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sallysimply's reviews
1314 reviews
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer
4.0
Everyone I know who has read this has loved it, and while it did not quite hit that threshold for me, I can understand the hype.
Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen
3.0
I'm not quite sure what to make of this book!
On the one hand, I am a sucker for an outlandish, twisty romp. I do not need it to be even remotely realistic, I just need it to be entertaining. On the other hand, I am still confused about the motivations and actions of most of the characters in this story, which made the whole thing hard to get on board with right from the start.
Bad Men is positioned as the story of a feminist serial killer, but it's hard to find anything particularly feminist about her. Sure, Saffy targets "bad men," but we know almost nothing about why she does that, how she chooses who she goes after, and even how frequently she's doing this. She doesn't seem to care about anybody other than herself and her sister, so it comes across as a bit of an afterthought that she's killing these men in the first place. As a character, she feels quite thin; I wish we knew more about her and her backstory, beyond the abuse in her childhood and a couple of opportune moments with those initial men she killed.
Again, this might not be something that bothers me much if I'm just here for a good time, but it becomes important to the story because I could not, for the life of me, really understand or buy why she's so obsessed with the male protagonist. The synopsis says she needs a boyfriend -- why? And why him?And why would this person who seems to think through everything get caught eventually over something so small and dumb? This is so central to the book's entire existence that I couldn't help but keep thinking about it.
Those gripes aside, it's certainly a fun, quick, turn-off-your-brain type of read. I saw many of the twists and reveals coming, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment. It's so fast-paced that you can easily get through it in a single sitting.
On the one hand, I am a sucker for an outlandish, twisty romp. I do not need it to be even remotely realistic, I just need it to be entertaining. On the other hand, I am still confused about the motivations and actions of most of the characters in this story, which made the whole thing hard to get on board with right from the start.
Bad Men is positioned as the story of a feminist serial killer, but it's hard to find anything particularly feminist about her. Sure, Saffy targets "bad men," but we know almost nothing about why she does that, how she chooses who she goes after, and even how frequently she's doing this. She doesn't seem to care about anybody other than herself and her sister, so it comes across as a bit of an afterthought that she's killing these men in the first place. As a character, she feels quite thin; I wish we knew more about her and her backstory, beyond the abuse in her childhood and a couple of opportune moments with those initial men she killed.
Again, this might not be something that bothers me much if I'm just here for a good time, but it becomes important to the story because I could not, for the life of me, really understand or buy why she's so obsessed with the male protagonist. The synopsis says she needs a boyfriend -- why? And why him?
Those gripes aside, it's certainly a fun, quick, turn-off-your-brain type of read. I saw many of the twists and reveals coming, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment. It's so fast-paced that you can easily get through it in a single sitting.
The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt
4.5
So happy to have finally read this after having it on my TBR for years. I love learning about Disney (the parks, the movies, the blunders, the legacy), and getting to learn about these women who were crucial to the success of the studio was a treat.
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I’m bored and uninvested, so I’ll set it down rather than push through.
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
5.0
Absolutely loved this. It’s both entertaining and informative, and it gave me a lot to think about.
Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television by Thea Glassman
4.0
What a fun read! Definitely recommend to anyone who loves pop culture and/or any of these shows. I even liked the chapters on The OC and Friday Night Lights, two shows I’ve never seen.