All the various appendixes at the end make me think I should reread the series now that I'm more acquainted with the lore and whatnot. And that Tolkien was more interested in world-building than in storytelling
The part at the end where <spoiler>the hobbits drive the capitalists out of the Shire</spoiler> hit a lot differently than I imagine it would have in the past.
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Shychipmunk reviewed The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, #3)
Review of 'The Return of the King' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
The part at the end where <spoiler>the hobbits drive the capitalists out of the Shire</spoiler> hit a lot differently than I imagine it would have in the past.
Shychipmunk reviewed Two-edged Sword by John L. McKenzie
Review of 'Two-edged Sword' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
Was an interesting read, getting insight into the people and context of the Old Testament
Shychipmunk reviewed The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (The Kane Chronicles, #2)
Review of 'The Throne of Fire' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
A fast paced adventure featuring lots of emotions and a complex web of characters. Which isn't surprising for this author
Review of 'Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
This book somehow manages to be a fairly light interesting read about a complex set of topics exemplified by the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. Hofstadter managed to connect all kinds of seemingly unrelated topics, and weave them together throughout the entire book
Shychipmunk reviewed The Demigod Files (A Percy Jackson and the Olympians Guide) by Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
Review of 'The Demigod Files (A Percy Jackson and the Olympians Guide)' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
This is an early reader book with a handful of stories about Percy Jackson and his compatriots. Not that complex, the characters might have been over-powered, but it was cute if that's the kind of thing you're looking for
Shychipmunk reviewed The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (The Kane Chronicles)
Review of 'The Red Pyramid' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
This was an action-packed story. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time trying to anticipate all the twists and turns. And once again, the way Rick Riordan integrates ancient gods/lore into the modern world is masterful.
Shychipmunk reviewed A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (The Earthsea Cycle, #1)
Review of 'A Wizard of Earthsea' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
A captivating tale of a young wizard. I was especially taken by the form that magic takes in this world, and it seems like there's lessons and insights there that can apply to our world also. I can't wait to find out what happens to Ged next.
Review of 'A Jefferson Bible for the Twenty-First Century' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
Much of this book consists of quotes from various scriptural texts that are either easy or hard to reckon with. I would have liked to see more context and explanation of why the various passages wound up on the best and worst lists. Which I guess is a very different book than what these people were going for...
Shychipmunk reviewed The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, #2)
Shychipmunk reviewed Math talk by Sherman K. Stein
Review of 'Math talk' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
I have no idea why this book exists, never mind how it ended up in my house. And yet, it makes me happy that someone decided writing poetry about math seemed like fun. And the illustrations are fun too.
Shychipmunk reviewed The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings, #1)
Review of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
My impression of the movie is that it's kind of like a nature documentary of New Zealand. My impression of the book is that that's not necessarily inauthentic, but I enjoyed the lore, and having a map was also helpful for following what was going on. In short, there's a reason the song lyric currently in my head is "I like the books way better than the movie, because some parts got left out."
Shychipmunk reviewed A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Review of 'A Brief History of Time' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
This book somehow manages to be simultaneous dry and accessible, and yet there's still a point at which I find quantum mechanics to be inscrutable. I also found myself wishing that there's an updated version - the book is now 35 years old, and I'm sure there's been new developments in the search for a Grand Unified Theory that I haven't heard about. But overall, I'd say this was an interesting read.
Shychipmunk reviewed Disclosure by Michael Crichton
Review of 'Disclosure' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
I gave up after the first section because I couldn't stand the manipulation and emotional bullshit. But then after reading the synopsis on Wikipedia to see how it turned out, I thought the later part sounded interesting, so I jumped ahead to the third section and read the rest of the book (and later went back and read the second half of the second section).
The half of the book that's about unraveling the tapestry of deception is much more up my alley, but there's plenty of books that do that without spending as much time having the protagonist suffer at the hands of an unlikeable asshole, so I can't really recommend this one.
It doesn't help matters any that I'm still not sure whether I've read this before, or just a different corporate espionage book of Chrichton's that I didn't like either.
Shychipmunk reviewed The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Review of 'The Hobbit' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
While I already knew the gist of what happens from the movie, this was still enjoyable. It's a captivating story, and I rather enjoyed the various asides and commentary that comes through more in words than in movie. Also, I'm wondering how much of the movie was the <10 page battle at the end...