James
Bit slow at the start, got more engaging towards the latter middle section. For the story the book was a suitable length (4 hours or so).
I don't like dropping books, and this one's premise seemed really cool. But I just can't. The writing, whilst sometimes beautiful, is a constant and unending stream of synonyms. Unfortunately the author relied too heavily on the thesaurus for this one and the pages drag in exotic and archaic descriptions of the most mundane and simple of tasks.
An enjoyable read, but I wish it was longer. It sticks to the movie very tightly but I think fleshing scenes out more could have differentiated the book from the movie more. As it stands there's not much reason to pick this over the film.
An excellent book on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Harris breaks down complex ideas into easy to understand plain English, and I would recommend this book to anyone. The start and end are phenomenal, the middle pretty good. Although it's very easy to read, you will definitely take your time due to the subtle complexity of the text. Make sure you complete his exercises, even when you don't feel like it, they're absolutely worth it to getting the most out of the book.
Overall I enjoyed this book. The first half was more enjoyable and eye-opening than the latter half. That said, there were moments in the second half that contained quality wisdom. Unfortunately I didn't share the sentiments many others have had about the life-changing nature of this book, so I can't say it's something I will re-read or highly recommend to others. If someone is curious about this book, though, I would suggest reading it for yourself.
I gave this book a 3-star because I liked it, but I didn't “really” like it to warrant a 4-star.
Here's a couple quotes from Frankl I think contain some solid wisdom:
- “Live as if you were living for the second time and had acted as wrongly the first time as you are about to act now.” (p. 151).
- “Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he should recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” (p. 113).
- “Pleasure is, and must remain, a side-effect or by-product, and is destroyed and spoiled to which it is made a goal in itself.” (p. 125).
It was ok. Had it been longer I wouldn't have finished it, I don't think. The premise was interesting - a boy who can talk to ghosts that can't lie - but I didn't feel like the story really did it justice. It was a bit plain; not much happened. It was written in the first-person, similar to a diary, where the narrator (the boy who can speak to ghosts, Jamie) sort of just outlined the times throughout his life he'd talked to ghosts and something mildly interesting occurred. There he would also sort of talk about his mum, his mum's ex-girlfriend, Uncle Harry and some others.
I think I just finished it because King is a good writer, but overall fairly boring story, in my opinion.
After reading Yuval Noah Harari's other work, Sapiens, I knew I had to read more. Thankfully, I was gifted this book. At first I thought it was Harari's attempt at a self-help book, which I was OK with, but I was very pleased to learn that it was not such a thing. It turned out to be way better than I had thought (the title deceived me).
The book is broken into 5 broad topics, with each topic encompassing a range of “lessons” relating to that topic's theme. Each lesson is more of a conversational essay designed to give the reader a broad understanding of the issue, and leaving the reader to go away in their own time and ponder it's implications. A more appropriate title for the book would perhaps be: 21 Things to Think about in the 21st Century (/s). Kidding aside, it is a very good book for the modern day person, and I would recommend it to almost anyone. Just don't expect Harari to be giving you answers on these topics; that's your job, he's just the conversation starter.
Ooh my this was a good book. It's been a long time since I read young adult and this was a good book to do it with. I'm not really sure how it's young adult, maybe on a technicality? I'm not too familiar with the genre but it has very rich and deep characters with all their flaws and goodness wrapped up into distinct characters. Not just one, not just two ... but 6 uniquely fleshed out characters in just two books. Many books struggle to develop one or two so I am very impressed here. Bardugo really manages to capture the humanity of each character, including the side characters outside of the main six.
Pacing is good, characters are strong, ending is fulfilling and satisfying, story is interesting. The story is brutal when it needs to be and gentle when it's time. A really well done book, thoroughly enjoyed it.
It's been a long time since I've read a book that made me stay up hours after bed but this one did it. I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Each had personality, with their own uniqueness, and flaws which I appreciated - giving realness to the characters. I enjoyed the jovialness of the group dynamic. Whilst they were in many ways strangers to one another, there was a level of friendship despite the bickering, that made for very pleasant reading. The ending of the book gets pretty intense and I am very eager to begin to the next book.
I'm not sure the story itself was anything fantastic, but everything else more than makes up for it. It's essentially a heist story with a ragtag crew. I am aware this book is set in a larger universe (Grishaverse) with prior novels in a seperate series. There were times I felt I needed to know more about this world to understand it better with descriptions and references that felt like assumed prior knowledge (though I suppose in many ways it is) but it wasn't difficult to wrap my head around it.
There were a few times when I felt cracks in Bardugo's writing, but these were kept to a minimum (maybe like 3 times), where I couldn't quite follow or make-out what was happening or who had said what. Overall, the writing isn't anything to write home about it but it does get the job done very adequately. The first half of the book required more plot as well as the story doesn't truly begin until halfway through.
In short: the characters are awesome, the story is pretty good, these a few minor flaws here and there but overall a very good book. 4 stars.
An enjoyable read. If you like this premise—people having one last chance to talk to someone—then I'd say go for it. However, perhaps it's not something everyone would enjoy. It's not slow, we move quite quickly through each character's story, but if you're looking for something “exciting”, then perhaps you won't find it here.
However, the characters are well-developed and each is unique in their experience and the “loss” they experience. Importantly, I didn't find any of the character POVs worse than any other. For this kind of book, this is essential I think and Kawaguchi nailed the balance.
Essentially, I'd pitch this book as an exploration of one central theme: saying goodbye. In some form, each chapter's POV character must say goodbye to someone they love. As we progress through the chapter they learn to accept and move-on in their lives.
No matter who we are, and no matter how we will say goodbye to the people we love—whether through death, illness or life circumstances—everyone will go through this experience over and over in our lives. And the question is: how do we overcome this loss?
I think Kawaguchi's answer to this is simple: it is good to be sad in saying goodbye, because it meant we had something to say goodbye to. If we can appreciate this, then we realise it's better this way because the alternative is never having had someone worth saying goodbye to. A reality that is perhaps even sadder than saying goodbye.
In my opinion, Before the Coffee Gets Cold provides a convincing persuasion of this idea. If this theme is something that interests you, then this book is a subtle and satisfying exploration of it.
———
4/5 for writing, 4.5/5 for story and 3/5 for impact.
Beautifully written, with clear direction from the authors. The pacing and structure guide the reader seamlessly through the narrative. It's a unique concept that captivates, offering a refreshing departure from the ordinary. As for the ending – it was perfect for me.
——
Writing & art direction: 4.5 ⭐️ (above expectations / above average)
Story & narrative: 5 ⭐️ (exceeded expectations / excellent)
Impact & memorability: 3.5 ⭐️ (met expectations / average)
I quite enjoyed this read. I understand why many people read it multiple times now. As you read on you understand more of the world and some things aren't understood until the very end. Re-reading with this prior knowledge would (I imagine) be a very different experience.
It is a little difficult at times to follow, but with a little help from Google (and slowing down and re-reading passages) you'll be rewarded with a fairly rich story. The only reason I probably wouldn't give this a 5-star is because I don't like having to look up a lot of terms and definitions (and being confused by what paragraphs are referring to even when I do know each definition) when reading so I understand what's happening. A second read however could have the potential to earn that 5th star since I would have a better intrinsic knowledge of the text.
An excellent read. Very inspiring.
Despite being light-hearted and humorous, it explores a tonne of thought-provoking themes and ideas.
It could be seen as a self-help book, in a way, through its overall message. But it does so better than any self-help book. It's personal. It's real. It's funny. And it teaches you a brilliantly simple moral: Say yes more.
Highly recommend to anyone.
I feel like, in a way, JK Rowling went back to her roots. For me, the previous book, the Order of the Phoenix, was such a slog it took months for me to get through. In its attempt to become darker, it became boring; it lost its charm and character that made the Harry Potter series unique and fun to read. I feel like the Half-Blood Prince managed to keep the darker tone interesting because it was able to better keep that sense of magical, high-school wonder whilst navigating the darker aspects of the plot.
Probably my least favourite of the harry potter books (at least so far) taking me almost 3 months to finish. The middle is super slow, the start disconnected from everything else, and it doesn't finish with much payoff. Umbridge, who is supposed to be a shitty person, is also just a shitty character who ultimately bogs the story down significantly. For me the beauty of Harry Potter is in the way it captures the magic of childhood/teenage-hood and all that spirit is stripped here with her character. I'm aware the latter books are darker than the first few, but this wasn't so much “dark” as it was boring and dull. Still, the foundation set earlier in the series manages to carry it through.
Hmm, I'm not sure what to make of this one.
I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first half, which felt a bit generic. It's a fairly short book so a lot seems to happen in not much time but then we find out later it was about 5-6 months that have passed.
The Darkling is a terrible name and I think it would go a long way to making me take his character more seriously. As it stands every time he's mentioned or in a scene I can't help but think of some shoddy romance novel that's trying to hard to have a “mysterious” and “intriguing” character without doing any of the work. Alina so far has been fairly bland, but towards the second half she got some more character about her. Hopefully the next two books continue developing her. Mal is a bit better but I don't think we spent enough time with him to know - but again we do see more of him in the second half. There's a few leaps of logic (?) that propel him from best friend status (more like they grew up together and he often forgets about Alina) to being deeply in love and willing to die for her. It's plausible, but there needed to be more there before they make that leap. I think by the end of the second book is roughly when their lover status is more realistic. I liked and enjoyed it but I'm glad the book wasn't too long and drawn out. Not sure if I'll continue the series.
—-
flaws: -generic characters -basic good v bad story -pacing is a bit wonky (at times) pros: +interesting world +potential for improvement +good writing +story peripheries boost the basic structure
> Bardugo is so far much better in Six of Crows / Crooked Kingdom (which I read first) so it's interesting so her development - because it is a significant level of growth she made. I am unsure of what score to give to be honest. 3-stars feels too low, but 4 seems to high and 3.5 doesn't sound quite right either. I think the major flaw is her generic characters (so far, at least) and the other more minor flaws aren't so bad, but keep it from being a proper 4-star book. Strong 3- to light 4-stars.
1.5 stars.
I believe the choice of writing style was very poor. The frequent switches in character point of view make it challenging to become invested in any one character. Moreover, despite being a quarter of the way through the story, nothing of substance had occurred in terms of the plot yet.
A fairly short book which I liked. Books like this tend to be too long and include too much useless information but Atomic Habits managed to stay on point for the most part.
There were a lot of good points here about habits that could be very useful for people. There were a few cases where analogies and examples weren't relevant to the author's message within the chapter (each chapter focuses on a specific topic related to habits) but that's a very minor issue. Another reviewer mentioned that the author's Benjamin Franklin story left out key details where Franklin actually gave up the habit of journaling because it wasn't helpful but the author here includes it anyway (omitting the crucial part) and using it as his example anyway in support of his point anyway.
In one of the later sections Clear is discussing boredom and habits, and makes the case that we shouldn't expect to find everything fun about it (e.g. lifting weights) but the people who are successful do it anyway each day despite the boredom, not because of some hidden passion they have. He cites a well-known trainer as his evidence. All fair points, and one of the key takeaways for me. However, Clear further talks about “loving” boredom which I found to significantly subtract from his argument.
I liked that the end of each chapter also includes a well-written summary, making it easy to double-check what each chapter discussed (something more books like this could implement). For the most part the writing is succinct and well-written with relevant and useful advice. 4-stars.
Finally got around to this book - I've had it on my to-read list for a while now.
The first half of the book mostly focuses on the gods themselves, their origins, personality and any other key details. The second half mostly focuses on mortals, minor deities, nymphs, etc. which I found less enjoyable.
I particularly enjoyed the etymology, as Fry often points out words of our modern English that came from ancient Greek language and myth. I also enjoyed Fry's retelling of these myths.
However, the topic is one that didn't inspire nor interest me as much as I would've thought (enough to still get through the book though). So I'm giving this one a very subjective 3-stars.
i really enjoyed this. i read it pretty much over the course of a week reading for 1-2.5 hours each day. it was fairly simple, but executed perfectly. pacing is quite fast, but i think it works well here since it means we get to consistently stick with the action despite it feeling at times a bit ‘telling' over ‘showing'. the emphasis is for sure on plot & character not descriptive, slow world-building (think lord of the rings, a song of ice and fire, the wheel of time, etc.).
Some say a weaker book in the series, but I disagree. While at first only reading half of the characters is an issue, it quickly disappears and what you get is a more personal insight into individual characters as every character is only a few chapters away. It allowed me to become more immersed with each character as I felt I was spending more time with each person.
This was a fairly enjoyable read, although I thought it would be creepier and I wished it it was. Despite it being pretty good already I felt it had potential to be even better. The creepiness could be scaled up a notch, and references to eugenics, race, etc. could have been used with more substance to deliver on that uncomfortable/unsettling feeling I was seeking in this book.
Characters are well done each with a unique voice and interesting enough design. The plot is solid and was perfectly capable of driving the story from start to end. The writing is really well done. It was very descriptive and very visual which I thoroughly enjoyed. Giving it a solid 4-stars.