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oofym's reviews
131 reviews
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this; considering I went into it just wanting a quick short read to pass the time, I ended up not wanting it to end. The pacing is pretty perfect for an 80-page novella, the characters play their parts well, and the setting plus atmosphere makes for a spooky fun read.
I genuinely have no clue however as to how this is regarded as an LGBT+ story??? The "Lesbian icon" (as others have put it), is a centuries old monster spawned by the pits of hell which spends its time murdering young women. Yeah, I think Fanu (The son of a clergyman mind you) was simply combining the myth of the vampire with some succubus adjacent themes to create an interesting story, I don't think his goal was gay representation in the 1870's. I'm not sure why readers are obsessed with reading very old books through an incredibly modern Lense, all you end up with is anachronistic readings of the text.
I genuinely have no clue however as to how this is regarded as an LGBT+ story??? The "Lesbian icon" (as others have put it), is a centuries old monster spawned by the pits of hell which spends its time murdering young women. Yeah, I think Fanu (The son of a clergyman mind you) was simply combining the myth of the vampire with some succubus adjacent themes to create an interesting story, I don't think his goal was gay representation in the 1870's. I'm not sure why readers are obsessed with reading very old books through an incredibly modern Lense, all you end up with is anachronistic readings of the text.
The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
The Body Snatchers was a fun little book, but also a very surface level one.
I can completely understand why this story tends to be better regarded as a movie, as when reading the novel, it does feel almost on par with reading a drafting script for a movie. Everything must be moving at a fast past, characters do things only to serve the plot, things happen that break established logic in order to get a "tense" moment to happen. Despite this i did have a good time reading it, now and then reading some corny old sci-fi can really be a nice way to spend an evening or two, and corny it is by the way, the character of Betty is your ultra-typical damsel in distress romantic interest who is just so "Perfectly shaped" and spends half of the novel swooning in the arms of our protagonist.
But yeah, it's pretty amateurish, the execution is wack, but i can see why it made a mark in sci-fi pop culture.
I can completely understand why this story tends to be better regarded as a movie, as when reading the novel, it does feel almost on par with reading a drafting script for a movie. Everything must be moving at a fast past, characters do things only to serve the plot, things happen that break established logic in order to get a "tense" moment to happen. Despite this i did have a good time reading it, now and then reading some corny old sci-fi can really be a nice way to spend an evening or two, and corny it is by the way, the character of Betty is your ultra-typical damsel in distress romantic interest who is just so "Perfectly shaped" and spends half of the novel swooning in the arms of our protagonist.
But yeah, it's pretty amateurish, the execution is wack, but i can see why it made a mark in sci-fi pop culture.
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
3.0
Political satire is certainly an interesting genre. A modest proposal is a classic, not much to say about it, however i quite enjoyed the part where Swift also talked about the English vs the Irish Anus.
Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
4.0
My five favourites:
The Black monk
Rothschild's fiddle
Sleepy
A boring story
Anyuta
Considering that I've now read almost everything Chekhov has ever written, I think I can form an opinion on the quality of his works; They're good. When Chekhov shines, he really shines, and when he falls flat it's never egregiously bad. Like others have said, the most interesting aspect of Chekhov is the empathy that shines through his works; poor, ill, rich, female, male, foreigner...etc it doesn't matter to Chekhov, he can see us all suffering.
Now, despite the fact that I'm really happy I read this, and that it contains some of my favourite short stories ever, I also have to admit that it made me realise it's a horrible idea to read a prolific authors entire works in under a year. You will get burnt out. Although I love Chekhov, I can also now realise that he's a fairly routine writer, he has his knack and he does it well, but rarely does he try something unique. Overall though, fantastic writer, fantastic stories.
The Black monk
Rothschild's fiddle
Sleepy
A boring story
Anyuta
Considering that I've now read almost everything Chekhov has ever written, I think I can form an opinion on the quality of his works; They're good. When Chekhov shines, he really shines, and when he falls flat it's never egregiously bad. Like others have said, the most interesting aspect of Chekhov is the empathy that shines through his works; poor, ill, rich, female, male, foreigner...etc it doesn't matter to Chekhov, he can see us all suffering.
Now, despite the fact that I'm really happy I read this, and that it contains some of my favourite short stories ever, I also have to admit that it made me realise it's a horrible idea to read a prolific authors entire works in under a year. You will get burnt out. Although I love Chekhov, I can also now realise that he's a fairly routine writer, he has his knack and he does it well, but rarely does he try something unique. Overall though, fantastic writer, fantastic stories.
The Rest Is History by Dominic Sandbrook, Tom Holland
3.5
Although I ultimately enjoyed my time with this, I'll admit that by the end all it did was make me crave a proper history book.
I'll agree with most of the other reviewers on this one, it should be marketed more as a history book for teens or young adults, it definitely gave me flash backs to "horrible histories."
Another slight letdown, is that although the book markets itself as a general look at worldwide history, instead you get a very anglicized collection of history (Boris Johnson should not be mentioned 10+ times in any book mind you.)
However, in the end I enjoyed my time with it, the good thing about occasionally approaching something very surface level is that it makes you want to go deeper, and I won't be surprised if in the coming months I buy some more academic history books on certain events and time periods which are briefly mentioned in "The rest is history."
I'll agree with most of the other reviewers on this one, it should be marketed more as a history book for teens or young adults, it definitely gave me flash backs to "horrible histories."
Another slight letdown, is that although the book markets itself as a general look at worldwide history, instead you get a very anglicized collection of history (Boris Johnson should not be mentioned 10+ times in any book mind you.)
However, in the end I enjoyed my time with it, the good thing about occasionally approaching something very surface level is that it makes you want to go deeper, and I won't be surprised if in the coming months I buy some more academic history books on certain events and time periods which are briefly mentioned in "The rest is history."
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
2.5
It's not a bad book or anything, but I'll admit I'm sorely disappointed. Alot of what "The prophet" says is not even remotely new or profound, but instead devolves into spiritual mumbo jumbo, that which isn't generic spiritualism is instead just ripped from other renowned prophets such as Siddhartha Gautama or Jesus Christ.
It's obvious too that Khalil Gibran was heavily inspired by the New Testament when writing this, not only is the vocabulary very much reminiscent of the bible "Verily I say unto you"' etc, but also this does just feel like what would happen if someone decided to write Jesus fan faction of the sermon on the mount. The difference being that what Jesus apparently said is fairly intriguing as it's over 2000 years old at this point, meanwhile Khalil's sayings on life aren't even over a hundred.
If you want genuinely interesting prophetic wisdom, just go read any of the actually renowned scriptures from popular world religions.
It's obvious too that Khalil Gibran was heavily inspired by the New Testament when writing this, not only is the vocabulary very much reminiscent of the bible "Verily I say unto you"' etc, but also this does just feel like what would happen if someone decided to write Jesus fan faction of the sermon on the mount. The difference being that what Jesus apparently said is fairly intriguing as it's over 2000 years old at this point, meanwhile Khalil's sayings on life aren't even over a hundred.
If you want genuinely interesting prophetic wisdom, just go read any of the actually renowned scriptures from popular world religions.
Confessions by Saint Augustine
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I read this book over such a long period that during the first couple of chapters I was in essence a "Christian", but by its end I was more of a Neo-Platonist/stoic-deist? Funnily enough Augustine spends a fair chunk of the book criticizing and attacking such beliefs, I don't think I've ever been convinced of an idea by a criticism of it, but there's a first time for everything,
Augustine has some fantastic insights, especially during the first half of the book, and interesting theological questions mixed with reflective life stories turn out to be quite a nice mix. Like many other readers have echoed, the uncanny thing about reading The Confessions is how much it can make you relate or sympathise with a man who's been dead for almost 1700 years.
That's really what I'm after these days, not so much complicated questions of life or existential rabbit holes, but rather a fascinating glimpse into the brain of a human from a time and culture thats long since passed and gone.
Augustine has some fantastic insights, especially during the first half of the book, and interesting theological questions mixed with reflective life stories turn out to be quite a nice mix. Like many other readers have echoed, the uncanny thing about reading The Confessions is how much it can make you relate or sympathise with a man who's been dead for almost 1700 years.
That's really what I'm after these days, not so much complicated questions of life or existential rabbit holes, but rather a fascinating glimpse into the brain of a human from a time and culture thats long since passed and gone.
New Testament-KJV by Everyman's Library
5.0
There's nothing I can say that someone far smarter than me hasn't already said hundreds of years ago regarding The Bible.
The Knights Templar by Sean Martin
informative
medium-paced
4.0
A brief but entertaining historical overview of the Knights Templar. Enjoyed it.