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May 11
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Michelle
is currently reading:
Without a Map: A Memoir (Hardcover)
by Meredith Hall
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Michelle
gave
to:
Love Walked In (Paperback)
by Marisa de los Santos
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Michelle said:
"3.5 stars... The first 50 pages blew me away with the writing and the premise. Then it started to lag for me. The prose wasn't as sharp and I had a hard time buying certain scenarios and characters. Like Martin Grace is the least sympathetic characte...more
3.5 stars... The first 50 pages blew me away with the writing and the premise. Then it started to lag for me. The prose wasn't as sharp and I had a hard time buying certain scenarios and characters. Like Martin Grace is the least sympathetic character on the planet (e.g., random child was not foist upon him, he entered parenthood willingly, and then he was such a cretin about it all... I tried to imagine a situation where my husband and I got divorced and he treated our daughters similarly.. it would not happen). His situation was "tied up" a little too conveniently for me as well. Plus Linny (the best friend) was a GREAT character and she was there in the beginning and then in the end but totally missing from the middle. The old movie references were a little much for me. I have a vague idea what someone would look like if they resembled Cary Grant but it is not a very resonant image for me.
That said, it was definitely an amusing summer read and it is obvious the writer is a poet - she has very fresh descriptions of some everyday things. (Jackie O having eyes on the side of her head like an otter cracked me up... though I wanted to know specifically what the voice of a "Tri Delt President" sounds like and whether I have it). I definitely enjoyed the unexpected surprises in language....less
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May 05
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Michelle
gave
to:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (Paperback)
by Lynne Truss
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Michelle
gave
to:
The Echo Maker: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Richard Powers
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my rating:
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Michelle said:
"This book was hard to rate. It had some of the best, if not the very best, writing I've ever read. Some of the images... turns of phrases... incredible. That said, this book felt like a bit of a slog to me. The book is 450 pages and not much happens....more
This book was hard to rate. It had some of the best, if not the very best, writing I've ever read. Some of the images... turns of phrases... incredible. That said, this book felt like a bit of a slog to me. The book is 450 pages and not much happens. I don't think I've ever taken 2 weeks to read a book....less
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April 16
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Michelle
gave
to:
On Secret Service (Paperback)
by John Jakes
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my rating:
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Michelle said:
"I just couldn't get into this like I did with North & South, which is surprising given my fascination with the Pinkertons. But I just didn't care all that much about the characters.
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April 09
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Michelle
gave
to:
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (Paperback)
by Tucker Max
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my rating:
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Michelle said:
"Whoa, boy. There was a guy in college we called “Nast” and now I feel bad… Tucker Max is much more deserving of the title than that poor guy!
This book definitely had some downright hysterical parts but by the end it was a little “much” ...more
Whoa, boy. There was a guy in college we called “Nast” and now I feel bad… Tucker Max is much more deserving of the title than that poor guy!
This book definitely had some downright hysterical parts but by the end it was a little “much” for me. I just got tired of his schtick after awhile. Some of the tales weren’t even that crazy. The dog vomit one? I’ve known like 10 people with virtually the same story. There were times where I thought, I know much better stuff than that! Don’t know what that says about the company I keep…
Plus, on some level I found it all disturbing. Not HIS actions because he seemed (or at least claimed to be) pretty forthright about his intentions. It is just scary to me how many insecure women there are in this world, willing to do him while he’s insulting them/their friends/etc. For example: “I’ll have to f*** you from behind so I don’t have to look at your face.” And that was fine with this chick! As someone with daughters, I found the women’s behavior (and ridiculous insecurities) in this book alarming. I can only hope that while he’s had sex with 100-150 people, he’s tried with 1,000+ and we’re not getting to see the normal people who rejected him. I liked the speech therapist in the hospital. “I wouldn’t give you my zip code.” (And how does he get SO much action? He’s not that good looking.)
My other beef is that many of Tucker Max’s friends were FAR funnier than Tucker Max. I love, love, loved the hapless SlingBlade, the man with zero social skills and was sad to not find him anywhere in the second half of the book. Hot chick in Vegas: Hey, wanna go back with me to my hot tub? Him: Helllooooo staph infection! The parts where I laughed out loud were all about SlingBlade. He reminds me of my husband in some weird way. That’s probably bad to admit.
All in all, though, an amusing a very quick read.
...less
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April 08
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New comment on Kate's review of
Bel Canto
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April 07
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Michelle
gave
to:
The Reasons I Won't Be Coming (Paperback)
by Elliot Perlman
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Michelle said:
"I'm always impressed by well written short stories, especially when they end up being as satisfying as a novel. I loved most of the stories in this boook (some were better than others, as with any collection). I actually didn't even know they were sh...more
I'm always impressed by well written short stories, especially when they end up being as satisfying as a novel. I loved most of the stories in this boook (some were better than others, as with any collection). I actually didn't even know they were short stories when I picked it up - I ordered because I loved his novel Seven Types of Ambiguity and Carla gave this one four stars. It did not disappoint. I am thinking of recommending it for book club. Sort of a different type of book.......less
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April 01
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Michelle
gave
to:
Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines (Hardcover)
by Nic Sheff
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my rating:
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Michelle said:
"This book was pretty intense. It is about a guy's addiction to meth (among many, many, many other things). I recently read his dad's version of events and it was definitely interesting to see both sides of it.
The book is certainly well written an...more
This book was pretty intense. It is about a guy's addiction to meth (among many, many, many other things). I recently read his dad's version of events and it was definitely interesting to see both sides of it.
The book is certainly well written and there are some unique and provacative descriptions. But I quickly tired of the endless repetition of score drugs/use drugs/try to find out a way to pay for drugs with the occasional rehab thrown in there. Of course that has less to do with the writing than the nature of drug abuse. Reading this I felt much like I did when I watched Boogie Nights the first time - nauseous and liked *I* was hungover. I am dying to know who "Zelda," his famous older girlfriend was, and what happened to her. She was in seriously bad shape at the end of the book.
While the book was captivating and a quick read, it just didn't offer much hope. At the end, he just sounded like every other time he'd been out of rehab (and he'd had stints of being sober in excess of a year). "This time it's different!" I hope so, but don't have much faith that it's true.
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