jan_coco_day's reviews
135 reviews

Out by Natsuo Kirino

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

When I read Japanese literature, I somehow only pick the most quaint, cozy stories...or the most fucked up shit I've ever seen. This book is the latter. 
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Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

It is very difficult to get time travel "right" in fiction, and I have a theory that the reason Kawaguchi's cozy cafe series gets it right is due, in part, to its strict rules. This sequel to Before the Coffee Gets Cold tackles the rule about visiting someone in the past who is dead in the present. While the stories in this volume are darker, they are treated with such tenderness and care, I don't think I have ever read a more compassionate and peaceful examination of letting go.

Favorite quote: 
There is no one day that clearly marks when winter ends and spring begins. Spring hides inside winter. We notice it emerging with our eyes, our skin and other senses. We find it in new buds, a comfortable breeze and the warmth of the sun. It exists alongside winter."
Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey

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adventurous tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Not the best of the Death stories, but one that allows Death to be a better Death through life experience. I'm kind of in love with the idea of someone who returns from death and can operate their body with maximum efficiency, but, in order to do so, they need to consciously perform what would be involuntary functions in regular people. 
Nails and Eyes by Kaori Fujino

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No

4.5

Each story is a slow-burn buildup of tension, each culminating in a sucker-punch of an ending that absolutely destroyed me from the guts out. Keep your eyes on Fujino your nails sharp to grab her next English translation. 

One of my best reads of 2023.
The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Film and movies are always a great subject for horror, and The Star and the Strange Moon is one of the most original stories in this subgenre. Atmospheric and darkly romantic, this is a great read for people who want to read horror, but don't want to be too scared. 

One of my top reads of 2023.
The Handyman Method by Nick Cutter, Andrew F. Sullivan

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dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A unique and darkly funny take on the haunted house and pseudo-possession tropes through radicalization via online content. The the descriptions of physical horror are bone-rattling, but the story races to the finish and trips up a little bit with a large backstory dump near the end. 

Did I mention that I had just purchased a house within 2 years of reading this book? 
Edison's Ghosts: The Untold Weirdness of History's Greatest Geniuses by Katie Spalding

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funny informative lighthearted

4.0

This is the kind of pop science book that will either make you very popular or very unpopular at parties, depending on what kind of parties you attend.

My favorite facts from this book:
-Pythagoras was afraid of beans
-Ada Lovelace lost multiple fortunes by gambling
-Freud took so much cocaine, he thought numbers were trying to kill him
-NASA had to trick male astronauts into wearing appropriately-sized condoms (for disposal of liquid waste) by changing "small," "medium," and "large" to "large," "gigantic," and "humongous"
-Einstein's neighbors had to rescue him from drowning because he loved sailing but was abysmal at it.


Favorite quote: 
We in the West are mostly still recovering from centuries of essentially banning most people from stuff that you tend to need if you're going to make history...and while absolutely some women and minorities and working class people did manage to beat the odds and change the world in their own ways, they tend to be remembered today as, well, precisely that: the ones who beat the odds." 

And that's why I think a book like this, while entertaining, is important. No one is an expert in everything. In fact, some geniuses can probably stand to be taken down a peg or two when you consider the entirety of their life outside of their specific area of expertise. 
A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Lots of atmosphere and gore, but a very low body count. 
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The Spite House by Johnny Compton

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dark emotional mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I would have loved this if it were longer. There are a lot of threads, and I'd have loved to spent more time digging through them.