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daumari's reviews
1189 reviews
Underlord by Will Wight
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Review to come when I sleep on it. It's hard to think of other things besides, "oh, a training arc" when that's the genre, but this was a nice prelude to the upcoming tournament. Glad to see the party reunited for a bit, and learning more about the Akuras and other factions.
The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson
adventurous
funny
3.25
Finished a few days ago but haven't gotten the chance to sit down and write a review yet. 3, maybe 3.5 for me- our Biere Library Storytime Book Club pick for Aug/Sept 2024's Lighthearted theme.
I will say this is a lighter tone than our previous reads on genocide/fascism, but it also felt like a book trapped in amber for 1990. While he does talk about historical influences on linguistics, it's interesting considering this was before widespread adoption of the internet and the speed at which information (and memes!) travel. While Bryson does cite, some of his anecdotes and examples feel a little, well, apocryphal (like I'd be verrrry skeptical if Japanese NEVER had swear words in its millennia long history). I do think this is the most I've said words outloud while reading in a while, though (not counting ones read to my child) because of things in the pronunciation and dialect chapters.
I will say this is a lighter tone than our previous reads on genocide/fascism, but it also felt like a book trapped in amber for 1990. While he does talk about historical influences on linguistics, it's interesting considering this was before widespread adoption of the internet and the speed at which information (and memes!) travel. While Bryson does cite, some of his anecdotes and examples feel a little, well, apocryphal (like I'd be verrrry skeptical if Japanese NEVER had swear words in its millennia long history). I do think this is the most I've said words outloud while reading in a while, though (not counting ones read to my child) because of things in the pronunciation and dialect chapters.
Blood on Their Hands: Murder, Corruption, and the Fall of the Murdaugh Dynasty by Mandy Matney
challenging
dark
fast-paced
2.25
It was ok. The second author was a clue for me that this is another entry in the internet: the book genre (the last podcast-turned-book I read was Dolls of Our Lives but in that case, dual authors were because of the two hosts) which sort of surprised me given Mandy Matney is a journalist though fleshing into a book is a different kind of writing, especially pulling throughlines together.
From the title, I would've expected a deeper dive into past generations with "dynasty", but this focuses primarily on recent events starting from reporting on the 2019 boat crash through Alex Murdagh's guilty conviction in 2023. As someone who didn't listen to the podcast, I assume this is a good summary of her discovery/investigation without listening (props to y'all who listen to pods sped up, but I can't). Still, this was a quick read and unintentionally served as indirect promo for The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie Bauerlain which sounds like a more thorough look at the Murdaughs themselves. This did go into more detail about the financial crimes than I'd known prior, so that was new to me.
From the title, I would've expected a deeper dive into past generations with "dynasty", but this focuses primarily on recent events starting from reporting on the 2019 boat crash through Alex Murdagh's guilty conviction in 2023. As someone who didn't listen to the podcast, I assume this is a good summary of her discovery/investigation without listening (props to y'all who listen to pods sped up, but I can't). Still, this was a quick read and unintentionally served as indirect promo for The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie Bauerlain which sounds like a more thorough look at the Murdaughs themselves. This did go into more detail about the financial crimes than I'd known prior, so that was new to me.
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Nothing like a sci-fi short story collection to scratch the creeping dread of technology while doing some (possibly literal in the case of Omphalos) navel gazing! This is my first Ted Chiang that I've read, and I think my favorite in the collection was the titular story on the pressures of a world with finite air. I felt The Lifecycle of Software Objects ran a little long. The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate was a nice entry point coming off of my The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi reread.
Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
upfront: CW for child sexual abuse and suicidal ideation (this is also mentioned in an author's note at the beginning which is helpful). Queer tag is for a side character and not just the abuser.
A short work that bends a bit recursively, where Benson Yu, a comics artist in the 2020s writes prose fiction about Benny, a fictionalized version of himself in the 1980s as he processes childhood traumas but modifying, perhaps what could have been had his abuser been different. At some point, the narrative comes into Benson's life and how to repair as an adult?
A short work that bends a bit recursively, where Benson Yu, a comics artist in the 2020s writes prose fiction about Benny, a fictionalized version of himself in the 1980s as he processes childhood traumas but modifying, perhaps what could have been had his abuser been different. At some point, the narrative comes into Benson's life and how to repair as an adult?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Suicide
How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley
dark
informative
fast-paced
4.0
It's strange because this book is from six years ago yet feels incredibly evergreen as we're in another general election year and the same tactics are being deployed (hearkening to a mythic past, anti-intellectualism, a rigid adherence to societal roles etc.)
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So even though I "started" on the 19th, I didn't actually start until last night and the binged whoops.
I thought it was ok- definitely felt tense like something would be off, (view spoiler). I was surprised at the Australian setting, but that's because this is my first Liane Moirarty. I was tempted to watch the Hulu series for book club because I was so late in getting to this, but it looks like they've changed the setting to California so I'm curious what other adaptational changes happened.
There's interesting character work here, but I don't think that was enough to support the generally slow pace (it's an extended locked room episode, I feel).
I thought it was ok- definitely felt tense like something would be off, (view spoiler). I was surprised at the Australian setting, but that's because this is my first Liane Moirarty. I was tempted to watch the Hulu series for book club because I was so late in getting to this, but it looks like they've changed the setting to California so I'm curious what other adaptational changes happened.
There's interesting character work here, but I don't think that was enough to support the generally slow pace (it's an extended locked room episode, I feel).
The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson
4.0
Read for another parenting discord book club! I remember hearing the This American Life episode about this a while back, and it's an interesting story... like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, this is an investigative nonfiction where the author becomes a character in it, in this case KWJ tries to find the unrecovered skins. As a one-time fly tier (shout out to ten year old me copying my dad's hobby dabblings) and biologist by training, this scratches a lot of itches for me.
There's something interesting about how predominantly male the fly-tying community is (while Johnson does say something towards the end like "researchers and scientists holding specimens to answer future questions vs the men and women who consume and collect in the legacy of Victorians" or some such, I... really don't remember any female tiers mentioned unless anonymized, and I almost feel like maybe it's because the obsession for rare feathers (to tie for a sporting hobby) hearkens back to Imperialist days where consumables were seemingly abundant and could be plundered from anywhere in the world. And while my brief stint tying was with commercially available products... I feel like it's pure decadence to try to get endangered plumages when dyed hackle feathers can do quite a bit?? Like if you use fancy materials, I'm guessing you're not going to put your extremely-valuable fly in streams looking for salmon.
I also feel prompted to try reading The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction again because it's where I found out about Alfred Russel Wallace.
There's something interesting about how predominantly male the fly-tying community is (while Johnson does say something towards the end like "researchers and scientists holding specimens to answer future questions vs the men and women who consume and collect in the legacy of Victorians" or some such, I... really don't remember any female tiers mentioned unless anonymized, and I almost feel like maybe it's because the obsession for rare feathers (to tie for a sporting hobby) hearkens back to Imperialist days where consumables were seemingly abundant and could be plundered from anywhere in the world. And while my brief stint tying was with commercially available products... I feel like it's pure decadence to try to get endangered plumages when dyed hackle feathers can do quite a bit?? Like if you use fancy materials, I'm guessing you're not going to put your extremely-valuable fly in streams looking for salmon.
I also feel prompted to try reading The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction again because it's where I found out about Alfred Russel Wallace.
Skysworn by Will Wight
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75