Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering by Malcolm Gladwell, Narrated by the author and various voice actors

I read Blink and Outliers many years ago. I thought I had read The Tipping Point and checked and realized that I had not. I think Gladwell is a good story teller and presents some very interesting case studies about social epidemics and science. It was just a bit a bit all over the place for me. I did learn things and the audiobook was done very well. It was more similar to a podcast and included actual recorded interviews and voice actors. I really liked that, but not sure I really thought this was as well presented as it could have been.

1.5x. March 23-26, 2025.

Next Steps in French with Paul Noble by Paul Noble (Narrator)

This is the shortest of the three French courses but it still took me a few weeks since I would only do them in the mornings. I found this one more useful than the first and will probably listen to it again since it was good practice. I am not good at tenses and conjugation and most of this book was Passe Compose and Imparfait. Noble never said those two words though as these books avoid grammar explanations as much as possible. The repetition hopefully helped.

1.5x March 5-28, 2025.

A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD: Embrace Neurodiversity, Live Boldly, and Break Through Barriers by Michelle Frank, Sari Solden with Marni Penning (Narrator)

This book would have helped me more if I had read it ten or fifteen years ago and if I had been diagnosed then. Even the last five years, I’ve learned more things about myself. The tone of this book is much more self-help than I anticipated given it was written by psychologists. It was okay. It did make me realize that my dislike of hosting anything could be related to my ADHD. The book had good reminders to be more assertive. I did not find the book too useful.

1.75-2.0x. March 26-28, 2025

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna with Samara MacLaren (Narrator)

This has been on my TBR for a couple years due to being cozy fantasy. It seems to have gotten even more popular in the last year. I really liked it. It was similar to The House on the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune: lonely MC, orphaned magical beings, found family, diversity, and romance. Hot take I liked this more than The House on the Cerulean Sea. I think some people would find this book on the twee side but I have a high twee quotient. I appreciated that the lead was a 31 year old witch looking for a home and not a young woman as the trend is in most fantasy novels. I liked how wholesome it was yet not conflict free. It was sweet and cozy.

I’ve recently realized that Grumpy/Sunshine romance is not my favourite trope so the romance was nice but not necessary for me to enjoy the novel. Still a good ride and look forward to the next book in the universe. Audiobook for maybe 20% as I would take breaks from the ebook. The narrator was good.

1.75x. March 24-29, 2025 on Kobo Clara BW and Kobo Libra 2.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 4 Volume 8 by Miya Kazuki with You Shiina (Illustrator), quof (Translator)

I have given up reading this alongside my TBR book goals. I consume this series too quickly on the weekend. I am finding the pacing a bit too slow now even though there were some significant events and politicking. Better interactions between Ferdinand and Rozemyne. They are set up as the end game couple and I still don’t care for it. I wish I loved Ferdinand more like the other fans of this series. He’s too much of a tsundere. I have yet to have my heart squeeze like I did when Rozemyne and Lutz promised to help each other. There has not been enough Rozemyne character development recently since we’re not more focused on plot and politics. This volume moved the plot along but did not offer much in way of levity or emotional resonance. The next volume is the last one in Part 4 and should be intense as always.

March 29-30, 2025 on Kobo Libra 2.

How We Share Cake by Kim Hyo-eun with Deborah Smith (Translator)

Sweet Korean children’s book. The illustrations are very cute and child-like.

March 30, 2025.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 4 Volume 9 (Light Novel) by Miya Kazuki with quof (Translator), You Shiina (Illustrator)

A sadder and slower volume as the two main characters are separated. Again, I like Ferdinand fine and I wish I was more emotionally invested. I hope to see how Rozemyne develops further without him. I like the side stories at the end of this volume. I enjoyed the one from Kamil, Florencia, Justus, Cornelius, and Fran. As I am now entering the last part, I think I will endeavour to finish this series in a couple months. It’s distracting me from other books. I do not want to rush too much since I can get annoyed with the writing style.

March 31-30, 2025.

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle, Aidan Gillen (Narrator)

This was the 1993 winner of the Booker Prize. This was my first Doyle and I was told to to check him out because he’s a doyen of Irish literature. If not for the great audiobook narration by Gillen and my desire to finish an Irish book for my challenge, I probably would not have finished this in print. I had a print copy from the library but opted to listen to this instead since there were no quotation marks and a register is used in the writing. Like many Booker Prizes, the plot is thin. That’s fine if there is adequate or decent character work or setting, but this was too boring for me. Paddy Clarke is a ten year old in Dublin in the 1960s. His parents are fighting a lot. The book has some funny moments and it wasn’t objectively badly written. Doyle seemed to capture a time and character so I sometimes thought of it as a memoir. I just was not interested.

1.5x. March 29-31, 2025.