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randanopterix's reviews
61 reviews
Spear by Nicola Griffith
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I didn’t hate this book, but I also didn’t really like it. I just don’t know how a book with 167 pages could possibly feel slow but this book has figured it out.
I sometimes felt that the prose was so occupied with itself that it forgot the primary purpose of conveying a story. I spent the first 30 pages of the book thinking that the main character’s name was Elen, which is her mother’s name.
Parts of the book had nice cozy vibes but I just couldn’t really get myself closer than an arms length away from being actually invested.
I sometimes felt that the prose was so occupied with itself that it forgot the primary purpose of conveying a story. I spent the first 30 pages of the book thinking that the main character’s name was Elen, which is her mother’s name.
Parts of the book had nice cozy vibes but I just couldn’t really get myself closer than an arms length away from being actually invested.
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.0
This was a good trashy palette cleanser. Nonsensical but fun pulp, easy to consume in a day. I’m giving it a 2.5 but like, it was an enjoyable 2.5. I don’t think it was good but I had a good time and that’s what matters.
Circe by Madeline Miller
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.25
Fantastic and juicy investigative journalism into one of the biggest shit shows ever masterfully hidden. A couple of points deducted just because the books greatest triumph - it's extensive detail - get's somewhat exhausting towards the middle of the book when you've gotten used to the routine of being introduced to a new 'character' (they're real people so I don't think character is quite the right word) and hearing them describe the same ways that Theranos's machines never worked.
The book picks up significantly once the journalist himself enters the narrative and you can see Theranos's downfall on the horizon.
If you like 5 hour Youtube videos covering in granular detail subjects you've never heard of before, this is the book for you.
The book picks up significantly once the journalist himself enters the narrative and you can see Theranos's downfall on the horizon.
If you like 5 hour Youtube videos covering in granular detail subjects you've never heard of before, this is the book for you.
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I thought I had read this once in grade school in my textbook a long time ago and so when I saw that it was available on Libby, I picked it up out of curiosity. Turns out I did NOT read this book. The version in my dreadful Pearson textbook was an aggressively abbreviated version that diluted the point of the novel down to "He was stupid at the beginning, then he got smart, then he was stupid again at the end. Isn't that just so sad?" Stripping out all of the relevant ethical questions about society's treatment of mentally disabled people, the abuse of disabled children, and the cloying pity and dehumanization of disabled people by advocacy groups and medical science.
This book is a misery (this is definitely the point). I spent much of this book in two minds, feeling chafed at first by the writing style of early progress report entries, feeling like they are a little too stereotypical in the way they portray Charlie's mind and writing. I can justify the choices made here reasonably, to make early-book Charlie as likeable and innocent as possible to contrast with his changed self later in the story, but it still bothers. I was then chafed by how the main character is genuinely unlikeable in the further entries in the story (this is also the point, I'm aware).
What I wasn't expecting from this story was the complicated social commentary on the treatment of people like Charlie. The book is a thought experiment asking, "what if someone with a mental disability was capable, if only for a short time, of expressing themselves. What horrors could they tell?" I was pleased to discover that the book, when recounting the tragedy of Charlie, was direct in displaying that the misery he suffered as someone with a mental disability was not necessarily a direct result of his disability but rather a result of the unjust treatment from the people around him and the long-lasting trauma of his mother's abuse.
You get the sense that Charlie maybe even could learn to read and write on some level, but the stress of trauma, the threat of being beaten if he made a mistake has created severe mental blocks that will keep him from meeting his true potential for the rest of his life. The true tragedy of this story is that Charlie could have been happy, if only a hand had been extended to him in kindness and patience early in his life instead of frustration and cruelty.
I'm going to include some quotes in here just because I won't be able to reference them later after I return this book to the library:
"But what you did for me - wonderful as it is - doesn't give you the right to treat me like an experimental animal. I'm an individual now, and so was Charlie before he ever walked into that lab."
"But I know now there's one thing you've all overlooked: intelligence and education that hasn't been tempered by human affection isn't worth a damn."
"Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But all too often a search for knowledge drives out the search for love."
I only looked up the publication date after I was done but I can certainly see why this book was so significant for the time (1959!) and a lot of the questions raised in it are still relevant to this day, almost 65 years later. It's a beautiful, heartbreaking, thoughtful, miserable book.
This book is a misery (this is definitely the point). I spent much of this book in two minds, feeling chafed at first by the writing style of early progress report entries, feeling like they are a little too stereotypical in the way they portray Charlie's mind and writing. I can justify the choices made here reasonably, to make early-book Charlie as likeable and innocent as possible to contrast with his changed self later in the story, but it still bothers. I was then chafed by how the main character is genuinely unlikeable in the further entries in the story (this is also the point, I'm aware).
What I wasn't expecting from this story was the complicated social commentary on the treatment of people like Charlie. The book is a thought experiment asking, "what if someone with a mental disability was capable, if only for a short time, of expressing themselves. What horrors could they tell?" I was pleased to discover that the book, when recounting the tragedy of Charlie, was direct in displaying that the misery he suffered as someone with a mental disability was not necessarily a direct result of his disability but rather a result of the unjust treatment from the people around him and the long-lasting trauma of his mother's abuse.
You get the sense that Charlie maybe even could learn to read and write on some level, but the stress of trauma, the threat of being beaten if he made a mistake has created severe mental blocks that will keep him from meeting his true potential for the rest of his life. The true tragedy of this story is that Charlie could have been happy, if only a hand had been extended to him in kindness and patience early in his life instead of frustration and cruelty.
I'm going to include some quotes in here just because I won't be able to reference them later after I return this book to the library:
"But what you did for me - wonderful as it is - doesn't give you the right to treat me like an experimental animal. I'm an individual now, and so was Charlie before he ever walked into that lab."
"But I know now there's one thing you've all overlooked: intelligence and education that hasn't been tempered by human affection isn't worth a damn."
"Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But all too often a search for knowledge drives out the search for love."
I only looked up the publication date after I was done but I can certainly see why this book was so significant for the time (1959!) and a lot of the questions raised in it are still relevant to this day, almost 65 years later. It's a beautiful, heartbreaking, thoughtful, miserable book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Babel by R.F. Kuang
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0