Search This Blog







2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge





2026 Build Your Library Reading Challenge








Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo


2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge



And ... It's Another One for the DNF Pile

How many books have you started because they looked interesting only to abandon them a few chapters in because they just ... weren't? Tons? Me, too. A perfect example: My God, What Have We Done? by Susan V. Weiss. I liked the synopsis (this one is taken from Amazon):
In a world afflicted with war, toxicity, and hunger, does what we do in our private lives really matter? Fifty years after the creation of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, newlyweds Pauline and Clifford visit that once-secret city on their honeymoon, compelled by Pauline's fascination with Oppenheimer, the soulful scientist. The two stories emerging from this visit reverberate back and forth between the loneliness of a new mother at home in Boston and the isolation of an entire community dedicated to the development of the bomb. While Pauline struggles with unforeseen challenges of family life, Oppenheimer and his crew reckon with forces beyond all imagining. Finally the years of frantic research on the bomb culminate in a stunning test explosion that echoes a rupture in the couple's marriage. Against the backdrop of a civilization that's out of control, Pauline begins to understand the complex, potentially explosive physics of personal relationships. At once funny and dead serious, My God, What Have We Done? sifts through the ruins left by the bomb in search of a more worthy human achievement.
The book starts off serious, wordy, and kind of cold, narrated by a heroine who grated on my nerves almost from the moment I "met" her. Weiss writes well enough that I stuck with the story for 30 pages, hoping it would get better. Nope. Even though I found the subject of the atomic bomb interesting, nothing else about the book really grabbed my interest. So, I'm sticking it on the DNF pile and moving on.
Have you read My God, What Have We Done? Does it sound like something you'd be interested in? Did I abandon the book too soon? Any thoughts?
2 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!

Reading
Murder at Ochre Court by Alyssa Maxwell
Listening
Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
-
-
Time Travel Thursday8 hours ago
-
I Love Led Zeppelin by Ellen Forney10 hours ago
-
-
A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn16 hours ago
-
Chemistry by Weike Wang17 hours ago
-
Married Before Christmas20 hours ago
-
How to Manage Picky Eaters on Vacation20 hours ago
-
-
-
A Review of Gods Don’t Sleep23 hours ago
-
Old Filth: Jane Gardam1 day ago
-
-
Fishbone Cinderella1 day ago
-
-
The Cyclist by Tim Sullivan1 day ago
-
-
-
-
Into the Fall by Tamara L. Miller2 days ago
-
Larsen, Nella "Passing"2 days ago
-
-
-
-
My Father’s Paradise By Ariel Sabar5 days ago
-
10. Jane Eyre5 days ago
-
-
Kingdom of Claw1 week ago
-
2026 Reading/Viewing List3 weeks ago
-
Merry Christmas and a few books5 weeks ago
-
-
No Roundup this month8 months ago
-
Sunday Post #5689 months ago
-
-
-
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus1 year ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?2 years ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?3 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ▼ 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction
2020 - Middle Grade Fiction


Well, certainly every book doesn't work for everyone, so I'm sorry this one didn't work for you. Thanks for being on the tour!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being part of my book tour. I’m well aware that my novel isn’t for everyone but am pleased that more than a few readers and reviewers have said they were drawn in by the narrative. I suppose one of the challenges in reviewing books is to distinguish between personal taste and literary merit.
ReplyDelete