careythesixth's reviews
779 reviews

The Beast You Are by Paul Tremblay

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

3.0

I enjoyed parts of this, but on the whole, most of these stories felt unfinished. I love Paul Tremblay. I will always buy and read his work. Unlike Growing Things, this collection just wasn't my jam.

A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance by Hanif Abdurraqib
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.

I absolutely love Hanif Abdurraqib's writing. This is a gorgeous book. I just didn't know many of the cultural, pop cultural, entertainment topics. But, this is now an opportunity for me to learn about them and come back to the book.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is probably the 5th time I've read this in 20 years. It was a different experience now that I'm more Delauney's age than Phedre's. But it's always fun to revisit.

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this. I went in not quite knowing what to expect and went on a wild ride. Highly recommend if you liked LOST or Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It also scratches the apocalypse mystery itch of the Locked Tomb series but without the necromancy.

Horror for Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You're Too Scared to Watch by Emily C. Hughes

dark funny informative fast-paced

5.0

This might be my favorite nonfiction book of 2024. Definitely top 3. I read this because:

1. I am a weenie for horror movies, so this book is for me.
2. I like horror anyway and am not a weenie for horror books.
3. I'm a big fan of Random Number Generator Horror Podcast No. 9, which spoils a horror movie every week. 

This book was a lot of fun and despite being a weenie, I've seen a bunch of the movies discussed (which is making me question my weenie status a little). I especially liked the "Why This Matters" and book recommendation sections after each movie synopsis. 

I would absolutely love future books covering other movies.

The Devil by Name by Keith Rosson

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

I liked this book a lot. This with Fever House is one of the most engaging apocalypse stories I've encountered. This duology will appeal to a wide variety of horror readers and as a librarian, I've already recommended Fever House to a bunch of patrons and will continue to do so. For myself, I enjoyed the humanity of the characters in these books. From Hutch at the start to Naomi at the end, there was empathy to be found in everyone, even Matthew.

That being said, this book felt rushed. I was hoping for more insight into Michael, more excerpts from Matthew's notebooks, more about the Sight, more about Naomi and her father, more about the intervening 5 years. I wanted more lore and less chasing each other around. 

The end of it all also felt a little too easy. Maybe if we'd gotten more about Naomi and her father sooner in the book, it would have felt more earned. Less Denis, more dad. I don't know.

This is all just one woman's opinion, and that opinion obviously didn't ruin the book for me. This was a wild ride and I've found a new author I like and a backlist to explore. So, yay!

Fever House by Keith Rosson

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book has everything.

A hairy severed demon hand
Numbers stations
A dessicated eyeball 
Scully if she'd been recruited by Cigarette Smoking Man
Mulder if he were Scully
Demon music
An angel (?)
The apocalypse 

This book fucking whips.

The Parliament by Aimee Pokwatka

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I was tricked into reading a romance and I'm mad about it. Like, this book was more than a romance, but a romance was the core plot. The murder owls were just a plot device to throw these two characters together and force them to admit their feelings for each other.

I liked the book within the book a lot more.

I mean, this wasn't a bad book. Just not for me.

Down with the System: A Memoir (of Sorts) by Serj Tankian

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

This book was awesome, Serj is awesome, and I can't wait to check out all the stuff he's been doing outside of SoaD.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
Did not finish book. Stopped at 4%.

I can't stand this style of writing.