Jonas
Could've easily been kitschy and boring, but was actually deeply felt and interesting. Though many of the essays read like they were from the same writer hiding behind different alter egos. And almost all of them were more about their respective author than the dog itself. While I get why, it would've been nice to have at least one piece that looked at a dog as it is, on its own terms, as a creature that is not just a reflection of its human. Just as it was refreshing to have the funny piece by Ned Beauman, or the historic look by Chris Pearson, amid mostly melancholic ones.
The multigenerational epic that is as much about the history and culture of the country—or in this case, Commonwealth—the main characters hail from as it is about the main characters themselves is one of my favourite genres of literary fiction. But even if I hadn't known that Smith was, in terms of first-time authors of international bestsellers, very young when she wrote “White Teeth,” it would have become very obvious very quickly. Because in addition to having been very young, she's also obviously very brilliant. And much of “White Teeth” reads like a young, brilliant person still feeling like they have to prove how brilliant they are. Every sentence is packed with incisive cultural or psychological observations, informed by a deep knowledge of history, science, and religion, all delivered with a wry, ironic wit. It can all be a bit exhausting at times!
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with “White Teeth,” and I'm particularly looking forward to reading her later works. Because having proven her brilliance, my hope is that she will have found a more confident, grounded voice later on.
3.5–Rounded for Goodreads, rounded down because ... I predict I'll need some headroom for Smith‘s later novels!
James S. A. Corey are not the most amazing lyricists, so at over 550 pages, this could've easily been a slog. But it isn't—because they never.break.momentum. The chapters are short and in every single one, something major moves the plot forward, another puzzle piece is put in place or a cliffhanger pulls you along. And Corey never become so enamored with their own worldbuilding for it to take center stage for too long. It's all larger-than-life stuff infused with a sense of boyish wonder, so don't expect a great work of art. But all in all, this was really entertaining read, and I‘m already looking forward to starting part two.
3.5–Rounded for Goodreads and rounded up for ... being fun!
This was given to me as a gift, and originally I dropped out about halfway through. That was before Scott Adams was thoroughly and rightfully canceled for being a paranoid racist, though—an event that rekindled my interest in the book.
While it initially styles itself somewhat as an autobiography, it falls squarely in the self-help category. And in a sense, this is as good as self-help gets. It's written by someone with an interesting life who makes his money writing funny comic strips, so at the very least, it's a competent and entertaining read. And Adams actually presents a handful of useful mental models on life and success and shares some outrageous stories. But most of the chapters either give off major pick up artist vibes or boil down to “sleep well, exercise and eat your veggies.”
Seeing how Scott Adams' own life has turned out, it's safe to say that all the “tactics” and “systems” in here–the ones he literally wrote the book on–didn't really help him in the end. So, in a way, Adams' behavior has inadvertently and retroactively transformed this book into a profound take-down of the self-help genre, I guess?
On a side note, if you have read this and still were surprised to find out Adams is a douchebag, I ... don't think we've read the same book? He's really not hiding it.
Finally, since seeing one of his videos for the first time was one of the cringier experiences of my life, I'd like to quote Adams' complete YouTube channel description. Because it's really all you need to know about him and the tone of the book:
“Scott Adams (famous for creating Dilbert) is a trained hypnotist, and is widely recognized as an expert on persuasion. Adams has emerged as one of the most influential observers of politics in the United States. His bestselling book, “Win Bigly,” teaches persuasion, and his bestselling book “How to Lose Almost Every Time and Still Win Big” is widely considered the best book ever written on developing systems for success. His most recent book is Loserthink, which teaches you how to avoid it. If you enjoy learning how to be more effective in life while catching up with the interesting news, this is the channel for you.”
My favorite part is that he seems to get the title of his own book wrong? What a loser.
The gore is super gross, the villain hilariously vile, the world extremely sad and depressing, and a dog saves the day. In short, everything about this is great. Everything except the dialogue and story with their big troubled-little-boy energy and the extremely problematic portrayal of Alita as a highly sexualised child.
I can only imagine how transgressive this must have felt when you somehow got your hands on it during the 90s, probably via that one weird clerk at your local comic shop. Hell, even now I wouldn't want my mother to see me reading the panels where Makaku slurps brains directly from bodies like they are Go-Gurts—or almost all of the panels, really.
P.S. The Kodansha Digital Edition is absolutely gorgeous btw., and really lets the art shine. Also there's a list of sound effect translations at the end? Probably highlights how long I haven't read any manga I guess, but that's hilarious. It's six straight pages of stuff like “115.1 - mrrk mrrk (moko moko)” or “152.6 fwip fwip fwip (kyun kyun kyun)”.