en-US Sun, 24 Sep 2023 11:00:40 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review5864266407 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 11:00:40 -0700 /review/show/5864266407 Lori gave 2 stars to Dark Matter (Hardcover) by Blake Crouch
2.5 stars. Thought provoking themes and believable presentation of the science/fantasy explaining how alternate realities could work. But the main character is so flat and his obsession with his wife is cheesy and one note. ]]> Review5864258138 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:56:39 -0700 /review/show/5864258138 Lori gave 1 star to Mika in Real Life (Hardcover) by Emiko Jean
DNF. Main character is a 35 yo Japanese American who can't hold down a job, who complains, who resents her parents but doesn't mind asking them for money. When the daughter she gave up for adoption 16 years ago contacts her, she makes up a bunch of lies to make herself look good, then tries to figure out how to make the lies look real when her daughter schedules a visit. Mika would be more sympathetic and more believable if she were a decade younger, but 35 seems too old to be such an unashamed mess. I have zero interest in self-absorbed adultbabies in their thirties. Worthwhile themes are given lip service but no additional depth, at least not in the first 100 pages, and that was far enough in for me to give up. ]]> Review5864252656 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:54:02 -0700 /review/show/5864252656 Lori gave 3 stars to The Guest (Hardcover) by Emma Cline
Call girl who has used up all of her marks' good will and money drifts around the Hamptons waiting for a Labor Day party she plans to crash. I really liked the distant, detached POV the first 1/2 of the novel, but as it progresses the pace gets slower and slower without building any...suspense, theme, good reason-? The chopped off, unresolved finish is frustrating. ]]> Review5864248947 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:52:12 -0700 /review/show/5864248947 Lori gave 5 stars to Beartown (Beartown, #1) by Fredrik Backman
Tiny hockey town rocked by a violent act. Beautiful writing. Richly developed & sympathetic characters that stayed with me. The audiobook narrator was very good. Highly recommend. ]]> Review5864245284 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:50:29 -0700 /review/show/5864245284 Lori gave 3 stars to This Tender Land (Hardcover) by William Kent Krueger
Four orphans run away from an abusive home for children and embark on a journey down the Missouri river ala Huck FInn, the Odyssey, East of Eden. Set in 1932. Sincere, sentimental, didactic. ]]> Review5864238490 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:47:14 -0700 /review/show/5864238490 Lori gave 3 stars to The Guide (Hardcover) by Peter Heller
Heller cranks out novels starring sensitive, manly outdoorsmen. The heroines are built like Barbie and fairly competent (in that order). This one is a thriller/mystery with a grieving young Dartmouth educated fishing guide (did he mention that he went to Dartmouth?). Nice easy summer read. ]]> Review5864230125 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:43:01 -0700 /review/show/5864230125 Lori gave 4 stars to Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion (Paperback) by Gabrielle Stanley Blair
Persuasive, funny, infuriating. Caused lots of argument and bristling at our house. What if we made this required reading for every sex education program? Four stars instead of five because it's repetitive and I question the science on some of her ideas, like reversible vasectomies. ]]> Review5864222683 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:39:19 -0700 /review/show/5864222683 Lori gave 2 stars to The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece (Hardcover) by Tom Hanks
DNF. Started off really strong, but then bogged down. Sentences are too long with too many details. Tom Hanks' obsession with typewriters, world wars, and comic book nostalgia is on full display. I just didn't find it engaging enough to accept library fines in order to finish it. Sorry Tom Hanks! ]]> Review5864219047 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:37:30 -0700 /review/show/5864219047 Lori gave 3 stars to Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters (Hardcover) by Chesley B. Sullenberger III
Memoir written just 9 months after he crash landed on the Hudson river. He's very authoritative, old school, gentlemanly, humble-braggy, homily spouting. My dad and father in law would love it, but it's a little too much of all of the above for me. Three starts instead of two starts because of the interesting tidbits about aviation and military school. ]]> Review5864215158 Sun, 24 Sep 2023 10:35:38 -0700 /review/show/5864215158 Lori gave 2 stars to When We Fell Apart (Hardcover) by Soon Wiley
Maybe 2.5 stars? Two narrators: 1) Korean-American boyfriend who is investigating the suicide of his 2) Korean girlfriend. Thought provoking themes and descriptions of Seoul, but the characters are so flat and hard to sympathize with. Also should have been billed as a slow-paced psychological study instead of a mystery. ]]>