Why I have this book: It's all the rage nowadays, and a friend recommended it, too. I borrowed it from the ebook library.
I'm a bit torn on this book. On the one hand, it has a warm, fuzzy feel to it. I had a few moments of chuckling in my mind. On the other hand, I am bothered by parts of it. So I'm just not certain what I think.
And... the man, Ove, is only 59. Yet he is described and acts like he's 80. I picture the story of his childhood and early adult years as being set further back in history than is possible considering his current age and the current time period of the story. I mean, there are iPads and cell phones, so it's not like it was set back in the 20th century.
I just can't put my finger on it, but it's mostly got me all befuddled. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.
There is some swearing, including the F-word and taking the Lord's name in vain. There is a character (or two) who are gay.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Truly Madly Guilty (Liane Moriarty)
Why I have this book: Because I like the author's books.
I really like her writing style, although this one felt a little too similar to another of her books. Still, I love the way her books suck me in. I can spend a whole day just engrossed in her stories. This one had a couple of interesting twists, and like all her books, brought out the complexity of human emotions.
She still uses the F-word way too often and too casually, and she talks about sex (although she doesn't describe sexual encounters) also very casually. I admit that this time I didn't give her 4 stars (on Goodreads) because I'm tired of her swearing, but I also admit that I really like her writing. Anyway, I would only recommend her books to friends who I know can separate out the bad stuff and still appreciate the way she writes. It would be so much easier if she would just clean up the language, but I realize that not everyone thinks it's a big deal. (sigh)
I really like her writing style, although this one felt a little too similar to another of her books. Still, I love the way her books suck me in. I can spend a whole day just engrossed in her stories. This one had a couple of interesting twists, and like all her books, brought out the complexity of human emotions.
She still uses the F-word way too often and too casually, and she talks about sex (although she doesn't describe sexual encounters) also very casually. I admit that this time I didn't give her 4 stars (on Goodreads) because I'm tired of her swearing, but I also admit that I really like her writing. Anyway, I would only recommend her books to friends who I know can separate out the bad stuff and still appreciate the way she writes. It would be so much easier if she would just clean up the language, but I realize that not everyone thinks it's a big deal. (sigh)
Sunday, September 4, 2016
The Long Awaited Child (Tracie Peterson)
Why I have this book: It was available for immediate borrowing on the ebook library, so I borrowed it. It's not like I don't have a million other books to read already. ;)
This book got better as it went along. I wasn't super impressed with the writing early in the book... conversations between characters, for example, just felt unnatural and it wasn't easy to get sucked in completely. But I was invested enough to keep going, and I ended up liking the storyline in general.
Clean.
This book got better as it went along. I wasn't super impressed with the writing early in the book... conversations between characters, for example, just felt unnatural and it wasn't easy to get sucked in completely. But I was invested enough to keep going, and I ended up liking the storyline in general.
Clean.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Spirituality and Self-Esteem (Richard L. Bednar and Scott R. Peterson)
Why I have this book: I may have seen it in a catalog from a local bookstore. I'm not sure. It looked good, though, so I bought it on Kindle.
I thought there were a lot of good tidbits of insight, and I highlighted those. In all honesty, though, I thought it was a bit long-winded and the message could have been given in the length of a magazine article. I had to really push to finish it up. The writing style was pretty clinical, like a college essay. If I remember correctly, the authors (or at least one of them) are professors, so...
Still, I liked it enough to give it 3/5 stars on Goodreads.
Clean.
I thought there were a lot of good tidbits of insight, and I highlighted those. In all honesty, though, I thought it was a bit long-winded and the message could have been given in the length of a magazine article. I had to really push to finish it up. The writing style was pretty clinical, like a college essay. If I remember correctly, the authors (or at least one of them) are professors, so...
Still, I liked it enough to give it 3/5 stars on Goodreads.
Clean.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Juliet (Anne Fortier)
Why I have this book: My friend recommended it after someone recommended it to her. (Although my friend hadn't read it yet.) I got it for a great price for Kindle.
I really liked this book. It was interesting and entertaining and kept my mind jumping back and forth with what was going on. I'm not sure all the loose ends were tied up, but so much was going on that either I missed some things or I can't remember what those loose ends are.
The ambience of the writing is still sticking with me.
I would call this book "earthy." It wasn't completely clean - a bit of swearing here and there, and some sensuality, but for the most part, that was more of the tone of the book than actual descriptions.
I really liked this book. It was interesting and entertaining and kept my mind jumping back and forth with what was going on. I'm not sure all the loose ends were tied up, but so much was going on that either I missed some things or I can't remember what those loose ends are.
The ambience of the writing is still sticking with me.
I would call this book "earthy." It wasn't completely clean - a bit of swearing here and there, and some sensuality, but for the most part, that was more of the tone of the book than actual descriptions.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Happily Ever After: My Journey with Guillain-Barré Syndrome and How I Got My Life Back (Holly Gerlach)
Why I have this book: I had seen the youtube video about her journey, then I saw the book (for not very much money) on Amazon, so I bought it.
This was an interesting read and really informative about Guillain-Barré Syndrome. It's not necessarily well-written, but it's honest and in her own words. It was kind of hard to read in some spots, because some of the procedures she had were the same I had when I was in a medical crisis, and I didn't really want to think about it. I'm impressed she could write a whole book about her experience. I tend to try to avoid thinking about my own.
I'm glad I read it. She does put things in perspective, and I'm glad she's been able to recover so well from this traumatic disease.
Clean.
This was an interesting read and really informative about Guillain-Barré Syndrome. It's not necessarily well-written, but it's honest and in her own words. It was kind of hard to read in some spots, because some of the procedures she had were the same I had when I was in a medical crisis, and I didn't really want to think about it. I'm impressed she could write a whole book about her experience. I tend to try to avoid thinking about my own.
I'm glad I read it. She does put things in perspective, and I'm glad she's been able to recover so well from this traumatic disease.
Clean.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
The Guardian (Nicholas Sparks)
Why I have this book: A friend recommended it to me years ago. It went on sale for Kindle, so I bought it.
It was the weirdest thing... toward the very end, it all seemed so familiar. The sand dunes, the dog situation... now I'm wondering if I read it before. None of the rest of it was familiar to that point, so I don't know. Maybe another book had a similar situation at the end, but there's a good chance I did read this before when I was reading a bunch of Nicholas Sparks books.
I enjoyed it. It was a thriller, in addition to the love story angle, so it was a little intense at times. In all honesty, the bad guy was a bit cheesy, in my opinion, but I still enjoyed the read.
I don't recall any swear words, but there might have been one or two. There is a bit of sexuality between unmarried people, but not super descriptive. Typical Nicholas Sparks in that regard.
It was the weirdest thing... toward the very end, it all seemed so familiar. The sand dunes, the dog situation... now I'm wondering if I read it before. None of the rest of it was familiar to that point, so I don't know. Maybe another book had a similar situation at the end, but there's a good chance I did read this before when I was reading a bunch of Nicholas Sparks books.
I enjoyed it. It was a thriller, in addition to the love story angle, so it was a little intense at times. In all honesty, the bad guy was a bit cheesy, in my opinion, but I still enjoyed the read.
I don't recall any swear words, but there might have been one or two. There is a bit of sexuality between unmarried people, but not super descriptive. Typical Nicholas Sparks in that regard.
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