Zell

This book was hard to read, but absolutely riveting in parts. It really isn't a happy book, and the descriptions are brutal and blunt. But it is a compelling story, and although slow in paces, the characters and narrative drew me in.

This was boring. I wanted it to go somewhere and it didn't end up doing much of anything. It stops short of being truly disturbing, although it had plenty of chances to be. This is basically just about a man who decides to give up after experiencing a health condition, lets it take over his life, and changes/pushes away everyone around him.

This book was beautifully written and such a richly woven tapestry of imagination and fact. The characters were fully fleshed out, the story followed their growth in a really cool way, and this was both heartbreaking and gorgeous. This book deserves a ton of attention, it is on the same level as the works of Yaa Gyasi and Colson Whitehead, if not better.

This was deeply, deeply disturbing, and so fascinating. I couldn't connect to the Stork parts as much as to Strang's life, and found myself waiting to jump back out of that narrative. But the style and the levels of consciousness were so well done, and the ending was a shock to me. Not for the faint of heart, but if it's for you it really works.

A fantastic cultural exploration, but I felt that the ingredients weren't explained well or really attainable for most people. But I loved the pictures and the captions and although this isn't a great cookbook, it is a great photo book.

This was so weird and well written. I was glad to read about a real possession, no twists or surprises, just a downward spiral that was addicting and easy to read. I thought this was the perfect length and pace, and read the whole thing in one sitting.

I didn't get this. I like weird books, and I was excited about Leyner's work, but this was a little too surreal for me. I see that it has its admirers, and unfortunately I don't think I can be one of them. It was layered and hard to follow, and felt unnecessarily vulgar at times.

A truly thought-provoking, suspenseful, and riveting classic novella. This still hits hard in 2022, post-The Vanishing Half, and I was impressed by how much Larsen did with such a succinct and readable text. Beautiful.

A little repetitive, and I didn't enjoy the memoir parts very much because they were unrelatable for me and because they felt shallow. The jellyfish information was interesting, and I would have loved more on the question this book set out to answer regarding jellyfish.

Very interesting but it felt like there wasn't any emotion behind it - like the events were being related exactly as they happened with no regard to the emotions behind them. Interesting cultural commentary but without much heart.

This was a cool idea for a book, but I would have loved to see a recipe from each restaurant - I was disappointed each time it went on to the next chef without a recipe. And the interviews felt really repetitive after a while. 31 chefs is a lot - I would have loved to see maybe 20 with a couple recipes each.

This book is a LOT. It unravels so slowly that the buildup feels like all you will get, then unravels just as slowly. It doesn't feel rushed at the end, and the mental hospital portions were brilliantly written. I loved Henkel's characters, scene descriptions, and the absolutely unhinged twists that eventually reveal themselves. This feels like an absolute trip in the best possible way.

Great combination of familiar and entirely new recipes with abundant pictures and clear instructions. I would have loved to see more information about the cooking habits and lifestyle of the region the recipes originate from.

Sparse and gripping, this book feels like the reader is trying to complete a puzzle with half of the pieces missing. The character descriptions are so interesting, and I love the mysterious element of the unknown here, especially since this is based on a real person. Definitely worth a read!

A fantastic essay collection, so heartwrenching and honest. Beautifully arranged and collected, with a cohesive structure and truly remarkable content.

Interesting recipes but limited - a lot of the recipes are just small dishes or desserts, and I wish there were more pictures. And/or more information about the restaurant and the authors.

The addition of so many characters in this book was confusing to me, especially as some have similar names. However, besides that, this book contained the same charm, balance of suspense and coziness, and delicious food descriptors as the first book in the series. Looking forward to reading the third!

This book was so disturbing and twisted and I loved that part of it. I felt like the rhymes and book scrap inserts too away from the overall story, but without those this was a super creepy story from start to finish, and it just kept getting darker and darker. Not sure if this is really appropriate to be teen fiction, but as a horror novel it's pretty fantastic.

Just as funny as book one in this series, although significantly more unbelievable and convoluted. This one feels a little more forced, i think because of the juxtaposition between Finlay and Vero's hijinks and the rising stakes, but overall still great and I can't wait for the next one!

This book doesn't feel like it has much content - it could be an essay or a novella length piece. The part at the end about the authors relationship with her sister is the only real interesting part. Her experiences with pregnancy and childbirth and parenting weren't what I signed up for here.

Parts of this book are brutal and hard hitting, but other parts feel vague and not well explained or fleshed out. It is obvious the author has done her research, but I feel like many details are skipped over or told extremely quickly, possibly to avoid scrutiny on lesser known parts of the narrative. I would love to see a book like this written from a Nigerian author.

Just as good as the other books in the series - I love how the action and growing cast of characters was handled by the authors. Truly an incredible saga.

An interesting novella- no real plot but a fantastic character study. I thought it skated around some topics, and the death of the friend seems like it will be a major topic but ebbs and flows. I liked it all and thought those choices seemed intentional, but I didn't feel a hugely strong connection. Overall really strong writing though.

Heartwarming but very slow paced. I enjoyed the story and the family, but felt that the characters were underdeveloped and there wasn't much growth in them. Beautiful writing but felt like a lot of filler in the beginning/middle, then super quickly moving suddenly at the end.

I didn't think I liked sci-fi but this book was INCREDIBLE. I loved the main character and thought that having a teacher explain scientific concepts made it accessible and fun. I LOVED Rocky, and the main character's relationship with him. This was such a heartwarming and compelling story, and I thought it struck a perfect balance between science and humanity.