clgibbons's reviews
714 reviews
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, by Benjamin Stevenson
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Liar, Dreamer, Thief, by Maria Dong
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
Thank you to libro dot fm for the opportunity to read and review an audio ARC of this book.
Liar, Dreamer, Thief was wonderful in every way. I'm not usually into thrillers, but Katrina Kim is a unique and beautifully written character. She feels real enough that I wish I could give her a hug, and because Peoria, IL has been my adopted home for 16 years, it seems possible.
Shout out to a book set in IL that isn't Chicago!
I just loved this so much. If you like plot twists and an unreliable but endearing POV character, you will like this. There's also the potential possibility of a sequel, and I would 100% spend more time with Katrina.
Hannah Choi narrates the audiobook and she's also wonderful. I especially appreciate her ability to do different voices for different characters that are organic. A lot of narrators go over the top with different voices and that can ruin a book.
Liar, Dreamer, Thief was wonderful in every way. I'm not usually into thrillers, but Katrina Kim is a unique and beautifully written character. She feels real enough that I wish I could give her a hug, and because Peoria, IL has been my adopted home for 16 years, it seems possible.
Shout out to a book set in IL that isn't Chicago!
I just loved this so much. If you like plot twists and an unreliable but endearing POV character, you will like this. There's also the potential possibility of a sequel, and I would 100% spend more time with Katrina.
Hannah Choi narrates the audiobook and she's also wonderful. I especially appreciate her ability to do different voices for different characters that are organic. A lot of narrators go over the top with different voices and that can ruin a book.
The Eighth Detective, by Alex Pavesi
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
2.5 stars. I have some very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the concept and format were great. An editor with an agenda grills an author about inconsistencies in his work that might lead to something sinister. Yes, please.
Each short story was good. And the conversations between them sort of maybe lead to clues aout a real murder. But then the end explodes melodrama with plot twists that weren't deserved at all.
Julia is nothing more than a plot device throughout. She has almost no personality and we learn nothing about her, and then we're supposed to care about her dead gay dad? "Grant" comes off early on as a complete idiot at best and an idiot murderer at worst. After decades of living in a romantic partnership in a remote location with Real Grant, Fake Grant seriously has no idea that Real Grant might have done a murder? He really thinks Real Grant was just super into inside jokes about a specific young woman getting killed? And then, after decades, Fake Grant maybe remembers that Real Grant (his long term baby daddy) might have a picture of this murdered woman in a box in the shed out back? And that the picture has a note and oh no Real Grant did a murder over IP theft? And all of this happens in the last 8% of the book without any character development leading up to it?
I don't know what I was expecting, but it should have been better than this. I wanted Only Murders in the Building and instead got weekday afternoon telenovela.
Each short story was good. And the conversations between them sort of maybe lead to clues aout a real murder. But then the end explodes melodrama with plot twists that weren't deserved at all.
Julia is nothing more than a plot device throughout. She has almost no personality and we learn nothing about her, and then we're supposed to care about her dead gay dad? "Grant" comes off early on as a complete idiot at best and an idiot murderer at worst. After decades of living in a romantic partnership in a remote location with Real Grant, Fake Grant seriously has no idea that Real Grant might have done a murder? He really thinks Real Grant was just super into inside jokes about a specific young woman getting killed? And then, after decades, Fake Grant maybe remembers that Real Grant (his long term baby daddy) might have a picture of this murdered woman in a box in the shed out back? And that the picture has a note and oh no Real Grant did a murder over IP theft? And all of this happens in the last 8% of the book without any character development leading up to it?
I don't know what I was expecting, but it should have been better than this. I wanted Only Murders in the Building and instead got weekday afternoon telenovela.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Last Graduate, by Naomi Novik
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm really leaning towards the fact that this trilogy should have been a single honker of a book.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This had been on my tbr for a while, but I ultimately read it for my book club. I'm not giving it a star rating now because I have a weird reading relationship with Becky Chambers. I have to be in a certain mood to really enjoy her books. I wasn't in that mood while reading this, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it.
I'll probably be thinking about this for a while. I'm alternating between joy in the world of this book and anger that it can never be a world I actually experience. I keep imagining what my life could be like - what anyone's life could be like - if we were allowed time away from responsibility periodically to figure our shit out. Or, if we had the opportunity to change careers without going into indentured servitude to do so. Or if parents didn't have to parent and work at the same time. Or if we had access to unlimited mental health care or physical health care. I spend too much time grieving the possibilities and books like this kind of make me sad.
I'll probably be thinking about this for a while. I'm alternating between joy in the world of this book and anger that it can never be a world I actually experience. I keep imagining what my life could be like - what anyone's life could be like - if we were allowed time away from responsibility periodically to figure our shit out. Or, if we had the opportunity to change careers without going into indentured servitude to do so. Or if parents didn't have to parent and work at the same time. Or if we had access to unlimited mental health care or physical health care. I spend too much time grieving the possibilities and books like this kind of make me sad.
Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond, by Jim Ross
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Giving a starred rating to a memoir is hard because it feels like you're judging the author's life. So I'm not doing it here.
I liked this well enough. But the back and forth with Vince McMahon was repetitive. I understand that JR is just telling us his life the way it happened. But he writes about every break with WWE like it's the last and every reunion like a surprise. I found myself frustrated because it felt like someone writing about going back to an abusive relationship over and over again, which it was. I just don't understand retaining positive feelings for someone who would mock your appearance and disability both on television and in private. For years. I guess I understand continuing to work for someone who does this if you need the paycheck and love the product, but continuing to have good feelings for McMahon on a personal level is some next level Patty Hearst shit.
Anyway, this book was solidly okay. I've always been more interested in the behind the scenes aspects of wrestling, so I'll read anything Good Ol' JR writes.
Boomer Sooner ❤️
I liked this well enough. But the back and forth with Vince McMahon was repetitive. I understand that JR is just telling us his life the way it happened. But he writes about every break with WWE like it's the last and every reunion like a surprise. I found myself frustrated because it felt like someone writing about going back to an abusive relationship over and over again, which it was. I just don't understand retaining positive feelings for someone who would mock your appearance and disability both on television and in private. For years. I guess I understand continuing to work for someone who does this if you need the paycheck and love the product, but continuing to have good feelings for McMahon on a personal level is some next level Patty Hearst shit.
Anyway, this book was solidly okay. I've always been more interested in the behind the scenes aspects of wrestling, so I'll read anything Good Ol' JR writes.
Boomer Sooner ❤️
A Deadly Education, by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
4.0
This was a lot of fun. On to book two.
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma, by Stephanie Foo
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A hard but necessary read.
It Rides a Pale Horse, by Andy Marino
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
There are these two evil siblings running the most evil MFA program ever. They kidnap a second set of siblings to take part in it. You have to do a lot of evil things to graduate.
This book is gruesome af. But it's also a meditation on family, the idea of home, and what constitutes art. It's one of the few books that I like a lot but would also make a pretty good movie adaptation.
Here are the spoilery parts:
I don't really buy Helena's change of heart. I kept waiting for more info from her and Griffin, like passages from their extended lives.
What happened to Marius Van Leeman? Is he what comes out of Big Tom?
I understand Lark and Krupp's deep friendship. I only kind of understand Lark and Asha's. Like with Helena and Griffin, I kept waiting for more information about her and Lark in NYC.
Betsy. I wish she'd been more person than plot device. I wanted to like her the way I liked Rayanne, but there was nothing there. Her only purpose was to fuel Lark's actions.
All that being said, this was a wild ride and I enjoyed it. I was born, raised, and lived in upstate NY until I was 23. This book felt like home. I could see and feel the massiveness of the landscape. It was like Geneseo and Ithaca and Letchworth State Park.
I also have worked my way through artistic existential angst in a creative writing MFA program. I enjoyed the art theory questions this book poses (although that aspect isn't necessary to enjoying this book as some scary ass shit).
So, this was kind of a weird read for me. I liked it for sure. It was gross and frightening. But also comfortable and nice. The location is just so integral to the book and upstate NY's topography is one of the things I miss most about the place I lived for 23 years.
This book is gruesome af. But it's also a meditation on family, the idea of home, and what constitutes art. It's one of the few books that I like a lot but would also make a pretty good movie adaptation.
Here are the spoilery parts:
I don't really buy Helena's change of heart. I kept waiting for more info from her and Griffin, like passages from their extended lives.
What happened to Marius Van Leeman? Is he what comes out of Big Tom?
I understand Lark and Krupp's deep friendship. I only kind of understand Lark and Asha's. Like with Helena and Griffin, I kept waiting for more information about her and Lark in NYC.
Betsy. I wish she'd been more person than plot device. I wanted to like her the way I liked Rayanne, but there was nothing there. Her only purpose was to fuel Lark's actions.
All that being said, this was a wild ride and I enjoyed it. I was born, raised, and lived in upstate NY until I was 23. This book felt like home. I could see and feel the massiveness of the landscape. It was like Geneseo and Ithaca and Letchworth State Park.
I also have worked my way through artistic existential angst in a creative writing MFA program. I enjoyed the art theory questions this book poses (although that aspect isn't necessary to enjoying this book as some scary ass shit).
So, this was kind of a weird read for me. I liked it for sure. It was gross and frightening. But also comfortable and nice. The location is just so integral to the book and upstate NY's topography is one of the things I miss most about the place I lived for 23 years.