The City of Dreaming Books

99% world building for the first 25% of the book, which is when I gave up because I prefer storyline progress and character building.

The last 1% was character building, mainly for the main character, with alot of unusual characters that come into and quickly leave the story. No deep character building or long-term interactions.

I picked this up not knowing there were other books set in the same world, and I was able to get into the swing of things just fine! That said, this is a story that is heavy on world-building and amusing details above anything else. The actual formatting of the book is quite fun, with relevant illustrations and ciphers interspersed throughout the story. Overall it was very creative, if a little dense at times!

Somewhere between quirky fantasy and gothic/medieval horror. Having hopped from the first to the fourth in this series, it's intriguing to see the evolution, or difference, in style, both in the writing and illustrations. First had a Roald Dahl/Shel Silverstein look, this one is darker, more detailed, woodcut-like sketches. I believe the first is billed as YA, and this one isn't, which the body horror alone would account for! 

I loved the Booklings, all the book lore, and found the ending moving and fulfilling. The story got more violent and more tragic than I expected, but it was also an incredible adventure on a beloved theme. 

Kudos to the English translator because a book so focused on words, and often making up new ones must have been a unique challenge to represent faithfully.

⚠️Similar to the first book in this series, still published nearly 20 years ago, it lacks sensitivity on a number of fronts: rampant fatphobia, pretty casual with mentions of suicide, depiction of one villain felt like a harmful stereotype, dispelling ‘bouts of mental illness' by shouting, yikes 😬