Most business books should probably be about ten pages, but this was actually really good and worth reading all of, at least if you're involved in anyMost business books should probably be about ten pages, but this was actually really good and worth reading all of, at least if you're involved in any sort of serious company or product decision making. Does a great job not just explaining its methodology—which I mean, probably could have been ten pages—but going through common failure modes and things that kind of look like having a strategy but aren't.
Occasionally extremely annoyingly self-aggrandizing, but I think that's just the genre....more
Maybe just because I read this back to back with the first two, but I got tired of the shtick. Things that are kind of charming and sort of believableMaybe just because I read this back to back with the first two, but I got tired of the shtick. Things that are kind of charming and sort of believable in the first two become, shouldn't you really have figured that out by now? I think it also dialed up the preachiness and attempt to tackle the problems of living morally in an immoral society, and honestly I want to be here for that, but the lectures were ummm lectures and kind of facile. Still, I had a good time....more
More of the same as Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, but it's a pretty good same.More of the same as Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, but it's a pretty good same....more
What it says on the tin, very fun, kind of gory. Young trailer trash woman inherits a pile of money from her extremely distant gang boss father and hiWhat it says on the tin, very fun, kind of gory. Young trailer trash woman inherits a pile of money from her extremely distant gang boss father and hijinks ensue, all set in a nearish future city that is basically Las Vegas dialed up to 11, complete with outlandish villains up to outlandish schemes. And just enough of a moral dimension to elevate it from pure trash....more
Great cyberpunk vibes and I loved the callbacks to Arthur C Clarke's the Fountains of Paradise, but none of the elements really come together and therGreat cyberpunk vibes and I loved the callbacks to Arthur C Clarke's the Fountains of Paradise, but none of the elements really come together and there's a lot of just moving on from one thing to another without explanation....more
So after years of having it on my list, I finally saw Stalker—on a big screen no less—beautiful, elliptical, ponderous, and on the one hand I am like So after years of having it on my list, I finally saw Stalker—on a big screen no less—beautiful, elliptical, ponderous, and on the one hand I am like why is there a pop-critical book about this particular movie, and on the other hand, it seems like the sort of movie that people could develop a relationship with and really shouldn't every major film have this sort of thing, like the 33 1/3 books for film?
But this book isn't very good. It had some of the Tarkovsky gossip I was looking for, but a weird amount of it is just a recap of the movie, a movie anyone reading this book surely just saw, or if they haven't why are they reading it. Mixed in was some kind of okay reflections on nostalgia and how we relate to art, and a weird bit about how his strongest desire—a major theme of the movie—was a threesome, which seemed written seriously if slightly tongue in cheek and honestly I was embarrassed on his behalf.
I don't know Zadie Smith. I keep reading her because she's so strong on voice and her early work was a delight, but I haven't really liked one of her I don't know Zadie Smith. I keep reading her because she's so strong on voice and her early work was a delight, but I haven't really liked one of her books in years. This was at least a change of pace and I was excited for her to put together a raucous Victorian novel about a wild trial, but this didn't do it for me.
There were a few great sections: the early establishing shots, Bogle's story, but I'm not really sure what the rest of the book was doing and it was slow, confusing, and mostly tedious. The timeline jumping felt like unnecessary noise. I'll probably keep reading her. I'm sure she'll confound me in a new way next time....more
Lit fic, not really SF despite the tease of alien signals and the impossible Google program which I think I know too much about computers to really unLit fic, not really SF despite the tease of alien signals and the impossible Google program which I think I know too much about computers to really understand, which fine, but I don't feel like it really went anywhere and when it did it got really didactic. Some of the relationship stuff was really winning and well-realized. I should probably not read books that try to say anything serious about silicon valley, they mostly just annoy me....more
Apocalyptic fever dream as the world ends in ice. This book is mostly in the category of oops all vibes, but the vibes and prose are immaculate. ThereApocalyptic fever dream as the world ends in ice. This book is mostly in the category of oops all vibes, but the vibes and prose are immaculate. There are basically three characters, our protagonist, a mysterious women he's chasing, and a figure in power (the Warden) who may or not just be an aspect of our protagonist. Gets old for a bit in the late middle as the scenario essentially repeats, but comes around at the end.
Fun true crime mystery set at a New Hampshire boarding school, student returning decades later to teach a mini-course for a couple weeks and unearthinFun true crime mystery set at a New Hampshire boarding school, student returning decades later to teach a mini-course for a couple weeks and unearthing what was left aside. But all the pieces of it that aren't that don't really work. There's a clunky subplot around the protagonist's mostly ex-husband who she's still friendly with and the bits of second-person narration are cute, but inessential. Tries to lampshade being more than another lurid (fictional) true crime story, but doesn't make the leap...more
Apparently this book is a magical realist riff on the story of Buddha's son also accidental second Sri Lankan novel I've read recently (along with TheApparently this book is a magical realist riff on the story of Buddha's son also accidental second Sri Lankan novel I've read recently (along with The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida), but I clocked none of this until I was reading about it later. Which is to say, I'm sure that additional context enriches the experience and I kind of want to learn more and eventually reread it, but I still thought it was great.
Weird and tantalizingly dreamy, somehow they're in fantasy land, but also the UN exists. Fetter goes to a support group for people who aren't the chosen one, but like maybe could have been. An exploration of immigration, caste, destiny, generational trauma, and a bunch of other fun stuff wrapped up in an original magical realist package....more
What it says on the tin: "shipwreck, mutiny, and murder". A little too much scurvy for my taste.What it says on the tin: "shipwreck, mutiny, and murder". A little too much scurvy for my taste....more
Loved this darkly comic occasionally devastating murder mystery. It's the 80s in Sri Lanka and Maali Almeida, photographer and fixer, gay, has just beLoved this darkly comic occasionally devastating murder mystery. It's the 80s in Sri Lanka and Maali Almeida, photographer and fixer, gay, has just been murdered and is in the bardo with no memory of how he came to this state.
Meanwhile, his beard and lover (basically) begin to investigate his disappearance. Come for the snide remarks, stay for the searing story about the horrors of sectarian violence. I didn't really know anything about Sri Lankan politics and I expect someone who did would have a very different view (is this 101 stuff?) but the book did a good job of filling me in without it being annoying and in addition to a good story I also learned a lot....more
1848 in Paris, New York, and Gold Rush California is a great setting, just an incredibly dynamic and colorful moment in history and Andersen brings th1848 in Paris, New York, and Gold Rush California is a great setting, just an incredibly dynamic and colorful moment in history and Andersen brings them vividly to life, a great time shoving his characters into this historical incident. But where it goes wrong is the way he shoehorns his bland characters into this and winks at you annoyingly as he does this. Quality prose, fun setting, but somehow never amounts to much.
Individual sections of this are charming—the opening section in Paris is a delight, but the characters seem more of a vehicle for the things he wants to show you than motivated agents and it makes them bland and the plot perfunctory....more
Helen Oyeyemi goes full If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Mysterious book that keeps changing. People who aren't what they seem, tragic backstories, Helen Oyeyemi goes full If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Mysterious book that keeps changing. People who aren't what they seem, tragic backstories, Prague. I don't know if it added up to anything, though I'd totally believe a deep reading could bring it all together, but plenty of surface pleasures....more
Baffled by all the 1 and 5 star reviews of this book. Umm, it was a pretty decent book about octopus first contact, with broader themes around non-humBaffled by all the 1 and 5 star reviews of this book. Umm, it was a pretty decent book about octopus first contact, with broader themes around non-human intelligence. Not totally sure the plot threads, such as they were really came together, but shrug....more
I had to suffer through David Copperfield in high school and believe me I would pick this retelling of the story in peak opioid crisis Appalachia overI had to suffer through David Copperfield in high school and believe me I would pick this retelling of the story in peak opioid crisis Appalachia over it any day. Large chunks of the story translate contexts easily and it has much better pacing.
Kingsolver said she set out to the write the Great Appalachian Novel and that is not really a happy story. This is a story with lots of death, abuse, drugs and a lot of it happening to young people. And there are bad people in it, but the real targets are the systems and structures that created this environment, especially big pharma.
But I didn't find it unemittingly grim. Demon's narrative voice is matter of fact and maybe a little wry, even when he's hitting rock bottom. The story is dark and part of the experience is the dread of knowing something bad is about to happen. Both just from the obvious narrative context but also my vague memories of Copperfield. Sometimes you want to shout at the page for a character not to do what you know they're going to do.
But it's not interested in wallowing in that darkness. And that can serve to create real moments of grace, of connection that, if not quite balancing, are the light getting in through the crack, the goodness that can live in the human heart even in terrible circumstances shining through....more
When I heard Kelly Link was writing a novel I was like what would that even look like? She is an all time legend short story writer but I just didn't When I heard Kelly Link was writing a novel I was like what would that even look like? She is an all time legend short story writer but I just didn't think you can sustain that density of weirdness at novel length. And in fact she doesn't even try, instead, she really takes advantage of the medium to go deeper on characters, both in terms of depth and in terms of sheer number. What results still is obviously a weird Kelly Link thing, but with room to breathe for character interactions to take on deeper meaning.
All of that breadth does cause the end to get bogged down in plot mechanics and tidying up all of the loose threads, but I found this really engrossing, funny, sad, mysterious, and generally a delight....more
I like how a subplot of this book is that the author is an absolute psycho. Is she any less exploitative of these people than any other people who shoI like how a subplot of this book is that the author is an absolute psycho. Is she any less exploitative of these people than any other people who show up in this chronicle of how one cancerous cell line changed history? Very unclear. But 1. She gets the goods 2. Her empathy for the Lacks family really comes through. Fascinating mix of biology, medical ethics, and human interest....more
I feel like Rushdie can probably just noodle out a big fabulist epic about late medieval India like this while half asleep but damn if I didn't find iI feel like Rushdie can probably just noodle out a big fabulist epic about late medieval India like this while half asleep but damn if I didn't find it utterly charming. Come for the beautiful and the magic, stay for the paean to multiculturalism....more
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