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one4ale's reviews
78 reviews
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
5.0
If you love your dad, you'll probably wanna read this. If you hate him, you'd probably wanna read this. If you have weird feelings about your dad, you need to read this.
I loved this book, almost couldn't put it down. I love metafiction, and this book is chock full of it. A lot of the concepts were hard to get, would have been harder to get had I not already read books like this. I think the approach to time travel in this is really good and satisfying, and definitely not something I have read before.
I love how the books plays with itself, how it uses the fact that is is a book and is the book in the narrative, and how it explains itself and time to the reader. I can't wait to forget what happens, and make it my own time machine when I read it again.
I loved this book, almost couldn't put it down. I love metafiction, and this book is chock full of it. A lot of the concepts were hard to get, would have been harder to get had I not already read books like this. I think the approach to time travel in this is really good and satisfying, and definitely not something I have read before.
I love how the books plays with itself, how it uses the fact that is is a book and is the book in the narrative, and how it explains itself and time to the reader. I can't wait to forget what happens, and make it my own time machine when I read it again.
Family Business by Jonathan Sims
4.0
This was fun, I was almost deceived by the cover but I actually really liked this.
The start was a bit slow but it picked up really fast, and it doesn't really drop from there. I liked the anthology-like structure for this, and there were just enough stories to be interesting but not repetitive. On that, this guy really likes writing anti-capitalist stuff (good).
My main critique is the ending felt a bit rushed. Like the way it gets resolved happened really fast and cartoonish in that it all ends nice and neat in an obvious way. It doesn't ruin the book or anything, thankfully. I think he could have explored the antagonist more, too, but the mystery does add intrigue and lets me make my own ideas about it.
The start was a bit slow but it picked up really fast, and it doesn't really drop from there. I liked the anthology-like structure for this, and there were just enough stories to be interesting but not repetitive. On that, this guy really likes writing anti-capitalist stuff (good).
My main critique is the ending felt a bit rushed. Like the way it gets resolved happened really fast and cartoonish in that it all ends nice and neat in an obvious way. It doesn't ruin the book or anything, thankfully. I think he could have explored the antagonist more, too, but the mystery does add intrigue and lets me make my own ideas about it.
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
5.0
Peak, pure peak.
How does this hold up so well? Why is it better than books now? Why can't other books be this good? Perfect plot, villain, character moments, villains, setting, ending. So, so good; everyone in the world should read this.
Whoever made the TV adaptation should go to hell.
How does this hold up so well? Why is it better than books now? Why can't other books be this good? Perfect plot, villain, character moments, villains, setting, ending. So, so good; everyone in the world should read this.
Whoever made the TV adaptation should go to hell.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
5.0
I've never been so happy to be wrong about a book, despite how sad it makes me. I thought this book would be more booktok schlock, made for consumption and book hauls, that did a mystery because the author thought it's easy. Completely wrong.
As a mystery it's alright. The idea is good and interesting enough to keep me hooked throughout, but the clues and so don't lead to more than twists and some good reveals. Ultimately, the entire mystery is explained away, if only because the clues could not paint the whole picture (though they did point in the general direction).
The real punch of this was the characters. i loved them, all of them, their dynamics with each other, their backgrounds, the little quirks that separated them so it wasn't obvious that one guy wrote everyone. I say it makes me sad because (sans mystery) it's a book about the elderly and their lives outside of a sensational tale, that which leaves a story about death, loneliness, and things worse than that.
As a mystery it's alright. The idea is good and interesting enough to keep me hooked throughout, but the clues and so don't lead to more than twists and some good reveals. Ultimately, the entire mystery is explained away, if only because the clues could not paint the whole picture (though they did point in the general direction).
The real punch of this was the characters. i loved them, all of them, their dynamics with each other, their backgrounds, the little quirks that separated them so it wasn't obvious that one guy wrote everyone. I say it makes me sad because (sans mystery) it's a book about the elderly and their lives outside of a sensational tale, that which leaves a story about death, loneliness, and things worse than that.
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
5.0
What a good book, what a good book!! I’ve never been so stress out, I mean the characters are so well written I thought I was gonna die reading this.
The mystery itself is fun and suspenseful, and all the clues really are there to solve it. I’m happy to say even I was able to guess a few of the final conclusions.
There are so many highlights in this book and, similarly, so many moments I had to out it down for a break because my brain was about to shut down from over stress.
I couldn’t recommend this more to fans of the genre; I always like a good epistolary too.
The mystery itself is fun and suspenseful, and all the clues really are there to solve it. I’m happy to say even I was able to guess a few of the final conclusions.
There are so many highlights in this book and, similarly, so many moments I had to out it down for a break because my brain was about to shut down from over stress.
I couldn’t recommend this more to fans of the genre; I always like a good epistolary too.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
3.0
The book was alright, but what a hard start.
I'd consider myself a prude with literature, so in fairness I make a point to not factor in the quantity or quality of a book's sexual content into my feelings on it. The issue is that in removing the influence of it, there is nothing really of substance for the first 2-3 stories. That would be my biggest critique of the book in general: not enough to sink my teeth into in a few stories. (Incidentally, the first few stories have the most booktok quotables.)
That all being said, there were some really good moments in the rest of the book. "Especially Heinous" in particular is a favorite of mine. The messaging of the stories individually were pretty easy to get into and understand, and I liked a good amount of the supernatural elements present.
I'd consider myself a prude with literature, so in fairness I make a point to not factor in the quantity or quality of a book's sexual content into my feelings on it. The issue is that in removing the influence of it, there is nothing really of substance for the first 2-3 stories. That would be my biggest critique of the book in general: not enough to sink my teeth into in a few stories. (Incidentally, the first few stories have the most booktok quotables.)
That all being said, there were some really good moments in the rest of the book. "Especially Heinous" in particular is a favorite of mine. The messaging of the stories individually were pretty easy to get into and understand, and I liked a good amount of the supernatural elements present.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
4.0
4.5 stars ; let me preface that I want it to be a 5 so bad. Besides the following criticisms, this book was great. Even better on a reread.
Criticisms:
- That damn groomer makes it to the end of the book, and even becomes a voice of reason/guide for Sadie in her later years??
- Sadie hates Sam at various moments for almost no reason, or at the drop of a hat.
That being said, the story was incredible, every character was important to me by the end, and the stretch from "The NPC" to "Pioneers" is a masterpiece.
Criticisms:
Spoiler
- Sam and Sadie fight their entire lives, well into their forties when it's no longer fine to fight like teenagers.- That damn groomer makes it to the end of the book, and even becomes a voice of reason/guide for Sadie in her later years??
- Sadie hates Sam at various moments for almost no reason, or at the drop of a hat.
That being said, the story was incredible, every character was important to me by the end, and the stretch from "The NPC" to "Pioneers" is a masterpiece.
The Circle by Dave Eggers
3.0
3.5 stars
I liked this book, I enjoyed reading it, and I don't regret putting time into it. At some times it drags, and two specific characters felt like author stand-ins that just relay the message of the book to you instead of showing it to you. A bit of it feels cartoonishly over-the-top with how it portrays the danger of a surveillance state and monopoly, but I don't think it's meant to be taken as serious as that anyway. It feels like a satire with a message, and while the story itself is good the conveyance felt lacking.
tl;dr: A decent read that didn't elicit anything too strong.
I liked this book, I enjoyed reading it, and I don't regret putting time into it. At some times it drags, and two specific characters felt like author stand-ins that just relay the message of the book to you instead of showing it to you. A bit of it feels cartoonishly over-the-top with how it portrays the danger of a surveillance state and monopoly, but I don't think it's meant to be taken as serious as that anyway. It feels like a satire with a message, and while the story itself is good the conveyance felt lacking.
tl;dr: A decent read that didn't elicit anything too strong.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
4.0
This book almost lost me around the first five chapters. I thought it was trite, I thought it was fake, I thought it was meant to be screengrabbed for a few pretty lines and posted to go viral. Around Ch. 6, I realized the book was actually good. It really starts running from this point on, and from there I thought it was a very romantic story. More than that though, it didn't rely on the romance to make it good. I was invested in Red and Blue's story beyond just the development of their romance, and that let me appreciate it more retroactively.
Baby No-Eyes by Patricia Grace
3.0
3.8 stars
Good book, enjoyed the writing style. read the entire thing in two days.
Good book, enjoyed the writing style. read the entire thing in two days.