Krista

I will never forget this book. Ever. I had no idea what I was getting into other than a story of a mother struggling to come to grips with her son becoming a murderer, but I was horrified, enthralled, totally sucked in even though it was psychologically painful and surprising and long. I struggled to turn it on after a difficult day, because it took something from me each time, but I could never stay away for long. I don't think this is the story of every high school shooter, but I do think it's a compelling story of one fictional boy who is disturbed beyond belief, with an exceptional writer to tell it thoroughly, engagingly. Plus, the reader was totally in character and pitch-perfect from start to finish. Toward the end, I was obsessed with finishing it—listened voraciously—like I would gulp down shots trying to finish the bottle regardless of the consequences, the hangover after. I feel the hangover of finishing this. And it was worth it.

I would recommend this book. Even when I thought I knew what was happening, I had to know HOW, and if I was RIGHT, and what everyone involved would THINK and SAY and DO to make it happen or in reaction once it did. I didn't like anyone in this book, but I was completely intrigued by the way they became what they were and why they were letting each other RUIN them. I quite literally could not stop until it ended, until I knew. And at the end I was still disappointed with how ruinous the whole thing was. Yes, these characters are far-fetched. That's what made it so wonderful and escapist for me.

My closest comparison would be wit House of Sand and Fog, since I despised everyone in that book too, but couldn't put it down until everyone was satisfactorily destroyed.

Yes, although I have no idea how the narrators kept themselves from speeding up intensely as things got so twisted...

Like Watching a Train Wreck...You Won't Look Away.

I would listen again; the reader was impeccable. Natural, believable, soothing. The narration was probably the best I have ever listened to.

I most enjoyed that the characters are all so irreparably flawed and damaged. It was human. It was clear that their issues were a product of both the times and just the sheer fact of being honestly alive. Yes, some of their concerns were trivial. Yes, some of their reactions were overly dramatic. Yes, it was like listening to a train wreck as it happens. Isn't life really like that?

Kitty Fane. Of course, that was the main character and her perspective throughout the book, but she just did it SO WELL.

For me, the most memorable characters were all of them—I know, that's a cheater's way out, but none of the lives and situations are really cleared up or explained, so I was left wondering about nearly everyone, even if they had died. What were their real motivations? What would they or should they or could they have done differently? Did they ever find out that (fill in secret or lesson here)? Did anyone else eventually become a victim of the Cholera? I will never know the answers, and will likely think about those loose ends for a long time to come.

I really wanted to like this book, and I did in a lot of ways. If you approach it as just one guy's story about his mom and what his family was doing, thinking, and reading during his mom's battle with cancer (without any huge epiphanies or off-the-wall adventures or stunning realizations), you'll like it much better than if you're approaching it for sweeping insights. Don't get me wrong, I am saddened that families and friends ever have to watch someone they love battle this disease, and that wonderful people die everyday as we search for a cure, but this book just didn't expose any ringing truths or open my eyes to anything new, which I tend to need from a book to increase the stars in my ratings. My biggest issue? The complete perception of perfection that the author portrays of his mom, and of everyone around them. Could he not tell one story of their faults and foibles and fights? Even the one "mistake" we learn of his mom making during his childhood was so trivial that, while it made for a few minutes of easy reading, it didn't paint a picture of family life that I could relate to. My praise? It did make me want to read several of the books mentioned within. Books about books are like that.

I was completely enthralled, but I am a runner and a writer. Even though I could relate at that level, there were times when the detail on the process of running and/or writing and/or triathalon training got to be a little too much. Overall, I was very intrigued and thought some of the lessons he applies, and the way he looks at life, if this memoir to be stunning and universal, so I couldn't stop listening...like I can't stop running...like I can't stop writing.

It is so rare for him to want to read anything that I willingly obliged, plus I am fascinated by Tiger and Hank. This was remarkable insight into Tiger's character, even if only from a couple of peoples' perspectives. I would like to read the same story from his viewpoint, but know that is highly unlikely since Tiger is far from being an open book or the type of person to tell his (real) story. It's part of what makes him a champion, an addict, an icon. Even during the parts that were golf-technical, I remained interested and it produced good conversation.

Ender's Game has won the Nebula and Hugo awards, and for good reason. This well-written science fiction work is the story of a little boy's choldhood, warped by the social experiments that created him (and his siblings), a battle against an alien force, and his struggle with fulfilling the hope that he is the general who will finally and permanently save Earth. It was captivating and interesting, and I am glad I listened instead of reading...the 20th anniversary edition had a cast of readers that were phenomenal.

Wow, Wao. I listened to this book and it was heart-wrenching and honest, built upon powerful stories woven together with violence, fantasy, and profanity, written in a distinctive voice. I was hoping for something great to happen...and it almost did, a bunch of times. I didn't like very many of the characters, but the ones I did, I really loved and find myself thinking of even after I finished listening. Let's be honest, I am thinking of the ones I despised still, as well. I read in my writing prompts book that Junot Diaz steals away from the world by writing perched alone on the side of the bathtub, and I find that to be a fascinating tid-bit, especially when I envision him writing some of the scenes and relationships that occur in these pages. I'm inspired...to write real, even when it's ugly, and where ever I can find the space. Maybe one day I will win awards too. Even if I don't, life won't be as difficult as it was for the primary GhettoNerd, or for any of the Dominicans in this book, so I've got THAT going for me.