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macabrelibrarian's reviews
351 reviews
Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality by Venki Ramakrishnan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
This went way over my tiny little noggin.
Don't Forget the Girl by Rebecca McKanna
3.75
This was way more nuanced than I expected it to be...I'm kind of used to all these tired conversations we've been having about true crime over the last 10-15 years, while no one considers the fact that humans have been interested in true crime for hundreds of years. This subject wasn't broached, but the book achieved its aims anyway. Forget all these differing perspectives and the fact that there wasn't a good male character in the whole story. The girls felt real. That's all I needed.
P.S. Loved the very specific dig at My Favorite Murder. And don't forget to use code MURDER30 to get 30% off your first mattress purchase!
P.S. Loved the very specific dig at My Favorite Murder. And don't forget to use code MURDER30 to get 30% off your first mattress purchase!
Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identify the Nameless by Laurah Norton
4.0
This book was so informative, and I learned so much! Norton is a true crime podcaster with an educational background suited to the job. She's obsessed with communicating accurate details and deferring to scientific experts to make sure she gets the facts straight. This was a good introductory book on the topic of unidentified persons. Will definitely have to add it to my true crime collection!
The Tommyknockers by Stephen King
3.0
All I've ever heard about this book is, "SK was on a ton of drugs when he wrote this, and it's evident." I take that to mean people thought it was weird. Yes, it was weird, but it was coherent, and it incorporated a lot of lore about high strangeness that already exists. I won't mark it down because of that.
However, like many of SK's books, this was just too damn long. The audio book topped 27 hours. There were a lot of people whose storylines I didn't follow simply because I didn't care to follow them. That is absolutely my main beef with this book: Its excessive length diluted the really good stuff.
And there was some really good stuff! The concept that if there is life on other planets, it might have the capacity to be just as stupid and self-destructive as we are is genius. That we don't understand or care about the ethical implications of the technology we create and the fact that it will probably contribute to our inevitable downfall? That there's still time to turn it around, but only at great cost and sacrifice? I can't think of anything more poignant than that...in fact, it's probably even more relevant almost 40 years after its publication.
However, like many of SK's books, this was just too damn long. The audio book topped 27 hours. There were a lot of people whose storylines I didn't follow simply because I didn't care to follow them. That is absolutely my main beef with this book: Its excessive length diluted the really good stuff.
And there was some really good stuff!
The Devourers by Indra Das
5.0
A punch-in-the-gut combination of Interview with the Vampire and The Historian that is at once able to stand up to both of these classic novels and utterly original. Perhaps the best werewolf novel ever written.
The Cold Is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale
3.75
A decent intro to the concept of the monstrous feminine for teens. Not especially fast-paced or thrilling. It really pushes "the cure to anger and the desire for vengeance is empathy and understanding!". Not so sure about that in this current political climate...
Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
This is weirdly specific, but I'm just tired of folk horror with scary rabbits. I also didn't like either of the other novels I read with this theme, so this one's a pass.