Thought it had a lot of potential to be a fun satire but really just ended up being kind of silly and one-dimensional. Not much to it, fine to spend tThought it had a lot of potential to be a fun satire but really just ended up being kind of silly and one-dimensional. Not much to it, fine to spend time with but I compare it to watching a Netflix original movie saying “sure, this will pass the time.� Had a few fun elements but wasn’t sure what it was actually trying to say or have its characters realize or grow. Probably 2.5 stars, really....more
Truly, truly unique. This is a dystopian novel built around a premise of a society who are able to make people forget; objects, occupations, eventuallTruly, truly unique. This is a dystopian novel built around a premise of a society who are able to make people forget; objects, occupations, eventually parts of themselves. Some are unable to forget and are harbored in secret by other families. In a typical work of fiction, you’d think they would be building to some kind of underground resistance, or a moment where the forgetting ends, but every time I was waiting for that to happen and it never comes. The book is slow, almost simple at times (befitting the narrator’s gradual erosion of memory), but haunting in its meditation on loss, grief, and anxiety about the ultimate end of all things. I left confused but can’t stop thinking about it....more
Probably 3.5 stars? Ended up listening to this because Jamie Loftus was somehow omnipresent on all the podcasts I listened to this summer, and she talProbably 3.5 stars? Ended up listening to this because Jamie Loftus was somehow omnipresent on all the podcasts I listened to this summer, and she talked me into reading her book. Despite the description on the book jacket, I hadn’t adequately prepared myself for the capitalist critique aspect of the book but was a pretty interesting analysis of a ubiquitous aspect of American food culture. Made me laugh out loud a lot (and also cringe at a lot at how sexual the humor got a LOT of the time� I probably also should have prepared myself for that reading a book about hot dogs, but there it is!) - a very weird book that defies any single genre, definitely made funnier by listening to her read the audiobook....more
This is a very good addition to the genre of Christian thought literature around the ways that the internet age is changing us. It’s probably the firsThis is a very good addition to the genre of Christian thought literature around the ways that the internet age is changing us. It’s probably the first thing I’d give on the subject to a college student or particularly mature hs student.
My only quibble is one that James probably doesn’t deserve but is a broader complaint I’m feeling with the evangelical publishing world: why do so many Christian books sound so similar these days? This is a critique mainly leveled at white male authors, but I’ve picked up a number of books this year that I just wasn’t able to push through because there is no unique voice, no style, nothing to surprise me or delight me, just a systematic laying out of argument and facts that uses so many of the same sources: can we PLEASE stop leaning so heavily on CS Lewis, Neil Postman, Tolkien, the Puritans, et all as our only resources on cultural interpretation? Can publishers seek out writers with distinct voices? Where is the Christian Chuck Klosterman, the Christian Atul Gawande, Tom Junod, I can go on and on but I’m just really noticing that so much writing (and preaching) sounds the same. Makes me all the more grateful for voices I’ve leaned into in the past few years (D Zahl, E McCaulley, TH Warren, C Atcho) that actually have something to say and a distinct way of saying it....more
Fun read, peppered with both farcical humor and some grounded realism, but I wanted it to either lean harder into the absurd, go full fledged satire, Fun read, peppered with both farcical humor and some grounded realism, but I wanted it to either lean harder into the absurd, go full fledged satire, or unpack some of the dramatic elements a little more deeply. Felt like it ran the safe middle ground between those, which is weird to say for a story about children who catch fire, but there you have it. Probably more like 3.5 stars, great vacation/beach read....more
I remember this being really compelling when I first read it (in college I think?) and still holds up really well. Even more overtly religious than I I remember this being really compelling when I first read it (in college I think?) and still holds up really well. Even more overtly religious than I remember, it asks the question of how an aging Superman responds when those who he attempted to lead by the strict definition of his principles didn’t follow his example (ironically it felt like an especially pertinent allegory for the failures of boomers in church leadership). Not as genre-defining as something like Watchmen or The Long Halloween, but still an interesting read....more
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