book
Rated Yesteryear 6/10
I didn’t exactly love this book, but it’s an easy quick read if you want to hate basically every single character!
Finished reading Parable of the Talents
Rated Spark 6/10
SPARK is a somewhat disorienting little book. What starts out as a fairly straightforward story turns into a darker, mysterious world.<br><br>The trouble I had with these mysterious occurrences was that I wasn't entirely sure that they were real. Now, maybe the issue is that I was reading the book while tired, before bed, and maybe there were clues that I did not notice. If Mauk intended to makes these experiences surreal, I cannot say for certain if that's how they come across.<br><br>I'd be curious to hear other readers' impressions. SPARK is definitely a novel that merits discussion, and I hope that it gets it.<br><br>(My full review appears on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2012/09/spark-by-courtney-elizabeth-mauk.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Finished reading The City of Brass
Finished reading The Empire of Gold
The English poet Roger McGough sends readers’ eyes travelling to and fro the way a tennis ball would across a net when they read 40-Love. Indeed, the poem itself – like the “middle aged couple” he writes about – is split by such a ‘net.’
#poetry #reading #Love #poem #poet #McGough #graficpoem #poems #bookstodon @bookstodon #books #book #poemaday #poetrycommunity #pictures #readers #readersofmastodon #booksky #bookish #BookTok #bookclub #readit #Bookwyrm #tennis #booklovers
Rated Fugitive Telemetry 8/10
I enjoyed this story but damn it was very confusing trying to work out if the details around the GrayCris assassination attempt also on Preservation Station. <br/><br/>Furthermore this is the sixth book but happens between Exit Strategy (four) and Network Effect (five). I’m definitely going to need to relisten all three audio books in chronological order order.<br/><br/>Really enjoying the switch to detective story style and as always I enjoy seeing Murderbot/Sec Unit grow.
Wants to read The Duchess of Malfi
Rated Parable of the Sower 10/10
What an excellent and (alas) a timely book. Grim and hopeful at the same time. (However, if you're sensitive to animal or child death, best leave this for when you're feeling quite sturdy.)
Rated Alien: Out of the Shadows 8/10
Wants to read The Atrocity Archives
Rated Spun 4/10
SPUN It’s a story about grief, addiction, and celebrity culture, but I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as its predecessor, SPIN. <br><br>It’s not that I wholly disliked Spun, but I spent most of the time reading wondering why I cared, and also wishing that we were getting a Spin/Kate story instead. Post-rehab career is an interesting concept, especially in terms of navigating celebrity culture, yet Amber spends a lot of time waiting for someone to point her in the right direction, which does not make for an interesting protagonist. I understand that someone who feels helpless would do so, from a real-life standpoint, but I expected more from a book — even if it is only around 80 pages.<br><br>McKenzie does make good use of incorporating scripts, interview clippings and text messages into the story — a trick that a lot of modern writers are still struggling with. One can hardly write about an actress in L.A. without these things, and their appearances do not feel jarring. There are also some funny bits of dialogue and, again, touching insight into Amber getting her life together.<br><br>Still, if Spun needed to be written, it needed more than backstory with a side of soapy dramz. Amber could have her own full length book, and this one doesn’t quite meet the mark. It feels rushed — dashed off, even — and ill-prepared for prime time. Maybe it’s enough for some readers, but despite its bright spots, it wasn’t enough for me.<br><br>(My full review appears at <a href="http://persephonemagazine.com/2014/05/book-review-spun-by-catherine-mckenzie/">Persephone Magazine</a>.)
Finished reading The Empty Grave
Rated The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays 10/10
So glad to have finally read this. Though we don't share the same chronic illnesses, there was a lot here I found very familiar.
Finished reading The Creeping Shadow