Sam
The Magician King is a great sequel to The Magicians. Everything good about the first book is here that is to say Quinten is still an unlovable character.
Lev Grossman does a great job creating an amazing world that you could get lost in and the most ungrateful hatable character. The ending is satisfying and surprising and I feel so ready to read the third book during my next year of reading.
If you didn't like the first one there is much the same in this one I would recommend highly if you liked the first one.
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store masterfully showcases a moment in America. And at the same time what it means to be an American, not just then but now. The Chicken Hill community in the book showcases what it was like for Jews and Blacks in America and how closely knit their communities were while still showcasing the differences of their ability for upward mobility in the zeitgeist of society.
I saw some people review this book and say nothing happened in it. I'm not quite sure what they mean by that. This book showcase is life happening. Nothing glamorous but real. I found the insight into this community showcased in the book was brilliant.
There was a short passage towards the end, where the white men of the town after the memorial Day parade were sitting around talking about the degradation of America. Well, just a few scenes earlier the book highlighted that almost everything that went on in the parade was held up by the Jewish community, which in turn was supported by the black community. I think the book perfectly encapsulates the feeling that while America is beautiful and diverse, there's an ugly truth underneath.
I've read books from the grishaverse and The Ninth House series from Leigh Bardugo and I have to say I was really dissatisfied in this one.
While the Grishaverse books left me wanting for more despite me feeling like the romance between the main character and the main villain soured my enjoyment. I think this book is just lacking in all aspects. There are sparks of really good story telling but they never really get past that ember.
I will probably read more of Bardugo books but hope that they lean more towards the writing of Ninth House than her other books
This book feels like the Dresden files is finding its footing. There is characters from previous books who appear and plot points that continue from previous books. It finally makes it feel like it's a series of books rather than a serial collection of stories. I'm looking forward to reading more into the series as I really like the setting and the universe.
Summer Knight feels like you can solve the mystery if you're paying attention before Dresden does and doesn't feel like it catches the reader in any way that feels bad. I think the balance of previous plot points from the previous three books and new plot points being introduced feels nice. I hope as I continue the series this balance remains the same with maybe some departures here and there to keep it interesting.
R.F. Kuang does an excellent job making this book feel like a real history while never letting the magic feel mundane. The book does an excellent job at making you feel like everything happened that you could recall the events from your own memory
The book sits with you even after you put it down and I recall multiple times after a reading session vividly remembering what I just read. The book makes you question what is just whether justice requires violence or showcasing the answer in a brilliant way without feeling like it's hand holding the reader.
Some of the linguistics I made disagree with in terms of tone, but I understand the use of it in this book made me have a great appreciation for the knowledge that I currently possess. I think one of the greatest parts of this book was the mix of real annotations from real pieces about translation. All of the elements in this book combined to create an experience rather than just a book.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in linguistics as an interesting piece of fiction. Anyone who is interested in unique magic systems and anybody who's into historical nonfiction. I think the book seamlessly combines all of the above into Babel
I first read Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel and I fell in love with the speculative fiction genre. I think Mandel's prose is captivating and compelling. When I picked up Station Eleven and actually started reading it. It was hard to put down the narrative devices. The characters in the world draw you in like nothing else.
I think Emily St. John Mandel is a master of the genre and any of her books are worth reading and picking up if you enjoy the Twilight Zone or Black Mirror but want something that isn't necessarily horror. I think her books are perfect antidote to that wanting. The world that Emily so eloquently creates will capture you and leave a mark with how real it feels.
Excited to read more from the author and more the genre
I hated this book, from the characters to the pacing everything about this book feels wrong. Let's start with the characters none of them are likable. While sometimes this can make a book feel realistic in this case the book feels like a fan fiction of someone who is obsessed with politics but only goes as far as twitter to engage with it. The so called political analysis embedded in the book is shallow and horrid. I don't there is a single redeeming quality of any of the main characters.
The pacing of the book is also atrocious I feel like I had no sense of the passage of time. Sometimes it would feel like 100 things would happen in a matter of minutes or one thing slog on for days. The climax of the book seems to happen in the last 10th of the book and the final scene feels like someone scrambling to put together a conclusion.
When I saw this book, highly recommended as a psychological thriller, I was entranced. Much to my chagrin all of the psychological thriller aspects happen in the last third I feel like most of it is hyper convoluted and fantastical when the rest of the book seems grounded in reality in a very dull manner.
To give it the benefit of the doubt maybe this style of book is just not for me, but I cannot with good conscience, give this book higher than a one star rating.
If you enjoyed this book, I'm happy for you but for me it was a chore to get through and I regret spending my time on this book .
There isn't much to say about this book that hasn't already been said. I think it is an interesting read which can make you think about how we as people make decisions. That being said I recently heard someone say this book says we should never rely on intuition and I feel like that's the incorrect reading. I feel like at large the book is just trying to show that there is a way we look at instinct which is flawed and offers a better way of looking at it. So what should you take away from this book? That we should be more aware of where intuition comes from and what affects it.
Grave Peril is really a great follow up to the first two Dresden files books. I think the series feels like a much more grand narrative like the world comes alive. While the first two books books set the background of the world while feeling like serial detective novels where the detective is obviously a wizard, Grave Peril makes it feel like the world of the Dresden files exists and has things happen outside of the books. I think I'm going to enjoy continued readings into the series.
A great modern horror. It pays homage to a lot of film tropes while staying fresh and exciting. There's a ton to say about how great this book mixes everything together to make something exhilarating. I would recommend this to any horror fan, any fan of Mexican inspired literature, just a great book overall.
I read this book because I've heard it inspired Harry Potter and I wanted to see the similarities and I've only heard good things about it besides that. While I enjoyed it I think because it doesn't have the nostalgia that HP has it fell a little flat. I think it a great book and if you love the style of fantasy HP is you will enjoy this book.
This is the first book in a long time I thought about DNFing I hated it. I'll say I don't think the book is bad in anyway where I couldn't imagine someone liking it. This book is just not for me which is a shame because I really like the concept of books like this when I read the blurb I thought it would be like daisy jones and the six but more narratively driven. But I ended up feeling like someone wrote a book based on the prompt make Forest Gump for 60s rock. I just felt unconnected with all the characters and I just couldn't bring my self to care about anyone in the book it felt like a slog finishing up the book. I'm happy I finished it so I can never think about it again.
A pretty conclusive biography of a idol for many. I think there is obviously some creative licensing towards the end, but I think the thought and debilitating of the writer. The writer has a lot of intimacy with Kurt Cobain's thoughts. I think this is probably one of the best ways to honor his life while not romanticizing the problems in Cobain's life.
I think this book delves into the material pretty well but I can see someone not understanding the actual thesis of the book. The book states that we should reconsidered our biases that state that a mentally well person is the only person who is a good leader. This thesis does not mean that we should seek out those who are mentally unwell but be open to those who have a mental illness as someone who can lead. Overall I think the book does a good job. But having read some of the other reviews I'm not sure if that thesis is the one many walked away with.
Palace For The People lays out the case for why every citizen should care about social infrastructure. Klinenberg does an amazing job by providing both analytical and anecdotal evidence for a pro position on social infrastructure. He expands explaining with specific examples of libraries and remediated land use the benefits which are conferred. Overall I think this book will speak to those already interested in sociopolitical issues involving social infrastructure or living spaces. I would have someone read walkable cities wrote reading this book despite its excellent prose and argumentation.
Steven Pinker lays out why we as people shouldn't be doomer about the future of humanity while also exploring many avenues of human intelligence, progress and development. I think many of the things brought up in this book are thought provoking. There are politics I disagree with Pinker on but overall I think much of what this book talks about showcases the pathway forward for humanity.