remlezar's reviews
507 reviews

Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan

funny informative medium-paced

3.75

Mostly snippets from interviews, which the author does a great job of weaving together with brief interjections of context and narrative.

If you're obsessed with Fury Road, you'll enjoy the anecdotes and insights into the behind-the-scenes mayhem. If you've seed Fury Road but didn't love it, this book help you appreciate it more. If you don't care about Fury Road at all, you'll likely mostly be lost or bored.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

dark informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

Read both because of how long it had been on my TBR list, and because I was in the mood for some Jon Krakauer but have exhausted his bibliography. I'm happy to report that Larson's style is a similar combination of compulsively readable, well researched, and organized. 

Previously, my knowledge of the famous fair was comprised of bits and pieces of trivia and factoids casually absorbed from pop culture. So most of what I read here was new information for me, each detail feeling more absurd and borderline unbelievable from the last. And on top of it all, throw a doctor serial killer into the mix? And an assassination of a widely beloved mayor? 

It almost goes without saying that we're living in wild times in the 2020's. But reading this helped keep things a bit in perspective, shit was also crazy in the 1890's.

Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

An intriguing setup, but very YA in execution. Very simple writing that I should have breezed through, but nothing really hooked me so I just sort of lazily poked at it 20-30 pages at a time until I was done with it. Wasn't so boring or bad that I ever considered abandoning it, but ultimately didn't really do much for me either. 

Didn't think it needed all the different POV chapters, and the surprise was fairly expected. 

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Pretty forgettable compared to other Murakami novels I love, and embraces some of his worst tendencies as a writer at a higher rate than usual.

BUT, Murakami writes in this hypnotic, meditative, dreamy way that I just have yet to successfully find with any regularity from anyone else. So even at his most forgettable, I still have a good time. 

South of the Border, West of the Sun has a dash of strange quirky mystery t0 keep you interested, and more than enough of that Murakami flavor I can't get enough of. Plus, it doesn't overstay its welcome. 

The Hunter by Tana French

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Enjoyed the first Cal Hooper book a lot, loved the second one even more. 

I appreciate how both books are 100% genre pieces, but the beats are so different from your average murder/mysteries, you kind of forget you're reading a genre thing until a murder happens or Cal has to investigate something.

Trey is a great character and I appreciate that she's even more front and center here. 

I do wonder where French could take these book next - I think there's a lot of relationship stuff that could keep developing, but Trey's family drama seems like a well that has to be pretty dried up at this point. So maybe Cal's annoying neighbor gets murdered or something? Whatever it ends up being (assuming she writes another one), I'll be here for it.

The Likeness by Tana French

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

After reading some other Tana French books and loving them (including the first in this series), I was excited to give this one a go. 

It took me longer to fall into than the others by her I've read, and I ended up picking it up and putting it down quite a few times. I think I mostly just missed the main character from In the Woods. But when I finally hit the 60% (ish) point, things started really moving, and it stuck the landing well. 

Not sure when I'll read #3, but I probably will!

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

3.5

More ambitious than the first, which is cool in some ways, but also had the effect of having it all feel pretty scattered. Not sure how much I enjoyed the Snow Crash/Ready Player One type stuff, but overall still very enjoyable, and the audiobook was produced well. 

Curious what Hank will do next.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-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

3.5

Super enjoyable first contact story with a decent amount of Ready Player One mixed in, but what it's all REALLY about is the trials and tribulations of being internet famous. It's an obvious thing to wonder how much of that is autobiographical.

Easy reading, a good audiobook for a commute or the gym.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

After leaning into the slightly heavier side of SF with the Interdependency trilogy, Scalzi seems to have settled back into Saturday morning cartoon territory with the Kaiju Preservation Society and then Starter Villain. 

Starer Villain is, for my money, a little more memorable and interesting than KPS, despite how much I love the premise of KPS. Starter Villain is light, breezy, and cute. Amusing but not laugh out loud funny, although your results may vary there. 

I listened to the audiobook at the gym, and it was perfect for that. So now that I'm done with the book, I guess I don't have to go to the gym anymore. 

Backflash by Richard Stark

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Very solid middle upper tier Parker. Loved the setting, the caper, and the cast of characters. Not an all-timer, but if the modern run of Parker stays this good until the end, I'll have zero complaints. 

Not looking forward to running out of these books.