Zero stars = hated it
One star = did not like it at all
Two stars = eh, it was okay
Three stars = liked it
Four stars = really, really liked it
Five stars = absolutely loved it
2-Stars (1)
*Tinkers (Fiction, Paul Harding)
This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010. And while I can appreciate the effort, the writing, the plot…..I just have a hard time believing that this was the BEST book in 2010. It was just…not for me. Very slow. Super long chapters. The book is only 200 pages, but there’s only 4 chapters. I HATE long chapters. Basically, it’s about a man who is on his deathbed who is remembering his life and the life of his father and grandfather. Parts of it are very moving, but mostly sad. And boring.
(book, already donated to Little Free Library)
3-Stars (5)
***How to Manage Your home Without Losing Your Mind (Non-Fiction, Dana White)
Another podcaster/blogger writes a book. I almost abandoned this one, because in the first few minutes, Dana (who read the audio book I listened to) said ‘if you’re the type of person who can’t sleep at night if you have dirty dishes in the sink, this book is not for you’ and ‘if your house is presentable for last minute visitors, this book is not for you’. I CAN NOT have dishes in the sink when I go to bed. And while I hate last minute visitors, we have a presentable front room and a clean bathroom at all times (now that we have a bigger house). But I kept on listening and I’m glad I did. Dana is a self-proclaimed slob and she is funny, REAL, and has some really good ideas about routines and where to start if you are overwhelmed with your home.
(Hoopla audio, free)
***The Shadow Land (Fiction, Elizabeth Kostova)
I went back and forth on whether to give this book 3 stars or 4 stars. Ultimately, I gave it 3 stars because while I thought it was SUCH an intriguing story, it was sooooooo long. 80+ chapters. A doorstop kind of book. The beginning of the book had me on the edge of my seat. The middle had me wanting to fast forward (I listened to this book on CD). And the ending picked up a little, with a strong finish, although somewhat abrupt. I will say though that I know for a FACT that if I had read this book instead of listened to it, I definitely would have only given it 3 stars (not four). The audio version on CD is PHENOMENAL. It is read by 3 different people (I think?) and the whole book takes place over about 2 weeks in Bulgaria. So there are accents, men, women (both young and old, etc.) and multiple characters. The readers did an AMAZING job. And I now know more about Bulgaria than I ever thought I would. Basically, a young American woman arrives in Bulgaria to teach English over the summer. In a series of unfortunate events, she ends up with a strangers ashes in an urn. The rest of the book is her trying to find the owners of this urn that leads her in a wild goose chase (along with a cab driver) all over the country of Bulgaria. There’s lots of jumping back and forth from present day to post World War II and the Cold War as well. Like I said, very interesting and engaging, but the middle portion of the book seemed to drag on for a long time. But still three star worthy (if not four…I’m still on the fence)!
(book on CD, will donate)
***The Best of Us (Non-Fiction, Joyce Maynard)
A sad, sad memoir of the author’s life with her husband, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2016. I was interested in this one because the author is an author that I like. She wrote the book Labor Day, which I read a few years ago (it was also made into a movie). It was heartbreaking, but written beautifully.
(Hoopla audio, free)
***The Year of Living Danishly (Non-Fiction, Helen Russell)
I enjoyed this book that documents Helen Russell’s move from the UK to Denmark with her husband. Denmark is the happiest country in the world and she was on a mission to find out why. Parts of the book were very surprising! And Helen Russell is very funny, so I found myself laughing out loud multiple times.
(Nook book)
***Into the Wild (Non-Fiction, Jon Krakauer)
So….this was my first Jon Krakauer read. I’m giving it 3-stars (instead of 2) because of the writing/story-telling. It’s the true story of a young man who basically hikes into the Alaska wilderness (by choice) to live off of the land. And he dies. This is not a spoiler, because it’s mentioned on the back cover. I did NOT like this young man and found him to be irresponsible, selfish, and, well, stupid. He was not prepared for what happened to him. He could have been prepared if he would have had a proper map (I’m not kidding). I’m giving it 3 stars though because even though I didn’t have anyone to root for (this is big for me), wow, can Jon Krakauer tell a story!!! It’s amazing how engaged I was in this story and how amazed I was that Jon Krakauer could write so much about someone without having much information. I’m excited to read the two other books I have on my shelf by him: Into Thin Air and Missoula.
(book on CD, will donate)
Total Books Read: 6 (4 non-fiction, 2 fiction)
Formats:
E-Books: 1
Audio Hoopla: 2
Audio CD: 2
Real Books: 1
Abandoned books: 1 (Astrophysics for People In a Hurry….it started off talking about the big bang theory and I could almost see the narrator using air quotes when he talked about the possibility of God being the creator. Thankfully, this was a free Hoopla audio book. I only lost about 15 minutes of my time).
