Emily

I liked the story, agree the narrator fell short

Revisado: 10-27-23

This is another good fantasy story in the same vein as Court of Thorns and Roses, Cruel Prince etc. overall I thought it was a good, fast read and highly entertaining. I didn’t love the narrator after having listened to a lot of similar books. I would say overall the reading was too “crude” for me? But some of the writing was also a bit crude. And no, I don’t mean the sex, I think it was the actual dialogue that was a bit off. Anywho, if you like the fantasy/romance genre, go for it! You’ll like this book and be entertained.

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Pretty Darn Good

Revisado: 07-16-22

I am a fantasy/sci-fi lover, and after the excitement of the new movie coming out this year knew I wanted to read the book first. I had heard this described as the inspiration for many fantasy/sci-fi stories, including references to Harry Potter, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, etc. Overall, I really enjoyed this book/audible. It was full of action and excitement, and I can certainly see glimpses of each of the above referenced stories in this novel. A few draw backs in the story/audible are - I can tell the producers of the audible were trying very hard, and this is one of the first I’ve encountered with sound effects and what felt like acting in the narration. It could be cool for some people, but I found it a bit odd and cheesy. As far as the story goes, I really enjoyed it. The drawback to the story is that there are somewhat long-winded, what I’ll refer to as “acid trips”. It honestly does not surprise me that this was written in 1965, as there were extended dialogues of the characters being in trances, having taken various poisons/drugs. I found these to be super boring.

That said, overall this was an awesome story, and I’ll certainly be “reading” (listening to) the sequel and possibly the full series.

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Meh

Revisado: 07-08-22

To be a really good book, the most important thing to me is that it’s underlined with a good story. The story here, for me, was just mediocre. Primarily, I didn’t “like” 2/3 main characters. I found them whiney, particular, and stubborn, and it made the story hard to get through. I did love the octopus, Marcellus character and the performance of his character was incredible. This was by far the best part of the book. Overall the story was predictable and a bit slow, with a good wrap up at the end.

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Breastfeeding Made Judgmental

Revisado: 08-02-21

I had high hopes for this book and was quite disappointed. Primarily, I found it to be impractical, judgmental, flawed, and sometimes passive aggressive advice about breastfeeding. Particularly:
1) This book begins with providing a description of many of the claimed benefits from breastfeeding. One of the many examples of this is when it cites research, suggesting that breastfeeding has been shown to reduce obesity. This is a claim that has been shown to be correlated, but not causal. For instance - it is difficult to control for the education level and lifestyle of parents that choose breastfeeding versus formula in a research study. Many of these claimed benefits in this book are not supported by high-quality (large, peer-reviewed, randomized trial) causal research (breastfeeding CAUSES lower obesity rates versus breastfeeding is CORRELATED with lower obesity rates). For a more accurate examination of the benefits of breastfeeding (one of the largest of which is reduction in likelihood of breast cancer for the breastfeeding parent, and is mentioned only briefly in this book) I recommend the breastfeeding chapter in Cribsheet by Emily Oster
2) Many of the tips and advice in this book are impractical for anyone other than a breastfeeding person who chooses to stay at home (not work or not work full time). For example, the authors strongly condemn any advice that suggests getting a baby on a schedule, and don’t provide an alternative if this isn’t possible for a breastfeeding person. Many breastfeeding people are equal or even primary earners in modern families. Further, the United States has an abysmal maternity leave system. Without developing some form of schedule, many families are not able to breastfeed and return to work effectively. This lack of flexibility will result in more woman turning to formula.
3) This time spent on actual practical advice in this book is outweighed by focus on humans’ evolutionary roots, the natural state of breastfeeding in developing countries, and anthropological takes on breastfeeding. While this can be very interesting, the fact that humans are ape-descended “carry mammals” is not particularly useful in an advanced technological age and developed country where holding an infant a substantial part of the day may not be an option. Of course this is a desirable best case scenario, but without providing alternatives for breastfeeding people who may not have this option, it is not the “simple” information for a person looking for practical advice for breastfeeding success.
4) I found the tone of this book to be judgmental and passive aggressive in too many places. An example of this is the authors beginning a sentence with: “We feel sorry for the woman who (insert phrase reflecting a woman’s ignorance of something she is not an expert in)”. There is almost as much focus on what the old/conventional views on breastfeeding are and why they’re so dumb (my interpretation of the authors’ language) rather than what the right approaches should be.
5) The authors expressly state that they are switching back and forth each chapter using the traditional gender pronouns (he/she). This gives the appearance of equality and progressive views, but I found it odd (and antiquated) they didn’t merely choose they/them non-binary pronouns throughout.

Overall, I don’t recommend this book. I was disappointed with the tone, minimal alternatives, lack of alternatives and practical advice, and interpretation of research as causal rather than merely correlated.

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Excellent resource for expectant parents

Revisado: 03-27-21

Overall, this is an excellent resource for any current expectant parents. It dives into the actual scientific research behind pregnancy decisions, and provides a real, evidenced-based ways to frame decision making. The author (Emily Oster) also combines her own anecdotal experiences to make it entertaining and down to earth. The book covers topics a carrying parent is likely to encounter in pregnancy, including trying to conceive, miscarriage, seafood, alcohol, caffeine, medications, prenatal genetic tests and screening, glucose screening, to labor and delivery, among many other topics. If data analysis and scientific research speak to you, you will find this book helpful, informative, and entertaining.

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Very good account of the Theranos fraud

Revisado: 02-22-19

Overall, I thought this was an excellent account of the Theranos disaster. Very detailed and I found everything to be backed up with good sources and facts. I do think it makes a few “jumps” into reading Elizabeth Holmes’s mind that I don’t think are possible. In other words there were two or three places when a situation is described and the author discusses how Holmes felt or thought about it that isn’t exactly possible unless he is a mind reader, but the author kept those to a minimum. In most cases I found the book to be very well researched, interesting, and highly credible, albeit a bit repetitive. The narrator was good but spoke in a slightly choppy manner.

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Written Like a Painting

Revisado: 02-16-19

It took me quite a while to decide how I felt about this book, and in the end I’ve given it a 4 across the board. Overall, this is an interesting take on a WWII story. I loved hearing about the German side, and as the point of view in half the story was from the perspective of a blind girl it was definitely different. However, nearly every sentence in this book (perhaps an exaggeration) is full of metaphors and descriptions and every possible piece of symbolism that it felt a bit like the story was trying too hard. That said, it had an interesting plot and a different perspective which I appreciated. I didn’t mind that it jumped from character to character, and only missed that it didn’t have much action but described every potential detail which made it slow. In the end I liked this story a lot, but didn’t love it.

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Overall Enjoyable

Revisado: 10-15-18

Overall, this was a wonderful, uplifting novel. It was hilarious, well-written, and albeit predictable. The narrator was excellent, particularly with one of the main characters accents, and I found her very enjoyable to listen to. My only qualm is there is a little female cattiness and bad mouthing in this book, which I’m really hoping authors start to get away from, but overall the story was interesting and fun.

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Excellent narration and story

Revisado: 10-11-18

I love any Jane Austen novel, and found this one, narrated by Rosamund Pike. Highly enjoyable. The story is not quite as appealing as Pride and Prejudice or Emma, but it is still one of my favorite love stories. Rosamund Pike does an excellent narration, and even does different voices for several of the characters. Overall I loved it!

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Wonderful Audiobook and Story

Revisado: 10-02-18

Anyone who loves Jane Austin and Pride and Prejudice will love this reading. While there are a few odd character voices, overall the reading was wonderful. Rosamund Pike does an excellent job, and of course the love story is one of the best every. I highly enjoyed listening to this.

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