Elyse Gymer > Recent Status Updates

Meh this didn't grip me. DNF

I love this so far.

I was really hoping for some narrative that helps solidify the factual information and make it more relatable. Unfortunately the further I get through this book the less I want to engage with it again DNF.

Book is starting to drag. Some good chapters but also some chapters that -at least to me- feel ridiculously obvious and somewhat preachy

Man I'm okay for some light reading but this is LIGHT. I don't want to put the effort into finishing this. Not my cup of tea.

I'm finding this surprisingly hard to get through given how short a book it is and not, perhaps for the reasons you might think. The points he makes closest relating to stoicism I find myself most enjoying, but unfortunately they slip quiet quickly into a religious tone. The recounting of his experiences in the camps, are stated so quickly and factually, it's difficult to emotionally resonate

This is getting a very 'meh' vibe so far. I hope it picks up...

Odd thing of note so far... The prose is fairly generic, but every one in a while a complicated words drops in abruptly. Twice now I've looked up the meaning in a dictionary and it's not even in there, or used incorrectly. Has an odd air of when you're a kid and you're trying to write more eloquently so you go back and replace commonly used words with fancy sounding synonyms...

Been enjoying this but having to skim past some confusing old language, phrases and characters that aren't properly explained beyond name drops. Realise there's a whole notes section in the back that was not obvious which breaks some of this. Hoping to get more understanding out of it as a go further.

Brilliant so far

90% finished reading but also 90% done with this book. How this is getting such high ratings is beyond me. Compelling premise offered 1930s shanghai, compelling gang blood feud and an ancient dragon killing people. If you think that sounds amazing, so did I. Unfortunately the blurb is about the most interesting part of this book.

This book is a goldmine of information on great storytelling.