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clairebau's reviews
17 reviews
1984 by George Orwell
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
This was only a little bit of a chore to get through. I get that it was like, the big thing for its time, but I couldn't get past the messy, disjointed storytelling, the weak attempts at symbolism, and the unlikeable characters. God, the unlikeable characters! Though I will grant them the fact that their god-awful personalities are a result of their surroundings. Julia's only personality trait is being not-like-other-girls. Martyr Winston admits a rape fantasy in the first 20 pages of the book, so I stopped sympathizing with him pretty much immediately.
This book just feels all over the place in a few ways, especially in its pacing. It didn't feel well-rounded or expertly crafted, more like Orwell had a bunch of ideas he slapped together for an excuse to publish twenty pages of grandstanding right in the middle. Yawn.
This book just feels all over the place in a few ways, especially in its pacing. It didn't feel well-rounded or expertly crafted, more like Orwell had a bunch of ideas he slapped together for an excuse to publish twenty pages of grandstanding right in the middle. Yawn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Classism, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual assault and War
Minor: Rape
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Reread! I first read this in high school, I think. I enjoyed it then, and I enjoyed it now.
Well-written action, great exposition, fun characters and plot. Suffers a bit from Marvelesque he's-right-behind-me-isn't-he humor, which is to be expected based on the subject matter. Ending felt a little rushed.
Well-written action, great exposition, fun characters and plot. Suffers a bit from Marvelesque he's-right-behind-me-isn't-he humor, which is to be expected based on the subject matter. Ending felt a little rushed.
Please Report Your Bug Here by Josh Riedel
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
Every time a good book concept is wasted on an author who completely beefs it, an angel loses her wings.
The characters weren't just unlikeable but easily hateable; protagonist Ethan is bland and a transparent self-insert of the author. It's honestly kind of hilarious how much effort was put into making him seem "different" than all the other Silicon Valley tech heads (No, really, guys, he's so unique! He has bare minimum empathy and likes coffee and art, how eccentric!) when in fact he's just as dull as the rest of them. Nora is a weed-smoking manic pixie dream girl with a chronic case of man-writing-woman syndrome (ew). These two and every other character were boring and uninteresting.; who would've thought it takes more than giving a character two hobbies to build well-rounded, worth-reading-about characters.
The writing was weird. Much like the parallel universe described in the book, everything felt a little... off. In nearly every scene I was perplexed by either the lack of detail in things that mattered or by the insistence on spending too many words on things that genuinely did not matter, making large stretches of this book so boring they were borderline unreadable. This made the pacing weird, obviously. Pretty much everything that happens in this book happens in the last 50 pages, which of course felt rushed.
This book was a chore to get through and I wish I'd stopped reading earlier. The characters failed to get my attention and sympathy. Why should I care thatHenry's daughter is missing when she's not characterized? When we only get implied whispers of Henry's alleged distress? Why should I care that Nora's missing when that means I thankfully don't have to read about her anymore?
Cool concept, though. I think what kept me reading was the hope it would all come together in some profound, interesting way. I shouldn't have been surprised it didn't.
The characters weren't just unlikeable but easily hateable; protagonist Ethan is bland and a transparent self-insert of the author. It's honestly kind of hilarious how much effort was put into making him seem "different" than all the other Silicon Valley tech heads (No, really, guys, he's so unique! He has bare minimum empathy and likes coffee and art, how eccentric!) when in fact he's just as dull as the rest of them. Nora is a weed-smoking manic pixie dream girl with a chronic case of man-writing-woman syndrome (ew). These two and every other character were boring and uninteresting.; who would've thought it takes more than giving a character two hobbies to build well-rounded, worth-reading-about characters.
The writing was weird. Much like the parallel universe described in the book, everything felt a little... off. In nearly every scene I was perplexed by either the lack of detail in things that mattered or by the insistence on spending too many words on things that genuinely did not matter, making large stretches of this book so boring they were borderline unreadable. This made the pacing weird, obviously. Pretty much everything that happens in this book happens in the last 50 pages, which of course felt rushed.
This book was a chore to get through and I wish I'd stopped reading earlier. The characters failed to get my attention and sympathy. Why should I care that
Cool concept, though. I think what kept me reading was the hope it would all come together in some profound, interesting way. I shouldn't have been surprised it didn't.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
4.75
I can't believe it's taken me so long to read this! It's almost the perfect book. The writing style is immersive and engaging, and the subject matter is obviously well-researched. I particularly liked the choices Chrichton made about what scenes to include, especially in the beginning to build exposition and suspense. Every detail felt important and necessary, but not in a way that was too on-the-nose. There wasn't much character development, unfortunately, but that's about what I expected from a thriller that's treated like an epic. I look forward to reading the sequel, and watching the movie for the first time in, like, a decade.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Gore, and Animal death
Moderate: Excrement
Minor: Misogyny
The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Oh, wow! Okay. I liked reading this book. I think it's a good book. I think it was appropriately inquisitive and weird, which are things I like in a novel. I think my favorite part was how unlikeable the characters are. I mean, Y sucks a lot, but Vic (narrator) sucks nearly as much. It was cool that she tried to make excuses for her actions, and they were flimsy and undeveloped. She felt real. As did Y, whose dialogue at times viscerally reminded me of a wannabe-genius ex-boyfriend who threw a fit when he found out my ACT score was higher than his. This book reminded me of the fact that there's nothing more grating than speaking with a man who thinks he's smart (and who thinks that all people, particularly women, are beneath him).
Unfortunately, I think this book spent too much time explaining its existence in the fictional universe it "exists" in; I understand the whole meta pseudo-memoir thing and I usually like it, but Vic went out of her way to explain her narrative choices too much. It felt overexplained and drew more attention to the fact that this was a work of fiction, which felt counterintuitive. Whatever; I'm being nitpicky. Mostly good book! I would've liked if it was longer.
Unfortunately, I think this book spent too much time explaining its existence in the fictional universe it "exists" in; I understand the whole meta pseudo-memoir thing and I usually like it, but Vic went out of her way to explain her narrative choices too much. It felt overexplained and drew more attention to the fact that this was a work of fiction, which felt counterintuitive. Whatever; I'm being nitpicky. Mostly good book! I would've liked if it was longer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking
Moderate: Violence and Eating disorder
Minor: Rape
What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was fine. I really wanted to like it more than I did (especially being, ya know, a librarian). This book follows five individuals who feel stuck in their ways of life for one reason or another but become motivated to make positive change after a visit to the library.
Here's what I didn't like: these stories were all much too similar to be interesting for me. They all followed the same trajectory, which is the point, but I wasn't having fun anymore the third time I read it, let alone the fifth. It felt dull and predictable. Four of five of these stories centered around the characters' occupational anxieties, but I would've preferred a more expansive approach, like the librarian solving problems in interpersonal, economic, and family aspects for example. But hey, if you want to read about someone hating their job before reading a book and deciding to switch things up (and then reading that again, and again, and again...), maybe this book is for you. I also didn't feel that the full potential of a multi-perspective story was utilized. All characters noticed the same few things about the librarian, had the same internal thoughts about her process, etc... While the overlap was cool at first, I wish there had been some unique details that each person noticed that related to their worldview. It just felt like missed potential for characterization.
I liked the last story the most, probably because it was least related to job problems and more related to retired Masao's personal life. In general, I think this book was conceptually interesting, but lacked a lot for me in terms of execution. I wish I'd liked it more.
Here's what I didn't like: these stories were all much too similar to be interesting for me. They all followed the same trajectory, which is the point, but I wasn't having fun anymore the third time I read it, let alone the fifth. It felt dull and predictable. Four of five of these stories centered around the characters' occupational anxieties, but I would've preferred a more expansive approach, like the librarian solving problems in interpersonal, economic, and family aspects for example. But hey, if you want to read about someone hating their job before reading a book and deciding to switch things up (and then reading that again, and again, and again...), maybe this book is for you. I also didn't feel that the full potential of a multi-perspective story was utilized. All characters noticed the same few things about the librarian, had the same internal thoughts about her process, etc... While the overlap was cool at first, I wish there had been some unique details that each person noticed that related to their worldview. It just felt like missed potential for characterization.
I liked the last story the most, probably because it was least related to job problems and more related to retired Masao's personal life. In general, I think this book was conceptually interesting, but lacked a lot for me in terms of execution. I wish I'd liked it more.
Joyland by Stephen King
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Baby's first King! But certainly not my last. Gorgeous, gorgeous worldbuilding and deliciously descriptive language. Satisfying foreshadowing and great pacing of clues - and I'm not usually the mystery/thriller type. It wasn't a jaw-dropping, genre-defying, incredible ending that blew my mind completely, but man, this was so much fun. The narrator, Dev, was so richly built and relatable. Joyland itself was so well-described. Maybe I loved it so much because it was evocative of my favorite movie, Adventureland. I was always excited for the time I'd get to spend reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual assault
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
funny
informative
medium-paced
2.5
Like many Hollywood memoirs, the pacing is... weird. I found out after reading that Fisher has no less than three published memoirs, this being the last. I imagine the details I felt were missing from this book were covered in the other two, but I don't think a trilogy of memoirs is ever necessary. It seems like she knew she could count on the reveal of her affair with Harrison Ford to sell copies; most of the book was about him and somehow nothing substantial was revealed about his character or their relationship. I was disappointed by this.
Fisher is a good writer, a witty one, and has been for a while. This shone through in the diary entries that make up the middle third of this novel, plucked from the journals she'd kept during her time acting as Leia. These were a lot of fun, and usually gorgeously written, but at times felt pretentious and too boring to deserve the pedestal they were put on.
This book doesn't say much of anything, really, but what little was said was written well enough to keep me reading.
Also, this is the ugliest book cover I've ever seen in my life.
Fisher is a good writer, a witty one, and has been for a while. This shone through in the diary entries that make up the middle third of this novel, plucked from the journals she'd kept during her time acting as Leia. These were a lot of fun, and usually gorgeously written, but at times felt pretentious and too boring to deserve the pedestal they were put on.
This book doesn't say much of anything, really, but what little was said was written well enough to keep me reading.
Also, this is the ugliest book cover I've ever seen in my life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Infidelity
The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
adventurous
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I don't finish about 60% of the books I start reading; this is to say that I enjoyed this book enough to finish it, which I consider a triumph. I had fun reading this book. I looked forward to time I'd be able to spend reading it. Does that mean it was a particularly good book? Eh.
A lot worked. Soule's style is really interesting. His background as a comic book writer shone through in his simple, quick prose. It did feel over-the-top at times, some of which came through as fun and campy but just as often evoked an eye-roll and a "really?" from me. I kind of wish I'd kept a deus ex machina count (Notably, some were used in a subversive way to the plot's advantage! Others, not so much).
I wish we'd gotten more characterization of Leigh, who plays a very minor role before suddenly being thrust into the climax of the story as if she's been a member of the team all along. I would've appreciated more interaction between her and Will to flesh out their dynamic. Now that I'm thinking about it, most of the characters felt one-dimensional. This was definitely a plot-centric book, which is fine. I just love a good characterization.
Most of the critiques of this book mention a feeling like it's building to a big Something that the reader never gets. I agree with that, too. Everything in this story was wrapped up nicely except, ya know, the big Something. I found the ending unsatisfying for that reason.
But it was fine! I like Soule's descriptions, and his plot was well-rounded and interesting enough to keep me reading. Really cool concept, too. Also, as a technologically-inept person, I was surprised by how much I liked all the techy jargon about the Site's security and what it'd take to hack it. Proved the author knew what he was talking about, or did his research, or at least described it in a way so that I wouldn't think otherwise.
A lot worked. Soule's style is really interesting. His background as a comic book writer shone through in his simple, quick prose. It did feel over-the-top at times, some of which came through as fun and campy but just as often evoked an eye-roll and a "really?" from me. I kind of wish I'd kept a deus ex machina count (Notably, some were used in a subversive way to the plot's advantage! Others, not so much).
I wish we'd gotten more characterization of Leigh, who plays a very minor role before suddenly being thrust into the climax of the story as if she's been a member of the team all along. I would've appreciated more interaction between her and Will to flesh out their dynamic. Now that I'm thinking about it, most of the characters felt one-dimensional. This was definitely a plot-centric book, which is fine. I just love a good characterization.
Most of the critiques of this book mention a feeling like it's building to a big Something that the reader never gets. I agree with that, too. Everything in this story was wrapped up nicely except, ya know, the big Something. I found the ending unsatisfying for that reason.
But it was fine! I like Soule's descriptions, and his plot was well-rounded and interesting enough to keep me reading. Really cool concept, too. Also, as a technologically-inept person, I was surprised by how much I liked all the techy jargon about the Site's security and what it'd take to hack it. Proved the author knew what he was talking about, or did his research, or at least described it in a way so that I wouldn't think otherwise.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War