S. Spencer

I have never hated a book more.

Revisado: 10-21-17

This man, the central character of this book, is not a charming relic of a bygone way of life. He is a selfish and short sighted person and frankly nothing more than a hobo who has learned to support his alternative (i.e. unemployed) lifestyle in the way that most agrees with his antisocial, and frankly sociopathic at times, personality. I am no member of PETA (a group often mocked in these pages) but a detailed description of killing foxes with a person's booted foot is a touch more than I can handle (would you like to know the sound a fox makes when his lungs are being crushed?) Also, it should be noted that this fox was trapped by a leg snare for its fur, not for eating purposes- I got through that part though. Later, The book speaks of the reason this man needs to live his nomadic lifestyle is his tendency to "trap out" areas. I'm no expert but this really doesn't sound like living within nature's balance - I got through this part. The real issue I have with this person is the story of the almost unspeakable tragedy that his family suffered when his raft was involved in an accident on the river and his daughter was never seen again. What a horrible event and one that I can't even imagine going through myself as a mother. But, why was this family, with this toddler and another school age daughter, I might add, on this barely thawed river in the first pace? It shows a deviant, pathological selfishness on the part of the "adults" in this child's life. This baby belonged somewhere safe but was instead sacrificed to a totally unnecessary and completely ridiculous fashion statement made by a man who didn't like living like a regular person. Then, the parents compound their mistake by raising 2 additional children in this obviously dangerous way of life. This should not be a book, this should be a criminal case.

The narrator was fine. I'm sorry he and I were both was exposed to this story. Please don't purchase this book.

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esto le resultó útil a 14 personas

Epic

Revisado: 03-17-17

I love this book. I have read all 800+ pages a few times and also thoroughly enjoyed the audio version, maybe - in some ways - more than the experience of reading it. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is probably not for everyone; it seems dry and old, but that is exactly why it is so charming.

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ABRIDGED!

Revisado: 03-17-17

I don't know guys, I'm sure this is missing a tale or two. Where is the Tale of the Cauliflower? or the Nautilus? Everything else about it is great.

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esto le resultó útil a 12 personas

All the Sherlock

Revisado: 11-19-16

It took me a month of commuting to get through this; I loved every minute of it. The narrator is fantastic, and the stories are genius.

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Who doesn't love David Attenborough?

Revisado: 07-12-16

If your family is like my family, you've watched every David Attenborough film on Netflix so often you can practically recite them (except for the parts with the killer whales and the baby grey whale which we skip all the time, no one should watch that more than once.) You've watched David's joyous response to the blue whale and the lyerbirds mimic chainsaws.

These stories are a nice accompaniment to the films with some nice behind the scenes tidbits.

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One side of a many-sided man

Revisado: 07-12-16

Teddy Roosevelt was one of the greatest presidents in American History and he had a great passion for the outdoors. This is not the most complete biography, but it is an interesting facet of Roosevelt's life and motivations.

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Love it.

Revisado: 07-12-16

I love this book, it is fascinating to get an insight into how the mind of someone who is absolutely obsessed with bird-watching works. As a casual birder myself, I fully appreciated the POV insight into - in my humble opinion - a bonkers journey of complete immersion in obsessive birding.

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Interesting perspective

Revisado: 07-12-16

I enjoyed this book, probably won't be one that I re-read. The book is a collection of memoir essays by a California game warden so it was an interesting perspective on conservation from someone completely dedicated to preserving nature but, as he describes himself "not exactly a tree-hugger." I don't think it's meant to be bombed right through since the stories can get a little repetitive, so I would suggest listening to a story or two between other books.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Great Bird Intro

Revisado: 07-12-16

This is a nice collection of lectures about birds. Not a whole lot of new, startling information, but a nice introduction. The author/lecturer was able to express his passion for birds and for science.

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Good performance...

Revisado: 03-17-16

So... what to say about Ulysses that hasn't been said. It's a tough piece to work through although this first volume is not so hard to follow. The performance is engaging and makes it less of a slog.

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