The Book Omnivore – Page 4 – Cannonball Read 17

Friends and publisher decisions kinda ruined this

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

May 31, 2021 by The Book Omnivore Leave a Comment

**SPOILERS** There is a lot of confusion surrounding this book and the sad events in it. I went in thinking Beth dies, because that’s what Friends had told me, and I kept reading, dreading the moment it would happen. So I was spoiled – sort of. Because in this edition she recovers and we are given to think that they all live happily ever after. Something to do with American editions including the sequel (in which Beth does die), versus British editions that don’t… **END […]

How to run with your mind as well as your legs

Endure: Mind, body, and the curiously elastic limits of human performance by Alex Hutchinson

May 23, 2021 by The Book Omnivore Leave a Comment

As a long distance runner, I’ve been in situations in the middle of races where I’d much rather have a nice little lie down instead of taking another painful step. I have never to this day not finished a race, but I have found myself wanting to more and more the older I get. So this book was right up my alley. How do I find the mental strength to keep going? Examining how some of the usual suspects (pain, heat, thirst etc) actually have […]

Who are all these people and why should I care?

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

May 19, 2021 by The Book Omnivore 2 Comments

So, I am one of those heathens that read Station Eleven and didn’t love it. There are dozens of us. DOZENS! But I liked it well enough, I guess (?), to want to read Mandel’s follow-up, The Glass Hotel. It’s hard to summarise the plot of this book, as it is kind of a meandering mess. We meet lots of people, they are somehow interconnected, things happen. Let me pick one person, who I _think_ is supposed to be the protagonist: Vincent. The book starts […]

The healing power of nature

The secret garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

May 16, 2021 by The Book Omnivore Leave a Comment

I picked up this classic children’s book because I had a vague memory of reading something similar as a kid – some girl who had discovered a secret garden (which I now believe was Mandy by Julie Andrews) – and loving it. I wanted to find that book again and re-read it to see if it held up. This was not the right book, but I did enjoy it nonetheless. Probably because I’ve always found nature to be full of wonder. Most likely, it is […]

The future, the present and the past are all scary places

The name of the rose by Umberto Eco

The searcher by Tana French

The push by Ashley Audrain

The hunting party by Lucy Foley

Snow crash by Neal Stephenson

Ready player two by Ernest Cline

Tender is the flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

May 15, 2021 by The Book Omnivore 2 Comments

My final review dump and then I’ll be all caught up! Woohoo! These books are about the past, the present and the future. The name of the rose by Umberto Eco Eco is my dad’s favourite author. He’s read all of his books, some of them probably several times. I, on the other hand, had never read anything by Eco before. I had seen bits of the film years ago that had intrigued me enough to want to read the book but for some reason […]

Four non-fiction book reviews. Mixed bag

The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

My Midsummer Morning by Alastair Humphreys

Adventures in the Anthropocene by Gaia Vince

Harness Your Speaking Anxiety by Nathan Gold

May 11, 2021 by The Book Omnivore Leave a Comment

Catching up on my book reviews, part 3 of 5 (?) The Culture Map by Erin Meyer This book was recommended by a work colleague. In it, Meyer attempts to explain the cultural differences between people from several different countries who work together or have to collaborate for some reason. She has come up with several scales (such as direct feedback, doing things on time etc) and places each culture somewhere on the scale. She proposes that people from different backgrounds who work together need […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

About The Book Omnivore