Parts of this memoir were stunning - beautifully written and startling in their elegance. But the pacing, storyline, chronology were distracting and cParts of this memoir were stunning - beautifully written and startling in their elegance. But the pacing, storyline, chronology were distracting and could not keep me engaged. And perhaps the memoir focus was too weak after all - though Joan Didion is well known and Leadbeater had difficult times, they were not amazing enough to hold my interest....more
Compelling story of Eilis and her new life in 1950s Brooklyn. Heartbreaking details about the lives of women and the difficulties of migrants. Toibin Compelling story of Eilis and her new life in 1950s Brooklyn. Heartbreaking details about the lives of women and the difficulties of migrants. Toibin creates a compelling narrative of Eilis' journey from Ireland to a boarding house, to Friday night dances, and night school at Brooklyn College. When disaster strikes her family back in the old country, she returns and leaves night school, the boarding house and her boyfriend Tony back in the United States. This fourth segment of the book seems a bit rushed followed by a big decision. I enjoyed Eilis' character - and all of the supporting ones so much - I didn't want the book to end....more
The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club was entertaining up to a point - however, it included way too much detail, too many characters and wThe Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club was entertaining up to a point - however, it included way too much detail, too many characters and was a bit tedious at times.
Set in the summer after the end of World War I at a coastal English village, the book tracks the rise of the motorcyle and flying club through the main character, Constance Haverhill, who is hanging out at the Meredith Hotel as a companion to the spunky Mrs. Fog. The book includes jarring instances of sex, race, and class discrimination, common of the time, but often in the wrong tone or description.
Constance gets swept up in family dynamics of the wealthy class, and flies and rides her way into several adventures. I would recommend this book only to folks who want a tour into English privilege and elitism....more
I am not a huge fan of this genre, but I was drawn to this book based on reviews. It was a page turner, but I'm not sure I could recommend it to anyonI am not a huge fan of this genre, but I was drawn to this book based on reviews. It was a page turner, but I'm not sure I could recommend it to anyone who is not a sci-fi horror fan. The pace is quick, the characters reasonably fleshed out, but the details bored me without the mindset to appreciate them.
Ophelia, the main character and pyschologist in this tale, has quite a backstory and it becomes a big part of the narrative for the mishaps on the planet the team is exploring. Ophelia becomes part of the group after a team member dies unexpectedly. That is one of several mysteries that Barnes uses to keep the narrative crisp.
The reader is never quite sure who will be the next victim. ...more
Kearns Goodwin strikes a great balance of history and personal narrative in this gem. I learned so much about an era I was not quite old enough to undKearns Goodwin strikes a great balance of history and personal narrative in this gem. I learned so much about an era I was not quite old enough to understand. She does a great job of organizing events/time periods into chapters and subchapters. This is book is a perfect gift to a country that needs to read about honor and a functioning Washington,D.C. It must also be an amazing gift to the family and friends who knew and loved Dick Goodwin....more
I am not a horse person and know very little about them, so I did not immediately gravitate toward this book - sadly - based on nothing beyond its titI am not a horse person and know very little about them, so I did not immediately gravitate toward this book - sadly - based on nothing beyond its title and description. But it is perhaps my favorite of Gerldine Brooks' novels, which is saying quite a bit. I read People of the Book before this one, and there are similarities - young scholars trying to unearth the past - but this book sings on the strength of its passages set in the 1850s and 1860s and the beautiful way Brooks ties history together.
I'm still trying to recover from the sucker punch in the last quarter of this beautiful book. Well done....more
Each of the short stories was exquisite in different ways. Each had surprises. Each had stories centered in New York City and focused on marriages andEach of the short stories was exquisite in different ways. Each had surprises. Each had stories centered in New York City and focused on marriages and choices. I loved all of them.
I wish I could say the same about the novella. Perhaps it's because I did not read Rules of Civility, which is the origin story for the novella. I shall return to this once I have read Rules.
Amor Towles is one of the great talents of our time....more
I admire this author and wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I could not relate to the characters at all. They were deeply flawed - which is OKI admire this author and wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I could not relate to the characters at all. They were deeply flawed - which is OK - but I did not enjoy their story or the narrative tension, not to mention the overabudance of minor characters.
I would be interested to know if younger people enjoyed this book more than I did.
Reid writes wonderful dialogue and sets up scenes very well but I found myself skipping passages and jumping ahead to get this one over with....more
I truly enjoyed this book. I loved the pace, the story, the characters and the themes. Outen did a great job of balancing suspence with narrative moveI truly enjoyed this book. I loved the pace, the story, the characters and the themes. Outen did a great job of balancing suspence with narrative movement.
Dixon is a wonderful character, full of love for the students at the middle school where he serves as a counselor. His brother, daughter, cousin and friends are all well drawn and believable characters.
The descriptions on the mountain and base camp are riveting and well drawn. Outen takes the reader there in a unforgiving way. You are drawn to the action and it's hard to let this book go - during and after reading it....more
After Annie takes no prisoners, announcing Annie's untimely death on the first page. The remainder of the book takes readers on a journey into the yeaAfter Annie takes no prisoners, announcing Annie's untimely death on the first page. The remainder of the book takes readers on a journey into the year beyond Annie'e death, through the characters of her husband, Bill, her oldest child, daughter Ali; and her best friend Annemarie. Oldest son, Ant, struggles mightily, but the story doesn't unfold through his narration, only through the eyes of his dad and sister.
The first one-third of After Annie was almost too painful to read. Too much time spent in the funeral home and the immediate aftermath - it's hard, hard stuff, for sure.
But then the characters move into your heart. You live their days. They are real and alive and working hard to deal with taking care of four kids, holding down a job, surviving middle school, and dealing with an addiction. These are all things that Annie would have been part of with grace and love, but Bill, Ali, Annemarie and Ant stumble, medicate, and cry through the morass with mixed success.
By the end, you are rooting for all of them, and Quindlen leaves the family in as good a spot as anyone could have dreamed a year prior....more
This book held great promise and I very much enjoyed the first one-half. The second half seemed like diary entries without narrative or character deveThis book held great promise and I very much enjoyed the first one-half. The second half seemed like diary entries without narrative or character development.
Moore did a great job of putting us in the shoes of Sarah and of describing life in this time and place from a woman's standpoint. Like so much of U.S. history, the Sioux uprising of 1862 is not well taught or explained, but Moore certainly gives us a perspective of a woman sypathetic to Dakota and other native peoples.
I would love to see this book adapted into a great screenplay for a film. The scale and storytelling could be greatly expanded...more
Metzl makes a compelling case for change, but his timely and well-researched book also leaves us discouraged about the obstacles to reducing firearm dMetzl makes a compelling case for change, but his timely and well-researched book also leaves us discouraged about the obstacles to reducing firearm deaths in the U.S. The author frames the gun reform debate through the story of the April 2018 mass shooting at a Nashville-area Waffle House. The gunman was a mentally disturbed white man from Illinois who should not have had access to guns, while all of the victims - those who survived and those who did not - were all black and brown.
Metzl writes movingly about the victims, the horror of the shooting, the impacts on their families. He also details pertinent details about the life of Travis Reinking, a troubled young man whose multiple interactions with police and citizens provided every chance for him to have been arrested or denied access to guns. But this is America, specifically, red state Tennessee, and Reinking is a white man given all the breaks that those in the majority race often get.
What We've Become focuses on how the system is set up to fail gun violence victims time and time again. It's heavy on policy and politics, but there's no other way to tell the story. I, for one, will long remember the important details this book leans on to honor those whose lives are forever shattered by gun violence....more
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