Review: Small Habits for a Big Life

Small Habits for a Big Life by Rebecca Ray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent, simple guide to making lasting changes.

This is the kind of book I'll keep close and refer back to often. It's full of wisdom, motivation and practical ideas.

Some self-help books can come off preachy but this is absolutely not the case here. The author backs every statement with evidence and provides case studies, including some of her own experiences. This includes some of the negative habits we all experience, and it helps us to connect to the author and really value the lessons she's giving here.

The book is set out in a manner that makes it easy to read, and there's plenty of space to use it as a workbook. If you're serious about changing your habits, I recommend keeping pen and paper handy. I stopped a few times when the book requested something be pondered, and it was quite fascinating just to see real examples from my own life. I enjoyed setting some SMART goals based on my own values, and exploring who I'd consider to be my 'accountability person' and my 'encouragement person'. Some parts I wasn't quite ready to think on, so I'll go back to those later. This is absolutely the kind of book you can work through at your own pace - pick up sporadically, read through first and then go back and do the work, read certain parts when you're ready to face certain tasks, etc.

This is an encouraging book that I'd highly recommend to anyone looking to make lasting changes towards a more fulfilling life. It details the hurdles and how to overcome them, and provides evidence of these things in action. It gives you permission to do things at your own pace, and it allows for the simple fact that we are all human, and imperfect.

Loved it.

With thanks to Macmillan for a copy

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Review: Missing

Missing by Tom Patterson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This wasn't what I expected at all, so it was pretty disappointing.

What I expected, based on the blurb: Dude decides he's done with the trappings of society so escapes into the bush to live off the land and so learn to appreciate the simplicities of life.

What I got: After years of being a screw-up, drug-addled criminal retreats into woods to grow (and sell?!) weed with less chance of being caught.

The fact that this covered more of Mark's life of drugs than his time in the bush was already a massive drawback, but then to discover that there was no redemption arc, no new outlook on life, no rediscovery of the true joys of life ... it was just so disappointing.

Honestly, there's just not enough to this story to make it a worthy book.

The writing is a giveaway of that, because it is choppy, short sentences that skips over details. Titled paragraphs rather than chapters, and an unclear timeline that jumps all over the place and confuses chronology. The book is separated into different parts which are each labelled with a year, but then that part seems to cover multiple years; Mark goes off into the woods to live off the grid, but then he's showing up at his brother's place so regularly they have to tell him off for it. Then he has a job, and then he's back living off the land? There's just not enough words to tie all these things together neatly with any kind of logic. To be perfectly candid, the writing is terrible. Plenty of descriptions of the bush, though.

There are so many siblings that the lack of description and logical order means they all kind of blend together, meaning I didn't care about who was who. All I got was that Mark was the loser of the family. That sure didn't make me sympathetic to his plight, especially when he didn't seem to grow as a person at all.

This is a true story, and I really expected to be inspired by this person who decided that, instead of being beat down by life, they would retreat into simplicity and learn to appreciate life through nature. Instead, I just found myself feeling sad that this man who was so willing to go to extremes did it all in the name of drugs.

I am sure there are some who will enjoy Mark's story - perhaps even sympathise - but it just doesn't strike me as being note-worthy. There are so many others more worthy of having their story shared.

With thanks to A&U for an uncorrected ARC

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Review: The Boys, Volume 1: The Name of the Game

The Boys, Volume 1: The Name of the Game by Garth Ennis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GODDAMN this is DARK.

I fkn LOVED IT.

The art is detailed and dark and pulls no punches. It's graphic and 100% Not Safe For Work.

(Seriously, if your boss walks past when the nasty is going down, you're gonna get a serious talking-to.)

The story itself takes the superhero trope and flips it on its head - these mofos have been doing whatever they like in the name of 'saving the world' but now it's time for Butcher to put together a squad that can keep these a-holes accountable.

There is sex, murder, violence, drugs and all manner of filth imaginable and it is detailed in colour so you can really sink into the sordid story. But the grittiness is what lends it sympathy - as depraved as these characters may be, there is heart in Wee Hughie's innocence and the fragility of those caught up in the lewd lives of the Supes. This is not a story that is filthy just for filth's sake.

Don't get me wrong, though. It's definitely 1000% filthy.

So obviously this is some gloriously f**ked up SH*T that has me eager to see what the rest of the series has in store.

Have fun, kids!

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Review: Weaponized

Weaponized by Neal Asher
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What the frickin heck is this stinking pile of science?!

AWFUL. IT IS GOD AWFUL.

I will try and make this a coherent review but please prepare yourselves now for some ranting.

PROS
- Fascinating creatures
- Intriguing episodes
- Nursum and The Fig

CONS
- Timeline jumps
- Overcomplicated language
- Overcomplicated science
- Long, tedious descriptions of basically everything
- Very little characterisation to cling to
- Obvious 'twist' from the beginning
- Way too longwinded
- JUST LET IT GO, DUDE

Basically, this is an interesting idea COMPLETELY BURIED in tedium and confusion.

The timeline is divided between Present, Near Past and Past, and there is zero continuity when these portions jump around. For example, you might read a Past chapter that seems to be set like 10 years ago, but then the next Past chapter is set more like 50 years previous. It is EXCRUIATINGLY MADDENING to jump around like this, and it makes it nigh impossible to understand what's actually happening. This was hands down my biggest issue with this book.

Added to that, sometimes things that are occurring in the Past and the Near Past are actually very similar. Characters, locations and events all kind of blur together in a frustrating mess. There were some really interesting moments - such as the episodes relating to Nursum and the Fig - but they lost any real context because you halfway through the episode before realising something interesting was actually happening.

There's also a lot of speculation about adaptation to the point that it just becomes ridiculously repetitive. Ursula and her colonists are 'adapting', but she's determined to remain human. There are some interesting considerations on the definition of humanity, but they get lost in the monotony of repetition - we can get the point quite easily without the author hammering it in like this. This is what I'm referring to with my con of 'LET IT GO', because the same point is just overworked to the point that it's hard to care after a while.

I also want to talk about the complete disconnect between the blurb and the actual story I read. Half the stuff in the blurb doesn't actually happen til the end of the book, and it seems to promote a story much more exciting than what I read. I also need to say this very important gripe: (view spoiler)[THE TITLE IS A FRIGGIN SPOILER. As soon as Ursula starts questioning the upgrades and Oren having 'secrets', it was obvious to me that they were somehow being 'adapted' into weapons. DON'T PUT THE TWIST IN THE TITLE FFS. (hide spoiler)] Ursula is supposed to be super intelligent, yet she can't see what is obvious to the reader almost immediately. It's beyond ridiculous.

There are ideas and creations here that could easily have made for a brilliant story, but it was padded out with an excessive word count, and the intentional lack of continuity was overwhelmingly more confusing than clever. I came pretty close to throwing it on the DNF shelf, and the only reason I didn't is because the publisher sent me a copy and I felt obliged to review it in its entirety, since it had some redeeming moments. Alas, those moments only bump it up a single star.

Perhaps hardcore science nuts will appreciate this one more than me, but it was far too frustrating a read for me.

With thanks to Macmillan for a copy

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Review: InuYasha, Vol 3: Good Intentions

InuYasha, Vol 3: Good Intentions by Rumiko Takahashi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay I admit I got bored halfway through reading this and switched to comics, but it's actually not bad.

I like that we're starting to see some new characters coming through - it's one of my fave things about this series. There are so many wonderful and weird characters that really shine through, and it was great fun being reintroduced to Shippo at the end of this volume since I forgot about him haha. He's so great!

Anyhoo, the main story is okay but the real fun happens towards the end there so it really does make you keen for the next one. I do love that the action doesn't get lost in the illustrations - it's always easy to follow which helps you stay in the story.

Will eventually continue but I think that's it for me for now. I need a time out from manga I think!

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