happentobeshort's reviews
1216 reviews

The Shape of My Name by Nino Cipri

emotional hopeful medium-paced

3.5

This World is Full of Monsters by Jeff VanderMeer

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Why is VanderMeer so good at scary nature.................. Listened to this via audiobook too which I think amped the spook-factor for me.

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age by Annalee Newitz

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I really enjoyed this!! A splendid audiobook that felt like a prolonged episode or season of one of my favourite historical non-fiction podcasts. I do however wish there was just a TEENSY bit more info about the cities themselves, but then again Annalee is a journalist by trade and not a historian so I'm not too miffed. Overall, a really fascinating read into what makes a society crumble and how it's never really an overnight thing. Which is also scary because history and time really are just one big circle.

Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto by Legacy Russell

reflective medium-paced

2.5

I wanted to really like this, and I know it's a manifesto so it's not meant to be entirely "whole", but it just felt... kinda lacking... Certain sections started out really strong to me and then just fell flat. 

Q-Squared by Peter David

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

THIS WAS SO SAD!!!! GOOD BUT SAD!!! I think this one belongs on my list of "actually quite decent Trek novels that aren't pure fanfiction". Helped that I listened to this in audio form read by none other than THEEE de Lancie.

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa

hopeful 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

3.0

Quite a cute short whimsical story! One for the Ghibli and Narnia fans imo. And probably one of the rare instances where an orange cat is NOT a himbo. Anyway. It was a charming fairy tale of sorts that pays homage to books and the people who love them.

Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary by Sasha Geffen

hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

4.0

I'm a self professed Music Enjoyer™ so while the majority of musicians mentioned were not new to me, I did enjoy the theories and thoughts behind Sasha's re-framing of their work! Absolutely recommended to any music fan, or anyone who enjoys getting lost on Wikipedia when looking up their fav musicians. 

HOWEVER. I wanted to really love this book but there was a huge glaring omission for me: Heavy metal. I kept listening to the audiobook waiting for some mentions of the overlaps between queer culture and heavy metal, or AT LEAST mentions of queer metal stars and yet.. Nothing. The most we got was with industrial and punk music. 

What upset me was while there was absolutely zero mention of Rob Halford and his MASSIVE (innuendo intended) impact on heavy metal culture as a whole, there was like a whole paragraph or two on Morrissey?! Of all people???? Not one word on how Rob impacted the visual aesthetic of heavy metal by co-opting the leather daddy look from the gay bars he would visit on the sly in the USA, no mention of Dee Snider and his glam contemporaries use of heels, makeup and women's clothes, no mention of Otep Shamaya!!!!

And I KNOW Sasha listens to metal because I have seen her twitter account!! So I really don't understand why one entire genre of music was ignored in favour of some... interesting theories (Cobain having sympathetic menstrual cramps? Sure I guess lol..) and musicians that I felt did not deserve as much space as they were given. :( 

DESPITE THAT. I did really enjoy the book as a whole and might even consider buying myself a paperback copy to keep on my shelf to revisit or lend to friends. :)

The Last Days of New Paris by China Miéville

challenging mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta Stone by Edward Dolnick
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.

Drier than I expected and just wasn't engaging enough for me to want to continue.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0