Trey
I listened to the audiobook of this and I can't decide if I actually hate the author or just the guy who read the book.
Either way, that's a minor issue. This was a fascinating read.
Musk is a smart, complicated guy who is doing some really cool and interesting things. Whether these things are as groundbreaking as he says remains yet to be seen.
If you read this book, the drinking game involves taking a shot every time Steve Jobs or Tony Stark is mentioned. Spoiler alert: the Stark references will have you in liver failure in the last couple chapters.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't LOVE it, but I kind of loved it.
Donovan is a dangerous and truly alien world. The universe the characters occupy is interesting and detailed. And I really love some of the characters.
Parts of the novel seem a bit dry and cliche, but I still couldn't get enough of it. So, yeah. Five stars.
This is pretty OK. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I might read the second book, though, because that's when it seems like things will get interesting.
This book is set completely on an environmentally devastated earth as the young would-be astronauts train and compete for their place on a mission to Europa. There's far less intrigue during their training than I expected and the outcomes are completely predictable. And because they stay on earth, the big mystery that I'm mostly interested in barely comes up.
But the main characters are pretty enjoyable. And it does set up the next book in an interesting way.
This is very much a book of its time in style and core concept.
The story is about a guy whose dreams change reality and his psychiatrist who wants to try to use that ability to improve the world and give himself more and more power.
Thematically, it puts taoism against utilitarianism. I won't spoil for you how that plays out, but you can probably guess.
After the first two books in the series, I was beyond excited to read the third book. Unfortunately, it's a complete let-down from start to finish.
There's zero tension. There's zero suspense. The heroes face no significant challenges. Everything is wrapped up with a tight conversation or a pat explanation. When you think they might be in real trouble, they develop new powers and everything is fine. It seemed like this book was written more for Card to tell us what he thinks is right v wrong and what he thinks heaven is like.
It's flat and boring. Cannot recommend.
This is the kind of book where, if you think about it, you can probably predict certain, major events. But I was listening to the audiobook and it didn't occur to me to try to make such predictions until it was too late.
The conclusion is very exciting and now I can't wait for the third book to come out!
Card might hold some bad ideas personally, but he really can tell a fun story from time to time.
This book is really fun and exciting. I very much enjoyed the magic system he came up with for this. And I really love the Danny character because he doesn't constantly make stupid decisions. He acknowledges when he messes up and tries to fix it and doesn't spend time being loyal to people who aren't loyal to him.
Very excited about book #2 in this series, which is already available through the library!
Very quick read with lots of very useful ideas and information.
It's really just an introduction, though. The book is full of examples on how to apply the techniques in different situations, but they don't really cover each technique for each age group. I think some additional conversation around edge cases would also be useful.
Even so, this seems to me to be a very solid introductory text for non-punitive parenting approaches.
Really didn't love this one like the first book in the series.
Where the first book was a noir detective novel, this one is more of a military heist story. It's still gritty and graphic, but I had a harder time following the mystery or even really caring as much about it as I did with the first book.
It's fine, though. I would still recommend this as a really solid story with a unique voice and excellent world-building.
More spy novel than sci-fi novel, so I'm not sure why this was recommended to me.
I don't read many spy novels, so I'm not sure how this stacks up within the genre. From my perspective, it's pretty good. Lots of... spying... and spy stuff. The quantum computer aspects mostly function as a Macguffin, but since this book is really about spies and not about science, I guess that's fine.
I think if you like spy novels and tech stuff, then you'll probably enjoy this book for the pool or beach.
Anne Rice is not really my cup of tea, but suppose if the first book of hers that I read were this one, I might be more inclined to read others.
This book has very little of the overly sexualized and grotesque that appears in other books (See Tale of the Body Thief, The Witching Hour, The Wolf Gift) but it's also oddly flat in some of the characterization.
Anyway, it's fine.
I don't like David Sedaris's work very much. It took me a long time – I've lost count of the books of his that I've read – to realize that. But I love his craft.
His essays are just so well structured. They're rigorous but approachable. I'm jealous of his ability here.
But I don't like his work because it always has an undercurrent of sadness to me. He blithely describes abuse of all sorts and cracks wise. He draws good lessons and insights from his tragic and bizarre experiences. But I just can't get past the fact that his dad is/was terribly abusive.
So, anyway. This is another of his books. It's well-written. It has a lot of things that gave me a chuckle. But it's also very sad.
Didn't love this book. It's fine, but not compelling.
Most of the main characters aren't very interesting to me. And the book hinges around a mystery that remains unsolved at the end of the book, so it's really a book about some people making a journey over to a mysterious island.
The fact that people who have been to the island can't talk about what's on the island unless they're on the island struck me as a very artificial means of maintaining tension. I guess it's good that we're only left to wonder about it for a little bit... but that reminded me that they never mentioned that they had this important information before that point.
Anyway. Meh.
OMG. I was 100% wrong about who the killer was! And I was so sure I had it figured out, too!
A really great mystery. It's well-crafted and not a total cop-out like The Moonstone.
But it's really the characters who make it. They're interesting, quirky, and likable.
My only complaint is that Miss Marple is actually not a major character in the book. Sure, she solves the mystery and tells the police how to capture the killer, but she BEHAVES more like the hand of God. She's hardly around except to make suggestions and plant clues and then she sails off again. And if it's too early in the book, she says she has a clue, but refuses to tell anyone what it is.
It's OK, though, because she is wonderful.
I will be filling in the gaps in my reading with Miss Marple books in the future!
