TJ > Recent Status Updates

Content is super confronting but I really like the writing style!

I really really love it so far! The writing style is incredibly engaging.

I think it’s objectively well-done but I didn’t really enjoy much of it. I suspect the conversational, mindful writing is part of the point, but I’m impatient. I didn’t enjoy the American characters’ portions really at all. I most enjoyed the second half of the book — mostly the parts with H #1 but even then not really the filler in between. I think this book is just not for me.

It’s an incredibly detailed, important, and accessible oral history and, in all honesty, I wish I had enjoyed reading it more. I think I would have absolutely loved it except that I’m already familiar with the content because of the podcast and growing up in rural Australia, and the style is really similar to my own and research read for my PhD, so it feels a bit too reminiscent of work for me right now.

It’s really interesting because I have less than zero interest in the actual fantasy content but I absolutely love the writing itself. It’s like a song where the tune is really catchy even though if you pay attention to the actual lyrics they’re lame. So I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

None of the rest was as dull as that chapter 4 but I do think some parts are over-written and go on for too long (which always makes me think the author is being self-indulgent, because I know from experience how hard but necessary it is to cut your own work). And the twist was incredibly obvious so it annoyed me when the book club questions made it sound like it was a genuine shock. Still, I enjoyed it on the whole.

It took me a beat to get into the poetic writing style but then I really enjoyed the first three chapters. Most of the forth chapter (largely about meeting the husband and who she thought she’d end up with) felt painfully slow and repetitive, but I’m still eager to keep going.

Very reminiscent of Nine Perfect Strangers but I nevertheless find myself really liking it and not wanting to put it down.

I am having trouble getting into it — I originally really liked that the people and places are relatable for me but now it feels like it’s a bit boring because it’s meant to be amazing and strange and it’s not because of where I grew up — so I’m going to take a break and read something else instead.

I really like the writing style!

It’s quite heavy on the fantasising about men — surely she has other things to worry about occasionally.

It’s well-written but it’s not a writing style I personally enjoy, and I’ve seen the show so many times that reading the quotes pulled directly from the book feels repetitive.