Normally, I don't spend time writing much about a book that I've abandoned, but this one was particularly bothersome. There's a squishy tone to the work that made me feel ill. It seemed melodramatic and yet somehow patronizing to the extent I'm inclined to suggest the author should get over herself.

Gather 'round, boys and girls! Today, we're going to learn about the brain regions involved in reading by comparing their act to that of a three-ring circus! Never fear! This insult to the method of loci can't be indicative of the author's intended audience considering more than several of the names sprinkled onto this circumlocutory text would be considered well-known only among the educated!

What an absolute waste of time.

Hollow. I believe that's the word I'd use to describe the author's tone (which left me wondering). Maybe shallow. Your characters' dog has been inexplicably mutilated, and their reaction is to sit in the garage, hint at love affairs, and talk about buying a new house? Seriously? 

I didn't get very far into this story. I couldn't. 

I recall this book epitomizing the Downing Effect.

I read the first chapter and skimmed several more to be certain this was exactly what it felt like: regurgitated storytelling in the spirit of yellow journalism. Content makes no difference; I'm always disgusted by that tone. Consider this one abandoned. 

This one might hold the record for the book most quickly abandoned. (Ten seconds?) I should know by now how much I hate reading about "history." I'll never know why its presentation always has to be so boring. 

I recall picking up on a seemingly racist tone in the work.