Category: Reviews


Review: Affinity by Sarah Waters

Filed under: Audible, Books, Feminism, LGBT, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment
December 21, 2017

AffinityAffinity by Sarah Waters

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn’t actually read the book but rather listened to the Audible version of the book. Juanita McMahon (Narrator) added her talents to the story so well-written by Sarah Waters. Both the story and the actor made this a wonderful experience.

What can I say that won’t spoil the adventure of the moment by moment read? I can’t seem to come up with anything! I went to look at the blurb and I think even that spoils it. Just know that the main character draws you in and you get curious to see what happens next. Her questions become the reader’s questions and you can only hope for the best and dread anything less.

I wish the ending would have been with the main character stronger from her experiences and then a book two for us to follow her travels. I don’t think that is a spoiler as that is me rewriting the ending. Come back to my review when you finish to tell me if you agree or not.

If you get the chance to read or listen to this book I think you will enjoy it,

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Review: The Good Hour by Doron Erez

Filed under: Books, Kindle, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment
December 20, 2017

Children's book: The Good Hour: A life-changing story for children and their parents with practical tips for better parentingChildren’s book: The Good Hour: A life-changing story for children and their parents with practical tips for better parenting by Doron Erez

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars, really. Mostly because it felt rather preachy at times. But I don’t know how you would avoid it. I often want to get in people’s faces and yell at them for not enjoying their children while being tethered to their cellphones, this is nicely done.

The pictures are adorable. Most of the story, from the child’s point of view, is sweet.

I wish I had a million dollars as I would buy a million of these and give as gifts to cellphone-orphaned children of the world.

I know that we who didn’t have cellphones when our children were young have no right to judge, epecially if you have one of those phone attached jobs, but there needs to be a turn it off time. If you gave birth to a child and want to be part of the raising of said child should, spend the majority of your time with the child WITH THE CHILD. This book is kind and suggests merely an hour. Well, that’s a start.

Okay, my rant aside, this is a fun book and I think it could open communications up for parents and children and everyone will be rewarded by reading it.

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Review: Animal Books: Hummingbirds by Susan G. Charles

Filed under: Animals, Books, Kindle, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment

Animal Books: Hummingbirds: All About Hummingbirds, A Kids Introduction - Fun Facts & Pictures About the Smallest Birds: Children's Picture Book,Perfect for Bedtime & Young Readers, 6-12 Years OldAnimal Books: Hummingbirds: All About Hummingbirds, A Kids Introduction – Fun Facts & Pictures About the Smallest Birds: Children’s Picture Book,Perfect for Bedtime & Young Readers, 6-12 Years Old by Susan G. Charles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fun little book. I have to admit to not reading it word for word but rather a intense skimming. I think I wanted more photos of the little beauties. I had a hard time with the labels of each bird, not sure they lined up right. I think the label belonged to the previous picture. That is the problem of reading on Kindle. This might be a nice tree book for kids.

As for it being a bedtime read aloud–no. Much better for daytime when you can go out and look for your own hummers.

Once again, the pictures made it worth all those many words! I’d recommend it for middle grade readers. Homeschooled and younger readers or non-readers will still enjoy the book.

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Review: 1000 Japanese Flash Cards by Kevin Marx

Filed under: Books, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment
December 13, 2017

1000 Japanese Flash Cards: For Smart Phones and E-Readers1000 Japanese Flash Cards: For Smart Phones and E-Readers by Kevin Marx

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is no a book you read straight through. As the name implies it is flash cards. I played with a few pages but since I need more progress in my DuoLingo Japanese program, I can’t blame the book for my lack.

Still, for the sake of my goal of 100 books read in 2017, I needed to get it off my currently reading shelf. It will remain on my tablet to play with on a daily basis. I like the idea of flash cards and in the shape of a Kindle book. It is well laid out to play with often.

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Review: Cyrus LongBones and the Curse of the Sea Zombie by Jeremy Mathiesen

Filed under: Books, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment

Cyrus LongBones and the Curse of the Sea ZombieCyrus LongBones and the Curse of the Sea Zombie by Jeremy Mathiesen

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

You wnt boys to read? Keep the action going. Want girls to read it? I wouldn’t. The action is fine. But here’s the female line-up:
An abusive step mother
A zombie water witch
a girl-sister(?) who needed rescuing

It seems you want to grow heroes but don’t want them to be female. And don’t care to teach inclusiveness in any way.

Sorry. All that action was boring to me and I wouldn’t recommennd it to boys or girls for what it doesn’t teach.

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Review: Friday by Robert A. Heinlein

Filed under: Audible, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment
December 9, 2017

FridayFriday by Robert A. Heinlein

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this in highschool. I really loved it back then. There are aspects of it that I really loved this time. But the narrator ruined the story for me all the way through. She had a boring voice for Friday and for everyone else male or female,she sounded like Katharine Hepburn. Nothing against the great actress. She might have made a great Friday. But she didn’t fit the rest of the characters. I would have returned at the beginning but I thought I could overcome the voice and stay in the story. That didn’t work out very well. so here I am at the end, wishing I would have just ordered it from the library and listenrd to the kindle text-to-speech.

As many of you know, I have been trying to read about strong women by women for a couple of years now. This was written by Robert Heinlein. I think he understood some of what women go through. But for something that is futuristic, Friday was not as strong as I thought she should have been, still bowing down to the male of her life (Boss) and wishes what all women might want to have in their lives.

I do think people should read this to gain insight. I just suggest text-to-speech or paper book.

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

Review: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Filed under: Audible, Feminism, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment
December 6, 2017

We Should All Be FeministsWe Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Look, I think of myself as a feminist. But I have read books about feminism that were the most BORING books ever written! This is not one of those! BUT the title kept me from reading it. Not because it is a bad title, but because it looked like it would be boring like those others.

It was far from long and boring. If you are lucky enough to get to have the audio version read by the author there is an extra treat.

Since I didn’t read the book along with listening I can only give my impression of what I think the tree-book is like. I think it is short essays on different aspects of the feminine daily life, especially the world Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie lives in. Her voice and accent make this a delight to hear. The stories/essays are enlighting to intellect and soul.

This is a short read. I read it in an hour before going to bed. So don’t look at it with fear like I did. It’s good and fast!

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , ,
Comment

Review: We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union

Filed under: Audible, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment
December 5, 2017

We're Going to Need More Wine: StoriesWe’re Going to Need More Wine: Stories by Gabrielle Union

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always feel weird reviewing autobiography. It is somebody’s story about their own life. So I guess I need to review how it was told. I was able to pick up the Audible version with the author reading it. That made it feel like she was in the room just telling me about herself and her past.

Gabrielle Union’s story is unique. And while she is telling her story she covers her outlook on how it felt to grow up as a minority in the school year and as herself with relatives in the summer. She gave her views of feminism and how she went through various discriminating situations. And she told her ‘Me, too” story.

This was an interesting read. I think if I were younger it would have been even more so. I think teens and young adults would get so much out of what she shares.

I hope you get the chance to read/listen to this one to draw your own conclusions.

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Review: 1,2,3, Red, Blue, Green Bilingual (English – Japanese) 1,2,3, あか、あお、みどり バイリンガル（英語 – 日本語） by Yael Manor

Filed under: Books, Kindle, Reading, Reviews — Leave a comment
November 29, 2017

1,2,3, Red, Blue, Green Bilingual (English - Japanese) 1,2,3, あか、あお、みどり バイリンガル（英語 - 日本語）1,2,3, Red, Blue, Green Bilingual (English – Japanese) 1,2,3, あか、あお、みどり バイリンガル（英語 – 日本語） by Yael Manor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As many of you know I have been learning languages from Duolingo. Japanese is one of them. I find it to be the hardest of the four I’m working with. German, Spanish, Esperanto are the others but I feel more confident with those three. (Not conversant but able to read it a little.)

I like to get children’s picture books to help me. I figure if it helps a kid to learn, it may help me. Not sure there is hope in this case. Yes, Duo has covered primary colors and primary numbers. But when I try to follow the written language I am totally lost. I do find a couple words here and there that I recognize but most of it is still squiggles to my eyes. The worst part, for me, is trying to get word order. That is true of all these languages.

That isn’t a slam on this book. Even if you weren’t trying to learn Japanese, this would be a fun book. The little story is fun and would make a fun read aloud. It might also be fun to string balls with the children in the book.

I think if you had a child who only spoke Japanese, this would be a fun one to learn the English from. So it is fun from every angle. I just wish there were a small section in the back helping with word order. Very educational and re-readable for everyone.

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comment

Review: Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House by Donna Brazile

Filed under: politics, Reading, Reviews — 6 Comments

Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White HouseHacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House by Donna Brazile

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have always admired Donna Brazile. She seems a classy woman. I love hearing her talk. I always thought she does a good job giving her listeners both side of a picture. So I chose not to get the book but rather the Audible version. Her’s is a good voice to hear before going to sleep.

I always say this when I’ve read an autobiography. I cannot be the judge of her points of view about her own life. Think about your own life. Look back a few years and you may not think of what happened in the same light as how it looked when it was happening. So I do not doubt this is her point of view of recent events.

It took me several nights to read this (NaNoWriMo took my days). I must admit that each night I found this paranoia taking over my psyche. I do feel the Russians have done terrible things to our systems of government. I hope we can get to the bottom of all of it and recover our dignity as Americans.

There are some very scary things in this book. I want to try and warn you. But I don’t want to spoil the read for you. Try to keep your own political point of view out of this. It is this person’s brave telling of what happened in her life at a crazy time in our history. And don’t come after me with your arguments. I will delete them. This is my opinion and you cannot argue a person to think like you.

View all my reviews

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Comment
Thoughts of a Wanderer

Exploring Timeless Blogs

THE AVOERIA ARCHIVE

The Depth Behind The Ordinary

Life of Chaz

Books, games, music, and life — filtered through the mind of a writer, drummer, and philosopher who thinks too deeply about all of it. If it moves something in your chest, I'm interested.

Pieces Of My Heart

"Words & Wonders - Where thoughts meet art

💫The Afterlove Voice💫

Justice, Channeling,Spiritual,Astrology,Truth- Seeker.

Amin Academy

Education, Information, Motivation

AllMacWorld

Luso Loonie — Devin Meireles

Exploring Portuguese Culture, Azorean Heritage, and Luso-Canadian Identity Through Writing

UNDER THE WILL... OVER THE DRAMA...

Inheritance. Narcissism. Turf. Welcome to the family.

Adym Digital

Selma

Finding the extra in the ordinary

Sip, Snack, See

A Blog About Food and Travels

Golu lodhi

I upload photos & videos Golu lodhi village pairakhedi

Creative

Travel,Tourism, Life style "Now in hundreds of languages for you."

IsabellaJoshua.com

"VERO'S VERBIAGE & VISUALS"

intricate cantrips

twisted yarns, unraveled

Introverted Growth

The Introvert's Roadmap to Self Discovery and Growth

Blissfulbritt