Rating: 
Summary: very nice paper
Review: How can I describe? The paper is nice and pleasant to touch(very, very nice paper) I couldn't stop touching it . . .I liked the pictures. . . especially of the circled bird. . . (what a perfect circle!) I think you should read this book. . . it's an experience, but not for everyone. . . some will be bored. . . there doesn't seem to be much of a point. . . much the same as life. . . try it and you may like it.
Rating: 
Summary: You Shall Know that Dave Feels Guilty for Making So Much $$
Review: Ok, I can admit it-I loved the book. At first, I wasn't so sure. I finished the book awhile ago and now that I'm sitting here trying to recount it, my heart's pounding a little bit, I'm getting excited and I want to quickly and excitedly tell you all about all the good parts. About the Jumping People, and the old lady, and the taxi-cab chase, and the Rock You Like a Hurricane, and the Estonian, or was it Latvian?, hooker.Read this book! Read this book if for nothing else to listen to Eggers talk about dancing with girls at a junior high dance. Read the book so you can put into context the wonderful line, "Put that heave into a small Velcro pocket in the parachute pants of your soul." Read the book and ignore the fact that it seems to be about Eggers' own guilt over having made so much money off the tragedy of his life. Read the book and ignore that it probably could have been better edited. Read the book, please, so I can have someone to talk about it with.
Rating: 
Summary: Keep on Movin'
Review: This was a freebie from a friend and I have enjoyed the journey...I feel like, like life this book does come with many unresolved issues. The friendship they have,the people they encounter along the way, crazy adventures, I would hang with these guys any day! I would suggest this book...At points in the story it gets a bit slow, but only a bit until the next adventure starts....I really have enjoyed this book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't read this review
Review: And if you're investigating this book on the advice or recommendation of a friend or news article, don't read the other ones either. It's always unfortunate when a book based on simple but beautiful ideas and executed with creative, sometimes enlightening writing gets passed over because a few bored amateur wordsmiths think the Review section is for book reports. If someone you know told you would like this novel, buy it. One other note: I as raised as a global nomad. If you know what that means, buy it.
Rating:
Summary: It works on so many levels
Review: Dave Eggers is from just outside Chicago. So am I even though I don't live there anymore. I read his last book and thought it was totally great, and on so many levels I could totally identify with that Eggers opus, even though my life has had less tragedy than his. I haven't completely finished this book yet; I bought it for my sister for Christmas and she's just finished it, so hopefully I can snatch it from her and read the rest of it for myself. But I give it five stars anyhow simply based on my complete confidence in Dave's abilities. I watched Dave recently on that Dinner for Five program on the IFC channel. I was psyched to watch Dave interact, and he did a great job and was the best one there, but the show ... mainly because of Favreau and Pantoliano constantly tooting their own horns. Each episode it seems, Favreau slips in some reference to Swingers. Kind of sad, like an old lad constantly rehashing his glory days. And what was up with Pantoliano? Trying to identify with Dave just because one of his parents died of cancer? And I nearly lost it when he asked Dave what the title of his book was. What a joke. And could Garafalo been more annoying? But anyhow, you people should buy this new Eggers book.
Rating:
Summary: I'm surprised I kept reading, but I did
Review: The plot line is thin and repetitive, but I liked these two guys, Will & Hand, and I kept reading.
I feel the book would have been improved if the through-line of travel as a way of coping with grief and random handouts of money as a way of coping with guilt had recurred more often and been a stronger presence.
At the end, I felt like I knew Will and Hand very well, but I wanted to know more about Jack, their friend whose death, in part, precipitated the traveling to give away lots of money to strangers.
There was also the thread of an unresolved relationship with his mother that Will, the 'I' protagonist, pulled into the forefront now and then - and I could have used a lot more of that sort of input.
But altogether, You Shall Know Our Velocity was a good attempt at a first novel by a brilliant, innovative, and daring new writer.
I'll bet you find yourself skimming over quite a bit of the repetitive stuff, as I did, but go ahead and finish it. It's good.
Rating:
Summary: Novel approach
Review: I think he could use a good editor. However, it is an original idea and an engrossing novel.
Rating:
Summary: Darn Fine Writer; Pretty Decent Book
Review: This is no question in this reader's mind that Dave Eggers is a talented and engaging writer. There are sections of this book, as there were in AHWOSG, that are amazingly conceived and executed, as perfectly written as anything I've read. When I get to one of those sections -- be it a paragraph or 20 pages -- I feel like I'm in the story, it's so personal and sincere. However, and with Eggers there always seems to be a however, there aren't enough of those sections to overcome an only better than average plot and really "bad" editing to lift this book into 4 or 5 star territory. Still, I happy to admit I did enjoy this book. The characters are consistent and truly imagined. The self-doubt and confusion of Will is easy to understand, though his inner conversations tended to get on my nerves a little bit and parts of this internal dialogue tended toward preachy. The fact that it literally took mne around the world is worth something too. Go ahead and read this book. It's worth it. Just be prepared to find a lot of typos, bad pagination, etc. I suppose those are the perils of self-publishing, but they do detract from an otherwise well-done novel.
Rating:
Summary: Good Start but Little Conflict
Review: In Dave Eggers' "You Shall Know our Velocity," two best friends, Will and Hand, decide to travel the world in hopes of giving away money. While much of their travels lead to failure and feels anticlimatic, the reader can't help but feel somewhat inspired by Will and Hand's grand plans. They continually throw caution to the wind, and don't hesitate to board flights around the world heading to places they know nothing about. Mixed in the narrative are stories and memories of Jack, Will and Hand's friend, who died tragically before the story begins. Yet Eggers does little with the subplot involving Jack. All the reader does know is that Jack was tragically killed and both Hand and Will miss him terribly. The funeral was also a sore spot for them as well. The greatest problem with "YSKOV" is that there is simply little or no conflict. The two characters indeed run into troubles giving away their cash, but each person they encounter usually gives them no trouble at all in accepting large quantities of money. One wonders how realistic it is, for example, that two American white males in poverty stricken Africa giving away money and are never questioned and never stopped by authorities. There are moments when Eggers' writing truly shines and is indeed heartfelt and sincere. At other moments, it seems Eggers is trying to fill the page with meaningless dialogue. While there are great and very humorous moments, Eggers surely could have tightened the prose and added some more dramatic moments.
Rating:
Summary: He's getting better all the time
Review: Between AHWOSG and YSKOV, Dave Eggers' writing has matured enormously. Where in AHWOSG, the main plot relyed on Eggers' one-liners and jokes and most of the characters were clumsily developed, YSKOV explores each of the topics presented and issues the narrator faces while making the characters three-dimensional. The styles of AHWOSG and YSKOV are vastly different, so those who really enjoyed AHWOSG will not necessarily like YSKOV and those who hated AHWOSG should try reading YSKOV without any preconceptions held over from Eggers' first book.
| 
