Talk Healthy

Not sure if I updated on "Orphan Train." It was underwhelming. "Hyperbole and a Half" was good. Made me LOL a few times for sure. Her illustrations are really interesting too. And I just listened to "Of Mice and Men," by Steinbeck. Somehow that was never an assigned rea...

I don't believe I've ever read an Agatha Christie book. Sucks that you didn't care much for this one, but don't feel bad for not liking something you think you "should." We all find ourselves in that situation at least occasionally. It just happened to me with "Orphan Train."

Finished "Hyperbole and a Half." I really liked it. I'd seen at least some of the chapter about depression and again found it quite spot-on, and most of the other chapters made me giggle and LOL. I had to stop reading one about her dogs last night, because I kept giggling and waking Jason....

Here "real book" new releases are 14 days (I think...Don't usually check those ones out) & all others are 28 days. E-books are 7, 14, or 21 days. You can set your own length from those options, which seems odd but is true. I always pick 21, because why wouldn't you? I liked Wool but no...

Finished "The Spirit Catches You & You Fall Down" today at lunch. It's certainly dated (was written in the 90s) but was really interesting. Next will be "Orphan Train," by Christina Baker Kline. It's the next book club selection. And I'm anxiously awaiting my delivery of the ...

Last night I started "The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson," and of course then today the hold came in for "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down," by Anne Fadiman. Anyone here ever read that one? It's been on my list for years, but I just recently moved it up in prio...

Finished "Don't Think of an Elephant," by George Lakoff. I liked it and would recommend it to others. I do wish it had some more in the way of specific tips for framing the liberal values, but this was a great primer. I plan to try more of his books.

A quick search indicates it was in 1820 with the Missouri Compromise. History was always my weakest subject. So glad you loved it. It really inspired me to take some direct action for causes I believe in.

Just finished listening to "Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes." It was fine.

Finished "Pretty Girls" by Karin Slaughter just now. Definitely gripping and creepy as shit. Apparently this audiobook includes a short story prequel ("Blond Hair, Blue Eyes") about the sister who went missing, so I just started that too. Only a couple chapters left in the politi...

Oh, I hope you enjoy it, Silvia. That book is still sticking with me. Absolutely loved it. I've been listening to "Pretty Girls," by Karin Slaughter. Man, it is pretty creepy. And I'm roughly 2/3 through "Don't Think of an Elephant!" by George Lakoff. It's very good, but I'm savi...

Last night I finished "The Souls of Black Folk," by W.E.B. Du Bois. Like I said in the weekend thread, some of the language was a bit much (similar to Silvia's feeling about "...Monte Cristo"), but it was very good overall. I'm enjoying reading more of these racial/social justice...

Last night I finished "The Name of the Wind," by Patrick Rothfuss. Very good, easy read despite being 662 pages! 4 stars, and 1 down, 29 to go. I just got the e-book of "The Souls of Black Folk," by W.E.B. Du Bois. Looking forward to this one, and I was pleasantly surprised to se...

Sílvia wrote:OMG, My Brilliant Friend is painfully boring. I wanted to continue it for the sake of the other books in the series, but I don't think I can handle it.

Well that's disappointing. What made it so boring...lack of plot?

I've started "The Name of the Wind," by Patrick Rothfuss. So far it's really good. It grabbed me right away, and the writing is superb.

Fine with me, Silvia! I really enjoy quality writing and don't mind a slower book in the least. It sounds at least worth trying! Meanwhile, today I picked up "The Name of the Wind," by Patrick Rothfuss. Jason has been raving about it, and it has great ratings. But it's 662 pages; the thing...

Silvia and Blush, that's exactly what I meant. I think that in theory I try to do approximately what your scales are, but next year I'm going to try being a bit more regimented about it. I think I let the emotional aspects of a book influence my rating more than they should. Rowan, you should totall...

Silvia, that *does* sound like something you'd hate, so since you loved it, I just added it to my list.

Here's mine! I really liked most of my 28 books this year; 17 of them got 4 or 5 stars. Not sure if that means I just chose wisely this year, or if I need to be harsher in my ratings! (On that note, do you guys do anything to keep your ratings more objective?) https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_...

Stayed up late last night to finish "The Book Thief." In the end, I was thinking it'd get 4 stars, but after sleeping on it and reading a few Goodreads reviews, it got 3. The format and style get points for creativity, but they also made for a jarring reading experience. It also really bot...

Those were good instructions, Blush. I'm on page 101 now and am sucked into the story. The writing style is much less jarring now as well. I'm glad I stuck with it.