Ashley > Recent Status Updates

Dear Listening Library/books on tape, it is completely unnecessary and honestly horrific to include screaming noises in the background of a torture scene. If I had been driving while listening it might’ve scared me so much I could’ve wrecked.

JAR JAR’s POV- who asked for this?!

Why are there so many non-Amidala, heck not even Naboo related POVs? Maul, Palpatine, Obi Wan, Shmi, Yoda, Mace—-I do not need or want these! Just stick with Amidala!!!

Compared to the cozy sweetness of the first three volumes, this had some genuinely sad moments! I wasn’t prepared!

An enjoyable blend of critical analysis and behind the scenes history in a very light, easy read. I was a tad worried when the blurb mentioned its "flaws" (too white/not woke enough), but that turned out to be not as obnoxious as I feared. What I enjoyed most was seeing the ways the casts' auditions mirrored the characters they wound up playing.

I read 100 pages in one go, literally couldn’t stop even though it was approaching midnight. Often I feel that way towards the end of a good book but it’s rare to feel that at the first 100 pages. I’m definitely hooked!

Bar NONE, this is the best short story collection I've ever read. Definitely 5 stars just for the first 4 stories alone.

Kinda starting to drag ...

I've wanted to read this book for years and I finally have a chance to. It's as raucous as I hoped.

Total Recall but with physics instead of triple boobs (probably)

Oh my. This might be the fastest I've ever gotten hooked on a Mistborn novel.

Sanderson is back up to snuff

I like the plot a lot! But I really like the world building, especially the Village.

This one snuck up on me in the library stacks but the subtitle is too intriguing to ignore.

Great prologue, excellent first chapter: this is already better than its prequel.

No longer bored.

A return to Scadriel, yay! It's a western, boo...

I love this book. The sweeping drama of immense scope is observed through small, individual lenses. So far the story has been unpredictable, one of my very favorite qualities in a book. I have no idea what will happen in the next 400 pages.

Finally!

The spell is broken, the curse is lifted, the drought is ended,
the long-awaited rain of good fiction is here.

Such a fascinating book! I really appreciate the pains Alpers takes in the introduction to give proper foundation to Western readers: the characteristics of the islands, its flora and fauna, and it's anthropological similarities to ancient Greece. Most admirable though is his determination to "let Polynesia describe herself".

It's very different from the first book. A lot more Murakami-esque unreality.

Right out of the gate we start with some major truth bombs. This'll be good.

Benjamin is my favorite character so far

A little perplexed by the return to Latin and monasticism of the far future. Is it just to set up that this is another "dark age" where the Church will preserve the light of civilization?

I absolutely love this mix of history, psychological thriller, and theoretical physics so far. It's exactly the challenging, gripping, mentally stimulating hard sci-fi I have been craving lately.

There are two things I really like about McGrath's approach: one, he zooms back and adds some historical context which is quite helpful and two, he knows most of his readers are passionate Lewis fans so he adds some analysis to the events of Lewis' life in theorizing how they inspired or influenced his works.