Charlotte Hanley-Jacobson

A very detailed account of a group of college students who kill one of their classmates. Kind of long and drawn out, but still engrossing. While the author's descriptions of the characters uniqueness make them seem to be fully formed, their actions in the book show them to be very impressionable and inexperienced.

I did have to wonder while reading though - in what time period did the book take place? When, at a small college in Vermont, would there have been students wearing suits, hippies, salutations like “old man” and “chap” as well as ATMs?

I was a little disappointed by this book. The author's book “A Dirty Job” was so funny, and I had high expectations for this one. The title alone is hilarious. But I felt like there was just too much going on in the book - it would have been much better at half the length. At the end, it seemed like Moore was just trying to squeeze in everything that happened up to Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus/Joshua didn't seem to have a consistent personality throughout the book. And, he tried to take credit for inventing coffee. The whole thing just got too far-fetched. But with the rapid-fire dialogue, it might make a good movie, if they shortened it.

I laughed out loud several times while reading this book - but I also wished it was about half as long. His descriptions of people and places, while certainly exaggerated, can be delightful to read. And I found myself chuckling at his outrage and surprise concerning prices, leaf blowers, and other oddities of the late 80s that are normal (or quaint) today, 20 years later. But his annoyance at the less-than-perfect people and places he encounters got a little old, and for some reason he feels the need to share all the details of some of these places. But overall, I enjoyed the book.

I was very excited to read this book - the jacket notes made it sound hilarious, and I had to wait several months to get it from the library. But it was disappointing. I will admit to laughing out loud a few times, but mostly I just got sick of the authors and the he said/she said writing style they used. It really is surprising that they're still married.

I went to Australia several years ago, and when I shared my travel plans with anyone in the U.S., the first thing they asked me was - have you read “In a Sunburned Country”??? So seven years after my trip, I finally did - and I am glad of it. Bill Bryson is so likeable, so disarming, so damn funny. I have laughed out loud while reading all of his books. A good read even if you have never been (or never plan to travel) to Australia.

The author asks a lot of interesting questions, and it's eye-opening to hear what her interviewees have to say on the subjects of love, marriage, work, the decision to have children, etc. But I found it to be depressing - the conclusion seemed to be that women are destined to be unhappy - or at least question the impact of all of their past and current life choices.

The first horror book I've read in a long time... and now I remember why. I spent a couple of semi-sleepless nights thinking about the book while I was reading it. And it wasn't worth it. That said, there were some interesting parts to the book. The author spends a lot of time on details, which got a little tedious to me, but I had to admire it. But as far as the characters went, I found it hard to believe that they were in relationships with each other - they all seemed to turn on each other far too quickly when in trouble.

This was a long read - he really does cover a little bit of all the major science disciplines. I found that there were sections I really enjoyed - geology and anthropology - and other sections, like chemistry and physics, that I had to skim through. It is an admirable undertaking, and Bill Bryson has the humor and writing skills to pull it off, and ultimately create a good book.