TE's Updates en-US Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:13:26 -0700 60 TE's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9367941683 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:13:26 -0700 <![CDATA[TE wants to read 'All We Have to Fear: Psychiatry's Transformation of Natural Anxieties into Mental Disorders']]> /review/show/6885511672 All We Have to Fear by Allan V. Horwitz TE wants to read All We Have to Fear: Psychiatry's Transformation of Natural Anxieties into Mental Disorders by Allan V. Horwitz
]]> UserQuote93043546 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 11:54:38 -0700 <![CDATA[TE Watts liked a quote by Leslie J. Anderson]]> /quotes/12793903
TE shared a quote
201632539. sx98
� She wondered if she made them uncomfortable. She was a big woman, and made no attempt at being pretty. Her hair was short and often uncombed, and she didn't bother with makeup. She was bitterly comfortable inside her own body, in a way women often weren't, and sometimes that unsettled people. ...more � � Leslie J. Anderson
]]> Review6502907354 Tue, 29 Apr 2025 11:52:59 -0700 <![CDATA[TE added 'The Unmothers']]> /review/show/6502907354 The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson TE gave 1 star to The Unmothers (Paperback) by Leslie J. Anderson
I haven't had much time to review books recently, but I'm going to start calling out the real crap, at least briefly, because I don't like my time wasted, and maybe it will spare someone else the loss of a few precious hours of their lives they can't get back.

Short story: I've read financial reports that are more engaging. The premise is unfathomably dumb and the prose is absolutely, thoroughly awful and banal. It's nothing but fluff and filler blatantly written after the fact to get it to saleable, novel length. I've rarely seen a more obvious example of "padding" than this.

It would have at least been a better - not good, but better - short story one-tenth its present length. No substance, nothing interesting ever happens, no character development, and it jumps from the perspective of said one-dimensional character to another with no rhyme or reason. This is one of the most boring fiction novels I've read in years.

I committed to finishing every book I started, but this was a real chore to get through. It took me quite a while, because I typically read several books at the same time, and getting through this was like a dreaded trip to the dentist. No exaggeration; I hated this thing so much, I had to read it in fits and starts to even get through to the end. Glad I got it from the local library and didn't pay for it.

In the event other people have committed to reading even bad books they start: let my mistake be your salvation: don't even begin this one, because it's boring-ass garbage. Total waste of time.

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There was one quote I liked:
She wondered if she made them uncomfortable. She was a big woman, and made no attempt at being pretty. Her hair was short and often uncombed, and she didn't bother with makeup. She was bitterly comfortable inside her own body, in a way women often weren't, and sometimes that unsettled people. ]]> ReadStatus9341528128 Tue, 22 Apr 2025 20:30:40 -0700 <![CDATA[TE wants to read 'The Long Walk']]> /review/show/7511240060 The Long Walk by Richard Bachman TE wants to read The Long Walk by Richard Bachman
]]> Review6502907354 Mon, 21 Apr 2025 22:04:21 -0700 <![CDATA[TE added 'The Unmothers']]> /review/show/6502907354 The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson TE gave 1 star to The Unmothers (Paperback) by Leslie J. Anderson
I haven't had much time to review books recently, but I'm going to start calling out the real crap, at least briefly, because I don't like my time wasted, and maybe it will spare someone else the loss of a few precious hours of their lives they can't get back.

Short story: I've read financial reports that are more engaging. The premise is unfathomably dumb and the prose is absolutely, thoroughly awful and banal. It's nothing but fluff and filler blatantly written after the fact to get it to saleable, novel length. I've rarely seen a more obvious example of "padding" than this.

It would have at least been a better - not good, but better - short story one-tenth its present length. No substance, nothing interesting ever happens, no character development, and it jumps from the perspective of said one-dimensional character to another with no rhyme or reason. This is one of the most boring fiction novels I've read in years.

I committed to finishing every book I started, but this was a real chore to get through. It took me quite a while, because I typically read several books at the same time, and getting through this was like a dreaded trip to the dentist. No exaggeration; I hated this thing so much, I had to read it in fits and starts to even get through to the end. Glad I got it from the local library and didn't pay for it.

In the event other people have committed to reading even bad books they start: let my mistake be your salvation: don't even begin this one, because it's boring-ass garbage. Total waste of time.

-------------
There was one quote I liked:
She wondered if she made them uncomfortable. She was a big woman, and made no attempt at being pretty. Her hair was short and often uncombed, and she didn't bother with makeup. She was bitterly comfortable inside her own body, in a way women often weren't, and sometimes that unsettled people. ]]> ReadStatus9337532317 Mon, 21 Apr 2025 21:04:31 -0700 <![CDATA[TE is currently reading 'Quarter to Midnight: Fifteen Tales of Horror and Suspense']]> /review/show/7508419436 Quarter to Midnight by Darcy Coates TE is currently reading Quarter to Midnight: Fifteen Tales of Horror and Suspense by Darcy Coates
]]> Review6513501157 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 18:06:43 -0700 <![CDATA[TE added 'The House by the Cemetery']]> /review/show/6513501157 The House by the Cemetery by Lisa Childs TE gave 2 stars to The House by the Cemetery (Paperback) by Lisa Childs
I haven't had much time to review books recently, but, based on the general lack of quality of the ones I've read in the last couple of months, I haven't exactly been inspired to write glowing reviews, either. As I stated elsewhere, I committed to finishing every book I start, and in the event other people have committed to doing likewise, I'll try to include some comments with the intent of sparing someone else the loss of a few precious hours of their lives they can't get back.

This one was so-so, but I still can't really recommend it. It's represented as being something of a "ghost story," but it really isn't. There's a lot of family intrigue, here, which is mildly engaging, but it was slow and predictable overall.

One thing it did have going for it: there wasn't really any rainbow-people pandering, which is getting so common in novels published in the last decade or so, I wonder if that's required for anything to get published. That said: I just didn't care for it and wouldn't really recommend it, but overall, if you're into gothic horror, it's not a total waste of time, unlike several of the other modern novels I've read recently. Just don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed. ]]> Review6502914092 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 17:55:47 -0700 <![CDATA[TE added 'We Came to Welcome You']]> /review/show/6502914092 We Came to Welcome You by Vincent Tirado TE gave 2 stars to We Came to Welcome You (Hardcover) by Vincent Tirado
I haven't had much time to review books recently, but I'm going to start calling out the real crap, at least briefly. As I stated elsewhere, I committed to finishing every book I start, and in the event other people have committed to doing likewise, I'll try to include some comments with the intent of sparing someone else the loss of a few precious hours of their lives they can't get back.

This one isn't terrible, but it isn't good, either. It's just... weird, and not in a good way. The character development was decent, but it was another one that seemed to be intentionally "padded" to get it to saleable, novel length.

What bothered me most was all the rainbow-people pandering, which is getting so common in novels published in the last decade or so, I'm almost at the point that I'm about to stop reading them, because it just irks me. In this case, it wasn't needed to advance the story, and, again, it just seemed like shameless pandering, shoehorning into the slow-paced narrative one-dimensional, token characters, with the sole intent of making sure every rainbow color is "represented."

I like creative fiction, but it still has to be believable, for me, and this wasn't. And another thing: why are all the female protagonists in these novels I've been reading lately nut cases with profound mental problems? Seems misogynistic to me...

This was another one I just didn't like. Not as bad as some I've been reading, but not worth the time and effort, either. ]]> Review6502907354 Wed, 16 Apr 2025 17:30:39 -0700 <![CDATA[TE added 'The Unmothers']]> /review/show/6502907354 The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson TE gave 1 star to The Unmothers (Paperback) by Leslie J. Anderson
I haven't had much time to review books recently, but I'm going to start calling out the real crap, at least briefly, because I don't like my time wasted, and maybe it will spare someone else the loss of a few precious hours of their lives they can't get back.

Short story: I've read financial reports that are more engaging. The premise is unfathomably dumb and the prose is absolutely, thoroughly awful and banal. It's nothing but fluff and filler blatantly written after the fact to get it to saleable, novel length. I've rarely seen a more obvious example of "padding" than this.

It would have at least been a better - not good, but better - short story one-tenth its present length. No substance, nothing interesting ever happens, no character development, and it jumps from the perspective of said one-dimensional character to another with no rhyme or reason. This is one of the most boring fiction novels I've read in years.

I committed to finishing every book I started, but this was a real chore to get through. It took me quite a while, because I typically read several books at the same time, and getting through this was like a dreaded trip to the dentist. No exaggeration; I hated this thing so much, I had to read it in fits and starts to even get through to the end. Glad I got it from the local library and didn't pay for it.

In the event other people have committed to reading even bad books they start: let my mistake be your salvation: don't even begin this one, because it's boring-ass garbage. Total waste of time.

-------------
There was one quote I liked:
She wondered if she made them uncomfortable. She was a big woman, and made no attempt at being pretty. Her hair was short and often uncombed, and she didn't bother with makeup. She was bitterly comfortable inside her own body, in a way women often weren't, and sometimes that unsettled people. ]]> Review7376048731 Thu, 10 Apr 2025 19:01:40 -0700 <![CDATA[TE added 'Secretariat: The Making of a Champion']]> /review/show/7376048731 Secretariat by William Nack TE gave 3 stars to Secretariat: The Making of a Champion (Paperback) by William Nack
bookshelves: currently-reading
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