Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
Pull of the Stars (3 stars): So I don’t want to rate this low as it wasn’t in any way a bad book and it has a lot of interesting bits, especially as I read it during a pandemic. However, unlike Donoghue’s other books, i did not get attached to any of the characters while reading this and just didn’t feel any connection to the book as a result.
The End of Everything (4 stars): “At some point, in a cosmic sense, it will not have mattered that we ever lived. The universe will, more likely than not, fade into a cold, dark, empty cosmos, and all that we’ve done will be utterly forgotten.”
It took me forever to get through this book. To be fair, I am not good at physics and even though I’ve read a few Brian Greene books, I am far far away from the amount of knowledge it would help to have before reading this book.
That didn’t stop me from working hard to make my way through it. It’s written in common, easy language and tries to add both some perspective and levity but at the end of the day, this is a book about astrophysics and there’s no way that’s not going to be dense (unless you simplify it so much that it’s pointless.
Katie Mack manages to make it both readable and keeps the physics serious, real, and interesting.
If physics is your thing or you’re just fascinated like I am, this is the book for you.
with gratitude to netgalley and Scribner for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
One to Watch (2 stars): Meh. I know everyone loved this book but I just didn’t connect with it at all. Maybe because I don’t ever watch those shows on TV. I loved the idea of the book much more than the reality of it.
Once Again (3.5 stars): This was a fast-paced story that I couldn’t put down once I started. There are several interesting elements to the story:
Zac – the dad and scientist, who is working in an astrophysics lab and making a huge discovery which results in some sort of time shifting in the universe. His chapters were mostly about science and it was dense/hard to understand what was going on. I didn’t worry too much, just read what I could understand and didn’t stress too much about the details. I did feel like we didn’t get to know Zac as much as I wish I could have but he’s not the focal point. He’s just an instrument that makes the plot possible.
Erin – the mom whose daughter is abducted 500 days ago and she’s really the main character of the story as time shifts she gets another chance at rescuing her daughter and goes to heroic ends to make that possible. As a mom, I could relate the most to her, of course. And she’s the reason I kept reading and reading.
there are a few minor characters: a police officer (whose chapters didn’t really feel like they served a major purpose,) the abductor (did not enjoy reading these of course,) and then a few other scientists, some characters at school etc. but none of them got their own chapter.
The story is go-go-go the whole time (except during the science chapters) and it just didn’t seem possible for me to put it down. I don’t know that I will remember the book forever and I did think it has a lot of flaws. I tend to love character stories and this was decidedly a plot story but i still couldn’t put it down.
with gratitude to netgalley and Alcove Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Pretty Things (4 stars): I always find myself putting off reading the longer books in case they are not good and I am now stuck reading them for a while (yes I know i could put them down but i rarely do) and yet the longer books tend to be my favorites. Maybe it’s because the characters take time and grow and do unexpected things.
I put off reading this book for many, many weeks and when I finally read it, I enjoyed it a lot. The characters in this book grow and end up doing unexpected things. I enjoyed it.
Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop (3.5 stars): When I saw the blurb for this book, I loved it and really couldn’t wait to read it. Once I started it, I loved that it takes place right in my neighborhood and really enjoyed the familiar places it mentioned. But, alas, maybe because I had such high expectations, this book was fun but not great. I enjoyed the time I spent with it but I felt like the blurb had so much more potential.
And there we go, grateful to be reading.
Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
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