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kcraig73's reviews
43 reviews
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was a call out post. I can see why sad people love this book.
Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The book overall is middling. Some passages and chapters blew me away with exquisite writing, beautiful prose, and gory details. Other sections of the book felt overdone or like they were trying too hard to be edgy or shocking. I think to call this book “feminist” horror is a real stretch. I don’t think there’s anything “feminist” about Maeve. She hates women just as much as any other horror protagonist and the men in this book get off easy. The ending is still wrapped up in a tired narrative about a woman going crazy because she can’t handle her emotions after falling in love “for the first time”. An okay horror book but mostly forgettable.
To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Beautifully written but the prose was slightly too flowery for me. I think it was written poetically to make the grotesque bits easier to stomach (pun intended) but I don’t feel that it was necessary. I don’t think this book should be considered “extreme horror” (some parts are gross but that doesn’t make it “extreme”). I loved the premise and the way everything clicked together in the final chapter. However, this book wasn’t quite *there* for me. I felt like there was something still missing. So it’s going to be 4 stars from me.
The Imagist Poem by William Pratt
relaxing
slow-paced
3.0
William Pratt’s expansive introduction does a great job detailing the history and importance of the Imagist movement and it’s key players, that alone makes it worth the read. 3 stars - some poems I liked, some I didn’t.
Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects by Bertrand Russell
informative
medium-paced
3.0
The title essay was not very compelling but the other essays were well written and far more compelling. Some the works featured here are products of their time and don’t necessarily reflect the values of modern philosophy but it’s still an indispensable work overall. Russell’s thoughts on the “good life” are especially capturing. His philosophy being that the “good life” should be “inspired by love and guided by knowledge” is timeless.
Three Pearls of Number Theory by A. Y. Khinchin
challenging
informative
slow-paced
I’m sure this book is an excellent explanation on the topic but I do not have the fundamentals to fully understand it, so I will not be giving it a full review.
The Return by Rachel Harrison
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book is middling for me. The supernatural elements were very good though some of them don’t make any sense. For example, what is actually happening with the hotel? I assumed that the hotel was going to be some kind of trap created by Julie because Julie had been missing for two years and the hotel had been open for two years, there was also the moving wallpaper and the shifting architecture, the fact that there is only supposed to be 8 rooms but more than that are described, the terrible weather, etc. Is the hotel under her influence or is it just the character’s fear or a red herring or something else entirely? I also don’t fully understand why Julie was making everyone sick. Was she feeding off of them? Was it just their exposure to her rotting corpse body? What’s going on there? The main character is also deeply unlikeable. The relationship between Elisa and Julie is deeply codependent and I can’t tell if that was supposed to be intentional or not. The book is also very overwritten with many pages of text that could have been completely eliminated from the story as they serve no purpose to the plot. The dialogue in the book was very immature and at some points pretty cringe worthy especially since these women are supposed to be in their 30s but mostly act like they’re in their teens. I did however enjoy the reading experience for this book and read it over one weekend so it’s middling for me.
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Strange from the start, this book’s floating prose captures all the qualities promised in the title. While this book isn’t going to keep me up at night the “rescue distance” between mother and daughter wrenched my heart strings. Definitely an engaging read, I finished it in about two sittings. Leaving the fates of David and Carla unknown was an excellent decision as it leaves the audience to imagine the worst. It reminds us that sometimes the thing that will hurt us the most is the thing we can’t see or feel or taste or control.
Love by Night: A Book of Poetry by S. K. Williams
reflective
medium-paced
1.0
These “poems” are mostly just run-on sentences with awkward spacing. I can count on one hand the number of “poems” I actually liked out of this collection. The organization of the collection doesn’t make sense and is wildly inconsistent. Some poems have titles but most do not. Some poems are two pages but there is no indication for where one poem ends and next begins. The illustrations included are not good and are probably only included to distract from the middling at best poetry. The content of the poems themselves is giving “co-dependent” more than it’s giving “romantic”. I would not recommend this collection to anyone.
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I love Grady Hendrix but this is not his best work. I thought the multiple kind of “false endings” dragged the book out more than necessary and unfortunately highlighted some inconsistencies in the plot. While I thought the relationship between Louise and her brother was well fleshed out, the other relationships in the book were lackluster. Additionally, there were huge inconsistencies in the plot especially regarding the source of the supernatural occurrences and how they are manifest. Enjoyable but forgettable, overall middling for me.