writesdave's reviews
356 reviews

Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald

dark emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

At this point I just enjoy Fitzgerald's work as a slice of life in the culture of the 1910s, an era I'm not familiar with. While the work is disconnected from any current events of the day, I like the descriptions of the people and society in upper-crust America, even if the characters have precious few positive qualities and you hope for their ruin. 

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

challenging emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Best Travel Writing, Volume 10: True Stories from Around the World by

adventurous challenging funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

dark emotional lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beach Music by Pat Conroy

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Caught Up by Liz Tomforde

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Fun romp through a sports romance. Tomfoorde writes well, surely did her homework on the worlds of high-end food and professional baseball, and as a bonus flips the playboy athlete-gets-tamed narrative on its ear a bit, this time the single-dad baseball player falls for the never-will-commit nanny—or did it go the other way? Find out yourself.

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

challenging emotional hopeful informative lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

It was odd to read this 15-year-old book about happiness having read more recently the work of Stulberg and Magness on the fool's errand of pursuing happiness, but Rubin did her homework and offers actionable suggestions to improving one's life. Wide swathes of it are devoted to happiness within marriage and parenthood, which doesn't apply to me, but anyone can find good stuff here.

Personally, I think I realized that I want to pursue contentment, moment to moment rather than an overarching happiness in all matters. So thanks for helping me clear that up, Ms. Rubin.

French Quarter Fiction by Joshua Clark

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I don't get to travel much anymore, so I grabbed this collection of stories off the dusty nether regions of my shelf. Interesting mix of stories set solely in New Orleans' Vieux Carré, so I should say something here—the one time I visited New Orleans, I stayed out of the Quarter because I knew the other neighborhoods were more compelling and richer than the tourist trap Quarter, so I suppose I read it with the hope of a wider view of New Orleans. Oh well, I guess I'll seek out a different book. This was nonetheless fun.

Sports Illustrated: Fifty Years of Great Writing: 50th Anniversary 1954-2004 by Sports Illustrated

adventurous challenging informative relaxing medium-paced

4.0

Some oldies but goodies in this compilation, some hidden gems as well. Depressing to read this and see how far SI has fallen—and how far short I fell myself.