book

Rated Villager 7/10

<div>I think I enjoy Tom Cox's non-fiction more than his fiction, but I still liked this weird, sprawling look at the fictional (though Dartmoor-inspired) area of Underhill. He jumps around in time through past centuries and our future, occasionally dips into both folk-horror and music journalism, and we meet a lot of different voices along the way. Some I liked more than others, but I respect the scope and strangeness of it all. I'll always want to read what he does next.</div>

Rated We Travel the Spaceways 10/10

<div>A really excellent short story, and definitely worth listening to the audio version.</div>

Wants to read Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys

Wants to read Viking Warrior Rising

Rated A Swim in a Pond in the Rain 10/10

Rated Youth 8/10

Rated Fansi's stilte: een Surinaamse grootmoeder en de slavernij 4/10

Rated De saamhorigheidsgroep 6/10

Rated What Stalks Among Us: A Creepy and Atmospheric YA Thriller About Teens Trapped in a Haunted Corn Maze 10/10

<div>Absolutely LOVED this. I'm not a regular reader of YA — not for any snobby reasons; it's just not where my attention usually takes me — but I'd read and enjoyed Sarah Hollowell's previous book (A Dark And Starless Forest), so I knew I was in for a good time. Well... a tense time!&nbsp;<br><br>And WOW does Hollowell keep up the tension! Two high school seniors encounter a mysterious corn maze in springtime Indiana and soon find themselves trapped, unsure of the new rules for their environment, and also... is that a dead body that looks just like one of them? What a beginning!&nbsp;<br><br>The story also deals with the lingering effects of emotional abuse and other toxic relationships in a way that intertwines with their current circumstances, but never feels predictable or cliché. I genuinely did not know how the story would shake out until the main characters did. I also very much appreciated that the main characters are just friends. No shoehorned romance here! There's too much to deal with!<br><br>If you enjoy psychological horror with characters who feel very true to life, do pick this up.</div>

Rated Why Our Decisions Don't Matter 6/10

In essence, the book argues that, while we may be able to control our reaction to the world, we cannot control the world itself. Like the rest of the WHY series, it's thought-provoking and covers a wide range of source material. Good stuff.<br><br>(Full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-our-decisions-dont-matter-by-simon.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)

Rated Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America 7/10

<div>This will be a useful book for those who have newly left evangelical communities and need it all laid out from an outside perspective that, yes, this really is as wildly damaging as it seems. It will also be useful for anyone who is perhaps <em>loosely</em> aware of Christian Nationalism, but would like to have some of the dots connected and need a jumping off point.<br><br>That said, I wish there had been a firmer editorial hand in the writing itself. (We understand; you like the word "aegis," and maybe also we don't need to use "perfervid" twice within the same chapter? etc.) I think I was hoping for something that was a little more journalistic. Not dumbed down for the general populace, but perhaps writing that really laid out the facts in a clear way that didn't also feel like a vocabulary worksheet. I love a good word! I do! Still, there are ways to use those words without undermining the effectiveness of your writing.<br><br>However, there are a lot of smart thoughts contained within, and I still learned some things about the terrible way of being that our country seems to be doubling down on, currently. If you have abuse in your past, please make sure you are feeling particularly supported and robust before reading some chapters.</div>

Rated Why We Need Love: Eye-Opening Philosophical Essays―A Provocative Collection by Acclaimed Author Simon Van Booy 8/10

Full review at <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2010/09/why-we-need-love-by-simon-van-booy.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.

Rated Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters 10/10

<div>This is an outstandingly good collection of essays on ("Big Mama") Willie Mae Thornton's life and career. I knew a little about her before reading, but not much, and some of that is because this is only the second biography written about her. Massively influential to early rock n roll, Thornton had a full blues career that spanned from the 1940s until her death in the 1980s. If one of the goals of the book is to make people want to investigate her music further, then consider it a success.</div>

Finished reading The Thursday Murder Club

Wants to read Wildwood

Rated Wrath Of Fantomas 8/10

I was not familiar with Fantômas as a character before reading this, so I probably missed some of the references contained in this story, but I enjoyed this. Julie Rocheleau's artwork is gorgeous, and easily the best part of the whole experience.

Finished reading Cat’s Cradle

Finished reading Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian's Journey Home

Finished reading Black Leopard, Red Wolf

Finished reading Caketrain Issue 06

Finished reading Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

Finished reading Doctor Who: The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: The Eternity Club 2

Finished reading The Only Good Indians

Finished reading Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures - Hidden Depths

Finished reading Doctor Who: The Wishing Beast / The Vanity Box