Mer Barr

Shorter than I expected, still another fantastic Gaskell story.

A fantastic read! Fills in a ton of gaps regarding individuals, the Korean War, the early subs and then nuclear subs.

Definitely a mental shift away from the cold war spy novels with all the intrigue and subterfuge themes.

Like listening to a RonCo commercial.. “But wait! There's more!”

Not what I was expecting based on the synopsis. Probably because what the author presents is not as traumatic and flamboyant as seen in the movies for near future scenarios.

Also, not much really happened in the 40% that I read before returning the loaner. Some mystery person roaming around India and some folks getting together in Texas to explore global warming solutions. Also a bit of how the author presents the impact of global warming on human interactions and lifestyle as well as the impact to the local and European environments.

Who knew a book about a man under house arrest for decades could be so interesting! But when you have really interesting characters it makes a HUGE difference. I also found it interesting how the last couple chapters suddenly jump into overdrive on the action, kind of a shock to the system.

And I found it intriguing to see a different perspective on the transition thru 3 different leaders and their influence on Russian culture.

An intriguing topic but the presentation of the topic is waaay too something for me. Too intellectual? Too many references to concepts brand new to me? It came down to my understanding about 75% of what the author was trying to convey and finding this more of a difficult, rather than insightful, read.

A fantastic book for anyone who's a science-fiction fan or even a science fan, who wants to understand what this ‘metaverse' we keep hearing about is. The author looks backwards into the history for each chapter, the current situation [as of 2022?], and what folks project about the future.

The start of each chapter is great for newbies like myself but be warned! The author proceeds to dive into the politics, business strategy and tactics, and financial aspects of the chapter's topic to the point your eyes glaze over and it's just a buzz of sound, like a language unknown to you.

Some interesting concepts but the first 25% of the book was all world building and backstory. The plot hadn't made it out of the first 2 days of the story.

A nicely constructed story and characters considering the length. After experiencing similar frustrations with the shortness of the Murderbot books, I borrowed both this and the next in the series to get a full length book sense of the story and the second does pick up where this one leaves off.

This book is for the Dune connoisseur, which I'm not; not really. It was interesting to hear some of the earlier drafts of Dune put together as a novella but I find the copy put into the hardcopy medium to be much more complex and interesting.

And not being a lover of the short-story format, I didn't enjoy the rest of this book, other than knowing there were pieces the 3 authors crafted to fit around and in between pretty much all of the books.

There is clearly alot of research here because she's constantly referring to the documents but there's also ALOT of interpretation [guessing] of others' thoughts and actions based on these same documents' authors' opinions, as well as the author's own interpretations [guessing] that draw from her own viewpoint / perspective.

Granted, Jeanne Baret is a woman in a time and place where women were ignored and overlooked, forcing researchers down the road of ALOT of interpretations, however I prefer less guessing in a non-fiction book, or a different way of approaching the lack of direct documentation.

There are a few tangents to write about other women involved in the topics but other than that it's well written and provides plenty of detail to give one a sense of the dedication and passion of the primary subject.

This book has alot of the writing qualities of the first book that I enjoyed but there were some changes that put up some roadblocks to my enjoyment. First there are whole chapters, some are quite long, where it's all backfill. I prefer short bursts of getting off-track.

Second, there are quite a few people that you're looking thru their eyes at the goings-on, and there is no effort made to give you a heads-up that you're changing viewpoints. Too much getting lost on my part.

I was glad to see that the main character of the first book shows up. The tricky thing is the shifting perspective; looking thru her eyes as well as looking at her from others.

I'm 25% in to a TWENTY-THREE HOUR book. I'm not sure where the plot is going, and I'm not interested in putting up with all the above issues that long.

Even tho this book is copyright 1997 the history and explanation of the various elements of tea are still relevant.

It's got me interested in trying single-source teas and I would never have thought teas would acquire tastes from their environment [as with wine grapes] but in hindsight that makes perfect sense.

Nope, a personality I don't want to spend time with.

The beginning is incredibly dark! The middle is strangely, considering this is a not-fiction story, a nice mix of beauty, personal challenges, interesting individuals, risk, insight, and reward which normally describes a fiction plot. Thankfully there is an end although it felt like only 2 sentences long compared to the rest of the story.

She doesn't go over her decompression into the world, which I would have liked to know more of but what she provides is also good closure.

Good use of words to describe her inner and outer world.

The first part of the story is very frustrating! So many hints to the world and a backstory but no pauses to expand on the world building or the backstory!

Next it's riding in the head of a hoarder, talk about frustration over how rude and intrusive some people are ! I would not have looked at this situation this way before, so glad the author included it.

Then the roller coaster ride to the end of the book and dang it a cliff hanger that doesn't appear to be answered, based on the synopses of the other books in the series .

I'd recommend this to someone that likes science fiction.

I must be getting too old for Mr Pratchett's Discworld. I barely crack a smile while reading his books, including this one.

I loved the twist on the life of an Egyptian Pharaoh, the Afterlife, and the Guilds as usual especially the final exam.

Very good read! A plot that moves along nicely, no veering off the storyline to discuss stuff I don't want to know about, not too many characters, and characters that I could get drawn into!

Nicely done world building! None of the throw you in the deep end and you either swim until the author gets around to it or you drown and throw the book into the recycle box.

The story is dark, lots of dead people and things in this one, but not as dark as some YAs I've read and not depressing as alot of books seem to be coming out as!

Be sure to listen to Tim Curry narrating! His speaking cat-shaped entity is wonderful!

I'll read the next book in the series.

I feel like I was adift at sea with nothing insight but the horizons, 360.

97% names and places unrecognized, unable to visualize where these people were in Middle Earth. Maybe not there at all.. The remaining 3% known were dark places... and the ever-present Orcs.

The first chapter is incredibly like reading the Old Testament, which is how I described the Silmarillion after finishing it.

I wish everyone a Neil Peart in their life.

Kind to those in need, has his own opinions but doesn't broadcast them to the world, takes risks that stretch him like stepping out from behind the drums at the end of a concert, anticipates dangers in his dangerous hoppies, well read, and thought provoking.

All his travel books are worth reading.

I liked the organization of the stories by state and although I don't normally like short stories, which each state seems to be with a mix of personal stories and factoids across time related to the main topic.

Well worth the read.

So depressing it's like sandpaper on the skin, nails on a chalkboard, hydrogen peroxide on an open wound.

All the elements of a good story for me: plot moves along nicely, complex enough to keep the mystery a mystery for 70% of the story, the characters have personalities and there aren't too many to keep track of.

It's a quick read as well.

Plenty of science sprinkled through out and seems like all aspects to the truffle appear to be covered, some really aweful! aspects, but the real gem are the time spent on all the different individuals along the path of the truffle to the plate.

This book reaffirms my belief in NOT buying in to the marketing speak.