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bigethan@sfba.club

Joined 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Love to read! All things!

Though sweet spots are Science Fiction and Fantasy and humorous Young Adult stuff. I generally read in bed, so my preference is for less stressful stories.

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The Boys in the Boat (Hardcover, 2013, Viking) 1 star

Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar …

I'm not the right audience for this book

1 star

I'm a former rower who's aware of history and more critically, appreciates good characters.

This book covers an absolutely incredible story with very little joy or nuance. I respect it for capturing some history that would have likely been lost, but regret it didn't do more to bring the challenges the characters faced to the page.

Remarkably Bright Creatures (Hardcover, 2022, Ecco) 4 stars

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration …

Nicely written easy read, unfulfilling plot

3 stars

If you want a sense of the depth of this book, it's basically a re-imagined for adults version of Adam Sandler's "Leo" kids movie. Not sure which actually came first, but either way, neither is particularly deep and both involve lots of Deus ex Machina moments.

I got some chuckles out if it along the way, but the characters don't face any complex challenges or grow in any interesting ways other than to magically shed their flaws.

The solid writing makes it a nice casual read when there's nothing else to do?

Wool (Hardcover, 2013, Simon & Schuster) 4 stars

They live beneath the earth in a prison of their own making. There is a …

Fun concept, overpowered protagonist

4 stars

This was a fun read! Very unique post-apocalyptic Earth plotline with some good twists.

But the characters are a little two dimensional, and the protagonist is a little too good at everything. I'll certainly read the other books in the series. Again, it's a good story, but I'm not craving more time with these characters immediately.

BART (2016) 4 stars

When BART opened in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1972, it became a catalyst …

Great for Bay Area Readers

4 stars

It's an ok book, it's written by their former head of PR, so everything BART comes off feeling a little too polished and perfect.

BUT!

The author had a lot of access, and it's a great read to learn about how the system was all put together. Dunno if I'd care if it wasn't about my hometown, but if you ride BART, you should certainly check it out

Winners Take All (2018, Alfred A. Knopf) 4 stars

Former New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas takes us into the inner sanctums of a …

Ahead of it's time in 2018

4 stars

Don't need to read this more than once. It's tells many different stories that all confirm the depth of the structures that cauterize society and prevent it from meaningfully changing. Good stuff, opened my eyes to the work we need to put in to make lasting change.

A great story of friendship

3 stars

The characters and their relationship as it evolves over time are the highlight of this book. It's a great tale of a strong friendship as it ebbs and flows over the decades. Felt very real and very human. I appreciated it for how much it made me consider my life and relationships.

The overall plotline and where it ends up are less compelling. I liked it but wouldn't read it again.

Binti (EBook, 2015, Tor.com) 5 stars

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to …

Just perfect

5 stars

I love these kinda books: Shorter books with an extremely unique world that don't worry about a tidy ending. This is a thee book series, and it was good, but I mighta just has been as happy if I'd stopped after this one.

Ra (Paperback, 2018, Everything2 & Things of Interest, Independently Published) 4 stars

Amazing concepts, a little too epic

4 stars

I'm a big fan of qntm, this book has the their trademark wildly unique world. But the story got a little too big in the final third and I felt like it kinda fizzled out some. Recommended if you like the genre.

Hollowpox (2020, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) 5 stars

Getting deeper into the world of Nevermoor

5 stars

The first two books are prelude to this "regular" adventure book in Nevermoor. This one is certainly a little scarier (from a YA perspective), but also has us settling in with the main characters and learning more about them. Again, can't recommend this series enough if you like YA magic/fantasy.