narfna – Page 89 – Cannonball Read 17

“Suddenly revenge is so close he can actually taste it. It tastes like steak, rare.”

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

December 29, 2021 by narfna 2 Comments

I actually really enjoyed this retelling of The Tempest*, particularly since I had just re-read the play as a refresher, so it was a lot easier to catch all the references and parallels. This is actually only my third Margaret Atwood book, which feels weird, since she is everywhere, and also because I’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale three times. About time I branched out! (I’m sorry, Malin, I still haven’t read The Blind Assassin, which is a book I know you love.) *Thanks to andtheIToldYouSos […]

Prospero is a dickhead.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

December 29, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I‘m tempted to just let the title be my review, but if I want to count this review towards my total, it has to be at least 250 words. I haven’t read this play in ten years. I’ve never seen it performed. It’s never been my favorite, even though I’ve read it several times now. The best parts of it involve several of Shakespeare’s most classic lines: “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, […]

Here be spiders. (Cute ones! A little creepy sometimes, but cute. Do I like spiders now?)

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

December 29, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

If you have been craving a feminist, witchy, creepy but somehow still cozy dark fantasy horror book, then here is a book for you! Our narrator is Annie, who just turned thirty, and fresh off a shitty break-up (her boyfriend of ten years decided he wasn’t into it anymore and just wanted to be friends, and then made her sleep on the futon) she decides to make a change, moving to the small upstate NY town of Rowan, which is cozy and beautiful and adorable. […]

A great man, a great book (??), but not a book for me.

Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela

December 27, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

Oh, this rating makes me feel bad. Three stars means ‘I liked it!’ I just don’t think autobiographies are for me. Nelson Mandela was a great man, and I’m glad I know more about him, but this was not super engaging for me, even in audiobook. The audiobook, by the way, is a good one. The narrator, Michael Boatman, is from South Africa, so he can do all the clicks and glottal stops that Mandela’s native tongue of Xhosa requires. His voice is soothing and […]

“I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.”

The Silver Chair (The Chronicles of Narnia, #6) by C.S. Lewis

December 27, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I think this might the book in this series I’ve read the least, even below the two books I actually don’t really like all that much (The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle). It’s certainly the book I remembered the least. I remembered the broad strokes, but details had been completely lost to me, which means I didn’t read it enough to burn it into my brain like I did the others. What this meant is that I was able to read this […]

No more Riley Sager books pour moi.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

December 23, 2021 by narfna Leave a Comment

I do not understand why people like this author so much. Is it the guaranteed twist at the end? The cliched story elements? The flavorless writing? The overblown dialogue? I’m sorry, everyone who loves this dude* (which is like 90% of Goodreads apparently), but his whole thing just does not work for me. Everything in this story has been done, and done better, in other books. For me, this book wasn’t scary or thrilling at all. I finished it because it’s the literary equivalent of […]

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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