I feel like I'm generously rounding up here, because it feels like more of a 3.5* read. But I must confess that I've actually*possible spoilers ahead*
I feel like I'm generously rounding up here, because it feels like more of a 3.5* read. But I must confess that I've actually enjoyed it, as opposed to 'Mockingjay' (which felt like she was trying to explain a coup d'etat and not quite managing). It follows the more traditional plot line of 'The Hunger Games' and 'Catching Fire': let's have a bunch of teenagers fight to death in an arena while the grown-ups debate Locke's theory of natural law. This time, however, the plot focuses on young Coriolanus Snow - he's chosen to be one of the 24 mentors in the 10th edition of the Hunger Games. And, plot twist, it turns out that it's not just the tributes in the arena fighting for survival: in a behind-the-scenes contest, the mentors are also engaged in a battle to figure out which one of them has what it takes to succeed in eventually leading Panem. Coryo's assigned tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, somehow manages to outrun, outsmart and/or poison the other tributes, but their cheating is uncovered, which results in Coryo winning a one-way ticket to Peacekeeper training in District 12. But that also goes awry when his mate Sejanus, originally from District 2, starts getting embroiled in some rebel shenanigans.
I'm gonna stop there with describing the plot because it didn't quite go where I expected it to in terms of both Coryo and Lucy Gray's character arcs. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, and it explains a lot of President Snow's behaviour during the rest of the trilogy (without retconing very much either). I feel the Covey are a bit stereotypically modeled on travellers (which I suppose is a bit more pronounced in the movie considering the costuming), but I'm gonna let that slide. All in all, decent read, and I'm weirdly looking forward to the next prequel. ...more
Right, I'm gonna start by getting this out of the way: I'm ok with punching Nazis :) (feel free to disagree, but 'free' speech isn't 'free' when it inRight, I'm gonna start by getting this out of the way: I'm ok with punching Nazis :) (feel free to disagree, but 'free' speech isn't 'free' when it incites to hatred and killing).
I had the chance to read this while travelling, so it surprisingly didn't take more than a couple of days. Compared to a number of other titles included in the podcast, it was quite palatable (maybe because it was published in 2018). As a Millennial, I don't feel called out by it, but the tagline is 'you can't even alt-right these days because of woke'. Don't get me wrong, it does make some decent points about how Zoomers (or iGen, using the old nomenclature for them) are later in achieving certain common-sense milestones that previous generations hadn't had any issues with. And yes, I think we can all agree, with the glory of hindsight, that spending an ungodly number of hours on social media is bad for you. But equating kicking Milo Yannopoulos off campus with driving a car at a crowd with the intent to kill someone to illustrate the point 'see, both sides are bad' is just downright despicable and that's where I lost all respect for the argumentation. Also probably wouldn't allow my 9 year-old to ride a NYC subway alone, but what does this helicopter parent know?...more
I would have to echo what some of my friends have said before me: as a debut from Reeves, this is a fantastic piece. However,*possible spoilers ahead*
I would have to echo what some of my friends have said before me: as a debut from Reeves, this is a fantastic piece. However, as a part of Mieville's oeuvre, it's mediocre at best (maybe on par with Iron Council, full acknowledging that this comparison might upset some fans). Don't get me wrong, the premise is pretty decent and Unute ('B') is clearly a complex, fully-formed and mesmerizing character. Which is maybe why the other ones seem to pale in comparison and come across as a wee bit flat. I should point out at this stage that I have not read the graphic novel.
I also felt the pacing had issues, which might explain why it took me just over 3 months to finish it. Would probably say that one could feel when Mieville's signature ornate prose took over, as the discrepancies between more simplistic dialogue and complex narration occasionally clash, in a slightly jarring way. And I feel that I'm missing out on quite a bit of the symbolism here, so would be really grateful if somebody could explain to me, in a 'what did the author want to say' style, what the hell was the deal with the pig. ...more
*possible spoilers ahead, both for this and the first installment of the series*
Very subjective, but I enjoyed this one significantly more than its pr*possible spoilers ahead, both for this and the first installment of the series*
Very subjective, but I enjoyed this one significantly more than its predecessor (reflected by the fact that I only took about a month to read it). The extended exposition, which I found slightly cumbersome in the first volume, is 100% not a thing here - the plot literally picks up from the moment you left it. And then keeps going at a pretty speedy pace, building relentlessly towards a slightly ambiguous (but quite nuanced) conclusion.
I think that stretching the characters to their very limits was a brave decision, and their actions, fluctuating between sheer cruelty and self-preservation, still felt *in character*, which is no easy feat to achieve. Loved the plot twists, especially the surprise deaths - while Cezarina is not quite GRRM, she does keep you on your toes.
ps: whatever happened to Rieumi in the end? (o_O)...more
Technically cheating ever-so-slightly with this one, because I still have 10 pages left to go - however, I'm not entirely sure that they will alter myTechnically cheating ever-so-slightly with this one, because I still have 10 pages left to go - however, I'm not entirely sure that they will alter my overall impression of the book. I've been chipping at it since August and I am DONE done. Like a few other titles showcased in the 'If Books Could Kill' podcast, this one is a pretty dry, academic read. Funnily enough, my Uni's library had this placed right next to 'The End of History' - I see what you did there :)
Main thesis: I'm not racist, but...*spends the next 300+ pages detailing why he's both racist and Islamophobic*. I'm not even entirely sure I have a better summary than that. The remainder of the book is spent providing examples of how, if you even have a small percentage of Muslims in your country, it will implode, engage in 'fault line wars' with its neighbours and it's somehow all the Muslims' fault? Sure, it also introduces the concepts of 'split civilizations' and talks at length about Westernizing and modernizing the non-Western world, but it just uses a few select examples (like the wars in Bosnia or the conflict between India and Pakistan) to illustrate some very broad, sweeping statements. And I'm not sure how well his predictions fare 30 years later - like Fukuyama's take, it's aged like milk (but he was right about the on-going issues in Palestine, for what it's worth). Looking forward to hearing the critique of it on the podcast. ...more
'Ambition is nothing without execution.' - Nina Bo'nina Brown
*likely spoilers ahead*
Man, it's so disappointing to see a good idea take off with a lot 'Ambition is nothing without execution.' - Nina Bo'nina Brown
*likely spoilers ahead*
Man, it's so disappointing to see a good idea take off with a lot of promise and then fizzle (or, even more appropriate, short-circuit). Probably the best way to summarize this, and also provide a tongue-in-cheek 1* review is as follows: Womankind short-circuits itself into Armageddon and then we restart society as a matriarchy.
The fake set-up of this book is a role reversal between a male author who pens this story of the 'before times' (the lead up to 'The Day of The Girls') and an accomplished female author, Naomi. The guy's name is Neil, and the whole name is an anagram of 'Naomi Alderman' anyway, so we're invited to read it from the perspective of now the 'weak' gender. The TL;DR is that teenage women learn they have the power to channel electricity and all chaos breaks loose: wars, cults and a thriving drug trade set in Moldova/Bessapara (a women-only separatist state). I could go on. I'm not going to. And the Cockney accent that Roxy and her family have is a bit overdome....more
Finding my cursor hovering over the 3* marks feels a bit unfair, considering I have recently rated 'The Game' as a that. Real*possible spoilers ahead*
Finding my cursor hovering over the 3* marks feels a bit unfair, considering I have recently rated 'The Game' as a that. Realistically, it's more of a 3.5*, generously rounded up this time. I'm forever grateful to my friends for helping me expand my literary horizons, as this the 2nd book by an Asian author I've read this year. The first part of the book is set in Pakistan (namely Karachi) in 1988, and I felt pretty smug about recognizing some historical events that were mentioned in 'Sparks Like Stars'.
Maryam and Zahra are 14. The former is all curves and comfortable richness, the latter is all angles and distinctly middle-class. Maryam is set to inherit her grandfather's extremely productive leather business and is as shrewd as she is manipulative. Zahra has a keen sense of justice and wants to be a lawyer - the very intelligent daughter of a TV cricket reporter and a school headmistress. This coming-of-age tale is deliberately set against the backdrop of Benazir Bhutto's ascension to power in Pakistan, inspiring an era of 'girl power', where our heroines feel that they can do anything. Spoiler alert: it turns out that they can't, as one night* and some poor decisions change the courses of their lives forever, and toss everything into disarray: Maryam is shipped off to boarding school in England while Zahra stays back, following her a few years later for Uni.
We meet them again about 30 years later, in London: Maryam is a powerful venture capitalist, with more wealth than morals, and is married to Zahra's Uni friend, Nigerian artist Layla. Zahra trained as a barrister specializing in immigration law, and now runs the Centre for Civil Liberties - she is powerful in her own ways, very different to Maryam's. But when one historic acquaintance who played a pivotal role in orchestrating that night* makes his way back into their lives, their decades-long friendship is put to test.
*I mean, they got in a car with 2 older boys. Nothing terrible happened, although it could have, but that was enough to prove to them that, in fact, teenage girls probably don't wield as much power as they would like to believe (as you're invincible at 14)....more
Oh boy, this one was a complete gut punch. It feels like Kawaguchi himself agreed that 'Before your memory fades' could have *possible spoilers ahead*
Oh boy, this one was a complete gut punch. It feels like Kawaguchi himself agreed that 'Before your memory fades' could have been a different book, so he decided to pack as many emotions as possible into this installment. I'm not a very emotional reader and very few books have managed to reduce me to tears, but this one had me full-on sobbing (while invigilating an exam, and trying very hard to blame my outburst on hay fever in a basement room with no windows).
Anyway, I digress. We've done another time-jump here, this time going back: it's been about a year since Kei's passing, and Nagare and Kazu are running Funiculi Funicula while caring for baby Miki. The structure remains the same, but the stories are heart-wrenching this time: 1. An archaeology professor who wants to see his wife one more time before she falls into a pervasive vegetative state following an accident 2. A pet owner who fell asleep during her beloved dog's last minutes (this one is the proper tearjerker, I can't even write the review without tearing up a bit) 3. A young woman who refused her boyfriend's proposal 4. Another young woman who wants to make up for the fact she was really rude to her dad.
Much better than the previous book. Now I can't wait for the next one to hit the UK shelves later this year....more
I was absolutely delighted when this finally became available at the local library, after a month-long wait (PSA: please don'*possible spoilers ahead*
I was absolutely delighted when this finally became available at the local library, after a month-long wait (PSA: please don't be overdue with your library books, especially if you can see somebody else has reserved them). And it's possibly one of my favourite books in the series.
It was written to mark the 10th anniversary of the first edition of Sandman, after Gaiman got into Japanese stories in the aftermath of adapting the script of Princess Mononoke. And I think all of the readers of this novella will be grateful that he did. He really wanted to collaborate with Yoshitaka Amano, who told him graphic novels aren't really his thing - would he mind just for him to illustrate the story? 'The Dream Hunters' almost comes across as an illustrated children's book, delicately telling us the story of a fox, a monk and the forces of evil conspiring to keep them apart (well, kinda). But it wouldn't be a Sandman series without Dream and The Hecate somehow being involved, would it? Cain and Abel also have a wee cameo, and so does Fiddler's Green.
The artwork is stunning, and probably one of the best in the entire series, on a par with 'Overture'. However, I think I actually understood the plot of this one XD...more
(this would probably be a 3.5* stars rating, but I'm round it up as per usual - possible spoilers ahead)
Am I a glutton for a bit of emotional torment?(this would probably be a 3.5* stars rating, but I'm round it up as per usual - possible spoilers ahead)
Am I a glutton for a bit of emotional torment? Definitely so. I hadn't finished 'Tales from the Cafe' that long ago and this third instalment in the 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' series was available at the local library, so I thought 'why not?'.
We all know the premise by now: there is a special cafe in Japan where you can time-travel, but only under a set of very strict rules. In the first book, we are told that Nagare Tokita is not in Tokyo when *his dead wife* Kei visits from the past, and now we finally find out why: him, Kazu and Sachi (Kazu's 7 year-old daughter) have relocated to Hakodate at relatively short notice to provide time-travelling services for Cafe Donna Donna, typically run by Nagare's mother, Yukari. It turns out that all of the Tokita women have the gift of facilitating time-travel, and Sachi's services are needed to cover when Yukari decides to travel to America to try and help out a customer.
We're faced with an entire new host of characters and scenarios, most of them exploring time-travel in the context of a loved one having passed away. And while I do love the idea of discussing these hypothetical scenarios, I wish that some of them were centred on the living, hence the slight drop in stars on this occasion. My curiosity is still piqued enough to get the next book out of the library later today, because: A. I hope we find out a bit more about what happened to Kaname B. The ghost in this cafe is a historically-dressed elderly gentleman, so that hints at the fact this time-travelling business has been going on for quite some time and I'd like to know more :)...more
I have many thoughts about this book: some of them good, some of them bad, hopefully some of them worth articulating.
To begin with, Neil Strauss is noI have many thoughts about this book: some of them good, some of them bad, hopefully some of them worth articulating.
To begin with, Neil Strauss is not actually a bad writer. Unlike the other books featured in the 'If Books Could Kill' podcast, this isn't all illegible, drawn-out, mind-numbingly boring book. Maybe the middle section could have done with 50-100 pages off it, but it has enough celebrity cameos to keep you going, especially when the action moves to LA. We're talking Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Andy Dick (lol, that probably won't ring any bells for people born after the year 2000), and extended appearances by Tom Cruise and Courtney Love. But enough about the style, let's talk briefly about Style.
I can't really bring myself to disagree about all of the points that he makes in his quest to pick-up women. Sure, a lot of patterns of behaviour can be predicted and manipulated to get the results you want, most of the time. The meta social commentary about men who play the game because they want to meet women versus the men who play the game because they want to gain social status in their group of other men is worth pondering. And so is the commentary about a road trip in Transnistria gone slightly awry.
I don't wholly hate this book because it does occasionally provide rather incisive takes. But I think its subsequent interpretation has grown arms and legs, and I'm curios to hear Michael Hobbs' thoughts on it too....more
This delightful little book (clocking in at just under 200 pages) is the follow-up to 'Before The Coffee Gets Cold', which emotionally*spoilers ahead*
This delightful little book (clocking in at just under 200 pages) is the follow-up to 'Before The Coffee Gets Cold', which emotionally destroyed me just after Christmas. Same premise, almost the same recurring characters, but even more emotional devastation.
*spoiler alerts and a TL;DR version of the review: all the trauma*
I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. It starts off extremely promisin*spoiler alerts and a TL;DR version of the review: all the trauma*
I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. It starts off extremely promisingly, and compelled me to do a bit of a dive in a topic which I was not familiar with, namely the recent history of Afghanistan and the 1978 coup. It starts off like an Anastasia-like escape story, with beautiful 1st person narration. And then it pretty much bends over backwards to pile on more trauma onto the poor main character, Sitara.
See your family murdered by the soldiers that were meant to protect them? Check. Narrowly escape the 1979 attack on the American Embassy in Islamabad? Check, even if the timeline doesn't fit (and the author acknowledges that). Abused by ultra-Christian foster parents once you get to the US? Check. Surgery resident in NY during 9/11? Check. It almost feels like poor Sitara needs an exorcism at this stage. I'm willing to forgive it a lot, including some very shallow characters that are quite uni-faceted. I'm not willing to forgive Sitara saying she was listening to Nirvana in 1982 -_-' ...more
The only reason this is not getting 5* is because it doesn't cover 'Sandman: Overture' (honestly, I could have done with somebody explaining that to mThe only reason this is not getting 5* is because it doesn't cover 'Sandman: Overture' (honestly, I could have done with somebody explaining that to me like I was still in high school).
Reading the Sandman, I thought I was maybe getting 50-60%(ish) of the rich subtext or, as Hy Bender calls it, the 'metamyth'. Then I read a quote from Harlan Ellison that said he thought he maybe got 30% of the references and I instantly felt very dumb. So 'The Sandman Companion' gets into the nitty-gritty of what Neil Gaiman wanted to say by actually asking Neil Gaiman what he wanted to say. That's the reductionist version of the review. It's probably worth saying that it also contains snippets of interviews from other collaborators and bits of extremely lovely artwork. All of the chapters follow a similar format: a brief synopsis of the plot, 'some things worth noting' (ie. a polite version of saying 'these are all of the things Gaiman is trying to do here and you're probably missing a good 70% of them') and an in-depth interview with Gaiman about the collection. It's funny, witty, charming and very informative....more
*spoiler alert: history, in fact, did not end in 1992*
Now that I've gotten that tongue-in-cheek comment out of my system, it's time for a slightly mor*spoiler alert: history, in fact, did not end in 1992*
Now that I've gotten that tongue-in-cheek comment out of my system, it's time for a slightly more in-depth review. This 300+ page slog is trying to convince the readers that liberal democracy (alongside capitalism) is the political regime most countries will tending towards eventually. It tangentially explores other issues such as governmental legitimacy, the writings of Hegel, Kojeve and Nietzsche, utilitarianism, and the idea of a 'post-historic national' (the point being that you get to a liberal democracy and then political stuff just sorta stops happening because everybody is satisfied to some extent).
This book is very much of its time and reflects the overall optimism that was probably quite pervasive in the aftermath of the Cold War and the Soviet Union's downfall. However, ask any Millennial how they feel after having witnessed 9/11, a financial crisis, quasi-permanent instability in the Middle East, and, most recently, the war in Ukraine. All going well and not very much happening, innit?...more
This was a cracking one to start the year with, exploring in a very cute a poignant way some 'what if...?' moments in people*potential spoilers ahead*
This was a cracking one to start the year with, exploring in a very cute a poignant way some 'what if...?' moments in people's lives. The premise is quite a straight-forward one: one can travel through time (and not just in the past) in a small, dimly-lit basement cafe in Tokyo. There are rules, of course: you can't leave your seat, you can only meet other people who have been in the cafe, any past actions won't change the present and you have to come back before your coffee gets cold. Would you still do it?
I can easily imagine how the book evolved from the stage play. In a series of 4 interconnected stories, we explore the journeys of a host of different characters: Fumiko and Goro (The Lovers), Fusagi and Kohtake (Husband and Wife), Hirai and Kumi (The Sisters) and Kei and Miko (Mother and Child). Would you tell your boyfriend to not leave you for their dream job? What would you tell your husband, as their memory is being destroyed by Alzheimer's? Can you make amends with your sister? And, finally, what would you tell your unborn child? What if...?...more
This was genuinely so cute and moving - managed to squeeze it in between late mornings and Christmas chocolate-induced comas. The fact that, at just oThis was genuinely so cute and moving - managed to squeeze it in between late mornings and Christmas chocolate-induced comas. The fact that, at just over 100 pages long, it's more of a novella definitely helped.
The best word that comes to mind when describing this is 'delicate'. Hiraide has unique talent for giving mundane occurrences an almost magical feel by reflecting on little details that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Like the pattern and colour of the spots on the cat(s). The friendship with a dragonfly. How the zelkova tree tied everything together and how, to some extent, it felt like the centre of the universe. How the relationship between him and his wife changed when Chibi, the neighbours' cat, decides to become their routine guest. Interspersed with narrating the events of the end of 1989 and beginning of 1990 are reflective musings on life and death, growing old and being in your 30s (and that particularly struck a chord). Would 100% recommend, loved it!...more
I would have to subscribed to the school of reviews which maintain that, while men might be from Mars and women from Venus, John Gray clearly inhabitsI would have to subscribed to the school of reviews which maintain that, while men might be from Mars and women from Venus, John Gray clearly inhabits a very different solar system because almost none of the things postulated here as complete truths make one iota of sense.
I say almost none, because one aspect did ring true: I did have to explain to my husband once that, even if I knew what the solution to my problem was, I still felt the need to chat about it/vent. But that's pretty much it. It's filled to the brim with generalized, sweeping statements about the psyche of both men and women in the context of heterosexual relationships. It also introduces a cave myth of some sorts, possibly (unintentionally) funnier than the original cave myth. Men retreat into a cave, women go into a well. You score a number of points in your male partner's eyes for doing certain chores (more points for bigger chores). And the only reason you're not getting help around the house is because you're using the incorrect modal verb for the occasion (could vs. would). Utter ludicrous garbage with no science base to it. And, a very odd choice of repeating some sentences in bold right after you've written them out in the previous paragraph - who does that?...more
My theme for this year has been: a. Unfortunately, kinda ditch the reading challenge b. Read multiple books at once (!!!) c. Not be very good at keeping My theme for this year has been: a. Unfortunately, kinda ditch the reading challenge b. Read multiple books at once (!!!) c. Not be very good at keeping Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ updated - but I am reading, I swear :)
This was the opening gambit for the medical book club scheduled for tomorrow evening - and a welcome breath of validation of some sensible opinions I have also had throughout the years as an NHS employee. I feel this particularly hit home as Dr Francis is based in NHS Lothian, where I did my Foundation Training in 2014/2016 - it feels like not much has changed for the better since then. Short and very readable in one afternoon, this short-ish manifesto articulates some pervasive problems and also makes some sensible suggestions on how to solve them. Such as stop voting Tory if you still want to have a functional NHS in the near future :) Joking aside, it does a fairly good job of exposing the chronic under-funding and shortfalls that are kept hidden to most reputable media sources because, guess what, you're not really allowed to directly talk to the press as a doctor and all official communication should be made via your local trust's PR team. Which would pretty much try to convince you that the hospital isn't on fire in spite of a visible plume of thick smoke slowly rising from it.
Food for thought for British folk, I suppose. ...more
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