Jessica

I was on the fence about this book until about 2/3 of the way through it. I was super intriqued by the concept behind it, but the first 2/3 of the book had very slow pacing, and I feel a large chunk of the text could have been edited out without negatively effecting the story. Also, the copy I have was so badly copyedited (extra words in sentences, missing articles) that it was distracting.

However, once the story finally gets going, it's quite enjoyable. The last third of the book almost feels like it had a different editor. There's less fluff, fewer copyediting mistakes, and better pacing.

Overall, very interesting concept, and I'm intrigued enough by the cliffhangers to find out what happens in the next installment.

I had a hard time getting into this one at first, because it was so overtly religious. I know that Brooks is just being true to her 17th-century Puritan character, but it was off-putting at first, along with the ignorance of the time. Pretty soon, though, I was drawn into Bethia's world and had a hard time putting the book down thereafter.

I think the topic is super interesting, and the people and projects profiled in the book were fascinating. And ultimately, I even think the author's overall message is a good one. But I was constantly distracted by his personal asides. It was like he really wanted an outlet for everything he had been through in his own underground journey. Which is fine, but he should have devoted a chapter to his story, rather than interjecting pieces of it in everyone else's. At times this just felt like an ego trip.

I really enjoyed the unique voice of the protagonist and found her worldview to be very poetic. But ultimately I think the book could have used a bit more editing, as many of the scenes had a tendency to drag on without really advancing the story. I was also super appalled by the Missus character, and to a lesser degree by Mister and Rodger Marvin as well. The ending doesn't offer any closure, either, and though I know there are hundreds of good reasons to do this in a novel, it rarely sits well with me.

An important book, but perhaps overly dry and academic. The most interesting takeaways for me were:

* rural folks feel looked over and left behind by government and perceive that the majority of their tax dollars leave the community and never come back, whether or not this is actually true

* the common narrative that people vote Republican because they're rich or believe they will/can be someday is flawed. The conversations Cramer observed suggest that Republicans have been so successful because they tap into existing resentments; namely, the government, people who work for it, and urban areas full of liberals and people of color. So the “them” or the “haves” is defined not by affluence, but by culture

* most rural/”small government” folks don't actually oppose education, despite the common narratives and rural voting patterns. Rather, many of these folks would be willing to pay more taxes for money that would improve education, but they perceive that their tax dollars go only to urban schools or “undeserving” school teachers (these folks strongly resent public employees, who are perceived as “haves”). So it's not more money for public education these voters oppose, but their desire to limit this aspect of government so as not to benefit the perceived recipients.

* likewise, it is too simplistic to say rural and Republican voters favor small government. They don't usually actually support the principle of small government, but rather oppose particular social groups (again, usually because of a perception of undeservingness)

However, aside from the government doing a much better job of showing how tax dollars are used and how social programs do benefit rural communities, I still don't know how to get around rural consciousness. Listening alone, while it may soften neighbors and increase acceptance, is not going to actually change hearts and minds. And study after study shows that many people just double down on their beliefs when presented with facts that contradict them. Cramer suggests that we need to stop letting politicians prey upon divisiveness and, while I agree, again, how do you get everyone to stop buying into classic us vs them narratives?

TLDR: while this book was interesting and insightful, I'm still left feeling rather pessimistic about the general population.

Through deceptively simple drawings and a cast of animal characters, mainly finches, Nilsen's almost-fable explores all the heavy themes: faith, fate, one's place in the world, the meaning of it all. I found it to be both an uplifting exploration of the interconnectedness of all beings and a melancholy tale of existential angst.

This installment was far superior to the previous, though I'm not certain how I feel about where things ended with most of the characters. I do really enjoy the ever more intricate web Martin is weaving–the plots within plots, twists, crazy secrets revealed. However, I would've like a little more payoff in this book, to see at least one really awesome thing happen to at least one of my favorite heroes instead of more betrayals. I am intrigued to see where Martin takes this series next, and fervently hope I will not have to wait 6 years to find out (though I know this is a slim hope).

**Edited to Add**

Now that I've had more time to think on this, I've actually downgraded my rating by one star, because for all the pages, not a whole lot actually happens to move the plot forward. When will everyone finally get to where they're going? The whole book was spent on ships and in marches. I get it, GRRM, war takes time, politics is messy, yadda yadda. Now can you move your characters forward, please? And for the love of all that is holy, can the Stark children PLEASE know that the others aren't dead so they can stop making assinine decisions based on this mistruth?

Not quite as enjoyable as the first book in the series, mostly due to repetition between the two books. I get easily annoyed when authors try to recap too much of the previous book(s) in the sequel(s). The overall mystery was very intriguing, and I like the way the author plays with alternate versions of real historical people and events, but the pacing seemed uneven. Parts of the book just dragged for me, and I admit I skimmed large portions of certain chapters because they didn't really seem to be moving the plot forward or developing the characters in any real way.

An intriguing update to one of my favorite fairy tales. However, I'm not that pleased that the final chapter of the book is being posted online at an as-yet undisclosed date. I get that online content is all the rage these days with publishers, and that the publishers are trying to keep their audience engaged until the movie release, but it cheapens the reading experience a bit for me to see such obvious franchise ploys. Plus, I really want to know how it ends! The fact that the pub. date of the last chapter hasn't been revealed also awakes the cynic in me. I'm fearful this means it hasn't even been finalized, which makes me further fear the last chapter will be written with a great deal of community input.

This book is basically loosely (very loosely) connected by three separate tales–the modern day protagonist dealing with her grandfather's death, the tale of the Tiger's Wife, and the tale of the Deathless Man. I found the Tiger's Wife bits very engaging, but the rest of the novel was very slow and I just couldn't quite get into it. I thought about giving up around the 100-page mark, but then the Tiger's Wife substory began in earnest, and I was intrigued and thought “things will pick up now.” They didn't. But kudos to Obreht (or her editor) for being clever enough to tease more bits every other chapter to keep me plodding through the rest of it. Ultimately I don't feel like my patience was rewarded. I'm left wondering what Obreht's main message really was. She's definitely a talented writer, and there were a few wow moments, but I never quite cared about any of the characters, aside from the Tiger. I'm a bit puzzled at all the critical acclaim this novel has received, but perhaps it falls into the Gabriel Garcia Marquez category for me–authors almost everyone in the world loves but me.

Like many people, I love the idea of faeries and of magic, but am extremely skeptical about them. The author claims to be as well, and whether or not it's true skepticism or just a clever way to draw you into her world, this book is no utterly enchanting. In the end, I think the book is less about believing in magic than about the amazing things that can happen when you learn to be open, follow your intuition, and truly connect to the world around you–both the physical earth and with other beings.

This book was quite a bit darker than World Made by Hand. Many of the events that carry the plot forward can only be described as ugly. I cringed a lot, but yet I kept turning the page because Kunstler is such an engaging storyteller. And in the end I think his message is more about the hopeful resillience of the individual than about the ugliness that can happen when people are left to their own devices in the face of harsh circumstances, without government or law.

I had high expectations for this book, since His Dark Materials is my favorite trilogy. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into a revisionist history of Jesus from such an outspoken atheist and beloved author. But I can't help but feel let down. Pullman's version of events is fairly plausible, but overall lacks his usual bite and wit. I guess I was looking for less quaint story and more biting criticism of Christianity's dichotomies and contradictions.