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klarson90's reviews
222 reviews
The Farm by Tom Rob Smith
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I was so bored.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Abortion, and Gaslighting
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Kamala Harris
informative
fast-paced
4.0
This book is not exactly a memory, there is not much beyond glimpses of her personal life; this is not a bad thing.
This book focuses on platforms and her experience with those platforms. It shows her passions and her thought processes which is vital for her moving forward.
I would highly recommend this book for all who are on the fence going into this election cycle.
This book focuses on platforms and her experience with those platforms. It shows her passions and her thought processes which is vital for her moving forward.
I would highly recommend this book for all who are on the fence going into this election cycle.
Outdoor Kids in an Inside World by Steven Rinella
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
DNF
I got through 20% of this book before giving up. Nearly every minute I listened to my mouth was open, aghast at what was being said.
The hunting and eating of pigeons when they lived in the city, taking his naked child outside IN A HURRICANE to feel the force of nature just screams careless.
There are numerous parenting outdoors books that do this immensely better and I couldn't stomach the lecture from his narrow minded self induced pedestal any longer.
Better books to read:
How to Raise a Wild Child
The Open-Air Life
There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather
The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping With Kids
I got through 20% of this book before giving up. Nearly every minute I listened to my mouth was open, aghast at what was being said.
The hunting and eating of pigeons when they lived in the city, taking his naked child outside IN A HURRICANE to feel the force of nature just screams careless.
There are numerous parenting outdoors books that do this immensely better and I couldn't stomach the lecture from his narrow minded self induced pedestal any longer.
Better books to read:
How to Raise a Wild Child
The Open-Air Life
There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather
The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping With Kids
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This is solidly endearing.
Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.25
The Bone Season: Tenth Anniversary Edition by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
I was so prepared to give this a lower rating but I did like it better for the last 20% of the book. However, I would have never gotten there if I didn't have a book club deadline, I contemplated not finishing with every paragraph.
Complaints:
1) Women. Would this books pass the bechdal test? I don't think so. There are so many characters to keep track of but the women all have some sort of relationship to the male main character: the wife, the lover, the mother, thedaughter , the shrewd mother in law... Each woman has an interesting part to play if the author would have given them any time to spend on that. The only time we really see a woman doing her job is the heartless business minded mother in law (such a stereotype). Whenever a woman is introduced the language used really makes me think that the author could never imagine that men and women could be friends without the possibility of them hooking up. Gross. By the end of the book I could see that women were all characterized as emotional and the men were calculating on a larger scale. The first example is introduced right at the beginning of the book when his mother fakes her death because she is aging (but it's presented to the reader as her no longer having a function as Proctor's mother or keeping up with her friends) but then when his father voluntarily retires it's after he has finished his life's project. Even though Cynthia is not actually dead and she did it for a specific purpose the author does not change that tone in his characters for the entirety of this neverending book.
2) Why does Proctor have to always be addressed as Director Bennett? Seriously, our main character is self absorbed with no impulse control for 99% of the book, I have no idea how he got to be a director because he seems to actually have no rational intelligence.
3) Length. This read was full of pointless and unnecessary words. This easily could have been a short story and did not warrant the 20ish hours I was forced to endure.
Even the part that I did enjoy was tainted by grief and how sexism even played a part there. Plot twist Caeli is actually dead, Elise is the designer of the shared consciousness for the passengers and her grief for her dead daughter creates situations that are perilous to the inhabitants, but when it's time to choose a designer for the return trip Proctor is the new designer because he can handle grief better because he is a man.
Complaints:
1) Women. Would this books pass the bechdal test? I don't think so. There are so many characters to keep track of but the women all have some sort of relationship to the male main character: the wife, the lover, the mother, the
2) Why does Proctor have to always be addressed as Director Bennett? Seriously, our main character is self absorbed with no impulse control for 99% of the book, I have no idea how he got to be a director because he seems to actually have no rational intelligence.
3) Length. This read was full of pointless and unnecessary words. This easily could have been a short story and did not warrant the 20ish hours I was forced to endure.
Even the part that I did enjoy was tainted by grief and how sexism even played a part there.