Jessica

Ugh. I was anxious the whole time reading this book. But in a good way. Just the foreboding. Really good. Def recommend. Quick read. The patriarchy sucks.

I am a sucker for a myth retelling. So 3 stars. Learned a lot about smaller characters. Learned a lot about Hercules, TBH. The extreme modernization of language with all of the slang was a bit much for me somehow. But my main gripe is that there wasn't a strong enough thread for me to really connect to any of the characters or to Hercules. It was close, but not quite there. You end up feeling quite sorry for Hercules by the end. Pocked and scarred from a lifetime of abuse by the gods. Will def read [b:Aphrodite 227772355 Aphrodite Phoenicia Rogerson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1755253356l/227772355.SY75.jpg 227286888] though, as book was easy to read and engaging.

It is official – I will read anything Natalie Hayne writes. Another great retelling. Obviously literally no way to get around the ick age gap between Jocasta and Oedipus... But loved everything about it.

Another great, easy, funny read by Natalie Haynes. She also narrates the audiobooks and does a great job. I will read pretty much anything she writes.

Was nervous this would be too big a departure from the [a:Stieg Larsson 706255 Stieg Larsson https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1595150953p2/706255.jpg] trilogy, but I think Lagercrantz did a good job maintaining both the style and the characterization. Will read the next two of this trilogy for sure.

Like a wreck on the side of the road that you cannot look away from. First stories are stronger than later ones. Horrible people being absolutely horrible. To a one. So cringe, but also couldn't put it down. Would not have chosen to end it in the somewhat smug and just too too sort of way. But definitely a good popcorn read.

DNF'd at about 70%. Just did not engage me.

The title is very misleading. You think it is going to be a book about a formative friendship. It is not. It is a book almost entirely about the friend.

This may well be a 5 star read. Need to think on it.

Interlocking short stories of a dystopian Black Mirror-like future. Lots to ponder. Off to see if anyone has deconstructed all the relationships.

Not for me. Maybe such a heavily religious dystopia is uninteresting to me, but it just did not feel well formed. Part Annihilation, part The Road, part I Who Have Never Known Men, but just didn't work for me. Had such high expectations after Tender. This just felt.... um... unworthy...

Cat propaganda. ;) Cozy. Cute.

Australia – where all the animals and plants can kill you. And apparently the storytellers can, too... Read [b:Wild Dark Shore 211004089 Wild Dark Shore Charlotte McConaghy https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1715784093l/211004089.SY75.jpg 217233262] by [a:Charlotte McConaghy 2869149 Charlotte McConaghy https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1573700805p2/2869149.jpg] recently — also just a profoundly beautiful book about family, isolation, and impossible choices on a remote island. 10/10 recommend. May come back with more thoughts later. Just a swirl rn.

Pleasure? 4
Purpose? 5
Plot? 5
Prose? 4
Personal? 4

Avg 4.4 → 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The beauty of Gabber's 5P system is that it really is 25 points that really helps you with those edge cases! This is very much on the cusp of a 5 star read, but ultimately I feel good with 4. Really rich storytelling. A very easy read. Highly recommend the audio book. Such rich history. Def recommend. May revise Personal up, but need to give it some time to marinate.

Mostly correct.

A 4 on the strength of the writing.

Pleasure? 4
Purpose? 3
Plot? 4 (minus the epilogue)
Prose? 4
Personal? 3

Avg 3.6 → 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not good with the nothing-matters-because-of-our-dire-circumstances, it-was-actually-first-love excuses for an adult-child sexual relationship. It just was not necessary, could have (should have) remained platonic or just some old-fashioned yearning on the part of the adolescent. Or make the child an actual adult for Christ's sake. And it did not help that it somehow seemed in service of making the weird How I Met Your Mother epilogue “a twist”... a twist which severely diminished the whole story anyway in my opinion. Epilogue was just not supported by the story before.

Really a single book with Writers & Lovers. Very very much a book about writers and writing and how writers process the world. And being young. And young love. And choices you can't take back. And finding peace.

Out of step with everything else of his I have read. Very cringe.

Some really good insights. But also some reductive or naive arguments. Especially around ‘intuition'.

The entire time I read this book I was asking myself, “why am I reading this??” Then when I finished, I thought, “whelp I will be thinking about that for a long time....”Literary dystopia is a special genre. [b:The Road 6288 The Road Cormac McCarthy https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600241424l/6288.SY75.jpg 3355573], [b:Chain-Gang All-Stars 61190770 Chain-Gang All-Stars Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1682956296l/61190770.SY75.jpg 96464163], [b:Blindness 40495148 Blindness José Saramago https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528481068l/40495148.SY75.jpg 3213039]... The intensity of the imagery borders precariously on gratuitiousness. As you read it–particularly when truly beautifully written–it can feel like ‘torture porn'. But when it is done well and with purpose, when it sticks the landing, it is a rare and beautiful thing.This is that.

These are just so fun. Really wish you could do half stars. I find these to be pretty solid 3.5 stars, but rounding up instead of down is clearly the only way to go. Love Herron's endlessly new ways to introduce us to Slough House and to the characters. Such respect for his readers.

Lovely.

Mash The Road, The Plague, and The Stranger together and you get Blindness.

A tough read. Both emotionally and physically.

The stylistic choices did not work for me. The endless paragaraphs and lack of punctuation. The ceaseless references to the characters by their FULL titles. I just found it got it the way.

That said, I think it accomplishes what it set out to accomplish. Not sure I will read the sequel, but I am interested in what the sequel would have to say.

Struggled a bit at first, but just got better and better. Was pre-warned that the experimental formatting / punctutation might be off-putting, but it really worked for me.

2.5 rounded up. Started out really strong. then took a left turn, then just meandered around like a lost snail. This book was not sure what it wanted to be. And the tone remained relentlessly casual and light often to its own detriment. It was as if it was trying really stubbornly to make a particular point, and by trying so hard, it ultimately failed to make the point.

Had to skim the last 5%. Just couldn't bring myself to care at all anymore.