Laura > Recent Status Updates

Is this my George Eliot (Mary Ann Evan’s) era?

What a great story! And it’s filled with Eliot’s incisive comments on the human condition and great character building.

The list of characters I don’t like is a lot longer than the list of the ones I do like….

Ding Dong, the witch is dead! (Finally)

This book oversimplifies plots and begs questions it doesn’t answer… and yet there is something to it that is really profound. He’s attempting to organize the history of literature around the benefits it offers to the human heart. Ambitious and fascinating, even when I disagree with him.

Entering the world of a classic book requires patience. I have to ask what the book wants me to pay attention to, and I admit I was paying attention to the wrong things at first. I thought the sisterly relationship important and missed the subtle set up to a very foolish marriage. I’ve been back and forth through this book a bit and I’m finally feeling connected to the characters.

Every story needs a storyteller. How lucky are we to have Daniel Nayeri to tell us the stories of Persian culture? I learn so much from each of his books.

The pacing is remarkable… not a dull moment!

I’m deeply invested in the central questions. I’ve been waiting all summer for a book like this.

Reading>sleeping

Sheepishly admitting that I've never read Stephen King (beyond some short stories and his impeccable On Writing) and I didn't realize what I was missing. The pacing is incredible.

How has no one told me about this book before?

As engrossing as a good deep-dive podcast…upsetting but fascinating.

Is this book tedious or am I just ruined for anything less than Moby Dick?

To finish this book you must be as single-minded as Captain Ahab.

Stopped in my tracks by an unexpected paragraph on the interplay between free will, determinism, and chance. Exceeding my expectations in every way.

Did not anticipate enjoying this as much as I am…

I am starting Moby Dick, a book I have feared, avoided, been drawn to, been fascinated by, been intimidated by, and taken for granted. I cannot quite understand the forces that compel me to take on challenges like this except that momentum has gathered to a point where I feel helpless to resist.

I am in this book's GRIP. If I weren't listening with my kids in the car, I'd have finished it last night before I went to bed.

Decided to start over and listen with my kids... they were in total disagreement about what to listen to next and somehow this gentle book seems to be winning them all over! It's funny at moments, but also so tender. Will wants to wallow, compounding his very real issues with the choice to feel sorry for himself, but it really feels like RJ might be able to jolt him out of his self-pity.

Do you have a Kindle? Great. Get a month of Kindle Unlimited. Download the 8 books in this series. Thank me later. Utter Delights. Every one of them.

Short, simple tribute to his favorite poet. Not enough poetry for the uninitiated (in my opinion) so it’s probably better for someone who is already an Auden fan and knows more than I did going in.

The word that comes to mind is languorous. This book is in no hurry to get anywhere. I have to slow my pace down just to read it so maybe it’s good for me.

It’s so very slow right now… I want to continue reading but all the conflicts are set at such a low summer it’s hard to feel excited to read it.

Oh my goodness it's giving me Ted Lasso vibes!!