If I married Evelyn, would she make me buy her LaCroix gowns until we finalised our divorce?
Had the South African colonial forces and the Soviet-ba
If I married Evelyn, would she make me buy her LaCroix gowns until we finalised our divorce?
Had the South African colonial forces and the Soviet-backed black guerrillas found peace yet in Namibia?
Or would the world be a safer, kinder place if Luis was hacked to bits? My world might, so why not?
There really is no 'other hand'.
Christ. What a book.
I've never really had much interest in AMERICAN PSYCHO, film or novel, before recently when I found that apparently it is the only book which can't be kept on the shelves at our public libraries - it needs to be kept to the side and only given out when asked for.
Even Mein Kampf doesn't get that sort of treatment.
Honestly? I can see why. I'm not squeamish by any means but there were several points during the listen that I was squirming around in my car and making odd squeaky noises.
On the whole, I think I enjoyed AMERICAN PSYCHO - but I didn't love it by any means. The way it jumps from discussion of brand-name furniture and fashion to an extended torture/assault of a prostitute and straight into a full-chapter review of the history of Whitney Houston was jarring, which I imagine was the point.
The juxtaposition of exaggerated violence and constant brand names strikes me as trying to make the same kind of commentary as FIGHT CLUB, but with a much less deft hand. The unreliability of the narrator is also very similar to the latter's protagonist.
I watched the film after I finished the book and again, wasn't blown away - though Christian Bale is delightfully unhinged.
Not sure, really. I didn't hate it but I don't think I'll re-read it, unlike FIGHT CLUB....more
I enjoyed this! Not amazing but well read by the author and an interesting look at a woman breaking into the machismo and testosterone filled world ofI enjoyed this! Not amazing but well read by the author and an interesting look at a woman breaking into the machismo and testosterone filled world of fighter pilots....more
Choose your favorite spade and dig a small, deep hole, located deep in the forest or a desolate area of the desert or tundra. Bury your cell phone
Choose your favorite spade and dig a small, deep hole, located deep in the forest or a desolate area of the desert or tundra. Bury your cell phone and then find a hobby.
Somehow I didn't know that Nick Offerman had written a book. Somehow I didn't know that Nick Offerman had written THREE. Insanity.
PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE is from a time (2013) when Offerman was probably at his most wildly successful, in the midst of Parks and Recreation's run, but it deals very little with his life-changing role playing - essentially - himself.
Instead, Offerman carries us through his sometimes tawdry, sometimes inspiring, always hilarious upbringing and career up to that point. He has always been one of my favourite celebrities because more than most he seems to be so utterly up front and genuine. There's of course a possibility that it's all an elaborately crafted facade, but I would be very surprised.
Nick's fundamentals, mentioned in the title, boil down to 'Do stuff with your hands, be nice to people, smoke weed' which I think are - on the surface of it at least - things we can all appreciate. Read by Nick himself of course, the audiobook is a delight. I've always adored his laugh - it's such a little cheeky giggle from such a quote unquote 'manly' man - and he makes himself laugh multiple times throughout the reading.
So while I feel somewhat disappointed in myself to have listened to the book on my mobile phone and to be now reviewing it on a computer, I take solace that I just came in from planting some spinach and I'm doing up a pattern for a new cross stitch.
See papa Nick, I'm doing things with my hands!...more
I suppose one of the reasons we’re all able to continue to exist for our allotted span in this green and blue vale of tears is that there is always
I suppose one of the reasons we’re all able to continue to exist for our allotted span in this green and blue vale of tears is that there is always, however remote it might seem, the possibility of change.
A recommendation from a friend which is always risky, but in this case turned out to be excellent.
I always feel kind of weird doing a review for a book as successful and popular as this. What can I say that hasn't been said thousands of times already?
I really enjoyed this - I was somehow expecting it to be more quirky than it was, and it's already pretty quirky. Eleanor is a cute POV character, her interactions with people and the world at large are great fun. It's one of the most consistently funny books I've read for quite a while which was nice - especially considering how heavy it gets at times.
The author was inspired to write the book after reading an interview with a young person who was suffering from loneliness and isolation, which I find interesting. It's not something which is discussed very much (though it's starting to become more commonplace now).
Eleanor is a painfully believable and relatable character - it was a delight going on this journey with her. What an excellent debut from Honeyman....more
I enjoyed HERETICUS the most out of the Eisenhorn trilogy - it's from the same mold as XENOS and MALLEUS, and has the same issues that stem from that,I enjoyed HERETICUS the most out of the Eisenhorn trilogy - it's from the same mold as XENOS and MALLEUS, and has the same issues that stem from that, but it does rather effectively carry the weight of being the end of a series with all that entails (though obviously it ended up being not the final book).
Again, I'm struggling to think of things to say about these books - they are 40k Fiction.
I was planning to throw it in after this, but I reckon I might continue on with Abnett's inquisition novels beginning with RAVENOR now. They've stoked the nearly dead embers of 40k interest in my soul quite well....more
Maybe people go to church because they want things from God, and they keep going while they're wishing and yearning and longing for those things. B
Maybe people go to church because they want things from God, and they keep going while they're wishing and yearning and longing for those things. But then maybe once they get those things they realise they don't need church anymore. Who needs God when you've got clear mammograms and a series regular role on Nickelodeon?
I was never an iCarly watcher, I kind of slipped in ahead of that age demographic, and Nickelodeon was never as big a thing in Australia as elsewhere. Nevertheless I've become aware of McCurdy through various YouTube analysis/documentary/etc. videos that I've watched referencing the show and Jennette in particular, so when I saw that she'd put out a book about her experiences, I snapped it up knowing it would be interesting and harrowing.
It was both! McCurdy is a wonderful writer, her style is kind of rambling but in a focused way, if that makes sense. Very stream of consciousness, but the stream is moving towards the goal, rather than meandering all over the place.
I knew the broad strokes of McCurdy's story, but not really anything specific, and I'M GLAD MY MOM DIED made for some pretty sobering listening, read incredibly well by McCurdy herself. I suspect that her story is far from being unique unfortunately in the entertainment industry - parental abuse and manipulation, public perception and judgement, and the destruction of a teenager's self worth and mental health. This is an important piece of memoir, not just for McCurdy's sake, but for however many other youths are mistreated daily for our entertainment.
I'm also glad that Deb McCurdy died, and that Jennette has found her way towards a happier place. I hope that she does whatever she needs to from here on out to make her life all that it should have been, if she hadn't been chewed up and spat out time and time again.
I highly recommend I'M GLAD MY MOM DIED to everybody.
So much of my life has felt so out of my control for so long, and I'm done with that being my reality. I want my life to be in my hands; not in eating disorders', or casting directors', or agents', or my mom's.
Didn't love this, didn't hate it. An interesting story of agricultural espionage. Not really very much to say.Didn't love this, didn't hate it. An interesting story of agricultural espionage. Not really very much to say....more
Norway, too, was another surprise on routes to Japan that gave us this country from end to Norwegian end. To the north of a continent crowded with
Norway, too, was another surprise on routes to Japan that gave us this country from end to Norwegian end. To the north of a continent crowded with smallish countries, it is a fully two hour land.
France, at the angles I most often cross it, is one hour - as are the states Texas and Montana.
With a healthy tailwind, Belgium is a fifteen minute country.
Like a lot of people I rediscovered my love of flight with the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator during the depths of COVID. I've recently picked it back up again in a big way (almost embarassingly so) and was interested in a pilot's memoir.
It is surprisingly difficult to find a civil aviation memoir - most are combat pilots - but SKYFARING popped up a couple of times in recommended lists, so I picked it up.
I enjoyed this well enough, Vanhoenacker has a way with words and his experiences as an Airbus and then 747 pilot - the Queen of the Skies! - are undeniably interesting.
This is what I will tell my friends and family about this, my first non-training flight; that I saw the lights of all Bahgdad pass by in the night, and then ate a sandwich.
Unfortunately, it feels a little disjointed. It hops back and forth between various musings about the concept of 'place-lag' - when you so often change cities, cultures, etc. and your brain doesn't know how to process it - to some general anecdotes about his training and career advancement.
When a crew meet for the first time, we know only two things about eachother; that we've each met the standards for our roles, and it's almost time to go.
Unfortunately when I was looking for airline pilot books, I wasn't looking for somewhat underbaked meandering philosophy of flight, but more.. 'hard' details about the job of a pilot, what it's like spending most of your life 30,000 feet above the earth, and how it relates to my simulated attempts to land a 737 without cracking the landing gear.
Still, it was easy listening, thoughtful, and interesting in its own way - just not what I was after when I picked it up....more
I don't know that we are actually human at this point; those of us who are like most of us, who grew up with TV and movies and now the internet. If
I don't know that we are actually human at this point; those of us who are like most of us, who grew up with TV and movies and now the internet. If we are betrayed, we know the words to say.
What an excellent book - I've known about GONE GIRL for a long time, I'm a big fan of the David Fincher film, but for some reason I've never really thought about picking up the book until an Audible 3-for-2 sale.
Really listening to this mostly enforced what a good adaption the film is - I can't think of any major details which are really lost in the translation.
A lot of the reviews of my Goodreads friends and others dwell on how hateful and distasteful the main characters are (and, indeed, almost the entire cast) - I found this to be part of the charm. It is hard to write a compellingly dislikable character, and Flynn manages to write an entire swathe of them.
Cleverly written - had I not seen the film, I think I would have been 100% on board for the mystery. As it is, I enjoyed the replay of one of my favourite stories. Excellently narrated, too, by Kirby Heyborne and Julia Whelan (who I know from her narration of ADDIE LA-RUE)....more
It has been a very long time between grim far future filled with only war drinks for me. I can't remember off the top o
"Suspicion is my business."
It has been a very long time between grim far future filled with only war drinks for me. I can't remember off the top of my head what the last Warhammer-related thing I read was. Edit: the Dark Heresy tabletop RPG rulebook in January 2014. For novels, it was Hammer and Anvil in June of 2012. Yeesh. 10 years.
I've heard good things about EISENHORN for a very long time but I've been well and truly out of the Warhammer fandom for an even longer time than that - however when it popped up on audible's 3-for-2 catalogue, I shrugged and snapped it up.
It's definitely Warhammer. Campy, over the top and with a kind of self-aware tongue in cheek quality to it. Abnett is probably the best of the 40k fiction writers, and but more importantly, Toby Longworth does an exceptional job narrating. His voices are perfect, distinctive, and he puts just enough camp into it to make it enjoyable. Absolutely top tier work, even if the book was trash (which it isn't).
If you like 40k, you would like this - Eisenhorn is an enjoyable protagonist, surrounded by a cast of interesting characters, in one of the most fleshed out and over-explored universes in modern science fiction....more
Received for free as an Audible member bonus, glad I didn't spend a credit on it. I think this could be quite a cute read, but I just couldDNF at 39%.
Received for free as an Audible member bonus, glad I didn't spend a credit on it. I think this could be quite a cute read, but I just couldn't get into it - the writing is rather dry, the narration from Louise Crawford isn't exactly stellar, and it just felt like it was dragging on and on with not much happening.
A no from me, unfortunately, because it's nice to see some Australian books getting decent audience response....more
The greater variety of humans I met, the greater variety of humanity I beheld. I came to one dependable and certain conclusion: There is no such thi
The greater variety of humans I met, the greater variety of humanity I beheld. I came to one dependable and certain conclusion: There is no such thing as normal.
I embarassingly didn't know what a big deal Harvey Fierstein was. I knew he had a great, unique voice and that he was the "OH HONEY I'M SOOO HAPPYYYY" gay fella in Mrs Doubtfire, but other than that, nothing.
So I WAS BETTER LAST NIGHT was an eye-opening listen for me. What an incredible life this man has led, and I'm looking forward to seeking out more of his performances.
There is a lot of stuff in here which is... well. I won't say unbelievable or exaggerated but let's just say that Fierstein certainly has a flair for the dramatic and it does bring a touch of uncertainty into some of his anecdotes. In particular, his assertion that he wrote the bones of Frozen years before the film was ever made but was told it had no promise doesn't exactly ring true - but hey, weirder things have happened.
Regardless, an incredible speaker and a wonderfully told memoir - I cannot recommend the audiobook read by Fierstein himself enough. ...more
"You should have told me," I said. "You should have told me my cat was a time traveller."
What a wonderful little book!
Separated 200 years at a tim
"You should have told me," I said. "You should have told me my cat was a time traveller."
What a wonderful little book!
Separated 200 years at a time, five people are connected by a strange occurrence - the sound of an airship, a violin, and a gust of wind in a forest.
I saw a lot of my Goodreads friends reading this recently with pretty glowing reviews so when I had an Audible credit spare I picked it up. I was pleasantly surprised going in with no expectations!
I guess I haven't been reading a lot of stuff written in the past two years but it felt strange reading about COVID-19 in a fiction book. I wasn't expecting SEA OF TRANQUILITY to be a pretty thoughtful exploration of living through a pandemic and a fun time travel story.
I really enjoyed Olive Llewelyn's sections, she was the character who felt the most real to me. The constant little snippets of book tour life and the painful anecdotes of her experiences.
It was quite short, but didn't outstay its welcome - and ties itself into a very neat little bow, in the end. What a great little book!...more
"I haven't managed to become a truly good or truly happy person. I haven't managed to look after Voltaire. A
TW: Su*cide, self harm, depression.
"I haven't managed to become a truly good or truly happy person. I haven't managed to look after Voltaire. And now, last of all, she hadn't even managed to become dead."
One of the most hyped books of the last few years, and it.. sort of lived up to it. Wholesome, but a little bit bland.
Nora Seed isn't happy - she never went to the Olympics for swimming, she never stuck with her music career, she broke up with her dream man, and last of all her cat has died. This is the last straw which sends Nora into a suicide attempt - but instead of oblivion, she finds an infinite library of books, each one telling the story of a different attempt at life.
I can see why THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY is so wildly successful, it's a very simple but unique idea which is on the whole inoffensive and enjoyable. The central idea of getting to see what your life would have been like if you kept swimming, stayed in the band, married that guy, went for a coffee date with that bloke, etc. is pure fantasy fuel.
Nora is a sympathetic character, and the first chapter or two from her perspective before her attempt to end her life was.. almost painfully relatable as an early-30's man answering phones for a living. I think that pervasive sense of malaise and 'This isn't how my life was meant to be' is a very common feeling for people in my generation, so I am entirely unsurprised that it resonated with a lot of people.
I enjoy the sort of cautionary tale aspect - sure, if you'd kept swimming you'd be an olympic champion.. but you're still depressed, with scars on your wrists. If you'd stayed in the band you'd be world-famous... but your brother would be dead from excess of drug and drink. If you married that guy... your husband is bored of you and cheats with a girl in town.
On the whole the final message of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY is that it's never too late to change your life, and to be careful about wishing things were different - because you never know exactly what will be different.
I enjoyed it while I listened to it, but I don't think it's a book I'll race to re-read. ...more
I've not read a Sarah Lotz book before, though I've heard many mixed reviews about her most well known work, THE THREE. Having now listened to THE WHII've not read a Sarah Lotz book before, though I've heard many mixed reviews about her most well known work, THE THREE. Having now listened to THE WHITE ROAD, I can understand why.
In the mid 2000's, Simon Newman goes spelunking in a dangerous cave system to get footage of corpses buried deep within for his gritty website. Going through a near-death experience within the caves, he nevertheless is pushed into yet another dangerous endeavour, climbing Mt Everest to take footage of the myriad corpses which are left on the mountain. However there's something that he seems to be carrying with him from his time in the Cwm Pot caves.
THE WHITE ROAD starts very strong. The first chapter is one of the longest and covers Simon's delve into the Cwm Pot cave system in Wales with a guide he found on an online forum, Ed. This is very well done, and the claustrophobic terror of spelunking is well captured - Lotz clearly isn't without talent when it comes to describing environments and physical space, I had a very clear picture of everything that was happening, and several times grew quite squeamish listening to Simon trying to negotiate squeezes and crawls.
Unfortunately after this, it falls apart for me. I feel as if Lotz had two ideas for books - one, a short story covering a trip into a cave system and the traumatic events that occur to Simon there, and one, a thriller/drama/psychological horror novel set on Mt Everest, and just kind of.. slapped them together.
The conceit of going to climb Mt Everest to get footage of corpses is a bit silly on the face of it, but further, Simon actually gets quite close to topping the mountain - on 2 months of 'training' running up and down stairs in a heavy rucksack. Any suspension of disbelief I had evaporated. The physical, experiential and financial needs of joining an Everest expedition are well described - the issue being that Simon meets none of them, and basically lied on his resumé to get on the mountain in the first place - as if these organisations don't do rigorous checks to ensure that the people signing up to climb the tallest mountain in the world are actually experienced and capable.
THE WHITE ROAD tries so very hard to make Simon sympathetic, but 'shallow douche' is about the best descriptor for him. The rest of the characters in the climbing group are actually pretty well rounded, even the unlikable ones, and the way that it links into the second half of the narration - Juliet, a woman climbing Everest some years before - is satisfying. This is why I think Lotz had the idea for this FIRST, and then had to glue the caving to it, and unfortunately drag Simon Newman into it as a result.
I don't think there was enough content here for a full length novel - the final half of the book dragged for me significantly and by the end I was just listening to finish it.
A no from me, after a very promising start....more
So he thought about horses, and they were always the right thing to think about.
I've tried Cormac McCarthy before (THE ROAD) and I couldn't stand
So he thought about horses, and they were always the right thing to think about.
I've tried Cormac McCarthy before (THE ROAD) and I couldn't stand his writing style - the stream-of-consciousness, rolling, flowery descriptions wore on me and I ended up DNFing the book on that occasion.
Recently I played Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time and it has awakened in me some yeehaw'ing, rootin' tootin' cowboy fetishist, and I've grown somewhat enamored with westerns.
A Youtuber I enjoy, Noah Caldwell-Gervais, in his video about Red Dead Redemption spoke some about the book ALL THE PRETTY HORSES and it intrigued me enough that I thought I'd give it a crack - albeit, on audio this time.
I will say, Frank Muller does some heavy lifting with his narration. His voice is perfect for the text, and he does an incredible job of portraying the different characters without resorting to funny voices.
As for the book itself, I enjoyed it. It's a decent enough plot, but the flowery descriptions and rolling writing actually worked to the advantage of the audio format and sounded very natural from Muller's voice.
I'm not sure I'll continue the others in the trilogy, but I didn't hate the experience like I did with THE ROAD so it's a possibility - and I'm interested to see the rest of John Grady's story....more
Being forgotten, she thinks, is a bit like going mad. You begin to wonder what is real - if you are real. After all, how can a thing be real if it
Being forgotten, she thinks, is a bit like going mad. You begin to wonder what is real - if you are real. After all, how can a thing be real if it cannot be remembered?
It's like that Zen poem about the tree falling in the woods; if nobody heard it, did it happen?
If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?
I am once again fulfilling my role of being late to the party.
In 1700's France, Adeline LaRue goes through life quickly - in what feels like no time at all, she's of marriageable age, and being married off to a man who - while not cruel - isn't what she wants. She goes to the forest and begs the old god she had been warned of for two things - freedom, and time. He grants both - immortality, and the freedom of being entirely forgotten the moment she's out of sight.
I really enjoyed THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE! I've been aware of the hype surrounding the book for a long time but I've been a bit gunshy, since my previous experience with V.E. SCHWAB was the first two of the SHADES OF MAGIC books (I realise now I never did finish them) which I really liked, but somehow found.. forgettable (which is probably why I never finished that trilogy). But hey, it was free on Audible, and who doesn't like a free critically acclaimed book?
I don't think I'll be forgetting ADDIE LARUE, anyway. It was probably a little bit long for my taste - a few too many back-and-forths between 2014 Addie and 1714-1956 Addie, but I didn't not enjoy any of them. I just.. after a while, it was kind of like, "I get it", you know?
The characters are all rather enjoyable - I liked the kind of awkward chemistry between Addie and 'Luke', the being who cursed her, and the way they seem pulled to eachother. I've already forgotten the name of the love interest. That probably doesn't bode well, huh? Dennis? Nah. Anyway, he was okay.
Schwab captures the melancholy of a centuries-long life of being forgotten quite well, and Julia Whelan does an excellent job with narration.
A really creative concept, but by the end I was ready for it to be finished. The ending was a little... meh. Serviceable, but didn't live up to the book that came beforehand....more
Liam || Books 'n Beards
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