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Climatequal: Advancing Organizational Health, Leadership, and Diversity in the Service of Libraries
Book
This book describes the application of The ClimateQUAL(R) survey protocol (originally Organizational...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Good Company in Books
Apr 15, 2021
Well-written albeit slow going look at marriage and motherhood
Flora Mancini has been happily married for twenty years. But that foundation crumbles when she finds her husband's wedding ring--the one he claimed he lost when their daughter was five--in the back of a drawer. Now she wonders what exactly Julian has kept hidden from her all these years. Is their whole marriage, their whole life, based on a lie?
This is such a hard book to review, because I loved Sweeney's THE NEST so very much. And GOOD COMPANY, while a nice book, is just not THE NEST. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, it just did not move me as much as THE NEST.
GOOD COMPANY offers a thoughtful look into marriage and relationships. It's one of those interesting novels where it feels like not much happens, yet it truly covers the span of an entire relationship--a whole marriage. But there is a lot of ruminating, a lot of speculation, and a lot of angst. It's a very New York sort of book, even if Flora and Julian move to Los Angeles when their daughter, Ruby, is young.
This book is well-written, of course. Sweeney is a wonderful writer. It switches between time periods (the present, and going back in Flora and Julian's relationship) and various points of view, which include Flora, Julian, Ruby, and Flora's best friend, famous actress Margot Ledder. I probably felt the most for Ruby--it's hard to really sympathize much for the adults here. And this is a very "theater" book, with Flora, Julian, and Margot all being in the business. If that's not your thing (it's not mine), it's a little harder to feel engaged in some of the story.
Overall, this is an interesting read, but it can be slow going at times and hard to feel engaged with all the characters. If you like introspective, character-driven reads or you're a theater geek, GOOD COMPANY may be for you. 3 stars.
This is such a hard book to review, because I loved Sweeney's THE NEST so very much. And GOOD COMPANY, while a nice book, is just not THE NEST. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, it just did not move me as much as THE NEST.
GOOD COMPANY offers a thoughtful look into marriage and relationships. It's one of those interesting novels where it feels like not much happens, yet it truly covers the span of an entire relationship--a whole marriage. But there is a lot of ruminating, a lot of speculation, and a lot of angst. It's a very New York sort of book, even if Flora and Julian move to Los Angeles when their daughter, Ruby, is young.
This book is well-written, of course. Sweeney is a wonderful writer. It switches between time periods (the present, and going back in Flora and Julian's relationship) and various points of view, which include Flora, Julian, Ruby, and Flora's best friend, famous actress Margot Ledder. I probably felt the most for Ruby--it's hard to really sympathize much for the adults here. And this is a very "theater" book, with Flora, Julian, and Margot all being in the business. If that's not your thing (it's not mine), it's a little harder to feel engaged in some of the story.
Overall, this is an interesting read, but it can be slow going at times and hard to feel engaged with all the characters. If you like introspective, character-driven reads or you're a theater geek, GOOD COMPANY may be for you. 3 stars.
The Entropy Principle: Thermodynamics for the Unsatisfied
Book
Entropy - the key concept of thermodynamics, clearly explained and carefully illustrated. This book...
I realized I need a book project to keep me reading the books on my shelves… so I’m turning to the ABCs again. This time, it’s authors. The only rule is the book can start with either the author’s first or last name, and I’m trying to prioritize BOTM books to meet my goal of reading twelve this year. Let’s see how I do!
My first choice was THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain (two As and a BOTM!). This was a mesmerizing psychological thriller about a woman, Blythe, who has always feared motherhood, based on her own childhood. After giving birth to Violet, she becomes convinced there’s something wrong with her. Violet doesn't act like other kids. Her husband Fox says it's all in her head. When their second child, Sam, is born, Blythe has a wonderful connection with him--motherhood is finally everything she's wanted. But then it all changes in a devastating moment, and Blythe must face the awful truth she's been fearing.
THE PUSH offers a very honest and brutal look at motherhood. It definitely kept me flipping the pages! It starts off with a bang, then dragged a bit for me in the middle. It's certainly serious and sad, and, at times, a mystery as well. THE PUSH will keep you thinking long after you've turned that last page. 3.5 stars.
My first choice was THE PUSH by Ashley Audrain (two As and a BOTM!). This was a mesmerizing psychological thriller about a woman, Blythe, who has always feared motherhood, based on her own childhood. After giving birth to Violet, she becomes convinced there’s something wrong with her. Violet doesn't act like other kids. Her husband Fox says it's all in her head. When their second child, Sam, is born, Blythe has a wonderful connection with him--motherhood is finally everything she's wanted. But then it all changes in a devastating moment, and Blythe must face the awful truth she's been fearing.
THE PUSH offers a very honest and brutal look at motherhood. It definitely kept me flipping the pages! It starts off with a bang, then dragged a bit for me in the middle. It's certainly serious and sad, and, at times, a mystery as well. THE PUSH will keep you thinking long after you've turned that last page. 3.5 stars.
RI
Reconstructing Identity: A Transdisciplinary Approach: 2017
Nicholas Monk and Mia Lindgren
Book
This book examines the notion of identity through a multitude of interdisciplinary approaches. It...
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The Diary of a Young Girl in Books
Jan 25, 2019
The Diary of a Young Girl
We have all heard about or read this book. I remember reading it in high-school as a project. And since I never had written a proper book review, I decided to read it again.
I went to the library, and they only had the short Penguin version, with the most important diary entries of Anne Frank. It is only 65 pages. So, I decided to also grab another book – The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank by Willy Lindwer, so I can write a full overview.
This is a diary of a young girl, and she was writing these stories during two years of hiding. Anne Frank and her family are Jews and they live in The Netherlands. After the Germans invade, many people are captured and go to designated camps. A few manage to escape and go into hiding. Anne’s family hides in her father’s office.
If you are reading this diary, without knowing anything about history – this could be a happy story. These diary entries are filled with love and hope, dreams of a young girl, beliefs, opinions, descriptions of her first crush and planning a future.
But this is not a happy story. This girl doesn’t get the chance to grow up. This girl doesn’t get the chance to experience freedom, and live to get to know her grandchildren. This is a sad story of not just Anne Frank, but all these people that have gone through that painful journey.
While this book deserves to be read by every person, and this history needs to keep being told many years after us, I feel the need to make a proper book review.
This is not a well-written book, with a great plot and amazing description. So based on that, this doesn’t stand up to the standards. But this book has a meaning that makes up for all the amateur writing. After all, this was a teenager writing it, without even knowing this will someday be shared with the world.
To all of you that haven’t read it yet – I highly recommend it. If you don’t want to go with the long version, read the short Penguin one, like I did.
I went to the library, and they only had the short Penguin version, with the most important diary entries of Anne Frank. It is only 65 pages. So, I decided to also grab another book – The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank by Willy Lindwer, so I can write a full overview.
This is a diary of a young girl, and she was writing these stories during two years of hiding. Anne Frank and her family are Jews and they live in The Netherlands. After the Germans invade, many people are captured and go to designated camps. A few manage to escape and go into hiding. Anne’s family hides in her father’s office.
If you are reading this diary, without knowing anything about history – this could be a happy story. These diary entries are filled with love and hope, dreams of a young girl, beliefs, opinions, descriptions of her first crush and planning a future.
But this is not a happy story. This girl doesn’t get the chance to grow up. This girl doesn’t get the chance to experience freedom, and live to get to know her grandchildren. This is a sad story of not just Anne Frank, but all these people that have gone through that painful journey.
While this book deserves to be read by every person, and this history needs to keep being told many years after us, I feel the need to make a proper book review.
This is not a well-written book, with a great plot and amazing description. So based on that, this doesn’t stand up to the standards. But this book has a meaning that makes up for all the amateur writing. After all, this was a teenager writing it, without even knowing this will someday be shared with the world.
To all of you that haven’t read it yet – I highly recommend it. If you don’t want to go with the long version, read the short Penguin one, like I did.
The Organization of the Expert Society
Andreas Werr and Staffan Furusten
Book
It is often claimed that we live in an expert society, a society where more and more individuals...
The Functional Analysis of Quantum Information Theory: A Collection of Notes Based on Lectures by Gilles Pisier, K. R. Parthasarathy, Vern Paulsen and Andreas Winter
Ved Prakhash Gupta, Prabha Mandayam and V.S. Sunder
3.0
Rate It
Book
This book provides readers with a concise introduction to current studies on operator-algebras and...
Post-Tsunami Recovery in Thailand: Socio-Cultural Responses
Book
Of all the huge natural disasters that claimed the lives of thousands in Asia, the Indian Ocean...
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Fire Artist in Books
Jan 23, 2020
The cover and the synopsis for <i>The Fire Artist</i> looked so pretty, I had cover fever for a few seconds while trying to decide between 5 plus other books (I planned on walking away with 3 books for 4 weeks, not 100 books).
And the fact it was one of the newest residents at the library and when you own nearly zilch books (two), getting your hands on a shiny copy of a book is a wondrous feeling and a rarity.
<i>The Fire Artist</i> gets <b>straight to the point from the very beginning there's really no stalling going on here.</b> Whitney reveals early on that Aria has problems as a fire artist, and that it needs to be replenished often if she wants to keep her control and not face her father's wrath. But then Aria is recruited by the M.E. Leagues, the highest honor an elemental artist can get, and she has to find another way to continue keeping her fire powers.
<b>The world building here is amazing the peace in the Middle East isn't just "there"</b> simply because someone in a prestigious family did something while everyone else went down to rock bottom, said someone succeeded and as a result, everyone respects the person and bows down to them. The history of how the Middle East came to be in accordance to the book seems to be <b>based off current events in the Middle East, making the book seem a little realistic rather than utmost fantasy</b>. The granters Whitney portrays throughout <i>The Fire Artist</i> aren't just "there" (though they are just "there") for everyone's beck and call <b>the granters seemed to be unified with rules and whatnot rather than each granter working individually on their own.</b>
<b>The romance between Taj and Aria also isn't one that rushes quickly it's slowly developing as the book progresses and it doesn't overshadow the overall plot</b> (a huge peeve of mine). The conversations between the two are entertaining enough that despite the fact Aria takes her time in making her wish, I personally don't mind because I'm too busy enjoying the book to even care.
I do, however, have a little peeve against Aria for stalking the dude before they even met. Surely that never goes well if the dude actually finds out.
Though to be honest, if Aria <i>had</i> made her wish too early in the book instead of stalling awhile, the book would have ended much too quickly. The world building and character development would have been terrible no one (aside from the author) would ever know precisely how the peace in the Middle East really came to be (oh, so everyone just whipped up a treaty?) or gotten the chance to really know Aria and Taj as characters.
There are no regrets in reading this <i>The Fire Artist</i> is as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-the-fire-artist-by-daisy-whitney/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
And the fact it was one of the newest residents at the library and when you own nearly zilch books (two), getting your hands on a shiny copy of a book is a wondrous feeling and a rarity.
<i>The Fire Artist</i> gets <b>straight to the point from the very beginning there's really no stalling going on here.</b> Whitney reveals early on that Aria has problems as a fire artist, and that it needs to be replenished often if she wants to keep her control and not face her father's wrath. But then Aria is recruited by the M.E. Leagues, the highest honor an elemental artist can get, and she has to find another way to continue keeping her fire powers.
<b>The world building here is amazing the peace in the Middle East isn't just "there"</b> simply because someone in a prestigious family did something while everyone else went down to rock bottom, said someone succeeded and as a result, everyone respects the person and bows down to them. The history of how the Middle East came to be in accordance to the book seems to be <b>based off current events in the Middle East, making the book seem a little realistic rather than utmost fantasy</b>. The granters Whitney portrays throughout <i>The Fire Artist</i> aren't just "there" (though they are just "there") for everyone's beck and call <b>the granters seemed to be unified with rules and whatnot rather than each granter working individually on their own.</b>
<b>The romance between Taj and Aria also isn't one that rushes quickly it's slowly developing as the book progresses and it doesn't overshadow the overall plot</b> (a huge peeve of mine). The conversations between the two are entertaining enough that despite the fact Aria takes her time in making her wish, I personally don't mind because I'm too busy enjoying the book to even care.
I do, however, have a little peeve against Aria for stalking the dude before they even met. Surely that never goes well if the dude actually finds out.
Though to be honest, if Aria <i>had</i> made her wish too early in the book instead of stalling awhile, the book would have ended much too quickly. The world building and character development would have been terrible no one (aside from the author) would ever know precisely how the peace in the Middle East really came to be (oh, so everyone just whipped up a treaty?) or gotten the chance to really know Aria and Taj as characters.
There are no regrets in reading this <i>The Fire Artist</i> is as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-the-fire-artist-by-daisy-whitney/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>