Member Profile
| Name : | Julie R. |
My Reviews
Started in the 1940s and went through to the 1990s in a small town in Missouri; fairly realistic life for an upper middle class family that somehow (the radio show) ended up connected with all sorts of people. I enjoyed Neighbor Dorothy and Mother Smith; and ALL the people in the book. Funny and quirky people, expecially 'Poor Tot'. I could relate to lots of them.
Interesting writing style, all in correspondence. A little annoying at first until I got into the book further. I learned alot about the era. A good read.
It was a boring predicable read; didn't care for the charecters, location was't brought to life, story line was predicable.
A slow read that chronicalled one day in the lives of Maggie and Ira with lots of flash backs that explained how they got to where they are. Because it took me too long to read this book I occasionally forgot that I was reading a flashback and thought that I was reading the main storyline. I kept waiting for something to happen, what happened was I took on Maggie's personality for a day and turned myself into a hopeful but clumsy middle aged woman that really never accomplished anything. One line in the book struck me, when her daughter Daisy (in a flash back) asked when she decided to be ordinary. It's not something any of us decide but many are. Is that bad, no, but it's not something we strive for. I struggled with finding three workds to describe the book and settled on two (slow and insightful). Slow because the book while very well written never 'grabbed me' and I didn't care about any of the characters; and insightful because I better understand the evolution of ordinary. I enjoyed several other books by Anne Taylor much more - The Accidental Tourist and Digging to America.
The book started off interesting and expected to be sucked in. But instead had to force myself to finish it. I kept waiting for the story of the man that committed suicide at the start of the book to become woven into the later parts of the book - didn't happen. Maybe the translation effected the ease of the read, but I had to re-read paragraphs to understand what just happened. Is this an accurate reflection of the values of the un-named sea port? Despite these reflections on the book, I still learned something about human nature (not necessarily the good parts) and about life in the Carribean during the later 1800 / early 1900 time period - therefore gave it two stars instead of one.
A good and fun read, now I want to go back to the earlier books in the series and read them.
It took me a little while to get into the book (started it on a trip - maybe I was distracted). I learned a lot about the Civil War and slavery. Thought the notes at the end of the book were as interesting as the story. I ended up ordering another book by Ms. Brooks.
Suspend your sense of reality (a 12 year old?) and enjoy the ride. I really enjoyed this book after reading several that were pretty serious. The writing got a little wordy at times but that's not really a problem.
Fun read with a few turns to the plot I didn't see coming that kept it interesting. A few unrealistic events, but this is a novel afterall! Not as fast of a read as I had first expected but worth the time.
Good story but sometimes the writing got a little confusing with the use of pronouns (e.g. which he or she is the subject of the reference). Not having read the original book in the series I was left a little uncertain of some of the references to previous events.
A little predicable, but a fun read. Lots of interesting parallels about friendships between women and accepting each other as they are.
I kept reading the book hoping it would get better, ended up disappointed. The character development was lacking, never really got into any of the characters which I normally do... Didn't try to visualize this book as a movie, which I normally do... At the end of the book I just felt blah.
Really enjoyed reading this book - felt it was probably a very realistic description of life in the south on the cusp of the civil rights movement. The maids had so much understanding of human nature and often demonstrated wisdom that their employers never had a clue. Great character development. I would like to read more by this author; wouldn't a sequel from Mae Mobleys prespective be interesting!
Addressed some interesting cultural issues while being a fairly light and easy read. Love and racial bias are not issues only the young have to deal with.
Felt very authentic; just when I thought I had it figured out, a new twist was introduced.
Not true to original character development,
A fun, light summer time read.
Very predictable.
I couldn't put this book down, got hooked on the first page and stayed hooked.
Words I would use to describe this book are thought provoking, predictable, and quick. I couldn't find any questions to start discussion but it was easy to come up with my own. We ended up with some really good discussion with the 9 people that met.
Kept me interested throughout the read, with enough twists and turns as well as subplots to keep it interesting. Loved the ending, really didn't know how it would turn out until almost the last page.
Really enjoyed this book. Full of twists and turns.
A good read, sometimes you don't know that you have started on a journey until you are partway there.
Generally good with lots of information but disappointed in the ending. The book made a BIG jump that was inconsistent with the prior writing. Good premise that got a lot of discussion at our book club - that alone made it worth while.
While the book was very well written, I didn't like it. The book covered very real and very raw life situations, but I had some difficulty in putting together why some of the incidents were included, they didn't seem to add to the story but just to the gloom, ex. accident the kids came across while driving home from the store.
LOVED this book! I found it persuasive, informative, romantic, vey well written. So glad we read this one.
Started out a little confusing but then you get into the rhythm of the writing and well worth reading. Amazed at the story line and character interaction. Loved it!
Lots of unexpected turns that kept the book interesting but too much emphasis and details on drug usage. Well written but too long, sometimes less is more... We had really good discussion at our book club, but several were unable to finish the book. Would have given it 2.5 stars if that was an option.
In one word: inconsistent. Started off great, informative and well written, then turned way too graphic in the sex scenes and the end seemed to be written by a different author.
Enjoyed the book, good descriptions and fairly easy to follow yet plenty of twists that kept it interesting.
Very thought provoking book about an individual (Plum) who is described as morbidly obese and how this fact ruled her life until she met someone that opened her eyes. I was confused by a sudden plot twist that seemed out of place at first but my confusion was quickly resolved. Fast passed and wanted more. I didn't give it 5 stars as it was very one sided regarding women's reproductive rights, without considering the alternative position.
A challenging story that is dark; how a man can be born without any scent and has such a profound sense of smell that he can identify people by their odor from a very long distance is hard to believe. He has such a detached personality he does not see anything wrong will killing to obtain someone's scent. His manipulation of people at the end is also very hard to believe.
Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed this book! Downloaded it before heading out on vacation and soon got hooked in learning so much about the history of the US and Arizona Territory before, during, and after the 'shoot out at the O.K. Corral'. Very informative and gets you to care about the characters.
A very interesting premise based on historical events but altered to make for an addictive story of how relationships develop between unlikely associates when thrown in a very unique situation. Really recommend this book, will lead to some good discussion.
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