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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The Grace of Silence: A Family Memoir in Books
Jan 15, 2018
I won this book on Goodreads First Reads.
This book caught my eye because I'd taken a Civil Rights course one summer while in college at CMU. The class facinated me. I learned what I thought was a great deal about the civil rights movement...from freedom marches, to sit ins we talked about it all. Or so I thought!
Michelle Norris's book told me otherwise. The day to day struggles of real families from this era of American history goes largly unnoticed. This book looked at one family & how things that were considered taboo, & therefore never talked about, effected generations of her family. It took an in-depth look at how "normal" people were the cornerstone of the movement & to this day go largly unhearlded for their efforts.
The memoir was well written & read more like a novel than a true account of someone's family. This was an unexpectedly great book!
This book caught my eye because I'd taken a Civil Rights course one summer while in college at CMU. The class facinated me. I learned what I thought was a great deal about the civil rights movement...from freedom marches, to sit ins we talked about it all. Or so I thought!
Michelle Norris's book told me otherwise. The day to day struggles of real families from this era of American history goes largly unnoticed. This book looked at one family & how things that were considered taboo, & therefore never talked about, effected generations of her family. It took an in-depth look at how "normal" people were the cornerstone of the movement & to this day go largly unhearlded for their efforts.
The memoir was well written & read more like a novel than a true account of someone's family. This was an unexpectedly great book!
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Garden of Madness (Seven Wonders, #2) in Books
Jan 15, 2018
This is 1 of those times where I wish Goodreads would give the old 1/2 a star option. This book wasn't a 3, but it wasn't a 4 either. I enjoyed it, but I also didn't think it was worth 4 stars. The characters I interesting & the arcs that each progresses through during the course of the book were intriguing. There was a fairly good plot, and the ending found me holding my breath for fear of what might happen to Tiamat.
However, the beginning was where I found myself struggling with the story. It took awhile for the action of the plot to really get going & draw me in. The characters were at first, hard to connect with. I enjoyed the historical part of the story. It wasn't too overbearing or preachy for being rather religious based. It didn't feel forced and worked naturally with the plot. I guess this just isn't the kind of book I'd normally find myself pulling down off a shelf.
However, the beginning was where I found myself struggling with the story. It took awhile for the action of the plot to really get going & draw me in. The characters were at first, hard to connect with. I enjoyed the historical part of the story. It wasn't too overbearing or preachy for being rather religious based. It didn't feel forced and worked naturally with the plot. I guess this just isn't the kind of book I'd normally find myself pulling down off a shelf.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Girls Made of Snow and Glass in Books
Sep 5, 2017
One of my best books of 2017!
I received an ARC of this book through Goodreads and got to read it before the release date (September 5th! GO GET IT!) and I was SO excited to read it. It did not disappoint! This is her debut novel, and the story is absolutely fantastic. It’s billed as a “fantasy feminist fairy tale” and I think it lives up to that pretty well. There are no princes in this story. There are a couple of men – the King, the Queen’s father, and the Huntsman, but they are not who the story is about. The story really is about the relationship between the Queen/stepmother and her stepdaughter, the Princess.
You can read my full review here: https://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/book-review-girls-made-of-snow-and-glass/
You can read my full review here: https://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/book-review-girls-made-of-snow-and-glass/
Merissa (11805 KP) rated Echo Falls (Echo Falls #1) in Books
Aug 16, 2017
Echo Falls (Echo Falls #1) by Jaime McDougall
I got this for two reasons - 1) it was free and 2) I like paranormal romance. I can quite honestly say that I'm very glad that I did and have sat down and read it in a couple of hours as I wanted to find out what happened!
I loved the storyline in it and even though I knew who the "traitor" was, it in no way diminished my enjoyment of the story as a whole. I loved how Phoebe's story was told throughout the book and how Aidan was trying to get information from her. The secondary characters in this book are also believable and funny. It also makes a very refreshing change to have the main female as scared, unsure and carrying physical scars without being a complete wuss.
Loved reading it and will definitely be keeping it!
Favourite character? Definitely Aiden!
* Verified Purchase ~ February 2013
Reviewed on Goodreads ~ February 2013 *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I loved the storyline in it and even though I knew who the "traitor" was, it in no way diminished my enjoyment of the story as a whole. I loved how Phoebe's story was told throughout the book and how Aidan was trying to get information from her. The secondary characters in this book are also believable and funny. It also makes a very refreshing change to have the main female as scared, unsure and carrying physical scars without being a complete wuss.
Loved reading it and will definitely be keeping it!
Favourite character? Definitely Aiden!
* Verified Purchase ~ February 2013
Reviewed on Goodreads ~ February 2013 *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Chelsea (166 KP) rated Goodreads: Book Reviews in Apps
May 2, 2018
Keeps track of your books & dates you read them (3 more)
Allows you to set goals
Links with other social media to see what friends are reading/recommending
Offers book suggestions
I love this app. I didn't realize at first that you could actually use it as more than a book reviewing site. You can add books you have read, books you'd like to read, and books you are currently reading. You can choose the edition of the book you're reading so it keeps an accurate account of how far you've made it through the book. I also really like that it keeps track of the dates you read the book. The app is linked to other social media accounts so you can see what friends are reading or wanting to read and vice versa. Goodreads offers suggestions of what to read next or books that are popular in your favorite genres. Honestly have nothing bad to say about it!
Charlie Miller (881 KP) rated Goodreads: Book Reviews in Apps
Feb 17, 2018
Great for discovering books (2 more)
Good for keeping track of your books, read and want to read
Lists and good choice awards allows you to see what other readers are reading
I loved goodreads as soon as I discovered it online. I have used it religiously since for updating my books and for looking my next book. So using the app was an extension of the website but without having to get out the laptop. However one thing stops me from giving full marks. That is when using the mobile app as opposed to the website it doesn't inform you as it does on the website whether a book is part of a series. Still OK for using on the go however before starting a new book I always have to check on the website rather than the app to make sure it's not part of a series.
Micah Ulibarri (79 KP) rated Goodreads: Book Reviews in Apps
Mar 24, 2018
Fun for readers
Goodreads has pretty much revolutionized my reading life. I use it to review books and check out reviews, but more than anything it's a place where I am able to engage the comic book community. Most of my read and reviewed books are single issue comic books. There are very few places for readers to review those in such a large setting so I enjoy it.
For the most part they even have all the titles there, even if I'm the first one to interact with it. There has only been two times when they have not had the book I had read uploaded.
I enjoy the social media aspect of it too. A number of my friends are on it and it starts up lots of conversation and helps us recommend books to each other. It's also very friendly and easy to use.
For the most part they even have all the titles there, even if I'm the first one to interact with it. There has only been two times when they have not had the book I had read uploaded.
I enjoy the social media aspect of it too. A number of my friends are on it and it starts up lots of conversation and helps us recommend books to each other. It's also very friendly and easy to use.
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated JavaScript in Easy Steps in Books
Mar 1, 2018
This book isn't worth the paper on which it's printed, unless you're already a developer. If you aren't, don't bother. McGrath introduces concepts with little to no explanation, tells you to type something in, says it should do X, then moves on to the next thing. An average of two pages per concept, with the code descriptions.
He doesn't address best practices (at least, not a quarter of the way through the book). He always puts the scripts in the head of the document, which is (according to others I've been learning from) a bad idea unless there's a good reason for it.
Along with all that, there's supposed to be a web site that goes with the book, where you can download the sample code. There's no mention of the fact that the site is only accessible to those in the U.K. Why do that, then market the book in North America?
I think it deserves no stars, but GoodReads won't let me do that.
He doesn't address best practices (at least, not a quarter of the way through the book). He always puts the scripts in the head of the document, which is (according to others I've been learning from) a bad idea unless there's a good reason for it.
Along with all that, there's supposed to be a web site that goes with the book, where you can download the sample code. There's no mention of the fact that the site is only accessible to those in the U.K. Why do that, then market the book in North America?
I think it deserves no stars, but GoodReads won't let me do that.
David McK (3251 KP) rated Cúchulainn & The Crow Queen in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Honestly?
I'm not really sure how this fits into the categories I have set up on my Goodreads account.
This is a re-telling of the stories of 'The Hound of Ulster', of Cuchulainn, from his birth through to the cattle raid of Ulster and his final death at the hands of the Morrigu, the Crow Queen.
It's also a straight re-telling, which is both its strong point (there's no trying to fit modern sensibilities / political statements into it) and it's weak point (these stories were originally intended to be told orally).
I have to say, I did find that most of the chapters didn't really 'flow' into each other; that there was no connection to the stories other than (occasionally) having Setanta (Cuchulainn's real name) himself appear in them every so often: for my money, Neil Gaiman's Norse Myths is a better retelling of stories that have helped shape modern society.
(Oh, and in the end, I opted for shelving this as Educational)
I'm not really sure how this fits into the categories I have set up on my Goodreads account.
This is a re-telling of the stories of 'The Hound of Ulster', of Cuchulainn, from his birth through to the cattle raid of Ulster and his final death at the hands of the Morrigu, the Crow Queen.
It's also a straight re-telling, which is both its strong point (there's no trying to fit modern sensibilities / political statements into it) and it's weak point (these stories were originally intended to be told orally).
I have to say, I did find that most of the chapters didn't really 'flow' into each other; that there was no connection to the stories other than (occasionally) having Setanta (Cuchulainn's real name) himself appear in them every so often: for my money, Neil Gaiman's Norse Myths is a better retelling of stories that have helped shape modern society.
(Oh, and in the end, I opted for shelving this as Educational)
This book was fantastic! I didn’t want it to end - which is quite fortunate, because I believe there will be more to come (it says this is book #1 on Goodreads, so it must be true!).
I loved the characters: Kissen, a Godkiller who loves her job; a girl with a couple of rather large secrets, one of which is Skediceth, a small god who is tied to her. Which is something of a conundrum for Kissen. If she kills the little god of white lies, will she kill the child as well? And then there’s Elogast, a Knight turned baker, who has to ask one last favour from a god for his best friend. Why the god would do anything for him is a mystery - after all, Elogast killed many gods and destroyed their shrines during the God Wars.
The world building in this is epic, the pacing is perfect, and it’s just an overall exciting, thrilling ride of a story.
I need more asap!
I loved the characters: Kissen, a Godkiller who loves her job; a girl with a couple of rather large secrets, one of which is Skediceth, a small god who is tied to her. Which is something of a conundrum for Kissen. If she kills the little god of white lies, will she kill the child as well? And then there’s Elogast, a Knight turned baker, who has to ask one last favour from a god for his best friend. Why the god would do anything for him is a mystery - after all, Elogast killed many gods and destroyed their shrines during the God Wars.
The world building in this is epic, the pacing is perfect, and it’s just an overall exciting, thrilling ride of a story.
I need more asap!