thawstone

Left Me Flat

Revisado: 03-23-23

After The Hotel New Hampshire, which I absolutely loved, this book is a huge let down. I think I've read everything John Irving has ever written and this was the first one I found hard to finish. I found the ghost theme boring and many other aspects of the story mind numbingly repetitious. This is a slow novel to begin with, and when John switches into screen writer mode to describe every minute part of the scene, it was like watching a slug crawl across the sidewalk. The characters were quirky as usual, but quirkiness alone can't carry a novel, they have to be interesting as well. If you're a John Irving fan like me, you probably won't take my word for how badly this attempt failed, and I'm sorry for that.

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Started Out Promising but...

Revisado: 12-04-21

I was all set to kick back and enjoy an entertaining story populated by colorful characters, but its promise quickly wilted, rotted, and fell off the vine. When the author referred to Donald Trump as a business icon I caught a whiff of something disagreeable, and sure enough, the story quickly devolved into a right wing diatribe. I hear enough Earth 2 political propaganda in my daily life and listen to books to escape it. If you're a Trumper, this book is guaranteed to reinforce your disillusionment in spades. 30 minutes worth was enough for me. Wish I'd had some warning - NOT SUITABLE FOR CRITICAL THINKERS. So sad.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Excellent Story, Excellent Narrator

Revisado: 08-16-21

I purchased this book on sale, and, wow, what a bargain I got. For one thing, I got two protagonists for the price of one. The story follows one protagonist in the present while the other has to catch up through time, entertaining stories both. We know the two are destined to meet in the present, but under what auspices I'll leave to your surprise. A very effective formula. And I can't say enough about Christopher Lane's narration. Pitch perfect throughout. Perhaps what makes me happiest, having discovered David Liss, I have a treasure trove of entertaining books awaiting my enjoyment. I will also shop other authors who''s books are narrated by Christopher Lane.

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Great Writer, Meet Great Narrator

Revisado: 03-08-21

Paulette Jiles is one of the most talented writers I've ever had the pleasure of listening to and reading. Stormy Weather is my fifth Jiles novel, and I loved them all, however what made this one extra special is narrator Colleen Delany. I can't recall another narrator who so perfectly and distinctly portrayed every voice. Her rendition of the protagonist really made me fall for her. I searched to find what other books she's narrated, but unfortunately they're all multi-reader fantasy productions, not my cup of tea. Someone, anyone, please take advantage of this talented narrator and expand her field of genres.

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Don't Need to be a Chess Fan

Revisado: 06-30-19

Walter Tevis' Mockingbird is one of my all time favorite books. Though I listened to it many years ago, it haunts me to this day. This book was a leap of faith. I have no particular interest in chess, however I opted to trust reviewers who claimed it didn't matter. The reviewers were right. Somehow Tevis manages to make the matches riveting without the need to know exactly what's happening on the chess board. The tension is palpable throughout. Perhaps this is partly because the matches are largely about the clash of the personalities involved. Add to this the fascinating story of the protagonist's upbringing and the ever lurking shadow of the orphanage's method to maintain tranquility.

I didn't notice any reviews by a chess enthusiast who might verify one way or the other: are the moves described the actual ones prescribed by the named techniques, i.e. the Queen's Gambit? Not that it mattered to me, I'm just curious.

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esto le resultó útil a 53 personas

Post Children of Time Depression

Revisado: 12-31-18

Yes, this is one of those stories that makes you sad when it's finally over. Knowing I was getting close to the end I started rationing my listening time in an attempt to make the final savory moments last. This book is that good. I'm certain someone is going to opt for the rights to make a movie or series from it.

This book deals with evolution and takes place over thousands of years, and yet we still get the familiarity of knowing the same characters throughout, on the one hand through cryostasis and on the other through engineered genetic inheritance traits that ensure the offspring are the essential clones of their forbearers. It was also great that the author had each new generation inherit the name of the forbearer bypassing the need for the reader to relearn who's who as the story progressed.

Kudos to Adrian Tchaikovsky for really doing his homework on the subject matter. The story was well wrapped in a cocoon of utter believability. Kudos as well to Mel Hudson on a creative and flawless reading performance.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Phenomenal!

Revisado: 01-08-18

I wish I had more time to write reviews, but since I don't, I only write reviews on books that truly move and inspire me. This is one. There is some controversy about whether or not Beryl had help in writing this true life adventure novel, but who cares? The fact is, the writing is extraordinary. I'm going to buy the hard book just so I can pore over the words visually. I read an article where Ernest Hemingway proclaims Beryl Markham to be 10 times the writer he is. And the story, I only wish my life was one tenth as remarkable. This is one of those books you'll eagerly recommend to everyone. At Christmas dinner with the family I brought up the book only to find out many of them had just read it.

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A Big Fan of Craig Johnson's Early Works

Revisado: 10-11-17

It's sad how far this series has fallen from the first 5 or 6 books. The Western Star was formulaic, stupid, and sloppy. The reveal at the end was a let down of the Nth degree. Don't waste your money or a credit. This series has jumped the shark.

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

Deeply Engaging

Revisado: 02-06-17

This is a highly creative, original, and imaginative work. It kept me thoroughly engaged throughout. The only thing that bugged me a little was his use of marijuana as a mind numbing drug used to placate the populous. I don't know if Walter Tevis lived through the late 60s and early 70s, but the drug's use hardly numbed the minds of its users, rather along with LSD, it spurred revolution in the streets and an evolution of art and music. He should have done a little self experimentation if nothing else. However, other than this forgivable mistake, the story and characters will remain with me for a very long time.

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esto le resultó útil a 11 personas

Hard to Care for Poor Little Rich Woman.

Revisado: 02-06-17

This is the first book by Wallace Stegner that I was happy to be done with so I could move on to something better. Wallace had a tough sell to make the reader care about the problems of a spoiled rich woman, and I imagine a lot of readers like myself won't find enough character or substance to hang their hat on. I love Wallace Stegner's writing, but in this case, he chose the wrong subject matter. I highly recommend his other works.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas