YA historical fiction thriller. Enjoyed the story and ship. I felt like the characters were pretty flat but it didn't feed into just teen drama, they YA historical fiction thriller. Enjoyed the story and ship. I felt like the characters were pretty flat but it didn't feed into just teen drama, they were a rational and responsible group which I appreciated in a YA story. Quick read. Part of my 12 month book rec set....more
Solid one time read. General theme of escapism from bullies and family stress (dying sibling). I liked the fantasy aspect and the cost of spending timSolid one time read. General theme of escapism from bullies and family stress (dying sibling). I liked the fantasy aspect and the cost of spending time there....more
Cute graphic novel for kids and up about fairies and gardening. A human is struggling to make things grow and one fairie wants to help in a way that tCute graphic novel for kids and up about fairies and gardening. A human is struggling to make things grow and one fairie wants to help in a way that they haven't helped in ages which inspires the rest of the group. It's a cozy, feel-good quick read....more
A fun read about grief. Brother is raising the daughter and there's issues at home, school, and at work at the aquarium. We follow the daughter as sheA fun read about grief. Brother is raising the daughter and there's issues at home, school, and at work at the aquarium. We follow the daughter as she meets sea creatures, who are fantastic. A quick read but worth it....more
Listened on audible, narration was by a cast which was perfect for this book since its taken from multiple perspectives. It was very engaging. ForrestListened on audible, narration was by a cast which was perfect for this book since its taken from multiple perspectives. It was very engaging. Forrest Gump meets Da Vinci Code but heavier handed with the faith/religious stuff. I think Hanna was my favorite character, a tough old bird, very smart and direct. I did feel like the climatic event that the whole book lead up to wasn't super climactic. I liked the Forrest Gump aspect of the book more than anything else, going through 2000 years of history, but this doesn't read like a historical fiction at all. Overall, I'd say I liked it but would not read it again....more
I love Pargin's writing. It's topical to some society themes but done in a mad, over the top, chaotic way. The main plot point here is the mayoral eleI love Pargin's writing. It's topical to some society themes but done in a mad, over the top, chaotic way. The main plot point here is the mayoral election but there's also a vigilante, kidnappings, bombings, pranks, a giant concert event, fake videos, a famous racoon, idealistic people disconnected from reality, people faking idealism to manipulate other people, a school field trip, a city full of people who either want a particular politician to win or want everything political to go away, and a flying dingus. I enjoyed The Amazing Aviv as a new character and continue to really like many of the main characters like Zoey, Woo, Will, and Echo....more
I was recommended this one, I usually tend to stick to fantasy/horror so it was a different but excellent change, I loved it. Ruffin kept saying the rI was recommended this one, I usually tend to stick to fantasy/horror so it was a different but excellent change, I loved it. Ruffin kept saying the racist stories were so crazy they can easily be unbelievable, but it was angering how absolutely believable they were. And the sheer amount of daily racism, not even microaggressions, blatant racism that was sometimes filled with hate and sometimes filled with stupidity, but both so very racist and the stories just kept coming and coming. Massive kudos to Ruffin for putting a humorous spin on the stories. This book made me laugh and be angry at the same time.
I like to not look up the book recs before I read them and I randomly choose whether to read it or listen to the audio. This one was easy to find on audio and read by the authors so I figured why not. Ruffin describes the pictures but I don't see them so I thought dang I should've done the actual book for this but then... THEN she gets to the song she sings her dad, "sleepy dad" to Mulan "Reflections" and she sings it and I'm dying laughing, it's so good and I am so glad I picked audio. Ruffin is a fantastic narrator, she is such an expressive speaker I'm hearing her voice all the time....more
I did like it, Klune's sense of humor, evoking coziness, and magical fantasy all made it well worth reading. I enjoyed Wallace's character developmentI did like it, Klune's sense of humor, evoking coziness, and magical fantasy all made it well worth reading. I enjoyed Wallace's character development and I loved Apollo, who was easily Klune's own dog in print form. Nelson and Mei were pretty similar, both kind and sarcastic. Hugo was too perfectly patient and caring. I liked the story around death and how Klune depicted it but it did feel like it fell short on delving into the gray bits, just more a black and white depiction of life and death, choices either help you/are good or don't help you/are bad and eventually everyone will make the good choices. It's overly simplified.
Overall, many similar themes are Cerulean Sea, but I definitely loved that book more. More felt at stake for the characters and the societal commentary about us/them felt deeper than this novel's life/death....more
Very much enjoyed this book but it wasn't what I expected. I've been doing a year-long book rec challenge and I like going into each book without knowVery much enjoyed this book but it wasn't what I expected. I've been doing a year-long book rec challenge and I like going into each book without knowing much about the book. So, based on the title alone, I kept waiting for some sci fi twist to drop. Like a groundhog day repeat scenario or virtual reality becomes reality... that sort of thing. But it was just a fiction novel. I'd probably compare it to Ready Player One if there wasn't a Willy Wonka-like quest to it. That might not be a ringing endorsement but I genuinely liked the characters in this (more than the ones in RPO) and was completely invested in their life and development as they worked and lived. It wasn't totally the game design, but that was part of it. It was their whole stories... as Sadie and Sam's background was revealed (no massive ah has, but it definitely helped really understand their characters), their early college life, childhoods, developing the company with Marks, what was important to them, and how they each viewed each other, gaming, and relationships in general. It was a beautiful journey of their lives and, a few dramatic moments for sure, but mostly just... living their lives.
I listened to the audio version. Female voice reader, honestly forgot her name. I liked her reading, her words were very precisely said, like very enunciated. Which felt right for Sadie and Sam. A different voice reader was used for the Marks chapter and it felt really weird hearing someone different read just that one chapter. It pulled me out of the book a bit but I do understand why they did it....more
I'd probably give it more of a 3.5, it's hard to explain why without spoilers but I will try.
First, I did like the period piece, it was refreshing toI'd probably give it more of a 3.5, it's hard to explain why without spoilers but I will try.
First, I did like the period piece, it was refreshing to be in the earlier 1800s, when so often the turn of the century is used. Early West Point as a setting was also interesting and a clever way to encumber Landor. I also liked the mystery of it. I liked the inclusion of Poe (but didn't feel like he added that much). The story had a gothic feel too, especially around the Marquis family which I enjoyed.
To try to explain the 3.5 rating... I found it hard to really like or dislike any of the characters. Some were very detached military/scientific/detective and others were dramatic/emotional/poets. Either way, they were all difficult to connect with at all. Honestly, it wasn't until learning the story of Landor's daughter that I felt anything traumatic in the story and my then multiple deaths and reveals had taken place. I also felt like some reveals were anticlimactic in their timing. I'll leave it at that to be spoiler free.
Overall I'm glad to have read it and will look forward to catching the film adaptation on netflix....more
A dense read. It definitely took me between 20-30% of the book to get used to the world and lingo. I really liked the characters, Hiro, YT, Raven, UncA dense read. It definitely took me between 20-30% of the book to get used to the world and lingo. I really liked the characters, Hiro, YT, Raven, Uncle Enzo, Mr Lee, The Librarian, The Rat Thing/Fido, Lagos... the only ones that fell flat for me was Juanita and Dav5id. I also really liked all the linguistic mythology, it was interesting how it was given as mythological stories out of Sumeria/Eridu, and Babel and Hiro translated that into computer language to figure out what Rife was up to. Lots of other action scenes and how the metaverse was used/developed, but my interest definitely rose once we started getting into the mythological parts and how they could be a combination of a metaphor and reality. I saw that part of the story as the main focus, the pieces about snow crash, metaverse, Raven's nuclear weapon, mafia, hackers, feds, capitalism, etc. are all just vehicles for that story of using linguistic development to grow or stunt humanity....more
Listened to the audio book. The narrator has a great voice for Odd, his portrayal of women is... not great in my opinion, I found it kind of distractiListened to the audio book. The narrator has a great voice for Odd, his portrayal of women is... not great in my opinion, I found it kind of distracting. Plot wise, the story felt like a smaller scale compared to the first book, this one follows him searching for and figuring out how to save his friend, Danny. The first book had a whole save the town from the big danger plot. It also felt like a lot of build up in terms of the main villain that kind of ended up falling a little flat, because there was a lot of occult, voodoo, black magic talk and the first book had some legit supernatural scenes (beyond the general ghosts he usually sees) but it ended up being just talk which was disappointing. Overall it was a fine read but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it....more
I've only read Night Film before this, Pessl did a great job with the young adult voice in this novel. It has the reality bending I'm now coming to exI've only read Night Film before this, Pessl did a great job with the young adult voice in this novel. It has the reality bending I'm now coming to expect from her. And it's a great example of how first person narrative is as flawed as that character's perspective. We only know what Bee knows/remembers.
Overall, I enjoyed it. I felt like the vote plot was too hyped up and super predictable. The story was predominantly a murder mystery with some reality bending. That's certainly good enough as far as stories go. The book within the book (The Bend) aspect was a little overly complicated on top of the whole idea of the wake in the first place, but once I saw how it was used, I almost wished it was used more....more
Listened to the audio book, the voice actor was fine nothing extraordinary. I enjoyed Odd as a story narrator, he's humble, observant, kind in a very Listened to the audio book, the voice actor was fine nothing extraordinary. I enjoyed Odd as a story narrator, he's humble, observant, kind in a very thoughtful way, simple, and occasionally funny. I think I liked more of the world building around Odd, his town, and his supernatural abilities more than the actual plot. But the story was ok. I would read more in the series. And maybe rewatch the movie now that I know how the book went....more
Listened to Gaiman's narration. He sounded like he really enjoyed sharing these stories and it was contagious. I listened to this one with my 10 year Listened to Gaiman's narration. He sounded like he really enjoyed sharing these stories and it was contagious. I listened to this one with my 10 year old and he loved it, especially the Thor in drag story. It was a fun listen and the order of stories made a lot of sense as it generally flowed from birth of all to Ragnorak....more
Loved this book. Science teacher Grace is the protagonist and tells the story of a fictional apocalyptic event and the science on trying to save life Loved this book. Science teacher Grace is the protagonist and tells the story of a fictional apocalyptic event and the science on trying to save life on earth. No borders, politics, religion. It's very science based (bio and physics especially). Grace has a good sense of humor about everything. The book is so incredibly engaging. I went into this book without knowing any details other than the main character is in space. I loved how Weir develops the story.
I listened to the audio book and massive kudos to Ray Porter. There was A LOT of accents in the book as countries all over the world work together and he handled them brilliantly. Also, trying not to spoil anything, but this book works better as an audio book. I needed to hear Rocky. Reading his character would feel very different I think....more
Basically an 1800s/1600s period piece version of a certain popular Doctor Who episode, I don't want to spoil anything.
Suspenseful. Some of the revealsBasically an 1800s/1600s period piece version of a certain popular Doctor Who episode, I don't want to spoil anything.
Suspenseful. Some of the reveals about Elsie and her family and the Bainbridge family were not really important to the plot by the time they were revealed because they had no bearing on the next actions and no character anymore to react to them. A surprising amount of the plot wasn't directly about the companions, so there is time spent on establishing characters and settings within these periods, often this sets the mood as I did find the story to be a page turner. I also found the frequent switching between times easy to follow- 1800s is split between Elsie recent-past and current and 1600s follows Anne Bainbridge....more
Listened to the audiobook narrated by Steven Weber, he did a good job. I liked it enough, not my favorite as far as horror novels good. I liked the idListened to the audiobook narrated by Steven Weber, he did a good job. I liked it enough, not my favorite as far as horror novels good. I liked the idea of the kids having to defeat It as adults. I was not a fan of the way the past and current stories bounced back and forth, maybe it'd be easier reading but as an audio book it was often unclear if it was the kids or adults....more
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