Interesting but too drawn out
596273
This book tells a fascinating story of grammar school kids being used for financial gain by the coaches involved.  In our world of mega sports, that is hardly a surprise, though I knew nothing about it before starting the book.  The unscrupulous types wouldn't be there though unless there was big money to be made.  I have no idea why it is legal and accepted for the shoe companies to be paying off coaches and seducing the kids with expensive shoes and uniforms they don't need. The NCAA makes a big stink if a college kid accepts anything extra in return for 4 years of athletic work with no future unless they make the NBA.  Yet it is legal to do this with kids as young as twelve.
The book however is over 400 pages long.  The author could have made the same points quite adequately in a long magazine article.  Instead the book literally gives game by game descriptions of play with analysis of all the players, parents and coaches involved.  Some may enjoy that but now that I'm over half way through, I'm becoming bored with all the detail and starting to skim.
209794
I found the premise of this novel to be quite intriguing and original: an effort is undertaken to restore history, after a man travels back in time to the sinking of the Titanic and causes an alternate history to occur. And much of the book is quite compelling. But it suffers from being way too long and plodding, with many scenes and sub-plots that are boring and (at least to me) unnecessary. I must confess that I ultimately gave up about 3/4 or so of the way through. If edited down to about half to two-thirds of its current size, it would perhaps earn four stars.
2849074
The characters were interesting as was the history. The story was a bit too drawn out in the beginning making it difficult to engage the reader fully.
1485167
I liked it, but it was drawn out. I got bored and had to read something else and come back to it. But it was interesting. Especially the possibility of double jeopardy.
3128960
Lots of interesting information in here but, too often, it was obscure by a long detour down the life history of each person we encountered. I found myself itching to get back to the "real" story. That may say as much about me as the book though. Others may be more interested in the personal histories.
2922314
I found the topic of this book to be quite interesting and the book certainly piqued my interest at the beginning, however, I eventually became bored with the numerous journeys the author took into side stories that played a part in the overall history of those involved with the lampshade.  I think the whole story could easily have been written for a magazine and would have rather enjoyed reading another book in lieu of trying to finish this one.
4504024
The book had an interesting premise and was a good read. It was a page turner for most of the story; however toward the end it was too long drawn out and anticlimactic.
3796157
Although this was a fascinating, intelligent and unique examination on evil in contemporary society, it was approximately sixty pages too long and thick with repetition.

It grew somewhat monotonous with the continual focus on the downfalls of America, and while I don't disagree, I got the point relatively early on. Similarly, while I empathised with Kevin's mother, I felt that the self-pity was too heavy-handed, although this is somewhat negated by the revelation at the end of the text.

I also felt there were some unsettling Freudian undertones to the text, particularly  with the mother's decision to allow him to return to the house and Kevin's bathroom antics.

Nevertheless, a unique and extremely unsettling read with superb writing and an interesting premise.
4135804
The story was interesting enough.. but the whole faisco of the Feds... was waaaay to long...  I was finding myself skipping pages of long drawn out descriptions of actions taken...
2417028
The author makes some interesting points about the history of science and its processes, but uses far too many words to get there. The book is three times as long as it need be..
2532848
I enjoyed the story of Theodore Roosevelt and his special relationship with William Howard Taft. However, the author went off on too many tangents that made the book far too long. She spent too much time describing the writers of the day and explaining in excruciating detail that Tariff debate of the early 1900's.
4105785
The story is interesting. I found the writer took too long to tell the story. I felt there was too many times of going off in a tangent to talk about nature and other unrelated aspects. It felt to me like the writer was filling in the book unnecessarily .
4052507
Although some of the characters in this saga of life on the Indian reservation were interesting and sympathetic and the story maintained my interest for a while as the mystery was explored, I thought it dragged on too long. And the long section on Indian mysticism and practices were a diversion and did not add to the story.
4737551
This was an enjoyable book but went on far too long.  It could have been shortened in places.  Also, toward the end I felt the use of names such as "mom", "old man", etc. seemed out of place.
2789287
The storyline was very good but too drawn out.  At times it was hard to follow the multiple story lines and I had to force myself to continue reading.  But in the end, it was worth the effort.
3100072
Having a hard time staying awake. The ideas are spot on but the examples are drawn out too long.
2080042
Good content but too drawn out.  Love this author nonetheless.