new year new reads

This month started off kind of weak but ended strong! May 2020 be the same!

January Book Reviews

Queen of the Dark Things (C. Robert Cargill)

5.5/10 Sequel to the book I rated a 4.5 last time and after reading this out of morbid curiosity I've decided it improved by one whole point! I'd call it character development but its characters don't do that so...Let me just run down the list: same unlikeable protagonist, there was no foreshadowing in this book's plot in the previous one and it just came out of nowhere, the romance felt forced, there were certain parts of the book talking about women where it was just gross. (Like I have a particular beef with this last point because they have this section where a demon just goes on and on trying to sexually demean the protagonist and his love interest by talking about fucking and it's like? It's so uncalled for. The whole book is basic YA in tone and quality yet they put in adult language when it comes to degrading women? It's mercifully short compared to the rest of the book but like...no one asked for this?? You can write demons being mean in other ways that aren't so incredibly intrusive to the tone of the book??) HOWEVER, there was a plot unlike the last book which made it slightly more engaging to read through. The documentary style folklore interludes don't feel as jarring. The last part was kind of cool to read but with an undertone of YA wish fulfillment cool but it can be ignored. I didn't hate it as much as the last one! That's it.

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (Reni Eddo-Lodge)

6/10 This book was a bit of a let down for me. It talks about some really relevant and crucial topics, it raises discussion with well sourced evidence both anecdotal and empirical. Unfortunately I just found it really boring to read through. It felt a little too dry and academic for me to really engage with it, with only little bits of the author's own voice punctuating it. It probably didn't help that I didn't really feel like I received a lot of new information? The majority of topics weren't big revelations for me personally but they were important topics and would make great points to make in a discussion about race relations. There was a bit of interesting focus on Britain's black history specifically that made it somewhat interesting for me just as a contrast to the more prominent version over the pond. Overall a quality book that just didn't quite capture me.

Recursion (Blake Crouch)

8.5/10 Amazing concept for a book. I blazed through this in a day. The whole first arc was so much fun to read. The whole False Memory Thing plays with one of my favorite tropes; the Lotus Eater Machine and it brings a vibe that's not unlike a really good Doctor Who episode. Unfortunately the focus shifted rather quickly away from playing with FMS and into the mystery behind its origins. While the rest of that plot was still tense and engaging to read, I found going into the whole memory device and method made it less interesting. A lot of the science and time-space paradox explanations I kind of glossed over but it wasn't anything negative against the book itself. Some things sounded kind of convenient but it might have been the same lack of attention to the book attempting to explain themselves. The most disappointing part, and the part that prevented me from giving it a 5/5, is probably the ending for me. The multiple re-dos got boring and the lack of on-screen (?) development for the romance didn't help. The ultimate solution felt anti-climatic; it sounded too easy and I wish they could've put more emphasis on how difficult it was or to have the characters reach the conclusion by themselves. Still, this book was a wild ride and I really enjoyed going through it.

World in a Grain (Vince Beiser)

8.5/10 This was close to a 9 but I ultimately decided it was probably bit too meandering and long, especially for someone less interested in geography. But I really enjoyed it. I liked that it talked about both human geography and natural geography. It's all well and good reading about the different ways sand can be used but it's nothing without how it's used by the people around the world. I felt like it was just the right amount of depth for me to be engaged without feeling like I'm missing information or that it's too academic. It's an interesting subject for something so close and ever present yet rarely discussed, particularly how many far reaching and varied impacts it has (sand gang wars??? stealing beaches??? illegal sand smuggling????). There was also great focus on non-Western case studies, like in the Middle East and Asia. I also appreciated how it ended on a mixed note, a reference to how similar problems are facing EVERY resource on Earth. It doesn't tell us the solution is as simple as just cutting back on something, but rather we all need to be accountable - whether it be as people or corporations.