#short book review

[narcissistcookbook]

short book review, The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

I liked most of this a lot. The protagonist is a bunch of fun to follow around, there were some genuinely creepy bits and a couple of twists that caught me out. Unfortunately the story is let down by the very ending - the last three chapters felt half-baked.

Major spoilers after the break:

The triple twist about the killers got me. I thought I was smart for guessing it was Skye early on, but then I didn't bother thinking beyond that conclusion and was effectively sideswiped by Steph being in on it as well.

The whole finale though - from Steph driving away from a dying Lynnette, up through the arrival at Red Lake, to confronting the killers, and the final chapter - was so disappointing.

I loved that I kept finding out about the narrator's dirty secrets as the story unfolded. There was a point where I wondered if she'd been behind it.

The fakeout of Lynnette abandoning Steph at Chrissy's place fully got me and part of me wishes Hendrix had pulled the trigger on it, but it was fine that he didn't. After 3/4s of a novel spent finding out that the main character is kinda shit and useless, that would have been a fully earned twist.

The killers-using-guns subversion was deeply uninteresting - I get what Hendrix was trying to do I think, but guns don't belong in that world. They undo all the tension. I know Hendrix understands this because he explains it earlier in the story, so having the final confrontation be Lynnette running away from a dude with a machine gun felt totally out of touch. The observation the story implies is

"well why did you want a sequence full of brutal slayings, hmmm? what does that say about you? aren't you part of the problem?"

and like fuck off you know? I have a strong dislike for that kind of meta buck-passing. I'm reading the book because I enjoy spooks and grissliness, don't try and high road me about that right at the end.

Red Lake didn't feel like it made any sense as a setting for the finale either. It had little to no resonation with or meaning to the main character.

Given that Chrissy was the mirror image of Lynnette, Chrissy's murder museum would have been a better setting for a finale wouldn't it? Scream 6 ended up doing something like that two years after this book was published.

Heather was an interesting but underexplored character, and her reveal that there was probably something supernatural going on with her story was fun. Although I felt a little too spin-off baited by the last mention of her.

I'm not as down on as it as I sound. I enjoyed the book, I'm just sad that the ending was almost entirely botched because if the landing had been stuck it would have been a great story.

[groovyspecs]

The Pride of Chanur

I picked this up on a recommendation and I am really enjoying it. It was published in 1981 but doesn't feel old. Perhaps because it is sci-fi and there aren’t any obvious items to date it. I’m not very far in but so far it has me hooked.

[unsupervisedrat]

Short Review: Clean, the New Science of Skin

The book "Clean" was a disappointment. I went in expecting for arguments that showering is superfluous, or at least should be done without soap or other substances that deplete oils.

And it delivers this mainly by examining the health industry. There are chapters devoted to the history of soap, the current marketing of said soap, the difference (or lack thereof) between major brands and more "indie" takes. It speaks of purveyors of boutique bacterial sprays to replenish skin microbiome, and ponders the implication of their medicinal uses creeping into mainstream skincare marketing.

The book spends far less times on the far more interesting aspects. How did dermatologists find out that Staphylococcus Aureus is implicated in eczema? How do patients inoculated with saline/other bacterial blends react? Does this work on atopic dermatitis? Does it help with hay fever? Is there a difference in treating adults and treating children?

Are there studies on not showering? It'd be hard to blind, but if the effect sizes are large, then it'd be possible to gain some useful signals.

Are there disproportionate tradeoffs between those with the gene for oily apocrene secretions (non East Asians) vs those without (some East Asians)? How does this affect their skin microbiome, and whether they should shower?

The book reasons about its recommended course of action, less showering, less soap use, with an alarming lack of focus on the object level. It only does so in passing, to establish that we know something of how the skin works, and that soap is likely unnecessary except for our hands. And then spends five times as long looking at the insides of companies or industries.

[loveelizabeths]

love elizabeth s.

[notgilderoylockhart]

A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke is definitely one of my favorite books this year and one of my all time favorite audiobooks.

It took me a while to decide on a design for the rebind though. I think I made 8 designs in total until I finally settled on this one. I wanted to incorporate the burnt match, as well as the smoke from the original cover but filling the empty space around that alone proved difficult.

To fill that empty space, I added the title and finally, as I was trying to figure out a design for the back cover and watching this production of Henry IV on YouTube, another idea came to me.

A central plot point is a production of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, so I designed a little playbill for the back. And to tie both the front and the back design together I put some of Hotspur’s (our protagonist’s role in the play) dialogue on some scrap book cloth with a hot foil quill and added a "burnt edge" in gold vinyl.

I’m totally in love with it, not just because I love shiny things.

[freshstitches]

Last month, Sixth & Spring publishing reached out to me to review the new Short-row Colorwork Knitting book by Woolly Wormhead. Woolly  is best known for designing clever hat patterns that employ the use of short-rows to create dynamic shapes in colorwork. I've never made one of her patterns, but have long appreciated them as a sort of brain teaser. Each one seems to fit together like a puzzle of yarn. I've now spent a month with this book, reading through it and using it as a textbook to learn Woolly's signature short row technique.

The cover of the book has a frosted glass feel, which I think is nicer than a glossy cover. Three of the brightly colored stitch patterns are displayed along with the title. The book contains 50 stitch patterns and 10 projects. The yarn for the publication was provided by malabrigo so every stitch pattern is shown in beautiful tonal yarn. I also noticed a stitch key on the inside of the flap of the cover that folds out so you can look at it when you're working on a pattern. I love the consideration for the reader and the functionality.

This book is written like a workbook, it starts by giving you all the tools that you need to use to knit the stitch patterns then use them in your own projects. The first few chapters explain the short-row colorwork fabric, the chart system, ways of altering the motifs in the book and color theory. I was not left with any questions about the instructions. The next section of the book contains tutorials teaching the basics of short row knitting, the skills that are needed to complete the patterns are shown with photos. There's even a photo tutorial on knitting backwards - a huge time saver. It seems like Woolly and I have the same party trick. 

Next, I tried making a few of the stitch patterns with my new skills. The chart system was intuitive. The first swatch is the Sine Stripes pattern. The swatch in the book showed a selvedge, which I added on my swatch as well. Next, I tried making the Anemones motif. I did not add a selvedge this time, but felt confident using the lessons to shift the placement of the short rows. None of the short rows were changed,I just cast on extra stitches and practiced moving the motifs. I did not have a chance to try any of the "repeatable" stitch patterns yet which can be used in the round as well as flat. The majority of the book is spent on these adaptable stitches.

I didn't have time to try any of the projects, but noticed a good mix of different accessories. I appreciate the inclusion of multiple designers showing different perspectives and approaches to the Short-row Colorwork technique. The final chapter of the book explains different design considerations, inviting the reader to actually use the stitch dictionary portion of the text for their own applications. The properties of some of these stitches are unique and the lessons are helpful and explaining all different scenarios that may come up.

I always intended to get this book, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. It's incredibly thorough without becoming overwhelming. If you enjoy learning new things, this is a great purchase. It's currently available for  pre-order and will be available in the US on April 16th and in the UK on May 14th. More info is available on Woolly's website. And you can preorder a copy of the book on Amazon.

[cara-delaney-author]

I just finished this one today. Holy shit. Goddamn. 10/10, the sledgehammer scene made me fucking SQUIRM.

There's so much in this. It's meta. It's passionate. It feels extremely personal on a level that's difficult to explain. It's joyful and brutal and snarky and clever. It knows what it wants to say and it does so spectacularly.

It's a wonderful book by one of my favourite authors.

Chuck Tingle - BURY YOUR GAYS. Go read it now.

[turquoisemagpie]

Appreciate the little things.

Not to ignorantly deny all of the big bad things in the world, but to survive them.

[ilikereadingactually]

Lake of Souls

Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie

what can i even say about this?? i have already established my deep love for Ann Leckie's work, and this collection lives up to all possible expectations. it's spectacular. every single story is an absolute BANGER.

the first section, standalone stories unrelated to her novels, is brimming with surprises and delights. each new premise and scenario presented me with characters i understood and loved immediately, and took me on a journey of unexpected turns. fabulous for any speculative reader honestly, but so particularly wonderful to me and my adhd brain! the imagination and unpredictability of each story kept me absolutely glued, and opened doors into worlds that felt fully realized. i could easily read a novel in every single world Leckie created here, but the stories are also satisfying--i don't NEED a novel in any of them, they are perfectly satiating morsels of lembas bread.

and in the second section we get stories in the Imperial Radch universe, two of which i had actually read before during the deepest dives of my Radch obsession, but which were fantastic to revisit. again, the worldbuilding and character development both stand out as Leckie's greatest strengths, giving insight into times and places outside the scope of her novels with tantalizing bits of in-universe history and folklore. i spent some time yelling out loud about them.

the third section, i now have to confess, i haven't read yet--because they're stories set in the universe of The Raven Tower, which i also have not had time to read yet in between galleys and library books with due dates, and i'd prefer to go into the novel not knowing anything about the world. but i can't imagine, at this point, that any story in this section is going to somehow alter my love for this collection, which is already deep and abiding. looking forward to sneaking in a read of The Raven Tower and then coming back to this!!

the deets

how i read it: an e-galley from NetGalley, which i wanted to read immediately but had to prioritize other deadlines first, so it was sitting approved on my shelf for months calling to me T^T

try this if you: love SFF at its most speculative and imaginative, are compelled by well-developed characters, dig themes of language and translation and the meeting/clashing of cultural norms, or are into Leckie's other work (obv)!

some bits i really liked: it was super hard to choose, so here's connected bits that made me laugh and one that made me holler "BREQ PLEASE" out loud in my empty apartment

"And you left me behind," continued Great Among Millions. "Alone. They asked and asked me where you were and I did not know, though I wished to." It made a tiny, barely perceptible stomp. "They put me in a storeroom. In a box." ... "Eye of Merur," said the first of the Thirty-Six. "We're glad you're back." "They're glad you're back," whispered Great Among Millions, just behind Het's right shoulder. "They didn't spend the time in a box."

---

"She commands me," said Seven-Brilliant-Truths. "And I obey. Sister understands." "Yes," said Sister Ultimately-Justice, not even blinking.

pub date: April 2, 2024! That's tomorrow!!!!! Go get your copy!!

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Now that I know more about writing, I'm upset at all the writing advice that urged new writers to find the one best way to write stories, when they should be telling us to play with writing techniques like toys.

Don't tell us to avoid certain points of view! Don't box us into the one currently popular prose style! Let us play and see what effects different techniques achieve, so we can learn the best ways to make use of them! Give us a whole ton of possibility instead of one cookie-cutter template!

[dokushoclub]

Short Story Collections for Learning Japanese

Short stories are very popular with language learners – and rightly so. Being able to finish even a short tale aimed at native speakers will feel like a great accomplishment.

I had a look at three approaches for intermediate and advanced learners to enjoy Japanese short stories. For each I can also recommend a few matching short story collections:

Short Stories in Easy Japanese

Japanese Short Stories with English Annotations

Parallel Readers

I give my more detailed thoughts on all these short story collections for learning Japanese in my blog post. You can find it here:

[moon-kissed-films]

Stills from the silent short film Le Voyage Dans la Lune "A Trip to the Moon" (1902).

[loveelizabeths]

love elizabeth s.

[bitterpilljournal]

except from a short story, “trinkets”

“The dust in the air sparkled against the sunlight peeking in through drawn curtains. The particles danced around the room, mocking the limp, tired bodies scattered around. Maybe they were all dead. Or part of them was. The piles of laundry and takeout boxes and children’s toys threatened to collapse and bury them regardless; there was no space left for the affection they once had for each other. “

[infosphere]

Gotham's Redemption - Audiobook - Fan Fiction - A Batman story

Synopsis: Gotham City teeters on the edge as a new vigilante, known as The Redeemer, emerges, targeting corrupt officials under the guise of justice. When Mayor Hamilton's dark secrets are exposed, Batman is thrust into a tense battle against a foe whose ideals mirror his own, yet whose methods cross dangerous lines. With the help of his allies, Batman uncovers The Redeemer's true identity and motives. As they work to dismantle the corruption in Gotham, Batman must also guide The Redeemer towards redemption, proving that true justice can be achieved without crossing moral boundaries. In a city shadowed by darkness, hope and redemption rise once more.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #69 – Please Undo This Hurt by Seth Dickinson

As a general rule, I feel like including a short story (not even 40 generously spaced pages on the ebook) in the list of what I’ve read this year is kind of cheating. But I got this as a gift and found it affecting enough that I feel like writing out my feelings, and in any case I’ve been reading 10,000+ words of web serial a week all year so I’ve got a bit of ethical room to manner here, I think.

This reads like an old school Idea Story, which I mean in the best possible way – a more grounded than usual Twilight Zone episode, a light dusting of interpersonal drama, uncanniness and sci fi/horror vibes over what’s exploring and wrestling with a single thought – or really, a single temptation.

Does it ever like life is a trap, morally speaking? Like every act you take cannot help but hurt someone, like complicity in more distant atrocities than you can count is a precondition of existence, like even when you try to be helpful or do the right thing it just ends up being a different kind of selfishness? Like, if you were the star of It’s a Wonderful Life, everyone’s life really would have been that much brighter if you had never been in it? Like in the final analysis, when all you have ever done or will ever do is tallied up and your heart is weight against the Feather of Ma’at, it will fall so far that it breaks the scales?

Well, what if there was a way out? Not suicide, but something cleaner – to be undone, to never have been, to never have hurt or been hurt in the first place. Wouldn’t you be tempted? How, in a world where there are maggots gnawing on every root, and every thing you care about is just one more hook to draw you deeper into the mire, could you convince yourself not to take it?

I intensely dislike psychoanalyzing authors based on their work. So I will instead say that this story is a truly masterful and incredibly successful exercise in writing from the perspective of someone grappling with intense depression – a perspective that simply takes for granted that the main objection to suicide is that it is a selfish escape at the expense of the distress inflicted on those around you. Even the finial resolution is less any realization of life’s inherent worth or goodness than an acceptance of the necessity of sacrifice in endless and varying degrees. It drips from every sentence, and cuts enough to hurt.

Dickinson is easily one of my favourite working writers, and finding another piece of theirs I haven’t come across before is always a delight. Their short stories especially are quite often emotionally raw and beautifully written enough to effect me like very little prose does. It’s no surprise that both their non-sequel novels basically take one of the short stories as the emotional core and climax of them (something I’d say Baru Cormorant did more successfully than Exordia, which felt like it flinched, but that’s a tangent). I don’t particularly think this would benefit from being expanded on, but the rawness feels similar.

This is by far the least worldbuilding-heavy story of theirs I think I've read, but there’s enough dreams and uncanny events and just colourful imagery for the prose to still absolutely sing. It’s a short enough story that actually quoting any excerpts feels like it defeats the point, but there are some lines and images I already know will be rattling around my head for some time to come.