Jessica

Nice, quick bit of background for [b:Lock In 21418013 Lock In (Lock In, #1) John Scalzi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438701397l/21418013.SY75.jpg 26115712]. Much like the movie Contagion, the beginning hits a little close to home obviously. But shows just how deeply thought it was. [a:John Scalzi 4763 John Scalzi https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562613145p2/4763.jpg] writes science fiction like a great mystery/noir.

Very cool behind the scenes account of such a cozy show.

Roller coaster. Amazing, amazing writing. Such an eye for inner lives. Some NC-17 content, some of which is quite taboo and ick, but still very worth reading. Def recommend.

Reads like you are watching the show. A few quibbles with the repetition of background info given in book one, but I suppose that is needed for people who just jump into a series wherever. Just hoping that does not end up being a problem as the series goes on with more and more and more summary. Writing is so easy to read. Multiple viewpoints and quick scene cuts make it a very very easy read. A nice thriller with high action but low emotional stakes which makes it a great escapist read.

Fun to read. On to Dead Lions. :)

Long. Had really high hopes. Some nice additions to the traditional story, but somehow never became emotionally invested in any of the characters. Not sure why.

Neat and tidy psychological thriller.

A fun lil thriller. First time reading any Cinematic Universe (of any kind) novel. It was fun. More likely to read another Lisa Jewell than another MCU book, but it was a good little story.

Sweet YA story about self-acceptance, friendship, and first love.. Would unreservedly recommend to young person.

Quick read on the world that lives on and in us. Most interesting fact I learned is that we have a literal battalion of VIRUSES that protect us from invading bacteria. Really does make you think twice about how much and how obsessively we clean and if we aren't maybe way better off just not...

Probably really a 4.5. Descriptive language that transports you to another time and place. Nice interweaving of history and fiction. Opened quite a few wikipedia pages and dictionary entries, but worth it. This seems like it is very primed to become a movie for sure.

A comprehensive history of feminism told through the lens of single women. Might have rated higher had I read it more closely to the time of publication, but it did not really resonate in the current political climate.

More radical that I can quite be brought around to, but really thought-provoking. And yet, while I am sure it was even more radical in 1977, it does, somehow, also feel quite dated. The concept of the ‘lesbian existance' is so expansively defined, but there is no acknowledgment of the huge range of sexualities, gender identities and sexual preferences that we have come to consider in the current era.Never thought about this, but so obvious:“‘the fact that male employers often do not hire qualified women, even when they could paythem less than men suggests that more than the profit motive is implicated'”Putting [b:Sula 11346 Sula Toni Morrison https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441578153l/11346.SY75.jpg 3207953] on my reading list.

So good. I have a feeling she might feel a bit more harshly towards her parents once she becomes one herself, but an incredible journey to read.

‘They say history rhymes, but it is up to us to make sure it does not.'

A non-US-centric collection of pieces by women. Worth reading for anyone who cares about where we are headed.

Reads like a fairytale. Seems like it could be a start to an interesting series, but didn't really grip me as a stand-alone. Somehow never really engaged with the characters the way I would have wanted to. That say, it was a nice introduction to a mythology I was previously unfamiliar with. Would definitely give a sequel a read.

Not as good as Fleishman, but still a good read. No sympathetic characters. One small but very good twit. One annoying deus ex machina. Definitely of a very specific time and place. Highly recommend reading her NYT piece that came out right around publication day (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/07/magazine/kidnapping-long-island.html). That is not to be missed.

Did I finish...? A choose your own adventure for middle-aged divorcees. I read one option choice alll the way through. And all three endings. But did not have enough interest to go back and explore the other choices. I know we are in the era of the anti-hero, but I couldn't get past the shallow narcissism of the protagonist. No likable characters. Not a one.

Bleak.

A truly unique story.

Def recommend listening. First person narrative + narration by the author brings so much specificity to the protagonist.

Reading Euripides has been on my list for a while and is just on my list that much more. Obviously must start with Medea.

“Gelon says that's what the best plays do. If they're true enough you'll recognize it even if it all seems mad at first, and this is why we give a shit about Troy, though for all we know, it was just some dream of Homer's”

I read this book only a week ago, and already this is me: https://www.instagram.com/p/C62WOqVL4jV/

A twist on a haunted house. But somehow I still want to live in that house...?

Well that was something different. So quick. Recommend if you are in the mood for a weird little snack.

Nice little psychological thriller. This one really feels like it was just published a little too early to get on the Netflix limited series bandwagon. But I may be biased because I just really love Natalie Haynes's writing.

Short. Impressionistic. No plot. But really lovely portraits. I think this one will stick with me, but must be in the correct mood for it.

A few good lines:

“That's all there is to the self, or the so-called ‘self': traces of the people we rub up against. I loved Joanna's words and gestures and let them become part of me, intentionally or not. I suppose that is at the core of every relationship and the reason that in some sense no relationship ever ends.”

“We live so many lives within our lives – smaller lives with people who come and go, friends who disappear, children who grow up – and I never know which of these lives is meant to serve as the frame.”

“And I suppose that's what's at the heart of it for every person suffering from anxiety; the fact that life, by its very nature, is impossible to manage.”

“When I was younger, I often thought I should travel more and farther, spend more time in foreign countries, that I should be in a constant state of velocity so that I could get out of there and truly live, but with time I have come to understand that everything I was looking for was right here, inside of me, inside the things that surround me, in the money jobs that turned into my actual jobs, in the constancy of the everyday, in the eyes of the people I meet when I allow my gaze to linger.”