Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption is of varied quality, which is to be expected in an anthology featuring 41 different4/5 stars.
Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption is of varied quality, which is to be expected in an anthology featuring 41 different authors. Still the highs are high and the lows are mostly because of the changing of times. (The only exception to this is the essay "Adolescence, without a Roadmap." It reads like and Autism Speaks ad campaign.)...more
It took me awhile to get around to this one, but I breezed through it in a couple of hours! There's a lot in here that I think I may find myself returIt took me awhile to get around to this one, but I breezed through it in a couple of hours! There's a lot in here that I think I may find myself returning to again and again....more
Suzanne Collins's world building shines once again. Snow's indoctrination and lust for power was evident from the beginning of his narration5/5 stars.
Suzanne Collins's world building shines once again. Snow's indoctrination and lust for power was evident from the beginning of his narration, making this book a fascinating character study....more
The jump in quality of story-telling from Emily Henry's 2020 novel Beach Read to 2023's Happy Place is astounding to me, and the main ch4/5 stars.
The jump in quality of story-telling from Emily Henry's 2020 novel Beach Read to 2023's Happy Place is astounding to me, and the main change I can pinpoint is Henry's characters. Instead of a brooding love interest with a tragic backstory, we get a love interest fleshed-out through flashbacks. Instead of a main character who's insecure because of societal misogyny, we get a main character who simply hasn't figured herself out yet. Instead of a best friend who only show up for a few chapters near the end of the book, we get a whole friend group present throughout the entire story.
I still have some difficulty with Emily Henry's writing style at times, particularly during this book's more steamy scenes. Still, Happy Place feels like a believable story about a couple who can't stand up to the pressure of perfection but might figure out a way to be something else....more
This book was completely immersive for me. Emily Henry had me grinning, yelling, and laughing, all in turn. The premise of the main characte3/5 stars.
This book was completely immersive for me. Emily Henry had me grinning, yelling, and laughing, all in turn. The premise of the main character's "fatal flaw" was her tendency to romanticize her life worked for the main romance plot, especially when you realize her fatal flaw is actually insecurity stemming from sexism.
Some criticisms: there was a lack of character development outside of the two main characters, January and Gus. Shadi, in particular, was massively underused, as was January's mom. I also disliked the ending; (view spoiler)[an engagement for two characters who'd been confessing to each other that they were hot messes exactly one chapter ago does not work for me pacing-wise, even if it is ~nine months later~. (hide spoiler)]
I will probably read another one of Emily Henry's books and be thoroughly entertained and also kind of annoyed....more
Andrew Seasn Greer's Lessian chronicles continue with this roadtrip novel. It's stylistic in its charm, and tender, so tender. I was delig4.5/5 stars.
Andrew Seasn Greer's Lessian chronicles continue with this roadtrip novel. It's stylistic in its charm, and tender, so tender. I was delighted to come back to this world and find it familiar and yet containing new depths for me to explore....more
This book is conflicting for me. The writing itself is beautiful. I trouble had with Dillard's long blocky paragraphs, but my main difficu3.5/5 stars.
This book is conflicting for me. The writing itself is beautiful. I trouble had with Dillard's long blocky paragraphs, but my main difficulty was the narrative structure of the book. Dillard tells several small stories over the course of the year the book covers, slowly weaving a tapestry of the place she lives. It took a while to get into. I'd highly recommend this to anyone interested in the natural world and appreciative of detailed prose....more
What Eve Babitz says in Slow Days, Fast Company is sometimes overgeneralized and occasionally just offensive (by modern standards, anyway). Still, thaWhat Eve Babitz says in Slow Days, Fast Company is sometimes overgeneralized and occasionally just offensive (by modern standards, anyway). Still, that woman can set a scene. The "Dodger Stadium" section is a must read....more
This book was beautiful but felt very unfinished to me. It was marketed as a standalone, even though it appears from some research to be a co4/5 stars
This book was beautiful but felt very unfinished to me. It was marketed as a standalone, even though it appears from some research to be a continuation (or prequel, I guess) to Rehman's 2014 book Corona, which I will now have to check out!
Critiquing it as a standalone, though, it felt like the story was missing a third act where Razia repairs her relationship with her Pakastani culture separate from the homophobia she faced from her community growing up. I understand the choice to leave Razia where Rehman did—as a portrayal of the uncertain fates of young queer and trans people who can't rely on their families to support their identities—but it comes off as slapped together and unsatisfying because we never see Razia struggle with the immediate consequences(view spoiler)[ of leaving home (hide spoiler)]....more
I haven't really had time to process this book, but God is it beautiful. Coco Mellors put seven years of work into this novel, and it shows 5/5 stars.
I haven't really had time to process this book, but God is it beautiful. Coco Mellors put seven years of work into this novel, and it shows in the care with which she writes action and bodies and scenery and emotion. Cleopatra and Frankenstein is told in chapters segmented by shifting perspectives, each distinct to its narrator. The breadth and depth Mellors achieves in her characters, the way she manages to capture hope and anger and fear and growth, is currently making me weep a little.
Disclaimer: I'm not a big fan of the way Mellors handles her queer perspective character's ending. Quentin feels like an after thought, and their ending, while in keeping with all of their appearances in the book, leaves something to be desired. I still think this book is worth reading, though....more
Packed with layers of trans female experience, sex work, generational trauma, and mental illness and addiction, Casey Plett's Little Fish pa5/5 stars.
Packed with layers of trans female experience, sex work, generational trauma, and mental illness and addiction, Casey Plett's Little Fish paints the highs and the lows and the shitty in betweens in the life of her protagonist, Wendy. I loved the portrayal of trans community in this novel. It broke my heart and patched me back up....more
Situationally humorous and beautifully written, Jules Ohman's debut was a perfect start to my year. Come for the exploration of nonacademi4.5/5 stars.
Situationally humorous and beautifully written, Jules Ohman's debut was a perfect start to my year. Come for the exploration of nonacademic paths by an author with a master's degree, and stay for the cast of casually queer characters and the depictions of polyamory....more
Loading...
