Steve Gross

I'm always wary when I read a memoir about how truthful it is. A little googling suggests that there are very different versions of Westover's story. Additionally, there seems to be a lot of mental illness in this family and it's hard to know how much the author is affected by it. She does do a lot of questionable things - refuses to seek any help until very late, unable to confide in people, constantly seeking approval of others, just for a start. There are also a lot of gaps - when she gets to BYU, she attends church every week. At the end of the story, it seems like she no longer does. She complains about not having friends, not being interested in friends yet she seems to have plenty of them; ditto boyfriends.
This is a grim and depressing story. I'm not sure anyone really grows as a human being.

A mixture of popular crime stories in the USA from the late 1800's until the present, interspersed with the author's sometimes acerbic but well-placed comments. Lots of interesting material. One thing, though: I can't forgive the author for using the phrase “could care less” - shame, Mr. James!

This kind of mystery was bit too genteel for me. At first the Scottish dialogue was fun but it became tedious. Not sure all the loose ends were tied up, either. Still, OK for what it was.

My father figures prominently in this book

Forsyth is an old pro. He could have boned up on computers, though.

This one takes place in Upper Michigan.

Dense book overturning everything you thought knew about sacrifices in Judaism.

Good biography, obviously written with affection and respect. A little too much quoting of Faraday's original words.

This is really a very cynical view of what it takes to be a history professor. Lots of behind the scenes stuff. The last chapter, though, is way out of step with the rest of the book.

Surprised that for someone writing a book about writing a book, there are plenty of editing mistakes: “due” for “do”, “chock” for “chalk”, etc. Also a revered Hebrew word.

Lots of literary theory mumbo-jumbo in the middle, but the ending is clever. Only for die-hard fans.

I don't see what the big hype about this book is. The author recycles the same story - to be a good forecaster, you have to rely on data, not intuition - over and over again.

Life advice from readng.

Golden Age British mystery. Talky

A little too much film theory for me. Also, heavy use of the word “metonym”.

Fun and interesting book about memory and savants

Lucas Davenport is an utterly charmless and mostly amoral character. Hard to see the appeal of this series.

Better than average Reacher

Steele is a cardboard character. It's usually not clear what's happening.

Kind of thin. The author cuts and pastes too much and there is not enough meat here to cover that.

The engineering stuff was good, but the constant “I”, “I”, “I” was way too much.

None of the characters are very interesting, particularly Tom Ripley. I'm amazed that there are several sequels to this book.

Some interesting computer algorithms for real life. The book is aimed at junior readers.

Well-researched but a little dry

atrocious writing, which is a surprise because Steinmeyer is a decent writer. Lots of verbiage saying nothing.

The basic premise is that lovers are the Keruvim of the Temple. Lots of work in here but feels unfocused.