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jamestomasino's reviews
1811 reviews
Raven's Ruin by J.A. Andrews
2.0
This one turned into a slog. The main character's choices seemed to come less and less from a place of self-motivation and more in reaction to nonsensical actions of those around her. The activity that underlay the first book sort of fizzled out here and I lost a sense of urgency or importance in actions. There's a lot here left unexplored because our cast was too busy having miscommunications from not speaking when the opportunity was present. I'm not sure if I'll do number three.
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss
4.0
One of those stars is for my own personal nostalgia for spaces where I spent so much of my youth, but the other three are easily earned by a rich historical story explored with energy and interest. If you're a book person--and you are because you're reading this--you'll probably enjoy this book.
The Warehouse by Rob Hart
1.0
DNF.
So... someone spent some time working an an Amazon warehouse and thought, "This is dystopian! I should write it as a book." Everything is so basically surface-coded. There's a lot of awful, but it's too on the nose to present reality for my tastes.
So... someone spent some time working an an Amazon warehouse and thought, "This is dystopian! I should write it as a book." Everything is so basically surface-coded. There's a lot of awful, but it's too on the nose to present reality for my tastes.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2.0
Honestly, as much as I liked or didn't like the story, his choices in formatting severely hurt my enjoyment of the book. I understand it was an artistic choice to not separate dialogue or use quotation marks, just as I understand the lack of chapters. The reasons behind it aren't all that difficult to figure out. However, I believe that those choices, rather than give extra depth to the story, instead kept me from escaping into it. I was always behind the page, never engaging in the characters or emotionally investing.
If you are the type of reader who enjoys books that break writing conventions then maybe this is for you. I just wish I could have spent more energy on the story and less on the formatting.
If you are the type of reader who enjoys books that break writing conventions then maybe this is for you. I just wish I could have spent more energy on the story and less on the formatting.
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
5.0
I read this trilogy when I was sick with mono, so its probably deserving of another reading. What I do recall was fantastic, engaging, and kept me occupied in my suffering for a very long time.
Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI
3.0
This is the second book by Pope Benedict I've read, and not my favorite. His work is thorough and engaging, well organized and inspired. All in all it was a good book, but it lacked the depth of content that I found in the Pope's other works. As a book focused on the life of Jesus and his being it had remarkably little attention paid to the mystical nature of Christ. That mysticism and the nearly-gnostic way the Pope generally discusses it were nowhere to be seen this time around. Still, an enjoyable read.