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Version Control by Dexter Palmer
Version Control is going to be tough to review as I have never felt so conflicted about a book. There were some scenes in Part I that were pure genius. But once I delved into Part II I was forced to reevaluate my first impressions of this book.Imagine walking into some art gallery and coming…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, big books, Black & Black heritage authors, Dexter Palmer, existentialism, family, labs, male authors, MARRIAGE, men who do not seem to know how to write women, mothers & sons, near future/alternate reality, new jersey, parallel universes, philosophical, published in 2016, RACE, read in 2020, SCI-FI, science, scientists & co, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, time travel, Version Control, what ifs -
The Dragon Keeper: A novel by Mindy Mejia — book review
The Dragon Keeper tells a very specific type of story. This the third novel I’ve read by Mindy Mejia and it certainly has a unique premise. Mejia’s books differ in style and subject-manner, yet genre distinctions aside, each one of her story is underlined by a tense atmosphere. Most of The Dragon Keeper takes place…
3.25 stars, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, animals, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, break-ups, cheating, environmental, female authors, labs, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Mindy Mejia, minnesota, motherhood, nature, parenting, published in 2012, read in 2020, science, The Dragon Keeper, work culture, zoos -
Real Life by Brandon Taylor — book review
“Is it into this culture that he is to emerge? Into the narrow, dark water of real life?” It had been awhile since I finished a book in one day or since I read a book that made me cry…but once I started Real Life I simply couldn’t stop, even if what I was reading…
3rd pov, 4.25 stars, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, anxiety, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, body dysmorphia, Brandon Taylor, campus, class, cliques, cold tone, Contemporary, favourite authors, gay, GRIEF, horrible friends, labs, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, m/m, mental health, midwest, published in 2020, queer, RACE, read in 2020, Real Life, science, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire — book review
Although occasionally entertaining, Come Tumbling Down struck me as a rather unnecessary and insubstantial addition to the Wayward Children series. “Once a wayward child, always a wayward child.” Don’t get me wrong: Seanan McGuire’s writing style is as lush as ever. Her prose, with its use rhythm and repetition, echoes that of fairy-tale, lending a…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Come Tumbling Down, FAIRY TALES, FAIRYLAND, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, female authors, lgbtq+, magic school, MAGICAL DOORS, MAGICAL REALISM, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, portal fantasy, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, science, Seanan McGuire, TOR novella, twins, VAMPIRES, Wayward Children, YOUNG ADULT -
Middlemarch by George Eliot — book review
While I won’t be the first or last reader to address the lengthiness of Middlemarch I do think that it’s worth noting that yes it could easily have benefited from a little ‘trimming’. Still, if you can move past its rather daunting size hopefully you will be able to appreciate George Eliot’s elegant and deeply…
1820s, 1830s, 3.5 STARS, A Study of Provincial Life, big books, British author, Celia Brooke, CLASSICS, Dorothea Brooke, drama, Edward Casaubon, england, family, female authors, Fred Vincy, George Eliot, MARRIAGE, Middlemarch, Nicholas Bulstrode, politics, published in 1871-1872, READ IN 2019, Religion, Rosamond Vincy, science, village, Will Ladislaw -
The History of Living Forever by Jake Wolff — book review
The History of Living Forever is an ambitious novel. The narrative includes multiple timelines and often switches between 1st and 3rd perspective, weaving together a compelling yet intricate story. Two of the central figures in these various ‘timelines’ are Conrad Aybinder and Sammy Tampari who in spite of their student-teacher relationship, and of Conrad being…
3.75 stars, adventure, age gap, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, chile, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Easter Island, gay, GRIEF, HIGH SCHOOL, immortality, Jake Wolff, labs, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, m/m, male authors, mental health, morality, philosophical, published in 2019, queer, READ IN 2019, Romania, science, SPECULATIVE FICTION, The History of Living Forever, travel -
If, Then : Book Review
If, Then by Kate Hope Day ★★✰✰✰ 2 stars If, Then is yet another example of ‘great concept, poor execution‘. Maybe I wouldn’t have minded as much if the story had been told in a less uninvolved narrative. The story features on a group of neighbours who begin seeing “what ifs“. One sees herself romantically…
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THE HOUSEKEEPER AND THE PROFESSOR: BOOK REVIEW
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa ★★★★✰ 3.5 stars A poignant and gentle tale of a friendship between a professor (whose memory lasts approximately 80 minutes), his housekeeper and her ten-year-old son, who goes by the nickname of ‘Root’. The narrative of The Housekeeper and the Professor although brimming with compassion avoids being…
1990s, 20th century, 3.5 STARS, Contemporary, disabilities, existentialism, female authors, friendships, Hiroshima, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, mathematics, MEMORY, mumblecore, published in 2003, READ IN 2019, science, SLICE OF LIFE, sports, surreal, The Housekeeper and the Professor, TRANSLATED FICTION, Yōko Ogawa -
The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
There are so many new releases that are focused on a particular family’s history, and there is a trend for storylines that follow members of a family through the decades (e.g. The Good Children, Commonwealth). The Immortalists might revolve around four siblings, but there was little – if any –interaction between them. This novel focused…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Chloe Benjamin, Contemporary, existentialism, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, gay, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, Jewish, labs, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, san francisco, science, siblings, The Immortalists, why the hype
luce [is reading] 