Charles Yu – Cannonball Read 17

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

July 13, 2025 by NatalieH Leave a Comment

CBR Bingo: Family For a short period during Covid restrictions, my municipality allowed stores to be open, but only if they were outdoors. A local bookstore had a bunch of outdoor sales at the time, and since I was bored and running out of things to do and places to go, a friend and I used to visit on a weekly basis and get a dopamine hit from finding cheap books. All that is to say, almost five years later, I still have a huge backlog […]

May 2024 Leftovers

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Batmanga: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Vol. 1 by Jiro Kuwata

Magic: The Life of Earvin "Magic" Johnson by Roland Lazenby

Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald Westlake

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block

The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers by Mick Minas

Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon by Roland Lazenby

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses

June 5, 2024 by Jake Leave a Comment

June already? Sheesh. The Brass Verdict**** Ever since John Grisham lost his fastball in the late-90s, I’ve mostly forsaken legal thrillers. But I like the Bosch series and I wanted to read something LA-based and this delivered. It’s a fun plot with some legit exciting twists. Will probably go back to it at some point or maybe watch the show. Interior Chinatown*** I wish I liked this one more than I did. The satire is razor sharp, the story is deep and the pain is […]

Flipping the Script

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

September 3, 2021 by jeverett15 Leave a Comment

Willis Wu, the protagonist of Interior Chinatown, sees his whole life as a television show in which he has been relegated to minor parts due to his Asianness rendering him a perpetual Other. He describes himself as a “Generic Asian Man” hoping to work his way all the way up to “Kung Fu Guy,” the highest role he can conceive an Asian man attaining in Hollywood. He and his parents, “Old Asian Man” and “Old Asian Woman,” work together in the Golden Palace restaurant, where […]

A screenplay that would be better as a movie

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

June 6, 2021 by Wanderlustful Leave a Comment

A novel in screenplay format, Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown focuses on aspiring actor Willis Wu. Most of the action takes place in the ‘interior chinatown’ set/apartment building in San Francisco. Wu has a small part in a police procedural, Black and White, that films in the restaurant on the ground floor. When filming is over, Wu, along with his parents and other cast members, lives in the small apartments above the restaurant. The plot follows Wu as he tries to climb the acting ladder from […]

The Bit Character Speaks

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

March 13, 2021 by wicherwill Leave a Comment

I’d say this is a 3.5 star book that I’m rounding up! I really enjoyed the whole conceit, but similar to how I think people viewed the Seinfeld finale, the final step of said conceit veered a bit off for my enjoyment. This is a very meta book, where our main character (Asian Man) is both a person and a background character in a by-the-numbers police procedural, whose filming itself veers between scripted TV and improved real life(?). It’s satire and yet very grounded in […]

Imagine learning to talk from recordings rather than people.

Because Internet by Gretchin McCulloch

To Marry Medusa by Theodore Sturgeon

Come Closer by Sara Gran

The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey by James Lecesne

Coming Out Party by Nikki Levy

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

An Act of God by David Javerbaum

Unexpected Stories by Octavia Butler

Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith

Henrietta and Eleanor by Libby Spurrier

Love that Dog by Sharon Creech

Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech

Break Shot by James Taylor

June 26, 2020 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

Because Internet: 4/5 Stars A book whose title and public relations/previews made me really not want to read, this ended up being a) much different from what I thought it was going to be and b) a lot better as well. This is not an amateur at language in a way that may very well be accurate enough, but would also be facile or shallow. Instead, Gretchen McCulloch writes an interesting analysis of language for amateurs, but using the tools of her work as a […]

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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