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drekklin's reviews
168 reviews
The Captain Asks for a Show of Hands: Poems by Nick Flynn
challenging
dark
medium-paced
4.75
Picked this one up from a display at the library and read it in a couple hours. Interesting formatting, a lot of poems reminded me of William S. Burroughs. It’s unsettling at times, coming untethered. The added context at the end was really
Impactful, made me rethink everything I had just read. The United States is a torture machine
Impactful, made me rethink everything I had just read. The United States is a torture machine
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
inspiring
reflective
4.0
An engrossing parable. Lots of ideas in this book will stick me. Like Siddhartha’s journey itself, I think my reflection on this book will involve trying my best to filter life experience through my own words and the words in this text while often finding some wisdom is unable to be put into words precisely.
The Employees by Olga Ravn
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
What does it mean to be a human? A worker? A part of a system? An outlier? An outsider? These questions and ones I cannot even fathom at the moment are asked and unearthed when reading The Employees. The format is clever and each page left me needing more. The whole thing cover to cover is brimming with meaningful, disconcerting reflections from the crew of the Six Thousand Ship.
The Laughing Monsters by Denis Johnson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
5.0
Dragon Wing by Tracy Hickman, Margaret Weis
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
A fantasy epic with good humor, complex but easily understood worldbuilding, and plenty of drama and the promise of more in the following books. Hugh! Alfred! Haplo! Limbeck! Bane! Iridal! I’ll be happy to read more about this characters (although one of them didn’t make it…)
Barrel Fever: Stories and Essays by David Sedaris
funny
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and it is highly inappropriate in many ways. Perhaps too many to list. It’s interesting coming at this after reading Theft By Finding first — I read his diary entries about some of these moments in his life before his polished book-version of them. Entertaining, thoughtful (at times,) and irreverent.
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
adventurous
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
A wonderful middle grade novel for book-lovers. This is the sort of sweet adventure story I want to read aloud to my own children one day. My wife and I had a good time reading it together before bed. The language is pretty and verbose, there are some genuinely funny moments, and it was easy to get invested in it (even when I could mostly understand how it would end, it still surprises me and tugged at my heart). Excited to read the sequel.
Theft by Finding: Diaries by David Sedaris
funny
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Never knew what was going to happen next. Personal, exposed, and extremely uncensored, this is a great look at the power of keeping a diary, especially as a writer. I laughed a lot. Sedaris really has a way with observation. The book is a great time capsule, too.
Ghost Town Poetry: Cover To Cover Books 2004-2010: An Anthology of Poems from the Ghost Town Open Mic Series by Toni Partington, Christopher J. Luna
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
A wonderful tribute to the origin and first six years of the legendary Ghost Town open mic series in Vancouver, WA. A lot of great poetry in this anthology, and as someone who has attended frequently since 2021 (in its current home of Art At The Cave,) this look at the history and early impact of the series was a feel-good experience through and through.