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kangaruthie's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because I loved Orlean's The Library Book. This one contained lots of fascinating information about the community of people who are obsessive about orchids (which I didn't even know existed before). However, it was much too long, and as many reviewers have mentioned, I feel like the most interesting information could've been condensed down into one article. I found myself skimming through several pages and getting impatient with all of her random, rambling asides and rushing to the end. Overall, it contained good chunks of interesting information, but I would recommend passing this one over and reading The Library Book instead.
rozereads's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.5
Pretty dry -- the audio book more so
no30's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
bellamonster's review against another edition
4.0
Wow I learned a lot. Florida is crazy. Orchids are crazy. People are crazy.
dyant's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
iceberg0's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting story but the author goes off on some distracted tangents.
hmgelo02's review against another edition
2.0
It's not often that I force myself to read a book. If I start reading and can't get into it, I normally put it aside, never to finish. For some reason, I actually forced myself to read this book... for reasons I'll probably never understand. Maybe because it was on the NYT Bestseller List, or because it was widely acclaimed, or because there was even a movie based on it. Maybe I thought I was supposed to enjoy reading this.
The fact was, though, that I didn't. I wanted to enjoy this book; it was pretty well-written but the subject just didn't hold my attention. I have a black thumb and can't keep plants alive for more than a few months, so maybe a book about an entire sub-culture of orchid-obsessed people isn't really up my alley.
I think, mostly, it just wasn't that interesting. There was a lot of information about the background of bringing orchids to the US, about the swamps of Florida, about the Native American tribes in Florida, about orchid growers and orchid collectors. The author tends to ramble and has some very long run-on sentences. Toward the end I found myself scanning the paragraphs just to finish the book so that I could say I'd actually read it cover-to-cover.
Now that I have, I can cross that off my list forevermore. Whew.
The fact was, though, that I didn't. I wanted to enjoy this book; it was pretty well-written but the subject just didn't hold my attention. I have a black thumb and can't keep plants alive for more than a few months, so maybe a book about an entire sub-culture of orchid-obsessed people isn't really up my alley.
I think, mostly, it just wasn't that interesting. There was a lot of information about the background of bringing orchids to the US, about the swamps of Florida, about the Native American tribes in Florida, about orchid growers and orchid collectors. The author tends to ramble and has some very long run-on sentences. Toward the end I found myself scanning the paragraphs just to finish the book so that I could say I'd actually read it cover-to-cover.
Now that I have, I can cross that off my list forevermore. Whew.