I've tried. I promise I've tried hard. I'm so guilty of spending too much time on social media and the internet and everything else that tries (succesI've tried. I promise I've tried hard. I'm so guilty of spending too much time on social media and the internet and everything else that tries (successfully) to steal my attention away from the here and now. But I'm just not getting anywhere with this book. I first checked it out on May 22 and here it is, June 29, and I'm 27% finished with it. That's abysmal for me.
I'm the biggest problem. I'm more of a fiction reader but I do like to concurrently read a nonfiction book and I add that in at night. This book asks for more thought than I'm able to give at that point in my day. I would find myself pulling up trail guides on my Kindle instead. Trail guides! They aren't exactly meant to be read cover-to-cover.
Part of the problem is that, ironically enough, my attention span has been almost non-existent since the beginning of the COVID stay-at-home orders in March. I've really struggled with fiction too. I've finally realized that lighter, more fast-paced fiction is all I have in my wheelhouse right now, and I'm okay with that. At least it's something. I have friends who aren't able to read at all.
And yet another problem is that I just don't think in the same way that the author does. I don't mean that we disagree about ideas; I mean that she presents information in a way that I don't understand. I just can't wrap my mind around what she's trying to say. She's also a visual artist and she describes the opening of an art project that she had spent three months working on, when a woman asks her, "Wait...so did you actually make anything? Or did you just put things on shelves?" I can appreciate (some/most) art, but from the description of this project, I would have felt as perplexed as the woman.
There is definitely an audience for this book. It's well-reviewed on GoodReads. That audience just isn't me, at least not at this point in my life....more
Badly dated. I couldn't follow all the '70s slang and convoluted sentence constructs. I think it was supposed to be some sort of absurd comedic observBadly dated. I couldn't follow all the '70s slang and convoluted sentence constructs. I think it was supposed to be some sort of absurd comedic observation about futility and death so I kept comparing it unfavorably to Catch-22....more
I almost DNF'd this one then realized I only had an hour left to listen, so I rode this train wreck to the bitter end. Well, I can't say there was anyI almost DNF'd this one then realized I only had an hour left to listen, so I rode this train wreck to the bitter end. Well, I can't say there was any real *ending*, but I at least listened until the book stopped.
Where to start? These characters. Holy moly, these characters. They're all cut from the same cloth, which is to say that they're all spineless and float from bad situation to bad situation. I won't even call them "bad choices" because that would imply that the characters used some of their own volition. It's more like, "I'm so happy with so-and-so." Two seconds later: "Oh my. This person who is not my partner is kissing me. I'm kissing them back. That's bad. Let me disentangle myself from this situation with a caress, because I wouldn't want to hurt this person's feelings. Oh no! There's my partner! I'm so confused! Who do I want to be with?!?" I can see this in maybe one character, but this is apparently a family flaw. Truly. If it's not this exact situation, which does literally arise several times, it's something equally dumbfounding that they just passively accept. The few times actual decisions are made, they're so poor, I don't even know where to start. How has this family line survived so long?
Where was the copy editor? I don't know how much I would have noticed this in print, but on audio, I realized that the book would be half its length if the author had not been allowed to use the word "said." It's not even alternated with the occasional "asked" or "demanded", or even letting me just use a tiny bit of brain power and conclude who is speaking when there are only two characters in a room and one addresses the other *by name.* Really?
Oh, and the name dropping. I know that Margaret and Drake are mega-millionaires, but everyone in this book is wearing Manolo shoes, Tom Ford sunglasses, owns a tux or evening gown by Dior, etc. They were about to lose the inn because of money woes in the last book! Now they can all afford to go to black tie galas? There's even one minor character, who's living with her mom and has a car garden in the yard, who shows up appropriately dressed for the gala! C'mon.
I'm not a huge reader of contemporary--family dramas?-- and I'm obviously in the minority here, but this book just didn't do a thing except irritate me....more
DNF 42 minutes in. I even restarted the audio after 20 minutes to see what I was missing.
I very nearly quit after the first 20 minutes with the--ghostDNF 42 minutes in. I even restarted the audio after 20 minutes to see what I was missing.
I very nearly quit after the first 20 minutes with the--ghost?-- talking about the poop in his sickbox (coffin). I bravely carried on and the narrative style of essentially one sentence from one cited source to describe an epic party the Lincolns threw the night of Willie's death also almost broke me. If I never hear the phrase "op cit." read aloud again, it will be too soon. 166 narrators sounds cool but I think I just heard half of them in this section reading the aforementioned one sentence each and it's just distracting to me.
The real deal breaker was the description of the same poop ghost running about the afterlife with his "engorged member" bouncing around. Not a direct quote, but damn near close. I have the sense of humor of a 12-year-old boy, but I also need to have some idea what the hell's going on.
Norwegian Inspector Harry Hole is sent to Australia as something of a consultant/observer in the investigation of the murder of a Norwegian woman.
BasNorwegian Inspector Harry Hole is sent to Australia as something of a consultant/observer in the investigation of the murder of a Norwegian woman.
Based on this, the first book in the series and my first Harry Hole book, I'm not clear why these are so popular. I can only assume they get better. Maybe it was the translation or maybe it was that I was distracted but nothing seemed to flow together at all. Hole and his Australian partner, Andrew Kensington, seem to jet about the country with impunity. I haven't been there but Australia sure seems like a big place and I'm sure they face the same budget problems that all police forces do. And these two guys are roaming where they please?
All of Hole's relationships get crazy-intense, crazy-fast. He and Kensington are immediately best friends forever. He meets the love interest the first day, I believe, and they almost immediately pledge lifelong and devotion. I really started to wonder if I had just missed the amount of time that Harry had been in Australia and then he would say something like, "I've already been here a week; I'm not sure how much longer my superiors will let me stay." Really?
I had a terrible time keeping the names straight. Granted, some of them were aboriginal (Is that politically correct?) and therefore very unfamiliar to me.
And what was up with everyone, absolutely everyone, knowing "whodunnit" except Harry and trying to give him subtle clues? Why not just come right out and say it? I get that you're trying to protect yourself, but if you're going to go so far as to try to clue him in, why not just go all the way? And is there really no one in Australia who is capable of investigating a murder?
John Lee did do a pretty good job of narrating. He had quite a mixed bags of accents to tackle and he did better than most people would, I believe.
The series must be popular for a reason but this one has left a bad taste in my mouth. I'll give the rest of the series a pass....more
I chose to listen to this because it showed up in my digital library's "recently added" lists and I recognized it as having been nominated for a couplI chose to listen to this because it showed up in my digital library's "recently added" lists and I recognized it as having been nominated for a couple of . "I can't go wrong with something that's been nominated for an award, right?" I reasoned with myself.
Wrong.
It was terrible.
Had it been any longer than two hours, I would have stopped after about 30 minutes. I felt the writer was trying way too hard to be funny and as a result, the whole thing just fell flat. The plot, such as it was, would circle miles out of the way to set up a joke that didn't even make me smile.
The basics are here--the evil stepmother, Snow White, the mother wishing for a child fitting Snow White's description...I guess that's about it. There were tons of other fairy- and folk tale creatures dragged in by the skin of their teeth, which I should have loved, but I didn't. I mostly didn't see any rhyme or reason for who was included and who wasn't. I honestly can't even remember what happened to most of them.
Snow White was super annoying. I believe that was kind of the point, but man, she set my teeth on edge. She's supposed to be about fifteen but she's voiced by , who is at least as far from fifteen as I am, and she generally acts about two years old. Temper tantrums? Seriously? Not attractive or enjoyable.
I could go on but I won't. I'm sure there's an audience for this, I just don't know who it would be. If you're interested, don't let me dissuade you from trying it out; at two hours long, you don't have much to lose....more
The first story, "Santa Land Diaries," was great. Sedaris's tale of working as a Macy's department store elf is hilarious! ThosI tried, but I give up.
The first story, "Santa Land Diaries," was great. Sedaris's tale of working as a Macy's department store elf is hilarious! Those people who inevitably make the news every Black Friday by pepper spraying and punching their fellow shoppers? I think they all go to Macy's at Christmas. Sedaris writes about them with his usual biting wit. My favorite scene had to be when he gets fed up with this awful Santa who keeps making him sing Christmas carols with the kids. Sedaris sings "Away in a Manger" in Billie Holiday style. I have never heard anything like it in my life, but it is absolutely perfect. You have to listen to the audio for that alone! I was cracking up alone in my car! There are a few poignant moments as well, especially from one Santa who likes to remind people what Christmas is really all about. One of the local theaters does a stage production of this story every year, and my husband and I have always been curious about it. We will definitely be going to see it next year.
Oh, but then.
The second story, "Season's Greetings to Our Family and Friends," was horrible. Absolutely horrible. It's supposed to be a spoof on a Christmas letter gone horribly wrong. Something's gone horribly wrong alright--Sedaris's attempt at fiction. I kept listening, thinking it had to get better, but it just kept getting worse and worse. Disturbing only starts to cover it. I wish I could scrub that half-hour listen out of my brain. For real. This one was told from a woman's point of view, so it's read by David's sister, Amy Sedaris. I have to admit the tone and reading were absolutely perfect for the story, but it set my teeth on edge. I can only describe it as "rich bitch" and few accents will raise my hackles faster. That definitely did not improve my reaction to the story.
I attempted the next one, but, having a big chip on my shoulder about the word hillbilly and the attendant stereotypes that go with it, I was hugely offended by the way the fictional narrator was talking down to these people. I moved on after about five minutes.
When the next story was a drama critic's scathing review of children's Christmas productions, I just turned the whole thing off in disgust.
The elf story was definitely worth a listen, but I personally can't recommend any of the other stories....more
I've given this a good college try, but I'm giving up. The sexual assault on page 7 that had no emotional/psychological ramifications turned me off frI've given this a good college try, but I'm giving up. The sexual assault on page 7 that had no emotional/psychological ramifications turned me off from the start. Then the soft porn on page 46 was my breaking point. I'm embarrassed to even give you a quote. Let's just say that she wakes up from an erotic dream feeling "full" in a place that had never been full before and she set out to explore that area herself.
I'll be fair and say that the tone of the book does match the tone of Dracula very well. I was originally interested in this because Mina had been such an angelically good and exalted woman in the original. I thought it would be fun to see her let her hair down a little. I got more than I bargained for, to say the least! ...more
Oh, this has aged badly. I know comedians have to walk a fine line between giving offense and being funny, but Ms. Handler crossed the line into racisOh, this has aged badly. I know comedians have to walk a fine line between giving offense and being funny, but Ms. Handler crossed the line into racism and other inappropriate comments way too often. I'm honestly disappointed with myself for finishing it. Skip it....more
Nora Grey is forced to sit next to the new guy, Patch, in biology class one day. He knows more about her than he should, and trouble starts to follow Nora Grey is forced to sit next to the new guy, Patch, in biology class one day. He knows more about her than he should, and trouble starts to follow her around.
I should have listened to Misty. I still haven't read her spoilery rant, but I will be hitting that as soon as I finish here.
This was compulsively readable, I have to admit that. I read it in one shift at work. But, oh my gosh, I mostly loathed these characters.
Nora is basically the girl in the horror movie who manages to run the wrong way at every turn, even if there's a door standing wide open in front of her, until she eventually gets herself caught in a dead end. You know how frustrating it is to watch that, yelling at the screen, "Don't go down to the deserted basement! Run out the freaking door!" Yeah, that was me reading about Nora.
Vee, Nora's best friend, was just looking for trouble, and she definitely found it.
Patch. Ugh, Patch. He pushed all kinds of the wrong buttons for me. I know a lot of girls love this bad boy, but I couldn't stand him. Bad boys should have a touch of sweet underneath everything. I never quite found that. Oh, at the very end, he comes through, but he's been such a jerk throughout everything that it was way too late for me. I didn't like the way that he was constantly teasing Nora, keeping her off balance, laughing at her, and disrespecting her boundaries. And, girls, let me just say that if a guy who says he loves you ever slams you on the bed and traps you, that is not love. That is violence. No excuses. End of debate.
There was a definite Twilight feel at times, but the story was mostly it's own thing. I mostly felt like it really wanted to be an "Adult" book *nudge nudge, wink wink*, but someone decided to market it to young adults and try to ride Twilight's coat tails. I might not have been quite so indignant about everything if it had been an adult book. Girls should not be seeing these kinds of relationships and thinking that they want to find a love like that. This was not love. It was lust and it was violent at times. That is not good for anyone....more
Maybe I gave up too soon, but this was terrible. It didn't make any sense. I think it was supposed to be funny, but I didn't get it.Maybe I gave up too soon, but this was terrible. It didn't make any sense. I think it was supposed to be funny, but I didn't get it....more
I tried to read this, thought it was boring, and couldn't finish it as a child. I might change my mind if I picked it up again now.I tried to read this, thought it was boring, and couldn't finish it as a child. I might change my mind if I picked it up again now....more
I picked this up from the clearance table at B&N, thinking that it sounded like some sort of Flannery O'Connor kind of thing. I mean, this girl's abouI picked this up from the clearance table at B&N, thinking that it sounded like some sort of Flannery O'Connor kind of thing. I mean, this girl's about to go dig up her mother's body to find something (I can't remember what)! But it was just absolutely terrible. I finished it, but I hated it and couldn't wait to foist it upon my library as a donation....more
I wish I could remember what drove me crazy about these books and made me finally stop reading them. I know I ended up pretty much hating the main guyI wish I could remember what drove me crazy about these books and made me finally stop reading them. I know I ended up pretty much hating the main guy, but I can't remember why....more
A co-worker handed this to me, told me I had to read it, then proceeded to tell me what Sophie's choice actually was. Spoilers, anyone? I did not wantA co-worker handed this to me, told me I had to read it, then proceeded to tell me what Sophie's choice actually was. Spoilers, anyone? I did not want to read it after that. I gave it a try, got frustrated with the very first scene (I'm pretty sure it was that early) and gave it back to my co-worker. This was not the book for me....more
I'm pretty sure this is the book where I realized that courtroom dramas are not for me.I'm pretty sure this is the book where I realized that courtroom dramas are not for me....more
JG (Introverted Reader)
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