i want to read everything that's like nothing i've ever read
(picking this up for a substack post in which i let you guys choose my reads) (review to coi want to read everything that's like nothing i've ever read
(picking this up for a substack post in which i let you guys choose my reads) (review to come)...more
first i have to say, contrary to my expectations, this book was extremely funny.
the other thing i really liked about this wassomeone tell my siblings.
first i have to say, contrary to my expectations, this book was extremely funny.
the other thing i really liked about this was the jordan peele-esque (synopsis comparison i actually agree with!) sociopolitical aspect to the horror.
those are two really big good things, but sadly they were my biggest pros.
if a horror story is going to be as over the top as the nightmarishness of this one, it's my personal preference to feel grounded in the reality outside of it. but the beginning of this (and the flashbacks to normalcy) felt wacky too, and it was hard to settle into this story.
bottom line: a goofy wacky out-there mostly-good time.
this book made me so anxious i couldn't sleep until i'd finished it.
tbd on if that's good or bad.
this was an extremely consuming and stressful read abthis book made me so anxious i couldn't sleep until i'd finished it.
tbd on if that's good or bad.
this was an extremely consuming and stressful read about a woman who falls into an abusive relationship, then falls into it again, then falls into it again.
i've had my own ill-advised romantic foibles that ultimately led to my friends screaming at me to stop being such an idiot, but that didn't make reading about it any easier. or, at times, any easier to understand.
the problem with this book, for me, is that the toxic entity at the core of it was the least interesting part.
our protagonist's other relationships — with her best friend, her mom, her rebound, her writing group, her dad, her friend's family — all compelled me much more.
also, i thought we were going to get a sapphic happily ever after. so that's its own kind of heartbreak.
bottom line: the phrase "everything feels like a lot" in the synopsis is all i needed to want to read this. and it definitely felt like a lot.
my fiancé and i are also planning a whirlwind tour through vietnam, so this is basically studying.
this is maybe not a great romance. the male lead is my fiancé and i are also planning a whirlwind tour through vietnam, so this is basically studying.
this is maybe not a great romance. the male lead is too much of an asshole, the female lead too quirky. it is also maybe not my favorite writing — of the kind where it feels like a bunch of words are the synonyms of the word the author was actually looking for.
but i loved reading about vietnam and amazing food and glorious sites.
so a good romcom, no. but a pretty entertaining travel guide.
bottom line: yet another case of liking everything except the romance in a romance.
i wanted to read this since before it came out, so i was shocked it's one of the least read books i've ever seen on goodreads.
once i'd finished, i boti wanted to read this since before it came out, so i was shocked it's one of the least read books i've ever seen on goodreads.
once i'd finished, i both got it and didn't.
the whole time i was reading this book, my main thought was "i shouldn't be reading this book."
john edgar wideman is under-read on goodreads, but was one of the most critically acclaimed authors of the 80s and the first to win the pen/faulkner award twice. his most widely read books and his award winners are 40 years old.
i maybe should not have started here, with an unknown new release.
there was a lot of brilliance here, but it never quite coalesced into brilliance itself. in my unease at reading a book of almosts, i kept googling the author, reading interviews and excerpts and his wikipedia page.
this armed me for the back half of this book, which dissolves without comment into memoir.
wideman sets up a group of real people, and an interesting theory in the "slaveroad," but he fails to put it all together. even the ultimate pivot into his own memories could've served it, but the book abruptly ends without much to say.
bottom line: a less-brilliant work by a still-brilliant author.
this didn't have much of a plot (besides the very trope-y one we fell into 75% through) or characters (one chahad me at cute book about magical girls!
this didn't have much of a plot (besides the very trope-y one we fell into 75% through) or characters (one character is cute and dumb and cheerful, the other character is mean and smart and cold, that's it) or relationship dynamics (two of the weirdest and least real-feeling romances occur in this book) or an explanation (i do not understand the magic system in this — or if i can even call it that)...
but what it did have is the cutest art ever.
turns out that's mostly enough for a good time, some of the time.
this is a book about a family nail salon sabotaging the chain that opens up across the street.
as someone who is a fan of both pranks and supporting smthis is a book about a family nail salon sabotaging the chain that opens up across the street.
as someone who is a fan of both pranks and supporting small business, i just hope the happy ending does not involve learning some kind of lesson about how crime is bad.
worse, it's not really about sabotage at all — more about kind of upsetting hijinks and financial errors committed by a family trying their best.
it aims for a lot, like separate plotlines and happily ever afters for each of the 5 family members we follow and themes of gentrification, family, immigration, community, and success.
as you can imagine it didn't quite stick the landing on everything.
but it wasn't a bad read, and it made me really hungry for vietnamese food. that's good enough in my book.
this book, about four families living in a communal apartment building, convinced me that we need to wait for men to die out and theme and my friends.
this book, about four families living in a communal apartment building, convinced me that we need to wait for men to die out and then start society over.
the writing is simple and abrupt, as is the ending...and the plot...but this successfully made me feel some type of way about the family unit.
and that's more than some can say!
bottom line: the system is broken!!! at least within this fictional story.
BUILD A BODY LIKE MINE at this point i may dedicate my life to seeking out eating disorder-related fiction that irelatable.
mini-reviews for each story:
BUILD A BODY LIKE MINE at this point i may dedicate my life to seeking out eating disorder-related fiction that is at all unique. i will even accept interesting.
we are not there yet. rating: 3
THE PROBLEM SOLVER this one also is not anything extremely not-done-before, but it is very sociopolitically accurate, so you have to give it props for that. rating: 3.5
SHE’S ALWAYS HUNGRY title story alert!
all of the jokes i could make about this are spoilers. bummer. rating: 3.5
THE SHADOW OVER LITTLE CHITALY this one is about a combination chinese / italian restaurant that makes evil pizza with apples and chow mein in it. fun. rating: 3.5
HOLLOW BONES gross! rating: 3.5
GOTH GF the american dream.
okay that was very literal. in hindsight i don’t know what i expected. rating: 3
EXTINCT EVENTS the theme of this is mostly “weird plant starfish creatures are people too, you know.” but no they aren’t. you can’t fool me. rating: 3
NIGHTSTALKERS not to be confused with the one that’s jake gyllenhaal. rating: 3.5
SHAKE WELL i recommend this story for people who like dr. pimple popper. i do not like dr. pimple popper. rating: 3
THE KING i didn’t want to say it. i was trying not to saying it. but by naming it ironically herself, eliza clark has forced me to say it:this book is fun, but it’s not particularly clever or novel. it’s mostly online edgelord bullsh*t. rating: 2.5
COMPANY MAN sure. rating: 3
OVERALL there were some fun ones in this, but nothing as crazy or out-there or unique or edgy as it seemed to think it was. rating: 3
nothing impresses me more than pure character-driven writing
(picking this up for a substack post in which i let you guys choose my reads) (review to conothing impresses me more than pure character-driven writing
(picking this up for a substack post in which i let you guys choose my reads) (review to come)...more
i miss succession too much not to read books compared to it
this was a fun thriller in the way of ... GASP! PLOT TWIST! UNBELIEVABLE! WHY WOULD HE DO Ti miss succession too much not to read books compared to it
this was a fun thriller in the way of ... GASP! PLOT TWIST! UNBELIEVABLE! WHY WOULD HE DO THAT? CAN'T THEY BE NICE TO EACH OTHER? I'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THIS, IS THIS REAL?
it was not a good book in the way of feeling like characters were full or had logical arcs or were normal to each other, but.
i found it interesting when i was reading it, so that's something.
it's like succession in that it's about insane rich siblings who are horrible, but the similarities really do end there so be forewarned.
i liked the setup of this, but it took a bit too long to get to its plot and then kind of descended into abrupt chaos and madness rather than leading us there. i felt unsatisfied by this book, but i did have trouble putting it down, so. pros and cons.
so this was not my favorite romance novel of all time, but it would've been a really, really good dream. i'm 100% giving this 3 stars, but i would've so this was not my favorite romance novel of all time, but it would've been a really, really good dream. i'm 100% giving this 3 stars, but i would've been, like, super bummed to wake up after spending a sleep in it.
so that has to count for something.
the problem with this book, which follows our (still) (unfortunately) heartbroken protagonist (who was dumped several years ago and is still being kind of a bad hang to her friends about it) as she somehow ends up in the fictional setting of her favorite romance series for a love story of her very own, is not what i thought it would be (that it makes less than no sense).
i'm willing to overlook the little things, like logic and things adding up in any way.
what i'm not as cool with is that the fake story was better than the real one.
the fake town: rocked. the fake characters: amazing. the fake love stories: dreamy.
the real romance, real characters, real setting, real setups, and oh man the real happily ever after ish ending...meh.
but if they open up an eloraton amusement park i'll be there for a honey surprise and a quirky side quest with my name on it.
until then, i wish ashley poston wrote the other story she made up for this one instead.
bottom line: i often don't love a frame story, but this was the first time i loved one too much.
--------------------- tbr review
i like one (1) romance and suddenly the author's whole backlist is on my tbr...more
i hate men as much as the next literate 20-something woman, but at one point does "the patriarchy is the third member of every heterosexual marriage" i hate men as much as the next literate 20-something woman, but at one point does "the patriarchy is the third member of every heterosexual marriage" become "you married a mean child."
you can tell from page 18 that this guy is a no go, so it cuts down the power of that a bit.
this is the kind of book i really like (depressing and miserable and cutting lit fic about modern society), but i didn't like how it was done. this artist-cum-mother/wife becomes increasingly mother/wife and also maid and also secretary in a cartoonishly unequal relationship with a guy with no redeeming qualities. but that's not even what we're supposed to be reading? our narrator constantly tells us that she loves her husband and the hardest thing about her life is that she misses him and wishes she could be near him all the time, but we never see that. just shouting and liberal usage of the word "meltdown."
i think the intention here is to show how these two totally contradictory feelings can, and possibly have to, coexist in marriage...but it doesn't do that, so.
by the end, it dissolves into a series of platitudes looking for a conclusion it doesn't quite find.
but i read it in a sitting so i guess take this with a grain of salt.
bottom line: an eminently readable but otherwise just okay book.
this was a short book that was mostly about two things: - overcoming hyper-specific and very disturbing trauma - smut.
these are talia hibbert forever!
this was a short book that was mostly about two things: - overcoming hyper-specific and very disturbing trauma - smut.
these are two things that i don't love in my romances in general, and especially in combination due to the breakneck tone shifts switching back and forth between them entails, but i enjoy everything by talia hibbert and it was nice to read about these two nice people being nice to each other.
in the moments that weren't, you know. the stuff that makes me upset and the stuff that makes me blush like a proper old woman.
i'm sorry. i wish i was cool.
bottom line: not my favorite talia hibbert, but still by talia hibbert.
i'm sorry but. could this title / cover / author combo hit any harder.
this is of that weird subgenre of books that you give people when they graduate i'm sorry but. could this title / cover / author combo hit any harder.
this is of that weird subgenre of books that you give people when they graduate from college. the ones they sell in the gift aisle instead of the book section at target. they're usually adapted from a commencement speech and are roughly 65% illustration, 35% words.
it's weird to review a book that by many metrics is not a book, but this is pretty good for what it is. inspiring. a unique perspective. it's basically the same themes as one of those viral facebook posts that's like "oprah didn't start her show until age whatever," but a little more up my alley.
bottom line: the best (published book) of the worst (kind of gift to receive).
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