troystory's reviews
199 reviews

Dagon by H.P. Lovecraft

5.0

The only reason I picked this book up was because I'm interested in trying my hand at writing horror, and I had heard that Lovecraft was a true master of the genre - not that I'm normally one for reading this kind of stuff. For some reason, I decided that my compendium of Lovecraftian horror tales would be the perfect book to read by the pool, and that wasn't a smart choice. Dagon doesn't use poetic language, or incite much philosophical discussion, or even have a cast of compelling characters (actually, I think it only has one - the narrator), but it does incite the worst kind of fear, the kind that creeps in your mind and sinks in your bones and turns your veins to ice. It's dreadful, it's horrifying, and it does its job very well. I can't wait to finish The Call of Cthulhu for more wonderfully weird horror!

The Penguin Book of the Undead: Fifteen Hundred Years of Supernatural Encounters by Scott G. Bruce

4.0

I really enjoyed these stories! Most of them are short and sweet and generally easy to follow, so they were perfect when I only had a few minutes to spare. The stories taught me a lot about history, too, which I loved. Highly recommended, especially since it's almost Halloween!

The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft

4.0

I will admit, Lovecraft can get a little wordy at times (and yes, his cult mythology is racist, but that's a different story), but I loved the world and ideas he built. It was so captivating, and very bone-chilling! Definitely not the best thing to read when it's dark - I could only read it without getting super nervous during the day, with lots of light. Even if you're usually not a fan of horror, I would still recommend reading Lovecraft (at least Dagon, or The Call of Cthulhu).

The Back Of The Turtle: A Novel by Thomas King

5.0

I love Thomas King's writing, and after reading this book, I'm very excited to see what else he has to offer! The Back Of The Turtle is a brilliant and funny novel, with a weird but absolutely lovable cast of characters, and a wonderful (although sad) plot. I have to admit - Crisp was my favourite, and I looked forward to every scene he was in.

I rarely say books should be classics, but Thomas King's novels definitely deserve such a title. I love every work of his I've read. Highly recommended to everyone!

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

5.0

Motorcycles and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor

2.0

Overall, I didn't really like this book. I thought it wasn't very well written, it was a little sexist, and the dialogue was choppy and unreadable. I hated the switch between perspectives because it often didn't make sense, and I felt like I didn't get to know most of the characters well enough to really connect to them. Its only saving grace is the end. It was very satisfying and it wrapped the story up nicely.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

2.0

I seem to be rereading books I first read ages ago this year, and this is just the latest in that series. I remembered it being very weird and creepy, and very good, and so I was disappointed when it turned out to be none of those things. The writing was fine, though sometimes a little too literary for its first person perspective. My biggest issues lie with the pace, which felt really uneven, and the monsters themselves. The first five chapters of this book - and there are only eleven, so that's about halfway through - were just one long and tedious prologue. I think it could've easily been cut down. I mean, Jacob only meets the titular peculiar kids after over 100 pages. If I wasn't curious about whether or not this book was as good as I remembered, I probably would've gotten so bored that I would've stopped reading it. And then there's a few chapters that don't contribute much to the plot, and suddenly around chapter nine, the plot suddenly picks up and things start actually happening. It all just goes way too fast at the end in a way that doesn't make much sense. My other big issue is the way it feels like this book devalues trauma at its core. The hollowgasts are definitely disturbing and i loved visualizing them, but it really irritated me that there was the whole Abe-is-traumatized-by-WW2-so-he-turned-the-Nazis-into-monsters-as-a-kid-but-turns-out-those-other-monsters-are-real storyline. Like... The premise of a bunch of psycho peculiars who wanted to defy immortality and instead turned into horrible monsters, that's good on its own. But to add in the whole bit about how Abe had to escape both the hollows and the Nazis and how everyone thought he just talked about the Nazis as if they were *actually* monsters (and I say this sarcastically, because of course they were monsters too) when he was always referring to other, Real Monsters? That felt cheap. It's an overdone trope in my opinion.

Overall, I didn't like this book as much as I once did. I guess my tastes have just changed. I'll probably still read the sequel, though, since I'm curious and I have it anyway.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

3.0

Stranger Things: Runaway Max by Brenna Yovanoff

4.0

Wow, I loved this book a lot more than I expected to. I came into it with pretty low expectations, because I'd heard mixed reviews and I know that sometimes novels about TV shows aren't that good, but it was so much better than I had imagined. It was really easy to read, which I loved, but every once in a while I came across one line that would just totally blow my mind - something I didn't even know I needed to hear.

I loved the insight it gave me into Max's character! I feel like she's pretty easy to understand in the show, but her backstory helped develop her character even more, and I appreciated it. I honestly didn't mind that a lot of it was basically the plot of season 2 from Max's perspective, because it still felt fresh and it never felt repetitive or boring.

I also really enjoyed reading about Billy. He was kind of a psycho in the book, but if you took the time to think about, the book showed how he was just broken, and scared, and didn't know how to deal with anything. He absolutely broke my heart. I do have to say, I didn't always agree with how Max handled things, but I completely get where's she's coming from and why she'd do certain things. I think the only character I hated was Neil, and I think that's just universal consensus to hate him.

Overall, I really liked this book, and I would definitely read it again!

Complete Letters by Pliny the Younger

5.0

I've read this twice now, so safe to say it's one of my favourite books. Reading Pliny's letters is a remarkable, eye-opening experience - it gives you insight into the lives of Romans, into how they wrote letters and what they wrote about, and about things like how their court trials worked. I enjoy it every time I read it. The best part about it, though, is that you don't necessarily need to know much about Roman history to be able to appreciate the work on its own.

Highly recommended. If you haven't already read this, give it a try!