Take a photo of a barcode or cover
theidlereader's Reviews (354)
I don't often read (or in this case, listen to) biographies but I've been curious about this one since I saw the preview for the movie. Admittedly, I didn't realize that it was an autobiography until I took it out from the library and then I was a little nervous about how I would like it. I didn't need to worry.
Cheryl's story is maybe not always enthralling but was at least interesting enough to keep my attention for the entire book. There's something relatable about her as her life spirals out of control and even though she does bad things, I never felt like she was a bad person. I felt sorry for her, thrust into circumstances beyond her control and having to deal with the aftermath.
Though the majority of the book was set while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, I never felt like I needed a scene change. The pacing was very good, switching between the hike and background information regularly, and though I found a couple of parts boring they were few and far between. The people were all portrayed well so that even the smallest appearance by someone was interesting and added to the story. Even the hiking was given enough detail that there were times I could feel Cheryl's exhaustion.
Though the hike is the catalyst, the main part of the story is Cheryl, and throughout it, I hoped for her to keep growing; I celebrated her achievements, was upset at her setbacks, and grew to know her as if she were a friend. By the time I finished the story I felt as proud of Cheryl for completing the hike as if I knew her in real life. Her story is inspiring and proves that sometimes rock bottom is the best place to start rebuilding.
Cheryl's story is maybe not always enthralling but was at least interesting enough to keep my attention for the entire book. There's something relatable about her as her life spirals out of control and even though she does bad things, I never felt like she was a bad person. I felt sorry for her, thrust into circumstances beyond her control and having to deal with the aftermath.
Though the majority of the book was set while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, I never felt like I needed a scene change. The pacing was very good, switching between the hike and background information regularly, and though I found a couple of parts boring they were few and far between. The people were all portrayed well so that even the smallest appearance by someone was interesting and added to the story. Even the hiking was given enough detail that there were times I could feel Cheryl's exhaustion.
Though the hike is the catalyst, the main part of the story is Cheryl, and throughout it, I hoped for her to keep growing; I celebrated her achievements, was upset at her setbacks, and grew to know her as if she were a friend. By the time I finished the story I felt as proud of Cheryl for completing the hike as if I knew her in real life. Her story is inspiring and proves that sometimes rock bottom is the best place to start rebuilding.
This book was a great read from start to finish. Crowley and Aziraphale are instantly likable characters and the give and take of their relationship kept me turning page after page. The dynamic of their relationship was so fun to read that it made me wish the book was longer just so that I could read more about them. In fact, there wasn't a character in the book that I didn't like, from the satanic nuns to the overbearing neighborhood watchman, they were all written so well that I enjoyed every moment of their time.
Thought I thought the characters were amazing, I did find the plot to be a little lacking in some places. The ending seemed a little anticlimactic to me. It all made sense, I have absolutely no issues with how it was done, I just thought that after everything it would take a little more than a couple of pages to finish. Especially when Satan starts to appear and they all get ready for a final battle, and then it's all over and they all go home.
I was especially surprised to find that, though they were the main characters, Aziraphale and Crowley actually did very little to resolve the plot. Most of their efforts to stop the apocalypse are spent on the wrong child and in the end, Adam stops the apocalypse because he didn't have any divine influences growing up. If I were to write an essay on this book I would talk about the symbolism of this and how only we are responsible for our own actions, but since I'm not I'll just say I was a little surprised.
All in all, I thought this was an amazingly fun read and I can't wait to start the tv series.
Thought I thought the characters were amazing, I did find the plot to be a little lacking in some places. The ending seemed a little anticlimactic to me. It all made sense, I have absolutely no issues with how it was done, I just thought that after everything it would take a little more than a couple of pages to finish. Especially when Satan starts to appear and they all get ready for a final battle, and then it's all over and they all go home.
I was especially surprised to find that, though they were the main characters, Aziraphale and Crowley actually did very little to resolve the plot. Most of their efforts to stop the apocalypse are spent on the wrong child and in the end, Adam stops the apocalypse because he didn't have any divine influences growing up. If I were to write an essay on this book I would talk about the symbolism of this and how only we are responsible for our own actions, but since I'm not I'll just say I was a little surprised.
All in all, I thought this was an amazingly fun read and I can't wait to start the tv series.
I wasn't really sure what I was getting into when I bought this book, but I was hooked from the very first line.
The tension in the first part of the book was delightful. I could feel Molly's fear with each page (made even worse by the fact that I too have a hollow coffee table in my living room) and even though the big reveal didnt come as a shock to me, I did love the shift in tension that it caused. The book did lose me a little bit around part 4 where I kept expecting a big confrontation between Molly and Moll that never came. In fact, I found Molly's acceptance of the whole situation came a little quick and was just a little bit disappointing. I had hoped to see the conflict that the story seemed to keep aluding to but then always shied away from.
While this isn't a complaint in any way, I did find Molly's character to be a little bit underdeveloped. Maybe because we start in the middle of the action and have to piece the backstory together through the flashback chapters. I found myself wondering a couple of times if maybe I would have understood Molly's decisions better if there had been a little bit more exposition at the beginning. I did really enjoy Viv's character. Some of the things that she said made me wonder just exactly how much she knew about the whole situation. I wish there had been a little bit more about the alternate universe(s) but I do get that that wasn't the main focus of this story.
In the end The Need was a really enjoyable read that had me turning page after page, eager to find out what happened next (even if it did make me leery of my coffee table).
The tension in the first part of the book was delightful. I could feel Molly's fear with each page (made even worse by the fact that I too have a hollow coffee table in my living room) and even though the big reveal didnt come as a shock to me, I did love the shift in tension that it caused. The book did lose me a little bit around part 4 where I kept expecting a big confrontation between Molly and Moll that never came. In fact, I found Molly's acceptance of the whole situation came a little quick and was just a little bit disappointing. I had hoped to see the conflict that the story seemed to keep aluding to but then always shied away from.
While this isn't a complaint in any way, I did find Molly's character to be a little bit underdeveloped. Maybe because we start in the middle of the action and have to piece the backstory together through the flashback chapters. I found myself wondering a couple of times if maybe I would have understood Molly's decisions better if there had been a little bit more exposition at the beginning. I did really enjoy Viv's character. Some of the things that she said made me wonder just exactly how much she knew about the whole situation. I wish there had been a little bit more about the alternate universe(s) but I do get that that wasn't the main focus of this story.
In the end The Need was a really enjoyable read that had me turning page after page, eager to find out what happened next (even if it did make me leery of my coffee table).
I had been looking to read a thriller and The Girl on the Train did not disappoint. Paula Hawkins wove a story where you couldn't be sure of everything you were finding out, which kept me guessing whodunit almost right til the end.
I enjoyed Rachel's character and the fact that she was an 'unreliable witness' I really began to feel her struggles with her ex, her drinking, and finally with her recovered memories. I kept hoping that she would put all the pieces together to figure out who killed Megan and therefore, hopefully, start to get her life back on track.
The suspense of the murder kept me flipping back and forth on who I thought the murderer was. I suspected everyone from Rachel, to Scott, to even Megan herself. However, theres something about the reveal that fell flat with me and part of that has to do with Anna's character. As the story progressed I lost some sympathy for her and in the last couple of chapters I kept asking 'why are you letting this happen?'. She just felt a little too detached from the situation for someone who just realized that not only was her husband cheating on her, but that he was a murderer and was about to murder again.
Still I enjoyed the story and will be looking forward to other books by the author.
I enjoyed Rachel's character and the fact that she was an 'unreliable witness' I really began to feel her struggles with her ex, her drinking, and finally with her recovered memories. I kept hoping that she would put all the pieces together to figure out who killed Megan and therefore, hopefully, start to get her life back on track.
The suspense of the murder kept me flipping back and forth on who I thought the murderer was. I suspected everyone from Rachel, to Scott, to even Megan herself. However, theres something about the reveal that fell flat with me and part of that has to do with Anna's character. As the story progressed I lost some sympathy for her and in the last couple of chapters I kept asking 'why are you letting this happen?'. She just felt a little too detached from the situation for someone who just realized that not only was her husband cheating on her, but that he was a murderer and was about to murder again.
Still I enjoyed the story and will be looking forward to other books by the author.
I have to admit, I'm finding it a little difficult to put my reaction to this book into words. Little Fires Everywhere is a character-driven story that looks at the complexities of life and our relationships. This story seems like it should be right up my alley but something just fell short for me. I enjoyed the writing style- the jumps from past to present and even occasionally to the future seemed seamless and I was never left wondering what had happened. The plot, however, failed to grab me the way I had hoped.
I never found myself eager to get to the next chapter and found the book all too easy to put down. The characters themselves weren't enough to get me invested either. Mia and Pearl were interesting but the Richardsons didn't hit it off with me.
I found Elena annoying from the start, a feeling which only grew as she dug further into Mia's life, and her persistent idea that she couldn't be wrong quickly wore thin on me. Moody's friendship with Pearl was tainted by his one-sided attraction to her, and Lexie only seemed to be using Pearl in one way or another- from Pearl writing Lexie's college admissions essay to using Pearl's name to get an abortion with no thought how it could affect Pearl. Bill and Trip didn't really appear in the book except by how other people viewed them, and the most interesting member of the Richardson family- Izzy- had depressingly little to do in the story.
Each new reveal in the story felt like it was trying to one-up the previous one but I was never struck by whatever this new development was. The book kept hurtling towards the end and the arson of the Richardsons house but despite the drama-filled beginning, it just never seemed to pull me in the way that it should have.
All in all, it was an enjoyable story, but probably not one I'll think back on once I put it on the shelf.
I never found myself eager to get to the next chapter and found the book all too easy to put down. The characters themselves weren't enough to get me invested either. Mia and Pearl were interesting but the Richardsons didn't hit it off with me.
I found Elena annoying from the start, a feeling which only grew as she dug further into Mia's life, and her persistent idea that she couldn't be wrong quickly wore thin on me. Moody's friendship with Pearl was tainted by his one-sided attraction to her, and Lexie only seemed to be using Pearl in one way or another- from Pearl writing Lexie's college admissions essay to using Pearl's name to get an abortion with no thought how it could affect Pearl. Bill and Trip didn't really appear in the book except by how other people viewed them, and the most interesting member of the Richardson family- Izzy- had depressingly little to do in the story.
Each new reveal in the story felt like it was trying to one-up the previous one but I was never struck by whatever this new development was. The book kept hurtling towards the end and the arson of the Richardsons house but despite the drama-filled beginning, it just never seemed to pull me in the way that it should have.
All in all, it was an enjoyable story, but probably not one I'll think back on once I put it on the shelf.
I hate Ove. I think that's he's a curmudgeonly old man who refuses to change with the times. If I knew him in real life I would avoid him as best I could. So, I hate Ove, but I love this story.
Backman does an amazing job of humanizing Ove to the point where I was wanting only good things for this man that I hated. Sonja and Parvaneh are too good for Ove but in the story they do a wonderful job of softening his jagged edges and showing him that theres no benefit to being that angry and closed off all the time, and that if you open yourself up just a little bit, great things can happen.
I think that Backman has created a truly wonderful story here and I will definitely be reading some of his other works.
Backman does an amazing job of humanizing Ove to the point where I was wanting only good things for this man that I hated. Sonja and Parvaneh are too good for Ove but in the story they do a wonderful job of softening his jagged edges and showing him that theres no benefit to being that angry and closed off all the time, and that if you open yourself up just a little bit, great things can happen.
I think that Backman has created a truly wonderful story here and I will definitely be reading some of his other works.
I bought this book last year to read on a camping trip and then never got around to it, but I'm so glad I picked it up. I loved this book. It was like a review of my 100 level courses and I really enjoyed getting to go more in depth with some of the materials we only glanced at in college.
I thought that it was great the author started talking about the scientists and used that as a jumping off point to explain the major moments in the creation of the field. I know that a lot of times these concepts can get bogged down in scientific jargon but I thought that each chapter was very well done explaining how the scientist came to their discovery and the effects it had on the community, and the world. I had a great time being able to go more in depth into the lives of the founders of geology and I found myself better understanding some of the history I already knew because I got a better in depth look at the process and thinking behind it. That said, I did find a couple times where the book did repeat itself and though I found it a little annoying to reread the same thing it was always done to better explain the event.
One of my favorite moments of the book was in the last chapter when the author goes on to explain just how little information and technology the founders of geology had to work with. Yet they managed to not only found a new division of science, but change the world as they did it.
I thought that it was great the author started talking about the scientists and used that as a jumping off point to explain the major moments in the creation of the field. I know that a lot of times these concepts can get bogged down in scientific jargon but I thought that each chapter was very well done explaining how the scientist came to their discovery and the effects it had on the community, and the world. I had a great time being able to go more in depth into the lives of the founders of geology and I found myself better understanding some of the history I already knew because I got a better in depth look at the process and thinking behind it. That said, I did find a couple times where the book did repeat itself and though I found it a little annoying to reread the same thing it was always done to better explain the event.
One of my favorite moments of the book was in the last chapter when the author goes on to explain just how little information and technology the founders of geology had to work with. Yet they managed to not only found a new division of science, but change the world as they did it.