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sometimesbryce's reviews
597 reviews
Two By Two by Nicholas Sparks
Didn't actually read this just want to stop myself from picking it up again. Bad writing, boring characters, hate the narrator's voice, all around not interested. On to the next.
Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst
4.0
Uninvited is everyone's story. It's about rejection and healing, falling in love and being broken up with, doubt vs. trust. I really enjoyed TerKeurst's thoughts on rejection and pain, and her voice. However, she occasionally came off as insincere or awkward in her pursuit to be relatable.
I learned a lot about myself, my issues, and how certain past experiences may have impacted my current outlook. She not only named what I was experiencing, but gave me tools for how to address it in the future. Her book walks the fine line of not being too feel-goody, but not being too hopeless either.
Not only is it not too feel-goody, a common pitfall for the genre, but her theology is deeply developed as well. TerKeurst doesn't just drop in a Bible verse for fun; she dives into its deeper meaning. Occasionally, she, like many pastors, over-enunciates an incidence's theological meaning. Sometimes a dinner party really is just a dinner party, and not a divine message about your loneliness.
Generally, however, Uninvited is a wonderful portrait of human brokenness and longing, relieved only by a divine maker who is truly all we need. This book came at a critical juncture in my life, and its message is wholly applicable and appreciated.
I learned a lot about myself, my issues, and how certain past experiences may have impacted my current outlook. She not only named what I was experiencing, but gave me tools for how to address it in the future. Her book walks the fine line of not being too feel-goody, but not being too hopeless either.
Not only is it not too feel-goody, a common pitfall for the genre, but her theology is deeply developed as well. TerKeurst doesn't just drop in a Bible verse for fun; she dives into its deeper meaning. Occasionally, she, like many pastors, over-enunciates an incidence's theological meaning. Sometimes a dinner party really is just a dinner party, and not a divine message about your loneliness.
Generally, however, Uninvited is a wonderful portrait of human brokenness and longing, relieved only by a divine maker who is truly all we need. This book came at a critical juncture in my life, and its message is wholly applicable and appreciated.
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
3.0
As is my style, I know of Trevor Noah but I don't know anything about him. The only thing I've ever seen of is, is the time he interviewed Tomi Lahern (and killed her, rest in peace). My mom got me this book for Christmas, and I figured I'd give it a read.
I enjoyed the essays on South Africa, its history and culture, much more than the memoir essays. Normally, I like reading about people I don't know, but I found both young and old Trevor Noah to be annoying and unlikeable. I didn't really like Noah until the very very end of the memoir. Perhaps for his fans, he will come across funny or relatable, but I just genuinely didn't like him in his book. The prose was okay, but nothing fancy or exciting. Overall, this was just okay.
My biggest issue was a publishing one. The font was way too stiff for a memoir. It's a silly thing, but it severely impacted my reading experience. The font was remisiecnt of that in [b:Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives|29502379|Another Day in the Death of America A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives|Gary Younge|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470283021s/29502379.jpg|49789596], which was perfect for a jarring, general non-fiction, but it felt too distant for a memoir.
Maybe pick this up if your a mega fan of Trevor Noah, but there's probably some better books on South African apartheid.
I enjoyed the essays on South Africa, its history and culture, much more than the memoir essays. Normally, I like reading about people I don't know, but I found both young and old Trevor Noah to be annoying and unlikeable. I didn't really like Noah until the very very end of the memoir. Perhaps for his fans, he will come across funny or relatable, but I just genuinely didn't like him in his book. The prose was okay, but nothing fancy or exciting. Overall, this was just okay.
My biggest issue was a publishing one. The font was way too stiff for a memoir. It's a silly thing, but it severely impacted my reading experience. The font was remisiecnt of that in [b:Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives|29502379|Another Day in the Death of America A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives|Gary Younge|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1470283021s/29502379.jpg|49789596], which was perfect for a jarring, general non-fiction, but it felt too distant for a memoir.
Maybe pick this up if your a mega fan of Trevor Noah, but there's probably some better books on South African apartheid.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
5.0
Evicted deserves six stars – it’s that good. Desmond’s project is not only a richly documented field study, it’s an engaging page turner that’s so well structured it reads like fiction. I loved every minute of it.
Desmond’s greatest strength is his unflinching honesty. The landlords are both understandable in their “evil” deeds, for business is business, and demonized as sadists who seem to lavish in their tenant’s pain. These tenants are sometimes victims we cheer for, and, other times, are fools whose pain has been earned. Never, though, does Desmond appear to have a bias. He simply introduces us to a cast of characters, all a little good and a little evil, and draws his truthful conclusions from there.
He is a master of his craft, for his book is as well researched as it is compelling. He makes his readers care about his subject, and he takes them on a ride through the urban “ghettos,” experiencing life as a single mother, as a recent foster-care “graduate,” as a person with disabilities, a landlord fighting for respect and decency. Desmond makes his readers angry, depressed, and hopeful. He makes us so invested that, like a train wreck, we do not dare to turn away.
I loved this book. I loved the characters and reading about their lives; I loved the prose; I loved the research. There is nothing bad I can say about this. Please, pick it up.
And, to learn how you can help homeless or at risk families and individuals, please visit the author’s site, justshelter.org
Desmond’s greatest strength is his unflinching honesty. The landlords are both understandable in their “evil” deeds, for business is business, and demonized as sadists who seem to lavish in their tenant’s pain. These tenants are sometimes victims we cheer for, and, other times, are fools whose pain has been earned. Never, though, does Desmond appear to have a bias. He simply introduces us to a cast of characters, all a little good and a little evil, and draws his truthful conclusions from there.
He is a master of his craft, for his book is as well researched as it is compelling. He makes his readers care about his subject, and he takes them on a ride through the urban “ghettos,” experiencing life as a single mother, as a recent foster-care “graduate,” as a person with disabilities, a landlord fighting for respect and decency. Desmond makes his readers angry, depressed, and hopeful. He makes us so invested that, like a train wreck, we do not dare to turn away.
I loved this book. I loved the characters and reading about their lives; I loved the prose; I loved the research. There is nothing bad I can say about this. Please, pick it up.
And, to learn how you can help homeless or at risk families and individuals, please visit the author’s site, justshelter.org
Another Day in the Death of America: A Chronicle of Ten Short Lives by Gary Younge
4.0
It is both strange and sobering to have finished reading this project on the fourth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. My thoughts and prayers are always with the families of those victims, Claire Davis' family, and the hundreds, if not thousands, of other people of who events in this book transcend educational curiosity and slam into the realm of personal pain. May there be as many answers as possible, and where are there none, may there one day be peace.
--
Another Day in the Death of America is a brilliantly reported account of ten young lives cut short by bullets. Some were accidents, the results of accessible (not locked up) guns, while others were gang hits. Some were random and some were deeply personal. All, however, occurred on the same day, somewhere in America, each tragic in its own way.
When successful, Younge's necessary and timely book is a beautiful tribute to dead children, accomplishing, if nothing else, a medium of which to say "I see you." But he does not stop there, for this is also an examination of the social, political, and economic factors that contributed to their deaths without necessarily pulling the trigger. Thankfully, for both reader and victim, Younge's work is successful more often than not.
Its less successful moments came in organization. While most of the chapters (1 chapter per victim) focused on a balanced (or somewhat balanced) mix of story and societal factor, several chapters lacked any balance, if it included both facets at all. Additionally, particularly towards the end, Younge becomes less focused (or, perhaps more so) and drags well beyond the point in which I had lost interest.
These were minor points though. Younge's book makes you cry, seethe in anger, and understand an issue like gun violence as an entity far more complex than extremists on either side of the aisle may lead you to believe. I want to shove this book in several people's hands, in a bitter hope that perhaps it will allow them to wake up.
EDIT: I forgot my favorite part of the whole book - the jacket!!! Pete Garceau delivers one of my all time favorite jackets. The cover, off-white, denotes a very different tone of that of the ten bullet holes protruding from behind the book. We see a single bullet hole on the spine, separating the title from the author's name. On the inside flap, ten bullet holes, five above and five below, frame the blurb. The entire jacket is meticulously crafted and acutely detailed. Well done, Garceau!
--
Another Day in the Death of America is a brilliantly reported account of ten young lives cut short by bullets. Some were accidents, the results of accessible (not locked up) guns, while others were gang hits. Some were random and some were deeply personal. All, however, occurred on the same day, somewhere in America, each tragic in its own way.
When successful, Younge's necessary and timely book is a beautiful tribute to dead children, accomplishing, if nothing else, a medium of which to say "I see you." But he does not stop there, for this is also an examination of the social, political, and economic factors that contributed to their deaths without necessarily pulling the trigger. Thankfully, for both reader and victim, Younge's work is successful more often than not.
Its less successful moments came in organization. While most of the chapters (1 chapter per victim) focused on a balanced (or somewhat balanced) mix of story and societal factor, several chapters lacked any balance, if it included both facets at all. Additionally, particularly towards the end, Younge becomes less focused (or, perhaps more so) and drags well beyond the point in which I had lost interest.
These were minor points though. Younge's book makes you cry, seethe in anger, and understand an issue like gun violence as an entity far more complex than extremists on either side of the aisle may lead you to believe. I want to shove this book in several people's hands, in a bitter hope that perhaps it will allow them to wake up.
EDIT: I forgot my favorite part of the whole book - the jacket!!! Pete Garceau delivers one of my all time favorite jackets. The cover, off-white, denotes a very different tone of that of the ten bullet holes protruding from behind the book. We see a single bullet hole on the spine, separating the title from the author's name. On the inside flap, ten bullet holes, five above and five below, frame the blurb. The entire jacket is meticulously crafted and acutely detailed. Well done, Garceau!
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben
2.0
Sigh - this book had so much potential. I got about halfway through before abandoning. While the subject matter is interesting, and Wohlleben's passion for forestry is blatantly evident, The Hidden Life of Trees:.. is horrifically written. As all translations are muddy, it isn't clear whether this bad prose is Wohlleben's fault, or a victim of translation. Nevertheless, this book reads like it was written by a third grader (who happens to be very smart in the sciences). It is repetitive, childish, and bad. No matter how interesting a book is, bad writing simply won't do. The need for it is even more abundant in non-fiction, as these types of science books tend to be a tad dry. Without prose to keep you going, nothing can be done to salvage the text. I wouldn't recommend unless you are greatly interested in forestry.