Fantasy books. Writing mostly worked. The story was pretty strong despite relying heavily on nonsensical space-time continuum faith leaps, which I generally prefer to avoid.
Am very curious to see where the next book goes though this first book ended fully. Somebody accidentally sold me the second book in Edinburgh before I had read the first. Thus, it looks like I will continue the series.
By far the hardest book I have ever read. Sadly, not worth the effort. It is an incomprehensible and sad story, presumably of love.
May never return to any of the work by the Bronte sisters as punishment for a miserable read.
Hardly a history of the world (mostly Europe really), but definitely a good starting point for future reading (precisely what I was looking for). The writing is intended for children, so it is a bit strange.
Ends after World War I.
The series continues seamlessly. Obviously, nothing is as original the second time around and I wonder if it is even worth my time, especially since the ending is weaker in the middle part of the trilogy.
Information value: 7.0 / 10
Content density: 8
Structure (Story): 9 / 10
Prose: 9
Be forewarned: This is not a personal development book. I presumed that the person who recommended it to me did so in that vain, just as my suggestions to her were. However, one of us made a mistake.
Not being the book I was expecting, nor of a genre I would consider reading, I kept waiting for some tips on dealing with trauma. Part of the psycho-therpeudical school of thought is that everyone has trauma. That was why this book was supposed to have universal relevance. However, I don't recall the author ever taking that stance, and all the techniques that were introduced, were done so in a slightly academic manner; not as useful standalone exercises.
Note that I read the book over many periods. The library loan kept expiring as I read this piece of non-fiction alongside my preferred pleasure of literary and genre fiction. As a result, my comments might have some inaccuricies. You probably know to expect that from me anyway.
Accidentally started this lengthy, 500-page Lithuanian book while visiting Vilnius. It might be better to have a shorter introduction to this country's literature.
Simply a remarkable book, even better than Gateway and probably one of the top 10 scifi books I have ever read (as of March 2012). The contributions are both anthropological and political. I also always enjoy Pohl's futurology settings, taking place at the beginning of the interesting part of the Space Age. Also, the main character is very accessible, a lot like other space inclined people without a real valuable trait that would earn them a spot in space. There is so much more...
Will be reading the rest of his work soon.
Was in love when I heard the concept of the book, namely remixing work where the copyright had expired. Note that I would not have approached such a combined unless I was either not ever intending to read the book or was already familiar with its contents. Seeing the movie would not have been justworthy enough, but I had listened to the audiobook of Pride and Prejudice.
The execution, itself, was good in many respects. However, it only add these small, dead elements on top of the story. It would have been more thorough to have added an additional plot that related specifically to the zombie cause. Since this was not included, the book is not exactly worth the read. I feel like I have wasted my time reading an abridged version of a book and cannot really say I read Pride and Prejudice at all.
Will definitely read some of the other Grahame-Smith books though. Just have to do a bit more background research beforehand.
Well this final chapter in the original trilogy is a profound. As a whole, the 675 page trilogy works, earning its place in Top 5 Scifi lists, but individually they do not. Additionally, Asimov builds up each book until a big, dramatic ending, which is not very compelling.
Story: 8.0 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 7.5
Prose: 8
My second Onda book in the same number of weeks. Cannot recommend them enough!
Story: 4 / 10
Characters: 2
Setting: 5
Prose: 2
Maybe most translated, young adult books are bad. Anyway, definitely some of the worst writing I've come across. The story does get better as it goes on. Nevertheless, who really wants to read a story with 46 characters?
Absolutely do not read.
A very useful read. Definitely clarified why the English would be put off by US behaviour. What's interesting is that English that read the book find it humorous and amusing, while as a foreigner I found it factual and dry. Even had to take a 3-book reading break to finally finish it.
Most important lesson: they are reserved and modest: http://www.langmaidpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/Rules-of-E1-1024x702.jpg
No more non-fiction for a while, please.
Story: 8 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 7
Prose: 3
Since it was such a short book, it is probably a much better read if you haven't seen the movie (as I had). Nevertheless, I was able to enjoy the differences in the final 3rd of the book.