rossbm's reviews
449 reviews

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson

informative slow-paced

3.0

I might have read this before ~ 15 years ago. Not certain. Didn't enjoy it that much. Didn't feel like it was especially enlightening nor did it tell stories very well. Maybe cause I am already in immersed in this kind of stuff, so didn't learn much. Then stories not very well told or riveting. Probably most interesting was good telling of how Dutch East India Company got started and worked, and how the French Mississippi Company scheme worked.

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

An interesting read for people interested in writing, specifically fiction. Didn't know what to expect. I didn't find that interesting cause don't consider myself a writer.

Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life by Nick Lane

informative medium-paced

3.5

A decent pop biology book. Listened to audiobook and narrator was good. Fairly repetitive, but probably a good thing given complexity of subject. Interesting to learn about theories of how mitochrindia came to be and how they generate energy by moving protons across a membrane. 

We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai

hopeful informative reflective sad

3.75

A short read. Good to get perspectives of these young refugee women. Hard to know what they've been through otherwise.

Ilium by Dan Simmons

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

A decent science fiction read, though it's borderline magic/fantasy rather than actual science. A lot of "quantum" technologies and such. Literary allusions. Seems like at times it's just paraphrasing the Illiad. Kind of fun, but not going to read second book in series

Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

A fun and easy fantasy read. Sometimes the characters and their motivations are quite stupid; like one of the main characters didn't talk to her childhood best friend for 10 years because she felt ashamed that she chickened out of going into the scary woods on a dare with her friend? Come on!

Still, enjoyable enough. A lot of mystery and things being setup for the future.

Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West by Tom Holland

informative mysterious medium-paced

3.75

A fun read. Found the style a bit hard to get into at first (overly done?, not talking about sources?), but started to enjoy it. However, still feel like it was just padding Herodotus?  Maybe cause lack of sources. Think sources were pretty clear from end notes, but I didn't look at that. Saying would have liked more context, about how we know what is being recounted. Shouldn't have to go to end notes for that. Though that would change the flow

The Book of Humans: The Story of How We Became Us by Adam Rutherford

informative

3.0

Decent pop science book about how humans compare to other animals. Two major sections on tool use and sex. Some birds of prey help spread wildfires so they can prey on the fleeing animals? Talks about genes also. Not the most fascinating book, but decent read. Short. Listened to audiobook which was good.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

adventurous challenging emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Found this to be a bit of a slog to be honest. Quite long. Enjoyed the shorter chapters. Good writing style. Interesting characters. Plot kind of non-existent. Not realistic how people always bumping into each other in the West. Took a while to get through. Glad I did, but not a strong recommend.

A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost

funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

Listened to the audiobook. Pretty funny. Interesting that Colin Jost wrote a memoir, since pretty young. Interesting also that at end of book Colin said that he might leave SNL soon, but he's still there.