DNF at 10%, and that 10% took me weeks to get through. There are moments in the tone--painfully forthright in the way that tips into dark humor--that DNF at 10%, and that 10% took me weeks to get through. There are moments in the tone--painfully forthright in the way that tips into dark humor--that could work. If not for the endless asides into conspiracy theorizing; if not for the unappealing art and dense, rambling text. Each page, a headache; I concede to the inevitable and acknowledge I'm not going to get through this. ...more
How bad does a text of this length have to be to warrant a DNF? Insipid poetry and weird-looking uncanny valley cats; I could not nope fast enough. (GHow bad does a text of this length have to be to warrant a DNF? Insipid poetry and weird-looking uncanny valley cats; I could not nope fast enough. (Good title, though!)...more
DNF at 20%. You know that person who keeps pointing out [bad things happening to shared social group], and you go, I acknowledge and am horrified by tDNF at 20%. You know that person who keeps pointing out [bad things happening to shared social group], and you go, I acknowledge and am horrified by this but I'm not sure what you want me to do with this information except to be angry about it? I understand what motivates that sharing; there's space for it, for shared rage, for pure acknowledgement; at best, it can be an impetus to action. But it's often just a suffering vortex, a spiral of anger and despair.
Tell Me I'm Worthless has a great title and undoubtedly has a receptive audience, but it was pulling me into the suffering vortex....more
DNF at 20%. There is an audience for feminist vigilante "good for her" dark fiction, but it's not me, at least not here. It requires turning off one'sDNF at 20%. There is an audience for feminist vigilante "good for her" dark fiction, but it's not me, at least not here. It requires turning off one's brain a little, which isn't how I read, and this take is as subtle and nuanced as a brick, so it doesn't hold up to a less mindless reading. Also I hate first person present tense....more
DNF at 25%, not for any particular reason except that I'm not big on YA, and YA kept getting in the way of the parts I found interesting, over-broadcaDNF at 25%, not for any particular reason except that I'm not big on YA, and YA kept getting in the way of the parts I found interesting, over-broadcasting our protagonist's teenage social angst and the dystopic worldbuilding when I wanted to spend time with the speculative plot. If I know I'm not going to like it, well, then.......more
DNF near the end of volume one. This is doing things! Things that I can rationally appreciate but emotionally dislike. There's a representational qualDNF near the end of volume one. This is doing things! Things that I can rationally appreciate but emotionally dislike. There's a representational quality - the protagonist & family being stylized, comic, unreal, distant, versus the hyperreal, exaggerated, incoherent, embodied reactions of others, particularly teachers/adults - that inverts the focus I want and would resonate with. (And leans hard into my art style pet peeves re: seinen.) That combined with the slow grind and depressing content is a pass for me....more
After graduation, an estranged friend group visits at an ancient, haunted Japanese manor to conduct a marriage. DNF at 25%. The cast is intolerable, aAfter graduation, an estranged friend group visits at an ancient, haunted Japanese manor to conduct a marriage. DNF at 25%. The cast is intolerable, and the writing style won't let that lie: every tense repartee must be elaborated with an essay on affect, and there's only so many times I can be told at length about a character's smarmy clueless good-old-boys vibe before I decide I don't care what happens to him, or to anyone else here....more
DNF at the end of volume one. This is giving me uncanny Gantz vibes, not in genre but tone, a specific "the 'relatable' misogyny of self-professed patDNF at the end of volume one. This is giving me uncanny Gantz vibes, not in genre but tone, a specific "the 'relatable' misogyny of self-professed pathetic men" vibe. Our protagonist will experience horrors and undergo character growth via some presumably-excessively-convoluted thriller shenanigans that use Dissociative Identity Disorder as a plot device, cool; but Gantz left me once bitten and twice shy about a particular brand of seinen sexism, so I don't need to stick around to see it.
DNF at 45%. I do care about the subject; but humor is Southon's primary or even exclusive vehicle, and it's repetitive, distracting, and straight up oDNF at 45%. I do care about the subject; but humor is Southon's primary or even exclusive vehicle, and it's repetitive, distracting, and straight up obnoxious....more
DNF at 50%. This is actually very readable, and I was probably getting to the good bits just when I stopped, but Hawthorne is a very funny writer, fulDNF at 50%. This is actually very readable, and I was probably getting to the good bits just when I stopped, but Hawthorne is a very funny writer, full of charming anecdotes; and I had my funny bone excised at birth. This just didn't work for me. ...more
DNF at 20% because reviews indicate that the parts that don't work for me will be sticking around. After his best friend's apparent suicide, the protaDNF at 20% because reviews indicate that the parts that don't work for me will be sticking around. After his best friend's apparent suicide, the protagonist slips into his world to investigate his death, but that world is a lot of toxic masculinity and street racing (not my thing) which I find overwhelm the repressed queer longing, relationships-in-absentia, and Appalachian-flavored haunting (very much my thing, and I'm sorry to be leaving them behind) of the rest of the book....more
DNF at 25%. If I could overlook the language, this could probably educate me about the relationship between the physiological and psychological elemenDNF at 25%. If I could overlook the language, this could probably educate me about the relationship between the physiological and psychological elements of the brain. Unfortunately, the language is so bad that I'll never find out! It opens with a chapter on autism that's as awful as you might imagine (framed as a disorder, feat. an autism mom interview), and I have no reason to expect better from the rest....more
Caves are great! Caving is interesting! The hero-worship here decidedly is neither, and the tone (presaged by the early unironic use of "alpha male") Caves are great! Caving is interesting! The hero-worship here decidedly is neither, and the tone (presaged by the early unironic use of "alpha male") irritates. DNF at 15%. ...more
DNF at 60%. I've had mixed to positive experiences with Jones's other work, and really didn't expect to bounce off of this. There are absolutely effecDNF at 60%. I've had mixed to positive experiences with Jones's other work, and really didn't expect to bounce off of this. There are absolutely effective ways to play animal harm in fiction against the way fiction/society glorifies or dismisses human harm, particularly against people of color; I expect that's at the heart of this text and that it does it well. But I wasn't up to the challenge or the tone. Perhaps I'll try again in a future November....more
Review of the series "entire"; DNF during volume 3 of 12. Ghost Hunt's premise could describe any number of serial paranormal mysteries: a motley grouReview of the series "entire"; DNF during volume 3 of 12. Ghost Hunt's premise could describe any number of serial paranormal mysteries: a motley group investigates hauntings which aren't quite what they seem but nonetheless have a genuine paranormal element; the protagonist is an outsider, but her key role in solving cases indicates she may have latent paranormal abilities; oh, and she's in a developing relationship with the complicated team lead. So whether it's good comes down to: 1) What's the serial paranormal mystery element like? This one is cozy, not too scary, with a standard structure but an interesting Japanese framework. The overarching plot seems thin or absent. 2) How are the interpersonal elements? I enjoy the unlikely bedfellows vibe, lesser cousin of the found family; but the supporting characters are over the top and the central relationship fails to grab me. So this isn't for me, but I get how it could work--maybe a good bet for a cozy & comfortingly predictable paranormal mystery....more
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