Scan barcode
bennysbooks's reviews
640 reviews
Emma by Jane Austen
2024 re-read:
I liked Emma better on a re-read, but it’s decidedly not my favourite Austen novel. I originally read it when I was in high school and hated it back then, but with such distance have always had a difficult time explaining why. I think, as ever, that Austen pulls off some remarkable things in this book. It’s much more a character study than a romance, and an impressively proficient one at that. The way that Austen hounds us with Emma’s perspectives and delusions, while providing insight into how those delusions are being crafted, and where the truth might lie, is truly remarkable storytelling. It feels strange to even review Austen, as I have said before, because her understanding of people (of a certain time/place/class/race) and storytelling ability are just so impressive that it’s impossible to feel like you’re saying anything useful when you praise her work. But I did go into this wanting to understand my dislike for this book, and I have to say Austen’s skill is partly to blame. There are so many fallibly human characters, written so effectively and so believably, that if you’re not someone who can tolerate too much of that sort of thing, it can be an exhausting read. The way that my whole body would tense when I saw PAGES of dialogue from Miss Bates… And Miss Bates isn’t even unlikeable! Just gabby. A Miss Bates-style character, in a book where there either fewer characters or more neutral characters, would be a comic delight! But toss her in with Emma, Harriet, the Eltons, and basically everyone else? Mr. Woodhouse’s love for gruel brings me joy, sure, but did I want to read him worrying about other people’s health one more time? I did not. At the end of the day, I always enjoy reading Austen to some degree, but Emma will never by my go-to.
(Side note: I had completely forgotten about the confusingly abrupt, Mrs. Weston-having-a-baby plotline and how much it bothered me as a teen. Well, this time, it led me to a deep-dive online that culminated in the world of Arnie Purlstein’s frantic blogging about Austen’s shadow plots, and woah. What a trip. Don’t recommend.)
Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays by Candace Savage
3.0
I found the layout to be distracting, and the information presented in a way that felt too brisk and shallow to hold my interest. The pictures were gorgeous though, and my child and I pored over them for a solid hour this afternoon. I think it functions best as a coffee table book, and I'm delighted to own it for the images alone.
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
(Stopped at 90 pages, but skim-read through later sections).
Not for me. The beginning was compelling but it fell flat from there. It all felt a little MFA to me, like someone writing the way they have been taught to write by other people taught to write in this same style (prose polished within an inch of its life, but with enough blood, sex, and heaviness to be realistic, provocative, or raw). NOT that everyone who has an MFA writes this way, but it's an identifiable style that I don't enjoy. It felt like all of the extraneous details meant to flesh the characters out were little more than padding, or flavour added to make things feel grittier/queerer/darker. These things rarely felt like meaningful or valuable additions to the story, which made it harder to connect with anything I was reading. There were moments of insightful writing about grief, and those moments were powerful, but heavily overshadowed. And, probably most egregious for a book listed as "horror", it wasn't remotely scary. Not even a little bit. No building tension, no stress, no dread. Just some gore, really.
I've gleaned from the ratings that when this book connects with people, it connects hard, and I love that! But if you're in the minority on this one, just know you're not alone.
Not for me. The beginning was compelling but it fell flat from there. It all felt a little MFA to me, like someone writing the way they have been taught to write by other people taught to write in this same style (prose polished within an inch of its life, but with enough blood, sex, and heaviness to be realistic, provocative, or raw). NOT that everyone who has an MFA writes this way, but it's an identifiable style that I don't enjoy. It felt like all of the extraneous details meant to flesh the characters out were little more than padding, or flavour added to make things feel grittier/queerer/darker. These things rarely felt like meaningful or valuable additions to the story, which made it harder to connect with anything I was reading. There were moments of insightful writing about grief, and those moments were powerful, but heavily overshadowed. And, probably most egregious for a book listed as "horror", it wasn't remotely scary. Not even a little bit. No building tension, no stress, no dread. Just some gore, really.
I've gleaned from the ratings that when this book connects with people, it connects hard, and I love that! But if you're in the minority on this one, just know you're not alone.
The Book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura
3.0
It was too brief an overview of Japanese philosophy/history/culture to be truly immersive, but mostly held my interest nonetheless. Left with a few passages underlined and a desire to read more.
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
5.0
Every bit as good as I remembered it being, and my kid loved it. He was as captivated by the descriptions of life in the barn, and the changing seasons, and the fair, as he was by the overarching plot. It's pretty unique when a book can so vividly capture a historical setting in a way that works for kids and adults alike. And of course, the themes and emotions are timeless. While there may have been a couple of cringey moments that didn't age well, for the most part this is a classic for a reason.
Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Ultimately I think this book, and likely the entire series, has the capacity to tackle some big themes (colonialism, "civilization", discrimination, duty) etc. in a satisfyingly Hobb-y way. But it doesn't have the spark that I felt reading the Elderlings series, and I don't have the space in my life for plodding through a 600 page book that I'm not connecting with right now. I feel completely uninvested in the plot and the world and the characters. I'd rather just re-read RotE.
Mending with Boro by Harumi Horiuchi
4.5
Charming, beautiful, inspiring. Mostly coffee-table book vibes, but with some practical tips and ideas as well. It randomly dives into some brief lifestyle stuff near the end, which was strange and funny, and only added to the charm for me because it had so little to do with the purpose of the book. Loved it.
Visible Mending: A Modern Guide to Darning, Stitching and Patching the Clothes You Love by Arounna Khounnoraj
4.0
Some fun ideas in here, but if you're already familiar with the various techniques then it isn't necessarily the sort of book you need to have on hand for reference. I definitely want to circle back to try to create a few of the projects toward the end of the book that were less about mending than they were about using leftover fabric, but I borrowed it from the library and will probably just do so again when I'm ready to try them. I'm looking for a book about mending to keep at home, and this one, while beautiful, wasn't quite what I was looking for. Perhaps something with a better blend of reference and insight/stories about mending (going to try Mending Life next).