Michelle’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

Michelle’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie takes me to Seattle Washington.

Bill wrote: "Michelle wrote: "#94 Fairy Tale For Stephen King I would call this story whimsical. Don't get me wrong there was plenty of grit and gore but overall i..."

I think you would enjoy it Bill.

Circling back to Japan again with Geisha, a Life.

#94 Fairy Tale For Stephen King I would call this story whimsical. Don't get me wrong there was plenty of grit and gore but overall it was a lot of fun. The fairytale portion of the book is derivative but that is not only acknowledged it is part of the premise. While I enjoyed the entire book, I have to admit that I enjoyed the non fairytale first part of the book a little more. When he wants to King can write characters that seem so real you could touch them and that is what he did here. I listened to the audiobook and not only was the reader great but King performs a small cameo portion of the book himself. A nice little bonus. Audiobook. 4 stars. Fantasy/Good King.

#95 The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie I thouroughly enjoyed this one. Magical realism, a sweet little romance, and a woman searching for her true self combine to make a great story with shades of "It's a Wonderful Life". Audiobook. 4 stars. Contemporary Lit/Romance/Magical Realism.

#96 Geisha, a Life The memoir of a woman who was raised and later worked as a Geisha. This memoir was very favorable to the Geisha way of life but it was an interesting companion read to Memoirs of a Geisha which I read earlier this year. Audiobook. 4 stars. Nonfiction-Memoir.

96 books/10828 pages

Current:
Cloud Cuckoo Land hardback. This has become my weekend read. I make great strides on the weekend and get into the story and then neglect it all week.
The Alzheimer's Solution: A Breakthrough Program to Prevent and Reverse the Symptoms of Cognitive Decline at Every Ageebook. Interesting but I'm not sure I could ever live a lifestyle this rigid.
New and Selected Poems, Volume One ebook. Taking this one in slowly.
Ellie Dwyer's Great Escape Audiobook. This one is for my RL book club and I'm liking it better than I expected.

Also I really do hate Romeo and Juliet. Hated it in high school and hate now. So the whole dying for love thing rarely does it for me. Stupid.

Lillie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "#89 This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar This is How You Lose the Time War Mixed feelings about this one. The writing was pretty but the world building sucked. Since..."

You're not alone. It wasn't good time travel or good romance as far as I'm concerned. I tried to be kind because the writing was pretty and the idea was good if it had been executed better. So many writers from different genres are now incorporating Fantasy/SciFi/Magic Realism into their stories. Sometimes this is delightful and sometimes it is disaster. I think in most of the disaster cases they overlook one vital element of fantasy. That is world building. To be a complete story the reader has to understand the rules/background/topography/whatever of this setting you have created. Otherwise we can't get invested in the story. Why do they think that every classic fantasy novel has a map at the beginning? You've got to provide some context.

Adding #13 The House of the Spirits which takes place in revolutionary Chile.

Short stops in Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, and Washington DC with Breaking and Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called "Alien"; Fly Girl: A Memoir; Shoeless Joe; and Upgrade respectively.

Lea wrote: "I am eager to see what you think of Fairy Tale!!!"

I'll just say now that I'm pretty sure this will land in my "Good King" category.

Time for another round of catch up.

#89 This is How You Lose the Time War Mixed feelings about this one. The writing was pretty but the world building sucked. Since I'm more of a scifi/fantasy girl than a poetry girl the last one was hard to get over. How exactly did time travel work? and What exactly were they doing? and How exactly did they beat the system? Oh well, I hated Romeo and Juliet too and I think that this was in the same mindset. I think so anyway I'm not sure. I'm giving it 3 stars because by the end I really didn't care I just said "Hmmm. Pretty." Audiobook. Fantasy-Time Travel(I think?)

#90 Shoeless Joe I loved this one! Just a really good tale about family and faith and magic and baseball. Very well written. This one really made me smile and we all need that. 5 take me out to the ballgame stars. ebook. Contemporary Literature/Magical Realism.

#91 Upgrade I have seen other goodreads reviews that seemed to indicate Blake Crouch phoned it in for this one. Personally I thought this was his best since Dark Matter. I welcomed the change of topic from time travel to DNA/endtimes. I do think his endings in general seem to drag out too long. Once we know where its going, there is no pleasure in long repetitive action sequences. Just my opinion. Audiobook. 4 new premise stars. SciFi.

#92 Breaking and Entering: The Extraordinary Story of a Hacker Called "Alien" This nonfiction narrative follows a young female hacker from her earliest days at MIT to her establishment as an entrepreneur in the computer securities industry. A really original view of the hacker life. Fans of nonfiction I think you would enjoy this one. ebook. 4 white hat stars. Nonfiction-Biography.

93 Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age Sage and comforting advice for women facing their latter years. This book was sort of like a Bob Ross painting except in the form of an advice book. Put some happy little trees over here. It's all going to be all right. ebook. 3 calm yoga breath stars. Nonfiction-Self Help.

93 books/10804 pages

Current:
Fairy Tale Audiobook. Stephen King need I say more.
New and Selected Poems, Volume One ebook. Taking small bites of this one. Nibbles really.
The Alzheimer's Solution: A Breakthrough Program to Prevent and Reverse the Symptoms of Cognitive Decline at Every Age ebook. Interesting so far.
Cloud Cuckoo Land Hardback. I am currently completly ignoring this one. La-la-la-la-la.

Bill wrote: "My review of The Horror of the Heights and Other Tales of Suspense by Arthur Conan Doyle 4.0 stars

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Next book is [book..."

Hope you like Red Rising Bill. I think its one of those love it or hate it stories. Can't wait to see what you think.

Glad you liked Firekeeper's Daughter Lea. I had some of the same misgivings about the book that you did but I really enjoyed the setting and atmosphere of the story. I also enjoyed the main character and the treatment of women's issues in the story. All in all it was classified as YA but tackled some heavy issues and still remained entertaining.

Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I finally finished Shoeless Joe. What a book! This book is the basis of the movie Field of Dreams. Fortunately, it has been so long since..."

As I said above, it has been a really long time since I've seen the movie (maybe the 80's??? when did it come out??) but I found the book to be just as magical (if not more so) as I remember the movie being. There were some changes from what I remembered and probably more that I didn't remember but it was a really good story. I don't think you would be disappointed.

Lillie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I started reading Shoeless Joe over the weekend. Absolutely loving it! Maybe this is what I need to get back to this list. I don't know why I'm not reading this list more quickly. ..."

You won't be sorry Lillie. Save it for when you need a feel good read.

Lea wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Always love to help someone pump up their TBR"

If you build it, they will come.

If you review it, we will add it. :-)

Added to my TBR also."


I might feel a little bad if this book wasn't so good.

Always love to help someone pump up their TBR

I finally finished Shoeless Joe. What a book! This book is the basis of the movie Field of Dreams. Fortunately, it has been so long since I have seen the movie that it didn't interfere at all with my enjoyment of the book. Ray Kinsella, former insurance salesman, failing farmer, baseball lover, dreamer, hears a voice telling him to build a baseball field on one of his cornfields. He listens to the voice rather than reason and begins a fantastic journey involving baseball, recluse writers and missing twin brothers. Each step of the journey affirming that family, faith and forgiveness are the truly important things in life.

I absolutely loved this book. It is beautifully written and while I may not be a huge fan of baseball, I am a huge fan of the way in which this author used it to convey his concept of a life well lived. It is truly a magical book. Pick it up if you are in the mood for a feel good read and have a hot dog and a coke ready you're going to want them.

5 if you build it they will come stars.

Favorite quotes:

"God what an outfield,' he says. 'What a left field.' He looks up at me, and I look down at him. 'This must be heaven,' he says.
No. It's Iowa,' I reply automatically.


“Serenity is a very elusive quality. I've been trying all my life to find it.”
― W.P. Kinsella, Shoeless Joe


“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.
[Eddie Scissons]”
― W.P. Kinsella, Shoeless Joe


“He pops a bat twice more on home plate, then tosses a ball in the air and swings. The crack of the bat sounds like a paper bag exploding, yet the sound is cold and lonely, too, like a hunter firing on an endless tundra.”
― W.P. Kinsella, Shoeless Joe

You won't regret it Ioana. Great story. Unfortunately if you are like me you still won't understand much about bit coin after reading it.

These two nonfiction books were a great anitdote for my recent foray into the literary psychic realms.

#87 Bitcoin Billionaires: A True Story of Genius, Betrayal, and Redemption This book describes the rise of bitcoin and some the the major players in that market. Fascinating. I'm still not sure I understand bitcoin but it was one hell of a story. Audiobook. 4 stars. Nonfiction.

#88 Fly Girl: A Memoir Author Ann Hood recalls her days as a flight attendant in the 70's and 80's. Some great stories in this one. Audiobook. 4 stars. Nonfiction-Memoir.

88 books/9938 pages

Current
Shoeless Joe ebook.
This is How You Lose the Time War audiobook.
Cloud Cuckoo Land hardback.

Hoping to get some good reading time in over the long weekend.

Ioana wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Ioana wrote: "Book #56 of 2022: American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry I've read quite a few books on this subject, and this was diffe..."

Of course.