storydevgrace's reviews
162 reviews

Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human by Grant Morrison

funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book is part autobiography, part socio-political reflection as told within the storytelling sub-niche world of comic books. It is a must-have if you love diving behind the story development curtain and into the rabbit hole of their themes as much as I do.

The Sandman: Act I by Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

Not reading NG anymore.

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

adventurous dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Gallows humour makes themes of heroism, political freedom, inept authority, and death approachable through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old baker forced to fix a big mess made by adults.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Death

Moderate: Violence and War

Minor: Vomit

The Unwedding by Ally Condie

mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? No

2.5

There was nothing offensive about this book, but the MC's deep lack of self-respect (which didn't improve) rubbed me the wrong way. The plot was interesting enough that I finished, but when I did, I didn't feel the MC had grown, which left me feeling like I'd wasted my time.

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.

I was holding out for the possibility of a polyamorous romance, but alas, it is another love triangle, and I hate love triangles to the point where I no longer care about the characters' internal and external conflicts, and I don't jive with the new POV character.

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson

adventurous informative lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

Mr Ingermanson takes us through his Snowflake Method of storytelling using the vehicle of a charming Goldilocks and the Three Bears fanfiction. The story is cute, even if the Snowflake Method doesn't work for you.

This writer has my respect. Normally, I'd give a writing methodology book three stars before trying it out, but The Snowflake Method earned another star from me because the author makes it very clear that writing methodologies that work for some writers won't work for others - something that books, like Save The Cat, don't acknowledge.

I will update this review once I have tried out the Snowflake Method.

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.5

There were hints of implicit sexism in the tone, the jokes didn't always land with me, and grocery lists of direct speech--he said, I said--sometimes gave way to sequences of action that were maybe supposed to be funny but weren't because we had no clue what the protagonist was feeling--and that's a problem that continues throughout the book. It read like a screenplay, a story skeleton waiting for actors to fill in the blanks. In that respect, Wil Wheaton did a good job narrating the audiobook. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Violence, Vomit, and Medical content

Minor: Sexism and War

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Watching the protagonist dig herself into a deeper hole at every turn was hard to follow, but I did so with morbid and rapt attention. Perhaps it's because I see a version of myself in her that I slapped down at eighteen and have kept firmly in check for over a decade. Is there a shitty Juniper Song in me? Is she in all white women? What a dark thought.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Death of parent, and War

How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It) by Jessica McCabe
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

As a fan of her YouTube channel, I can't believe I'm DNFing this audiobook. Her vocal fry, while unnoticeable in her videos, is gratingly obvious in this narration, and I can't continue. I wish I could say I will buy the print version instead, but I know what I'm like with printed versions of books: ADHD gonna ADHD.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces: The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell by Joseph Campbell

informative slow-paced

2.25

The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a well-referenced research piece with undeniable truth hidden behind discredited Freudian and misogynistic rhetoric. 
James Campbell proves his monomyth theory using dense writing bloated with references to mythology and theology. My low rating reflects the sexism and dry tone. I acknowledge that the Monomyth is a key stepping stone in literary theory and is a necessary evil when learning about storytelling in human history.