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thogek's reviews
428 reviews
A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life by Robert Mcgill
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ever notice how it seems that, pretty much no matter what a new technology is invented for, someone will discover other uses for it, and some of those uses may become as (or more) popular than the intended? That's sort of what happens here with "flatpacking".
At its core, A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life is the stories of two young women, struggling and persisting through two very different collections of oppressively unfair life circumstances, until multiple highly "off-label" uses of "flatpacking" pull their two lives and struggles into close contact, forever changing both in unexpected—and arguably "suitable" if not ideally happy—ways.
Plenty of other factors, including a decimating "worm" epidemic, very real (but not story-bludgeoning) elements of body dysmorphia and anorexia nervosa, multiple forms of family/parental neglect, and a hopeless addict with his weird "horseshoe" drug, all add dimension and drivers to different parts of the story, making for an interesting, colorful, depiction of believably real human problems struggling in a slightly weirded near-future world.
I agree with Zadie Smith's cited quotation that Robert McGill, in assembling this very creative and very human story, does indeed "know what he's doing".
One quibble: the tagline description "where people are treated like IKEA furniture" is much overstated. The story stands out well enough on its own without this misleading hyperbole.
At its core, A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life is the stories of two young women, struggling and persisting through two very different collections of oppressively unfair life circumstances, until multiple highly "off-label" uses of "flatpacking" pull their two lives and struggles into close contact, forever changing both in unexpected—and arguably "suitable" if not ideally happy—ways.
Plenty of other factors, including a decimating "worm" epidemic, very real (but not story-bludgeoning) elements of body dysmorphia and anorexia nervosa, multiple forms of family/parental neglect, and a hopeless addict with his weird "horseshoe" drug, all add dimension and drivers to different parts of the story, making for an interesting, colorful, depiction of believably real human problems struggling in a slightly weirded near-future world.
I agree with Zadie Smith's cited quotation that Robert McGill, in assembling this very creative and very human story, does indeed "know what he's doing".
One quibble: the tagline description "where people are treated like IKEA furniture" is much overstated. The story stands out well enough on its own without this misleading hyperbole.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Climaturity: A Journey Into the Muddy Climate Middle by Marc Cortez
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
In Climaturity, Marc Cortez outlines the foundational basics of modern climate science practices: the measured, the assumed, the projected, and the political. He clearly states that we have a real rising-temperatures problem, but that we also have a severely muddied view of the "the science" feeding a heated divide whose sides are both more grounded in faith and politics than in science which is just as much of a problem.
Climaturity doesn't lay out all of the real science for us; that'd take far more than this slim tome. But it does shine a light on the hard science vs. the unfounded assumptions, the empirical data vs. the theoretical models, and how the distortion feeds the fanaticism and politics that have diverged from the verifiable science and may or may not be steering us in directions that will address the very real problem.
"We've spent trillions on solutions that haven't made a dent, the rhetoric has grown more divisive and apocalyptic, and the only tangible results are scared children and ineffective climate policies... If we really want to solve this problem, it's going to take all of us... We need an open discussion. We need to complete all the half-truths that are out there and understand the limitations of what everyone's telling us."
It's an easy read (no science degrees required) and an eye-opener. If you're concerned about rising global temperatures and about how that truly affects us and whether we're directing our money and efforts in useful directions, it's definitely worth the read.
Climaturity doesn't lay out all of the real science for us; that'd take far more than this slim tome. But it does shine a light on the hard science vs. the unfounded assumptions, the empirical data vs. the theoretical models, and how the distortion feeds the fanaticism and politics that have diverged from the verifiable science and may or may not be steering us in directions that will address the very real problem.
"We've spent trillions on solutions that haven't made a dent, the rhetoric has grown more divisive and apocalyptic, and the only tangible results are scared children and ineffective climate policies... If we really want to solve this problem, it's going to take all of us... We need an open discussion. We need to complete all the half-truths that are out there and understand the limitations of what everyone's telling us."
It's an easy read (no science degrees required) and an eye-opener. If you're concerned about rising global temperatures and about how that truly affects us and whether we're directing our money and efforts in useful directions, it's definitely worth the read.
Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Killing Floor by Lee Child
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Brief Cases: More Stories from The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
- 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
Timescape by Gregory Benford, Hilary Benford, Domingo Santos
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A Trillion Trees: Restoring Our Forests by Trusting in Nature by Fred Pearce
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Fred Pearce's A Trillion Trees is great eye-opening education on the action and importance of trees and forests in the Earth's overall biosphere and hydrosphere, the practices and policies that threaten that importance (contributing to local and possibly global climate changes), plus plenty of high-profile plans mitigate or reverse the damage that don't seem to work so well and some quieter ones that do.
There's a lot in there, and it can feel like a lot to absorb, but it's all woven together nicely and presented in a story-telling style that I found easy to read and follow. Even if I don't remember every event and concept presented, I did come away with a significantly expanded understanding of the important role trees and forests play in Earth's climate, how the effects of that role has changed over time in response to extensive logging and deforesting, replanting projects, and both government and indigenous approaches to land and forest management.
If you're interested in and/or concerned about Earth's climate and water cycles, how they've changed over time, and what we might be doing to them, A Trillion Trees feels like a must-read.
There's a lot in there, and it can feel like a lot to absorb, but it's all woven together nicely and presented in a story-telling style that I found easy to read and follow. Even if I don't remember every event and concept presented, I did come away with a significantly expanded understanding of the important role trees and forests play in Earth's climate, how the effects of that role has changed over time in response to extensive logging and deforesting, replanting projects, and both government and indigenous approaches to land and forest management.
If you're interested in and/or concerned about Earth's climate and water cycles, how they've changed over time, and what we might be doing to them, A Trillion Trees feels like a must-read.
Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejidé
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Creatures of Passage is an unusual novel in today's landscape, but one I'm glad I got to experience.
The cultural background formed by mostly Gullah peoples making (or perhaps passing through) their lives in the poor DC neighborhood of Anacostia in what feels like an alternate-universe version of the United States but sometimes doesn't, woven through with various elements of what might be called urban fantasy or magical realism but so smoothly so that every weave clearly belongs right where it is, and told from a richly fluid word-of-mouth storyteller-historian point of view that here and there touches on the poetic, all delivers a rich story experience built on top of what it otherwise a relatively simple story.
Creatures of Passage is just different and odd enough that I don't know that I ever would have found it myself if I hadn't happened across its foggy blue cover in a LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway. I came to much appreciate my seconds minutes hours with it, though I had no way of knowing this at the time... ;-)
The cultural background formed by mostly Gullah peoples making (or perhaps passing through) their lives in the poor DC neighborhood of Anacostia in what feels like an alternate-universe version of the United States but sometimes doesn't, woven through with various elements of what might be called urban fantasy or magical realism but so smoothly so that every weave clearly belongs right where it is, and told from a richly fluid word-of-mouth storyteller-historian point of view that here and there touches on the poetic, all delivers a rich story experience built on top of what it otherwise a relatively simple story.
Creatures of Passage is just different and odd enough that I don't know that I ever would have found it myself if I hadn't happened across its foggy blue cover in a LibraryThing Early Reviewers giveaway. I came to much appreciate my seconds minutes hours with it, though I had no way of knowing this at the time... ;-)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Cursing and Suicide
Directive 51 by John Barnes
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
- 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
4.0