Source: Libby

Aquarium by David Vann

This book is at once extremely well-written, and extremely disturbing. The characters are rounded and troubled and struggling with all the depths of their souls. I deeply disliked listening to this book, but I just had to keep listening because I needed to see if something better came for Caitlin. I’m not going to tell you if something better came or not. You’ll just have to read this book. Content warnings: sexual descriptions, child abuse (physical and emotional), underage sexual relationships, trauma, elder abuse (physical and mental), homophobia. Even without having triggers from any of these things, this book was unbelievably […]

Posted July 17, 2019 in Reviews // 0 Comments //

The Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik

I think it’s important to know about the people who are trying to change the world for the better. I’l confess that I became aware of RBG around the time of the 2008 campaigns and I am (always have been) woefully disconnected from politics. I was raised fiercely Republican and Ruth Bader Ginsberg was not exactly a household name for my parents. Saying the name “Bill Clinton” was akin to dropping an f-bomb in my house, so you can imagine my family wasn’t crazy about his Supreme Court nominees, either. If you’re read my blog, you can probably surmise that […]

Posted July 16, 2019 in Reviews // 0 Comments //

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Dear Martin was an incredibly difficult book to read. It’s a really short book, just over 200 pages, and every sentence is jam packed with reality. Honestly? It’s difficult to stomach. It’s supposed to be. Dear Martin is a book that makes you cringe because just about everyone in this book is racist. And before I go too deep here, I’m going to step back and say that I am a white girl living in Massachusetts and I have no idea the struggles young black man go through, especially in the American South. I am super privileged and I stand back and acknowledge […]

Posted July 10, 2019 in Reviews // 6 Comments //

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Before I go into details, I do want to say that I think Skulduggery Pleasant is one of those books I’m going to have to re-read in hard copy. While the audiobook narration wasn’t strictly bad on this one, the voices didn’t really fit the characters in my head, and it wasn’t working for me the way I thought it could. I really enjoy this obscure little subgenre of “humorous fantasy books written by western European authors”. Derek Landy’s style falls comfortably in with Jonathan Stroud, Douglas Addams, Eoin Colfer, and Terry Pratchett. Also Christopher Moore (American). Skulduggery Pleasant was a […]

Posted July 3, 2019 in Reviews // 4 Comments //

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

I’m very apprehensive when it comes to adult fantasy. It’s a genre that takes itself really seriously, and inevitably there are graphic, unnecessary sex scenes. While this is all well and good for people who enjoy that, I personally prefer books that are a little lighter and skip the sex scenes. I mention this, because Ship of Magic is adult fantasy and I was really nervous going in because… you never know. Here’s the thing, though. Ship of Magic also promised me pirates and I have a weakness for pirates. Give me a story with pirates and I am 150% in to […]

Posted June 30, 2019 in Reviews // 4 Comments //

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

There are pluses and minuses to listening to audiobooks. In the case of Enclave I think I would enjoy this better in paperback than audio. Emily Bauer’s narration is high-pitched and adds a childishness to the story that made me cringe a bit. Like The City of Ember and The Giver, this is an interesting dystopia led by children. The world is rich and fascinating, but the childish edge makes it easy to disregard. So, unless you’re passing this forward to a middle grade reader, I’d strongly suggest the book over the audiobook. Even though the dystopia genre is a bit tired, I […]

Posted June 22, 2019 in Reviews // 2 Comments //