I read The Brothers Karamazov once, a long time ago (because it was Fievel’s and Tiger’s favorite book – shut up). I got to the end and was SO annoyed. I read 800 pages and you can’t even tell me what happens to the damn brothers? 800 pages and it’s a cliffhanger? No fair! (Spoiler alert.) I finally decided I was maybe too American for Karamazov, and was too focused on the destination, rather than the journey. I think I am also too American for this book, […]
Good people, good mysteries, good books
Read this book if you like: Complex and interesting but hella-flawed characters A cool mystery Fantastic, snappy, engrossing writing Learning interesting Irish slang A good dose of backstory without hand-holding or spoon-feeding Do not read this book if: You require everything to be tied up neatly in a bow at the end of a story. This is my second Tana French book, and while I liked it very much, I’m not sure I would’ve read another if I had read this one first, if that […]
Sometimes one-hit-wonders should stay that way
In a parallel universe where Edgar Allan Poe never existed, this would be a nice little book. In this world, where Mr. Poe was pretty prolific and, well, better, it’s not really worth your time. I saw this collection of Bram Stoker short stories at this AMAZING old barn bookstore (pictured left). I’d never read anything but Dracula, so I was curious. It’s…fine. Stoker’s very earnest. It’s like a 12-year-old boy at camp telling you a ghost story, and then at the end, he’s like, “But he […]
Flames…FLAMES…on the side of my face…
I don’t think I can handle a coherent review on this one. Sputtering outrage, yes. Actual reasonable thoughts? No. See that picture over there? All those little pieces of paper are where I flagged sexist stuff. There are only two women in the book, basically, so that gap at the beginning is when neither of them had shown up yet, and that gap in the middle was because I just got too tired of outrage. This is your brain on fantasy/sci fi from the 1960s. Sigh. […]
You guys were SO RIGHT
I’ve seen Tana French’s name pop up on CBR over and over, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. This book was SO GOOD. I’m sorry it took me so long to listen to y’all. This story has layers like a decadent, lovingly-crafted cake. On the surface, it’s a detective story. A year ago, a murdered student was found on the grounds between a boys’ school and a girls’ school. Even with intense pressure from parents and school administrators to solve […]
A brief visit to New Crobuzon and other exotic locales
Books of short stories are always hard to review, and China Mieville books are also hard to review, so I’m not sure how much I have to say about this one. I love China, and his books always make me think, and he’s amazing at atmosphere. He’s in this weird in-between limbo where I’d almost call him one of my favorite authors, but none of his actual books would make my favorites books list. I’ve been spacing out and savoring his stuff since I discovered him two Cannonballs […]
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