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raesengele's reviews
296 reviews
Among Others by Jo Walton
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Have you ever read a book about a kid who can do magic and interact with faeries, but just wanted to know what their life in the real world would be like? This book is for you. It wasn't for me, but it would be good for you if that's what you want.
Now, I love books about people going about their lives, I love books about fae and magic, I love magical realism, I love books about friendship and how connections can get us through the darkest times of our lives, and I love books about books.
But I didn't love this book.
I have so many conflicting feelings about Among Others and I think most of it comes down to how much we saw of the real world and how little magic actually had any effect on it. The magic aspects of the book and the real world aspects were so rigidly separated in the loosest way and I'm fully aware how little sense that makes, but that's my frustration with my feelings over this book. I understand why Jo Walton made the decisions that she did, but I still disagree with those decisions and would have suggested she do something different had I been her editor.
I think another part of my frustration is that I ended the book feeling detached. Actually, I went through most of the book feeling detached. There was so little depth to how Mor experienced anything. Even when talking about her sister's death so often she seemed almost detached from it...but also not? It's odd.
Maybe that's the best way to put it. This book is odd. My feelings about it are odd. I don't know how to feel about anything anymore.
Now, I love books about people going about their lives, I love books about fae and magic, I love magical realism, I love books about friendship and how connections can get us through the darkest times of our lives, and I love books about books.
But I didn't love this book.
I have so many conflicting feelings about Among Others and I think most of it comes down to how much we saw of the real world and how little magic actually had any effect on it. The magic aspects of the book and the real world aspects were so rigidly separated in the loosest way and I'm fully aware how little sense that makes, but that's my frustration with my feelings over this book. I understand why Jo Walton made the decisions that she did, but I still disagree with those decisions and would have suggested she do something different had I been her editor.
I think another part of my frustration is that I ended the book feeling detached. Actually, I went through most of the book feeling detached. There was so little depth to how Mor experienced anything. Even when talking about her sister's death so often she seemed almost detached from it...but also not? It's odd.
Maybe that's the best way to put it. This book is odd. My feelings about it are odd. I don't know how to feel about anything anymore.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Rape, Incest, Child death, Car accident, Antisemitism, Ableism, Lesbophobia, and Grief
Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century by Roseanne Montillo
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
The Price of Salt, or Carol by Patricia Highsmith
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My feelings about The Price of Salt can be summoned up as such:
This book is famous for being one of, if not THE first lesbian romance where the lesbian couple in question stay together in the end.
The problem is I didn't want them to be together to begin with.
Therese deserves so much better and Carol is not it.
This book is famous for being one of, if not THE first lesbian romance where the lesbian couple in question stay together in the end.
The problem is I didn't want them to be together to begin with.
Therese deserves so much better and Carol is not it.
Contact by Carl Sagan
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This might be the first book that has legitimately confused me to tears and not because the content was too difficult to understand, but because Carl is a god awful storyteller. Never in my life has my first thought when closing a book been that I need alcohol.
He does get 2 stars because the story he wanted to tell is honestly interesting and if anyone else had written this book it most definitely would have been a good book.
Now I'm going to hunt down Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang, because this book just made me scream about how Arrival did it better so many times.
He does get 2 stars because the story he wanted to tell is honestly interesting and if anyone else had written this book it most definitely would have been a good book.
Now I'm going to hunt down Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang, because this book just made me scream about how Arrival did it better so many times.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
As much as I loved this book, the writing kept it from being a five star read for me. Not that the writing was bad exactly, I've definitely read much worse, but not only was this Baldtree's debut novel, it was also apparently a NANOWRIMO book and it kind of shows. Baldtree clearly didn't develop his confidence until late in the book (the epilogue and bonus chapters almost feel like they were written by someone else, someone with a ton more confidence) which isn't surprising since it's kind of standard that it takes writing 2-3 novels for a writer to really figure out what they're doing. It's also why I believe wholeheartedly in the advice to have 2-3 books under your belt BEFORE you pursue publication. 1) because then you have 2-3 books to shop around, and 2) you'll have already gone through the growing pains of writing 2-3 novels.
As for Legends and Lattes, I really don't agree with the concept of "show, don't tell" and this book is a good example of why. Because of Baldtree's lack of confidence through most of this book there's almost too much showing. I could see everything that was happening just fine, but I couldn't feel anything about it. We didn't get a lot of space in Viv's head, exploring her anxieties and nerves. I was told she had anxieties and nerves, but I never felt them. Same with her attraction to Tandri--I knew it was supposed to be there because I was told it was, but I never felt it. And it wasn't the fault of the genre. Literary fiction is known for not doing a lot externally because it's all happening internally and that could have been done here, as well, resulting in a low stakes fantasy that still keeps you invested emotionally. And I started to see that in the epilogue and the bonus story which is what makes the rest of the book kind of frustrating, for me at least. Baldtree clearly has it in him, but he hadn't quite found it yet with this first book and unfortunately his editors didn't prioritize getting it out of him either. What results is a book with so much potential and that is admittedly really good, if you're not a hardass editor who can't turn it off (aka me, unfortunately).
As for Legends and Lattes, I really don't agree with the concept of "show, don't tell" and this book is a good example of why. Because of Baldtree's lack of confidence through most of this book there's almost too much showing. I could see everything that was happening just fine, but I couldn't feel anything about it. We didn't get a lot of space in Viv's head, exploring her anxieties and nerves. I was told she had anxieties and nerves, but I never felt them. Same with her attraction to Tandri--I knew it was supposed to be there because I was told it was, but I never felt it. And it wasn't the fault of the genre. Literary fiction is known for not doing a lot externally because it's all happening internally and that could have been done here, as well, resulting in a low stakes fantasy that still keeps you invested emotionally. And I started to see that in the epilogue and the bonus story which is what makes the rest of the book kind of frustrating, for me at least. Baldtree clearly has it in him, but he hadn't quite found it yet with this first book and unfortunately his editors didn't prioritize getting it out of him either. What results is a book with so much potential and that is admittedly really good, if you're not a hardass editor who can't turn it off (aka me, unfortunately).
Tales of Burning Love by Louise Erdrich
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Biphobia, Death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Infertility
Minor: Body shaming
Animal abuse is over the course of two chapters (pgs 272-295) and animal death is pages 294-295). It's a very small part of the story, but it's graphic enough that I would have liked to have had some warning.
At least one character is very clearly bi, but everyone, even the narration consistently insists on referring to her as a lesbian. I'm erring on giving it a pass since this was written in the 90s which was a notoriously biphobic era, but it's still uncomfortable every time it comes up.
The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Dementia, Death, Murder, and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicide
If You Tell by Gregg Olsen
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Torture, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Homophobia
This is a VERY graphic book. For the first time while reading true crime I honestly wondered if I should be reading these things. It's horrific what happened, but the family wanted it to be told.