%rec: Book %key: Title %typedef: Positive range 0 5 %type: Rating Positive %type: Read date %sort: Read %mandatory: Title Author Rating Title: The Convenience Store by the Sea Author: Sonoko Machida Pages: 304 Rating: 5 Read: Sun, 06 Apr 2025 05:21:03 -0700 Review: This hit the spot. So cozy, so relaxing. I've been having anxiety lately and this was the perfect balm. It's a great intro into the genre as well. Title: Zero Hour: And Other Modern Stories (Cambridge English Readers) Author: Michael Swan Pages: 144 Rating: 3 Read: Sun, 30 Mar 2025 12:04:50 -0700 Review: This is an interesting collection. I didn't realize it was meant to teach English when I picked it up. The story choices are good and I bet it would make for excellent classroom discussion. The vocabulary annotations are a bit distracting, though I suppose quite functional if you're the target audience. Title: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga, #1) Author: Andrew Peterson Pages: 290 Rating: 2 Read: Sat, 29 Mar 2025 06:57:25 -0700 Review: Nothing really stood out for me. The tone was inconsistent. Sometimes the names of things and the nonsense made it sound fun and silly but that wasn't matched by the action or characters. Title: Murder by Memory (Dorothy Gentleman, #1) Author: Olivia Waite Pages: 112 Rating: 3 Read: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 17:19:56 -0700 Review: There's a lot of world building crammed into this tight little mystery. The main character has great energy and a clear voice. I'd be interested in reading more. Title: The Accidental Apprentice (Wilderlore #1) Author: Amanda Foody Pages: 304 Rating: 2 Read: Wed, 26 Mar 2025 18:40:11 -0700 Review: This is a pretty basic story which had potential to be a cute adventure but sort of gave up. Instead we got a half-assed magic school/magic trial without the world building to pay it off. The biggest issue is the whining characters, though. Really quite annoying. Title: The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science (The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science #1) Author: Kate McKinnon Pages: 244 Rating: 5 Read: Mon, 24 Mar 2025 04:39:36 -0700 Review: This is a pure delight to listen to, and it definitely deserves to be listened to. Kate McKinnon's performance is remarkable and carries the same whimsy as the story itself. The Porch sisters deserve to become classics. I'm going to pass this book on to my son who I hope will enjoy it as much as I did. Title: Tigana Author: Guy Gavriel Kay Pages: 676 Rating: 3 Read: Mon, 24 Mar 2025 04:34:52 -0700 Review: Lowering this to 3-stars upon re-read. The language is flowing and flowery, sometimes poetic and sometimes nauseating. The story is compelling and the themes thoroughly explored through a variety of characters. The pace of the book is glacial, however. The motivations of some characters seems unfounded as well. Certainly there is a great deal of passion for those who lost their homeland and its cultural identity, but for others, including one of our main protagonists who have no memory of the place their passion and self-sacrifice seems unearned. Sadly, the majority of the characters are also quite flat. We meet them after they have transitioned into their new mindsets, not before. When we do see a change in action it's sudden and hollow. +I liked this book, but that's all. Title: The Maidens Author: Alex Michaelides Pages: 337 Rating: 2 Read: Wed, 12 Mar 2025 05:26:05 -0700 Review: This started out decent enough, but it became quickly clear that we weren't going to get any real character development. Story elements seemed scraped together from the author's personal experiences, which isn't bad in itself, but they didn't really fit with the story being told. Such a deep connection to Greek myths and geography for a story set in a school in England? I dunno, it just didn't mesh. The real harm here is the plot holes. The story just didn't work. Title: Wool Omnibus (Silo, #1) Author: Hugh Howey Pages: 509 Rating: 3 Read: Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:28:27 -0700 Review: Pretty enjoyable. The greater story builds exposure at a decent rate and there's a few legitimate surprises. Mostly, though, the main character squeaks by through luck more than agency, which is a pet peeve of mine. Still, I'll do book 2. Title: The Lost Metal (Mistborn, #7) Author: Brandon Sanderson Pages: 507 Rating: 4 Read: Mon, 03 Mar 2025 17:08:17 -0800 Review: An effective ending to era 2 that leaves us feeling both completion and a sense of unease for what's coming next. I liked the Wayne story best. Title: Mistborn: Secret History Author: Brandon Sanderson Pages: 149 Rating: 3 Read: Mon, 03 Mar 2025 17:06:59 -0800 Review: Nice way to fill in the missing bits of Kelsier and shed light on a couple mysteries. I'm not sure it needed to be a book though. This could have been interludes in era 2 or something else. Title: The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn, #6) Author: Brandon Sanderson Pages: 455 Rating: 4 Read: Sat, 22 Feb 2025 04:31:18 -0800 Review: Another read and I think I'll stick with the 4-stars on this one. Sanderson is getting stronger in his writing at this time and not just on the plot points. His characters have more depth. Steris is a great example. Things round out and the worlds feel lush and real. Title: Beware of Chicken 4 (Beware of Chicken, #4) Author: CasualFarmer Pages: 724 Rating: 4 Read: Sat, 22 Feb 2025 04:29:46 -0800 Review: Back to the cozy farm with out lovable cast of characters. I really enjoy spending time with them even when not much is happening. That's the point, though, isn't it? It's extra fun when there's big events swirling in the background that you know won't actually be a big problem when they come for our heroes. Cozy to the max. Title: The Moons of Jupiter and Other Stories Author: Alice Munro Pages: 233 Rating: 4 Read: Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:18:15 -0800 Review: Each story is a juicy but of fruit popping and filling your mouth with a familiar tartness of a branch in the woods, hinting at sweetness but complex and raw. She's so good at this. Title: [Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism (Mythos: The Princeton/Bollingen Series in World Mythology)] [Author: Eliade, Mircea] [June, 1991] Author: Mircea Eliade Pages: 0 Rating: 4 Read: Sat, 15 Feb 2025 07:44:12 -0800 Review: This is a fantastic little book outlining universal (I know, I know!) symbols. There's summer fantastic arguments for how we can think about these archetypes to better understand ourselves beyond plain old historicity. Title: The Night Watch Author: Patrick Modiano Pages: 160 Rating: 4 Read: Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:01:47 -0800 Review: I liked this more than I expected to. The writing really does give the sense of the occupation as something of a fever dream. I'm reminded of early cartoons where the figures are distorted and grossly proportioned, and never cease their movement. The Gestapo parties felt like that and it gave the casual cruelty an unnatural sense of reality. The characterization is likewise a strange success. A character we clearly shouldn't sympathize with grows with the struggle to find an identity. Traitor or more? This feels very personal on some levels and the feeling it captures of this time and life is also so unique for works about the time period. Worth a read, even if I had difficulty following references and language changes occasionally. Title: Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5) Author: Brandon Sanderson Pages: 376 Rating: 4 Read: Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:55:42 -0800 Review: My review holds. A four star start to the era 2 trilogy. Some great twists and surprises at the end, and a real gut punch for our hero. Title: The Alloy of Law (Mistborn, #4) Author: Brandon Sanderson Pages: 325 Rating: 3 Read: Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:52:03 -0800 Review: Yeah, still a solid 3. This one isn't up to the level of Sanderson's normal works at this time, but it makes sense. It was a writing exercise that got away from him. A good time, but not a super memorable one. Title: Midnight at the Blackbird Café Author: Heather Webber Pages: 336 Rating: 4 Read: Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:06:04 -0800 Review: There's some real charm in this small town, and a whole lot of family pain to work through. Thankfully a good piece of pie can work magic. Title: Fire Study (Study, #3) Author: Maria V. Snyder Pages: 441 Rating: 1 Read: Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:05:03 -0800 Review: This is where the series really seems to lose its way. More hodgepodge of action that makes less sense the more you think about it. I think it's a shame since there's some interesting world building, it's just not well plotted. Title: Breakfast at Tiffany's Author: Truman Capote Pages: 76 Rating: 3 Read: Thu, 06 Feb 2025 23:44:53 -0800 Review: Quite a bit different from the movie. Strange that the movie would cut out the major plot of the book and end where the book is only half finished. Very strange indeed. Title: Time Travelling with a Hamster Author: Ross Welford Pages: 400 Rating: 5 Read: Mon, 03 Feb 2025 04:17:34 -0800 Review: Beautiful, personal. This is an absolute delight. Title: Blood & Steel (The Legends of Thezmarr, #1) Author: Helen Scheuerer Pages: 550 Rating: 1 Read: Sat, 01 Feb 2025 17:52:24 -0800 Review: I should have stopped it after the fourth time the main characters celadon eyes were mentioned. This book was terrible. Trope filled, predictable, with obnoxious petulant characters. The main characters have no chemistry and feel like young teens yet are in their twenties and thirties. The romance angle doesn't work and the special girl who craves becoming a legend works even less. Title: Magic Study (Study, #2) Author: Maria V. Snyder Pages: 392 Rating: 2 Read: Sat, 01 Feb 2025 17:35:20 -0800 Review: This second book in the series really suffered for the lack of planning. It felt aimless throughout. Significant sections were rushed while unimportant ones stretched on. There are still some interesting characters but motivations for several made no sense. I'm pressing onward hoping book 3 shows more promise, otherwise I think I'll be done with the series. Title: Poison Study (Study, #1) Author: Maria V. Snyder Pages: 427 Rating: 4 Read: Sun, 26 Jan 2025 13:06:36 -0800 Review: I'm giving this an extra star on this second reading. There's plenty here to enjoy. It's not masterfully crafted or written, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. I'm really excited for book 2. Title: Commerce Emperor: A Progression Fantasy Epic Author: Maxime J. Durand Pages: 498 Rating: 1 Read: Tue, 21 Jan 2025 17:28:26 -0800 Review: I was duped by the really high ratings. This is one of those wish-fulfillment overpowered main character stories. Not only that, the main character is pretty awful. Title: The Warehouse Author: Rob Hart Pages: 368 Rating: 1 Read: Sat, 18 Jan 2025 10:31:48 -0800 Review: DNF. +So... someone spent some time working an an Amazon warehouse and thought, "This is dystopian! I should write it as a book." Everything is so basically surface-coded. There's a lot of awful, but it's too on the nose to present reality for my tastes. Title: The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore Author: Evan Friss Pages: 416 Rating: 4 Read: Sat, 18 Jan 2025 10:29:08 -0800 Review: One of those stars is for my own personal nostalgia for spaces where I spent so much of my youth, but the other three are easily earned by a rich historical story explored with energy and interest. If you're a book person--and you are because you're reading this--you'll probably enjoy this book. Title: Raven's Ruin (The Keeper Origins, #2) Author: J.A. Andrews Pages: 728 Rating: 2 Read: Sat, 18 Jan 2025 10:27:09 -0800 Review: This one turned into a slog. The main character's choices seemed to come less and less from a place of self-motivation and more in reaction to nonsensical actions of those around her. The activity that underlay the first book sort of fizzled out here and I lost a sense of urgency or importance in actions. There's a lot here left unexplored because our cast was too busy having miscommunications from not speaking when the opportunity was present. I'm not sure if I'll do number three. Title: The Hidden People Author: Alison Littlewood Pages: 374 Rating: 2 Read: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:48:35 -0800 Review: Very good scene painting, world building, and vibe creating. Very weak pacing and character development. There's a relationship at the heart of the story I just didn't buy into. It wasn't properly developed and it sat wrong the whole time. I think if we never saw the characters as kids at all it might have been better off than what we witness. Instead of filling in the blanks on a close relationship they used to have, I have to take what I have seen and try to believe Albie's take on it. +I'll also be honest, the title made me think of the Icelandic hidden folk. This changling representation from English folklore didn't fully scratch that itch, and the attitudes of the people in the story felt over the top as well. I guess it added to the gothic feel, but it never quite added up for me. Title: Nevertell Author: Katharine Orton Pages: 384 Rating: 2 Read: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:42:14 -0800 Review: It was okay. I think the historical fiction aspects of the book worked far better than the attempts at fantasy. Those were haphazard and inconsistently used. It felt a bit like an excuse to just throw something else in the mix. None of those elements felt tangibly real in a world that was being otherwise painted with a very precise brush. +Characters were interesting. Lina and Bogdan were incredibly resilient, but without the same sort of Russian pessimistic resilience I see in things like Chekhov (read concurrently). Maybe that was one of the fantasy elements, honestly. It felt out of place. The struggles they faced wash over but don't touch them. Imagine instead the depth of a character who is broken and struggling to heal while moving forward. It's an opportunity for complexity and connection we just don't get. +I'm probably going for forget most of what happened in here by next week, which is sad since the premise is so interesting. Title: I Am Traitor Author: Sif Sigmarsdóttir Pages: 394 Rating: 1 Read: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:31:43 -0800 Review: DNF. Felt like a mess. The humans weren't well written and the aliens even worse. It also felt like nothing much happened, which is weird considering the plot. The biggest shame for me is that we finally have an Icelandic writer publishing something outside of crime and horror. Sci-fi! Woo! But it fell flat. +I picked this book up on the free pile outside the library, so I guess I see why it was there. Title: Annie Bot Author: Sierra Greer Pages: 231 Rating: 5 Read: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:27:01 -0800 Review: There's obviously connections to be made here to Klara and the Sun. The stories go in two very different directions though. Reading this one I felt at odds with my own questions of sentience and morality and my current disposition toward artificial intelligence. I'm highly satisfied with the ending, though. It really could have gone another way. That way might have left me in a more untethered state and probably would have gotten some praise from a certain literary point of view, but I don't ultimately think it was necessary. The ending we get doesn't preclude us from deep questions, but it does some small justice to the characters. +If you enjoyed Klara, you might enjoy this. There's a lot of sexual activity in the book, though, and of questionable consent. That may be a problem for some readers. Title: The Night Guest Author: Hildur Knútsdóttir Pages: 197 Rating: 3 Read: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:22:32 -0800 Review: This is my second or third Icelandic crime/horror story and it really fits the mold well. The author has a very comfortable use of chapter organization to make the story move swiftly. I read this over two evenings leisurely but the second half flies by with many very tiny chapters. +I think there's something nice about the unknown left at the end of the story, but the quick wrap-up also makes this feel a bit like a campfire ghost story designed for a thrill, but no real payoff. There's some bigger things hinted at which aren't explored at all. Would this have been better if it were longer and we spent more time going down those pathways? I'm really not sure. I think my desire for it comes from other fiction and genre works outside of the nordic horror-sphere. From my limited exposure, this choice seems to be a trend here. Title: Small Things Like These Author: Claire Keegan Pages: 128 Rating: 4 Read: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:18:01 -0800 Review: I read my first Keegan story last year and it was great. This one I bought as a jólabókaflöð gift for my wife. She finished it in a night, so I picked it up after her and did the same. It's such a tight story, filled with small moments and skirting the edge of immense evil. It really sits on your heart at the end. Highly recommended! Title: Uncle Vanya Author: Anton Chekhov Pages: 116 Rating: 3 Read: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:16:04 -0800 Review: The more Russian lit I get through the more clear that soul of a people becomes. This is a brutal play through small things. I read it at the same time as a novella about small joys and evils in Ireland and the two resonanted well. It's hard to judge the craftsmanship of dialogue or character in a play like this one, made of a different time and place. I think it nails its goals well. I'd like to see it performed sometime. I expect there's a lot more depth I'm missing which would come through in performance. Title: Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5) Author: Brandon Sanderson Pages: 1344 Rating: 5 Read: Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:12:39 -0800 Review: AHHHH!!!!! +I love this series and the whole Cosmere so much. I'm really excited to have some friends dragged along in the series with me. Now all of you hurry up and catch up so I can rant about things with you. Title: Blackmail Bay Author: Maxwell Grant Pages: 28 Rating: 3 Read: Tue, 24 Dec 2024 03:07:23 -0800 Review: Title: Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles, #2) Author: T.J. Klune Pages: 416 Rating: 0 Read: Thu, 19 Dec 2024 05:52:51 -0800 Review: Title: Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting Author: Mother Mary Francis Pages: 222 Rating: 4 Read: Wed, 18 Dec 2024 11:24:42 -0800 Review: Title: The 48 Laws of Power Author: Robert Greene Pages: 452 Rating: 1 Read: Thu, 12 Dec 2024 16:01:53 -0800 Review: In keeping with my recent books that are just freaking evil, this might take the cake. Greene read Machiavelli and thought, "amateur." Avoid friends, work with enemies. Betray everyone. Be in it for yourself. This is the drivel we push at leaders? No wonder everything is awful. +Compare this with the Analects of Confucius. There we see how to make a better society through self improvement, ethics, family, and wisdom. What do 48 Laws of Power get you? A lonely death bed full of regrets. +This isn't just a bad book, it's a harmful one. Title: The Analects Author: Confucius Pages: 249 Rating: 3 Read: Thu, 12 Dec 2024 15:56:58 -0800 Review: One of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Books" rel="nofollow noopener">Four Books and Five Classics</a>, this book is pretty enlightening regarding Chinese culture and history. The actual content gets a bit repetitive, but that's to be expected of these type of classics. It's also not quite as thought provoking as the Tao Te Ching. Still, it's a solid book and really has a lot to say. +I tried grabbing quotes from it via my Kindle as I was reading, but the Project Gutenberg version I was reading didn't support it. It's probably for the best, though. I would have had entirely too many quotes. +What is it really about? What's the central message, you might ask? It's a book about virtue and how to live. It's a book about propriety and "good". +<blockquote>"If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good."</blockquote> Title: The Man Who Would Be King Author: Rudyard Kipling Pages: 96 Rating: 4 Read: Thu, 12 Dec 2024 15:56:34 -0800 Review: Title: Dragon's Reach (The Keeper Origins, #1) Author: J.A. Andrews Pages: 614 Rating: 4 Read: Sun, 08 Dec 2024 14:06:49 -0800 Review: This is a really strong series starter. I really enjoy the setting, characters, world building, and the tension level is high. Very excited to continue. Title: The Art of Thinking Clearly Author: Rolf Dobelli Pages: 384 Rating: 1 Read: Sun, 08 Dec 2024 11:16:50 -0800 Review: I picked this up thinking it was going to do what's on the tin, and focus on the most impactful cognitive biases and how to prepare yourself against them. It really does seem like it's on track for that in the first few pages, and then it all goes to hell. +I don't think this book is well researched, organized, or edited. Specifically I think it lacked critical reading by the editorial team in questioning what Dobelli was presenting. The surface level of things seems to work, but as soon as the examples start flowing you start getting this weird feeling that maybe the author doesn't actually know the subject matter at all. +Frankly, someone should write this book. We should have a modern rhetoric series that's available to pop-audiences and non-academics. It should be fun, engaging, and fly off the shelves. It would help the world tremendously. This just isn't that book. Title: On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction Author: William Zinsser Pages: 321 Rating: 3 Read: Sun, 08 Dec 2024 11:10:24 -0800 Review: Rewriting is the essence of writing. Yes yes yes. +Simplicity, strip-it-down, cut the fat, eliminate words with no purpose. And here I find myself thinking, "but..." This method, the Zinsser method, works for a lot of use cases. I'll give him that, and I'll try to close the door on my devils advocate. There's exceptions to every rule, right? +The book practices what it preaches. It's very efficient and packed with specific advice. I appreciate that and I think it really helped make this accessible and actionable for a lot of people. +Overall, this is a very good book on writing nonfiction. Title: Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life Author: Héctor García Pages: 208 Rating: 1 Read: Sun, 08 Dec 2024 11:03:01 -0800 Review: Another complete waste of a book. +How much of this book is about ikigai? Maybe 2%. +What is this book about instead? A collection of random wellness fads from across the globe loosely stitched together without much rhyme or reason. Only some of that wellness content is even japanese. Get ready for some Seneca quotes! +But what about the "secret to a long and happy life"? Um... he talked about old people for a while. He lived in a place where there were lots of them, but then didn't actually dive into their wisdom. Title: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Author: Yuval Noah Harari Pages: 512 Rating: 1 Read: Sun, 08 Dec 2024 10:53:00 -0800 Review: This is a pretty strange rant. Agriculture was a mistake, eh? The book is a collection of hot takes, a mimatch of logic and cherry-picked stats without context trying to paint a picture that fits the world view Harari is peddling. The heavy reliance on everything that humans have created for society as a dillusion, magic, or make-believe gives him the freedom to criticize freely while offering alternatives that don't actually address his underlying criticism. Occasionally he dives into some scientific sounding topic, rattling off a bit of medical jargon or physics, and then he uses that as a leap-pad for some absurd statement. +Just skip this one. It's BS. Title: How to Train Your Memory (How To: Academy) Author: Phil Chambers Pages: 144 Rating: 2 Read: Fri, 06 Dec 2024 05:44:01 -0800 Review: Same old techniques. Memory palace, mneumonics, association, etc. It's just kinda bland and dry. The stories don't add much. Exercises are fine. Title: Principles: Life and Work Author: Ray Dalio Pages: 16 Rating: 3 Read: Fri, 06 Dec 2024 04:20:06 -0800 Review: This is pretty good. From a business sense my company has been doing well adapting and trying to operate according to the values we have chosen. Taking that a step further into the development of principles, perhaps not on an organizational level, but a personal one, could be a big helper in grounding those values into actions. +There's a lot more beyond the idea of principles themselves, and at times it felt like Dalio was just going off on his personal habits on random topics. Overall there's some good depth to be found. Title: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones Author: James Clear Pages: 319 Rating: 2 Read: Fri, 06 Dec 2024 04:17:56 -0800 Review: I feel like this is just a rewrite of the Habit Loop, honestly. Nothing new here, but if you need to read books about habits as a habit, maybe this is for you? Title: The 33 Strategies of War Author: Robert Greene Pages: 496 Rating: 2 Read: Fri, 06 Dec 2024 04:17:16 -0800 Review: Greene is a wannabe Machiavelli, but with poor memory and organizational skills. The book is repetitive, contradictory, and wholly absorbed with a dangerously unhealthy conception of community and society. That being said, there are nuggets of take-away here which can be useful. Just don't accidentally take things to heart and become a sociopath. Title: Concerning Christian Liberty Author: Martin Luther Pages: 77 Rating: 1 Read: Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:24:05 -0800 Review: That was pretty bad. The introduction was seething and then it went straight into fallacies, weak arguments, and pedantic legalism. I can't believe it is as weak as it is. Title: The Gift of the Magi Author: O. Henry Pages: 26 Rating: 4 Read: Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:22:13 -0800 Review: Title: A Dragon Walks Into a Bar: An RPG Joke Book Author: Jef Aldrich Pages: 207 Rating: 2 Read: Sun, 01 Dec 2024 08:49:11 -0800 Review: There's some funny stuff here, and it's well formatted, but ultimately ~300 jokes doesn't make a book. This is a blog post with some page layout. Title: The Wandering Inn: Book 14 - Hell's Wardens (The Wandering Inn, #6, Part 5) Author: Pirateaba Pages: 1007 Rating: 5 Read: Sun, 01 Dec 2024 08:42:12 -0800 Review: We've been taught we can lose main characters in this series, and that was well on display here. We saw a lot of struggle, some epic battles, and the prodigal return. The ending was intense and I'm so excited to see what happens next. Title: The Empress of Beasts Author: Pirateaba Pages: 1119 Rating: 5 Read: Sun, 01 Dec 2024 08:40:58 -0800 Review: There's so many characters now, so many plots, I'm happy to bounce around to all of them. I'm particularly happy to avoid the Emperor, though. His plot is the least interesting to me. This book touched on a lot of new places and people and developed sections that needed it. Title: Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1) Author: Matt Dinniman Pages: 446 Rating: 2 Read: Sun, 01 Dec 2024 08:36:45 -0800 Review: Fun and bloody, but there's not a lot here. I don't think I'll continue. Title: Cain's Jawbone Author: E. Powys Mathers Pages: 100 Rating: 3 Read: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:34:12 -0800 Review: I'm going middle-of-the-road on ratings here because, while I've finished reading it once, I understood nothing. I've just begun the journey of disassembly and puzzling. Maybe one day I'll swing the rating up or down. Hope so! Title: Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy, #1) Author: Marlon James Pages: 640 Rating: 1 Read: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:31:21 -0800 Review: I really don't think this is very good. It tricked me for a while, burying that fact below some prose that really seemed special. It was an illusion. The prose is a lot, and it doesn't help the story. It creates a facade of literary skill that hides graphic violence and obscenity turned up to eleven. It doesn't serve the story. There's really not much story to be served. Title: The Saint of Bright Doors Author: Vajra Chandrasekera Pages: 356 Rating: 4 Read: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:27:02 -0800 Review: This took a while to capture my attention, but once it did there was a really unique story to discover. The world building was so unique, the challenges so ethereal and yet so monumental. I hope I get the chance to read more things like this in the future now that I'm better primed. Title: The Thin Man Author: Dashiell Hammett Pages: 201 Rating: 5 Read: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:24:35 -0800 Review: Holy moly that's some good dialogue. Hammett writes with such a clear, funny voice that I can see this on screen without having seen it on screen. There's a fun story behind the curtain, but it's almost unnecessary. I'd have given 5 stars just to hang around Nick and Nora's apartment for a few days. Title: Task Force Hammer (Expeditionary Force, #17) Author: Craig Alanson Pages: 469 Rating: 4 Read: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:21:27 -0800 Review: Skippy and Joe are back at it in full action. It's light-hearted and fun, some plots getting me excited for the future, and then all hell breaks loose. That was a hell of an ending. Can't wait for #18. Title: Looking for Alaska Author: John Green Pages: 221 Rating: 3 Read: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:17:47 -0800 Review: There's something great and vulnerable here, but it feels best designed to connect with the young and passionate. There's plenty I can still relate to, but I think I read it all with a distance that didn't help the engagement. It's a good book. Title: Birding to Change the World: A Memoir Author: Trish O'Kane Pages: 368 Rating: 2 Read: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:13:20 -0800 Review: I was really hoping for a whole lot more birding and a whole lot less memoir. That's on me. This clearly states it's a memoir. I just figured that the birding hobby was going to be more vital to the story. Title: Neuromancer (Sprawl, #1) Author: William Gibson Pages: 288 Rating: 4 Read: Fri, 08 Nov 2024 08:10:37 -0800 Review: Title: Stopping Time, Part 1 (Wicked Lovely, #2.5 Part I) Author: Melissa Marr Pages: 24 Rating: 4 Read: Fri, 27 Sep 2024 17:01:50 -0700 Review: Wow, for such a short story (and only the first half of the action) I'm really impressed. I have no background on the book that came before this story but the characters instantly came to life and the world of the fae and Leslie's relation to the Dark Court came through quickly and without info-dump. In just a few pages we met 5 or 6 characters who all came to life, felt real, and had a strong sense of identity. Tensions were a web among the characters and by the time the immediate plot began we could feel how those threads would reverberate with the action. +I'm moving on to part 2 now and I think I may add Melissa Marr's longer works to my Want To Read list. She's got talent. +Merged review: +Wow, for such a short story (and only the first half of the action) I'm really impressed. I have no background on the book that came before this story but the characters instantly came to life and the world of the fae and Leslie's relation to the Dark Court came through quickly and without info-dump. In just a few pages we met 5 or 6 characters who all came to life, felt real, and had a strong sense of identity. Tensions were a web among the characters and by the time the immediate plot began we could feel how those threads would reverberate with the action. +I'm moving on to part 2 now and I think I may add Melissa Marr's longer works to my Want To Read list. She's got talent. Title: Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1) Author: James S.A. Corey Pages: 592 Rating: 5 Read: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 17:15:50 -0700 Review: Fabulous series and powerful start. Title: Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes, #0) Author: Travis Baldree Pages: 336 Rating: 3 Read: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 17:15:27 -0700 Review: A solid second book. I was disappointed this was a prequel though. I wanted more story of the coffee shop but this was nice too. Title: Stopping Time, Part 2 (Wicked Lovely, #2.5 Part II) Author: Melissa Marr Pages: 22 Rating: 2 Read: Mon, 23 Sep 2024 11:17:14 -0700 Review: Title: Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1) Author: Travis Baldree Pages: 296 Rating: 3 Read: Wed, 11 Sep 2024 01:57:33 -0700 Review: Delivers on the cozy premise. There's a lovely assortment of characters, a tiny hint of romance, a bit of drama, and a giant cat. What's not to love? I'll tell you what! The page count. Gimme more. Title: Night Watch Author: Jayne Anne Phillips Pages: 276 Rating: 1 Read: Wed, 11 Sep 2024 01:53:51 -0700 Review: This was really disappointing. I saw this won the Pulitzer for fiction and got myself excited for something with real substance. Instead it feels like this won based on the theoretical merits of what it stood for more than the actual quality of execution. The craft of writing is the big missing component here. It's clearly well researched, but where story should be we get a sprawling exercise in language experimentation. The prose is trying very hard, possibly too hard, and saying very little. Title: A Heart Divided (Legends of the Condor Heroes, #4) Author: Jin Yong Pages: 593 Rating: 4 Read: Wed, 11 Sep 2024 01:51:15 -0700 Review: A great conclusion to the Legends of the Condor Heroes. I was frustrated for large portions of this book because of the heavy reliance on people jumping to conclusions and simple communication errors. Even more so when things would have been easy to clear up if only a character would bother to say the truth out loud. [spoilers removed] +Regardless, things came around and we had a pretty satisfying ending, and a clear set up for the next generation. Now to wait for those books to finish being translated! Title: Stitching through the Seasons: Evocative Patterns and Projects to Capture the Magic of Each Month Author: Yumiko Higuchi Pages: 96 Rating: 3 Read: Sat, 31 Aug 2024 12:14:04 -0700 Review: This book is absolutely gorgeous and inspiring. If you enjoy embroidery it's worth a quick read. I blew through this at the library, but this would have been nice to have kept at home for reference. There's some lovely embroidery stitching guides for specific stitches, and the pattern guides were begging to be cut out. Title: Stína og Ásta Author: Berglind Guðmundsdóttir Pages: 36 Rating: 2 Read: Sat, 31 Aug 2024 12:08:56 -0700 Review: This book is designed for beginning language practice, especially around words with the ST beginning. I read the first half of this pretty well, but then I encountered a lot of unfamiliar words on each page in the back half which made understanding difficult. +Regardless, good library find. I was happy to add this missing book to Goodreads. Title: Svarta kisa (Skemmtilegu smábarnabækurnar, #9) Author: Alice Williamson Pages: Rating: 3 Read: Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:44:25 -0700 Review: The phrasing was repetitive, so that limited the opportunity to pick up new phrases a bit. There were a couple new vocabulary words regardless, including "moaned", and "fur". The language felt a bit stiff. Old timey maybe? Title: Stubbur Author: Bengt and Grete Janus Nielsen Pages: 39 Rating: 4 Read: Fri, 30 Aug 2024 08:29:53 -0700 Review: This book had a number of words I wasn't familiar with, but the illustrations helped keep me contextually aware and able to follow the story. I actually laughed twice, so it earned an extra star. My edition of this book is clearly from before 1973 as there were two words spelled with a Z, a letter which was removed from Icelandic at that time. Title: Bláa kannan (Skemmtilegu smábarnabækurnar, #1) Author: Alice Williamson Pages: 32 Rating: 3 Read: Tue, 27 Aug 2024 12:50:25 -0700 Review: I'm reading these children's books in Icelandic each night to force myself to practice my language skills. +This one had a couple unfamiliar words, but was very repetitive so it was quick to finish. I comprehended everything. Title: The Interstellar Slayer (Space Assassins, #1) Author: Scott Baron Pages: 128 Rating: 1 Read: Mon, 19 Aug 2024 05:14:36 -0700 Review: DNF. Holy exposition, Batman! This author spent a lot of time dreaming up their world-building and just decided to tell it to you rather than write a book. He's also totally infatuated with the main group he's created for the story. They are collectively wish fulfillment or Mary Sue or whatever you want to call it. I tried to push through and let the info-dump go for a while, but it just keeps happening. Title: The Book of Elsewhere Author: Keanu Reeves Pages: 352 Rating: 1 Read: Mon, 19 Aug 2024 05:02:00 -0700 Review: DNF. I'm really sad that this wasn't enjoyable. The writing was trying way too hard to be something masterful but forgot to actually say anything along the way. Style? It's completely disjointed. I can feel when China is writing and when we suddenly have Keanu's voice instead. There's no blending. The story itself? There was something interesting at the heart of it, but the main character is so foreign in nature that he's alien, and nobody else has any development worth noting. +I really wanted to like this. At times the prose felt like Dune, but then nothing really happened. I made it about 1/3rd of the way through before I stopped caring enough to continue. Perhaps it picks up later. Title: The Complete Guide to intuiti Creative Cards Author: Matteo di Pascale Pages: 207 Rating: 3 Read: Sun, 18 Aug 2024 13:42:41 -0700 Review: The cards are beautiful. They're inspired by but not exactly Tarot cards and that's exactly what I was looking for. I want to use them as Harrow cards in role-playing games. +The book is nice in how it creates a framework for use in inspiration and creativity. I'll have to try it out in a workshop setting to see how that aspect works. Title: Starcaster (Starcaster #1) Author: J.N. Chaney Pages: 328 Rating: 2 Read: Sun, 18 Aug 2024 13:39:31 -0700 Review: There was a hint of a fun story here, but I just kept getting glimpses. A special hero that can do what nobody else can, who apparently has had this mysterious power since he was a kid. It just never came up until his childhood pal digs him up from a dirty job at the end of a string of dirty jobs. "Want to join the military?" "Sure." +And with that thin excuse we're swept into a sort of boot camp story for wizards. Are wizards known to the universe? Maybe not, but also there's a bunch of powerful ones who are here training these recruits. Does anyone have any clear motivations for any of this? Nope. Does anyone have any real personality, or show signs of growth? Nope. Do the organizations make sense in their mission or structure? Nope. +There is an interesting bit of world-building hinted at. The mysterious enemy feels very borg-like. Their connection to magic is both exciting and threatening. It's just all the other stuff that makes a story that was missing. +In the end, it's finishable, but I feel like I read a first draft that really could have used a good round of story development. Title: Dragon Teeth Author: Michael Crichton Pages: 295 Rating: 1 Read: Sun, 18 Aug 2024 13:32:57 -0700 Review: I'm not sure there's much to say here. This book really didn't work. Unlike Crichton's usual works there was no sense of adventure at all. This felt almost like a school assignment where he was assigned to piece together a possible timeline from a bunch of historical scraps. No life is breathed into it. It really drags. Just read Jurassic Park instead. Title: Dark One: Forgotten Author: Brandon Sanderson Pages: 7 Rating: 4 Read: Sun, 18 Aug 2024 13:29:15 -0700 Review: Title: In Praise of Shadows Author: Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Pages: 56 Rating: 2 Read: Sun, 11 Aug 2024 10:32:52 -0700 Review: What an odd blend of poetic imagery and grumpy old-man syndrome. If you're inclined toward focusing on the beauty of old ways and old things then there's a lot to agree with here. Measured prose and evocative imagery paint the dark on light as is the author's theme, but it overlies a disdain for change. This disdain is a rot at the foundations of the premise. +Where the focus is on the sublime natural elements of rain or wood grain we charge along with nods, imagining ourselves in these peaceful moments and settings. That tranquility vanishes with comparison. Once modern life creeps its way into the work our tranquility vanishes, but not from the pen and western paper, but from the tonal change toward scorn. +And finally, this book is only about 50 pages, but it really manages to pack in a lot of racism and sexism in that space. Not much else to say there. It's a problem. +I kept finding myself saying, "Go back to musing on your special toilet, old man." Title: The Wonder Engine (Clocktaur War, #2) Author: T. Kingfisher Pages: 370 Rating: 4 Read: Sat, 10 Aug 2024 05:41:09 -0700 Review: The second half of the Clocktaur War (which really should have all been one book) was a solid pay-off. Action, adventure, quirky characters coming together, drama, sorrow, all the good stuff. I really love the strong voices each character brings to the table. It felt a bit like a show like Firefly in the irreverence to their situation, despite the seriousness. It ends well. Title: Dungeon Life: An Isekai LitRPG Author: Khenal Pages: 361 Rating: 3 Read: Sat, 10 Aug 2024 05:37:37 -0700 Review: Another isekai story of a person becoming a dungeon. I'm not exactly sure where these genre rules came from. Why do dungeons have cores? The extremely video-gamey rules for how they respawn are interesting too. I've always run dungeon settings in my RPGs just as locations that are inhabited, not living things on their own. +Anyway, this story was nice in that it wasn't just reading a tower defense being built. There were recurring characters, relationships, and the dungeon itself forming friendships. Neat angle. I may do more of these when they come out. Title: The Body Reader (Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries, #1) Author: Anne Frasier Pages: 304 Rating: 2 Read: Sat, 10 Aug 2024 05:32:39 -0700 Review: This poor woman. Not only is she kidnapped and held prisoner for three years in a basement, but literally everyone she knows or has been in a relationship with is also somehow a serial killer. It very much jumped the shark in that respect. I struggled to suspend belief that she'd be let back into active duty after such a harrowing experience, but as things pressed further on into coincidence I lost my ability. It's pretty ridiculous. Title: Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee Author: Shannon Lee Pages: 240 Rating: 1 Read: Thu, 25 Jul 2024 07:08:12 -0700 Review: I wanted to like this more than I did. Shannon relied on the core philosophic teachings behind what Bruce wrote about to deliver rambling holistic wellness advice interspersed with anecdotes. There's really nothing new here. Title: Clockwork Boys (Clocktaur War, #1) Author: T. Kingfisher Pages: 230 Rating: 4 Read: Thu, 25 Jul 2024 05:28:52 -0700 Review: Oh, I really like this one. A thief, an assassin, a disgraced paladin, and a sexist scholar are off on a suicide mission. Great premise! The characters were fantastic. The interplay between them dynamic and changing. There's growth across the board in this short book. +My only complaint is that it's not a whole book. It ends on a cliffhanger that really should just be Act 3 of the same book. No matter. I'll pick that next one up soon. Title: City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials, #1) Author: C.N. Crawford Pages: 306 Rating: 1 Read: Thu, 25 Jul 2024 05:19:03 -0700 Review: I've not read many spicy books, and I felt awkward reading this one. Let that be my preface to this review. +I simply cannot fathom the way the main character operates. She seemed a whole being with a decent YA style motivation (find mom's demon killer) up until she encountered the first demon, at which point she stopped being her own character and felt like she was fulfilling a genre role. If the plot advanced an inch it was through four or five scenes that broke down into lustful stares and imagined sexual thoughts. The setting didn't seem to matter much. +And as for the sexuality of the book, there really wasn't any. It was all threat and promise and lusting without any actual payoff. I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse. What it did for me was bury the story. +I think this could be interesting if there were more to it, but I suspect if you remove the lusty bits the whole book is about 20 pages long. Title: The Crazy Kill (Harlem Cycle, #3) Author: Chester Himes Pages: 162 Rating: 3 Read: Thu, 25 Jul 2024 05:11:28 -0700 Review: Himes has a fantastic voice for character. Everyone pops, feels unique, and moves with their own motivations. He basically defined the genre, so it's no surprise that this is an exceptional example. That being said, this particular story left a lot to be desired in the plot. It's a bit ham-fisted and contrived, and the reveals lackluster. +My takeaway from looking at other of his Harlem Cycle books is that I picked the wrong one. The others all sound like they offer the quality of writing I got here, but in a better story. Title: Treasure Vault (Pathfinder, 2nd Edition) Author: Michael Sayre Pages: 224 Rating: 5 Read: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 15:46:51 -0700 Review: Fantastic resource for Pathfinder Second Edition. Not only does it add depth of options to the fantastic assortment of magical and non-magical gear in the game, but it's organized so well and with easy navigation that it's a great table reference while playing. +I want to especially call out the sections on crafting and story crafting in particular as valuable additions to the game that can really bring things to the next level. Title: Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction Author: Ann Leckie Pages: 403 Rating: 4 Read: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 15:43:29 -0700 Review: There's too many stories in here to go into great detail. I'll just say that almost all of them hit it out of the park. I really love Ann Leckie's longer works and that's the feeling I was left wanting from many of these shorter ones. Some brilliant short story authors leave you feeling like that story form was perfect for the tale being told. Leckie's feel like I'm getting the introduction to a world I want to immerse myself within. Thank goodness for the series! Title: Monster Core (Pathfinder, 2nd Edition) Author: Logan Bonner Pages: 376 Rating: 5 Read: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 15:40:37 -0700 Review: I grabbed the mini version of this new bestiary for table reference. I've been using the Bestiary 1 &amp; 2 cards to date, but having the full volume is great for when the party takes unexpected turns. There's great reference charts in the back index for finding things at level quickly. I really appreciate the XP budget encounter system for PF2E as well, as it allows me to use this on the spot really well. Title: Gravesong (The Singer of Terandria #1) Author: Pirateaba Pages: 560 Rating: 1 Read: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 15:37:20 -0700 Review: I nearly stopped reading this book 4 times. As much as the Wandering Inn stories continue to grab my attention, this one didn't at all. I just shared my thoughts on a Pathfinder story that leaned too heavily on the Gothic setting for my tastes and this is in the same category. Giant endless crypts and undead just aren't going to grab me. Necromancers have been explored in the main story more effectively. A land shrouded in darkness and leeched of color is, frankly, pretty dull. And to add a singer in the mix, to brighten things with inspiring lyrics and pop music sounds good on the surface, but what odd musical choices! It was severely meh. Title: Prince of Wolves (Pathfinder Tales) Author: Dave Gross Pages: 360 Rating: 2 Read: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 15:33:09 -0700 Review: Interesting characters, but the setting really bogged it down. +I'm reading these to expand my familiarity with Golarion, the setting of Pathfinder adventures. This area isn't a big one for me, despite playing a campaign that featured the Whispering Tyrant. I've decided it's not an area of the map I care much to explore. Too Ravenloft-y for me. Vampires and Werewolves aren't the fantasy fare I crave. +I know this Pathfinder Society duo shows up more in later books. Looking forward to those stories. Title: Assistant to the Villain (Assistant to the Villain, #1) Author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer Pages: 342 Rating: 1 Read: Mon, 15 Jul 2024 15:28:56 -0700 Review: DNF. Awful reader. Sounds like an AI. Pick this one up in print. Title: Wolf in White Van Author: John Darnielle Pages: 211 Rating: 1 Read: Sat, 06 Jul 2024 05:14:03 -0700 Review: Not for me. The reader isn't engaging (is it the author?) and the story's concept doesn't hold up well in a narrative sense. It's boring. The interesting bits are skimmed over and left hollow while we plod on and on in trivialities. I don't see how this was published, to be frank. It needs a lot of work. Title: Tales Of Pirx The Pilot Author: Stanisław Lem Pages: 206 Rating: 5 Read: Sat, 06 Jul 2024 05:10:02 -0700 Review: Older sci-fi stories are often difficult for me to get into because of their lack of character focus. Authors like Arthur C Clarke tend toward a focus on the science, or the big philosophical idea, rather than establishing a believable cast and seeing them explore these worlds. Lem is not like this. Pirx is alive. He's at times grumpy, excited, fearful, nervous, and bored in real ways that bring you into the story with him. +The format of the book is episodic. Many of the stories at this time were magazine publications brought together into a larger volume. I'm not sure if that's the case here, but it feels like it. In this sense, some stories work better than others. Terminus, the final in the book, is absolutely the strongest. It has so many aspects to explore, so many questions left lingering, and an absolutely devastating ending that will stick with me for a long time to come. +I'm looking forward to reading more Pirx stories soon. .