pagesfromhome's reviews
408 reviews

Funny Story by Emily Henry

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

No thoughts. Just perfect.

Good Material by Dolly Alderton

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'll admit that it took me quite a bit to get to the halfway point on this one, but once I did, I didn't want to put it down. Andy is such an interesting character to decide to make the main character and while I wouldn't say I enjoyed spending every page with him, I think Alderton did a great job of making him someone you both want to yell at sometimes and want to root for.

I will say that I was hoping for some more genuinely funny moments and the focus on having children during the final chapter was rough for me personally, but all in all, I would absolutely recommend this to any romance fan who wants to switch up the script a little bit.

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I am so on the fence with this one. I don't think I actually enjoyed reading it, but I absolutely flew through it so there must have been some enjoyment there?

Both Solene and Hayes got on my nerves most of the time and I couldn't bring myself to really fall for their relationship. I did appreciate the moments in the book where Solene talked about being a mother, how she felt with her aging, and her relationships with her friends and colleagues, but the romance just always felt a little off to me, likely because that really is a giant age gap (no matter the genders of the people involved). It was also repetitive in its moments when they were together - they never felt like they genuinely connected outside of sex - they were just bouncing around to different cities, talking about really surface-level "secrets" and having so much damn sex.

But like I said, I flew through it in a matter of days so there must have been something there that pulled me along. I've just got no idea what it was.

Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential by Tiago Forte

informative slow-paced

2.0

All in all this one was fine. It had some great suggestions, but I found myself constantly bothered by how repetitive it felt. It would have been great as just a simple YouTube video or blog post - no real need for it to be a full book.

It's a good fit if you're in need of a crash course of how to manage your notes though.

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Oof. This one just did not do it for me.

While Atwood’s writing is, as usual, gorgeous, I just couldn’t get past such a deeply character-driven novel based around characters that I just didn’t enjoy spending time with. I found myself spending more time trying to figure out what it was Atwood was trying to do/show me and couldn’t get lost in the story the way that I wanted to.

There were absolutely points I enjoyed, especially Elaine’s relationship to her art and how she contended what she thought with what others thought (not unlike a writer and her readers), but I just couldn’t get lost in the story the way I wanted to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Bullying

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Murder

The Memo by Rachel Dodes, Lauren Mechling

hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This is one of those books where the idea is fantastic and the book itself is just...not. While the book wasn't bad by any means, it just felt like it spent too much time bouncing around between timelines and not enough time developing the characters or the story. Jenny never seems to find her footing (in either timeline) and her friendships always seems to be lacking true love.

Moving between the timelines, it's pretty clear from the start that

the "successful" timeline is pretty atrocious and the Memo isn't all it's cracked up to be, but Jenny continues to accept everything that's going on...to the very last moment she still wants to move into the successful life. It's only her delay that stops it from happening.

I would have loved to see some more character development and more chemistry between the characters so I could root for everyone and really lose myself in the story.

Thank you to Harper Perennial for the gift NetGalley copy!

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First things first, Meryl Streep can read any book to me at any time and I'm going to love it.

That aside, this was a classically beautiful Patchett story. She's a master of familial tales and this is no exception. It makes you fall in love with being in love and being young and reminds you about the beauty in everyday mundane things and for that, I'm incredibly grateful to have read it. While it was lovely, it had some parts that felt a little bit forced including the attempt to tackle late-80s racism, and in a way, the undercurrent of the pandemic. I also left the book (even after finding out everything) incredibly curious about a few things, even though the storylines were well wrapped up - they just felt like they could have used more digging.

All in all, incredibly sweet and if you're a fan of Patchett in general (especially The Dutch House), don't skip this one. 

One Day by David Nicholls

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love a book with characters who are made important simply by the fact that the book is about them. There’s really nothing special about Em and Dex. They’re young, beautiful, funny, smart, and all of those wonderful things, but they’re actually just incredibly real characters that remind you of your friend or of that friend of a friend.

I found myself highlighting constantly and while it wasn’t quite a 5-star read (I could do without the couple of Nazi references and odd racist bit), it was damn close.

I’d recommend it to pretty much anyone who loves a quiet, character-driven novel written in a unique and encompassing way. You’ll walk out a better person.

P.S. The Netflix show is damn near a shot-for-shot remake in the best way so that is also an excellent thing to consume. 

The Blues Brothers by Daniel de Visé

funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Thanks to Grove Atlantic for the gifted finished copy!

Daniel de Visé tackles A LOT in this story, from childhood antics to SNL sketches to movie productions and everything in between. He has a stellar ability to write non-fiction in a way that doesn't feel dry or slogging and even in the moments of the book that weren't as intriguing, I found myself reading through every moment. That said, this book reads more as a biography of John Belushi and improv as a whole.

It goes so far as to end with Belushi's death before diving into an Epilogue that highlights Aykroyd's ongoing career and the successes of various other people from throughout the book.

It isn't until about halfway through the book that we see the Blues Brothers really form. And while Dan is absolutely a focus, you don't get nearly the in-depth look at him as you get into John. And I would have loved to have seen more talk of their friendship and really diving into what it meant for them to be best friends and brothers through such important times in their lives.

Now...is any of that a bad thing? Absolutely not. The book still chronicles an incredible duo who changes the course of comedy as we know it. de Visé does an impeccable job of putting you directly into moments with the people in the story; you laugh at the jokes, you get frustrated at the drug use, and you feel what they're feeling in a way that is normally closed off in such an informative biography. And when you get into the back half of the book and dive into the behind-the-scenes stories of The Blues Brothers, the book turns to gold. The research and interviewing are incredible and, while the story remains at times frustratingly objective when some more subjective judgment would have been welcome, you never get bored.

If you're a Blues Brothers fan like myself or you want to get a deeper look into the world of comedy, look no further. And if you're planning to see SNL 1975 when it comes out...read this first.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

As I closed this book, all I found myself really thinking was, “That was fine.” And that’s where it landed for me. At almost 500 pages long, I expected some deep character development/change/growth and it felt like there was surprisingly little.

Some of the turns of phrase were absolutely masterful though so seeing those moments just made me bummed for the lack of them.

It didn’t quite contend with what it was trying to tackle (generational changes in feminism, ambition, relationships, etc.) and while it did a good job creating complex and flawed characters, it just fell flat when it came to showing us them, though there was no lack of telling.

All in all, I’ll definitely read more of her work, but this one was middling for me!