Take a photo of a barcode or cover
booksinterrupted's reviews
354 reviews
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
5.0
This has to be the first book that I read after the movie that I still enjoyed after seeing the movie. I mean that I am NOT disappointed that I saw the movie first. I saw the movie in theaters in 2010 with about 10 female relatives, some of whom had read the book beforehand and some hadn't. We all came away feeling inspired in one way or another. I vividly remember wanting to rush out and get a copy of the book - a feeling I had never felt before after seeing a movie. Normally the film adaptation doesn't inspire me like that.
I finished listening to this book while on a road trip and I wanted to continue the road trip for another year. My destination doesn't necessarily matter, although I would love to go to Italy and South America. I have a lot of respect and appreciation for someone who can pick up and leave for a year and travel with no or little support from friends and family.
I think I related to this story so much because of the phrase in the description, "In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want—husband, country home, successful career—but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed by panic and confusion." I am single, living in the country, and by my own standards have a moderately successful career and am filled with panic and confusion over not having what I am "supposed to have." I tell myself I'm happy, but am I really happy because I don't have what society tells me I'm supposed to have at this point in my life? Reading/listening to Gilbert's account of her journey to rediscover and explore herself for a year gave me the motivation I needed to do the same for me in my own way. I love her style of writing because she's telling a story as if to a friend yet she's writing for herself and readers, especially women, can relate to what she has to say.
This has to be the first book that I read after the movie that I still enjoyed after seeing the movie. I mean that I am NOT disappointed that I saw the movie first. I saw the movie in theaters in 2010 with about 10 female relatives, some of whom had read the book beforehand and some hadn't. We all came away feeling inspired in one way or another. I vividly remember wanting to rush out and get a copy of the book - a feeling I had never felt before after seeing a movie. Normally the film adaptation doesn't inspire me like that.
I finished listening to this book while on a road trip and I wanted to continue the road trip for another year. My destination doesn't necessarily matter, although I would love to go to Italy and South America. I have a lot of respect and appreciation for someone who can pick up and leave for a year and travel with no or little support from friends and family.
I think I related to this story so much because of the phrase in the description, "In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want—husband, country home, successful career—but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed by panic and confusion." I am single, living in the country, and by my own standards have a moderately successful career and am filled with panic and confusion over not having what I am "supposed to have." I tell myself I'm happy, but am I really happy because I don't have what society tells me I'm supposed to have at this point in my life? Reading/listening to Gilbert's account of her journey to rediscover and explore herself for a year gave me the motivation I needed to do the same for me in my own way. I love her style of writing because she's telling a story as if to a friend yet she's writing for herself and readers, especially women, can relate to what she has to say.
I recommend this to anyone who is ready to do some self-discovery, travel the world, and is not happy about having what they're supposed to have and is panicked and confused by that unhappiness. Recommendations will also go to my book club.
I finished listening to this book while on a road trip and I wanted to continue the road trip for another year. My destination doesn't necessarily matter, although I would love to go to Italy and South America. I have a lot of respect and appreciation for someone who can pick up and leave for a year and travel with no or little support from friends and family.
I think I related to this story so much because of the phrase in the description, "In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want—husband, country home, successful career—but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed by panic and confusion." I am single, living in the country, and by my own standards have a moderately successful career and am filled with panic and confusion over not having what I am "supposed to have." I tell myself I'm happy, but am I really happy because I don't have what society tells me I'm supposed to have at this point in my life? Reading/listening to Gilbert's account of her journey to rediscover and explore herself for a year gave me the motivation I needed to do the same for me in my own way. I love her style of writing because she's telling a story as if to a friend yet she's writing for herself and readers, especially women, can relate to what she has to say.
This has to be the first book that I read after the movie that I still enjoyed after seeing the movie. I mean that I am NOT disappointed that I saw the movie first. I saw the movie in theaters in 2010 with about 10 female relatives, some of whom had read the book beforehand and some hadn't. We all came away feeling inspired in one way or another. I vividly remember wanting to rush out and get a copy of the book - a feeling I had never felt before after seeing a movie. Normally the film adaptation doesn't inspire me like that.
I finished listening to this book while on a road trip and I wanted to continue the road trip for another year. My destination doesn't necessarily matter, although I would love to go to Italy and South America. I have a lot of respect and appreciation for someone who can pick up and leave for a year and travel with no or little support from friends and family.
I think I related to this story so much because of the phrase in the description, "In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want—husband, country home, successful career—but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed by panic and confusion." I am single, living in the country, and by my own standards have a moderately successful career and am filled with panic and confusion over not having what I am "supposed to have." I tell myself I'm happy, but am I really happy because I don't have what society tells me I'm supposed to have at this point in my life? Reading/listening to Gilbert's account of her journey to rediscover and explore herself for a year gave me the motivation I needed to do the same for me in my own way. I love her style of writing because she's telling a story as if to a friend yet she's writing for herself and readers, especially women, can relate to what she has to say.
I recommend this to anyone who is ready to do some self-discovery, travel the world, and is not happy about having what they're supposed to have and is panicked and confused by that unhappiness. Recommendations will also go to my book club.
Bag Balm and Duct Tape: Tales of a Vermont Doctor by Beach Conger
3.0
As you can see by how long it took me to read this book, this was a difficult book to get through. It was chosen for book club out of about 5 selections with a Vermont theme because it seemed to be the most appealing. Since the book club is based in Vermont, we wanted to read something based in the state.
The book started out slow as he's describing the countryside and transition to living in Vermont, in a "slower" pace of life than he was accustomed to previously. It read like a journal that was adapted for publication for the serious reader and the casual reader. The serious reader notes were a bit hilarious and at times unnecessary because it could've easily been worked into the story instead of being added to it to be published.
Many of the chapters (or should I call them journal entries?) seemed to be mostly him complaining about everything that is wrong with Western medicine. About halfway through the book is when it got better when he learned how to treat patients rather than the disease. It took him moving to a small town to learn that everything he learned in med school and practiced elsewhere isn't necessarily the right way of practicing medicine. He learned that he needed to treat the person and earn their trust rather than treat the disease.
I don't remember the specific point in the book when it happened, but I do remember suddenly enjoying the story and appreciating his humor, grace, and appreciation for the hardy lifestyle of Vermonters who don't take shit from outsiders they call flatlanders.
The book was obviously dated with there being references to specific treatments and medications that are no longer recommended, which will happen with many books on the topic of medicine.
Because I felt like the book read as a journal and it was dated, I got bored easily and had trouble getting back into it at first. I did not finish it in time for book club, but did pick it back up when a friend and I started talking about it. I finished it so that we could discuss it more in depth and he felt similarly disappointed in the title being misleading.
The book started out slow as he's describing the countryside and transition to living in Vermont, in a "slower" pace of life than he was accustomed to previously. It read like a journal that was adapted for publication for the serious reader and the casual reader. The serious reader notes were a bit hilarious and at times unnecessary because it could've easily been worked into the story instead of being added to it to be published.
Many of the chapters (or should I call them journal entries?) seemed to be mostly him complaining about everything that is wrong with Western medicine. About halfway through the book is when it got better when he learned how to treat patients rather than the disease. It took him moving to a small town to learn that everything he learned in med school and practiced elsewhere isn't necessarily the right way of practicing medicine. He learned that he needed to treat the person and earn their trust rather than treat the disease.
I don't remember the specific point in the book when it happened, but I do remember suddenly enjoying the story and appreciating his humor, grace, and appreciation for the hardy lifestyle of Vermonters who don't take shit from outsiders they call flatlanders.
The book was obviously dated with there being references to specific treatments and medications that are no longer recommended, which will happen with many books on the topic of medicine.
Because I felt like the book read as a journal and it was dated, I got bored easily and had trouble getting back into it at first. I did not finish it in time for book club, but did pick it back up when a friend and I started talking about it. I finished it so that we could discuss it more in depth and he felt similarly disappointed in the title being misleading.
Dune by Frank Herbert
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I set the "Date finished this book" as "Date I gave up on this book" because I had a hard time getting into it and following everything. Reading sci-fi is just not my thing, but I persevered and somehow made much more progress with this book than I did with The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. That book is a post for another day if I could ever get into it again.
With Dune, I made a point of reading as much as I could, which was 83 pages out of 517, and still attend the discussion tonight with Vermont Books 'n' Brews at Cattails Restaurant. Generally speaking, I felt like there are way too many details to remember for me to be engrossed in it early enough to stick with the story. Being a stubborn reader though, I gave it a chance and took the advice of the person who recommended it and kept reading. He pointed out that the first time he read it he struggled for the first 100 pages or so, but then cruised to the end.
Because of Herbert's writing style, I could tell right away and understand why it's such a classic, especially in the sci-fi genre. That helped a little bit in keeping me interested - that and it's subtle similarities to Star Wars, which made me wonder if George Lucas drew some inspiration from Herbert's stories. Although I picked up right away that there were some dated material (like blatant sexism and technological advances of the time), I was able to recognize why Frank Herbert has been hailed a classic sci-fi author and why so many people who enjoy sci-fi enjoy his writing.
That said, I'm not sure that I'll be able to ever finish the book since it was such a struggle for me to even get into. I feel comfortable being able to say no to this one and be okay with not finishing it, and therefore I am not going to rate this book because it would be an unfair subjective rating of something I highly dislike. Certain genres are not for everyone.
With Dune, I made a point of reading as much as I could, which was 83 pages out of 517, and still attend the discussion tonight with Vermont Books 'n' Brews at Cattails Restaurant. Generally speaking, I felt like there are way too many details to remember for me to be engrossed in it early enough to stick with the story. Being a stubborn reader though, I gave it a chance and took the advice of the person who recommended it and kept reading. He pointed out that the first time he read it he struggled for the first 100 pages or so, but then cruised to the end.
Because of Herbert's writing style, I could tell right away and understand why it's such a classic, especially in the sci-fi genre. That helped a little bit in keeping me interested - that and it's subtle similarities to Star Wars, which made me wonder if George Lucas drew some inspiration from Herbert's stories. Although I picked up right away that there were some dated material (like blatant sexism and technological advances of the time), I was able to recognize why Frank Herbert has been hailed a classic sci-fi author and why so many people who enjoy sci-fi enjoy his writing.
That said, I'm not sure that I'll be able to ever finish the book since it was such a struggle for me to even get into. I feel comfortable being able to say no to this one and be okay with not finishing it, and therefore I am not going to rate this book because it would be an unfair subjective rating of something I highly dislike. Certain genres are not for everyone.
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
4.0
There is A LOT to think about in this book. As a white woman, I couldn't relate to most of it in terms of gun violence and the likelihood of not having a father around. I could relate to the need to act or speak a certain way around others, especially men, in order to protect my body. We're also conditioned, consciously or not, to be afraid of or to fear the black man. I listened to the audio version and want to go back and read the book so I can make notes and cite specific passages that made me react out loud. There were a few places where I thought it was total crap before realizing my ignorance. He was talking about his own experiences growing up as a black male and I had to remind myself that many black people could relate to him and I wondered if there were others who couldn't because they had a different experience.
I did thoroughly enjoy a perspective completely different than my own.
One comment about the audio version though, the author is the one that recorded it and he kept saying "ax" for "ask" and "birfday" for "birthday." Those mispronunciations are almost exclusively black to me, and one of my biggest pet peeves. It's not a racist mindset on my part, and that's not what I'm trying to say. In my experience, only black people have used those incorrect pronunciations.
All that said, I think that Coates is a great writer and I enjoyed the format and the perspective of him writing a letter/essay to his son. This is worth a second or even third read for this reader to hopefully better understand his perspective,, and to be able to cite specific passages where I reacted strongly.
I did thoroughly enjoy a perspective completely different than my own.
One comment about the audio version though, the author is the one that recorded it and he kept saying "ax" for "ask" and "birfday" for "birthday." Those mispronunciations are almost exclusively black to me, and one of my biggest pet peeves. It's not a racist mindset on my part, and that's not what I'm trying to say. In my experience, only black people have used those incorrect pronunciations.
All that said, I think that Coates is a great writer and I enjoyed the format and the perspective of him writing a letter/essay to his son. This is worth a second or even third read for this reader to hopefully better understand his perspective,, and to be able to cite specific passages where I reacted strongly.
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
3.0
Full of the typical teenage angst to be expected in high school, I may have enjoyed this more if I were that age. I did like that it was written in letter/dear diary type format from the main characters perspective.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
3.0
I wanted to enjoy this much more than I did. Since it is highly rated and frequently recommended, I was excited to try it especially since I enjoy historical fiction set during WWII. That said, I wasn't sucked into it nearly as much as I had hoped and got bored very quickly due to the repetition of events and difficulty of following the connection between characters. Perhaps reading a physical copy will help if there's ever a next time that I read this book.
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
3.0
This was the first book I've read or listened to by Ann Patchett. The story followed Bert Cousins and Beverly Keating, who married after they fell for each other at a christening. Patchett seemed to sensitively address the issues of two individuals who fell in love despite being married to other people and both having children from those marriages. Relationships are complicated as it is, let alone adding infidelity and children to the mix.
While the story had many interesting points, I often found myself zoning out and not really paying attention to the story so when I did tune back in, I was lost and not sure exactly what "time" it was in the book. This is why it took me 6 weeks to get through it, which in turn also added to my inability to keep track of where I was because I'd forget details after so much time passed between listening sessions. Although, there did seem to be quite a few chronological "leaps" in the story and Patchett assumed the reader would follow along without clarifying exactly when events were taking place. She'd also reference certain events that happen in the past as a flashback or a memory, but then come back to present day, which left a reader (or listener) utterly confused as to what exactly happened when.
One thing I did find interesting was the concept of the book being read by the characters. It was a story about the characters being read by the characters, which then had a movie made about them and what their reactions were to both the book and the movie.
Overall, I'd rate this a 3 out of 5 - it's okay. Not for me, though I can see why others enjoy it.
While the story had many interesting points, I often found myself zoning out and not really paying attention to the story so when I did tune back in, I was lost and not sure exactly what "time" it was in the book. This is why it took me 6 weeks to get through it, which in turn also added to my inability to keep track of where I was because I'd forget details after so much time passed between listening sessions. Although, there did seem to be quite a few chronological "leaps" in the story and Patchett assumed the reader would follow along without clarifying exactly when events were taking place. She'd also reference certain events that happen in the past as a flashback or a memory, but then come back to present day, which left a reader (or listener) utterly confused as to what exactly happened when.
One thing I did find interesting was the concept of the book being read by the characters. It was a story about the characters being read by the characters, which then had a movie made about them and what their reactions were to both the book and the movie.
Overall, I'd rate this a 3 out of 5 - it's okay. Not for me, though I can see why others enjoy it.
Home Front by Kristin Hannah
5.0
Kristin Hannah does it again! A tear-jerker story about a lifetime of love and friendship, and the hardships that come with those relationships especially during a war when one or more characters are in the military.
Be prepared to have some tissues handy throughout the entire novel.
Full review to come soon!
Be prepared to have some tissues handy throughout the entire novel.
Full review to come soon!