Kitty

Could not keep my attention focused after the first half of the book. Abandoned at 3/4.I loved Black Eyed Susans, but this book is way less gripping.

Fun as ever. Lovely characters. Love the autism puns.

Interesting, highly readable. Not earth shattering, but a rather personal introduction to a 10 day silent meditation (vipassana) and what it does to your body and your life.

Read the first 150 pages. Too predictable, and too shallow (characters, plot).

A lovely, cozy, feel good village story. Well written. With a nice plot and a cast of warm, well meaning characters. Perfect vacation read. I read her cozies -Dales detective series written under the name of Julia Chapman - first - love them, too.

Could not finish this book by Atwood after the disappointment of Alias Grace. I had hoped for a worthy sequel to the exciting Oryx and Crake dystopia, but this is a dreary story. Flat and unintetesting characters and very little action. I gave up after 150 pages. No more Atwood for me.

Well written, of course, but why? Why do I need to read soooo many pages where so little happens? I don't always get MA. Love some of her books, The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, others I don't care for.

Reader, the original is better. I listened to 9 hours of this 12 hour audiobook and then I was disgusted with myself. As the book grew shallower and shallower I could not take another unlikely plot turn - What? My 30 year old sister eloped with what turns out to be a transgender? I need to hop on a plane to assist my perfectly capable parents while in the midst of finally getting together with my true love etc.

In hindsight, the start of the book was the best part. It is a great idea to retell Austens stories, and Joanne Trollope did a perfect job in Sense & Sensibility. Sittenfelds updated plot is even more fun, but poorly executed, alas.

Stopped reading this at 3/4. Loved the witty intellectualism of the dialogues, but in the end the story started to feel artificial and I lost interest. Also, the theme of assisted dying does not interest me that much - the qualms of the sons felt artificial too, since the father was clearly in a bad state and had made up his mind. Anyway, well written, but I could not feel a real soul in the book.

Give me any book by Ann Tyler, any day. Weird plots, drawn out middles, sudden endings: I don't mind. To live inside the thoughts of her mostly very normal, every-day personages is such a joy. Her books are about life itself and the roundabout way we live it.

Plus the memorable lines. My father was so polite he never picked up a phone in mid-ring.

Actually, distasteful. And too drawn out.

Dit boek staat vol met onzin-zinnen als: ‘De duisternis nam haar rechtmatige plaats weer in.' Of: ‘In de lucht dreven hoge, ronde wolken.'

Wat het leuk maakt zijn de nuchtere, ultrakorte dialogen van de Drenthen, die hevig clashen met die quasi-plechtige, quasi-literaire onzin-zinnen. Maar ik kan me zulk ik-schrijf-literatuur-jongens-zinnen niet herinneren uit Joe Speedboat. Is er iets met T.W. gebeurd of ben ik ze vergeten?

Het verhaal zelf is klein.
Te klein.
Het thema is: eenzaamheid en jeugdtrauma.

De hoofdpersoon is te daadkrachtig voor alle sombere bespiegelingen over hoe zijn moeder hem verliet, veertig jaar geleden. En niet gek genoeg om dat uniform aan te trekken, aan het einde.

A witty, snappy, touching adolescent book about friendship, first love, parents and anxiety disorder

Too bad. Belfoure can write, but his plots are sloppy, too drawn out and suspension of disbelief is impossible. An upper class family around 1909 that laughingly and secretly involves itself with crime? And all moral qualms evaporate just like that? Sloppy.

This book is outdated. It should not have been reprinted as it stands. We are 10 years on and the internet is no longer like it was when blogs were the new thing.

Great storyteller. Story starts out fine, but loses speed, becomes too political & in the end I lose the emotional connection. Suspense of disbelief is gone. I do understand this was her very first book so I'll try another one.

Great fun. Timeless story, really.

A fun cozy set around 1900 with a rather shaky plot, at the end. Pleasant characters. Funny historical details - some guy Rolls just started to make English horseless carriages. Would I read another one? Yes. So why 3 stars? Because the plot is wobbly. It could have been better thought out.

Witty and sweet.

Well written, but the story developes terribly slowly. I lost interest half way through.

Superb. A designer investigates how sustainable our western way of living is and what matters most, if you want change. She translates immeasurable hunches and fears into tangible numbers and actions. Eat no beef. Do not buy new stuff. Her research is backed by scientific institutions. The way she presents her results is extremely fun, clever and insightful: she designs visual graphs in lots of shapes that make the statistics very clear.

A remarkable book. Pleasant and with a light tone. I would almost say optimistical.

Great plot. Great composition: how many different members of a community act and interact and carry the plot forward after something disruptive happens in their midst. Great style, but weirdly repetetive and consistent use of same stylistic devices of repetition and simplification and ... whatsitcalled... Beartown is a city. But not all cities are Beartown. Such phrases. And again. Again. Again.

God almighty, what was Hardy thinking when he wrote this? I have not read up on any of the doubtless hundreds of literary reviews, so let me be blunt and anachronistic: to me Henchard seems an unlucky guy with ADHD and a temper problem who never learns from his faults. Everyone in the book is a flat character. No one really learns anything. Farfrae and Lucette are a weird match - a saint and a devil. The plot is like a 17th century tragedy. Glad this ordeal is over.

Did not finish. Awful book. Read to 2/3 and then gave up. Give me Kurt Wallander anytime, not this scheming, self-pitying, lying and unfriendly elderly guy.

Not up to his usual level. Bad plot.