Jean

Important in queer literature, but wow, dismal as all hell.

I loved this. Engaging, thoughtful, and short but punchy. I find myself still thinking about this book a lot.

I enjoyed this, but I wouldn't say I felt good reading it the whole time. Weird, sexy, and engaging, but a lot of difficult content.

The audiobook is the way to go on this title, because Eddie adds a lot of extra footnote material  

The old-timey nerd squad might come for me, but the show is better. Glad I read (listened to) this classic, but I don't know that I'd have gotten through it on paper.

Slow to start, but worth sticking with. 

Friendly, approachable, science-based CBT-i (cognitive  behavioral therapy for insomnia) treatment plan. I haven't felt this good about sleep in years and highly recommend it this book if you are troubled by insomnia. 

This took me forever because even though it's short, it's also emotionally difficult.

Damn. 

I loved this book. Despite the dark themes, there's a lot of sweetness here and redemption for at least one character. Beautiful. 

Warm, funny, charming, erudite. I loved this. 

Engaging, thoughtful story about first-generation immigrant children seeking identity and connection in a coming of age story with magical elements. Some difficult topics, see content warnings 

Quietly dark, strange, and beautiful. I really loved this.

It's thinner on detail than his other work, but I thought it gave it a lovely, sparse feeling. I didn't feel frustrated by gaps in the story; I felt that I had, if not detailed answers, a sense of what was important in the story. This might be my favorite of Miéville's work.

It was a little difficult for me to get into this book, mainly because I had trouble getting invested in the first characters. I'm glad I finally stuck with it this time. The weaving of stories through time, the trajectory of story and characters, and the connections developed throughout are very satisfying in the long run.

Classic, obviously, but there's a lot of “don't be weak and whiny like a woman” and “everything is a waste of time except philosophy” that made it tougher for me to connect with.

Just not very helpful or relevant after the remote work crash course many of us have been through in the past two years. Covers some basic practices and argues that remote work can work; much more useful at the time it was written, I'm sure.

I want to give a copy of this book to everyone I know.

We are all in such a hurry to do more and more, to see more, to achieve more. Our to-do lists are endless, literally, and this book encourages us to truly look at that.

Some reviewers see the author as saying our lives are meaningless. What is beautifully expressed here is that the meaning of your life is completely and utterly yours. Your life may be — probably is! — cosmically insignificant. But the meaning of your life, of your time, is so much more intimate than that.

This book is about the intimacy of time, the very fabric of our life, and what we choose (consciously or not) to do with it. There is, eventually, a list of time management tips that fit in with the themes here, but you'll get far more than that from this philosophical look at our relationship with time.

As World of Warcraft novels go, this one was well-written and enjoyable. Nice characterizations, satisfying plotline, fills in the narrative between the current and upcoming expansions.

I also appreciated the author's handling of the troll accents; the accent itself is problematic, and over-reliance on it in some previous Warcraft books (looking at you, Vol'jin: Shadows of the Horde) has made me cringe.

SpoilerFairshaw forever! Delighted with this, honestly.

I always enjoy Mieville's writing, and this was a great story that kept me engaged, but the ending was rough for me.

The principles in this book are useful and easy to understand, so 4 stars for helpfulness. The writing itself is okay, although repetitive at times, and it goes longer than it needs to. But this isn't a book you read for the pleasure of reading it — this is a book you read to get your shit in order, and for that, it's great.

I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about this series yet, but I will say a few things. I can't rate this book as if it stands alone, nor would I say it's my favorite of the series. I can only really rate it as the culmination of my year of The Dark Tower (including extended reading selections). This series made my heart ache, and I really didn't want it to end. I love these books in a way I haven't loved a book for a long time.

Anyway, Ka is a wheel.

Two things:

1. I understand the ending made a lot of people quite angry; I did not feel this way about it. As much of the series did, it made my heart ache, but I also kind of love the promise that's here. Oh, Roland, dear Roland.

2. On the matter of the author's self-reference, I don't know... I had doubts about it when it started a book or two ago, but at this point, I'm just in for whatever. I'm not sure I love that choice, but I think I get it.

I am not usually a reader of thrillers, but I must say that I really enjoyed this one. I found that I couldn't read this book before bed, because I'd stay up too late, reading to see what would happen next! The story is both frightening and realistic: During the time I was reading this, I found myself getting a bit nervous whenever my internet connection was too slow. The characters were well-developed and, as a long time resident of Portland, I found the little details about the city really wonderful.

Disclaimer: I was provided with an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Well, I don't know that I would say I read Garner's, exactly.

The forward, about the grammar wars, is a terrific read. Otherwise, I rely heavily on Garner's when I have usage questions, just as any right-thinking person would.

The more I read and think about this story, the more lovely I find it. Mysterious, funny, and sad; and if you think that you know what it's really about, I suspect you might be missing the point.

I've never read anything quite like this book.

This was my first Faulkner, and while it was certainly difficult–even baffling at times–it was well worth it. Faulkner himself said that this book “may be the best novel yet written by an American.” He may have had an ego, but I also think he may be right. Prepare to be baffled, but just carry on reading–things will become clear in time. Well, as clear as Faulkner is inclined to make them, anyway.

Ostensibly a tragedy about a man's plan to establish a dynasty and an allegory about the fall of the South, Absalom, Absalom! is also about perspective, truth, storytelling, and our search for meaning. Honestly, this is one of the most amazing books I've ever read, and now I get why all the fuss about Faulkner.