shereadytoread's Reviews (806)

The story did not make a ton of sense but it was still fun to read. There is little explanation of what most of the Hallows are or what they do, mostly focused on a single one. It is a very violent fantasy tale and follows and extremely similar plot basis as his prior novel "The Hallows" and focuses on the same exact hallow. It does take a turn to a religious focus maybe 3/4 of the way through. The story builds a lot (but is rather repetitive) and then the climax happens pretty quickly, the big event is maybe the last 5% of the book.

After doing my research (as the author's note implies the items are real), I came across an interview that explains the myth/legend from where the hallows are taken. So the welsh mythology is mixed with religion. Very little of the actual welsh mythology is explained, as they make the hybrid with christianity. If you enjoy that type of fantasy with lots of violence then this might be for you.

I found the final book in the trilogy to be much better than the 2nd. Grossman's world-building continues to be fantastic with additional settings and a newly introduced main character. Where this book continues to fail is having likeable protagonists. Elliott's character growth has made him probably the most likeable of the original characters and the new introduction, Plum, is also fun to follow. This book holds two separate stories (In Fillory and on Earth) which then intertwine about 3/4s of the way.

Most disappointing I found was the ending. It gives you so much just to take it away. And there is no real ending for most of the characters and you're left to assume what they will do going forward. If you've made it this far, definitely worth the read to finish up the trilogy.

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. It combines unreliable narration from a child with themes of horror and isolation. The book is seen from the viewpoint of the youngest family member who has a ... shaky relationship with reality. The writing does a wonderful job at establishing they are "othered" from the rest of the world. Shares common themes with Shirley Jackson's other writing.

Well written but just a little dull. Due to the formatting, it can be difficult to understand who is speaking or being referred to. The chapters are incredibly short so it is a quick read.

A good self help book for people that hate self-help books. None of the fluff but still gets the point across and has easy to complete exercises. It can be a quick practitioner's guide or refresher.

This was such a fun read. The first 1/5 of the book talks about the Wayans family (Keenan specifically) and the rise of many black comedians trying to make it together in the 70s and 80s. The next 3/5 gives a great in depth look at In Living Color, the changes it went through and the effects it had on TV and society at large. So much great behind the scenes information. Everyone from ILC seems to be interviewed/involved except JLo. The last 1/5 is about how ILC declined and how it affected TV and comedy going forward. I really enjoyed it.

This book really surprised me. I expected the general history of psychiatry (necessary to write about an event like this) and of course information about Dr. Rosenhan and the experiment; but the information the author tracks down not only changes how the experiment is seen today, but also potential ramifications that may have changed institutions and how society sees/treats them. The "surprises" kept me interested until the very end.

Cahalan's eventual criticisms of Rosenhan's experiment is not so shocking, as many of the "hallmark" psychological experiments of the past have been called into question in recent years (also briefly discussed in the book). The only issue I had was her combining a lot of general history information in the same paragraphs as information specific to the experiment/psuedopatients which made it easy to conflate. I wish they were separated more clearly. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this.

This book was beautifully written. I actually did not realize that it was nonfiction until after I finished reading it.

It is arranged in a very confusing way. Also very little of this book has anything to do with mothman is mostly a collection of different UFO sightings, reported contact with extraterrestrials and a personal conspiracy theory. It was hard to keep up with who he was talking about an when because it jumps around so much.