MLB

Great twist at the end

Revisado: 03-20-25

This was an okay book. There was a great twist at the end. Overall, really well-written. Could have used some editing to move the story forward in a more engaging manner.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Bringing the Pieces of a Co Placated Life Together

Revisado: 12-15-23

Good overall. Not only do we see the pieces of the grandmother’s life brought together and explained, but her granddaughter’s differently complicated world is transformed through this story. Family is at the heart of this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Compelling Story

Revisado: 11-05-23

Compelling story of Black excellence in the face of tremendous adversity. I would have enjoyed hearing more about Fleming’s experiences in college. Maybe that is another book to be written. Powerful narrative.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A Good Storyteller

Revisado: 10-11-23

Dave Navarro’s books is…. Just kidding.

Grohl tells a good story and has a lot of them. I especially enjoyed the stories about his mom and daughters. And the Joan Jett anecdote was my favorite about another musician.

Reads a bit “fanboy” at times. However, I think that is Grohl’s intent. Very optimistic and full of excited energy each time he meets a hero, an inspiration, or a new creative collaborator. I learned a lot not only about his music, but about music in general.

If you are looking for a “tell-all,” this isn’t the book for you. If you are looking for a “tell-the-good” about other musicians, you’ll enjoy The Storyteller very much.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Could Use Some Editing, But Kept My Attention

Revisado: 10-08-23

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an interesting book with some great plot twists. The main character is complex but owns the decisions she made throughout her life to get where she wanted to be based on limited resources and tremendous drive and focus.

My main issues with the book are that it is overtime in some parts. For me it is not about the details Evelyn shares with her biographer but the fact that the writing is not as tight and clean as it should be. Evelyn is blunt and direct. That isn’t reflected in how she tells her story (on a very tight timeline, I might add).

My other main concern is that Monique Grant consistently says awkward and I delicate things that conflict with the writer and journalist she is supposed to be. In all the ways Evelyn is secure and focused, Monique is clumsy and confused and insecure. This isn’t a recent college graduate, but and experienced and allegedly talented writer. She can still learn from and be shocked by Evelyn without being so awkward and insecure.

It is a good book. It had the potential to be a phenomenal book, but in the end it isn’t.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

History, family, community, trauma, and hope

Revisado: 10-02-23

I learned a lot from this book. The ways the lives of people in these stories are captured - seeing who they were as adults first and the. Going backwards to understand factors that affected them - a very humane depiction of complicated characters. Understanding ourselves through our past and our generational history is at the foundation of this book.

Highly engaging read.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Beautifully Layered Storytelling

Revisado: 09-24-23

This is one of my new favorite books. It touches on so many emotions and a variety of aspects of life. Backman’s characters are beautifully flawed. The humor catches you off-guard even in the midst of emotionally-charged moments. It is easy to fall in love with his characters. You even wait to understand why some of the challenging people in the book are acting the way they do. That’s something we might be well-advised to do I. Real life, as well.

It is well-read. The diverse characters and personalities ring through consistently. A great listen.

This is a truly phenomenal book including new worlds, different ways of seeing/being, and adventure embedded in everyday life.

I highly recommend this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Lots to Think About

Revisado: 09-02-23

First of all, there is no better narrator than Julia Whelan. Just outstanding. Every time.

This book is incredibly relevant. The responses to the boxes/strings are so believable, after a point you forget to wonder where they came from.

How do we make decisions about our lives when so much is beyond our control? The question rings true for the book and for our lives outside the book. Very provocative. Great character development. An excellent read.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Captures the pressure of Doing Doctoral Work

Revisado: 09-01-23

This was a good book but not a great book for me. The good - the performance was excellent. The plot gave me a lot of things to think about. There were lots of things I hadn’t considered because they are not part of my experience. The complexity of identities and relationships and perception grounded in personal experience is really compelling. The course of events is in many ways probably exactly how things might have gone in “real life”.

The biggest strength of the book is in capturing the PhD experience. The comparison with others, the role of the faculty, the power dynamics and the self-doubt — this book does that better than any novel I’ve read.

Overall, I learned a lot, laughed a little (there are genuinely funny moments in this book that Al feel true to the characters), and I am left with a lot to think about.

There were some aspects I struggled with. While generally the evolution of the characters made sense, I didn’t understand every character’s shift in every moment. Or maybe I didn’t understand their starting point and that wasn’t made clear through their changes in the text.

Then there were some minor aspects that just would not have happened the way they were described. A little more research on student affairs in higher education could resolve those. A faculty member with no student affairs experience would not become a Dean of Students. It would be a pay cut for one thing and he would lack qualifications. Also “room and board” means housing and meal plan so there wasn’t a need to add “and meal plan”. Again, these are pretty minor in the scheme of the story.

Worth a read, but won’t be for everyone.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Beautiful and Painful Story

Revisado: 08-24-23

This book is beautiful. The description of the plants and flowers is exceptional, but the landscape and water are characters in this book, as well. The characters are all broken in their own ways. They try to survive and heal - sometimes in ways that break them all over again. I have not heard a story like where plants and flowers are so integral to the text.

The violence is difficult at times - perhaps especially so because it is violence we know exists, we have experienced, or we have turned away from in our own lives. The way characters navigate their storms is compelling, believable, and both troubling and inspiring.

Finally, the reading of this story is outstanding. The different voices convey subtle pieces of each individual's personality, lived experience, and struggle.

I highly recommend this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas