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.

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too school for cool

Seeing as how its almost time to Inktober, it makes me think about last year's Inktober, which I didn't finish, which then makes me think what a miracle it was that my reading goal lasted this long.

September Book Reviews

The Lost City of the Monkey God (Douglas Preston)

6.5/10 A fairly interesting read about an archaeological expedition into Honduras' jungles to find evidence of a 'lost city'. While the draw and basic premise is centered around journeying into this lost city, said expedition only took like two days and was over in less than a third of the book. That being said, the rest of the book wasn't bad. I enjoyed learning about the world of archaeology, whether it was cultural debates or technological progresses. The book also devoted a significant chunk of time to a disease the author contracted, which for me was still okay as he went into the history of the devastating effects of European disease on the Americas. He also offered this explanation as to why the city was abandoned in the first place. In short, this book did go off on tangents that I didn't sign up for but at least the tangents were still informative and engaging enough to read.

Sleeping Giants (Sylvain Neuvel)

8/10 What might have been an otherwise standard sci-fi premise, it was elevated by the writing style the author chose to tell it in. The story is told entirely through various interview logs and personal journal transcripts entirely. Usually for high concept writing styles it's either great or the worst. Luckily for this book, it was the former. Although all the information and events are presented to us through conversations, I felt like I could easily pick up on what happened without their dialogue seeming forced. The characters all had very distinct personalities that made it easy to differentiate as well. The story, mixing mystery and sci-fi while showing off an interesting array of character dynamics, solidly kept me reading. While I never got a sense of anticipation for what happens next, I did manage to enjoy the events that were happening.

Shadow of The Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafron)

4.5/10 Listen, I don't know what it is about well-rated books named [Blank] of the Wind that just don't seem to have good affinity with me. This book is super highly rated and the premise seemed interesting enough so I was excited to read it. But upon actually reading it I was just...bored. The language, while it can be incredibly evocative and spellbinding, also felt overly effusive and flowery. The purple prose made it hard to concentrate on the plot of the book and made it feel like it was moving really slowly. Although the little bits of mystery was alright, in the end everything was cleared up through one woman's unbelievably novel-like, chapters long letter and several flashback scenes. The protagonist barely felt like a protagonist and every time he, or any of the other characters, started talking about ONE romantic love like it was the be all and end all it just made me frustrated. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, and laid bare of the elaborate language, the plot fell rather flat. I mean, the book ends was nice? Idk maybe I should just stay off books talking about the wind for now.

Annihilation (Jeff VanderMeer)

8/10 So apparently opinions are pretty divided about this book, but I have to say I enjoyed it. I liked being dropped in the middle of the story because the confusion just added to the atmospheric, almost maddening darkness. I liked the surreal yet scientific ways the main character reacted to thinks. Most of all, I liked the mystery of it. I liked having no true explanation, how at no point in the story did I feel like I knew completely what was going on. It made the imposing setting of Area X that much more...more. But at the same time, I can tell why people didn't like it. There wasn't too much of a coherent plot, with the character's motivations being just as incoherent as the random words. Some parts could've been shorter, some reveals less jarring. Not everyone is a fan of Lovecraft, whose brand of cosmic horror this story embraced and transformed for a modern era. Still, that sense of unease, that overwhelming mystery of the beginning without any answers, I loved it.

Museum of Broken Relationships (Olinka Vištica, Drazen Grubisic)

8/10 Literally better than any modern poetry book I've read (or flipped through). I think the problem I have with lots of those is that they sound pretentious. When reading endless poems about love and life, but in the voice of a young adult who wrote some sentences without punctuation then added paragraph breaks, I just can't take it seriously (part of this is ironic reflection on myself). But with this book, the proof is real. Tangible, real objects that seem to ground each story behind it. It becomes more than a random person hinting at a vague relationship. And the diversity of it! How in subtle ways the geographic origins of an item changes both it and our understanding of it. The multitude of relationships with different kinds of love. The many ways they end and the many ways their stories are told — proving that sometimes life is a better writer than any published author. A museum to "the rich and chaotic variety of the human experience" (Terry Pratchett, 1996)

Beartown (Fredrik Backman)

9/10 Listen....this book destroyed me. I honestly had only heard the vaguest of things about this author and I thought it was going to be some touching yet whimsical feelgood tale about communities coming together and bonding over a sport. I was really fucking wrong. The stark and unapologetic portrayal of people in response to what happens is gut-wrenching, and all the more so because you can picture it happening anywhere. While the POV jumps around with almost no warning, you never lose track of anything and the writing continually lays out and subverts your expectations. The themes of community, of loyalty and bonds, are pulled apart and laid bare for what it is: both good and bad. Hockey is the focus of the story but the things the author tells with it goes beyond the sport itself. It becomes reflection and study of society today, of the underprivileged, of minorities, of women. Much like the game, this book was intense, powerful and vividly absorbing.

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may day

Five months is probably the longest I've done anything in a row

May Book Reviews

Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Madeleine Thien)

9/10 "Throughout history there have been many moments that can never be recovered, but you and I know that they existed." This novel read like one of the many symphonies it described. It began with the meeting of two people and like instruments, events and characters joined in and built up a wave of words. Historical movements, like musical movements, separated the story as we followed the lives of not just the named characters but the progression of China itself. The period of history in China from the era of Mao Zedong to the Cultural Revolution and the Tienanmen Square protests is an unbelievably complicated one in many ways. Even now in China there are mixed feelings towards the leadership during that period and its many effects can still be felt in today's government and society. I felt the story of the characters were merely a frame for the concepts it was presenting; music, math, philosophy. Rather than the story of a protagonist, the book focuses on many characters and their POVs and in doing so demonstrated that the successes and tragedies that they faced could've been the stories of any one living through that era. Overall, it was a moving, meaningful story dealing with a subject that it expressed vividly. It is more of a heavier read and slow to get started, but it gives more room for analysis. Most of all, the setting was incredibly well done and I would recommend reading it especially for anyone wanting to understand a part of China's history.

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore (Matthew Sullivan)

5/10 A wholly underwhelming book. From the idea and title, I thought it would be an interesting, fun mystery novel. Instead it turned out to be darker, and frankly more boring, than I thought. It's not a bad book, it's just very forgettable. The characters never grew on me and I couldn't really empathize too much with the protagonist or her problems. There were a couple of ideas in there that were kinda neat, but nothing outstanding. It didn't really give clues as much as obviously false leads. The ending was fine but felt a bit anti-climatic.

The Martian (Andy Weir)

8/10 This book surprised me from the beginning, because I had never seen the movie before but knew the basic premise. Going into it I thought it would be a gritty, fight for survival type of book with lots of hard to understand scientific jumbo. But luckily, the book made clear that it wasn't going to be like that. The main character's optimistic and good-natured way of dealing with his situation is refreshing to read. The science is easily to understand; even if you don't understand the terms, the protagonist lays it out in a way that makes sense. It reminds me of xkcd a bit, which is great because I love those comics. The POV changes between the three main groups (on Mars, in space and on Earth) I liked as well as it gave a sense of actual stakes that the log format doesn't have. While a couple of the challenges the protagonist had to confront did seem contrived, in a Murphy's law of drama kind of way, and the overall ending was predictable given the tone of the book, I enjoyed reading and following along on Mark Watney's time on Mars.

The Atrocity Archives (Charles Stross)

2/10 God this book was....Maybe atrocity is too much but it wasn't pleasant either. The book dumps you in the middle of the so-called 'action' by loading on a bunch of science-magic technobabble without even trying to explain anything. You have no idea what's going on and as the story progresses, just what it's trying to achieve. The book is split up into three different arcs that are one tangentially related sentence away from three different short stories. It takes way too long to get to the main arc, and it feels unsatisfying. The last arc was just a mess. How was it even related to the middle? Why was the main female character just shoved aside for a random new woman who doesn't understand anything? And 'main female character' is a generous term for a character who showed up seemingly a genius (although with the mysterious technobabble who can even tell anyone's level of intelligence) only to be kidnapped (twice) and fall for the main character with barely any chemistry. Not to mention the protagonist with all his esoteric terms and snobby attitude towards anyone who doesn't apparently know as much as he does. What a dick. A computer programmer's wish fulfillment novel. I hate it.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (Alan Bradley)

6/10 A decent follow up to the first Flavia de Luce mystery. I really enjoyed the first one, but the second one didn't really have any fresh new additions. Flavia is as same as she always is, and I do like her character. I liked the first one for involving her father since their relationship is really interesting, especially with the hints towards his past and her deceased mother. This one put her family members on the sidelines even as they introduced her aunt. It felt like it took a little too long to get the real meat of the mystery and I guessed the culprit pretty easily. Still, there were some parts of the resolution that surprised me and that's always a good sign in any mystery novel.

How the Hell Did This Happen? (P.J. O'Rourke)

4/10 I didn't really finish this book. The tone was comedic but it didn't really feel intelligent. It felt more heavy-handed, like someone trying to be funny by making fun of what was happening without really trying to make a point or address any real issues with their comedy. The author seemed to be on a kind of middle ground in the debate, making him also in the middle ground in terms of likability. And speaking of likability, halfway through the book I found that I didn't really care about all of the people involved in the 2016 elections; at least not the way they were written about here.

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