Though definitely creepy and a fast read, this short story didn't really do anything I didn't expect. I wasn't super invested in the characters either, making it an unexciting read overall.

I can't believe Hagrid says "Harry, you're a wizard." HP re-read (audio book style) part 1! I honestly don't think I've read any of the Harry Potter books more than once. So, I'm finally going back through the series. I checked this book out of the audio library, and it took a while to get to the front of the queue, so I expect it will be a long process to get each of them. Thoughts on a favorite series of my childhood revisited: it felt like such a fast little story, but with a lot of room for bigger things to happen as the series progresses (of course, I know what those things are now, but it's cool to see what details and questions we're given right from the start.) Amusingly, some of the parts I remembered as being my favorites were the most unbelievable on this reading. (Why would one of the obstacles be a logic puzzle? Why not just have it be the magic fire itself?)

I've been looking forward to reading this book since hearing a snatch of a NPR interview with Helen Oyeyemi when it was first published, but I recently picked up the audio book during a sale and decided to take a break from all the urban fantasy series I've been going through and give it a try. I was totally blown away and already want to read this book again. The narrators of the audio book perfectly capture the voices of the characters Oyeyemi has so masterfully crafted in Boy Novak and Bird Whitman. Their stories are poignant, with smudges of fantasy blended into their realities, leaving me pondering and marveling. This is a book that is going to stick with me and I recommend it very highly.

When I started reading The Martian, it was with the expectation that it would have a more thriller-y vibe to it than the plain sci fi story it is. Not sure how I managed to have such an incorrect sense of what genre this book would be, given that it's so popular, and it's not trying to be deceptive with its premise. Anyway. I didn't love the voice of the narrator of this audio book, which was certainly a factor in my lack of enthusiastic enjoyment of this book. I found it to be surprisingly boring at first. The nitty gritty details of Mark Watney's struggle for survival on Mars were the main focus of much of the book. In spite of the abundance of less engaging technical details throughout the story, I eventually became sufficiently invested in the characters to the point where I was starting to enjoy the book. Unfortunately, from there I felt it became really predictable. One thing I like to think about when it comes to suspense novels (which, again, maybe I should not have been expecting that much suspense from this novel) is the amount the reader "trusts" the author. I really enjoy the experience of reading when I feel I can't totally trust the author. When anything might happen, it creates a purpose to the experience of reading, because you, as the reader, can't just fill in the rest of the story yourself. Eventually, I found Weir to be too trustworthy in the way the twists of the story unfolded, and I couldn't be wrapped up in the desired uncertainty. Again, maybe this just isn't the genre for me, and the narrator probably detracted from the experience, but this book just fell short of wow-ing me the way I'd expected.

I think Reamde is my new favorite Stephenson book, for the mere reason that it was just so readable. That said, it's also SO LONG! The feeling when reading this book was a weird juxtaposition of not wanting to put it down, and also sometimes just not caring about picking it back up. I ran into that big time when I took a break from reading and eventually had to restart from the beginning six months later when I got back to it. It's such a long book and I don't want to get into spoiler territory, so I'll try not to say too much. I do have the feeling that this was kind of one and a half books and the one that didn't quite get finished was probably the book I was more interested in reading. I wish there'd been more of that but the zillion action scenes that made up the completed book portion of it all were well executed and the characters were almost all really well developed and wonderful to spend time with.

Dresden does have great friends, I'll give him that. This was the investigation that I was most invested in of all the plots of the series so far. To balance that, I was less interested in the side arc of this one.

I enjoyed this book but it was so hard for me to push myself through at times. One reason I think was due to the repetition of plot points of the previous novellas in each subsequent story. This is necessary for them to stand alone, but made the experience of reading them like a book harder. The other, bigger reason is that I knew the major things that were in store as a result of having read Throne of Glass already, and I don't easily enjoy reading towards something that I know will happen. There were some really strong moments though and I loved the introduction of plot hooks that anticipate what is to come in the series.

I just loved this book. It was pure delight to read. I knew I had to buy Two Across when I saw a love story with a crossword puzzle theme was the Nook Daily Deal, since crossword puzzles are a special highlight of my relationship as well. The book had somewhat mixed reviews so I didn't have very high expectations as I dove in immediately, deciding that a lighthearted read was just what I needed. Despite some flaws, I was captivated by this story and especially by Vera, the better half of the pair of protagonists. Vera is so true to me and I resonated with her story.

Once again better than the last, Butcher continues to add layers of depth and make me excited about what is to come with this series, in spite of how irritating I continue to find Dresden at times. Really excited to see where the plot lines started recently continue to go.

Misery exceeded my fairly low expectations. Far better than the torture porn I feared it would be, Misery was about an author at the mercy of a psychopath yes, but also about writing, about the way a book can make you feel, about surviving when your situation is close to unbearable.