flyingfox02's reviews
242 reviews

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

4.0

What vastly different worlds Ann Patchett and I live in. She is constantly surrounded by people who own and can fly planes! I'm not jealous at all.

Because of this memoir I now want to read Kate DiCamillo. I also now know the painting of Maeve from The Dutch House that I had pictured is miles from what it's supposed to be.

It was nice just listening to her talk about her life. The Worthless Servant and the two essays about her father(s) were very touching. The way she speaks about and to the people she loves is heartwarming, so open and unabashed. What's stopping me from loving like that?

Inshallah United: A story of faith and football by Nooruddean Choudry

emotional funny reflective

4.0

I'm not a Manc nor a second-generation immigrant but I am a fellow football fanatic and also religious, so I could relate to a lot of things in this memoir. It's funny and searingly honest. I never thought listening to someone talk about playing the balalaika as a kid could be so captivating. Some people's lives could be so uniquely memorable. It does mostly focus on Noz's childhood (pre-A levels) and I'm just curious how he's changed in adulthood (as someone in their early 20s, insight into other people's experience at that age can be valuable), but I guess that's why this is a memoir not autobiography.

Glad they had a Northerner voice the audiobook, even though his Arabic pronunciation sounded a bit awkward (to me).

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

2.5

Not quite the strong start I was hoping for the new year. I adored the first book, The House in the Cerulean Sea. It had so much whimsy, charm, and warmth. This book exhibits some of those things too, but in a much lesser degree. 

In this sequel, we follow Arthur's perspective instead of Linus. I was expecting the story to revolve mostly around Arthur's past (as the blurb makes it out to be) but that only serves as an opening. A big chunk of the story is taken up by an inspector who comes to the island to check on the 'wellbeing' of the children. Much like the first book, if not a carbon copy. I felt it was longer than it needed to be. I couldn't make out the inspector character (can't remember her name, Marylebone or something). What even was the point of her? Like the author was making her do stupid stuff just to prolong the story.

I think this book was trying to do too much. The pacing and plotline felt a little clunky. The social commentaries were way too on the nose. (Sal being black and Talia having a beard... come on now). Some of the dialogue felt unnatural. I prefer more nuance, though I guess I'm older than the target audience.

There were things I liked. Themes of found family, inclusivity, acceptance of self and others. There's a new kid on the block and the children were so welcoming. They're still their bright, mischievous, joyful selves. (Theodore and his buttons still my favourite, of course).

There will probably be a third book. I will probably read it just to be with the characters again, even if I felt this sequel wasn't needed in the first place. If that happens, I just hope it'll somehow live up to the magic of book one.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

sad fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie

3.0

I thought I was done with reading for the year but I got bored, and Agatha Christie's never let me down before so here I am. This was classic AC. Not very memorable, but enjoyable nonetheless. I didn't manage to work out the perpetrator completely, but still sussed him pretty strongly at the beginning. Give myself some credit.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

slow-paced

3.5

Oliver Twist doesn't hit the heights of David Copperfield, which was a masterpiece so I didn't really expect it to. However, I was still pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Dickens' writing.. especially his understanding of human character, thoughts, and feelings. There's humour and melodrama sprinkled here and there too. Charles certainly love putting his protagonists through the whole spectrum of hardship and joy. I loved DC to bits, and this novel is still pretty good (even though I lost my way a little at ~75% onwards because I was in a slump), so whatever preconception I had of him as an author (Victorian authors in general) is now gone. I might even make reading Charles Dickens a yearly thing.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

funny mysterious

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

This is the most fun I've had reading a book in a while! The humour, the wordplay, the worldbuilding in this novel are top notch. I love and admire Jasper Fforde's wit and imagination. The plot itself is pretty tame, but I was driven by curiosity, wanting to know more about this world where you can see only a specific colour. Eddie is a perfect main character and narrator, revealing bits of info without dumping it all on you. To me this is SFF at its finest.

Mid-book I peeked at the penultimate page where it says "Brunswick and deMauve return in Shades of Grey 2... etc etc". At that point I had no idea what it meant, except there would obviously be sequels. But reading it again upon finishing made me laugh out because it was so clever!

Anyway, this was a fantastic read. Fforde's humour reminds me of Douglas Adams' and, from the little that I've seen of his work, Terry Pratchett's. I can't wait to continue the series and read more from him.

Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey

3.0

I'm writing this review a few months after I finished the book so I hope it won't be too inaccurate because my memory honestly isn't the best. 

I remember enjoying the first chapter a lot. It really set the scene and intrigue well. The next couple chapters were mostly filler I think? What impressed me was that the five chapters of this novel were initially published separately as a novella. But as one big story, each chapter flowed to the next really smoothly. 

The final chapter was by far the longest, and I think that's where it fell off for me. It took too long to get to the final climax, and I wasn't fully satisfied either that all the questions I had were answered. I can't get more detailed than that, I just remember noticing some loopholes within the story.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Although classed as horror, this novel wasn't very scary (I'm glad). There was a little bit of gore and death though. It's a novel mainly about grief and acceptance. The writing is simple, the plot simple, and it didn't wreck me emotionally but it still made me think. The plot developed quickly, and the perspective changes came at just the right moment every time. 

I also like the nonchalance of everything. Like, oh the lung of your dead son turned into a monster? Okay.. we'll get on with our day and deal with it. Oh, my ex-husband is marrying another man? That's totally fine. Oh, the aforementioned monster

just ate a human being

? Um.. that comes with the territory, we'll be fine. Everyone took everything in stride, it was kind of funny. 

This book didn't blow me away but the story was unique, and it was a fun and memorable read.

Letters to a Young Poet: With the Letters to Rilke from the ''Young Poet' by Franz Xaver Kappus, Rainer Maria Rilke, Damion Searls

4.0

I loved the inclusion of Kappus' letters to Rilke. It was heartwarming to read his boyish voice, enthusiastic but also somewhat at a loss. 

As for Rilke's letters themselves, I could benefit from multiple rereads of various translations. I just want to ingrain his words in my mind.