This book was recommended by my sister in law. Even though it's not something I would usually pick up for myself, I thought it was a great alternative...moreThis book was recommended by my sister in law. Even though it's not something I would usually pick up for myself, I thought it was a great alternative to the other pregnancy and labor books I've been reading. I skipped through a lot of the art-therapy sections, but I did enjoy the rest. What I liked about this was that it went over the emotional and cultural aspects of pregnancy and childbirth instead of just the physical aspects. I also liked the sections for the birth assistants and fathers. Mostly, I liked it for the birth stories and other reactions from people who have gone through the process.(less)
Um, what did I just read? A vampire, a werewolf, and Frankenstein's monster try to solve a whodunnit. Then it devolves into some convoluted melodrama....moreUm, what did I just read? A vampire, a werewolf, and Frankenstein's monster try to solve a whodunnit. Then it devolves into some convoluted melodrama. The solving of the whodunnit was pretty anticlimatic. This does not make me want to watch the made for Netflix show.(less)
This is blasphemy to say, but I dont enjoy Jane Austen's books. Her writing is wonderful and all, but just the content and plot of her books bore me....moreThis is blasphemy to say, but I dont enjoy Jane Austen's books. Her writing is wonderful and all, but just the content and plot of her books bore me. A bunch of rich people and their rich people problems! Shades of Milk and Honey certainly is about rich people, but it has MAGIC! This was exactly what was missing when I was reading Pride and Prejudice.
I've read in a lot of places that this is like a Jane Austen novel with a touch of fantasy and it's completely true. There's enough magic to make it interesting, but the magic doesn't actually *do* anything. There's no fighting wizards or casting crazy spells. All the magic is used for decorative purposes and plays a supporting role in most scenes.
There's a lot of people talking with each other about inconsequential things and not a whole lot going on, but I enjoyed the banter between people. There was a very late-in-the-story (for me at least) twist that I didn't expect. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending, but otherwise, Shades of Milk and Honey was an enjoyable piece of fluff.(less)
★★★ ½ I was annoyed by the first couple of pages because of the "foodiness" of it, but I kept reading and slowly grew to like this comic. Some of the a...more★★★ ½ I was annoyed by the first couple of pages because of the "foodiness" of it, but I kept reading and slowly grew to like this comic. Some of the anecdotes made me chuckle aloud, especially the one about Lucy and her friend Drew in Mexico. The drawings were also well done in a simple way. I loved the facial expressions of the animals she drew in the farm animal sections, like the sneaky raccoon.(less)
As far as business-books go, this was was not bad. I enjoyed the first part about Hsieh's childhood and college years more than the middle or last par...moreAs far as business-books go, this was was not bad. I enjoyed the first part about Hsieh's childhood and college years more than the middle or last parts. I've read the gist of the last parts through various other articles so it wasn't news to me and I have the admit that I skimmed through most of the *slow clap* feel-good sections. The writing isn't the best, which Hsieh is modest enough to admit, but it did let his voice come through, which I think was the point. I only wish he went into more detail of the technical problems he faced when expanding the site to accomodate more users.(less)
An interesting and sometimes disgusting look at what goes on in the digestive tract from the mouth all the way down to the anus. What's that? You're d...moreAn interesting and sometimes disgusting look at what goes on in the digestive tract from the mouth all the way down to the anus. What's that? You're disturbed by my using the word 'anus'? Then this book is not for you because it gets a lot worse than that.
I would have rated this higher, but I got tired of Mary Roach's asides and unnecessary footnotes. Some of those footnotes just seemed to explain her jokes, which made the not-funny ones venture into painful territory. Roach is a great pop-sci writer, but not a very good comedian.(less)
An account of making video games at a fictional video game company. This sounds right up my alley, right? Unfortunately, it fell short of my high expe...moreAn account of making video games at a fictional video game company. This sounds right up my alley, right? Unfortunately, it fell short of my high expectations. The writing is noticeably sloppy at times, like when the narrator somehow knows everything another character is thinking, feeling, and seeing. Then it jumps to second person perspective for no good reason. Then there's a whole lot of telling, not showing.
This isn't the 80s face-explosion that Ready Player One is, but it does have numerous references to video games in the 90s and early 2000s. Yes, some of them were necessary, but other times it just seemed excessive.
The main problem I had with this book was that about halfway through it, I wanted it to end. I had already guessed where the story was going and while I could see that Grossman tried to make the characters complex, they were still too one-dimensional and stereotypical for me. They had about as much depth as a video game character. In fact, I've played games that had more depth to the story than this one.
Another major nitpick I have with this are the technical inaccuracies. No, I've never been a professional game developer, but I am a developer and I do know the process we take when trying to examine and fix bugs. And the process Russell and the Black Arts crew took when searching for a large bug was just nonsensical. It's like when Hollywood shows what happens when people are "hacking" or "programming" or doing anything vaguely technical. Yuck.(less)
I haven't read a lot of family self-help books, but this reads more like a business book than a family self-help book. Feller mainly interviews profes...moreI haven't read a lot of family self-help books, but this reads more like a business book than a family self-help book. Feller mainly interviews professionals about running their work teams and attempts to adapt that advice toward families. Some things things I can see being easier for families to adapt than others. Nothing really new was proposed here other than spend more time with your family, talk more, and don't fight so much.(less)
Disclaimer: I didn't read this from cover to cover, but did read most of the salient chapters and sections.
The book is kind of an infodump. It's good...moreDisclaimer: I didn't read this from cover to cover, but did read most of the salient chapters and sections.
The book is kind of an infodump. It's good if you like that, or if you're stranded on an island with no internet and no doctors. But if you're stranded on an island and pregnant, then you probably have bigger worries than what pregnancy books are worth reading.
Parts that I found helpful:
- Breakdown of what the mom should expect each couple of weeks. - The fetus's growth and development broken down by weeks. - Helpful exercises if you're too lazy to do some yoga. - Infant care chapters just so you get some sort of introduction of what to do now that you have a baby.(less)
Don't be scared away by the hippy-dippiness of this book. I'm glad I wasn't. I read this book with a caveat: read the second section first, then the f...moreDon't be scared away by the hippy-dippiness of this book. I'm glad I wasn't. I read this book with a caveat: read the second section first, then the first section. It made so much sense, I'm not sure why the book wasn't organized that way in the first place.
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth is skewed toward natural childbirth and can get a little culty, especially all the stories about The Farm, but I found the information in the second part of the book really helpful even when planning for a hospital birth. The historical and worldwide accounts of birth Gaskin provides is comforting to read about as well as the explanation of the process.
The first part consists of a collection of birth stories from women on The Farm and women who interacted with midwives from The Farm. The second part is informational and describes the biological process more.
It may not be for the squeamish, but if you're going to be popping a baby out of your body one day, it may help to not be too squeamish about these things.
The best thing about this book is that it describes birth as a completely natural thing for a woman's body to do and that it's not at all scary, which is a relief after our culture's fear-mongering around birth.(less)
This book was a little all over the place in that it covered a broad range of topics women face in the workforce. That being said, it's good because i...moreThis book was a little all over the place in that it covered a broad range of topics women face in the workforce. That being said, it's good because it covers some major issues like paid family leave, juggling work with life, trying to push for a more senior position, and just being heard. I thought Sandberg contradicted herself in a few places. Some of her advice seems a little one-sided, or geared toward people on the more professional path, so not sure if it would be helpful for everyone.
I started recommending this to my friends and cousins before even finishing the book, so yes I think it's worth reading.
Wow, I was expecting this to be really bad, but it surpassed those expectations and turned out to be not *that* bad. It was certainly better than Twil...moreWow, I was expecting this to be really bad, but it surpassed those expectations and turned out to be not *that* bad. It was certainly better than Twilight. I'm wary to label this as science fiction even though it's about an alien occupation on Earth because it was lacking in the science part, but there was plenty of fiction.
First, the good parts: I enjoyed the truly foreign aliens and the description of their philosophy, their other worlds, and history. I also enjoyed the whole rebel forces thing. I even liked Wanda for most of the story. I liked that the sappy romance didn't come till much later in the book, but man, when it came, it came in full force.
Now the parts I didn't like: it was too obvious who characters were at first glance. Of course the tall dark and handsome guy will be one love interest and of course the other good looking unattached guy will be the other pivot in the love triangle. Speaking of love triangle, it was more like a bizzarre love quadrangle. I guess that was something different, which made it entertaining. The part I really disliked was Meyer's obsession with the super young barely legal girl paring with the older man. That was a little too wish-fulfillment fantasy for me.
The end kind of resolved itself a little too well in the, "Really, that's all you need to do to complete your plan?" Sure it wasn't a complicated heist adventure or anything, but without the love quadrangle, there really wasn't much of a story. I was hoping there was gonna be some sort of mass overthrow.
Despite these complaints, I still found The Host an enjoyable and fast-paced read if only to figure out how Wanda and Melanie were going to resolve their issues.(less)
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