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stormlightreader's Reviews (934)
This book is well-researched and comprehensive. The book spends quite a while detailing Nilsen's background, which could've been a little more concise, but other than that, I found this book really interesting. I also used the audio, which was really good and I'd recommend it.
There were a few points that referenced 'necessary' but casual and humorous methods of questioning Nilsen about his crimes and use of the term 'retarded' in relation to the development of one's psychological state, which didn't sit well with me. However, for a book written in 1985, I would've expected more of this.
Final note: poor Bleep. She was loved by Nilsen and seeing her picture in the photos was sad, especially since she was put to sleep after his arrest, (presumably because she had belonged to a murderer?). Sad!
There were a few points that referenced 'necessary' but casual and humorous methods of questioning Nilsen about his crimes and use of the term 'retarded' in relation to the development of one's psychological state, which didn't sit well with me. However, for a book written in 1985, I would've expected more of this.
Final note: poor Bleep. She was loved by Nilsen and seeing her picture in the photos was sad, especially since she was put to sleep after his arrest, (presumably because she had belonged to a murderer?). Sad!
"Everybody's a Ferrari fan, even if they're not they are a Ferrari fan" - Sebastian Vettel
I always say I'm not a fan of a team, that I'm a fan of specific drivers but this book was so good, it made me feel like Ferrari is my team đ If I was still using star ratings, this would've been my first 5* of 2025. However, it is the first book I've marked as 'favourite' for this year and I think it really brought me out of my slowed reading pace (ironic, F1 fans know đ).
I started this book using my usual approach of not tabbing my F1 books (on first read, because I'm just here for vibes this time around), but one paragraph in (mentioning Leclerc's Monaco win) and I ran to grab the red tabs! The book gives a really, really concise and well-paced overview of Ferrari from the glory days of Michael Schumacher through to Lewis Hamilton making waves up and down the F1 paddock by leaving Mercedes to join Ferrari at the start of 2025.
I've grown up with F1 races on in the background, so I'm familiar with a lot of the big names in F1, but I consider myself a relatively new F1 fan (about 4 years) and I think of Charles Leclerc as synonymous with Ferrari, but I would say that the overview provided here would be enjoyable for new and old fans.
I was completely gripped throughout the entire book. I finished it and just wanted it to be 100 pages longer.
I couldn't get on board with Amina as a character. Her POV (to the point I DNFed) is too tell and not enough show. We keep hearing about her legendary status as a pirate but the build up to her actually getting back on a boat was very slow and still hadn't happened by the time I'd DNFed.
I honestly forgot that this was a short story collection and I wish the first story was the whole book.
Nettelâs writing is really good and leaves some details to the readerâs imagination, particularly in the first short story. Unfortunately, I didnât find any of the others as intriguing as the first.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
"You just try and tidy yourself up and get through the day quietly. If you don't feel supported in the environment you're in, then that's pretty much the only option"
Life in the Pitlane focuses on dynamics of the Red Bull Racing team and discusses diversity in motorsport. This F1 book was more introspective than the others I've read, with quite a bit of time spent on his background and journey to F1. Nicholas gives a bit of a reality check for anyone trying to get into a career in F1, highlighting the importance of experience and, if you're lucky, connections in the paddock.
Nicholas clearly enjoys his day job and is grateful for the opportunity he has been given in a top F1 team. He does a great job of providing commentary on what happens in the garage. However, I could've done without some of the anecdotes later in the book. All this did was depict a team that can be quite disrespectful. One particular anecdote where male staff were playing pranks and just being "one of the boys" felt a little unnecessary đ and a little alienating to female fans/readers. Call me sensitive, but Nicholas spends a lot of the book discussing the very slow progress on the diversity front (including how women are made to feel unwelcome/uncomfortable in F1), so this example in particular felt a little tone deaf.
Nevertheless, Life in the Pitlane was one of my anticipated reads for 2025 and in most ways it delivered. I liked hearing his perspective of F1 as a mechanic, particularly around the individual roles in the pitlane.
"Animal care is women's work"
I feel very fortunate that gender does not play a role in our house/relationship, and I am not relegated to doing all of the housework simply because I was born a woman. I'm also very fortunate that in my career, I've not been exposed to a lot of the sexist issues raised in this book, because working in animal care and teaching animal care means I've always worked in a fairly female-dominated industry. That said, animal care being referred to as "women's work" is still frustrating.
This book lays out a lot of ways in which women are suppressed in different areas of life. It gave me a lot of appreciation for the situations I've not (yet) been faced with, but I hadn't considered many of the things talked about in this book, and now I feel informed and irritated.
I would highly recommended this if you're in the mood for a feminist non-fiction read.
I was so excited to find a book written from the perspective of a CSI and when I finished it, I was just really glad I didn't waste an Audible credit on it, because...wow!
I've read a good amount of non-fiction already in 2025 that details jobs of those in the emergency services, so I understand gallows (dark) humour and how it allows those in difficult jobs (paramedics, police) to deal with the things they see day-to-day. That wasn't my problem.
For the first half of the book I tried to put aside the fact that the narrator sounds like they are auditioning for their first acting job and just appreciate the insight into a job I've never read about before. There is the inevitable shade thrown at the CSI shows and how they don't depict the job accurately. Duh! You don't need to be a CSI to know that.
The author uses some awful wording when referring to people's metal health
I've read a good amount of non-fiction already in 2025 that details jobs of those in the emergency services, so I understand gallows (dark) humour and how it allows those in difficult jobs (paramedics, police) to deal with the things they see day-to-day. That wasn't my problem.
For the first half of the book I tried to put aside the fact that the narrator sounds like they are auditioning for their first acting job and just appreciate the insight into a job I've never read about before. There is the inevitable shade thrown at the CSI shows and how they don't depict the job accurately. Duh! You don't need to be a CSI to know that.
The author uses some awful wording when referring to people's metal health
- âif he were any dumber he'd need to be wateredâ
- âit was clear her belt wasn't through all the loopsâ
- âhe belonged in the circusâ
Note: all of these comments and more were in ONE CHAPTER. It's clearly meant to be humorous but it just came across so disrespectful, both in the comments made and the frequency of these comments.
The author also referred to a woman being an 'airhead' because she's chipper while working at a funeral home, which seems like a complete contradiction because the author highlights the need for dark humour to get herself through a grim job. The author also gives 'advice for men who are going to become women' (while spending a stupid amount of time talking about bathroom etiquette) and makes a comment that it is "sad for women" that a male victim had sustained damage to his genitals.
The author also referred to a woman being an 'airhead' because she's chipper while working at a funeral home, which seems like a complete contradiction because the author highlights the need for dark humour to get herself through a grim job. The author also gives 'advice for men who are going to become women' (while spending a stupid amount of time talking about bathroom etiquette) and makes a comment that it is "sad for women" that a male victim had sustained damage to his genitals.
Overall, I'd love to read a better written version of this kind of non-fiction, because the insight would be so interesting!
A well-delivered account of of how women responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. McKeon shares stories about women ranging from virologists to everyday women. Women of the Pandemic highlighted the impact of select women during the pandemic and how pivotal some of these women were in such a scary time.
The things people think they will get away with, particularly rich people đ it was a quick read that felt a lot like an episode of Desperate Housewives.
I don't really know how to comment on this short story in relation to the main series (because I still need to start it đ). I love the writing and atmosphere and need to start Of Blood And Fire immediately.