paperportals's reviews
112 reviews

Would probably be much higher if I read it with my eyes instead of my ears. Robinson is a modern-day prophet, in my eyes. Knitted to Scripture, speaking truth, engaging fellow believers into a life of freedom in Christ Jesus. 

Just finished this today. This book was first published in 1985, and my goodness, so eye-opening and fascinating.

I remember jaw-dropping moments, LOL commentary that's so accurate it's scary, and an absolutely new way of looking life as we know it, but from a very specific timeframe. (I mean, he's only talking about television. The advent of the internet and the proliferation of social media are absolutely nowhere to be found.)
 
You know how people say, "you never know you're part of a culture until you step out of it"? This book was like a Portkey, it momentarily took me out of a specific culture (which is show business) I swim in everyday. Also, the author has a very clear stance on the matter, but he's scathingly funny. I really thought there was a portion where it was less academic presentation of research and more LOL roast. 

For a book that wants to go against show business, it was highly entertaining.

But I'm curious if this book received flack for sounding pundit-y at times! (Not without good reason, imho. Also wondering if this author wrote any other books now.)

I liked this better than Here's Looking At You, but not as much as It's Not Me, It's You. :)

Hannah is my favorite supporting character from all the 3 books I've read of McFarlane. (But I'm sure I liked Anna's best friend from from Here's Looking At You, too.)

What stood out:
- How To Cover Stuff With Water Cellophane
- How To Remember A Name 

(Definitely requires multiple readings, something to pick up from time to time, if only to read and see which stories of grief resonate now. It seems we're always grieving - and it's just a matter of identifying who or what we're grieving at any given time.)

I only have praises for McFarlane's writing. Truly.

She took elements that would honestly not be attractive to me as a reader (fat girl loses weight, former bully reformed), but made it incredibly readable anyway.

I was expecting this book to be similar to "It's Not Me It's You" where the POV was only the MFC's (Anna), without access to the MMC's (James). So when James's POV came as early as chapter 4, I may or may not have recoiled. 😆 "Don't humanize the bully in my eyes, ma'am! I'm not interested, ma'am!"

As I read, I find myself not warming up to James even with his dastardly good looks, and only liking the main girl (Anna) despite her own transformation into a swan. I love seeing characters with rich inner lives - the author had interesting things to say about her suddenly entering a new world after discovering she's conventionally pretty! Let it be known: fat does not equal ugly, okay?

This is my second McFarlane, and this is certainly her most Pride and Prejudice-y one yet. She practically LIFTED words (and maybe even plot points?) from Austen's most famous work, and I'm not complaining. I remember laughing because I didn't know if the author was doing a not-so-subtle *nudgenudgewinkwink* with me as the reader. It was like breaking the fourth wall, in the most literary way.

Also, I learned new words! I loved the descriptions of finding out what kind of person you are, ESPECIALLY that insight about how the people we keep around us might be mirros of our traits, the bad or the good. I loved juxtaposing Anna's best girlfriend and James's "best" guy friend and woah. How telling. :) 

This isn't my favorite (for elements aforementioned), but it still had good things to say. I noticed that I wasn't rooting for the main couple; I was more curious how they'd get together in the end.

What would've made it better? I would've loved an epilogue featuring Grace and Anna meeting and taking shots at James together, but alas, it doesn't stop a girl from dreaming. 

I'm excited for my next McFarlane, but especially glad my real-life bookworm friend Anna had the intuition to give me It's Not Me, It's You first. 🥰 Because that one really knocked it out of the park for me. Here's Looking At You was mighty readable, but didn't sparkle as brightly as the former. ✨️ 

(As a prediction: I don't know if I'll get over the premise of this book!)

One of the first words I used to describe this book is juicy ! Couldn't wait to find out 'what happened next', and ended up really rooting for the main girl. Read if looking for agreeable characters who feel like they have rich inner lives, a realistic (albeit "world conspires with you") romance, and other-worldly banter. I think that's what felt most unreal about it, how quick and clever the dialogue was - and I guess that's what you end up feeling when watching a popular sitcom like FRIENDS, right? Would my life sound this whip smart if I had writers handle my everyday conversations and reactions?

I loved this. Major thanks to Anna for recommending and lending this book to me. Got me out of a reading slump AND found me perhaps the kind of romance books I'd happily sink my teeth into!

PS. Author also talks about the reality of being a pet owner not usually broached (but may contain spoilers so just leaving it there). I appreciated that!

Finished this short but effective book. Very big sister vibes si Kendra Adachi. I enjoyed this one a lot, and I'm really h a p p y to finally read her work after listening to her podcast during the height of the pandemic. (She's a big reader, too!)

C.S. Lewis will always be one of the most foremost thinkers to me. I learned a couple of things about him, too. Will probably give it another listen, to write down my audio bookmarks.