This is the second time I read a book that I keep seeing on every "Books You Must Read Before You Die" kind of lists and for the second time I can't help but ask.... Why???
I found this book very hard to follow, I kept forcing my eyes to stay open as I read it. It was a real struggle.

There were parts that were fun so I might give it a second chance in the future but for now, can't give it more than 2 stars.

I actually bought this book for my wife who always adored Shimon Peres. I had no idea he was involved in so many important events over the years. Very inspiring!

What an interesting read!
I always found Eric Idle and Monty Python very funny but I knew nothing of their history. I really enjoyed reading all this "behind the scenes".

Wow!
What a great book. I really didn't see that ending coming...

I absolutely hate this book.... For only having 13 stories!

OMG, I really didn't want this book to end. I enjoyed each and every story so so much!

I loved reading the original trilogy and reading this book felt like meeting an old friend after too long. I often find myself think of this series universe and find it fascinating.

I really hope this is not the last we see of the Arc of a Scythe.

What a great book!
I hate finishing books like this one since I had so much fun reading it I really didn't want it to end.
The idea of the book (parallel worlds) is one that I really like and this book portrayed it in such a beautiful way. Plus, I literally laughed out loud many times while reading it.

Well done Mr. Scalzi!
And thank you very much!

You know how they say that Indiana Jones and The Lost Ark would've ended exactly the same way even if Indiana Jones wasn't part of the story? Well, that's how I felt about the Library of the Dead.
The premise was nice - a kid who can see and speak with ghosts somehow finds her way to a secret library where she can learn magic. However, if you took out the library from the story it would hardly change. Even Ropa's ability to speak with the dead wasn't a key point (going after Oliver could've just as well been a mission she got from his living grandparents).
Not to mention that the whole story felt like a Doctor Who episode.
Also, I often felt that the author was really trying to sound like a kid and really overdoing it.

Bottom line, it was an ok story but I really doubt I'll read the next one.

I can't remember how I came across this book but I really enjoyed reading it.

Very interesting points that really make you think.
I wish the future holds the answers, that the author is proven right and that I live to see it.

I enjoyed this book very much. In a way it felt like what Harry Potter would've been like if Harry wasn't a spoiled celebrity in the Wizard world.

I really didn't expect the twist in this story. It was a pleasant surprise.

I like these kind of stories that mix the supernatural with our ordinary world.
I enjoyed reading this book.

Oh my God! To be a fly on the walls and see these scrapes in real life...

I know Hugh Laurie from TV and I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading The Gun Seller but what an amazing read it turned out to be!!!

What an excellent book!
I enjoyed it very much and even found myself laughing out loud while reading it, which has never happened to me before.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the next ones.

Some of the stories were better than others but all n' all I enjoyed reading this book.
It was interesting to see how several of the stories had the same basic idea, although they were written by different authors.

A friend whose recommendations I value recommended I read this book but I didn't find it as interesting as promised. Unlike other books I read recently I had no problems putting it down. At first I thought I'd give it 2 stars and not even finish it but I figured there had to be something to that recommendation so I kept on reading. It got a lot better after about three quarters in so I decided on 3 stars even though it took too long to become interesting and its end was predictable.

What a great book! What a great trilogy!
I have to admit I saw some of the twists coming so I wasn't all that surprised but it was still such a great read. The only thing I regret about reading these books is that I can't read them for the first time again...

I've always liked stories of mythology. These stories are great!

I often fear sequels but this one definitely did no fail. It was just as good as the first, if not better.
I'm really looking forward to the final book!

Everybody say The Magicians is like an adult version of the Harry Potter series and in a way it is but it lacks some of the Harry Potter magic (no pun intended).
I'm sure that almost everybody fantasizes at some point about realizing they have magic. That was what happened to Harry Potter and that's what happened to Quentin. However, The Magicians is a bit darker since it's more "realistic" and incorporates more real life issues such as drugs, sex, depression, desires, etc. However, I felt that sometimes this realism was a bit forced.
Still, I enjoyed reading The Magicians and I think I'll give the sequels (at least the 2nd one) a try. I might even check out the TV version of it.

I enjoyed this book but not as much as I did American On Purpose.
When I read American On Purpose it felt like I was getting a "behind the scenes" look at Craig Ferguson and I was getting to know him better. In Riding The Elephant it felt more like we were sitting, having coffee and he was going "did I tell you about..."
Don't get me wrong, it was a nice read but it felt a bit too random for me.

What a great book! It's hard to really write about it without any spoilers though...
Let's just say it wasn't quite what I thought it would be and turned out to be much better than expected. There were times that really gripped me and I could hardly put it down.

I'm looking forward to the sequel and can only hope that it's at least as good as this one.

Possible spoilers in the middle of the review.


I really enjoyed reading Only Human, the last book in The Themis Files trilogy but less than I did the previous two.
The way the book was written, just like the previous two, was very good. It had a bit of action, a bit of suspense and a bit of humor.

















However (SPOILERS AHEAD), I didn't like the whole angle about human (and alien) rights. Sure, I'm all for equal rights but I don't think it should be in a SciFi book. It felt too much "Hollywood" and too much kitsch, in my opinion.

I still look forward to other books by this author, new or related to Themis.

What the hell did I just read?
This was one of the weirdest books I've ever read. Maybe I missed something but it felt like it had no actual point...

The story is great and maybe it was my fault for reading it after watching the TV series but I felt that it was too slow, which made it hard for me to follow. It didn't grip me (as can be seen by how long it took me to finish it).

Typical Night Vale weirdness! I really enjoyed it!
I think any fan of Welcome To Night Vale would enjoy this book.

What a great book! I pre-ordered it the moment I finished the first one and later got worried that it might not be as good, as sequels sometimes are. I was super happy to find out I was wrong. This book is as great as the first one!

Without going into spoilers I'll just say that there were 2 chapters that I found lacked thought by the author but even they were very nice.

Highly recommended!
Looking forward to more by Sylvain Neuvel.

I never thought The Wizard of Oz would have spinoffs but it does (this book and Wicked and maybe more that I don't know of) and they're very entertaining. I really liked the idea of a different Oz than the "original" one, especially a dark one.

This book popped up as a recommendation for me here on Goodreads and seemed interesting so I put it on my "to read" list. I later saw that it was nominated for best science fiction for 2016 so I moved it to the top of my list and good thing that I did. I really enjoyed reading this book. The way it was written (sort of like many interviews with a mysterious person) made the reading even more enjoyable than it would've been had it been written from the point of view of one of the characters (at least in my opinion).

I just finished it and as soon as I finish this review I'm going on Amazon to order the sequel.