oz617's reviews
473 reviews

Troll Bridge by Terry Pratchett

5.0

Pratchett’s writing always feels so Real. This short story beautifully disrupts fairytale conventions, making a very honest political allegory.

Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley

3.0

I’ve never been more convinced that a storyline would be queer, nor more confused when it wasn’t. I don’t mean this in an abstract, general cry for more representation. It really felt like the story was setting up Hazel and Katie to get together at the end, or for Hazel to realise she didn’t have to date at all, so the sudden way it wrapped up was jarring. A couple pages of “and then this dysfunctional couple lived happily ever after, and this girl cut her hair and met a nice boy and now she fits in and everyone likes here” was just disappointing.

The Spy Who Loved Me by Vivienne Michel Ian Fleming, Vivienne Michel Ian Fleming

3.0

I spent the vast majority of this book wondering when the titular spy would show up, and the remaining pages wishing he’d go away again.

How To Write A Novel In 6 Months by Thomas Emson

4.0

It would be a decent but forgettable guide book if it weren’t for how the author uses examples of his own works – especially since those works have the plots of straight to TV horror films of the 1980s, updated to include more female survivors. Adding Maneater to my TBR list…

Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change it: Wisdom of the Great Philosophers on how to Live by Daniel Klein

4.0

My stepmother bought me this book on a museum trip when I was clinically depressed. I’m not sure how much the words of great philosophers helped, but the thought behind the gesture meant a lot. As with any collection of quotes, most of the context that makes the quotes so interesting is lost, but the book still manages to provide a hopefully melancholy overview of some important history.

The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch

2.0

TERF rhetoric off the charts. I feel viscerally uncomfortable after reading this, and not in the way the author seems to have intended. In a world where humans are devoid of sexuality to the point of sterility (yet clearly, always, gendered to conform with their genitals), the evil corporate overlord running the show is… a transgender man… who gets outed in the final pages… which talk about how disgusting his mutilated flesh is, while misgendering him…

You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann

4.0

I always struggle to review translated works – how much of my not understanding should be blamed on meaning getting lost in the transference from one culture to another? In general I enjoyed this novella. Books about struggling writers can go either way for me, but the artifice of this being his writing notebook turned journal served the story well. Mostly, anyway. Sometimes the character would claim to have written something he didn’t, or other characters would claim to have read something that definitely wasn’t included in the published text, and I could never tell whether that was intentional or not. As I say, that could purely be me misreading things, or the English language not being precise enough. But as atmospheric as the story was, I do feel like I missed something important.

Blackout: A Thriller by Ragnar Jónasson

2.0

Would recommend this series to anyone looking for a darker holiday read. Doesn’t require too much thought, fairly well written, enjoyable if you’re in the mood for a standard modern detective novel

The Witchcraft Handbook: Unleash Your Magical Powers to Create the Life You Want by Midia Star

2.0

Divine womb magic vibes – politically uncomfortable, and spiritually nothing new.

We're Going on an Egg Hunt by Laura Hughes

3.0

I always feel bad reviewing books for young children. It was fine. Not one the children wanted me to reread, but not one I’d mind rereading to them either.