pecsenye's reviews
215 reviews

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book is a time capsule. It's literally about a seagull named Jonathan Livingston Seagull, but it's very fake-deep in that swinging '70s, pre-AIDS kind of way. Like some dude would give you this book and tell you to read it because it "changed his life" and that was supposed to seduce you because he was so inspired. Was Jonathan Livingston Seagull supposed to be Jesus? Is this all just an acid trip? How did a book that's 96 pages (25 of which are black and white photos of seagulls) get published and become a bestseller? I'm going to stop with the questions now before my review gets longer than the actual book. (Although this would be a great book club choice because it's such a fast read and everyone would be so weirded out by it that they'd have something to say.)

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

These essays didn't age well. Kingsolver sounds prissy and bewildered, and 2002 was a confusing time, for sure, but this book is just so off-putting. I really enjoy her fiction and wish I hadn't discovered that I don't like her lukewarm takes. 

Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art by Gene Wilder

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

If you like Gene Wilder, you'll love this. If you don't, you won't.  It's just Gene, telling about his life as he saw it at the time. Some funny stories, some important moments, some heartbreak. It makes me want to go back and watch his movies again. 

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

I thought this book was going to be about tteokbokki, at least a little bit, but it was not. It's just the author's sessions with her therapist. 

Walking: One Step at a Time by Erling Kagge

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

Surprisingly deep and researched treatise on walking as a practice from the first Norwegian to reach the three poles. I thought this book was going to be wan and preachy, but it's eccentric and deep and a little vigorous, and is making me want to read his other books. 

Small Fires: An Epic in the Kitchen by Rebecca May Johnson

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book thrills me. I think only very specific readers and cooks will enjoy this book, but I'm the perfect reader. I took it out of the library but am about to go buy three copies to send to friends who are also perfect readers for this book. 

I Live a Life Like Yours: A Memoir by Jan Grue

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

This is exactly the memoir a professor of linguistics, Fulbright scholar, Norwegian stoic would write. It's essentially about Grue's struggle to get out of his head and into a body that has been limited by the way we've arranged our physical spaces to not accommodate people who use wheelchairs. Grue references Jorge Luis Borges and Michel Foucault throughout, so that's the level we're taking about. I found it delightful. Let's hope he writes another memoir once his son is an adult. 

You Get What You Pay For by Morgan Parker

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

3.75

Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths about Disability by Melissa Blake

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.25