***Update: So, it has finally happened, internet friends. I just read this book and found myself thinking, "You know, this is a little familiar. Did I***Update: So, it has finally happened, internet friends. I just read this book and found myself thinking, "You know, this is a little familiar. Did I read this already? Hmmm...maybe not. Maybe it just has one of those plots." Completely did not remember this book that I read literally 3 years ago. I am getting old. ***
Can this be made into a movie, please? I think Netflix needs to adapt every Emily Henry book I've ever read. These are perfect summer books....more
Didn't love this one quite as much as the other STEMinist novellas, but it was still fun.Didn't love this one quite as much as the other STEMinist novellas, but it was still fun....more
This was basically the most affirming thing I've ever read. Can't recommend this enough.This was basically the most affirming thing I've ever read. Can't recommend this enough....more
This was good. I liked Alex and all of his stoicism. The structure of the book was also fun, with the various vacation flashbacks. Very enjoyable readThis was good. I liked Alex and all of his stoicism. The structure of the book was also fun, with the various vacation flashbacks. Very enjoyable read....more
I read this for a bookclub at work, and it was a struggle for me. The author makes plenty of valid points, and I do think that many of her insights arI read this for a bookclub at work, and it was a struggle for me. The author makes plenty of valid points, and I do think that many of her insights are useful and make a lot of intuitive sense. However, I got so bogged down in all the catchphrases and corporate-talk that it felt like swimming through molasses to get through this. I'm taking some liberties here, but the writing sounded a lot like "we need to rumble with vulnerability and be mindful of the stories we tell ourselves as we circle back after feedback and give ourselves permission to be wholehearted as we live in our integrity and practice actionable values." It becomes nonsensical at some point.
However, when she writes clearly, using normal English expressions, she is really effective. Her ham sandwich fight with her husband was a 10 out of 10 - so funny, so real, and it really hit home actually. Her discussions about the power of shame in human psychology were very interesting, as was her breakdown of the differences between shame/guilt/humiliation/etc. A lot of what she says about being trustworthy and able to admit your mistakes with grace were just common sense. And if they are not common sense to you...that's probably a bigger problem than a book is going to be able to handle for you.
Another plus was her view on our current political discourse. She stood up against "dehumanizing" language coming from either side of the aisle, and did not allow for it just because it was being used against "the bad guys". We could absolutely all learn from that. She also said some interesting things about being wary of political movements that use shame as a tactical weapon - granted, all of us will interpret who she means by that according to our own preferences, but I like seeing in black and white that other people feel how emotionally coercive our politics have become. It's not "I disagree with your position on that policy", it's "You are a bad person because you disagree with my position and I know you want to destroy democracy." (If that isn't a good example of shaming and "making up stories" I don't know what is).
My problem with this book, and all books like it, is that the implied assumption that these practices are a good fit for all circumstances and people is more than a little arrogant. I think I would respect them a bit more if they came right out and acknowledged their limitations (like an academic paper, basically). For one thing, it is ridiculous to think that most of us can engage in the sheer volume staff meetings that one would need to follow the advice in this book. Who is running the place while we sit together and "rumble" and then "circle back" for yet another meeting later that day?
I found the "move the rock" conversation much more convincing that Brown's backpeddling that the military guy was misapplying her lessons. Basically, this guy was supervising an employee that was not getting the job done at all. Brown tells him he should believe that the employee is doing the best he can. He takes her at her word, and effectively says that if that's the truth, it's an even bigger problem. He was working from the assumption that the employee needed to be muscled into performing better or finding more convincing motivation (that he, the boss, just needed to kick the rock a little harder) - if this was literally the best that the employee could do, it was time to move him out of a position he was fundamentally unsuited to (move the rock). Brown says "no, no, no that's not what I meant" but then doesn't convincingly explain the fault in his logic. Makes pretty good sense to me, and I have personally found this to be an incredibly effective solution in certain cases. I found it frustrating that she wouldn't admit that coaching has it's limitations.
So, yeah. This book was all over the place for me. Thought-provoking, but felt too specific to corporate settings supplied with competent but frustrated people to be widely applicable. ...more
What gorgeous writing. I don't think I've read a book written in the first person plural before. It was surprising, and such an effective way to conveWhat gorgeous writing. I don't think I've read a book written in the first person plural before. It was surprising, and such an effective way to convey the cumulative weight of the experiences of the Japanese-American people whose story she is telling. Really lovely. ...more
I was expecting to love this, since I loved "Euphoria" and thought "Writers and Lovers" was really good. But I just didn't, unfortunately. There wasn'I was expecting to love this, since I loved "Euphoria" and thought "Writers and Lovers" was really good. But I just didn't, unfortunately. There wasn't anything wrong with it, the writing was solid and felt objectively good, but I couldn't connect with any of these stories. Maybe it comes down to me just not really being a short story person. I liked the one about the boy whose parents go away on vacation, but that was about it for me. The rest felt bleak. Still very much anticipating her next novel....more
This is my favorite of Foley's yet. I thought this was really well done, and I literally gasped aloud as I finally figured out the big twist at the enThis is my favorite of Foley's yet. I thought this was really well done, and I literally gasped aloud as I finally figured out the big twist at the end (which I in no way saw coming - which is awesome). I would absolutely recommend this one!...more
The idea of a married, co-author couple writing a book about co-authors who fall in love is so fun. It's basically objectively interesting. It's even The idea of a married, co-author couple writing a book about co-authors who fall in love is so fun. It's basically objectively interesting. It's even more of an onion that that really, because there are IRL co-authors writing about fictional co-authors falling in love who are in turn writing about a fictional-fictional couple falling out of love. I don't actually have the vocabulary to express that last layer.
So, the premise is fun and the main characters are good. However, I feel like this falls victim to the problem of self over-hype that doesn't quite deliver. We're asked to believe that these characters are churning out a NY Times bestselling novel that is unbearably good. We're given a lot of telling rather than showing in terms of the book they are working on, which is somewhat annoying. But when we're actually shown bits of the book-within-the-book, it falls a little flat.
My second problem with this one is that it's all a little too easy for the characters. I know it's a romance, but it felt disingenuous for the wife to be such a non-character. She's not even a plot obstacle - she just quietly disappears never to get in the way again. Ditto the agent/fiance. The authors made him way too slick, selfish, and easy to hate. For a moment, they contemplated giving him depth and an actual character, but it's like that got too complicated so they just went back to "don't worry about that guy - we hate him" so no one had to feel bad.
This had moments I enjoyed, but overall it was a bit of a miss....more
Ok. This was cute, but super implausible. And not just in the way that all rom-coms are by their very definition extremely implausible. The whole timeOk. This was cute, but super implausible. And not just in the way that all rom-coms are by their very definition extremely implausible. The whole time I'm thinking, "Lady. You're this crazy smart scientist, but you can't tell that this guy is nuts for you?" Come on. Still, it was fun. This was very Helen Hoang/Sally Thorne. Excellent brain break....more
I started reading this as work for an upcoming library bookclub, and ended up tearing through it at warp speed because it was impossible to put down. I started reading this as work for an upcoming library bookclub, and ended up tearing through it at warp speed because it was impossible to put down. I've been impressed before by Gladwell, but this was fantastic. He has a refreshing take on "ripped from the headlines" issues that refuses to bow to the all-too-common groupthink mentality that leads most analysis on hot-button issues like race and policing, college campus sexual assaults, Ponzi schemes, and abuse scandals. He has a deft, lively touch that keeps what is likely a very clever man from sounding like he thinks he's much more clever than his audience (even if he is). The premise of the book is that our inability to believe something bad of our fellow humans until the weight of that bad can no longer be overlooked is in fact a very good thing, even though it invariable comes at the cost of some very bad things. His defense of this viewpoint is compelling and makes a very interesting read. It's also quite scary to know how very bad people are at spotting liars - even people who are supposed to do it for a living (counter-intelligence officers, judges, police officers, diplomats, etc.). This is a fantastic read....more
This was a delightful, literary take on some classic sci-fi themes. Unexpectedly, it was also a loose sequel to "The Glass Hotel", which added some fuThis was a delightful, literary take on some classic sci-fi themes. Unexpectedly, it was also a loose sequel to "The Glass Hotel", which added some fun moments of recognition. I really enjoyed watching this story wander through time and unfold. Wonderful writer - I highly recommend....more
I had sort of mixed expectations for this one, but it was impossible to put down. Rooney gives herself permission to let this be an novel of ideas, anI had sort of mixed expectations for this one, but it was impossible to put down. Rooney gives herself permission to let this be an novel of ideas, and not just a cynical anti-romance novel. Her writing is always good, but it's appreciably better here than in "Normal People". She says all kinds of interesting things that I wholeheartedly disagree with, and she says them with style. I really enjoyed how utterly contrary this book was to (if you will excuse the hideous phrase) all of my lived experiences. I wanted to shout at the people in this book and fix them - it would be easy, because if they could just for a moment stop being so wrong-headed about literally everything, they could be so much happier. Sally Rooney's stories make me feel viscerally Midwestern. It's like these characters do not even admit that people like me (late 30s, married for the better part of 15 years, couple of kids, unironically religious, unironically content) could even exist in 2022. They are far, far too cool and enlightened for something that normal and straightforward.
For instance: Simon and Eileen. They admire and respect one another. They are attracted to one another. They are intellectual equals. They have been in love with one another for their entire adult lives but cannot get it together and it made me crazy. I wanted to smack Simon upside his head and make him just tell her that he was done with her being such a little chicken, and that he wanted to get married and have babies with her. He was the most frustratingly passive character; I promise that is 110% what he did want but he couldn't bring himself to express a preference for anything and just let her crush his soul whenever it suited her. And Eileen - she had exactly what she wanted right in front of her and still managed to constantly push it away. Completely maddening.
And then *shudders* there was Alice and Felix. I grimaced whenever these two were on the page. I have not one clue what the author wanted me to feel with this couple, but what I did feel was compelling in how repulsive it was. One assumes that the only reason a woman as clever and talented as Alice would have anything to do with someone like Felix is that she's depressed? Or that she's punishing herself for something? Or she's just nuts? I don't know - not a psychologist, but honestly just yuck. It's not a very nice expression, but the word "slumming" kept coming to mind. Literally, yes - he's constantly making references to how she has so much more money than she deserves, how horrible his blue collar job is compared to her life as a novelist, etc. But more so figuratively - he is incurious, boring, and his inferiority makes him embarrassingly cruel and petty. I don't get the appeal, and I'm not convinced Alice does either, so what's happening here?
The ending felt a bit like too little too late, honestly. I had already thrown up my hands in despair of these characters by then. All of this being said, this was a fantastic read that I could not put down. ...more
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