Cole Bregman
Very good sequel the power ramp was satisfying I don't know how there can be problems in the following books when Pug is so strong. The writing is really incredible as always and I felt really engaged the entire time, except for some parts where were pulled away from the action to follow another character. Overall pretty good, there's a couple dull moments but that's to be expected. Ending is super satisfying and as someone who doesn't want to get too involved in the 31 book saga I felt like this was a good stopping point.
Really incredible and fascinating book. I loved learning about the history of the development of chips. While I thought I didn't like non-fiction, this changed my mind. The way it is written is really engaging and I never felt like I was being bored with history. Makes me want to become a semiconductor engineer. I found it so interesting how much intersection there is between engineering and politics. Its cool to see people theorize implications of technology that doesn't even exist yet, but predict will exist and then prepare for it like Qualcomm packing more data into radiowaves. Overall really fantastic book, would definitely recommend it to anyone!
Lost the library hold for a bit but managed to get it again and finished. Such a fantastic book. All the characters are written so well I found myself so invested in their relationships and felt so much emotion for some of their betrayals and the world building is fantastic. I was really pulled in. While I usually listen to audiobooks on the go from place to place, this book had me laying in bed just listening for hours. Themes of power, ambition, and the stark reality of revolution tie so well with ideas of friendship, loyalty and hope. The book ended really well and is satisfying as a standalone book but once I realized it was a series I couldn't hold my excitement. Overall would definitely reccomend for fans of the genre.
Honestly pretty good, lots of great lessons packed into this book about how to be more motivated and productive with TONS of case studies to provide examples and takeaways. I really appreciate how often he provides counter examples going into details of when these strategies don't work out and either how to overcome these issues or work around them so they don't become too big. I've read another of his books and he definitely is consistent. Overall would definitely recommend this book if this is a topic that interests you.
Brandon Sanderson does not miss. Another great book by him, all the issues I had with my previous book were fulfilled and then some. All the characters motives are clear and well developed and the ones that aren't are done purposefully so. The biggest draw (hehehe) for me for this book was the world building. I love how well Sanderson goes into explaining the world and how the magic functions and builds a world around that system rather than have that system placed into a world. The writing is good and the plot is good as well. The pacing was perfect always making me want to read more. I really liked how things didn't just go well for the main character, at the start of the book he has a dream and a want and while he gets so close by the end of the book even though he still wants and dreams of the same things not having gotten them yet, he is more content with the way things are. My only issue was that the second book isn't out yet
It had a solid start that hooked me in and I was getting more and more involved in the story excited to see where it led, but for me the story really fell short with the lack of world building. The characters were cool and I liked them but their history, how they worked, and their motives for why they do what they do all fell short for me. I was excited to learn more about how magic would unfold and what makes this world unique and learn how magic works but it's all just pretty vague without anything interesting going on. Im sure the following books will pick up but I did not enjoy it enough to continue the series.
It was pretty solid I don't think I'd reccomend it but if I ever need to just pick up a book and read I can always trust Stephen king to write something decent. I like how the plot comes together and the slow build up. I like the world he imagines and I feel like I am exposed to just the right amount of it. I kept thinking that it would've been more interesting to just have read about Bowditch's adventures back in his prime vs Charlie's ones currently but by the end I was rlly satisfied and it had me yearning to read some true eldritch horror, something that I never thought I would be interested in. The writing style is okay and very digestible so I liked it but I wasn't wowed. Overall not bad and a good book but not recommending any time soon.
It has a pretty slow start jumping between characters, but as the book progresses I got more invested and excited about where it was going. Coming in not knowing anything about the book was really nice because it headed in a direction I certainly was not expecting, with cool concepts that I liked and didn't expect from this book. Another thing I found really interesting was how my perspective of the cover changed. I had initially looked at the cover art and thought oh that's a cool moon coming over a serene landscape, but after reading it I realize that it straight up isn't a moon at all, which is something really cool how reading the book changes the perspective of how I view an image. I wonder if there's art that you make assumptions about but once you read the artists statement or something that the entire composition has a different meaning. The ending of the book was also really solid, I was expecting it to end with like a kind of disappointing ending but still wraps everything up nicely leaving a few unanswered questions, but in the final chapters it really ends in a way that I was satisfied with a ton.
Oh wow reading the synopsis on the Goodreads page now I realize I don't think I would have enjoyed or been nearly as invested in the book if I knew as much as the synopsis gives away.
Eh I don't think I'd recommend it anytime soon. I wasn't a big fan of the writing style it didn't engage me in the way I wanted it to. Kind of drawn out, although I did like the conclusion. I could definitely imagine it as a better opera or play adaptation than it is a book alone, especially if they make it as engaging as I would hope (keeping the 5th box empty, etc), and going along with the story as if it was an opera, where the audience is more a part of the performance than mere spectators. The one redeeming factor that bumped it from 1 stars to 2 stars is the setting. Placing this story in an opera house in the late 1800s was really interesting. I enjoyed learning about the inner workings of an opera house and seeing how the author uses every aspect of the opera house management, architecture, and performances as important pieces of the story. I can tell a lot of thought went into weaving the opera house into the story and I was really impressed by it, it makes me want to go to an opera and get a tour of an opera house, especially it's underground.
Really really fantastic book would recommend. Every single story Ted will turn an incredible and complex idea into the most digestible, engaging story. What's more impressive is how much he is able to explore and explain these topics within such short stories. Even the stories that look at popular concepts like the multiverse, proof of god, and ai take a very unique and interesting twist. The stories that I did not enjoy as much as the others still made me want to continue through Teds amazing writing and storytelling. I'm so glad this was recommended to me, I can't wait to read more of him.
I don't see what all the hype around this book is, like yeah I guess it's kinda sad and explores loss and sexuality but like I wasn't really into all that. It was ok and picked up around the end but not by much. Overall I feel like there are better books out there that I wouldn't really recommend reading this one, but also I haven't read much of the authors other works.
Not bad at all, provides a lot of insights through a myriad of examples of people throughout history. All the characters in this are inspiring and interesting to hear about aspects of them I didn't know about, like seeing the queen in a new light. The only issue with it for me is that it does not make me feel inspired to be better just instilling in me the knowledge of what to do to be better.
While there were a lot of points that I disagreed with, for the most part there were lots of insights that I will try taking with me. There were a couple funny letters, I liked letter 88 when he was just clowning Liberal Arts lol. A couple of my other favorites were 90, 65, and 78. The introduction was also very interesting it's funny how he preached all these stoic values but didn't practice it. He definitely led a really crazy life with lots of ups and downs. It is interesting to see how people wrote to each other back then, and how his writing changed over time. It is interesting how much he quoted Epicurious in his earlier letters and how he changed it views to be that one should not just spout quotes.
Honestly surprised me, I've heard how much people rave over it but I did not think it would be my cup of tea. It ended up being pretty good. I think that so many modern forms of media have been so heavily inspired by 1984, that while this might have been the first occurrence, to me I've already seen these topics explored thoroughly throughout different books tv shows and movies. I think the book really picks up during the second half and that I wish there was more of it to consume. It would have been interesting to have seen the events from more perspectives maybe jumping through time and people but I see how that would have diluted the story we got.
Really fantastic book that did a great job introducing me to stoicism. I really enjoyed how the authors background in cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy provided professional modern scientific backing to many of the techniques employed by stoic thousands of years ago. I liked how they took my through some of the exercises and provided examples of daily rituals I can practice. Following the life of Marcus Aurelius was really interesting and inspiring, it gets me excited to read Meditations personally!
It feels like nothing really happens and it's slow paced, but it's just interesting enough not to stop reading, and everything of value happens in the last couple chapters, but at least there is a lesson about love and memories as a double edged sword and that sometimes it is better to forget the past in order to move forward.
Really enjoyed the book a ton. I was kind of surprised and really appreciated how the book dealt with and respected different religions. I'm not sure how much of the book really got through to me, but definitely left me feeling inspired, and a bit melancholy that I don't know what my personal legend is and that I might not be pursuing it now.