This has been standing on my bookshelf for years. And despite loving Williams' Stoner, I've found it hard to get the motivation to pick it up. SomethiThis has been standing on my bookshelf for years. And despite loving Williams' Stoner, I've found it hard to get the motivation to pick it up. Something about the synopsis, the premise of a vast prairie landscape and the hunting of bisons, put me off. I'm not quite sure why.
Because this book isn't about bisons, much like Moby Dick isn't about a whale.
This is about the forgotten America; the brutal reality of industrialism and the ever shifting fashion of human needs. This is about nostalgia; searching for far-off places, untouched by human hands. And this is about obsession too; wanting to kill off an entire race in order to gain dominance over nature.
But, as it turns out, while bisons can be killed, the nature can't be tamed. It has its own agenda, its own rhythm. Even a rifle won't stop a snowfall or a river. Nature has no mercy; no man can master it.
Plotwise, this book is beautifully crafted. Filled with descriptions of swooping landscapes, intense hunger, hunting and an unescaping feeling of emptiness. But much like Stoner, the true beauty lives between the lines. In the things that aren't written, but only hinted at. Which ultimately makes this book as unending as the western prairie itself....more
This is not a book to be devoured. At least it wasn't for me. Instead it was a book to read and immerse oneself in; slow and intelligent.
In spite of iThis is not a book to be devoured. At least it wasn't for me. Instead it was a book to read and immerse oneself in; slow and intelligent.
In spite of its short length, I've been reading this for weeks, until I reached the last part of the book, and 70 pages just flew by in a few days.
In the end, I was surprised by how invested I had become in the story of past emperors and their politic schemes; how fascinated I was by the politic game of chess the characters so easily navigated in....more
Razor-sharp stories filled with sarcasm and wit. Some of them rely a bit too heavily on caricature for my taste, but they're wildly entertaining and wRazor-sharp stories filled with sarcasm and wit. Some of them rely a bit too heavily on caricature for my taste, but they're wildly entertaining and well written. I quite enjoyed reading this, stretching the stories in order to make them last several days....more
Delvist en udførlig genfortælling af Ringenes Herre og Hobitten med lidt løs analyse undervejs og en sammenkobling med Tolkiens samtid og liv.
LevinsenDelvist en udførlig genfortælling af Ringenes Herre og Hobitten med lidt løs analyse undervejs og en sammenkobling med Tolkiens samtid og liv.
Levinsen har indsigt, gode pointer og hans læsning af særligt Ringenes Herre bød på mange interessante tolkninger undervejs. Desværre bliver læsningen enormt træg af citatmosaik og genfortælling, og det nye som Levinsen bringer til sin analyse af Tolkiens forfatterskab, drukner i alt det, vi allesammen i forvejen ved.
I sidste ende er bogen dog hyggelig eftermiddagslæsning og byder på en tilpas mængde nostalgi. ...more
Is this an iconic work that left its mark on history? Definitely. Is this particularly well-written in the eyes of a modern reader? Certainly not.
OverIs this an iconic work that left its mark on history? Definitely. Is this particularly well-written in the eyes of a modern reader? Certainly not.
Over the years Fanny Hill has lost her ability to shock her readers and does now rather present as a satire than an erotic work trying to push boundaries. ...more
I could almost taste this book on my tongue; its bitterness melting on my tongue, leaving behind an aftertaste, I couldn't define.
Sweetbitter is a booI could almost taste this book on my tongue; its bitterness melting on my tongue, leaving behind an aftertaste, I couldn't define.
Sweetbitter is a book about a young girl named Tess and the city that almost destroys her. It's about failed idealism, coming to terms with reality in both love and worklife, and it is about food. Of course.
Danler writes beautifully, not only creating vivid images, but offering food descriptions that are so life-like that you can actually taste, smell and feel them. Most of all, this book feels like a writing exercise in how to create a compelling ambience. And Danler succeeds. Though the plot itself lacks behind....more
It's such an easy argument to make, but this book certainly was too long.
While its main plot is a gripping tale of a complex mother-son relationship aIt's such an easy argument to make, but this book certainly was too long.
While its main plot is a gripping tale of a complex mother-son relationship and a journey of discovery and understanding into the mother's past, some odd side plots and detours are included. Lengthy descriptions of a computer game and a revengeful young student feels like foreign objects in this bombastic novel.
Hill is a gifted writer and The Nix is an impressing debut novel. The timing is just off; the powerful revelations come a little too late and the jokes become too drawn out, too aware of their own presence....more
I'm so glad that I finally picked this book up. It was nothing like what I had expected it to be. It was so much better.
A gruesome, heartshattering anI'm so glad that I finally picked this book up. It was nothing like what I had expected it to be. It was so much better.
A gruesome, heartshattering and yet completely authentic and eye-opening tale about the life in the Southern State during the 1800s. Not only does the book paint a vivid picture of what it was like to be a former slave on the run; it also made me aware of historical aspects I didn't know � such as the medical experiments with syphilis on former slaves and the violent and systematic executions in North Carolina.
It was eye-opening. Brutal. And yet so beautifully written. I'm in awe. ...more
I was about to write that it's been a while since I read anything like this.
But really, I don't think I've ever read anything like this.
Foer's structI was about to write that it's been a while since I read anything like this.
But really, I don't think I've ever read anything like this.
Foer's structure is always stunning. He cuts things up, rearranges his events and tell half truths, only making the full story so much more impactful when it finally hits. His way of effortlessly blending medias together, jumping from text messages to e-mails to news broadcast, quiet thoughts and dialogue-driven pages, is masterful. His books are worth reading for that aspect alone.
I'm not even sure that it's worth my while to write about plot; to me, the plot was only secondary to the portrait of a marriage and a family, a generation and an entire community that Foer crafts within his pages....more
�Something’s wrong in the air, you know, when a book costs less than a bullet. Or a Coke. Values-wise.�
I'm not quite sure of this one. I was lured in �Something’s wrong in the air, you know, when a book costs less than a bullet. Or a Coke. Values-wise.�
I'm not quite sure of this one. I was lured in by the title, the cover, by the promise of a melancholic mystery set in between endless rows of books; of hidden code messages in cut-out books; and of course by the society of the BookFrogs, sad existences finding comfort and solace in the company of books.
But, in reality, all those things didn't amount to much. The wonderfully bookish surroundings surely provide the setting of the book, but it remains a setting, and the true power of books and literature is never really touched upon. Instead, everything turns out to have roots in a horrible trauma, suffered by the main character as a child. A brutal and seemingly meaningless mass murder binds all the characters together in a tragic family drama that has nothing to do with books � and everything to do with jealousy, rage and hushed love affairs.
�Libraries were havens for everyone.�
I'm not a very experienced reader of murder mysteries or crime fiction. And I'm not even sure this book really can strictly be categorized as such. Even so, the mystery seemed a bit weak to me; the solution is almost grasped out of thin air, leaving no room for the reader to figure out what happened and why.
While the characters are "wonderfully eccentric" as the synopsis claims, they aren't much else. They seem paper thin and hard to symphatize with. For instance, when the main characters confronts her boyfriend, of several years, with a terribly discovery he has made about her past, the only thing he has to say, is that he "isn't angry because she didn't tell him". Is that really a believable response for when your loved one tells you one of the darkest and most traumatic secrets of her past?
Overall, while this book was easy and at times even nerve wracking, it ultimately fell flat. I liked the synopsis more than I liked the actual book itself....more
Det tog lidt tid og en del sider, men den her bog overvandt mig til sidst. På trods af de mange karakterer og de mange usammenhængende plottråde, blevDet tog lidt tid og en del sider, men den her bog overvandt mig til sidst. På trods af de mange karakterer og de mange usammenhængende plottråde, blev jeg alligevel hooked og havde brug for at vide, hvad der skete for hvem. Og hvorfor.
Bogen når aldrig at blive fuldstændig helstøbt, og den er sommetider decideret usammenhængende. Men de mange personer lever så fint på siderne, og især Monica er så skøn at læse om. Hun er vel måske også bogens egentlige hovedperson.
�I know my worth. I embrace my power. I say if I'm beautiful. I say if I'm strong. You will not determine my story. I will.�
I mostly listened my way �I know my worth. I embrace my power. I say if I'm beautiful. I say if I'm strong. You will not determine my story. I will.�
I mostly listened my way through this on audiobook and I actually think the book worked better this way. Amy Schumer's book is filled with jokes and she sometimes even have entire conversations with herself on the pages. That may work when you actually listen to the book, but I imagine it falls flat when reading. I'm just guessing though.
I am in no way a huge Amy Schemer-fan. I have barely seen any of her shows or movies but I have been to one of her shows, which I remember as being rather funny. I do however not have the fan-perspective. I just read the book out of curiosity, thinking of Amy as any woman in her mid-thirties wanting to share her stories.
And share, she did.
This is an extremely personal book � Schumer is relentlessly honest and writes about the first time she realized her parents were only human, a violent relationship, her summer spent volunteering at a camp for disabled persons while also writing entire chapters in jest.
The book is constantly balancing between pure fun and very personal and political messages. It's a bit confusing, as Schumer seems to be arguing for no-judgement and free individuality one second, and then judging and making fun of people's different lifestyles the next.
�Being an introvert doesn’t mean you’re shy. It means you enjoy being alone.� ...more
�Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.�
One of Montgomery's more unknown books about a group on children that spends a carefree �Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.�
One of Montgomery's more unknown books about a group on children that spends a carefree summer on Prince Edward Island with a girl who tells stories so vividly, that they feel like reality. A book filled with Montgomery's trademark charm and incredible understanding of childhood. Idyllic, fun and optimistic. Always optimistic.
More than anything, this feels more like a short story collection than a novel. Each chapter entails some sort of mischief, a mystery or a conflict, a solution � and, of course, a story told by the story girl. And then the next chapter awaits with another mystery, another conflict and another story ...
For all its charm and optimism, this book never really touched me the way, Montgomery's writing usually does. I think, it's because I never really liked the characters and the forced structure. The Story Girl's perpetual need to tell a story and Montgomery's need to constantly tell the reader, the stories are good stories, feels too repetitive and unlikely. While Montgomery usually is eminent at characterizing artists and writers, her characterization falls flat here.
But still � if you adore Montgomery, you'll like this. If not for anything else, then for the writing. Nobody can craft a lyrical description more beautifully than Mongomery. Her metaphors are exquisite. And her optimism is never-failing:
�It is always safe to dream of spring. For it is sure to come; and if it be not just as we have pictured it, it will be infinitely sweeter.�...more
The most interesting thing about this book was its format; mixing chat conversations with surveillance reports, articles, codings and even pictures maThe most interesting thing about this book was its format; mixing chat conversations with surveillance reports, articles, codings and even pictures made entirely by letters. A perfect way to convey the sci-fi reality of the characters.
The story itself was gripping too and easily to immerse oneself in. I am, however, left without any desire to read on in the series. In my opinion, it could easily have ended here. And so it does for me....more
Loading...
