en-US Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:07:27 -0700 60 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Review8646896747 Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:07:27 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8646896747 Agnė gave 3 stars to A First Time for Everything (Paperback) by Dan Santat
bookshelves: memoir, non-fiction, travel, sequential-art, middle-grade
Vulnerable, cute, and fun memoir.

I loved traveling through Europe with the main character and seeing the places I have also visited. ]]> Review6079301613 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:49:31 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6079301613 Agnė gave 2 stars to Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals (Audiobook) by Oliver Burkeman
bookshelves: non-fiction, audiobook, better-self, philosophy, book-club-gym
2.5 out of 5

A meditation on time. A philosophical overview of different ways to think about time and what we should do with our limited time on Earth. Hint: nobody cares, we all are going to die.

Could have used more stories to make the arguments more memorable. As I was listening to the audiobook, everything was blending together, and sometimes I had a hard time summarizing what I have learned. ]]> Review8278802681 Tue, 20 Jan 2026 19:33:10 -0800 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8278802681 Agnė gave 3 stars to Curiosón. Viaje al corazón del océano (Hardcover) by Matthias Picard
bookshelves: sequential-art, picturebook, fiction, adventure, children, fantasy, wordless
Las ilustraciones son hermosas, y el efecto 3D está muy bien aprovechado.

El final en bucle es inesperado y alucinante, pero por lo demás no hay mucha historia.



]]> Review8278771228 Tue, 20 Jan 2026 19:31:05 -0800 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8278771228 Agnė gave 3 stars to Debajo de la Cama/ Under the Bed (Hardcover) by Paul Bright
bookshelves: children, picturebook, humor, fiction, poetry, fantasy
La historia es linda y divertida. El lenguaje es vívido y tiene buenas rimas.

Sin embargo, no es para mi nivel principiante de español. ¡Me costó mucho! ]]> Review8268271230 Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:24:21 -0800 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8268271230 Agnė gave 4 stars to El rey escualo (Rag Book) by R. Kikuo Johnson
bookshelves: fiction, sequential-art, folklore, fantasy, children
4 de cada 5

Una historieta breve, sencilla y triste. Las ilustraciones están llenas de vida y color. ¡Mi primer libro (¡y reseña!) en español!
]]> Review6939155385 Thu, 03 Apr 2025 19:19:14 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6939155385 Agnė gave 3 stars to The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business (Audible Audio) by Erin Meyer
bookshelves: non-fiction, audiobook, psychology, business
3.5 out of 5

Erin Meyer's The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business is an insightful business management book that explores how cultural differences impact communication (and business) across the world.

I read The Culture Map to better understand the multicultural environment I've been living in and often struggle to fit into. For me, The Culture Map is as insightful as it is validating, because it highlights the cultural differences that I had already consciously or unconsciously observed, but didn't have the vocabulary to express or the framework to explain. Now I do, and it's a big relief knowing that there is nothing wrong with me or those around me, we're just different (duh).

Anyways, The Culture Map is centered around an eight-scale model, where each culture can be placed in each category on a spectrum between two extremes:
• Communicating: low-context vs. high-context
• Evaluating: direct negative feedback vs. indirect negative feedback
• Persuading: principles-first vs. applications-first
• Leading: egalitarian vs. hierarchical
• Deciding: consensual vs. top-down
• Trusting: task-based vs. relationship-based
• Disagreeing: confrontational vs. avoids confrontation
• Scheduling: linear-time vs. flexible-time

Although The Culture Map is well-written, easy to understand, and engaging, most of its claims seem to be based on anecdotal evidence. Erin Meyer, a professor at INSTEAD, one of the world's leading international business schools, states that she has "been able to turn [her] classroom into a laboratory where the executive participants test, challenge, validate, and correct the findings from more than a decade of research. [...] This rich trove of information and experience informs the eight-scale model that is at the heart of this book" (p. 15). However, we never get to see the research itself, just the model, supported by many anecdotes. I found the book very readable and still immensely valuable, but you'll have to decide for yourself whether to take Erin Meyer's word for it.

By the way, the chapter I was most interested in was on task-based vs. relationship-based trust. However, it was written mostly from an American perspective (culture with task-based trust) and focused on how to deal with cultures that base trust on relationships. Since I'm from the latter culture, I was hoping for advice on how to engage with people who base their trust on task, but was disappointed that not much was said on this.

Overall, I'm not entirely sure whether The Culture Map is truly scientific or even actionable, but it definitely does a great job raising awareness of cultural differences and validating my own experience. ]]> Review7029051120 Sat, 29 Mar 2025 18:35:30 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7029051120 Agnė gave 2 stars to Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You: The Murky World of Online Romance Fraud (Audiobook) by Becky Holmes
bookshelves: non-fiction, audiobook, book-club-gym, crime
2.5 out of 5

Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You: The Murky World of Online Romance Fraud is Becky Holmes' entertaining and enlightening exploration of online romance scams.

Much of the book consists of Holmes' own personal anecdotes of interacting with online romance fraudsters and celebrity impersonators. While often hilarious, her "clever" attempts to scam the scammers become repetitive, and the humor starts to wear thin.

Later, the mood shifts significantly as the author shares compassionate accounts of romance fraud victims and offers deeper insights into the world of scammers. She explores scamming scripts and manuals, common patterns, motives, organized crime groups, and even human trafficking. These sections were by far the most informative and engaging for me, and I wished there were more of them and fewer anecdotes of the author toying with scammers.

The book ends with an overview of the apparent lack of effort in combating romance fraud. It's a devastating crime, leaving victims financially and emotionally ruined, while many scammers themselves are victims of exploitation. Yet, frustratingly little can be done legally. This is an important issue that needs more exposure and education, and Holmes does a good job bringing it to light. ]]> Review6079546152 Fri, 14 Mar 2025 19:55:26 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6079546152 Agnė gave 2 stars to Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love (Audible Audio) by John M. Gottman
bookshelves: psychology, book-club-home, better-self, audiobook, non-fiction, romance
Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman is a research-based relationship self-help book that offers eight structured date ideas, each centered around a guided conversation on a topic relevant to long-term relationships: trust & commitment, conflict, sex & intimacy, work & money, family, fun & adventure, growth & spirituality, and dreams.

Over past year, my husband and I read Eight Dates together and completed all the exercises. In the beginning, we had some deep, emotional conversations that felt meaningful and engaging. But over time, the chapters started getting shorter and less substantial, the questions became broader and more random, and our conversations started to feel dull and repetitive. We got stuck on some of the later chapters and, honestly, couldn't wait to be done with the book.

While the exercises can be valuable if you commit to them, the actual chapters felt somewhat basic, leaning more on common sense than deep insight. I wanted more (diverse) stories, more research, more advice, and more substance. The earlier chapters were stronger, with more targeted prompts, but as the book went on, it seemed to lose steam. For example, the chapter on growth & spirituality barely explored the topic, and the questions mostly revolved around goals and dreams.

Also, it might be my own personal bias against traditional thinking and societal norms when it comes to marriage, but I found the book's tone somewhat rigid and clinical, and I felt aversion to certain ideas and the language used. For instance, I couldn't bring myself to read aloud the affirmations at the end of the chapter, as they felt too cold, artificial, and forced. ]]> Review7316184737 Tue, 11 Mar 2025 18:10:39 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7316184737 Agnė gave 3 stars to Riešutų duona (Audiobook) by Saulius Šaltenis
bookshelves: audiobook, in-lithuanian, fiction, realistic-fiction, classics
3.5 iš 5

Sauliaus Šaltenio Riešutų duona - tai apysaka apie tarybinį gyvenimą pokario Lietuvos provincijos miestelyje, matomą vaiko, o vėliau ir paauglio akimis.

Besiklausant šio XX amžiaus lietuviškojo šedevro, man gėlė širdį. Gražu, graudu, šilta, skaudu... Nors apysaka trumpa, tarp eilučių slypi tiek gyvenimo džiaugsmo ir skausmo, kad atrodo, jog knyga dvigubai ilgesnė, nei iš tikrųjų yra. Vis norisi sustoti, pasimėgauti, pamąstyti... O gal net skaityti/klausyti dar kartą, lukštenti lyg svogūną, nes neabejoju, kad dar daug ko nesupratau ir neatradau.

Riešutų duonos kalba - paprasta, bet labai nuoširdi. Autorius gerbia skaitytojo intelektą: nepamokslauja, nebruka vienos tiesos, net kartais nieko nepaaiškina ir viską palieka skaitytojui pačiam interpretuoti. Todėl kas ką nori, tas tą randa ir pasiima.

Beje, audioknygos įgarsinimas - pasakiškas! Matas Sigliukas net gavo "Metų balso" apdovanojimą "už paveikų įgarsinimą, tobulai perteiktą teksto dvasią, ironišką pasakojimo atspalvį bei balsu išreikštą laikmečio nuotaiką." Labai rekomenduoju! ]]> Review7388681221 Tue, 11 Mar 2025 08:49:40 -0700 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7388681221 Agnė gave 4 stars to Vampire Loves (Grand Vampire, #1-4) by Joann Sfar
bookshelves: fiction, sequential-art, fantasy, series, humor
Joann Sfar's wildly imaginative, kind of ridiculous, yet deeply relatable graphic novel Vampire Loves collects the first four installments in the Grand Vampire series. It follows Ferdinand the Vampire and his eclectic mix of human and non-human friends as they navigate the unpredictable, adventurous world of relationships.

What a magical find! The storylines in Vampire Loves feel like a rambling stream of consciousness: random, spontaneous, surprising, and incredibly true to life (that is, if you can overlook the fact that they are full of magical creatures). I once read that Sfar doesn't plan his stories in advance but rather makes them up as he goes, one panel at a time. Not sure if that's actually true, because it would be mind-blowingly impressive, but it absolutely reads that way.

The dialogue in Vampire Loves is blunt, awkward, and utterly enchanting. I bet most of us think along similar lines (I know I do!) but are usually too self-conscious to say things so plainly.

Joann Sfar's characters are unique, flawed, and effortlessly likable. Ferdinand the Vampire supposedly lives in Lithuania, but as a Lithuanian myself, I can confidently say there's nothing remotely Lithuanian about his surroundings. Even the town square is called "Yalyubyutibia Square," a misspelled Russian phrase meaning "I love you" written as one word. Flash news: Lithuanians don't speak Russian. :D But honestly, none of this dampened my enthusiasm for the book.

I'm not necessarily a huge fan of Sfar's squiggly linework, but his quirky, free-flowing artwork perfectly complements the neurotic lunacy of the storylines. ]]>