User Profile

bigethan

bigethan@sfba.club

Joined 11 months, 1 week ago

Love to read! All things!

Though sweet spots are Science Fiction and Fantasy and humorous Young Adult stuff. I generally read in bed, so my preference is for less stressful stories. My favorite stories that ones that are both Quirky and Unexpected.

Due to book experiences being very dependent on the reader, I belive that reviews should be short.

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bigethan's books

To Read

Daniel James Brown: The Boys in the Boat (Hardcover, 2013, Viking) 1 star

Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar …

I'm not the right audience for this book

1 star

I'm a former rower who's aware of history and more critically, appreciates good characters.

This book covers an absolutely incredible story with very little joy or nuance. I respect it for capturing some history that would have likely been lost, but regret it didn't do more to bring the challenges the characters faced to the page.

Shelby Van Pelt: Remarkably Bright Creatures (Hardcover, 2022, Ecco) 4 stars

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration …

Nicely written easy read, unfulfilling plot

3 stars

If you want a sense of the depth of this book, it's basically a re-imagined for adults version of Adam Sandler's "Leo" kids movie. Not sure which actually came first, but either way, neither is particularly deep and both involve lots of Deus ex Machina moments.

I got some chuckles out if it along the way, but the characters don't face any complex challenges or grow in any interesting ways other than to magically shed their flaws.

The solid writing makes it a nice casual read when there's nothing else to do?

reviewed Wool by Hugh Howey (Silo Series, #1)

Hugh Howey: Wool (Hardcover, 2013, Simon & Schuster) 4 stars

They live beneath the earth in a prison of their own making. There is a …

Fun concept, overpowered protagonist

4 stars

This was a fun read! Very unique post-apocalyptic Earth plotline with some good twists.

But the characters are a little two dimensional, and the protagonist is a little too good at everything. I'll certainly read the other books in the series. Again, it's a good story, but I'm not craving more time with these characters immediately.

Michael C. Healy: BART (2016) 4 stars

When BART opened in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1972, it became a catalyst …

Great for Bay Area Readers

4 stars

It's an ok book, it's written by their former head of PR, so everything BART comes off feeling a little too polished and perfect.

BUT!

The author had a lot of access, and it's a great read to learn about how the system was all put together. Dunno if I'd care if it wasn't about my hometown, but if you ride BART, you should certainly check it out