cwiita's reviews
16 reviews

Dead People Suck: A Guide for Survivors of the Newly Departed by Laurie Kilmartin

2.0

First few chapters were very charming and pretty funny, but it quickly got old and the humor started to feel sort of forced. Usually I enjoy this type of book but I had a really hard time connecting here. Something is missing and I can't quite put my finger on what.

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes

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informative lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

3.5

A devastatingly embarrassing first intentional read of the year but it’s genuinely helpful??? Will rate after the party I am terrified of attending on Saturday.

Update:
I forgot everything

The Postmortal by Drew Magary

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challenging funny reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really enjoyed this storyline and the pacing in general, but man I struggle with John as a character. I sincerely hope that Magary wrote him to be an intentionally gray protagonist. He has his charm, but the womanizing, objectifying tendencies were sometimes hard for me to look past as a femme reader. Something about the fact that the only woman he was ever able to marry and admit intense love for was the one he spent decades sexually objectifying…not my favorite.
I actually feel like all of the characters fall flat across the novel. The concept and writing style kept me on board, but it’s hard to look back on it now and think more about the ways that female characters in particular were used as plot devices and little more. If I hadn’t been so hooked on the premise and types of societal reflection brought up by this book, I don’t know that I would’ve made it through.
In spite of it all, still another very readable piece from Mr. Magary. Finished it in just a couple of sittings. I would’ve taken 100 more pages if it meant that characters like Alison, Ernie, and Solara could’ve been more fleshed out. They had great potential.

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Well, after marking My Year Of Rest and Relaxation as my only DNF ever, I managed to make it through this one. I purchased this book before I started MYORAR, before I had any idea how much I would struggle with Otessa Moshfegh. I find her to be a difficult read, not for lack of skill or quality, but for the simple fact that she seems to have an ongoing problem with fatphobia and ableism, among other things. I discussed my initial problems with MYORAR with a friend who has read most of Moshfegh's work, and the consensus was that her stories relay very similar views each time and that her characters tend to be the same type of people across the board. I am a big fan of unreliable narrators and I appreciate the challenge of crafting a story around difficult characters, but to do it unrelentingly in every book while consistently implying hateful messages is tough for me to get behind.
With that being said, I blew through Lapvona. This book is absolutely vile, but incredibly readable when it comes to pacing and language. It was also much easier to tolerate the actions and views of the characters knowing that the events were taking place under a feudal system in medieval times. Moshfegh did a wonderful job of characterization, for better or for worse. The plot is somehow both ceaseless and unrecognizable. It's an infinite circle of pointless suffering, but maybe that's the point. In an uncanny way, there was something enjoyable about this read. Since I already own MYORAR, this piece almost convinced me to give it another try. Almost.

Content Warnings

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

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challenging dark medium-paced

4.0

I haven’t finished a book this quickly in a long time. That isn’t to say that I loved it more than anything, only that it’s sort of like watching a car crash.
The writing is incredibly engaging and Murata’s social commentary is a big part of what makes this unsettling piece so readable. In spite of everything, she does a remarkable job of making Natsuki relatable, at least to those of us who also grew up socially isolated and feeling as though we had to put on an act just to continue surviving.
To me, this reads as a shocking commentary on childhood trauma, abuse, sexual assault, and the indigestible nature of human life for those of us who sometimes feel “other”. Our minds will go to the furthest extent to protect us from pain, and Murata is simply extrapolating on this idea in the most uncomfortable ways possible.
Strange and genius and worth the quick read. I feel ill.

Content Warnings

Devil House by John Darnielle

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

God, it took me so long to finish this book. While I was frustrated with some of the formal experimentation while I was in the thick of it, I find this type of read to be really gratifying. There’s something to be said for Darnielle’s ability to convey seemingly infinite perspectives, genres, and plots while still tying them into a story which is relatively consistent. Don’t get me wrong, this took more conscious effort than my usual reads, but I learned to love the slow progression once I hit the rapid unraveling at the end. Darnielle has a knack for beautiful sentences and sneaks in poignant reflections amidst the insanity that make this read even more worthwhile.
Still, less of a horror/thriller, more of a reflection on truth and the ethics of true crime.

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced