Excited to curl up with a cup of coffee and @melaniedickerson123’s latest release The Silent Songbird. I’m absolutely OBSESSED with it so far. Thanks for the great read, @thomasnelson!
Alice and Oliver by Charles Bock is a heartbreaking yet endearing tale of a young couple (aptly named Alice and Oliver) as they navigate Alice’s cancer diagnosis and treatment while being first-time parents to their infant daughter, Doe.
I was most impressed with Bock’s control over character development. Alice’s absolute strength in the face of a nightmare while simultaneously grappling with the potential end of her life was absolutely captivating, as was Oliver’s struggles with being a faithful husband, tech business owner, and a man with natural urges. The added component of both of their love for their daughter adds another layer to this– what would happen if Oliver was left alone with this baby? Would Doe never actually know her mother? This was such a refreshingly raw take on marriage and parenting in the face of cancer– not sugar-coated, not overdramatized, but REAL.
All of this being said, I feel as though the plot was fairly slow at points. It took me a bit longer to get through this book than my usual pace, as while I loved the characters, I often found myself bored and losing interest in the plotline.
An overall solid read– 3 STARS!
A big thank you to Random House for allowing me to read this book before it’s published on April 5th! Be sure to check it out!
If you know me, you know that I’m a bit of a data nerd. Actually, who am I kidding? A BIG data nerd. So naturally I was absolutely thrilled when I got my hands on an advanced copy of Scott Berinato’s Good Charts.
Let me start off by saying that this book is absolutely stunning. I know that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but because this is a book on data visualization, there needs to be some stellar imagery and examples– and Good Charts did not disappoint. I was so inspired by just looking at all of the different charts and graphs throughout the book!
The content was also phenomenal. Berinato breaks down data visualization down to its basic components, serving as a starting point for beginners and a refresher for old pros. I’m somewhere in the middle, so his tips and tricks for making data appealing through visuals was a bit of both!
4 STARS! I’m not giving this book a full 5/5 stars because I thought it was a bit too drawn out. While I did enjoy the book, I found some of it to be a bit repetitive. This might be helpful for complete beginners, but I wasn’t too captivated in these moments.
Note: I was given an advanced readers copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
21 Feb 2017 @ 02:45PM / 
