Katie

Was this really a memoir? Parts of it were, but there were long sections that were just a literature/media review of books and movies about marriage and divorce. I often wanted to put this book down and read the ones she quoted, which seemed like they might be far more interesting. Here sentences, too, were just so opaque. The sounded good, but did they mean anything?

I couldn't finish this. It was described as a really great guy book, but it was just too crude for me.

This book was full of important ideas that need to be said. And some funny lines, too. :)

Maybe Helen Ellis has changed since I read her last book or maybe I have. I do know I'm tired of hearing rich white women talk about themselves, so this one goes in the dead letter office.

This was a sort of behind-the-scenes companion to his other books that I've read. The essays on hip hop were wasted on me, but I enjoyed reading the rest of them.

I started out absolutely loving this book and all the amazing worlds it took me to. By the end, I was just so beaten down and exhausted by all those worlds that I couldn't read the last few stories. Maybe I'll pick it up again in a year. She's an amazing writer.

Probably a four and a half for me. This book was incredibly written and fascinating to read, though at times pretty gruesome. He is such an interesting author.

Classic Fforde, though the jokes don't come quite as quickly as one might expect. A great story still.

This raised some very good points. It also contained some uninformed rants, lots of personal aggrandizing, and straw man arguments.

I liked this a lot. The author had some wonderful sentences, and an endearing personality.

Not at all worthy of Jane Eyre.

I got halfway through this book before realizing I really didn't want to spend any more time with the characters.

This was 100% as fun as the reviews say.

This started out GREAT, but got really violent. Also, all the women characters were actually men with women's names. I was just starting to think (thanks to Truth in Advertising) that I didn't have to totally abandon books written by modern men, but this change my mind back.

This book was fascinating and horrifying. I never get done being astonished at the depravity of white people when greed and messing with the lives of people of color is involved.

This was probably a 4.5 for me. Super interesting premise. Hilarious (and some disturbing) moments. Lots to think about and enjoy.

This was a lovely book. I love that the narrator was aimless and heartbroken, but didn't do all the dumb things that characters in books usually do when they feel this way. She was thoughtful, caring, and productive.

What a book! I'm not the best reader of essays–I'm much more into plot. But there was enough plot here to keep me going, and the essay bits snuck up on me with their, to quote another author, truth and beauty. There weren't any earth-shattering bits of new wisdom in here, but there was a lot of elucidation of what you already more or less know, just written out a lot more clearly and beautifully.

I wasn't thrilled with this book. For one thing, I'm not a fan of Random Capitalization. It makes the book harder to read, and also seems like it's trying to hard to be cute. The main character was pitiable, but maybe not admirable or likable, completely, which also made it a less than fun read.

This was great. A fun read, interesting characters, and a believable amount of personal growth.

This book reminded me of “what to expect when you're expecting,” in that it gave me lots and lots of new things to worry about that I had never considered. I guess if I were going through any of those things, this book would be a great resource, but, in my current just-fine state it was a little much. :)

This was rough going, as you might expect for something based on David Copperfield and set in opiod-addiction-era Appalachia. I had to put it down multiple times and walk away, but I'm so glad Kingsolver write it and that I finished it. I could have done with 2 or three more pages at the end, but I guess that's what imagination is for. :)

Wow. This was a powerful read with some amazing lines. I think you miss a lot by reading it (at least, that's my guess) instead of seeing it performed, but still worth a read.

This was cute, but nothing earth shattering for me. The best part was the pig.

This was definitely a white woman book–focused on a family and their relationships, with lots of predictable “shockers.” But I liked the straightforward writing style, the multiple perspectives, and the tidy-ish resolution.