Jon Krakauer has a way of covering his subjects where he extends such dignity to the topic and the people involved, that it makes for such compelling, empathetic reading. Like with Into Thin Air, I was a bit young to grasp the gravity of these accounts of people succumbing to the perils of nature. The most that I had heard about either case was noises like “Of course it’s a tragedy, but what do people expect when they are underprepared/he was some kind of idiot […]
In which I take another step toward beatific acceptance of my plebian taste
This probably qualifies as another lit-fic fail for me, by which I don’t mean that the book was a failure; I mostly likely just failed to appreciate it. It’s one of those oniony books that has a lot of layers, and characters who relate to each other on levels both appropriate and otherwise. Set in the 1960’s, there’s a story of a young woman who finds out she is of European Jewish descent, and finds herself digging into her history by way of trying to […]
You’ll like it if you can get past a major WTF
So, it took me until now to get around to this romance classic, and I admit to experiencing joyful laughter a few times at what a thorough template this book is for so many of the tropes that I’ve experienced later, as they’re being lovingly upended some of the more satirical, referential romance authors. And I don’t mean any of that in a snarky way: there was such a delightful guilelessness to this book that made it so simple to enjoy. Here’s the Goodreads summary: […]
A book that puts the privilege of my education in stark relief
Whatever “it” is, this book has it. Unsurprisingly, The Neapolitan Novels series has been among the much-discussed darlings of the lit fic world — a world that I largely ignore, as I mainly stick to genre. Despite sounding intriguing enough to prompt me to read it, I still knew very little about it. And so, Elena Greco and Lila Cerrullo came to me freshly conceived, raw and open and complex, out of their run-down and violent neighborhood, seeking an opening to become something more than […]
“If getting drunk was how people forgot they were mortal, then hangovers were how they remembered.”
3.5 stars This is a book I think I ought to have enjoyed more than I did. Indeed, there was a witty irreverence to it that I liked quite a lot, a style of writing that’s equally funny and poignant. It was the style, and the somewhat absurdist musings that were brought to life by the style, that was the most salient part of the book for me. The thing is, there just wasn’t that much of a story. The concept is that a superior […]
In which I figured out what romance I should write
Well, okay, this wasn’t my least favorite Florand, but it didn’t blow me away either. It also took me over a week to read (bad in Romance Standard Time.) Caveats: I have been in a romance slump for awhile, and I may have just poisoned my own well too badly both in general mood and specific experience with this author. And now that I am reviewing it basically a month later, I have the arduous task of even trying to remember it (she said, rolling […]
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