A really interesting and informative read about Islamic culture in Australia that is told with a good amount of humour.

I love Catherine Hamlin and all the work she did towards fighting obstetric fistula in Ethiopia, but I did expect there to be more focus on the hospital and her work than there was. 
This is actually her autobiography and not really about the hospital.

Despite the confusion, this was a very interesting and inspiring read.

The collection of writings included in this book are very interesting and well worth the read. 

Many of Hitchens' insights are thought-provoking, but I've never been a fan of mocking other people for their beliefs, no matter how illogical I find them. 

Hitchens clearly has a chip on their shoulder regarding religion, and it clearly comes through in their language.

I didn't mind the slow pace initially, but the payoff just wasn't worth the time invested in finding out what happened.

Having said that, the depiction of Elizabeth and how she deals with the disappearance of her son was very good. I wish the rest of the story had been as well-written. 

I first read The Exorcist when I was 12, then again in my early 20s. Re-reading it now in my mid-30s, I still find it to be a great story.

The 40th Anniversary edition has some new dialogue, a new very minor character, and removes some of the ambiguity around the ending. 

I think this version feels more conclusive and polished.

Basically, it's a day to day account of several peoples lives in which nothing of any real interest occurs. 

The author did manage to write characters who felt like real people, though.

A short story about a boy and his dad camping in the desert by a small forest that hides an unexpected and eerie presence.

My son really enjoyed this story, and so did I. It's a great option for younger children who like spooky stories as it has nothing inappropriate or overly confronting (i.e. violence, death, etc) in it.

While I'm not a fan of how Stoker uses letters and journal entries to frame the story, I do genuinely love the overall tale and the imagery it invokes.

A brilliant retelling that uses modern language in order to make a classic story more accessible to modern readers. 

For me, this wasn't as insightful as I had hoped. I was expecting to gain new insights or to have my preconceptions challenged, but instead, it was mostly just anecdote after anecdote that pointed out the obvious.

That's not to say it's a bad book. It isn't, it's just not what I was expecting. 

I guess I was hoping for more than just having my currently held beliefs validated.