A long overdue review. I finished the book months ago and wanted to let it simmer for a bit before responding. Overall I enjoyed it. It’s a memoir about a young man coming of age in South Africa and feeling the pull of nature. He longs to find work on a reserve but a lack of funds means that he cannot finish the schooling needed to get there. The book is in part his journey to fulfil his dream and in part a treatise on the importance of maintaining and protecting our connection with our natural environment. Unfortunately, it felt like he was writing two different books and things didn’t really mesh together well. His memoir lacked a lot of details while his ode to nature became rather repetitive. Good effort overall though.

I quite enjoyed this one. It was well written and provided an interesting look at something that I really didn't know a lot about.

I'm afraid I had to Pearl Rule this one. 100 pages in and I just can't get into it. I really didn't enjoy the writing style; the jumping around was way too confusing. I see others quite enjoyed it so maybe I am missing something.

I have long since struggled with trying to balance my need to simplify/de-clutter and my need to surround myself with things that make me happy so this book was right up my alley. It looks at our love affair with stuff and examines why people seem to feel the need to buy huge homes and stuff them full of stuff that they forget they even have. It also looks at people who have cut the chains and simplified their lives to varying degrees (some to the point where it's now a game to see how little they can survive on).

Interesting book but far too short and lacking in substance. I was rather surprised at the lack of art in the book (figured each chapter would start off with a picture and then be followed by an explanation of how it came to be) and a lack of overall information about Rockwell himself. This felt like a thesis proposal instead of a full-fledged book.

Interesting book on a topic that has not received much attention in either academia nor popular media in the English-speaking world. Indeed the book exposes tragedy that the years 1941 to 1945 was the peoples of Eastern Europe including ethnic Germans who were uprooted in their millions as German armies retreated (This in no way is meant to minimise the suffering of other peoples). The book however tends to be a little on the elementary side but perhaps this is a particular to the reviewer.

The psych major in me loved this book while the '40-something throwback to the 80s' was horrified by these tech-obsessed people. Social media is fun but I certainly don't need to update my Facebook status every 15 minutes or sleep with my cell phone (already I do quite like my book-related sites!). This is a great book for people who have friends/loved ones who are more than a little obsessed with the internet and electronic gadgets as it offers suggestions on how to deal with them and on what underlying factors could be influencing this behaviour.

This is the second story I have read in this line of books and I quite enjoyed it. The author manages to tell a rather complex story in a short amount of words. I would recommend these books for someone with a long commute who wants something they can get lost in for an hour or so.

Interesting book and definitely something that teens could read, understand and use. My one main issue with it is that it is extremely repetitive & each chapter seem to tell the same thing over and over again. After reading the same point for the tenth time, I found myself skipping over sections. I do think it's important to emphasis key things but hammering someone over the head with a simple fact is a bit excessive.

The other little thing I noticed (and am probably the only person who would be bothered by it) is that it was put out by a Canadian publisher and had Canadian spelling but most of the references were American. The author is obviously American and sited restaurants that we just don't have here in Canada. Perhaps having a Canadian co-author update it specifically for a Canadian audience would help us relate to it better.

What a wonderful book! I sang in choirs all throughout my childhood and even though I have long since stopped that, I love hearing choral music performed. There really is something special happening when you hear a well-rehearsed choir sing.

I find sometimes memoirs get bogged down with too much personal information and not enough substance but this one had the right balance. It was a personal account but it is also a history of music and choirs. She is able to add interesting tidbits and facts into the story and have it all flow well.

I was rather mixed with my reaction so I went on-line to see what others thought. I do understand how risqué this was coming out in 1950. It really was miles ahead of its time because really, who wrote about BDSM then? Fifty Shades (as horrible as it is) is just bringing that subject out of the closet now! The writing style was great and the language used was actually rather subdued comparatively speaking so it really is less porn and more erotic literature.

My problem with it, and I guess my problem with BDSM in general, is about consent. I get that the premise is that submissive actually has the power in the relationship because they ultimately choose if and when they wish to stop. I suppose for the garden-variety part-time BDSM participant, this works. But in this case, this was an overall, all-consuming lifestyle choice. O, while being told she could say no at any time, was completely infatuated with Rene and went along with everything because she felt that that was the only way to keep him. Sure she has a choice but really, what kind of choice is it? My boss gives me projects all the time and I have the choice of whether to do them or not. But if I don't, I won't have a job much longer. Rene asks her if she is okay with things but since he has tremendous power over her to begin with, she goes along with it all for fear of losing him.

I also had a big problem with Rene. He continually says that he loves her but the whole time he seems to view her as a psychological show more experiment. He sells her to the highest bidder (Sir Stephen) because he claims that he isn't strong enough to handle her conversion but I think it was more that he wanted to be a passive observer. He was prominent in the beginning but by the end, he almost becomes part of the furniture as he watches from the sidelines.

O starts off the novel with no name and by the end, she doesn't even have a personality. It is presented as if she is okay with everything that occurs but really, does someone being brainwashed know that they are being brainwashed? How does one really know what she wanted until after she is removed from the situation and can verify things for herself? Apparently the author wrote this as a love story for her boyfriend and that makes me really sad. show less

Part history and part memoir but written with the excitement of a good fictional family saga. This is a look at five generations of a mixed race family and all their ups and downs as they try to fit in in Japan and the US. Very well done. My only criticism is that the photos, while plentiful and fitting, were quite dark and often hard to see. It is a shame because they really added a personal touch to the story.

I got halfway through and just couldn't read any more. The characters are awful to each other and should not be together. No idea if it improves but sadly, I just don't care to find out.

Eric Deggans' book is a valuable one. Quite frankly it is very difficult to deal with the issue of race in America without running into partisan posturing and people from different backgrounds talking past one another. Deggans manages to penetrate to what is behind the words and he does so in a very non-confrontational manner that engages with a wide audience. I think it is an especially important that white Americans read this book to understand how racism functions and perpetuates itself even when no offense in intended. This book, I think, makes a small step toward mending the racial divide in America. It is well worth reading.

This was a rather enjoyable read. The writing style was wonderful and the characters were detailed and well thought-out. It is a novel about unlikely friendships and how things aren't always what they seem. I do agree with others that the prologue gave a little too much away. I think it was important to set up the plot but a little less detail would have been better.

I have tried numerous times to get into this book but I am afraid it is just not my cup of tea. It sounds like an interesting plot but in reality, it is confusing and rather boring.

I have never read a Rapid Read book before so I was curious to see how much detail would be included. It is kind of like reading the Coles/Cliff notes version so you get the storyline but not a lot of detail or character development. I can see the appeal if you need an interesting story to read while riding the bus or waiting at the doctors office but I don't think this type of book is for me. I liked the story but wanted more from it.

The story was good. It's about a young widower who meets Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome and within months they are married. He is rich and gives her everything she could ever want but there is something not-quite-right in paradise and soon she is fleeing for her life. It was a little predictable and I must say, little pet-peeve of mine... if the book takes place in Canada and is published by a Canadian publisher, I would expect proper spelling. It is an uncorrect proof so perhaps it will be fixed before publication.

I was never a big fan of cycling but my husband is so I have found myself half watching the Tour de France over the last few years and enjoying it. This book serves as not only a good intro to the history of the race, but also as a testament to some of the people who risked everything during WWII to right some of the wrongs committed. This book is interesting and well written. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I like Bedard's stuff and this one didn't disappoint. I will say that it did seem rather 'adult' for a young adult and I wonder how well the intended audience liked and understood all the nuances of the story. It's complex at times and I found it a little confusing. But overall, it was well done.

I really wanted to like this book. I love dystopian/utopian novels and this one sounded like a winner but it just fell flat. Halfway through and I was still waiting for something exciting to happen. And I must say, I don't generally judge a book by its cover but this is one extremely unattractive and confusing cover. It almost looks like it should be a graphic novel. I gave it 2-stars because it started off okay but the overall story was just plain weird.

Interesting premise and an enjoyable read but I agree with another reviewer when they said that this story could do with a better editor. I found the language to be a little too flowery and over the top for such a gritty story.

It took a few attempts to really get into this story and in the end I am glad that I finished. There is a lot going on and so it is not a book that one can easily skim through. Jonas is a man exiled to a remote, barren island and the story is his thoughts on what occurred to bring him there. It is not an easy novel but if you are wiling to dig deep into the story, there is a thread of hope running through it.

I have read a number of books written by Holocaust survivors but this one seemed to rescinate more. I will never know what she really went through but she told her story in such a way that for brief moments, I could almost feel her hunger, her fear, her anger.

The book isn't just one, but two love stories, each so very different. It is also about people, experiencing horrific things, and how they react differently to it. Some became very protective of others at the risk of their own lives while others saved themselves by turning on their own.

I think the book was simply meant to be an outlet for a woman looking for peace but it really is more than that. It is not an easy read by any means but I think it is an important one.

Based on the blurb on the back cover, I thought this book was going to be an interesting look into the world of acting and how struggling actors work their way up the ranks in the hopes of that lucky break. Instead, the book was a mishmash of odd events and situations without much to hold them together. The characters were rather flat and by the end, I didn't like any of them. The author has written quite a few books and gotten some acclaim so perhaps this just wasn't the best example of her work.

This is my first one by Sobel but now I look forward to more. She does a wonderful job at bringing history to life. There was just so much packed into this book that I took my time with it and savoured each page. I will have to dig out my copy of Longitude now.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, Young set the stage well. She included a lot of historical references so it was an interesting lesson in Jamaican history. On the other hand, the story really didn't flow very well. It seemed to get bogged down with too many characters and too many things going on at once. Plus, the timeline was a little off because Young tried to cover too much territory in such a short little book. Good first effort.

The plot is an interesting one. A hunter is out after hunting season and accidently kills a young woman with one misplaced round. The hunter decides to cover everything up but as he hides the body, he discovers that he has stumbled onto something more sinister than he originally thought. Th overall storyline sounds good and I really wanted to like the book but there were two issues that I had with it.

Firstly, we are supposed to believe that this is a simple man who bumbles into a complicated situation. When he speaks, his words are all "I ain't done that" and "'Cept I been taught better". And this fits the scene - the story takes place in a small backwoods hamlet where everyone speaks and acts like this. But then, when the author has the character think about something, it goes like this:

From one moment to the next, nothing in this upside-down world is static. Even voices dichotomize, their bifurcating sounds clouding his thoughts, sending his mind reeling first down one path, then down another."

Now I am not trying to imply that people living in these types of areas aren't educated but really? People tend to speak and think the same way so I just don't buy this.

The second issue I have is that the author tends to go into grave detail about things that just don't matter to the story. For example the scene near the end when John, after killing someone, stumbles upon a pair of young lovers in the lake. We then hear all about what they are doing for a page or two before we show more get to join the story again. John is injured, feverish and just killed someone but still he is able to sit down and enjoy the nuances of the scene before him? There are many parts where I wanted more detail but got nothing and then parts like this where I got far too much. Everything seems a bit too lopsided. show less

This is a beautifully written book about a young newlywed who loses her husband in a tragic accident. I liked the interplay between all the characters but found it odd that Mary felt so close to a bunch of teenagers. I had to keep reminding myself that she was only 28 herself -- she came across as much older than that. But aside from that, I quite enjoyed the book and look forward to others by this author.

Overall I enjoyed the book but honestly, I found it to be a little too long and a little too confusing at times. Parts were fast-paced and exciting but then other parts were jumbled and confusing. I think I probably would have liked it better had I had a better understanding of the political environment in Poland at that time.

I will admit, I kept putting off reading this book due to the negative reviews but I was determined to use this long weekend to catch up on the stuff I really need to read so it moved to the top of the pile. And I must say, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed it.

I have been to London many times so it was neat to read about places I was familiar with. The storyline was interesting and made me laugh and cry at times. I think it did lack some depth though; I found some of the characters a little hard to relate to (I never really felt like I knew any of Eve's friends). But, on the whole, it was a nice, easy Sunday afternoon read.