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readingcat1832's reviews
222 reviews
How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
3.0
This book was really cute! I went into it knowing it was different from the movies, which really was fine and I definitely didn't hold it AGAINST this book, though it was hard to keep from drawing comparisons. I also didn't mind that the book was a little younger than the movies, probably targeted on the younger end of middle grade.
Honestly? What really kept me from enjoying this book as much as I would have liked to was... Toothless. Again, hard to compare to the emotions of watching Hiccup and Toothless bond in the first movie, but even then. I really thought Toothless was incredibly annoying in this book, and I really had no sense that Toothless and Hiccup really cared about each other, not even at the end. I did not care about Toothless. I did listen to David Tennant read the audiobook, and much as I love DT, his Toothless voice was irritating too - I'm not sure how it was written in the physical book.
Despite the disappointment of Toothless though, I just loved the dynamics between the Vikings. I loved Hiccup's friendship with Fishlegs, the development of Thuggery the Meatheat (sp?), and the honestly complicated and touching relationship between Hiccup and Stoic. The human characters were just delightful, and surprisingly well-developed. If you read this book, it's a book to be read for the humans, not... the dragons.
Honestly? What really kept me from enjoying this book as much as I would have liked to was... Toothless. Again, hard to compare to the emotions of watching Hiccup and Toothless bond in the first movie, but even then. I really thought Toothless was incredibly annoying in this book, and I really had no sense that Toothless and Hiccup really cared about each other, not even at the end. I did not care about Toothless. I did listen to David Tennant read the audiobook, and much as I love DT, his Toothless voice was irritating too - I'm not sure how it was written in the physical book.
Despite the disappointment of Toothless though, I just loved the dynamics between the Vikings. I loved Hiccup's friendship with Fishlegs, the development of Thuggery the Meatheat (sp?), and the honestly complicated and touching relationship between Hiccup and Stoic. The human characters were just delightful, and surprisingly well-developed. If you read this book, it's a book to be read for the humans, not... the dragons.
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
4.0
One of the bigger surprises this year! I don't normally like classics very much but I had a lot of fun with this one.
Injun by Jordan Abel
Not leaving a rating because I don't really read poetry so I don't know how to go about rating or expressing my opinions on it.
Like most readers, I thought this was an interesting collection of conceptual poetry. As someone who generally dislikes conceptual poetry (that is, when I do run across it) I thought this was a really effective use of experimental writing/creation. Some aspects of Abel's book were a little too experimental for my tastes (poems Q-S, mostly) but they worked well enough in the greater context of the collection.
Like most readers, I thought this was an interesting collection of conceptual poetry. As someone who generally dislikes conceptual poetry (that is, when I do run across it) I thought this was a really effective use of experimental writing/creation. Some aspects of Abel's book were a little too experimental for my tastes (poems Q-S, mostly) but they worked well enough in the greater context of the collection.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
1.0
I'm not sure there is a possibility to like this book if you aren't a Straight White Male who thinks everything he does that remotely challenges societal values in some vague way is deep and counterculture. If you do fit the Straight White Male category, and I do mean that with capital letters, there may be something profound in here. Who knows, maybe you'll even think it's funny. Otherwise, there are far better critiques of Nixon and capitalism and the American Dream out there, and probably you should go read one of them.
But frankly, I couldn't really find any redeeming factors about this book, and there are very few memorable aspects to it. After a while the entire book became a messy blur of masculine self-indulgence and narcissism on... well, on an acid trip.
But frankly, I couldn't really find any redeeming factors about this book, and there are very few memorable aspects to it. After a while the entire book became a messy blur of masculine self-indulgence and narcissism on... well, on an acid trip.
In Search of April Raintree - Critical Edition by Beatrice Culleton
2.0
The novel deals with a lot of important issues in a very raw, thought-provoking manner--April's internalised oppression, while a theme throughout the book, stands out in particular--but unfortunately the stilted dialogue and incredibly flat writing style made what should have been a great book into a disappointing experience.
The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
4.0
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
((review coming soon, probably))
((review coming soon, probably))