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avieherman's reviews
111 reviews
Texts from Jane Eyre: And Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters by Daniel M. Lavery
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I'll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife and Motherhood by Jessi Klein
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I loved the thread of the Hero's Journey throughout this entertaining and thought-provoking essay collection.
Don't Tell Me to Relax: Emotional Resilience in the Age of Rage, Feels, and Freak-Outs by Ralph de la Rosa
3.5
I loved this book at the time and filled it with sticky notes, but I don't remember a single thing about it, aside from that.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This and Book Lovers are my top Emily Henry books. I liked that it was subversive and meta. Light, not literary, but still thoughtful and well-written.
It ends as expected and wrapped up a little too quickly to be super satisfying.
The meta aspects about the process of writing and the ideas of romance vs literary fiction and happy endings vs not were amazing and I liked the characters. I wasn’t as delighted by the witty banter as I was with Book Lovers. There were times I could tell I was supposed to be witty, but it fell a little flat for me.
Overall I really enjoyed it.
It ends as expected and wrapped up a little too quickly to be super satisfying.
The meta aspects about the process of writing and the ideas of romance vs literary fiction and happy endings vs not were amazing and I liked the characters. I wasn’t as delighted by the witty banter as I was with Book Lovers. There were times I could tell I was supposed to be witty, but it fell a little flat for me.
Overall I really enjoyed it.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I rarely read male writers, but I quite enjoyed this book.
I liked the idea of the structure, where the story is revealed in snippets, with shifting perspectives through a limited 3rd person narrator, mixed with police interview transcripts. It was kind of effective thematically, but I felt that it stunted the pace of the story and made the book feel like it was much longer than it was. I almost would have preferred keeping it from the police POV and having the reader uncover the story at the same time as the police and also, I'm not sure that would have worked either.
I enjoyed the writing, it was refreshing to read such strong writing, I haven't read good, contemporary literary fiction in a while.
I liked the themes, especially this idea of how slippery language and symbols can be -- I loved the scenes where two characters were having essentially two different conversations or when they kept missing the point, turning the very idea of communication on its head.
I liked the twists at the end and how (spoiler-ish) everything wrapped up so neatly at the end. It's so nice to read literary fiction that handles dark subject matter and yet, wraps up so optimistically.
I loved the symbolism behind the picture of the monkey, frog and elk and how no one could properly interpret it. And I loved the thing with Zara's letter -- we can hold the answer the whole time, but might need someone else's help to see it.
This book made me feel how fucked and wonderful the world can be.
I liked the idea of the structure, where the story is revealed in snippets, with shifting perspectives through a limited 3rd person narrator, mixed with police interview transcripts. It was kind of effective thematically, but I felt that it stunted the pace of the story and made the book feel like it was much longer than it was. I almost would have preferred keeping it from the police POV and having the reader uncover the story at the same time as the police and also, I'm not sure that would have worked either.
I enjoyed the writing, it was refreshing to read such strong writing, I haven't read good, contemporary literary fiction in a while.
I liked the themes, especially this idea of how slippery language and symbols can be -- I loved the scenes where two characters were having essentially two different conversations or when they kept missing the point, turning the very idea of communication on its head.
I liked the twists at the end and how (spoiler-ish) everything wrapped up so neatly at the end. It's so nice to read literary fiction that handles dark subject matter and yet, wraps up so optimistically.
I loved the symbolism behind the picture of the monkey, frog and elk and how no one could properly interpret it. And I loved the thing with Zara's letter -- we can hold the answer the whole time, but might need someone else's help to see it.
This book made me feel how fucked and wonderful the world can be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Prom Mom by Laura Lippman
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I liked the shifting POV from a limited 3rd person perspective, with lots of different characters (some are key players and some on the periphery) weighing in throughout. This was an incredibly effective structure.
Writing is 3.5/5. The narration is done well, the dialogue often feel trite and a bit flimsy.
I felt most of the info we received was at just the right time to be very effective. Info that characters knew but the reader didn’t know didn’t feel unnecessarily withheld to create suspense, rather it was only mentioned at all when it was necessary, which made it pack a punch.
The ending was unexpected and powerful.
The pace could have been a little faster, but I overall enjoyed it as a light, easy read.
Writing is 3.5/5. The narration is done well, the dialogue often feel trite and a bit flimsy.
I felt most of the info we received was at just the right time to be very effective. Info that characters knew but the reader didn’t know didn’t feel unnecessarily withheld to create suspense, rather it was only mentioned at all when it was necessary, which made it pack a punch.
The ending was unexpected and powerful.
The pace could have been a little faster, but I overall enjoyed it as a light, easy read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Miscarriage, and Murder