blairconrad's Reviews (1.12k)

Really interesting. I really enjoyed Ms. Cain's "case studies" and the explanations of the differences between "introverted" and "shy". It was refreshing to hear descriptions of introversion that didn't make us all come off as cold loners who are completely uninterested in people. I thought the book did a good job of looking at some possible causes of extroversion, the prevalence and attitudes toward introversion in various cultures, and some advantages to being introverted. At the same time, the book didn't come off as pro-introvert to the point of being anti-extrovert - thoughtful points were made about the advantages of each orientation, as well as practical advice on how to capitalize on their strengths. I especially enjoyed the sections that talked about how introverts and extroverts (especially married couples) can get along better.
A very entertaining and illuminating read (not since I read [b:Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew|163659|Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew|Ellen Notbohm|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328694413s/163659.jpg|157991] have I found myself nodding along with a book so much, thinking "that sounds like me" - only this time the correlation was even stronger).

If you are or know an introvert, you should read this.

Entertaining, if slightly uneven. Some passages had me laughing so hard I was drooling, but there were longer sections that were sort of flat descriptions of someone's vacation gone not horribly wrong, but not horribly right either. They had little gems of humour or interest, but were kind of like a chocolate chip cookie with almost enough chips.

Still, Bryson paints an interesting picture of Australia, demonstrating his love and respect for the country. This book has increased my desire to visit the place, especially some of the smaller hard-to-reach locales that I know I'll never get to.

Great fun. The “story about an object, told in flashbacks” format is very “The Red Violin” (not a bad thing), and Brooks does a very good job of developing her supporting characters in the “vignettes from the past”. The descriptions of the haggadah and its construction hooked me from the start. As always, Brooks’ prose flows well – very enjoyable to read.

I love the double meaning of the book’s title – it’s not a big deal, but did add a nice extra frisson while reading.

My one complaint is that I didn’t find Hannah to be as well developed as some of the other characters – I didn’t relate to her as well as I could’ve. Still, for all the she’s the main human character, I didn’t find that this deficiency detracted markedly from the book.

Often in a trilogy, the middle book is a somewhat less interesting bridge between two more interesting and engaging books. Technically true in this case, as there's a whole lot going on in Mockingjay. Hands down the best part - Cinna's costumes. Worst part - everything else. The plot twists were painful, there was too much gore for what's supposed to be a YA novel, and the direction the love triangle took nearly made me ill. (Oh, and don't get me started on the resolution.)
I find that YA books tend to fall down when they model adults, and especially large groups of adults (institutions, governments). They end up individually acting like children and collectively like catchphrases. And it happened here. Witness Russia District 13 and Rome the Capitol, who seem to mostly be driven by the whims of their leaders.
Katniss continues to alienate the readers with her selfishness (exception:

Spoiler

her empathy for and defense of the hospital in... I forget. 8?

) and general moroseness, with a few turns near the end really driving the antipathy home (

Spoiler

voting for a last Hunger Game (while I'm on that, what's with that? Coin's council couldn't decide what to do about the citizens of the Capitol

(and while I'm on that, why "Capitol"? - a capitol is a building, and a word that too many people already think means a city, so why try to confuse a generation of readers even more?

Spoiler

, so she got some celebrities to decide), and her decision to suicide

).

Anyhow, the book was basically a long series of more or less uncomfortable scenes, to the point where I was 17 pages from the end and seriously considering not finishing. If somehow you're reading this without having yet read [b:Catching Fire|6148028|Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)|Suzanne Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1268805322s/6148028.jpg|6171458], save yourself. Stop after (or even before) [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1326003698s/2767052.jpg|2792775]. Go read [b:Among Others|8706185|Among Others|Jo Walton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317792367s/8706185.jpg|6449955], [b:Plain Kate|7877239|Plain Kate|Erin Bow|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328772028s/7877239.jpg|7160746], or [b:Tender Morsels|2662169|Tender Morsels|Margo Lanagan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320416424s/2662169.jpg|2687395] instead.

Cute! Interesting! Dark! Scary!
I really enjoyed these stories about a plucky gang of neighbourhood dogs (and cat!) that have to band together to save their town (and the world?) from the Forces of Evil. It's got personality and quirkiness and interesting stories and humour appealing artwork. And who can argue with a haunted doghouse?

An interesting premise that kind of went nowhere, giving us a sequence of stories each featuring one of Supes's supporting cast members. Overall kind of goofy considering the gravity of the situation.
The artwork did suit the story, I thought, having a sort of retro feel, and it looked good.

Cute and somewhat interesting. I liked the back-and-forth between present day and olde timey (fictional) French Hill. It was fun to see Nova Scotianisms in print ("dinner = lunch" indeed! And I didn't even know that King of Donair was a chain and existed outside Halifax).
The semi-romantic thread with Tara and... umm... Pak? Doppeltara was fairly well done, I thought.

Spoiler

I thought the extreme magical bit at the end felt a little tacked-on, but didn't really ruin the story for me. At least it was brief.