Collin Blatt > Recent Status Updates

One of the happier and quite funny Thomas Hardy books. The audio book read by Robert Hardy (no relation, I don't think) is also really great as he narrates with a West Country accent.

Some of these stories are a bit of a slog for me, but still have their own unique emotional weight. So far Neighbors and A Small, Good Thing (which I remember reading in a college English class) stick with me the most.

So far, wow! Such a dense and rich story universe. The depths that Herbert has gone to really fill out the worlds and politics is fascinating. You can see a lot of Arabic , Muslim/bedouin influence with phonemes and concepts involved in the Fremen words and customs (loosely in some ways of course).

A few years ago I found myself entertaining the idea of Nihilism. Putting on a life-is-meaningless-nothing-really-matters affectation seemed an easy way to avoid addressing stress from health, school, and work. I can recognize certain characteristics in the main character as being similar to things I've formerly felt.

The sarcastic repartee between Mason and Vandling makes the preliminary court scene go by in a flash. Great stuff!

Mason uncovering each clue and sparring with the county prosecutor is fast-paced and exciting. I love the legal hair-splitting arguments.

It's really picked up speed! Effortlessly engaging dramatic shift.

So far, it's a fun and gripping read. The plots—they are a-thickening!

The prose contains good vocabulary and is fairly engaging. It can be a bit confusing though; constant viewpoint changes and stream of consciousness style at times

Like with Anna Karenina and Far From The Madding Crowd, I really enjoy the description of the farming life and in particular dairying. I suppose it's because I grew up on a dairy farm, but I find the details of the scenery and personalities of the cows endearing.

For the actual story of course it's just starting to become gut-wrenching again. I think it's even more bittersweet after the good times at Talbothays.

I can certainly see why GRRM has called this the original Game of Thrones. So far, a gripping and well-written story

It's a fun read and you can see how it has greatly influenced the sci-fi / fantasy authors since.

Very enjoyable read. I particularly enjoy the descriptions of the farming terms and techniques of the time and region. Reminds me of the scenes with Levin in Anna Karenina

A captivating, eerie, weird, sad story. Physically reading when I can and listening to the audiobook when driving—which is narrated by Donna Tartt herself.

I don't think I've ever felt motion sickness when reading while in a car, but I'm certainly feeling motion sickness from this story itself. Shirley Jackson really knows how to physically upset you with her words. Fantastically unnerving!

What a creepy story. I love it! The suspense is slowly building