false 10 517 361 true 5840702 read 5 true 5047640 currently-reading 151 true 5047629 to-read <![CDATA[Brooke added 'The Left Hand of Darkness']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56333695 The Left Hand of Darkness (Paperback) by Ursula K. LeGuin
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Brooke added 'Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77860385 Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel (Hardcover) by Merrill Markoe
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Brooke added 'A Great and Terrible Beauty']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75528053 to: A Great and Terrible Beauty (Gemma Doyle, #1) by Libba Bray
]]> <![CDATA[Brooke added 'Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77595255 Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories (Paperback) by Elizabeth Strout
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Brooke added 'Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56328802 to: Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior (Paperback) by Temple Grandin
This was a really interesting book. At first, I found Grandin's prose to be disjointed, but after a while I started to enjoy all of the random bits of information that she strung together in each section. The book was organized by different emotions/mental processes, and that structure worked very well with her style of throwing out information on a really wide variety of animals. I'm a cat and dog person, so I was surprised to find that the stories she included about birds in the chapter called "Animal Genius" were what I ultimately found the most fascinating.

What comes across more than anything in this book is Grandin's compassion for animals, which shows in her incredibly extensive knowledge of various species and also, somewhat surprisingly, in her choice of day jobs (designing slaughterhouses). I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading about animal behavior or who just loves animals. ]]> <![CDATA[Brooke added 'The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56649039 to: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hardcover) by E. Lockhart
I have an inexplicable love for books set in boarding schools. I also love P.G. Wodehouse. So, this book, which is set in a boarding school, and features a central character who loves Wodehouse and quotes from The Code of the Woosters, pretty much had me at hello. ]]> <![CDATA[Brooke added 'The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76636654 The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag: A Flavia de Luce Mystery (Hardcover) by Alan Bradley
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Brooke added 'The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70860029 to: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Hardcover) by Alan Bradley
Is there a funnier, more entertaining character than Flavia de Luce? I think not. I read that Alan Bradley is planning a series starring Flavia, and I was simultaneously ecstatic and despondent. Ecstatic because, as previously mentioned, Flavia is awesome. Despondent because I want all of the Flavia books to be out RIGHT NOW. I can hardly wait until Bradley's next book comes out, and the next one after that, and the next one after that....

Seriously, I have not been as charmed by a book as I was by this one in a very long time. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries, books set in England, hilarious family interactions, chemistry, and child characters who aren't obnoxiously cute. I would really just recommend this to anyone who likes to read. Even if you don't think you would like this book, read it anyway. Do yourself a favor. ]]> <![CDATA[Brooke added 'Telex from Cuba: A Novel']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66841437 to: Telex from Cuba: A Novel (Paperback) by Rachel Kushner
I read this book because it was chosen by my book club. I doubt it would have crossed my radar otherwise. (That is probably the greatest thing about book clubs, in my opinion, but I digress.) Anyway, I had never read anything about the Americans living in Cuba just before the Castros came into power, and in general, I knew almost nothing of that history. For that reason alone, I am glad to have read this book and learned something about which I had previously known very little.

I particularly enjoyed the parts of the book that focused on the American expatriates. The parts about Rachel K and the ex-Nazi were not as enjoyable to me initially, but they provided an interesting counterpoint to the experiences of the Americans.

I was really conflicted about how many stars to give this book. I think it comes down to one's philosophy on ratings. I tend to give stars based on my subjective enjoyment of a book--not necessarily based on how objectively good a book is. If I had been more objective, I would probably give it 4 stars. As it is, I gave it 3, mostly because I would have liked to read more about Everly and K.C. and less about Rachel K.

As a side note, I highly recommend this book for book clubs. I don't remember our group having a better discussion than we did for this book. ]]> <![CDATA[Brooke recommended the book Homer's Odyssey: a Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat to Catmean]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book/recommendation/651973 Brooke recommended the book Homer's Odyssey: a Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat to Catmean
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