Kiwiria's June Reads
Jul. 5th, 2024 03:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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christianreaderFriends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing - Matthew Perry, 4/5, Audiobook ~9hrs
I had a hard time rating this book. It wasn't well-written - but it was captivating. It wasn't what I'd consider "a good book" - but it was riveting, fascinating and heartbreaking. I loved hearing about being part of "FRIENDS" and (especially) the shooting of "The Whole Nine Yards" (one of my all-time favourite movies), but had no idea just HOW tough Matthew's life had been.
I'd thought that Matthew Perry was one of the numerous famous guys who couldn't handle being famous, and turned to drinking and drugs because of it. This was very much NOT the case, and in fact, I think being famous (and being on "FRIENDS" especially) actually may have saved his life more than once. Yes, it meant that he had the money to get the drugs he craved, but it also meant that he had money for the rehab, and that his drug habit didn't mean he ended up on the streets. Addiction is a horrible, horrible thing, and my heart broke for Matthew more than once while reading his memoir. It ended up on an optimistic note - which was all the more heartbreaking because of what we now know would happen just one year later :-(
The book hits very differently being read after his death. The very first sentence is, “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.” - and all I could think was, "And you are! ;-( ;-( ;-("
At the end of the day, I'm glad I've read it - and I'm VERY glad that I chose the audiobook version of it. Hearing it in Matthew Perry's own voice definitely added something to it, and he did an excellent job of narrating it.
Maybe This Time - Cara Bastone, 4/5, Audiobook ~6hrs
Really sweet book, with an unusual use of time-travel that I found very fascinating. I loved reading how Mikey and June got to know each other - in two time-lines even! - and seeing their friendship grow.
I'm not entirely sure what I thought of the ending, but on the other hand, I have a very hard time figuring out how else it could have ended - so I'll take it.
Feed - Mira Grant*, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~14hrs
This was amazing! Pretty near impossible to put down. I "read" it as an audiobook, and found myself making excuses to bike detours just to read a bit more. To label it merely a zombie-book or a dystopian novel would be doing it a disservice, because it is so much more than that. The true strength of this book is the worldbuilding, and Mira Grant's descriptions of a world post-zombie outbreak. A world where George Romero is considered a national hero, and where bloggers are the true journalists.
Deadline - Mira Grant*, 4/5, Audiobook ~15hrs
Very obviously the middle book of a trilogy and therefore really cannot stand on its own. It had me totally hooked from the very beginning, and was as action-packed as I could have wished, but the story was definitely action-driven and character-driven rather than plot-driven... some major twists were thrown at us, but nothing resolved.
Page - Tamora Pierce*, 4.5/5, 231 pages
This book covers 3 years, and while it mostly handles that well, it does occasionally seem a tad rushed... 8 months passing by in a single chapter. I don't mind books covering a lot of time as long as it's done consistently, instead of covering one week in three chapters and then 8 months in one. Still, it's a minor complaint. Mostly I love this book as I find it fascinating to read of the training pages have to go through in order to become squires.
Squire - Tamora Pierce*, 4.5/5, 339 pages
While I did miss reading about Kel's life at the palace, there was so much to love in this book - Kel getting Raoul as her Knight-Master, the tilting, the Yamani, Cleon - and of course, Kel finally meeting Alanna. I don't think I'd claim it my favourite any longer, because the two first ones are excellent as well, but it certainly is very, very good :-)
Books Read: 54
Pages Read: 6.117
Hours Listened to: 267
I had a hard time rating this book. It wasn't well-written - but it was captivating. It wasn't what I'd consider "a good book" - but it was riveting, fascinating and heartbreaking. I loved hearing about being part of "FRIENDS" and (especially) the shooting of "The Whole Nine Yards" (one of my all-time favourite movies), but had no idea just HOW tough Matthew's life had been.
I'd thought that Matthew Perry was one of the numerous famous guys who couldn't handle being famous, and turned to drinking and drugs because of it. This was very much NOT the case, and in fact, I think being famous (and being on "FRIENDS" especially) actually may have saved his life more than once. Yes, it meant that he had the money to get the drugs he craved, but it also meant that he had money for the rehab, and that his drug habit didn't mean he ended up on the streets. Addiction is a horrible, horrible thing, and my heart broke for Matthew more than once while reading his memoir. It ended up on an optimistic note - which was all the more heartbreaking because of what we now know would happen just one year later :-(
The book hits very differently being read after his death. The very first sentence is, “Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.” - and all I could think was, "And you are! ;-( ;-( ;-("
At the end of the day, I'm glad I've read it - and I'm VERY glad that I chose the audiobook version of it. Hearing it in Matthew Perry's own voice definitely added something to it, and he did an excellent job of narrating it.
Maybe This Time - Cara Bastone, 4/5, Audiobook ~6hrs
Really sweet book, with an unusual use of time-travel that I found very fascinating. I loved reading how Mikey and June got to know each other - in two time-lines even! - and seeing their friendship grow.
I'm not entirely sure what I thought of the ending, but on the other hand, I have a very hard time figuring out how else it could have ended - so I'll take it.
Feed - Mira Grant*, 4.5/5, Audiobook ~14hrs
This was amazing! Pretty near impossible to put down. I "read" it as an audiobook, and found myself making excuses to bike detours just to read a bit more. To label it merely a zombie-book or a dystopian novel would be doing it a disservice, because it is so much more than that. The true strength of this book is the worldbuilding, and Mira Grant's descriptions of a world post-zombie outbreak. A world where George Romero is considered a national hero, and where bloggers are the true journalists.
Deadline - Mira Grant*, 4/5, Audiobook ~15hrs
Very obviously the middle book of a trilogy and therefore really cannot stand on its own. It had me totally hooked from the very beginning, and was as action-packed as I could have wished, but the story was definitely action-driven and character-driven rather than plot-driven... some major twists were thrown at us, but nothing resolved.
Page - Tamora Pierce*, 4.5/5, 231 pages
This book covers 3 years, and while it mostly handles that well, it does occasionally seem a tad rushed... 8 months passing by in a single chapter. I don't mind books covering a lot of time as long as it's done consistently, instead of covering one week in three chapters and then 8 months in one. Still, it's a minor complaint. Mostly I love this book as I find it fascinating to read of the training pages have to go through in order to become squires.
Squire - Tamora Pierce*, 4.5/5, 339 pages
While I did miss reading about Kel's life at the palace, there was so much to love in this book - Kel getting Raoul as her Knight-Master, the tilting, the Yamani, Cleon - and of course, Kel finally meeting Alanna. I don't think I'd claim it my favourite any longer, because the two first ones are excellent as well, but it certainly is very, very good :-)
Books Read: 54
Pages Read: 6.117
Hours Listened to: 267
