I loved this story from the first chapter. Rachel did a great job of introducing the characters. I loved Liberty and loathed Adam from the moment I met them, but hoped for the relationship to work out for Liberty’s sake. Rachel’s descriptions were so vivid that I felt like I was traveling with the characters, and almost felt a part of the story. The Thinking Log was an easy read, hard to put down, but provoked some deep thinking and self-reflection! I can’t wait to read more titles from R. Rachel Gauna!
In The Thinking Log, Rachel Gauna tells an emotional story of lies and consequences that should resonate with all of us who have lived through these superficial times. Her characters remind us of people we know and love– and of ourselves– existing at the flash points of the culture and dealing with the manners in which the truthiness and ironies of our age intrude into and shatter ordinary lives. Rachel’s novel gives us a significant and honest reckoning of the ways in which our little betrayals add up and lead to tragedy. Comfortable at times, then harrowing, The Thinking Log is like an old and familiar blanket soaked in chemicals we love to smell, yet carcinogenic over time.
I read The Thinking Log and really like it. There were instances where the “ F-word” was dropped, which I was not very fond of, but the book was easy to follow. The story line was great. It makes you not like Adam but most books there is usually a character that you don’t like. At first I read a couple chapters. Next day started reading more to find myself reading almost the whole book. I did not want to put it down due to wanting to know what was going to happen next.
I loved this story. There were many instances where I could relate with Liberty. I cried throughout the book.
I absolutely loved reading the Thinking Log; I couldn’t put it down. When the consequences were realized, I sobbed and experienced emotions I wasn’t expecting to feel… Rachel did a great job putting the characters together in a way that I was able to empathize with their story. I want to see a second book if only to know what happens with Adam.
What a great story! Rachel did a great job of developing the characters in part 1. It is a compelling story as it moves through time and emotions, and elicits those emotions from the reader. I found myself laughing crying, being angry, happy, etc. I had no idea this section would end as it did. Part 2 gets into the personalities and nuances even more. And it makes the characters stretch and grow as people. The book also made me challenge myself for honest introspection and external actions. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to more in the future.
Kick off your shoes, climb your childhood tree, perch yourself on the thickest branch, dangle your feet, and look down to Earth at your life well led by your open heart. —I loved this book.
Anticipatory set! Rachel Gauna is a master at using what some call an advance organizer, set induction, or anticipatory set to hook the reader, from the first page to the last in her new novel the Thinking Log. Creating a history of Liberty’s life with an expert imagination, she keeps the reader on the edge of her or his seat to see how things will turn out. Starting with a setting along the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado with visits to the west coast, and ending on a hillside near beautiful Telluride in the Rockies, she weaves an epic tale of love, trust, deceit and betrayal. But yet the reader will also experience beauty in this life. As I progressed, page by page in the book, I found myself experiencing the feelings of empathy for Liberty Rose, curiosity-what will happen next?-, to a suspicion of Adam and his motives (or lack thereof). This novel of young love, beginning when Liberty Rose and Adam met in college, to their early work life and living together sometimes and apart other times, is sure to be an icon in the young romance world . . . and maybe also for the older romantics in our world too! It ends on a hillside in Colorado as life is treasured with loving remembrances and thought provoking questions. Or does life really end here? Does anything this deep, this high, really end? Now you may have a new anticipatory set!