Simplistic view of life
339924
This might be a good book for a 13 year old but it is very over simplified for any thinking adult to read.  It implies that all people everywhere are white, upper middle class, evangelical Christians.  This book's main theme is anti-abortion.
2716776
Pretty good for a quick read. The values presented in this book are pretty traditional from the Stoic school of philosophy, if they interest you I would recommend "A Guide to the Good Life' this book was far more inspiring for me anyways. Overall an enjoyable read, though not life changing (for me anyways)
2186342
Our book club discussed this book; story and characters were OK, but the storyline was simplistic. The book deals with view points on religion which promoted discussion.
1854479
It is extremely easy to read. It is not really my type of book, but I read it anyway. It is not completely realistic. Adults would not be pleased by what happens at school and at the mall. But it has the basics down: shaving, cell phones, and boys.
602488
Interesting story from the perspective of Italy and the WWII.  However, the style of writing was very simplistic and not at all thoughtful or reflective
824515
I though it had some informative anecdotal stories about people and how they lived there final years.  I also like his personal discussion of family and how they confronted mortality (the epilogue may be the best part of the book)

But all in all, it was a fairly predictable and obvious story.  Yes, the elderly prefer a warm assisted care environment to institutional care.  Yes, people would rather have privacy and home-like surroundings to a share room in a hospital-like facility.  We all want to ,die with our boots on' and not some prolonged lonely bout in a nursing home.  I would have liked the book to have more insight on the financial drivers in the poor state of health care for the elderly.  Why does society spend (or rather, waste) the majority of health care dollars on end of life care that is futile (when death is a certainty)?
2589736
A simple story of life and it's struggle. The ending was not what I expected. I wished for a lot more.
1853022
The book is very simplistic, almost like it was written for a young audience.  In reading about the author she is largely a writer on young adult literature.  The location is good.  The characters are very one-dimensional.  Everything always worked out without a whole lot or rational.
1586205
Lyrical little story about a living  a simple life.  Kind of an anti-epic, characterizations and detail are minimized which lends the book a certain elegant simplicity but deprives the reader of a richer, more satisfying tale.
4824743
Families are so complicated, and fractured by the different ways the members perceive their places. This book does a good job of shining a light on the subject, but is very simplistic in it's exposition. Well written though and very readable.
4037078
A book about family dynamics and all the drama that can entail.  However, the characters are rather one dimensional and the plot line rather predictable.  Although it was a light, quick read it does not leave a lasting message or a desire to know the characters better.  The book was a Book Club selection because we have 3 sets of sisters in our club -- I don't think they will relate when we meet to discuss!
1800799
I chose this rating because while I didn't hate the book, I didn't love it either.

Short and simplistic, I was expecting a deeper journey into grief but the author skims over this and it is rarely mentioned. Instead, the book is mainly illustrated with standard scenery of her immediate environment accompanied by brief notes. I was expecting journal entries and a closer tie to the theme outlined in the blurb.

I can see why it rated more than two stars as a lot are looking for a coffee table book...which is exactly what it is.

But I wanted more than that and while I appreciate the author's idea I would have sooner stuck to her blog than pay ten dollars for this.
4835880
A quick, light read about emptiness, of space travel and other forms. Sort of. Or maybe it's making a statement: that space travelling husbands are daft, and only someone carrying a child in this story, a woman,  has a reason for carrying on. Perhaps it's a story about the pointlessness of pointless employment, even if it's all there is on a lost spaceship.  Daisy, daisy...
4564021
I received this book for free through LibraryThings Early Reviewers.

I liked this book but I didn't love it. The book consists of little vignettes from the narrators life. Most of them centered on the same things: her father and his rage, her relationship with her mother, her grandparents, her next door neighbor Nathan. There wasn't much of a plot. I got halfway through and the plot seemed to be exactly where it was when I started. It was basically things happening, all slowly leading up to the loss of childhood innocence.

Overall, the book didn't strike me as anything particularly special, but I did enjoy it reading it.
1081148
it's a bit too simplistic and not entirely accurate in my view (as a healthcare practitioner). Okay for a general overview but not the best I have read.
1178023
The premise of this book is that an international law has been passed  taxing people for the level of happiness they have in life.  Our protagonist, who is never named, receives a very large bill which he does not expect, despite receiving multiple notices about signing up for payment programs.  He is genuinely shocked by the amount and sets out to right the wrong that must have occurred.

Our protagonist lives a very simple life.  He has a part-time job in a video store.  He has one friend with whom he has regular contact.  This friend can best be described as a Debbie Downer.  Other than work he spends most of his time at his apartment watching movies and eating take out.  He actually comes across as someone of a simpleton, as in one scene where he derives great pleasure from scraping off a sticker from a counter, a task which takes twenty minutes.

The only really enjoyable parts of the book are the main character interactions with Maud, the woman assigned to his case to explain to him why his bill is so high.

I found this book neither hilarious nor especially thought provoking.  The bottom line (potential spoiler) is that one is about as happy as they allow themselves to be.  However, our protagonist is merely content, which I do not believe is the same as happy.  He also seems to have no insight into how mundane his is to the outside observer.
921946
The book does not discuss an increasing trend.  Children as caretakers of parents in their own homes.  Failure to discuss in detail the devastation of losing elderly parents when they were part of your most immediate family for a long time is a huge minus. There are three such relationships in our extended family, an uncle and two aunts living with their children. They plan to die at home.

Lost my Mother less than two weeks ago after living with me for over ten years. This book didn't help me.  It is simplistic and  logical.  That's the problem, logic isn't appropriate when we are thinking emotionally.