Jessica
Would not recommend, but also just couldn't put it down. Voice and writing was great. Plot actually ended up with a couple of decent twists, but was pretty slow. But boy was this book just so, so cringe. If I start giving examples, this review might end up as long as the book. I wish I could make someone else read it just so we could rip it to shreds together. Shared that thought with Gabber by text, and she introduced me to the perfectly-coined term ‘hate-reading'.
Will probably try another book by this author because I really enjoyed reading this one, but if the cringe is still there, I am not sure if I can take it again.
I have a lot of ambivalence about this book. So so so so much insight. Some just incredible observations.
I find first-person narratives generally fall into one of two categories: the self-flagellators and absolute narcissists. The protagonist here falls squarely into the second camp – so, so self-absorbed – basically no ability (or even desire) to think outsider herself.
Brace yourself for lots of ICK. Mostly of the second-hand embarrassment kind but also of the this-is-supposed-to-be-shocking-but-is-just-...not variety. But maybe I am just old and prudish, and it was really all very hot and sexy....
But back to DAMN... this one will stick with you. Can't stop thinking about it. 100% recommend. May come back and bump to 5 stars if the ick fades and the absolutely amazing insights remain. :)
Literally my go-to book to recommend to people. Read it. You will not regret it. Then be shocked that Benioff is one of the show runners for GoT.
Lots of personal anecdotes about the titans of tech. Nothing that really changes your opinion about anyone (except maybe I am a little less anti-Jobs – but only a little), but still a really interesting account of one person's front row seat to the evolution of the internet and social media in the modern era. Well worth your time.
A sweet lil book. I have read New Yorker essays that were longer, but a cute tail (see what I did there?) about kitties, tech, and the importance of having a life partner who loves you even when you are being completely bonkers.
All I could hear is Vizzini talking to me. An interesting collection of thoughts, but I just can't be completely down with the idea that cowardly, greedy, evil people just have no choice and are not deserving of our contempt. He just kind of takes the inequality argument / exercise a bit too far....
I love this series. Please someone adapt it for tv. Will wait very impatiently for part 3.
Really beautiful collection of short stories somewhat interconnected à la Goon Squad. All revolving around music in some way. Listened to audiobook. Narrators really add to the mood of the stories.
A tidy little thriller. Easy to read, have expectations that the actual Slough House books will improve on the momentum here, but I like to read things in order.
4.5 for sure. Thoroughly enjoyable fantasy/magical realism/folklore romp. Not a tear-jerker, not particularly profound, but an easy, enjoyable read. Here's hoping the sequel does not disappoint!
This book is not at all about what you think it is. It is a very easy and worthy read.
Sweet YA story about self-acceptance, friendship, and first love.. Would unreservedly recommend to young person.
Tracks. A good companion to [a:David Baddiel 144909 David Baddiel https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1312559764p2/144909.jpg]'s [b:Jews Don't Count 52710961 Jews Don't Count David Baddiel https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1608039721l/52710961.SY75.jpg 88917384].Some quotes:I had mistaken the enormous public interest in past Jewish suffering for a sign of respect for living Jews. I was very wrong. You already know this story has to end badly. Like almost every place Jews have ever lived, Harbin was great for the Jews until it wasn't In other words, hating Jews was normal. And historically speaking, the decades in which my parents and I had grown up simply hadn't been normal. Now, normal was coming back.
Really good short story collection. Some of these characters will definitely be padding around in my head for a while.
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.
Tiniest short story ever, but feels like a Homeric epic. I wish to know everything about this world. There is what at first blush appears to be some vile (era-syntonic) anti-semitism in the first paragraph, but then it seems wholly rebuked. I am choosing to believe that it is a problem of translation.
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”
A snack. Pretty good as thrillers go. Face paced, some good twisty turns, easy reading. Waiting for the inevitable Netflix mini-series.
I thought is was going to be religious when I started it and thought it would be too much for me, but it is more spiritual than religious. It is about the vanishing beauty of the natural world in our backyards. It is poetry in the form of prose. Really lovely meditations. Audiobook narrated by the author. Deepest southern accent in the world. A+
Grim. Felt somewhere between The Stand and The Road. Just a kind of post-apocalyptic story that I guess doesn't really work for me. I wonder if it felt more science fiction-y and less really just-a-few-years-in-the-future when it was written. The religious element also just didn't work for me. Not sure whether I will read the sequel at some point, but definitely passing on it for now.
Short for epic fantasy, but literally can't wait for sequel to come out. Part His Dark Materials, part The Witcher, main trio (quartet?) all great. So much representation – just part of the story; t
he way it should be. World-building all in service of moving the story forward. Easy, easy read.
4.5 Quick little novella. Shades of [b:Girls & Boys 37925478 Girls & Boys Dennis Kelly https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1515847920l/37925478.SY75.jpg 59641679]. In my mind, the landscape was from The Banshees of Inisherin. Definitely will read [b:Earth 198222359 Earth John Boyne https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1698178823l/198222359.SY75.jpg 201057287] when it comes out.
Didn't really work for me. Writing was beautiful, but first person perspective was claustrophobic. Continuous dialog between Annis and Aza was repetitive and just didn't engage me. Story was slow. [b:The Prophets 52576333 The Prophets Robert Jones Jr. https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584823829l/52576333.SY75.jpg 76317525] and [b:Night Wherever We Go 61054121 Night Wherever We Go Tracey Rose Peyton https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1658243344l/61054121.SY75.jpg 96220119] were much more compelling stories covering the same terrain (minus the magical realism).