It goes to 11.
If you are a tap fan, this is a must read.
If you aren’t a tap fan then what’s the matter with you?
If you are a tap fan, this is a must read.
If you aren’t a tap fan then what’s the matter with you?
Another McEwan book where a bigger picture gradually emerges but still leaves questions to be asked. This is a gentle, but sometimes disturbing story of a man’s life and how world events and the women in his life directed his life’s journey.
Well written account of the ill fated voyage of the 16th century naval ship the Wager. I lost interest about half way through because reading another page that involved mutiny/scurvy/shipwreck/calamity/death just didn’t seem that appealing. I just read the wikipedia page to find out what happened.
So 4 stars - a good book but it’s not a happy story.
So 4 stars - a good book but it’s not a happy story.
This book is so excruciatingly slow. It's bad when you look down at the kindle and say "am I only 17% through this thing?" At which point enough was enough.
It’s a slow burn and requires a careful read as key story details are gradually revealed through the book. In the end the story is quite profound and well worth reading.
Compared to earlier Jackson Brodie books this one is very lightweight. It has a strong midsummer murders vibe which I think was the intention of the author.
The plot, particularly the end third is a bit convoluted.
Overall it’s a meh.
The plot, particularly the end third is a bit convoluted.
Overall it’s a meh.
More of a slow meditative read. Gets a little ponderous at times. I probably won’t be reading any more of his stuff. I want a little more bang for the buck for my reading time.
It’s short, quite depressing and not that enjoyable. I wouldn’t recommend it.
Obviously it's long. Very long. Probably the longest book I've ever read. But from page to page, it's engrossing and yet from page to page not much happens. The only explanation is that the writing and characters are excellent. I enjoyed it, and I would have enjoyed it more if it had been a little more concise, perhaps with fewer characters that didn't really impact the story.
DNF on this one. Got 30% through and just was bored. The book was just sort of boring. I’ve enjoyed most of his books but this one just seems to plod. I didn’t really care for the main character…
A thought provoking book about living in the present and really not worrying about the future.
I’m a big cal newport fan. But in many ways we’re at a point where he’s just refining his deep work ideas. This isn’t a bad thing. Deep Work is a must read book. A world without email addressed one of the big interrupters to deep work. And this book, talks about the overall approach to getting things done. It’s worth a read, although the takeaways are pretty simple. The book itself spends a lot of time talking about famous authors and movie producers, which is interesting, but feels a bit like padding. It’s hard to relate their experiences to that of the modern office worker - a point that Newport makes. At the end of the book, I did come away thinking - this book probably could have been just a long form New Yorker article.
A fun, interesting and moving collection of poetry about the main north south road in Wales. 5 stars for delivering on what it says on the tin. Bonus in that it contains both the English and Welsh version, so great if you are learning Welsh.
A modern take on yoga. Pretty good explanation of the benefits of yoga both physically and mentally without relying on ancient texts.
This is really a 3.5 stars. Bournville is a nicely written book, like all his books but just doesn’t go anywhere. It follows a family over the course of 75 years in Bournville England. We check in with members of the family at significant historical events (coronation, World Cup in 1966), but that’s about it.
A fascinating book. First hand accounts of villagers in a farming village in England from the late 1960s.
4 stars because this book delivers what it says on the tin. It’s a collection of academic essays about the tv show the detectorists. They are written from an academic pint of view.
The best part of the books is actually the final chapter by the producer who describes some of the behind the scene details of the program.
Personally I found most of the book pretty dull and fairly obvious. But it might appeal to someone who studies such things. I wouldn’t recommend it to fans of the tv show though.
The best part of the books is actually the final chapter by the producer who describes some of the behind the scene details of the program.
Personally I found most of the book pretty dull and fairly obvious. But it might appeal to someone who studies such things. I wouldn’t recommend it to fans of the tv show though.
Terrible. The writing is painful. I ended up skipping paragraphs and then pages because it was just sooooo bad. Don’t waste your time, instead just read the New York Times review and save yourself the effort.
This is really two books in one. One talks about Marconi and the development of wireless communication the other talks about an infamous murder around the same time. The two plot lines connect in the end although it’s a little contrived. Personally I think I’d have preferred just a book about Marconi. The other part was a distraction and didn’t really add to the story. It also got a little gruesome towards the end.
This book is a translation of the musings of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. It’s viewed as an important stoic text.
The book is fascinating. Marcus clearly never meant for it to be read by others as it is clearly his thoughts trying to deal with issues in his life.
He repeats himself a lot and seems to spiral around the same problems over and over. Some of it doesn’t make much sense as he’s talking about some event that occurred that we know nothing about. But you can skip through those sections.
It’s a pretty quick read but one where it is worth highlighting some key thoughts.
The book is fascinating. Marcus clearly never meant for it to be read by others as it is clearly his thoughts trying to deal with issues in his life.
He repeats himself a lot and seems to spiral around the same problems over and over. Some of it doesn’t make much sense as he’s talking about some event that occurred that we know nothing about. But you can skip through those sections.
It’s a pretty quick read but one where it is worth highlighting some key thoughts.
Building a Second Brain: A Proven Method to Organize Your Digital Life and Unlock Your Creative Potential by Tiago Forte
I really liked this book. It’s got two main ideas - how we collect and distill information for future use and how we can organize our digital information. The applications for these techniques go way beyond the world of work but can also include hobbies and personal projects.
This a brilliant book on guitar building. Highly recommended. But also watch the multi part YouTube series on "the pedal show" where he builds a guitar using the methods in this book.
Gave up. After a while the endless chapters of one crazy thing after another just got tedious. There was no real plot. It just went on and on.
Beautiful story set on the coast of North Yorkshire.
I stalled out on this one. Can’t remember why but I think I just lost interest.
