Reviews and Comments

ToadyNerd

ToadyNerd@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 4 months ago

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Scott Jurek: North (2018) 4 stars

An expert ultrarunner describes how he set out to break the speed record for the …

Review of 'North' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Scott Jurek is totally insane, and a total beast! Any sane person would have seen so many signs that they should stop; that continuing on just wasn't meant to be. But, not Mr. Jurek. His capacity to push himself beyond physical and mental breaking points, and come out alive on the other side is nothing short of amazing!

Stark, Peter: Astoria (Hardcover, 2014, Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers) 4 stars

In 1810, John Jacob Astor sent out two advanced parties to settle the wild, unclaimed …

Review of 'Astoria' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Very engaging story of the ambitious idea of creating a fur trading colony on the relatively unknown and unexplored West coast of America. Little did they know, the hardest part would be to get there.

John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath (Hardcover, 2014, Viking, Viking Books) 4 stars

Review of 'The Grapes of Wrath' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Steinbeck makes you really feel that you are on the battlefield. Some of his descriptions were repetitive, but I almost think that was on purpose... as the soldiers likely felt that way. The infantrymen very much felt they were small cogs in a large machine that just needed to keep moving without knowing where the machine was going. Some of the dialog was a little hard to follow, with the accents and slang.

Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett: Good Omens (Paperback, 2019, William Morrow Paperbacks) 4 stars

The classic collaboration from the internationally bestselling authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, soon to …

Review of 'Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The humor reminded my a little of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". I enjoyed the story and the crazy characters.

Review of 'Is God a mathematician?' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

There were a few parts of this book that I really enjoyed (mostly those that described how well math describes the world around us). But, for the most part, I felt like I was slogging through most of it. Maybe some of it was over my head, or I just don't like reading dry facts. In any case, if you are interested in the history of mathematics, I can recommend reading this book. Otherwise, probably not worth the effort.

A narrative history of the Knights Templar draws on extensive original sources to separate fact …

Review of 'The Templars' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Some very interesting history. But at times extremely boring. Definitely reads more like a text book, which, I guess it kind-of is. While I definitely learned some things that I hadn't known about the Templars, I can't say that I enjoyed reading the book.