E Evans

Lacks Suspense & Interest

Revisado: 12-04-17

What did you like best about Burial Rites? What did you like least?

The story seemed to have a great foundation but I found that it lacked suspense entirely. It seemed like from the very beginning, I could guess what was coming, what would happen next, and everything seemed very ordinary. I would agree with some other reviewers that it does carry something of a haunting quality, though I may have picked that up more from the reader's performance than the storyline itself.

What could Hannah Kent have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Perhaps if it had been pieced together differently on a timeline, maybe it would have felt more interesting? I also thought the dialogue was relatively flat and uninteresting - perhaps less chit chat and more description of body language would have provided even just a shred more suspense and intrigue.

At other points, the dialogue was very unrealistic - when recounting memories, it reads as an authored story, not the way someone would actually describe it.

Do you think Burial Rites needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, definitely not. There was hardly much of a storyline to begin with, I think.

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Short Stories of Norse Gods

Revisado: 09-23-17

Would you be willing to try another book from Neil Gaiman? Why or why not?

This is not my first Neil Gaiman book. I was introduced to him via graphic novels, and really fell in love with him over his collections of short stories and prose. However, I've struggled to follow along in context of novels. This was a little discombobulated for me, as a bit of a hybrid between novel and short stories. I'll give something else a try, in any case.

Any additional comments?

This book does maintain consistent characters, however not necessarily chronologically. Each chapter jumps around from one myth about the gods to another, told in typical Neil Gaiman detail. The imagination (without straying too far from the myths) is fantastic, and I learned a great deal. But since it didn't follow along like a novel, it wasn't a page turner for me.

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Avid Paulo Fan

Revisado: 09-23-17

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I didn't really feel like the ending came together in the perfectly cohesive way that I am used to Coelho's books closing. I was a left a little wanting.

What other book might you compare Aleph to and why?

Instinctively, I thought of The Alchemist's starting and ending in the same place as similar to the storyline of this book, but I think in terms of content, Coelho's novels tend to stand out as particularly unique overall.

Any additional comments?

As far as Coelho's books go, I found this one to be a bit lacklustre. There were some parts that I still found significant, but overall I found that I was trying to reach and stretch too far to try and connect dots to build significance where I found the story itself lacked. Not my favourite Coelho book, but still okay.

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Perfection: Humour & Heartache

Revisado: 09-23-17

What was one of the most memorable moments of 600 Hours of Edward?

I will never forget Edward's endearing and consistent traits. I think for some listeners, they could become annoyingly repetitive, but I found myself counting on them with adoration.

What does Luke Daniels bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The character development is so great, but the narration REALLY made this an enjoyable experience for me. I would not have taken as much time in my head to infuse the characters with as much personality as Luke Daniels did, and he really knocked it out of the park! It felt at times like I was listening to a movie. He got so into it and played all of the parts so consistently and so well.

If you could rename 600 Hours of Edward, what would you call it?

I wouldn't change it, I think it's perfect. I just hope people will give it a chance as it is.

Any additional comments?

I loved this story. I found myself absolutely crushed right alongside Edward with all of his struggles. I didn't see the ending coming at all. It was so poetic and perfect in every way. I was just sort of curious about this book, and got it for a stretch of road trip. But I absolutely fell for it all - humour and heartache alike.

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Detailed Storyline

Revisado: 08-27-17

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane?

I just love the way the storyline came together in general. I wouldn't say there were necessarily twists, or anything I didn't see coming, but I was so swept up in the story that I still felt surprised.

Any additional comments?

I loved this story, I loved the way it was written across the timeline, I loved the character development, I loved everything. I didn't want this book to end, but the story came to such an eloquent closing. I also have a love and passion for tea, so I found the infusion of tea history to be fascinating.

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Magical

Revisado: 08-27-17

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, absolutely. I'm not usually into the sci-fi-ish kind of genres (with the exception of Margret Atwood's style), but I really appreciated the intricacy, detail and imagination of this book.

What does Steve West bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

On occasions, and especially in the beginning, I found his accent a little challenging to understand. But I really appreciate his voice work. There are a lot of characters, and I found his attention to voice detail relatively easy to follow along in large group conversations.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I binged it on a road trip, and I really did not want it to end.

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Hyper-Critical, Name-Calling Narcissist

Revisado: 06-24-17

What disappointed you about What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim?

I can't believe I wasted 11+ hours of my life (and the significant portion of a beautiful road trip) waiting for this book to get better and to redeem itself. It did not. First of all, I NEVER want to hear the word "pilgrim" ever again. How many times do you need to use it?!

The author is a judgemental goon who spends more time ragging on the people around her than recognizing and admitting flaws within herself. It's no wonder she can't stand walking 22 km a day alone, she can hardly stand herself when she has no one else to criticize. She calls someone an "orca-sized, fat, snoring Spanish man", calls someone else Hitler's sister and a fat lazy cow. She criticizes Spaniards for pronouncing their c's as th's, saying that it sounds like a speech impediment. She constantly comments on people's weight and inadequacy. She makes such a huge deal about always having to take the hard road in life, and how she's constantly surrounded by difficult people, but she doesn't even give them a chance; she can't look past someone's weight, race or language to appreciate the human being underneath. She's even ungrateful when she receives three free meals from a kitchen, and explicitly says she is.

This is a wildly superficial story about how much better cafe con leche is out of porcelain rather than paper cups, and being snobby about expensive meals and fancy hotels. Even the psychic offers no shift in perspective. It's laid out in the beginning, and it's all so literal, it's not even suspenseful or interesting. She leaves on her pilgrimage absolutely obsessed with herself, and she comes home obsessed with a man. Even her children suffer from her vanity. She makes a four week trip and one week of companionship sound like a year-long trek and long-term, committed relationship. It's dramatic and desperate. And in the end, all it makes her question are her nail and hair appointments, and the use of her car. Big deal.

This book is not insightful at all. I don't always review books, but I went out of my way to take notes about the things that irked me about this book, so I could warn people who are looking for a deep exploration of self while on a physical journey, which is what I was really hoping for - you won't find it in this book.

What was most disappointing about Jane Christmas’s story?

I was hoping for something insightful. I was expecting to be foretold a fascinating experience by a psychic, how a woman's perspective shifted while on a literal trail to find herself on the journey of life. I expected struggle but I did NOT expect to be spoon fed some garbage narrative of a hyper-critical narcissist who spends half the book ragging on other people instead of looking inwards.

Did Jane Christmas do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Not at all. She hardly feeds you any personal information about the other characters. They're identified by her inane, petty judgements of them: the one that talks to much, the one that's fat and snores, etc. And when it comes to describing herself, of course the only character flaw she has is that she had to have her passport photo taken four times.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The only thing it taught me is that if people like her are traveling the Camino, I don't want to do it. Not if all it's about is racing for the best beds, or where to get the next cafe con leche that's served in porcelain.

Any additional comments?

Save your money. I wish I could have my time and book credit back for this one.

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Difficult to Relate to, But Insightful Nonetheless

Revisado: 03-24-17

If you could sum up The Antidote in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, comforting, paradoxical.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have appreciated more "stories". There's a lot of philosophy, and my background in Buddhism helped me to understand a lot of the more complex theories or ideas, however I found it difficult to connect with or relate to without stories or examples.

Any additional comments?

Very insightful. Day-to-day, I am a positive, energetic and relatively "happy" person. However, I would call myself, or my inner thoughts, rather bitter, jaded or cynical. I cringe at the thought of positive thinking because some days I am sad, and I think it's just okay to feel what you feel. I found this book to be reassuring that my criticism that the optimism train sometimes only makes me feel worse about how I feel about certain situations. I appreciate that it breaks the mold of expectations that we tend to hold ourselves to as part of society.

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If You Can Read Between the Lines

Revisado: 03-21-17

What made the experience of listening to Present over Perfect the most enjoyable?

I was nearly brought to tears over the first dozen or so chapters - while quietly listening from my desk in the office. Shauna knows how to make a connection with her audience, and this captivated me with thoughts like "me too!" and "oh, I feel the same way right now!" However, at a deeper level as she carried on, I was lead a bit astray from her convictions.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I found that while the author began in very true and pure relations to me and my current condition, her own feelings and thoughts are driven more by things I've never experienced, and in the end, things I struggled to relate to. She delves so far into God and Jesus and praying, discovery through parenthood, and the ups and downs of being self-employed. I am sure that so many people will connect with this, but since I am not religious, not a parent, and not currently self-employed, I found it tough to find anything applicable (at a deep enough level) where solutions or resolution was concerned. I found it to be more autobiographical than self-discovery-esque.

What about Shauna Niequist’s performance did you like?

Her pace is excellent, and I found her to be not overly emotive - she leaves space for the reader to interpret and emotionalize.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Almost; I listened in three sittings, since my listening is typically dictated by my work schedule. It's under 5 hours long.

Any additional comments?

There are a lot of valuable bits and pieces in this book, and I am still grateful for finding it. I only hope that by reviewing it, I can help some other people understand better what to expect. If you can read between the lines and understand that loving yourself because you deserve to be loved is the same as loving yourself because Jesus loves you unconditionally, then there's much to glean from this. I'm not saying it's wrong to believe or feel one way or the other, just that if your head isn't in the same place, or at a point where you can believe in your self-worth for no reason other than you deserve to, this book might be frustrating for you to relate to.

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