thebakersbooks's reviews
281 reviews

Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk's Twitter by Zoë Schiffer

informative reflective fast-paced

3.5

This felt more like low-hanging fruit than incisive reporting, but the topic still deserved coverage and Schiffer got the job done in a way that acknowledged the harms of Musk's takeover, not just the spectacle. I will say that some terms needed to be defined better/at all; my wife works in tech and I was confused in a couple of places despite a passing familiarity with some of the lingo and topics.

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley

slow-paced

2.0

Some things seem off to me about how this was written. Not just some clumsy sentence-level stuff and and least one plot hole. I don't recommend it, or the first book.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

funny informative reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

Honestly, the most brilliant part of this is Kuang laying bare for everyone how the whole machine of publishing is complicit when something bigoted gets through the stages of the process to end up as a printed book on shelves. This must have been so challenging and so fun to write—that's how it is to read, which I mean as high praise. I hope I learned some stuff.

The Wicked and the Willing by Lianyu Tan

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I read this in two sittings several months apart. The first time, I got to the choose-your-ending part within two days and stopped there because I knew which ending I wanted as my canon one, but wanted to read all three and was afraid doing so would ruin the emotional experience. When I finally picked the book back up, I read from beginning to end, including all three choices, in less than a day. Reading the other two endings temporarily took the shine off my "real" one, but I'm glad I chose well (not that the right choice wasn't set up to be clear, which I also liked as an authorial decision). I hope I'm able to right a full review for this someday—I loved the innovative format and the brutality with which it was used.

This Town Sleeps by Dennis E. Staples

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

What a bold choice! 

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I appreciate the inclusion of Jewish people! The author didn't have to do that but did so thoughtfully and even humorously.

Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall

3.0

Not sure why a book written in 2020 by an author who *seems* to understand that bigotry is wrong included a Harry Potter reference. It doesn't mean I dislike the whole book as a result, but as a trans person, etc., it makes me wary of reading more by the author. 

Rules For Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

There were times when I found the mode of storytelling frustrating; I even told my wife "I wish this were a novella." However, I'm used to a certain Western method of structuring books and that was getting in my way of what I eventually did, which was enjoy the pace and rhythm very much. The slowness of the book is sometimes the point and the emotional payoff of the end is more than worth any tedium. What an excellent and appropriate book for our times. I appreciate the hope. Also the mourning and anger.