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rkaufman13's reviews
501 reviews
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
5.0
Just...wow. I can't say anything about this book. Go out and get it and read it. Don't let the gimmicky presentation throw you off. Just do it.
Spellsinger by Alan Dean Foster
3.0
Cheesy. Very strange pacing, and characters who are just a tetch too much (the Latina cheerleader "cursed with extreme beauty"? Are you kidding?)
But on the other hand, there are a few gems thrown in here--I laughed out loud when Falameezar made his appearance. And the bugs, or Plated Ones or whatever, are done very well, if only because I adore when people use the word "chitin."
I may read the rest of this series or I may skim it. I'm not sure yet. It was an interesting read and a great diversion on a long bus trip.
But on the other hand, there are a few gems thrown in here--I laughed out loud when Falameezar made his appearance. And the bugs, or Plated Ones or whatever, are done very well, if only because I adore when people use the word "chitin."
I may read the rest of this series or I may skim it. I'm not sure yet. It was an interesting read and a great diversion on a long bus trip.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
1.0
I am a freelance writer with an ego problem. I believe that because of my few bylines, the entire world is scrutinizing everything I do and say. So, to prevent an ill-worded comment made on a messageboard from somehow "getting out and SABOTAGING MY ENTIRE CAREER(!!!!!11!!!1!!!!1111111)" I'm very careful about what I say.
So you better believe me when I say this book was total fucking bullshit.
I'm not buying the crap from the people who say this was a terrifying painfully thought-out mumbledy mumble blah blah mind-expanding book. It was way too much work to follow the different threads of the story for way too little reward. There's nothing wrong with the "story-within-a-story" construct, but the attention to detail to make it seem like a real academic whatever did not serve to make the story more "realistic" or more scary...it just padded what could have been a 50-page book into an Amazon retailer's nightmare.
Don't waste your time. Overhyped.
So you better believe me when I say this book was total fucking bullshit.
I'm not buying the crap from the people who say this was a terrifying painfully thought-out mumbledy mumble blah blah mind-expanding book. It was way too much work to follow the different threads of the story for way too little reward. There's nothing wrong with the "story-within-a-story" construct, but the attention to detail to make it seem like a real academic whatever did not serve to make the story more "realistic" or more scary...it just padded what could have been a 50-page book into an Amazon retailer's nightmare.
Don't waste your time. Overhyped.
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
3.0
I think this book would have been much more impressive if I had been of Kerouac's generation.
However, I'm glad to have read it, and thus add one more notch to my Bedpost O' Canon.
That is a deeply strange metaphor..and I apologize.
However, I'm glad to have read it, and thus add one more notch to my Bedpost O' Canon.
That is a deeply strange metaphor..and I apologize.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
4.0
Wow. Wow. Incredibly well done. This would get 4.5 stars if Goodreads would allow it.
Hamlet is my favorite of Shakespeare's four great tragedies, so I had to pick this up. The story is Hamlet-y enough, but it is so NOT in your face about it. Except for Wrobleski's odd choice to name Edgar's mother Trudy and his uncle Claude, you might not even notice that it's Hamlet until the Mousetrap. Hell, I didn't figure out Polonius until about 20 pages before the arras and I consider myself quite the fan of the play.
Most of the soliloquys make it in in some transmogrified form, recognizable enough to trigger echoes in English majors' heads but not in a stilted or awkward way at all. If anything, they're more powerful for having the modern diction laid over the classic emotions...and not in a "Shakespeare for Dummies" way, I promise.
I don't know how Wrobleski can top this but I look forward to whatever he comes out with next.
Hamlet is my favorite of Shakespeare's four great tragedies, so I had to pick this up. The story is Hamlet-y enough, but it is so NOT in your face about it. Except for Wrobleski's odd choice to name Edgar's mother Trudy and his uncle Claude, you might not even notice that it's Hamlet until the Mousetrap. Hell, I didn't figure out Polonius until about 20 pages before the arras and I consider myself quite the fan of the play.
Most of the soliloquys make it in in some transmogrified form, recognizable enough to trigger echoes in English majors' heads but not in a stilted or awkward way at all. If anything, they're more powerful for having the modern diction laid over the classic emotions...and not in a "Shakespeare for Dummies" way, I promise.
I don't know how Wrobleski can top this but I look forward to whatever he comes out with next.
Camp Camp: Where Fantasy Island Meets Lord of the Flies by Jules Shell, Roger Bennett
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Kind of funny, but the book is endless. Could have been half the size.
Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare by Jeremy Butterfield
4.0
A fascinating study of words *as people actually use them.* Most books on language do not have the power of the Corpus behind them, which is what makes Damp Squid so special.
This book is written for a British English audience, which means that even hardcore linguaphiles like myself will be kept slightly off-balance the entire time. Even during the introductory, English-comes-from-German-and-1066-blah-blah-blah portions you won't find yourself bored (unless you've also studied British English, I guess).
The origin of the title, apparently a common phrase across the pond, isn't glossed until Chapter 6. Or an exercise in collocation--"What word most naturally comes at the end of this sentence?" isn't as dead simple for American English speakers as it would have been for Brits.
Have a very basic knowledge of Brit slang before going into this, or be willing to Google: if you don't know what a chav or a lorry is, you may be thrown a little too much off balance.
Definitely recommended for any word lovers.
This book is written for a British English audience, which means that even hardcore linguaphiles like myself will be kept slightly off-balance the entire time. Even during the introductory, English-comes-from-German-and-1066-blah-blah-blah portions you won't find yourself bored (unless you've also studied British English, I guess).
The origin of the title, apparently a common phrase across the pond, isn't glossed until Chapter 6. Or an exercise in collocation--"What word most naturally comes at the end of this sentence?" isn't as dead simple for American English speakers as it would have been for Brits.
Have a very basic knowledge of Brit slang before going into this, or be willing to Google: if you don't know what a chav or a lorry is, you may be thrown a little too much off balance.
Definitely recommended for any word lovers.
Pornology by Ayn Carrillo Gailey
2.0
A few pages of actually interesting information, but most of the book was far too affected for me. The author has conversations that are supposedly "real" though they stretch the power of suspension of disbelief mightily.
Reads like a "Sex in the City" knockoff, with statistics.
Reads like a "Sex in the City" knockoff, with statistics.
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
4.0
Not *quite* as good as Solitude, but close.