Henry Hoke - Open Throat (c. 10/24): I enjoyed it but I also dont feel like I understood it enough to say anything substantive about it.
October 24, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Henry Hoke - Open Throat (c. 10/24): I enjoyed it but I also dont feel like I understood it enough to say anything substantive about it.
EG James - The Bullet Swallower (c. 10/17): Either I missed something and need to reread it, or the threads the book was pulling at didn't really cohere. Regardless, THIS BOOK IS REALLY GOOD.
October 18, 2025 at 12:28 AM
EG James - The Bullet Swallower (c. 10/17): Either I missed something and need to reread it, or the threads the book was pulling at didn't really cohere. Regardless, THIS BOOK IS REALLY GOOD.
Yoshimi Red - Manchukuo 1987 (c. 08/30): really good alt-history detective novel that does a great job of illustrating how the setting has fucked the characters up psychologically. Cant recommend it enough for fans of Disco Elysium or Yiddish Policemen's Union
October 18, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Yoshimi Red - Manchukuo 1987 (c. 08/30): really good alt-history detective novel that does a great job of illustrating how the setting has fucked the characters up psychologically. Cant recommend it enough for fans of Disco Elysium or Yiddish Policemen's Union
Michael Finkel - Stranger in the Woods (c. 05/27). I am mixed on this. It has the S-Town problem of "this is interesting but it crosses so many ethical lines of journalism". Part meditation on isolation, part survival story, part journalist harassing a clearly unwell man and his family.
May 28, 2025 at 5:16 AM
Michael Finkel - Stranger in the Woods (c. 05/27). I am mixed on this. It has the S-Town problem of "this is interesting but it crosses so many ethical lines of journalism". Part meditation on isolation, part survival story, part journalist harassing a clearly unwell man and his family.
the bf was trying to find a more concise term for "foot fetishist"
May 25, 2025 at 3:29 AM
the bf was trying to find a more concise term for "foot fetishist"
Martha Wells - All Systems Red (c. 05/05). A friend suggested it, and it caught me by surprise. "Murderbot Diaries" suggested something much wackier along the lines of Hitchhiker's Guide and I was pleasantly surprised it was more straightforward and with a drier sense of humor. Quite enjoyed it!
May 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Martha Wells - All Systems Red (c. 05/05). A friend suggested it, and it caught me by surprise. "Murderbot Diaries" suggested something much wackier along the lines of Hitchhiker's Guide and I was pleasantly surprised it was more straightforward and with a drier sense of humor. Quite enjoyed it!
also what the fuck is this cover art
April 27, 2025 at 2:43 AM
also what the fuck is this cover art
Philip K. Dick - Time out of Joint (c. 04/26): Once again I don't get it. Breezy read. In a way it's a lot like the Truman Show...but I preferred the Truman Show's take on the concept.
April 27, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Philip K. Dick - Time out of Joint (c. 04/26): Once again I don't get it. Breezy read. In a way it's a lot like the Truman Show...but I preferred the Truman Show's take on the concept.
Albert Camus - The Stranger (c. 04/13): first reread since I was a teenager. And I must say: I still don't get it. Easily readable though, blitzed through the whole book in a day.
April 14, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Albert Camus - The Stranger (c. 04/13): first reread since I was a teenager. And I must say: I still don't get it. Easily readable though, blitzed through the whole book in a day.
Jeff Vandermeer - Authority (c. 04/05): the polarizing middle child of the Southern Reach trilogy. I was lukewarm on Annihilation but I had an inexplicable itch to read this. I'm glad I did as I really enjoyed the SCP Foundation/Control vibes it had.
April 5, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Jeff Vandermeer - Authority (c. 04/05): the polarizing middle child of the Southern Reach trilogy. I was lukewarm on Annihilation but I had an inexplicable itch to read this. I'm glad I did as I really enjoyed the SCP Foundation/Control vibes it had.
Tangent: Why did we not get the UK cover of Intermezzo over here? It's SO MUCH BETTER
March 23, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Tangent: Why did we not get the UK cover of Intermezzo over here? It's SO MUCH BETTER
Sally Rooney - Intermezzo (c. 03/23): Been nibbling on this since January. Heard it recommended a lot last year but always with the caveat of "But she's a romance writer". Really good book about really messy people who tend to overthink about how messy they are.
March 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Sally Rooney - Intermezzo (c. 03/23): Been nibbling on this since January. Heard it recommended a lot last year but always with the caveat of "But she's a romance writer". Really good book about really messy people who tend to overthink about how messy they are.
Tana French - Broken Harbor (completed 03/13): Started this as a roadtrip audiobook and blitzed thru it in the span of a week. Really fucking good crime thriller. Shades of Parasite in terms of plot similarities & the heavy emphasis on class, but otherwise not too comparable. HUGE recommendation
March 23, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Tana French - Broken Harbor (completed 03/13): Started this as a roadtrip audiobook and blitzed thru it in the span of a week. Really fucking good crime thriller. Shades of Parasite in terms of plot similarities & the heavy emphasis on class, but otherwise not too comparable. HUGE recommendation
Hernan Diaz - In the Distance. Finished just in time before 2015 hit!
Really quite enjoyed this one. There's the urge to read into the metaphors that may or may not be there, but on the surface it's a well written survivalist tale wearing the clothes of a Western.
Really quite enjoyed this one. There's the urge to read into the metaphors that may or may not be there, but on the surface it's a well written survivalist tale wearing the clothes of a Western.
December 28, 2024 at 8:08 PM
Hernan Diaz - In the Distance. Finished just in time before 2015 hit!
Really quite enjoyed this one. There's the urge to read into the metaphors that may or may not be there, but on the surface it's a well written survivalist tale wearing the clothes of a Western.
Really quite enjoyed this one. There's the urge to read into the metaphors that may or may not be there, but on the surface it's a well written survivalist tale wearing the clothes of a Western.
When the world needed him most, he vanished
December 13, 2024 at 1:57 AM
When the world needed him most, he vanished
To complete the effect
December 9, 2024 at 2:07 AM
To complete the effect
I refuse to believe these are real subgenres
December 5, 2024 at 4:37 PM
I refuse to believe these are real subgenres
Plus the problem quite clearly is foundational and reflects an issue that's been going on somewhere in the K-12 system (if not the whole system entirely). An article on The Atlantic, following up the writer's previous article on "The Ivy League Students Who Can't Read" talks about this
December 1, 2024 at 6:29 AM
Plus the problem quite clearly is foundational and reflects an issue that's been going on somewhere in the K-12 system (if not the whole system entirely). An article on The Atlantic, following up the writer's previous article on "The Ivy League Students Who Can't Read" talks about this
Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
People often recommend this in the category of "Books like Disco Elysium", and it is as close as you're going to get I think. It's not as daft, but it's a very solid, mildly comedic detective story set in an alternate history. Highly recommended.
People often recommend this in the category of "Books like Disco Elysium", and it is as close as you're going to get I think. It's not as daft, but it's a very solid, mildly comedic detective story set in an alternate history. Highly recommended.
December 1, 2024 at 2:10 AM
Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
People often recommend this in the category of "Books like Disco Elysium", and it is as close as you're going to get I think. It's not as daft, but it's a very solid, mildly comedic detective story set in an alternate history. Highly recommended.
People often recommend this in the category of "Books like Disco Elysium", and it is as close as you're going to get I think. It's not as daft, but it's a very solid, mildly comedic detective story set in an alternate history. Highly recommended.
