Review: Scientific Secrets for Self-Control

Quick review for a quick read. This isn’t the first “Great Courses” audiobook I’ve listened to, but it was one of the ones I was most disappointed by. A shame because the topic is very fascinating in terms of how self-control is regulated by the brain. It touches on several topics with support from several studies: brain injury and how it affects self control, mental energy and fatigue, dietary influences in brain energy, making decisions, how fatigue factors into difficult topics, self control and finances, etc. I found that I wasn’t really the biggest fan of the audio lecturer. His dictation didn’t feel immersive/enthusiastic about the topic and the transitions between topics weren’t as smooth from lecture to lecture as I would’ve hoped. I did have a few takeaways for the knowledge base and topics this series of lecture covered, but not enough for the time and energy that it took for me to move through this audio course (which was well over 3 hours).

Overall score: 2/5 stars.

Review: The Whole Thing Together by Ann Brashares

Quick review for a somewhat quick read for me, though it felt like I had to push myself through this novel several times. “The Whole Thing Together” has many issues, but I would echo concerns that much of this novel suffers from rampant cliches, insensitive references in the measure of racial attribution (considering it uses a racial slur casually and struggles constantly to accurately and sensitively portray the multiracial character who struggles with her identity) and sexism (slut shaming and odd fixations on physical details of the characters). In addition to those issues, I think the biggest downfall of this novel really came in that I just couldn’t find a space to connect with the characters. Not as much as I wanted to, because there were parts of the narrative that had the potential to go interesting places, but never quite reached that point and abruptly halted in places where the development could’ve provided more intimacy than the narration allowed.

Review: Burned (Burned #1) by Ellen Hopkins

Quick review for a quick read that I picked up from my library’s audio collection. Powerful and really wonderful character exploration, which is typical of Ellen Hopkins’s books. Pattyn is a young woman living in a tightly knit religious community and abusive household. She strongly laments her inability to grow as a young woman – in relationships, in asserting herself among other things – as well as watching her mother being subjected to her father’s fists. After a series of incidents in which she acts out, she’s sent to live with her aunt and begins to know what it means to have a better life for herself, including being valued in a romantic relationship with her S.O. (Ethan). In the end, she’s not prepared to return to the household that cast her out, yet she never really wanted to leave completely behind, and things only turn for the worst after that point. I’ll admit it hit me like a punch to a gut and I couldn’t shake the emotional upheaval it left within me long after turning the final page.

Review: Come Home by Lisa Scottoline

Quick review for a somewhat lengthy read. I’m actually asking myself in the hours after finishing the book: What on Earth did I just read?

I haven’t read many of Lisa Scottoline’s books, but admittedly it’s been a while and this is the most recent example I can go on. It’s…definitely not the first book I would recommend anyone read from this author. I feel like it was an entertaining read but also a complete waste of time. (That sounds like a contradiction in itself, but I’ll explain shortly.) So much of this book annoyed me to heck and back – mostly for how over the top and non-cohesive it was. The dialogue in some stretches is completely unrealistic and cringe-worthy. I guess the entertaining aspect of it lies in that it plays out like a soap opera – with the main character running to and fro searching for answers that absolutely no one asked, and one calamity building upon another to ramp up the action and conflict to march forcefully through its conclusion. There are times when I like this kind of story if it can poke fun at itself or just proves entertaining to watch with the characters who make the story more than the bones it stands upon. But “Come Home” was the true definition of a false advertisement of a book if I ever started one.

Review: Only Ever You by Rebecca Drake

Quick review for a quick read. “Only Ever You” by Rebecca Drake is the first novel I’ve read in this author’s bibliography. It was definitely a page turner. I found it difficult to tear myself away from this book wanting to know what happened next in the overarching mystery. The story centers around the disappearance of a girl named Sophia, causing a downward spiral on an already testy household for her parents Jill and David.