Enjoy.
Better Than Before — This one is about habits and learning about yourself and your tendencies, but unlike most self-help books, does not proclaim one singular way to achieve whatever it is you are wanting to accomplish. The author Gretchen Rubin acknowledges, and celebrates, that there are fundamental differences in how people operate and what works for one might not work for another. A great book!
Four Seasons of Marriage — Meh. The first part, describing the seasons, was somewhat interesting. But the last two parts were very repetitive and long-winded.
Pride and Prejudice — I know many of my women friends love this book, and love Mr. Darcy, and love Jane Austen's writing in general, but it's just not my cup of tea. I tried, but didn't like this book.
The Dorito Effect — Also meh. The initial information presented was interesting, especially learning about how food has progressed and changed through recent decades. But the author gets a little too wrapped up in his analogy that practically everything is a victim of "the Dorito effect." I kept waiting and waiting for the author to present a solution or some sort of upward, motivating thinking to solve the problem or get real flavor (not fake flavors) back into our foods, but it never really came. (So basically we're all screwed, ha.)
Scent of the Missing — Loved this book! Very interesting to learn about search and rescue; well-written, a great book for animal lovers.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up — This book is not even that long, but it is way too long. What could have sufficed as a well-written essay was drawn out, repeated over and over, for 4.5 hours (in audiobook.) This book details Marie Kondo's self-made method for picking up your house, but she is so self-righteous. She feels this is the ONE and ONLY way to truly "tidy" your house. There is no other way. Final answer. This was presented as the end all, be all method. I have a problem with that. The book drove me nuts for a few days, trying to adhere to her advice, until I decided to promptly forget it. I've been happier since. Read at your own risk... some people love this book. I am not one of them.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — Re-read this book in preparation to read the new, 4th installment in the series. Still holds up, still really enjoyed it.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child — Underwhelming. The plot was predictable but I think the format is what really bothered me. I'm even a theater person, I've read many a script, but this one is lacking, written as a script. It's like-able enough, but I definitely did not love it. In a perfect world, I would have much rather Rowling write this on her own, work with the other two to create the script for the stage, and they can coexist as both a full blown novel AND as a play.
The Girl Who Played With Fire — Again, re-read this one. Probably my least favorite, so far, in the series. It's just kind of slow to build up the plot, in comparison with the others.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest — Also re-read this. I had forgotten the most about what goes on in this one, so it was nice to rediscover it.
Not My Father's Son — One of the best 'celebrity memoirs' I've read in recent years. For me, this is because it is actually a story about a particular subject rather than the mish-mash of cheap jokes, gossip stories, and life advice most celebrities compile into a book (which are not my thing.) Though tragic, the story was told beautifully. I think the audiobook was even better since it was read by the author.
We Bought A Zoo — Boring. This is one of the rare cases where the movie is much better than the book. I really like this movie and it's uplifting, positive message. The book is hardly like the movie, and how the movie producers were able to come up with such a fine story from such lackluster source material is to be commended. After 2/3 of the book, I completely lost interest.
Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials that Shape Our Man-Made World — As someone who is constantly fascinated by physics and chemistry (though did not have an aptitude for those school subjects) I loved this one! Written by a materials scientist, this book is not dumbed down, and therefore won't be for everyone. But for those curious about 'stuff' on an atomic and molecular level, it is very interesting. Full of detail, yet concise and well-written.
The Girl in the Spider's Web — A continuation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books, but with a new author since the original author passed away. Slow to get going, but once it did, it was hard to put down. A worthy continuation.
Pax — My first foray into YA lit in a long time. It's about a boy and his pet fox, Pax. It was good, I guess, but not great. I expected so much more from this book.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? — This is the source material for Blade Runner, and what an interesting story this was! The version I read was a graphic novel adaptation of the original book, but it was really good. I enjoyed it so much more than Blade Runner.
Lord of the Flies — Never had to read this in school, so this was my first time. I thought it was very good too. It's a great commentary on how societies and communities are built, what they're built on, and how they can so easily fall apart. Short read.
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir — Meh, nothing special about this one. This was one man's story of his upbringing in a dysfunctional, poor, white family.
The Green Mile — The book was good. It was originally released in pieces as a serial novel. But now that I've read it, I can tell you that the movie is SO well done. Everything is almost to the letter of the book, which is to be highly commended for a movie. There's not much to be gained from reading the book in this case, but it was still a good book.
Color Me Beautiful — Since I love color theory, this one interested me when a friend told me about it years ago. The writer posits that the color of your hair and your skin tone (warm or cool) determines your "color season." You will look This book was published in 1980 and has never been updated, but I actually appreciate that. The rules and theory never change, so it didn't matter if it was stylistically outdated. Not for everyone, but if you're curious why you look great in the color blue, but something just seems 'off' when you wear the color orange, this might be for you.
The Innovators — This book book details the history and collaboration behind some of the most important technological advances in history, starting with Ada Lovelace, punch cards, transistors, and onwards. A fascinating story for nerds like us (Jarrod actually listened to this one on audiobook and enjoyed it.)
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