David
From the author of BIRD BOX comes this f'd up Hogwarts-like tale (minus magic and owls) of what happens when the best scientific intentions are based on an immoral and deceptive hypothesis. It's hard to talk about this book without spoiling the twists and turns, so I'll stop here. Just know that this starts off as a slow moving train that quickly goes off the rails...but in a good way!
I loathe stories with ambiguous resolutions, yet somehow, Paul Tremblay makes it work. This folk-tale/mystery about a missing teen, a mysterious 20-something he befriends and the mother and sister who try to solve the mystery along with a sympathetic female police officer made for a fun and interesting read. This is my least favorite of Tremblay's novels, yet it's worth reading.
While I didn't enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed The Power of Habit, I found it interesting and insightful nonetheless. Duhigg explores 8 main ideas (along with real life examples) over 8 chapters that help one to be better motivated and more productive. He explains what a Stretch goal is and how a SMART plan works to help one better tackle tasks that on the surface seem daunting. The overall idea is to help us clarify our goals and how we can learn to make smarter decisions.
2.5 stars but rounded up to 3 for the pretty cover design. First 100 pages were slower than...well a wagon train heading west. I had hoped it would pick up speed but it was a long slog...like trudging through waist high snow. My biggest issue was with the characters who I didn't really connect with and who seemed indistinguishable from each other. Perhaps if I had read this over a couple of days instead of 11 I would have been able to follow and differentiate between the characters and their groups. Too many times I found myself saying “who is this person and why do I care?”. This was a poor man's “The Terror” and didn't even come close to being scary despite what the blurb from Stephen King said. IMHO, that is.
I had purchased this ebook 8 years ago when it came out, but put off reading it because it didn't fit into what i deemed a typical Stephen King novel. Boy, my mistake! This is now one of my favorites! There isn't a dull moment in this 849 page book which I just could not put down! Plus a cameo by a couple characters from IT was the icing on this delicious, captivating and nostalgic literary cake!
Dean Koontz wrote the introduction to the edition I read and Stephen King once said: “John D. MacDonald has written a novel called The End of the Night which I would argue is one of the greatest American novels of the twentieth century. It ranks with Death of a Salesman, it ranks with An American Tragedy.”
Enough said.
Unpopular opinion so I'll keep it brief:
I liked the movie better than the book (can't recall ever saying that before).
I found the the back and forth jumps in the timeline to be erratic and confusing (“Is he in college now or is he at LIA...oh wait, he's washing cars at his dad's car lot.”). And the characters were indistinguishable...“Who is J again? Who is T? Is he the blond receptionist? Who is S...oh yeah, peanut butter girl.”
This was a relatively short book and it took me FOREVER to finish. He was at LIA for 8 days, and only a small portion of the book is devoted to that time. The rest of the book felt overstuffed with his angsty thoughts and attempts at flowery prose that called attention to itself.
“Conversion therapy” and those that promote it are evil. What people went through is simply horrible.
I myself am gay, but this book just didn't do it for me.
So much for keeping it brief!
What is a library? What does it mean to us? What historical significance does it serve? What childhood memories does it evoke? And what about that giant ass fire that burned the LA Public Library back in 1986 and the person accused of doing it? All this and much more is discussed in this captivating book by Susan Orlean!
4.5 stars - This was the first Western I ever read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a short section in the middle that dragged a bit, but the rest was thrilling. And our wise beyond her years hero, 14 year old Mattie, with her deadpan delivery and manner, is so much fun.
If you are wary of Westerns, this would be a great one to start with!
For those of you reading the ebook version and don't know your Hermes from your Helios...there is a section at the end of the book entitled Cast of Characters that might help. Unfortunately for me, I only found out about it as I was nearing the end. I'm sure I would have enjoyed this more had I known about that section. Oh well. At times confusing, and other times quite compelling with biting dialogue that I just had to read a second time for the sheer fun of it.
Unpopular opinion here: I've loved Grady's previous books but this one just didn't do it for me. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of metal and I missed all the references? Maybe it's because I felt the mythology of Black Iron Mountain wasn't fully realized? Maybe it's because the ending felt abrupt and unfinished? Or maybe it's just me? Still a fan though and look forward to his next book.
Suspenseful story that kept me on the edge of my seat. However, there were several instances where the protagonist did some really stupid things that were a bit hard to believe (Doesn't know her husband's cell number...really?). So yes, one has to suspend their disbelief and yes, at the end, you are left with more questions than answers, but regardless, it's still a captivating read.
Ok, so I was wrong. Joe Hill is not just Stephen King's son...he is also an incredibly talented and gifted writer! Once it dawned on me as to what NOS4A2 meant (not just an image of an old license plate with random letters and numbers that kept popping up in my Goodreads feed)...I gave it a read. Suffice it to say, this was my first Joe Hill novel and it certainly won't be my last. Gripping, scary, moving, nostalgic...loved it!!
4.5 stars....Could not put this one down! From page one this story had me.
Every time I thought i figured it out something new was thrown in that took me by surprise. This would have been a 5 star rating were it not for the deus ex machina thing towards the end. But other than that, a fun and exciting read!
The shifting timelines were a bit confusing but that could have been due to the translation. Or maybe it was just me.
One isn't waiting so much for the mystery to be unraveled, as there isn't much of one, but rather we are waiting to see what our protagonist does next.
Either way, a very dark and compelling tale.
