narfna – Page 103 – Cannonball Read 17

“Just because it is in Malibu’s nature to burn, so was it in one particular person’s nature to set fire and walk away.”

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

August 3, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

TJR did it again. She’s very good at what she does. This book is extremely readable, and I think it might even be my favorite of the three books of hers I’ve read so far. I loved Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones, but this one spoke to me personally in a way those didn’t. Bad dads and dysfunctional families, what are you going to do. Malibu, 1983. The four Riva siblings throw an end of summer party every year that has become infamous. If you […]

“There are no true stories; there are only facts, and the stories we tell ourselves about those facts.” #CBRBINGO – People

We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence by Becky Cooper

August 3, 2021 by narfna 2 Comments

I find most true crime stories helplessly fascinating. I know some people agonize over whether it is moral to be entertained by such stories, but I’ve never had that problem, and frankly think it’s a waste of time to think about the “morality” of what stories we consume. I think most people are drawn to true crime not because they get their jollies out by reveling in other people’s pain (though, there’s always a few . . . ) but because it speaks to our […]

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve disliked a book this much, but boy howdy, did I dislike this.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

August 3, 2021 by narfna 9 Comments

This is the second version of this review I’ve written because I did the classic dumb thing where I wrote a huge review in the GR review space and didn’t back it up (AND NEITHER DID GOODREADS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO NOW). I had about 2,500 words written and I wasn’t done, and I had a lot of thoughts, many of them snarky and sort of mean*. I’m not sure how much what I’m about to write will resemble what I wrote yesterday, […]

“My good Horse, you’ve lost nothing but your self-conceit.”

The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia, #3) by C.S. Lewis

August 3, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

This was always my least favorite book in this series. So far at least, it remains that way, but I think for different reasons. I’m not quite sure why I never really warmed to it when I was a kid. I’d like to think that my subconscious was responding to what my conscious mind is cringing at now, but I also think that a large part of it might be that this isn’t really a portal fantasy, like the rest of the books are (The […]

The best Discworld book? Maybe! #CBRBINGO – Old Series

Night Watch (Discworld, #29) by Terry Pratchett

July 29, 2021 by narfna 4 Comments

Once again I am about to write an inferior review of a Terry Pratchett book. The problem is compounded here because this is the best Discworld book I’ve read so far. The better the Pratchett book, the more it speaks to me, the more incapable I am of articulating why I loved it so much. I just get so overwhelmed. There couldn’t be a worse time for Sam Vimes to accidentally time travel. He’s literally about to be a father at any moment, and he’s […]

“Some werewolves are hairy on the inside.”

Danse Macabre by Stephen King

July 29, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

This was good, but it is very dated. He focuses on horror in the thirty year period of the 1950’s to the 1980’s, although he does have a foreword to the latest edition where he brings up more modern movies, but that’s only about thirty pages, and the rest of the 400 pages are still focused on horror that was all released before I was born (and I’ve never liked it enough to seek any of it out). It’s also less interesting to me personally […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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