lrb0135's reviews
88 reviews

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

informative medium-paced

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

4.0

From a literary standpoint, The Lady of the Rivers was okay. The wheel of fortune through-line was clever, although we're beaten over the head with it. But I have to judge the book on its own merits-- the point is to recount history in an interesting way. I certainly had fun gobbling this book up and learning about post-medieval historical figures as book characters. I highly recommend this for anyone looking to do some light reading while also learning at the same time. I look forward to picking up another one of the author's books when I'm ready for another summer read.

No Judgment: Essays by Lauren Oyler

challenging funny informative reflective

4.75

Several years ago, I bought Lauren Oyler's, Fake Accounts, but never got around to reading it. Listening to No Judgement on audio has inspired me to finally pick it up. I highly recommend the audio version which is excellent because Oyler's tone is drenched in attitude, making the title deliciously sardonic.

I listened to this on the heels of Amanda Montell's new release, The Age of Magical Overthinking; No Judgement touches on many of the same themes that Montell does, but provides the depth lacking in The Age of Magical Overthinking.

To me, the writing lulled in the Berlin essay, frankly because I'm a first-generation American from a Cuban family and was not interested in any sort of meaning I could extrapolate from an essay written by a US expat living in Berlin. 

However, the majority of this book is a gas. I highly recommend for any fellow literary haters. My soul was awash with validation. For everyone who says "let people enjoy things," Oyler says, "let me judge things," and I am here for it.

The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell

informative fast-paced

2.75

I figured I'd give this a listen on audiobook after reading Cultish. I found the two to be very similar in that Montell has hit on a very interesting topic and gives the reader a survey-level understanding of what's going on with no clear, central thesis.

Like Cultish, the writing is coherent and accessible, but doesn't provide any deep insight or new information about our overthinking or information overload in this age.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I'm torn on this book. The author certainly has chops. The writing is excellent and kept me entertained and hooked throughout the 800-something pages of the book. However--

• The writing is repetitive at times. How many times do we have to list every one of Jude's friends' names? How many pages of painting descriptions do we really need? There are several pages of just things being listed out repetitively where three or four examples would suffice.
• Suspension of disbelief is challenging. Rather than feeling sad, the book had me wondering, how many unaffiliated p*dophiles can one kid statistically run into? And if all this sordid history is true, how is Jude so functional, particularly at school and then work as an attorney? He cuts himself, but he's never turned to drugs or alcohol? How are all four friends so successful? A famous actor, a famous artist, a renowned architect, and a high-powered attorney; give me a break! Why is everyone such an enabler? Andy is a doctor, and several times should have institutionalized or hospitalized Jude, but didn't.
• There are no significant women characters. Evidently, there are no women in Jude's childhood either. At school, he's approached by a male guidance counselor about applying to colleges who he's not sure he can trust. Are there no women counselors or teachers? You would think after all the unspeakable trauma Jude has been put through at the hands of men, he'd feel much safer in the company of women only.
• JB is underdeveloped and Malcom is significantly underdeveloped. I enjoyed the chapters about JB when I read them, though they were few and short. But I can't recall any specific chapters about Malcolm at all. And then boom,
  he dies in a car crash
  .

Ultimately, I'm glad I ready the book; it was very emotional, and the author is talented. However I don't think I'll be reading any of her books in the future.

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 63%.

On the whole, I've enjoyed the stories in this anthology. Some shine more than others. What I didn't expect was for the term "indigenous" only to apply to North America. I'm a majority of the way through the book, and there haven't been any stories about the indigenous peoples of Mexico or the Caribbean. As a Cuban woman, the title caught my eye because we have the same, if not very similar superstitions. I will probably pick this book back up again and finish it later, but just know going in that it's only going to be about Native American Indians and not necessarily all-inclusive of indigenous peoples. The cover is misleading.

Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The prose is beautiful, and the story is like Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson or Martin by George Romero-- it's unclear what's causing the strange happenings in the plot, whether it's the narrator's fault or something else, but there's an uncomfortable, sinister undertone throughout that I enjoyed. 

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes
Did not finish book. Stopped at 65%.

I'm normally a fan of Rupert Holmes, but this book was doing nothing for me. The characters were flat, and the plot, while on it's face is admittedly intriguing, was ultimately silly and ridiculous. I think this may have worked better with some fictional/fantasy world building, but it all seemed too farfetched and simultaneously flat in a realistic setting.

So Sorry for Your Loss: Learning to Live with Grief--Even If It Kills You by Dina Gachman

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

2.75

This book was a mix of memoir and self-help but couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be. The narrator didn't go into enough depth on her family to make an impression on me, nor was there any revelatory academic advice to help understand grief better. This author needs to pick a lane and settle on a central thesis for the book to have any punch.

Rouge by Mona Awad

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

While Rouge didn't excite me as much as Bunny did, Awad really scratches that itch I have for books that make me ask, "what the heck is going on?" It wasn't anything remarkable, but I still loved reading it. I'll be reading all the novels Awad releases, who, as far as I'm concerned, is in the pantheon of literary cool girls because she just writes really cool stuff, and Rouge is no exception.

Desperado Dream by Karen A. Bale
Did not finish book. Stopped at 73%.

I'm normally a heavy plot girlie-- I'm not a big fan of character or mood pieces. But this entire novel is just plot movement with no deeper meaning. After a while I realized I didn't care about any of the characters, who had no desires or motivations beyond things that moved the plot forward.