jvanfosson's Reviews (171)

Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms

Crystal Frasier, Val Wise

4.75

emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain

Lisa Feldman Barrett

4.0

informative inspiring medium-paced

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

James Clear

4.0

informative inspiring fast-paced

God's Boy

Andrew Hahn

4.75

challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

The Heartbreak Bakery

A.R. Capetta

4.25

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Under the Whispering Door

T.J. Klune

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Engaged Scholar: Expanding the Impact of Academic Research in Today's World

Andrew J. Hoffman

2.5

informative slow-paced

I wanted to love Hoffman's The Engaged Scholar: Expanding the Impact of Academic Research in Today's World because this book and what it purports to do is absolutely needed. Unfortunately, the book misses the mark a bit from the description. In fact, the book would be served by changing the title to The Engaged Scientist and aligning the promotional materials and descriptions to be more specific to the content of the book.

Hoffman, a professor of Sustainable Enterprise, helpfully critiques many aspects of academia and the disconnect between research and application or practice in different contexts that make research matter. Still, Hoffman's disciplinary bias is evident throughout the text as the focus is almost exclusively on STEM fields. I would highly recommend this text to STEM professors and researchers but find the book mostly unhelpful for other disciplines.