Sarah
I listened to this as an audiobook and, though I enjoyed Bryson reading his own work, this book struck me as very dated. The fact that cars come equipped with lots of cup holders is no longer noteworthy; everyone knows that the 1040 tax form is obtuse. Bryson mostly sounds like an old fart, whining about “the way things used to be.” I would recommend his other works over this.
Worth reading - a well-written novel of nannies, racism, and classism. The ending struck me as rather rushed/forced, but still a good book.
DO NOT READ THIS BOOK if you like or have children. What the cover doesn't tell you is what this book is actually about - child molestation and abuse. Barr painted horrid mental images for me and I wish she would take Anna Pigeon back to the National Parks to solve less violent crimes.
What started out as an easy beach read turned odd and disturbing in the second half. You know it's bad when you hate the heroine/narrator.
Not the most eloquently written book, but the story is engaging and eye-opening. It offers a new window into contemporary life in Afghanistan, and explores cultural differences from the perspective of an American living and working in the country. Beauty salons in Afghanistan offer women as escape, both as customers and stylists/owners. Men are not allowed, making the salon a sanctuary and enabling women to be breadwinners for their families.
I learned a lot about Oprah by the middle of the book (where I stopped reading), but generally found that Kelley spent a lot of time on the details and I was not invested enough to finish the book.
This book was addictive. There was a slower section towards the beginning, but once I passed that I was hooked. It's sort of a tragic fairytale - I definitely recommend!
I see that most readers gave this book more stars, but I found it depressing and a bleak take on what goes on within National Parks. It's a good thing this author got out of the Ranger business since she can't seem to see the beauty of wilderness for all the death and trauma witnessed in Parks. Surely some nice things happened during her career, but you won't read about them here.
Also, the chapters are not well connected - the book reads like a series of short, tragic essays.
There's a lot of interesting and important stuff here, and I will return to it when I'm in a more generous frame of mind. (At the moment, the politics are upsetting and a little much to handle.) Ever the editor, I find it extremely annoying that Farrell spends the first section going into detail on why he chose Teton County, then promptly switches over to investigate the sociology of the Yellowstone Club - which is in a different state. Perhaps most readers didn't realize this (Farrell conveniently neglects to mention that he's left the county he just spent thirty pages discussing), or don't mind the deception, but the Yellowstone Club is in Gallatin County, Montana. Not Teton County, Wyoming. I don't argue that it fits Farrell's thesis, only that after spending soooo long discussing tax shelters and economics of one particular place (Teton County), it's bizarre to immediately leave that place to find support for your argument in a different state.
These are easy, fun little mysteries that you won't have to hide away if you are an English major!
This is an excellent book but there is a lack of satisfaction that, while necessary for the story, also leaves me...unsatisfied. Go figure.
After having four children of their own, Greene and her husband postpone empty-nest syndrome and adopt a little boy from Bulgaria, then four more children from Ethiopia. This book recalls the hardships and hilarity of the growing family. Greene never glosses over the difficult side of adoption, especially international adoption, but also recalls the entertaining cross-cultural misunderstandings and her own parenting mishaps. Greene is a journalist and the book is well-written, heartfelt, and funny.
As with most of my books, I listened to this audiobook as read by the author. I really enjoyed the beginning, but did lose sympathy with some of the characters towards the end. This may have to do with Walls's autobiography, which I read earlier in the summer. At any rate, very interesting portrayal of life in the West in the early twentieth century.
Although this book was published 14 years ago, it remains fantastically relevant as well as an astounding work of journalism. I could hardly put it down!
Sorry, what is happening? Bizarre things happen out of the blue - so much so that I go back a few pages to see if I missed something. The comparisons to Crazy Rich Asians are a bit of a stretch - Murali describes rich clothes and name-drops exclusive labels, but that's not quite the same thing. I'll keep going to give it a fair shot, though :)
Still loving Johnson's Wyoming mysteries! I'm not sure this one was quite as unexpected as A Cold Dish, but it was a page-turner and a good story. I recommend Johnson to any literary mystery lover - he has a gift for characters and setting.