Nice roundup - it's refreshing to see more honest and less overly positive reviews. I see some reviewers giving 5 stars to everything they read, but with your more discerning writeups, I feel less pressure to add to my TBR.
However, I think you've convinced me to give The Wager a go. I see it all the time just staring at me in bookshops, saying 'buy me!' One of my reading resolutions this year was to give audiobooks more of a go, but I've struggled with them.
Highly recommend The Warmth of Other Suns, though it's not exactly light reading. If you want some exhilarating non-fiction narrative, and it sounds like it might be similar to The Wager, check out Long Lost Log: Diary of a Virgin Sailor my Mick Chapman. It was a highly entertaining adventure and I'm eager to read the sequel.
I feel that reviewing I used to shy away from anything negative because I didn’t want to be that person, but then myself was getting bored of reading glowing reviews of mediocre books.
It’s also helped me step back and actually think whether I liked the book or the fact I read a hyped book - if that makes sense?
I actually have warmth of other suns on my bookshelf but as you said it’s heavy that I’m waiting for the right time to give a read.
The wager was great on audio, I have bought the paperback as a gift and it has lots of maps and pictures which I would have loved to have seen whilst reading though. So pros to either choice!
My TBR list is, like many others, sprawling so it's comforting to see books I was on the fence about get a less than glowing review. It's not always so much the lower rating itself, but more the specific things a reviewer says that put me off and convince me I'm less likely to enjoy it. If I'm reading an Amazon review, there are negatives I can overlook knowing it's very subjective but others that ring alarm bells because I can see how it'll drive me nuts.
I totally agree with everything you said about The Dream Hotel.
I’m glad I’m not alone!
A belated happy birthday!
Nice roundup - it's refreshing to see more honest and less overly positive reviews. I see some reviewers giving 5 stars to everything they read, but with your more discerning writeups, I feel less pressure to add to my TBR.
However, I think you've convinced me to give The Wager a go. I see it all the time just staring at me in bookshops, saying 'buy me!' One of my reading resolutions this year was to give audiobooks more of a go, but I've struggled with them.
Highly recommend The Warmth of Other Suns, though it's not exactly light reading. If you want some exhilarating non-fiction narrative, and it sounds like it might be similar to The Wager, check out Long Lost Log: Diary of a Virgin Sailor my Mick Chapman. It was a highly entertaining adventure and I'm eager to read the sequel.
Thank you!
I feel that reviewing I used to shy away from anything negative because I didn’t want to be that person, but then myself was getting bored of reading glowing reviews of mediocre books.
It’s also helped me step back and actually think whether I liked the book or the fact I read a hyped book - if that makes sense?
I actually have warmth of other suns on my bookshelf but as you said it’s heavy that I’m waiting for the right time to give a read.
The wager was great on audio, I have bought the paperback as a gift and it has lots of maps and pictures which I would have loved to have seen whilst reading though. So pros to either choice!
My TBR list is, like many others, sprawling so it's comforting to see books I was on the fence about get a less than glowing review. It's not always so much the lower rating itself, but more the specific things a reviewer says that put me off and convince me I'm less likely to enjoy it. If I'm reading an Amazon review, there are negatives I can overlook knowing it's very subjective but others that ring alarm bells because I can see how it'll drive me nuts.
I'll go with the Wager in paperback then.