This is a book I wouldn’t have picked up if it weren’t for my brilliant book club friend. OUTLINE is a quiet book about a woman seeking the meaning ofThis is a book I wouldn’t have picked up if it weren’t for my brilliant book club friend. OUTLINE is a quiet book about a woman seeking the meaning of “self.” ...more
I read (listened to) GOOD MATERIAL, by Dolly Alderton, after reading a strong review in the NYT, calling it one of the best books of the year so far. I read (listened to) GOOD MATERIAL, by Dolly Alderton, after reading a strong review in the NYT, calling it one of the best books of the year so far. Not sure what that says about everything else that's been published this year, but I didn't like it as much as the reviewer did.
GOOD MATERIAL is about Andy, a stand-up comic who is reeling from a breakup. His girlfriend, Jenn, blindsided him after four years in a relationship. The writing was strong, the characters were well-developed, but the pacing was off; about 2/3 through, I was entirely sick of hearing Andy whine about how much he misses and still loves Jenn.
In the end, the narrator switches from Andy to Jenn's POV. She explains a lot, which helped, but didn't save the story for me. The voice actors were great, though. Andy sounded just like Jamie Tartt from Ted Lasso. That was fun and unusual for a book set in England.
I'm not sure Dan Brown books are meant to be critiqued on an intellectual level, although I imagine he would like to be given more credit for his philI'm not sure Dan Brown books are meant to be critiqued on an intellectual level, although I imagine he would like to be given more credit for his philosophies. Dan Brown is a true storyteller, and his books are page turners. Even at 450 pages, ORIGIN took me only six days to read. In the vein of Ayn Rand, he seems to be preaching his view of the world, and what he things people should believe, via an entertaining novel. Ayn Rand did it much better.
The latest installment in the Robert Langdon series, ORIGIN is about a Steve Jobs-type genius who has invented an extreme AI computer and solved the mysteries of "Where do we come from?" and "Where are we going?" Except chaos happens before he can announce his discovery to the world. Langdon and a stunningly beautiful, sensitive, intelligent woman must save the day—because I do think the entire story takes place in less than 24 hours. Brown is a master at not giving his protagonist what he wants until the very last scene, which is what keeps readers turning the pages.
In my humble opinion, if Dan Brown had a better editor, I could like his work much more. "Stop with the italics," someone should tell him. "Langdon doesn't need to have seen EVERY WONDERFUL THING before. Let him discover an occasional marvel along with your readers." "Quit reminding people he has an 'eidetic' memory." Brown name-drops many artists, architects, authors, paintings, books, buildings, historical figures, etcetera, etcetera, and says in the opening pages that all of these are "real." It's almost like he's trying to justify his travel expenses for his accountant and the IRS. Anyway, I like art, architecture, traveling, and history, so I enjoyed the references, but I can see how others might skim right over names and places as boring filler. The book seems overly long, but I imagine he’s contractually bound to turn out 150,000-word books.
Brown has an interesting message in this book, his own idea (I hope and assume), about where we are going as a human race. I'm not sure I disagree with him, although I hope his timeline is off by a few decades.
I liked this story, I just don’t think Dan Brown is a very good writer.
Three (and a half) original-if-not-eloquent Stars
Merged review:
I'm not sure Dan Brown books are meant to be critiqued on an intellectual level, although I imagine he would like to be given more credit for his philosophies. Dan Brown is a true storyteller, and his books are page turners. Even at 450 pages, ORIGIN took me only six days to read. In the vein of Ayn Rand, he seems to be preaching his view of the world, and what he things people should believe, via an entertaining novel. Ayn Rand did it much better.
The latest installment in the Robert Langdon series, ORIGIN is about a Steve Jobs-type genius who has invented an extreme AI computer and solved the mysteries of "Where do we come from?" and "Where are we going?" Except chaos happens before he can announce his discovery to the world. Langdon and a stunningly beautiful, sensitive, intelligent woman must save the day—because I do think the entire story takes place in less than 24 hours. Brown is a master at not giving his protagonist what he wants until the very last scene, which is what keeps readers turning the pages.
In my humble opinion, if Dan Brown had a better editor, I could like his work much more. "Stop with the italics," someone should tell him. "Langdon doesn't need to have seen EVERY WONDERFUL THING before. Let him discover an occasional marvel along with your readers." "Quit reminding people he has an 'eidetic' memory." Brown name-drops many artists, architects, authors, paintings, books, buildings, historical figures, etcetera, etcetera, and says in the opening pages that all of these are "real." It's almost like he's trying to justify his travel expenses for his accountant and the IRS. Anyway, I like art, architecture, traveling, and history, so I enjoyed the references, but I can see how others might skim right over names and places as boring filler. The book seems overly long, but I imagine he’s contractually bound to turn out 150,000-word books.
Brown has an interesting message in this book, his own idea (I hope and assume), about where we are going as a human race. I'm not sure I disagree with him, although I hope his timeline is off by a few decades.
I liked this story, I just don’t think Dan Brown is a very good writer.
Three (and a half) original-if-not-eloquent Stars...more
THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS, by Laurie Frankel, is an important book for our times. The story is about a family of seven: mother, father, and five sons. THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS, by Laurie Frankel, is an important book for our times. The story is about a family of seven: mother, father, and five sons. Except at age 3, the youngest boy says he wants to be a girl. As he grows, that feeling only intensifies. The family accepts him as a her, but must navigate the difficult waters and emotions of the real world. Some in their community are vile and angry about the child.
I say this book is important because Frankel, whose own child is a transgender girl, knows what she's talking about and tells the story from the inside out. I chose this book for my book club (some were wary about reading the story because it's so foreign to most people) and everyone in the group said they were glad to have read it. Everyone grew more compassionate in their understanding of one child's story.
This was my third Claire Keegan book, and whoa, I did not expect this to be so disturbing. SO LATE IN THE DAY is three short stories about disenfranchThis was my third Claire Keegan book, and whoa, I did not expect this to be so disturbing. SO LATE IN THE DAY is three short stories about disenfranchised lovers, progressing from sad, to worrisome, to seriously creepy. It's Keegan's powerful use of dramatic irony that makes this book difficult to put down. She puts her characters in increasingly dangerous situations that we can sense will turn out badly, like a human train wreck.
Keegan's writing is spare and beautiful, but I have to say I enjoyed FOSTER and SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE much more than this book.
Emily Henry's books are like popcorn: delicious, mindless munching. She is a good storyteller, the dialogue is solid, and the endings (though generallEmily Henry's books are like popcorn: delicious, mindless munching. She is a good storyteller, the dialogue is solid, and the endings (though generally predictable) always have a slight twist that keeps me engaged. And, if anyone likes audiobooks, Julia Whelan, the narrator, is phenomenal.
Happy Place is highly entertaining and a perfect beach read/go for a walk/travel book.
It's easy to know why the NYT, et al., liked this book so much; it's about the book industry. Agents and publishers are known to love books about bookIt's easy to know why the NYT, et al., liked this book so much; it's about the book industry. Agents and publishers are known to love books about books and writing. But this book, IMO, is unoriginal. What about Ladder to the Sky, by John Boyne? What about the movie called The Words? They are both stories (and I'm sure there are more) about young writers who steal manuscripts by known writers and publish them as their own. Enter YELLOWFACE, by R.F. Kuang. Same story. Same guilty complex. Same ending. Basically. This book brings racism to the mix. Maybe that's why it did so well. It's not just white men stealing from white men.
Kuang is an Ivy League-educated writer/insider. She knows how the game (oops, I meant system) works. She makes fun of it, which I imagine the industry got a real kick out of. I kept reading this book (even though it was unoriginal) only to see if it had a redeeming twist at the end. What it does is spiral in on itself.
Author Philip Pullman once said: "There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a childAuthor Philip Pullman once said: "There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book." Pullman may have had THE GIVER, by Lois Lowry, in mind when he said that.
Written in 1993, of course I had heard of this book, but it wasn't until an 11-year-old recently told me how much she loved it that I decided I was overdue to read it. Plus it's really short and I needed one more book to complete my GR challenge. Whatever the reason, if you haven't read The Giver, do it.
Dystopian fiction? Science fiction? Magical realism? This story has elements of unreality that thrust the world of Jonas and his family into a vivid and shocking reality. Part The Handmaid's Tale, part The Stepford Wives, the community in which Jonas lives has a lot of rules but no freedom. Jonas is the perfect character to shatter the illusions that the Committee has created for its inhabitants. But at a cost, naturally.
This was my first book by Sigrid Nunez. What a unique voice she has! Nunez is a writers' writer: she quotes and references other great writers (ProustThis was my first book by Sigrid Nunez. What a unique voice she has! Nunez is a writers' writer: she quotes and references other great writers (Proust, Woolf, Didion, et al) and their styles and methods of writing. I found this interesting, but not sure everyone would.
The Vulnerables is a pandemic book. It chronicles the unnamed narrator through lockdown in NYC. For me, just enough time has passed that I was able to appreciate (and to an extent smile at) the reminders of that hell. (Remember wiping down our delivered groceries because we thought they might have the coronavirus germs?) When the narrator has to share an apartment in the city with a troubled young man as they both take on the task of caring for a mutual friend's parrot, Nunez touches on humanity and people's idiosyncrasies in full color.
Mystery, romance, intrigue, humor ... this book has it all. Maybe too much of it all.
Set in Barcelona in the early 20th century, THE SHADOW OF THE WIMystery, romance, intrigue, humor ... this book has it all. Maybe too much of it all.
Set in Barcelona in the early 20th century, THE SHADOW OF THE WIND, by Carols Ruiz Safón, is the story of Daniel who finds the last known copy a book and wants to know more about the author. Except the author is a mystery himself, and someone is actively acquiring and burning all of the author's books. The deeper Daniel gets into his search, the more trouble and terror he finds. Fortunately, the story is lightened a bit by minor characters who add comic relief.
I found this book overly long, going off on unnecessary tangents and details. I liked it but not enough to recommend it to very many people.
Such a sweet and touching story. I loved it. It's especially amazing considering it's a debut novel by Laura Spence-Ash. Her writing is clean and lyriSuch a sweet and touching story. I loved it. It's especially amazing considering it's a debut novel by Laura Spence-Ash. Her writing is clean and lyrical, truly lovely. There is just enough atmosphere and description to make you feel like you're living in the novel with out any "boring parts."
BEYOND THAT, THE SEA is the story of Beatrix, a young British girl who is sent to America by her parents at the start of WWII. Apparently that wasn't uncommon, though I didn't know anyone did that. Eleven-year-old Beatrix, soon known as Bea, lives with the Gregorys: mother, father, and two boys: William, 13, and Gerald, 9. We can see immediately there might be feelings between Bea and the boys; that is just one storyline that kept me turning the pages. After the war, Bea returns to London, a strange and different world.
I recommend this to anyone who loves historical fiction.
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