book reviews
Reviews of books by relationship gurus, dating experts, and cautionary tale-tellers.
The Vanishing Half By Brit Bennett
(If you have not read this book, spoilers lie ahead.) These days I rarely find a book that I don’t love. Maybe it is from taking such a long gap from reading that my mind is just hungry for different stories. Over time, after reading so many stories, it becomes easier and easier to guess what might happen next because we have already read and seen so many different variations of the same story. This story was different. “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Bennett was constructed in such a way to give no clear view of who was the main character. At first, I thought it was going to be Desiree the older twin as she embarks on a quest to find her missing sister, towing her child, battling racism, and evading an abusive husband. Sounds like quite the quest, doesn’t it? However, we have likely already read many stories like this and so has the author, which is maybe why we didn’t follow Desiree on such a quest. At first, I was disappointed because I so much wanted those intense moments of her closing in on Stella, and those terrifying moments of her almost being caught herself by Sam, the husband. However, Desiree’s story is nothing like that. She was supposed to be the wild twin, the one who would never come back to Mallard. Instead, that’s exactly what she did. Mallard is where her story seemed to end, as she got stuck in the same poverty cycle of her upbringing. There is a certain beauty and painfulness behind that as well because she is a story like so many of us. All of us have dreams and hopes that we wish to fulfill. She took her shot and although she couldn’t see it through, she still tired. Which is the same story for many, so we all can relate a little bit to that.
By Jessica Kohlgraf4 years ago in Humans
The Hundredth Time Around
So I read this wonderful romance novel that I wanted to review and share with you. I usually read fantasy and general fiction but sometimes I come across a love story that, in my opinion, is even better than Cinderella. I want to warn you ahead of time that there is a twist at the end of the book but this review does not have any big spoilers. So please enjoy and maybe read the book as well after reading this article.
By Tangerinehippiestudios4 years ago in Humans
In Case You Were Wondering... Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Hello everyone! I have been so excited to share this story with you all, because I think it is absolutely amazing. Station Eleven tells the story of society both before and after a huge pandemic that ends up wiping out most of the earth’s population. Now, in this particular era of the world, I did not think that I would like reading about a pandemic. Usually reading is a way to escape current events, not read more about what is causing so much conflict in the world right now. But this book was very different. It did not dwell on the era when society was collapsing, nor did it focus too much on what the sick people were experiencing as they died from that highly contagious disease. Instead, Emily St. John Mandel told a single story involving many different characters and how their lives were changed- or how they ended. It was riveting from beginning to end, and it baffled me how easily Mandel created these very full and three-dimensional characters while managing to have them all be connected by one person who didn’t even live to see the pandemic happen. I’m not going to give out any details regarding this; I believe the reader deserves to find out what I mean first hand.
By Marci Wilson4 years ago in Humans
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian
This book has been on my reading list for a long time; actually, this book was the topic of discussion in my young adult literature class during college, but I never got around to reading it (despite the rave reviews by some of my classmates and my professor). As I was looking at the book list for my graduate course starting in a few weeks, this title appeared again, and I realized that it was finally time to sit down and read this book.
By Kurt Mason4 years ago in Humans
Jane Austen's Gothic Satire
I'm hesitant to start with Northanger Abbey of all books. It may seem like an odd choice for anyone who knows a bit about Austen, you're probably thinking "why wouldn't you start with Pride and Prejudice?" And it's a good question, because why wouldn't I. Not only would it make sense since it's Austen's most popular novel now. Plus, I'll be honest now, this isn't going to be the most positive review, and I am afraid of turning away any possible Austen fans by talking badly about one of her works. However, I think moving from least favourites to my favourites of Austen's work will help brighten the mood as I go on.
By The Austen Shelf4 years ago in Humans
Life After Life
This book came to me via Literati, and after reading the dust jacket I felt as though I was in for another great read. However, as I began to read, I found my mind wandering, and I realized that reading almost began feeling like a chore--like something I had to do simply to finish the book--instead of a relaxing pastime. There were parts of the story that kept me engaged as a reader, but there were parts that left me struggling to turn the page. In places, I found myself counting the pages left until the chapter would end just so that I could finish.
By Kurt Mason5 years ago in Humans
The Love God from Hell's Book on Relationships.
Jeffrey Ullman is the founder of Great Expectations, the world's oldest and largest video relationship service with a network of 50 Membership Centers throughout North America and over 175,000 members. He lives and works in the San Fernando Valley, California.
By Buck Hardcastle5 years ago in Humans
The Jane Austen Shelf
Jane Austen: the WOMAN, the Myth, the Legend For a while now, Jane Austen has been, not only my favourite author, but also a small obsession of mine. (Okay it might be bigger than I make it out to be.) And since joining the Vocal writers community I've been trying to find my niche, my thing, something to write about week after week, to build a little community of my own in, and I think I've finally found it... any guesses?
By The Austen Shelf5 years ago in Humans
