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ktc8's reviews
172 reviews
Among Thieves by M.J. Kuhn
5.0
theres some good things and some bad things, and its kind of too similar to six of crows to not be compared and fall short but! the magic system is interesting and a heist is always fun, didnt realize it wasnt a standalone but im def into reading more!!
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
"We keep going," she said.
"We keep going, Alex repeated.
To hell and back."
despite taking me 10 days, this one sped by and its always fun to read about magic and plot twists and morally grey characters.
also i love the sensory experience of this line: "If Professor Stephen's death had barely caused a
ripple, Dean Beekman's murder was like someone heaving a grand piano into a lake."
im not one to bash my queen leigh bardugo but [the rest of this review is kinda me doing that lol] i think this series has a problem of not being super locked down tight in its direction - sometimes the characters morph and sound like each other, sometimes the plot doesn't make much sense or forgets about itself, and a lot of times she skips over like normal continuations of conversations to go more metaphorical in a way that suits the dark academia vibe but not really the style im expecting (like darlington just being part demon now? and they just skip over that every time he morphs, and alex just has a midlife metaphorical crisis of what is good and evil instead, like you are Not asking the right questions here people!). i always love bardugo's writing but i think this is a book that tries to be subversive to the genre but falls into pitfalls all the same. esp after reading babel recently. like are we following alex's subversiveness to the ivy league, white male power yale story or her entrance to it idk maybe im reading into it wrong or too much. like its not doing enough to convince me. anyways despite all this, i did enjoy reading it, its never boring!! and i cant wait to see miss bardugo on monday eeeeeee
the reviewer chai gives a Way more articulated response to this that i fully agree with - check it out if ur curious
"We keep going, Alex repeated.
To hell and back."
despite taking me 10 days, this one sped by and its always fun to read about magic and plot twists and morally grey characters.
also i love the sensory experience of this line: "If Professor Stephen's death had barely caused a
ripple, Dean Beekman's murder was like someone heaving a grand piano into a lake."
im not one to bash my queen leigh bardugo but [the rest of this review is kinda me doing that lol] i think this series has a problem of not being super locked down tight in its direction - sometimes the characters morph and sound like each other, sometimes the plot doesn't make much sense or forgets about itself, and a lot of times she skips over like normal continuations of conversations to go more metaphorical in a way that suits the dark academia vibe but not really the style im expecting (like darlington just being part demon now? and they just skip over that every time he morphs, and alex just has a midlife metaphorical crisis of what is good and evil instead, like you are Not asking the right questions here people!). i always love bardugo's writing but i think this is a book that tries to be subversive to the genre but falls into pitfalls all the same. esp after reading babel recently. like are we following alex's subversiveness to the ivy league, white male power yale story or her entrance to it idk maybe im reading into it wrong or too much. like its not doing enough to convince me. anyways despite all this, i did enjoy reading it, its never boring!! and i cant wait to see miss bardugo on monday eeeeeee
the reviewer chai gives a Way more articulated response to this that i fully agree with - check it out if ur curious
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
4.0
ok! i love a book that doesnt make sense and is beautifully written but honestly i lost caring for what happened halfway thru bc of it and even tho the theories and the discovery were super interesting i kinda would rate this a 4/5 for enjoyment.
laurence was just a cottagecore babe idk
laurence was just a cottagecore babe idk
The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution by Dan Hicks
5.0
dan hicks is a very interesting writer with a no-take-backs formatted stance on what has been done, what is being done, and what needs to be done. it took a bit to get into the book - he switches between deeply researched history to theory with grandizing phrases of academic jargon aimed at an academic audience or possibly fellow museum professionals imploring a sense of understanding of the hard hitting truths and necessary action that is often avoided and ignored. although i did say 'he likes to hear himself talk', i think this kind of writing is both a little much but also necessary - in a way, not backing down from this fight is the most poignant way of getting the point across --> change is necessary and it comes from action, ironically not from words.
this book is equal parts defeatist and punishing of museums who refuse to change and how in 120 years, so much hate and war and loss has happened and continued to be displayed and realities of pain ignored, but more importantly is equally as optimistically hopeful for a decade of new restitution and repatriation, at least in cases of clear wrong doings such as the benin massacre and diaspora of bronzes.
as much as he was preaching to the choir, i think this was a great read and gives me some ideas, some direction, and hope to carry with me into a career, and also more timely, my dissertation lol
this book is equal parts defeatist and punishing of museums who refuse to change and how in 120 years, so much hate and war and loss has happened and continued to be displayed and realities of pain ignored, but more importantly is equally as optimistically hopeful for a decade of new restitution and repatriation, at least in cases of clear wrong doings such as the benin massacre and diaspora of bronzes.
as much as he was preaching to the choir, i think this was a great read and gives me some ideas, some direction, and hope to carry with me into a career, and also more timely, my dissertation lol
Mummified: The Stories Behind Egyptian Mummies in Museums by Angela Stienne
5.0
I think this is essential reading for the 2020s and museum ethics - asking essential questions about why we are so intrigued by mummies and the ethics of display as well as the basic understanding that these are dead human beings and the history of their status as objects, and the continued disrespect to the human body as a form of colonial violence and how eugenics/science is used in the museum still to this day carrying out racist beliefs about the body and Africa. This kind of book, that looks at the history of collecting mummies really shows what the museum needs to change - especially in sites of the 'postcolonial' like British and French museums. I really loved the writing and it felt educational, but absolutely intriguing and engaging. It inspired some ideas for my dissertation as well so thank you Dr. Stienne.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
5.0
this was fun, samantha shannon is great at world building and theres a lot to this that was interesting and the world has lots of space to build. but the problem i had with this one and with priory is that i find that her characters feel really 2 dimensional. the engaging part is the world and the action, but its hard to care about the characters much beyond their usefulness to the story. its a classic 2013 dystopia book which is so fun and i wish i reas this back then but im also then comparing it to like maze runner or city of bones or divergent and its not quite as engaging as i remember those. but absolutely a gem im sad i missed for this long!