Jen

As a budding scientist, I am finding that I already know most words in this book. Nevertheless, brushing up on meanings never hurts. I like the reviews and context stories and have found that I remember the words afterwards--they have found their way into my writing already. However, I am very much put off by the script of the male and female narrators, and some stories. While clearly attempting to be engaging and possibly directed toward younger individuals studying for the GRE/SAT, this style does not suit me. In particular I find it hard to disregard the obvious sexist undertones (e.g., the female narrator is often scripted to adapt a dumb female role, while the male never is portrayed as dumb; one context story is all about pleasing a man and accepting his undomesticated desires). Additionally, there are some quips that are not sensitive to suffering from mental health issues and other difficulties. I must confess that I am a social worker and sensitive to these types of things...but to me this is unacceptable and distracting in the learning process. I am constantly rolling my eyes at the filler information between words, but overall I would recommend this for learning new words if you don't have the time to read.

I'll preface with the statement that I have never read/listened to Neil Gaiman's work before. This was very long, and painful to finish (be advised this is 20 hours long). The storyline never takes off, and the much-anticipated god-war is a short snipet. I dreaded listening to this on the way to and home from work (I need to finish books I start). Long, drawn-out unnecessary details-the space could have been better used for moving the story along. The idea is good, I enjoyed the sprinkling of ancient gods-but the god characters were not described in detail for the most part (and in excessive stories for others). I never connected with the major characters, which probably influenced my distaste for the book. Some love this book, others (like me) do not (look this book up on Amazon, look at the 1-star ratings and I pretty much agree with these reviewers-especially it being boring and drawn out).