Why I have this book: I borrowed the audio version from DBS+.
As I mentioned earlier, I gave the whole Work and the Glory set to my daughter, and then decided to listen to the audio versions.
I just finished this second book in the series, and I have to say I only gave it 3 stars on Goodreads. I'm sure I would have liked it better in print than audio just because I don't like the way the narrator reads it. (Also, the narrator must not be LDS, because he mispronounced "Lamanites" over and over.)
I also realized that the depiction of the fictional Steed family is probably one of the sources of my apparently impossible expectation of what I wanted my in-law family to be like: everyone banding together in a shared faith, welcoming in all those who married in, etc. I wanted that for my own family of children as they grew up. Now I'm thinking it's not really realistic (or I've just failed), so yeah. I have to say I got really annoyed with the Steed family now that I've experienced more of life. Or maybe I'm more annoyed with the author for how nearly perfect he made the Steed family...
I also was bothered by how he made Joseph Smith seem nearly perfect, as well. We know from the Saints book the Church published that he wasn't as perfect as this book makes him seem. Interesting that the Church painted a more controversial picture than this fiction book did.
I don't know if I'll listen to the rest. I don't think I will, but I did really love these back in the day when they were first published!
Clean other than violence against the Saints by those who wanted them gone.
Sunday, July 5, 2020
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Good Hope Road (Lisa Wingate)
Why I have this book: It's the second in the Tending Roses series, both books recommended to me by my friend, L.
I really liked this one. I liked it better than the first. The funny thing is my friend liked the first one better than this one, but I guess books speak to us all differently!
Great story that takes place in just a couple of weeks... maybe even less than that. So much happens emotionally in that time, though, and I loved it. There was one part that hinted at an adoption, but it was never discussed again, and I don't know if it will be explored in a future book in this series or if it was just some random piece of information. It definitely made me want to check to see if there are more books in the series and where this story will go.
I gave it four stars on Goodreads.
Clean. I don't remember if there was any swearing, but if there was, it was mild and infrequent.
I really liked this one. I liked it better than the first. The funny thing is my friend liked the first one better than this one, but I guess books speak to us all differently!
Great story that takes place in just a couple of weeks... maybe even less than that. So much happens emotionally in that time, though, and I loved it. There was one part that hinted at an adoption, but it was never discussed again, and I don't know if it will be explored in a future book in this series or if it was just some random piece of information. It definitely made me want to check to see if there are more books in the series and where this story will go.
I gave it four stars on Goodreads.
Clean. I don't remember if there was any swearing, but if there was, it was mild and infrequent.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
The Rosie Result (Graeme Simsion)
Why I have this book: My daughter recommended I read it to finish out the series.
I asked my daughter if this one would bring it all home because I really didn't love the second book in the series. She said it would, so I went ahead and read it.
I agree with her... this one brings it home, and I really enjoyed it. I gave it four stars on Goodreads. There's a lot of humanity in this one, with all the complex relationships and emotions that exist with all of us crazy people in this world.
There's still too much use of the F-word (but not as much as the previous book), and a bit of talk about sex (but not as often as the previous book and in a more scientific realm). Domestic abuse is alluded to, and there seems to be a focus on homosexuality that I can't quite figure out. It just didn't feel like a natural inclusion, like maybe the author was trying to make a point?
I asked my daughter if this one would bring it all home because I really didn't love the second book in the series. She said it would, so I went ahead and read it.
I agree with her... this one brings it home, and I really enjoyed it. I gave it four stars on Goodreads. There's a lot of humanity in this one, with all the complex relationships and emotions that exist with all of us crazy people in this world.
There's still too much use of the F-word (but not as much as the previous book), and a bit of talk about sex (but not as often as the previous book and in a more scientific realm). Domestic abuse is alluded to, and there seems to be a focus on homosexuality that I can't quite figure out. It just didn't feel like a natural inclusion, like maybe the author was trying to make a point?
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Tending Roses (Lisa Wingate)
Why I have this book: A friend recommended it, so I borrowed it from the ebook library.
Okay, so the book had a real slow feel to it, but not necessarily in a negative way. It was super emotionally stirring for me, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a sad way. I don't know. I guess reading it in this time of covid made it a little harder for me. Just the whole "circle of life" stuff feels a little intense right now.
I love the message, though. I would probably give it a 3.7 on Goodreads if I could, but since I have to use whole numbers, I gave it a three. The writing and depth wasn't quite to the level of other books that I've rated at a four, so I went with three.
Clean. I don't think there were even any swear words. There was a "frisky" exchange between husband and wife, but only the most easily offended would be bothered by it.
Okay, so the book had a real slow feel to it, but not necessarily in a negative way. It was super emotionally stirring for me, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a sad way. I don't know. I guess reading it in this time of covid made it a little harder for me. Just the whole "circle of life" stuff feels a little intense right now.
I love the message, though. I would probably give it a 3.7 on Goodreads if I could, but since I have to use whole numbers, I gave it a three. The writing and depth wasn't quite to the level of other books that I've rated at a four, so I went with three.
Clean. I don't think there were even any swear words. There was a "frisky" exchange between husband and wife, but only the most easily offended would be bothered by it.
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Pillar of Light: The Work and the Glory Volume 1 (Gerald N. Lund)
Why I have this book: I bought the whole series back in the day when they came out. I might have started reading and buying after the first few books were out, but I ended up with the whole set.
I actually gave the set to my daughter when we moved last year, but I decided to listen to the audio versions on DBS+ just so I could record them in my "book reading" records. Having had a lot more life experience since I first read them, I also wanted to see what I thought of them now. (And it makes me feel more productive when I'm doing dishes or cross stitching or folding laundry.)
I have to say upfront that listening to someone else read a book creates a different way of absorbing the words than reading them myself. I often think about how my interpretation of the tone of voice would be different than the narrator's. It's also always weird to hear a female narrator impersonate a male voice and vice versa. It never really works well. :) This particular male narrator makes the female voices sound so prissy or dumb or something. I'm sure he did his best, though. haha...
Even with those "challenges," I still really liked this book. I appreciate the work and research that went into the writing of the series. I like the character development, as well. I do feel like Joseph Smith is painted in a much more favorable light than he was in Saints (which was published by the Church), and the books are technically fiction, so I do have to keep that in mind. Back in the day, I remember thinking that they were an entertaining way to learn more about Church history, but it probably puts a somewhat optimistic and positive spin on some of it.
Clean.
I actually gave the set to my daughter when we moved last year, but I decided to listen to the audio versions on DBS+ just so I could record them in my "book reading" records. Having had a lot more life experience since I first read them, I also wanted to see what I thought of them now. (And it makes me feel more productive when I'm doing dishes or cross stitching or folding laundry.)
I have to say upfront that listening to someone else read a book creates a different way of absorbing the words than reading them myself. I often think about how my interpretation of the tone of voice would be different than the narrator's. It's also always weird to hear a female narrator impersonate a male voice and vice versa. It never really works well. :) This particular male narrator makes the female voices sound so prissy or dumb or something. I'm sure he did his best, though. haha...
Even with those "challenges," I still really liked this book. I appreciate the work and research that went into the writing of the series. I like the character development, as well. I do feel like Joseph Smith is painted in a much more favorable light than he was in Saints (which was published by the Church), and the books are technically fiction, so I do have to keep that in mind. Back in the day, I remember thinking that they were an entertaining way to learn more about Church history, but it probably puts a somewhat optimistic and positive spin on some of it.
Clean.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
The Rosie Effect (Graeme Simsion)
Why I have this book: I wasn't going to read the rest of the "Rosie" series (although I really enjoyed the first book), but my daughter read them and talked me into it.
This is the second book in the series, and I only gave it 2 stars on Goodreads. The main character (Don Tillman) wasn't as endearing in this one. His wife (Rosie) wasn't as likable. The scenarios seemed less believable.
All in all, I didn't love it.
There are waaaaaaaay too many F-words (those Australians! haha...), too much talk about sex (no descriptive encounters, though), and... I think that's it.
This is the second book in the series, and I only gave it 2 stars on Goodreads. The main character (Don Tillman) wasn't as endearing in this one. His wife (Rosie) wasn't as likable. The scenarios seemed less believable.
All in all, I didn't love it.
There are waaaaaaaay too many F-words (those Australians! haha...), too much talk about sex (no descriptive encounters, though), and... I think that's it.
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
The Bookshop on the Corner (Jenny Colgan)
Why I have this book: I looked it up after seeing that a friend read it, and since it looked like something I'd enjoy, I borrowed it from the ebook library.
Well, I did enjoy the book almost all the way through, and then it turned into a (not really descriptive) sex-fest, so that took away some of it's appeal. It just didn't seem realistic to the main character's life to that point, and it was also pretty unrealistic in general as far as how most women react/feel/behave.
Prior to that, I thought it was a cute and quirky and fun book set in Scotland. I gave it three stars on Goodreads.
There is some swearing, including one or two or three F-bombs. Then there's the romping theme towards the end. Again, it's not descriptive, but it's a bit over the top.
ETA:
I read this again in June 2023 (three years later) because another friend recommended it. She listened to the audio version and said it was a great listen and wondered if my view on the "sex-fest" description has changed along with my changing religious beliefs. I decided to "read" it via audio like she did so I could enjoy the accents of a story set in the UK.
I definitely wasn't as bothered by the sex in the book as I guess I was three years ago. As I mentioned in my first review, it's not descriptive at all. I still think the personality of the protagonist doesn't fit in with the way it all happens, though, and I also can't understand her attraction to this guy who never talks and is grumpy a lot and really only seems to show his "love" by having sex whenever or wherever he wants. It's just odd, but again... it's not at all described, so that was a positive. *fist bump*
I stand by my three stars. I'd probably go with 3.5 if I could, but it's not quite a four for me. I do plan to listen to the other books in the series.
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