Two star review, originally posted here on March 15, 2023. I only finished this book a few weeks ago, and I already forgot what I thought about it. Apparently I didn’t like it! Two stars, huh? I assume I just found it too long and boring. Yeah, I think that’s what is happening here. I … More Goodreads Review: Middlemarch by George Eliot
Four star review, originally posted here on March 15, 2023. I have too many wonderful things to say about this book and I have no time or energy to list them all out. I’ll just say that if you feel like being SUPER depressed, then this book is great for you! I highly recommend this … More Goodreads Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsglover
Five star review, originally posted here on March 15, 2023. I’m surprised to find I agree with the reviewers who say the end drops off a bit (it was fine, but just too long). But even with that slight criticisms, this book was incredible. I loved how do many disciplines were weaved together to tell … More Goodreads Review: The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson
Five star review, originally posted here on January 11, 2023. Wow.
Three star review, originally posted here on January 19, 2023. To my surprise, Apt Pupil was the best and most engrossing story: 4 or 4.5 stars. The rest were fine. Interesting how the weaker stories made the best movies.
Two star review, originally posted here on January 11, 2023 I’m impressed by how such an interesting topic can be portrayed in such an uninteresting way. Even if you get yourself into the headspace to consider it a reference book instead of narrative… this is still just painfully dry.
One star review, originally posted here on July 18, 2022 garbage.
It’s been a while since I’ve done formal NY resolutions. Last year I had some health/fitness-related goals, but nothing that formally started/ended with the new year. But this year I figured I’d give it another go, since I’m generally pretty motivated by formals challenges (even if the formality of is of my own making.) Rather … More 2024 New Year’s Resolutions
Four star review, originally posted here on January 5, 2024. One of my NY resolutions this year is to get back to writing book reviews. I used to be religious about it, but fell behind over the past couple years when pandemic-era audiobooks got me running through books faster than I could find time to … More Goodreads Review: The Taking of Jemima Boone: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap That Shaped America by Matthew Pearl
For many years now, I try to watch as many Oscar nominees as possible. Some years I took things more seriously or was more successful than others. In 2019 I started reviewing the films here on this mostly-defunct blog. In 2021, we were knee-deep in a pandemic, which meant most films were available for streaming, … More The Official Helga Without the H 2023 Oscar Awards
Helga without the H 