Mini Book Reviews-- Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Hank Green

Here's my second round of mini book reviews. I'm all caught up!

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

My Thoughts:

I really liked Hank Green's debut novel. He has a lot to say about social media and fame and how that can frame what we think about ourselves and our relationships in real life. It's also a very interesting story about alien robots coming to earth and we earthlings get first contact with aliens! What do we do when confronted that we're not alone in the universe? Do we come together as a species or become even more divided and xenophobic?

The only things I didn't love were the character development. Sometimes they felt a little cookie cutter and it was hard to flesh out who the characters were overall. But I think that wasn't necessarily his goal this time around. And the ending was not what I expected. I was hoping for a bit more and it felt like it just ended. I was a tad disappointed.

Overall, it's a great read and I look forward to more. Maybe a sequel or other novels? 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. Vs. Inequality by Jonah Winter

My Thoughts:

This is a children's book I read to G. I wanted him to get a sense of who she is and what she's done and what the Supreme Court is in our country. We had some great conversations about women's rights and anti-Semitism.

More Bones: Scary Stories From Around the World by Arielle North Olson

My Thoughts:

Another book I read with G. for Halloween time. Olson adapted many scary tales from around the world for children. Some stories were better than others but we enjoyed most of them. It was also a great way to talk about the similarities the stories had as well as the differences depending on where the stories came from.

The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself  by Sean Carroll

My Thoughts:

This book took me almost a year and a half to finish. Not because it wasn't good overall but because it was big and thinky. Sometimes I had to set it aside for a few months before I could get back into it. Carroll is a cosmologist and physicist who enjoys sharing science with the public. He also enjoys philosophy and tried wax poetic in his book about the Universe and what that can mean for people who aren't religious or believe in a higher power. As a person who falls into both those categories, I thoroughly appreciated his thoughts on purpose and meaning in this life. I enjoyed it but I doubt he would convince a religious person to his philosophy of life. I also enjoyed the explanations on how the Universe works (at least as much as we do know). I still don't know but his book helped a bit!

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

My Thoughts:

Zoboi offers up a fun Pride and Prejudice retelling. She brings the Bennets, the Bingleys, and the Darcys to Brooklyn. She tells a story of first love and how class can interfere with so many things even when race doesn't factor into it. The only complaint is it wasn't quite long enough. I think Zoboi could've spent a little more time developing the characters and the world they inhabit. A lot of the scenes felt a bit haphazard since she was trying to follow events in the original. And I never quite got Darcy. She didn't flesh him out enough for me. So some of his motivation at the beginning of the book was lost on me. But overall it's a fun retelling.

Also that cover is gorgeous!

Emma: An Audible Original Drama by Jane Austen and Anna Lea

My Thoughts:

Audible did a dramatized adaptation. When I bought it I didn't realize that...I was expecting just the book but it was still fun. It's a lot shorter than the book. I had a great time listening to Emma Thompson narrate. It's been a long time since I've read the actual book so the ending was a surprise to me; it's a lot longer than the Emma version with Paltrow. The only complaint was the voice for Knightley. He sounded way too old. He's only supposed to be in his early-mid thirties and this actor sounded like he was in his fifties.

I had fun revisiting selfish and snobbish Emma as she is humbled and makes herself anew with the help of her family and friends.