worm_food's reviews
160 reviews

Animal Farm by George Orwell

4.5

I read the majority of this book in the background of a 4-hour entirely useless work zoom meeting and I feel like even though Orwell was a bit too early to catch the true horrors of 21st century late stage capitalism the setting really made a very interesting reading experience. You ever read a classic and get pissed off because you can so clearly see why it is a classic. It stays with you in a way that's not a product of its time, or accidental. Anyway. 

King Lear by William Shakespeare

4.5

Some books get silly little reviews but this is Shakespeare lmao and I am not about to write an essay on storygraph for free. Reading this while also listening to BBC Radio 3's production was a very nice lil sweet treat, I would definitely recommend. Staying unaware primes you for suffering inflicted by others but having your eyes open means witnessing that suffering in the first place, also someone might wanna try clawing them out! And then you die anyway. Fun! Rest in peace William you would've loved Brian Cox's iteration of Logan Roy in HBO's Succession. I think Kendall would've been his fave

Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

3.0

Mmmm of the books of the genre this one didn't stick out to me that much I feel...? Is that mean. My attention just kept drifting and the narration and writing style were good it just didn't give me anything. 

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

3.75

Orthodox Christianity is funny in many ways I think, especially in the way god is feared compared to other branches of the religion. This surprised me with it's succinctness and for what it is I expected it to be preachier. I liked it but it's hard to put to words why, I guess. It manages to transcend modernity bad tradition good and say something, which I do appreciate.

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

4.25

There's just something very fun about a really pretentious cunt man soliloquy that is also written well. There's times where trying to find a balance between exposition and plot progression that make the pacing feel clunky, and the Brandon Sanderson golden rule of the limitations of a magic system being more exciting than its capabilities is not exactly honoured - both things that at times make you feel like the author bit off a fair bit more than she could chew. Overall though this shit was FUN, the characters and their internal conflicts were FUN especially in the back half of the book after the reader manages to spend some time with them and they get a little bit more depth (Parisa and Tristan especially, I was pleasantly surprised). A fair amount of absolutely baller scenes, Ezra's interlude and the confrontation between Tristan and Callum were a treat to read, they are enough for me to ignore the overly sensationalised dark academia prose that I would be slamming otherwise.

I'm curious about the rest of the series, but my expectations are high, so let's see how it goes - survivors guilt as narrative device and a departure from the dark academia shittery is what I'm expecting and I really really hope it stays good or gets better.

If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura

4.25

I listened to this audiobook during a day hike, it was very nice as far as companions go. I ran out of listening time on Spotify when I was 20 minutes away from finishing it and out of spite read the rest online rather than buying extra audiobook minutes, which, I gotta say made me realize the narrators performance (which wasn't half bad, honestly) didn't do the text the service it deserved, it was more enjoyable to read than listen to unfortunately. Still. The way you spend your days is the way you live your life and significance comes from within as well as all around. Devastating stuff. 

How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

3.75

Huh. I was waiting for the ending to piss me off but surprisingly it made me like the book quite a bit more, it needed some nuance, I'm glad it got it near the end, but I do wish that it was done in parallel to the main storyline rather than as a twist ending. Either way, eh? It was a fun listen but a bit too neat for its premise no one is really explored or given any depth something that the story desperately needs. Bit of an obvious sequel set up at the end there, not sure how eager I'd be to pick it up if that's the case but not a bad way go about it as far as dramas go

Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

3.75

Oh Ottessa. I like this so much more as a story than rest and relaxation and lapvona, it is so much more intentional than the others and yet without that signature irony I had grown to expect in her books this at times reads like she herself is a bit bored of the story. I don't know? 

Devil House by John Darnielle

5.0

He's already been on uhm, actually, Sam Reich I KNOW you have this man's number please get him on dimension 20 LISTEN TO MEEE. His lyricism in writing is so despicable I hate songwriters whose craft transcends its vessel, I need to kill him insane style and then I will be at peace. Fuck you artistic integrity humanity and passion I don't know what this cunts talking about leave me alone 

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

1.5

I get that the novel's main thesis is this boundless pursuit of freedom, but even if you manage to look past the jarring and jittery writing style (which I am willing to admit is personal taste) that doesn't reflect upon itself for most of this book, you are still left with characters who at their free-est still remain ironic, thinking they're above it all because they can't be pinned down. 

There is no true Road towards liberation, and there is no one way that is the right one to reach it, but doing so mindlessly, stumbling upon meaning without respecting it, is always going to be far less meaningful and impactful to me than allowing yourself to be vulnerable and to look at something you deem below you as your equal. The only things Sal Paradise respects throughout the book are the *performative signifiers of freedom - not giving a damn, booze, sex, drugs, being able to trick people into bending to your will. Is that freedom? Is that truth? I don’t know - I can see this book’s appeal to the generation it touched when it came out, but even looking at his mid 20th century contemporaries, it’s hard to place him anywhere near them. Oh well. The main reason this is rated so low is because it was legitimately hard to read, but it gets half a point for its descriptions of America's vastness and temperament, although incredibly biased.