shellballenger's reviews
496 reviews

Type of read: Weekend/After Work Read.

What made me pick it up: I saw this one either on a Goodreads list or suggested to me through my library app and both the title and the description stuck out to me.

Overall rating: Getting the painful part out of the way...this is my first DNF of the year.

There is so much to unpack in this one. Some of the writing was hard to read, and I don't mean contextually, but grammatically and style-wise...it was just...thick? Honestly, it took me a very long time and many renewals to even get to the point where I knew it had to be a DNF. I wouldn't even call it leisure reading, because not only is it a difficult topic, it's almost textbook-like in the way the narrative flows (or rather doesn't flow). I feel like Nockels Wilson tried to create a book and then fell into pulling from personal writings and forgot who their audience was or even that they had an audience.

'The Book of Timothy' was not the book for me.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: Suggested based on past reads and the cover art caught my eye.

Overall rating: I'm not rating as this was a DNF. I just couldn't get into it. I found the structure difficult to follow and the language used repetitive and unnatural. I do plan to pick this one up again in print, hoping I'll be able to get further in a different version.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: Reese's Book Club Pick.

Overall rating: This one was unfortunately a DNF for me. Life is just too short to read books that don't truly capture your attention. And after the books I've read recently that have either been so exceptionally good that I couldn't put them down or so comically bad that I had to see how the author would tie it all up in the end, this bland and melancholy read was not doing it for me. I understand story build up but dang was it slow. I loved the idea and subject matter, just way too slow-moving.

Type of read: Weekend/Lunchtime Read.

What made me pick it up: I've already read 'The Pact' but it's been a while so when I saw it at McKay's I knew I had to bring it home with me. Picoult is one of my favorite authors and with it being so long, and not remembering the exact storyline, I had no issues with a reread. Also, I didn't do a review last time I read it.

Overall rating: I will always be a sucker for Picoult's writing. There's something about it that feels like a warm hug to me. When I don't know what to read, or feel overwhelmed by my constantly growing TBR pile, I know I can pick up a Picoult book and usually fall in love...'The Pact' is no exception. While this was a reread, it had been a while since my first venture into the story of Chris and Emily. 'The Pact' is one of those books that makes you feel and question and wonder where everything went wrong. I love how Picoult can put emotion into the pages and tell a story from multiple points of view. There is some time jumping; however, it's clearly marked. As with many of their books, I'd absolutely recommend 'The Pact.'

Reader's Note: 'The Pact' includes themes of sexual assault, suicide, abortion, and violence.

I feel it would be a disservice if I didn't mention it - I originally picked this book up during a summer vacation and didn't have time to finish it. Because it's a book I own and not one I'm borrowing from the library, it continually got pushed to the bottom of my stack when I was working on finishing books over the summer. The length of time it took me to finish this book is not an indication of how much I enjoyed it or how engaging the story was; rather, it's an indication of my ever-growing TBR pile. In reality, I finished 'The Pact' in about two weeks' time.

Type of read: Commuter read.

What made me pick it up: Suggested from my library's Read City USA book list. The theme for this year's challenge is oceans and 'The Bookshop on the Shore' was included in one of the adult lists.

Overall rating: I don't know if I wasn't in the right mindset or if it just wasn't the book for me, but 'The BOokshop on the Shore' didn't catch my attention and every time I tried listening to it I felt like I wasn't paying attention and I just ended up missing bits and pieces. I decided to DNF. Maybe I'll come back to it later...and in print.

Type of read: Commuter (listened to and from work)

What made me pick it up: Reese's Book Club Pick

Overall rating: Overall, The Guest List was an enjoyable read that wasn't too predictable. The beginning of the book does go a bit slow but it helps to build the backstory of the characters and their families. With the story being told from so many different perspectives, I really appreciated how the chapters were labeled and introduced. It helped me keep everything straight. Some of the writing seemed a bit unfinished, built up with such momentum, and then lackluster in its delivery. Additionally, there were areas that were repetitive in word use, and not in a way that fit the narrative of multiple storytellers, but in a way that made it seem like the words were being used for filler or to continually force specific detail on the reader. Nitpicking, but an example of this is a section of the book, about 3/4 of the way through, where I swear if there was going to be one more use of the word gale I was going to start throwing things.

Readers note: This book mentions self-harm and has quite a bit of sexual references (or at least more than I was expecting for what the description/genres included; however, I'm not familiar with any other works by Foley). I would recommend this book but would be upfront about these two elements as I don't feel it makes it appropriate for all audiences.

Type of read: Weekend/Lunch time read.

What made me pick it up: King is a favorite of mine and at a recent visit to our McKay's Bookstore I found the entire 'The Green Mile' series in all of its beautiful short story glory.

Overall rating: I read 'The Two Dead Girls' in one sitting and was incredibly mad at myself that I hadn't brought the second book in the series as well (we were traveling). I think that says all that needs to be said about the start of 'The Green Mile' series. I also fully admit, I know I'm biased when it comes to books by Stephen King, they have been and always will be a favorite of mine. They are one of the first authors I look for when we go to bookstores and I absolutely love the fact that many of their books can perfectly fit on my person (either in my pocket, purse, or backpack) for everyday and extended travel.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I tried to read 'Leslie F*cking Jones' as one of my books for the Tennessee R.E.A.D.s challenge prompt of read a book about a famous or infamous female.

Overall rating: Gahhhh....I have such mixed feelings about this book. Let's get the horrible part out of the way, this was a DNF. I tried so hard. I kept putting it aside, starting other books, and when I found myself absolutely dreading picking this one back up, I knew it was time to DNF. What makes Jones an absolute unit on stage is exactly what her downfall is in the book. She isn't succinct, she rambles, she's going every which way. I should have read the audiobook description as apparently there are over five hours of additional "bonus" material. By bonus material, they mean that she rambled for so long and there weren't any good points they could stop (because she never takes a breath) so they just had to keep everything in. Aside from the length, the very clear straying from the actual written book, and the fact that there are portions of the book Jones would go through every single emotion known to humankind, making it hard to not only follow but feel the authenticity, 'Leslie F*cking Jones' is so full of profanity, it's hard to listen to it after a certain point....and this is from a woman who has the mouth of a sailor and her own full swear jar at home. But when there are sections of the book where every other word is the f-bomb...dang it gets old. There is no way I could recommend the audio version of this book, maybe the print version is better, I'm not sure I really care enough to pick it up and find out.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I read 'The Trial of Lizzie Borden' as one of my books for the Tennessee R.E.A.D.s challenge prompt of read a book about a famous or infamous female.

Overall rating: I've always been fascinated by the Lizzie Borden story and I remember hearing the rhyme when I was younger and thinking it was just the craziest thing. When one of the prompts for the Tennessee R.E.A.D.s challenger was to read a book about an infamous female, it seemed a great fit to combine history and interest, unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me. I think I got a few hours into the audiobook and had over eight hours left when I finally called it quits. I really wish there was a different audio narrator for 'The Trial of Lizzie Borden.' It felt like Siri was reading me a story with the pacing, tone, and inflections being off. Maybe it was because I was reading at 1.5 speed (which isn't abnormal for me) but even when I slowed it down to regular speed (1.00) it was just funky. The audio combined with the slow-moving nature of the book caused it to be a DNF.

Type of read: Lunch/Weekend Read.

What made me pick it up: I got 'The Binding' as part of the Stuff Your Kindle event.

Overall rating: DNF around 20%. I read the trigger warnings, I knew what I was getting into, still started the book but it just wasn't my vibe. I'm not a fan of nonconsensual acts and to top it off, I don't feel like the writing was that great.