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| 9789778683233
| 4.05
| 39
| Sep 2023
| Sep 2023
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really liked it
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كتاب معمول بهدف واحد: يحليك تعيش نوستالجيا المصيف سواء كانت سعيدة أو حزينة وتفتكر رحلات العائلة اللي غالبا انقضت دلوقتي ومعادتش بتحصل. الكتابات المقالي كتاب معمول بهدف واحد: يحليك تعيش نوستالجيا المصيف سواء كانت سعيدة أو حزينة وتفتكر رحلات العائلة اللي غالبا انقضت دلوقتي ومعادتش بتحصل. الكتابات المقالية عن تجارب الكتاب المختلفين متشابهة جدا وفي بعض الأحيان كان بيصعب أفرق بينها، بس استمتعت بيها كلها. بعض القصص القصيرة اللي ضمتها المجموعة عجبتني جدا كمان وقدرت تاخد روح المصيف وتجمع بين جوانبه الحزينة والسعيدة. أظن أن أقل الأجزاء تفضيلا لي كان القصائد بحكم أني مش قارئة شعر. بس الكتاب ده مناسب جدا عشان يكون كتاب تاخده معاك وتقراه على البحر وتعيش في أجوائه وأتمنى أنه يتكرر ويعمل أجزاء تانية. مش كل المؤلفين اللي عجبوني لقيت أنهم كتبوا أعمال تانية تشدني، بس استمتعت بكتابات أغلبهم كجزء من المجموعة. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 17, 2024
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Jun 30, 2024
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Jun 17, 2024
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Paperback
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| 0982846754
| 9780982846759
| 0982846754
| 3.74
| 27
| Aug 15, 2021
| Aug 15, 2021
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really liked it
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loved catherynne valente's introduction. i just love her writing. * short stories and articles: *+#1- The Best ot Twines, the Worst of Rhymes: A tale of loved catherynne valente's introduction. i just love her writing. * short stories and articles: *+#1- The Best ot Twines, the Worst of Rhymes: A tale of Two C++ies (or why Game Writing is Bad and Great) by Seth Dickinson: a very meta story with humor i like. the passion of a game writing and working woth video games and the warnings felt all real like i was reading an essay not a short story, but i felt him when he said that game writers will make you feel, because it resonated with a video game i'm playing currently called "lost in random", and it really made me apperciate game writing more. *2- Queering Chaos by Foz Meadows: an article (?) about Good Omens show, especially the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale. 3- Lois McMaster Bujold and Being a Grand Master by Lashawn Wanak: a love letter lo Bujold, and it has me intrigues to read her. 4- Give the Family my Love by A. T. Greenblatt: an astronaut travelling to a library on a distant planet in hopes of finding something to save the earth, told through voice notes to a loved one. reminded me a lot of "to be taught, if fortunate". *5- The Dead in their uncontrollable power by Karen Osborne: I liked this twist on the sin eaters, and the maddness of not eating the sins in a symbloic way, the mc literally eats those sins as they eat at her. *+#6- And Now His Lordship is Laughing by Shiv Ramdas: this was horrifying and captivating. about colonialism in india. I haven't read a fantasy story set in india in some time, and this one was amazing. *7- Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen: I'm always intrigued by stories that play with their form, and this story takes the form of exceprts from different books about cannibal women. it paints an amazing and horrifying portrait that makes me wish for an actual full-length novel about them *+#8- A Catalog of Storms by Fran Wilde: a heartbreaking story about loss. in a world where weather is having a war with humans, some humans turn into the elemnts of weather to stand up to the storms and winds that threaten their loved ones. a very interesting world-building *+#9- How the Trick is Done by A. C. Wise: a magician's trick goes wrong, and we see all the people entangled in his life. i loved all the drama. *10- A Strange Uncertain Light by G. V. Anderson: loved loved it. alternate timelines, both set in the same place and a lot of ghosts. alternating between two women trying to find their courage *11- For He Can Creep by Siobhan Carroll: what's not to love in this story? we have cats fighting the devil and saving the world from demons. loved it! *12- His Footsteps through Darkness and Light by Mimi Mondal: an indian retelling of Alladin and his genie. loved the writings and the vibes *+#13- The Blur in the Corner of your Eye by Sarah Pinsker: I loved the twists and turns. I'm a sucker for a story about a writer isolating themselves in someplace remote to write a novel. it never ends well, but this had a twist i did NOT see coming! *+#15- The Archonology of Love by Caroline M. Yoachim: a love story, an alien plague story, a sci-fi mystery story. the writing is gorgeous and i felt the heartbreak and grief and the setting was very interesting to travel in time * excerpts from novellas and novels 14- Carpe Glitter by Cat Rambo: I'm always fascinaed by stories about hoarders and this excerpt was very promising. 16- A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker: i love the nostalgic sad writing but it didn't grip me enough to be invested in the story *+#17- Riverland by Fran Wilde: I was son invested in this tale, as it's told by a younger protagonist, so I don't know if this "house magic" just a code word from her mom or if there's real magic involved and it got me so tense. I loved it! *+#18- Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom by Ted Chiang: alternate timelines and parallel lives mixed in with some Matrix. very interesting and I'm intrigued to read the rest of it. 19- The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clarke: won't be reveiwing this one since i already have it in my physical tbr and intend to read it anyway I decided not to continue reading the novels and novellas excerpts because they felt incomplete 20- This is How you Lose the Time War by Amal Elmohtar and Max Gladstone: 21- Her Silhouette, drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan: 22- The Deep by Rivers Solomon: 23- Catfish Lullaby by A. C. Wise: ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 02, 2024
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Jun 25, 2024
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May 02, 2024
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| 0593470591
| 9780593470596
| 0593470591
| 3.72
| 446
| Sep 12, 2023
| Sep 12, 2023
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liked it
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wasn't really the best collection. #1- Office Hours by Ling Ma: I'm not sure what this story is supposed to mean. It started as a normal contemporary s wasn't really the best collection. #1- Office Hours by Ling Ma: I'm not sure what this story is supposed to mean. It started as a normal contemporary story about film student and her professor and their tight relationship, but then it takes a magical realism/dark twist and I feel like I didn't truly understand the point of that end. like it was a nod to the films she discussed in the story maybe? #2- Man Mountain by Catherine Lacey: uhh, what? man mountain is an actual mountain of adult men and we follow a woman who is trying to climb it? I know there has to be seome deeper meaningful message, but I didn't get. 3- Me, Rory and Aurora by Jonas Eika: uhhh, weird/kinky family/lovers dynamic isn't my thing. but that wasn't even the weirdest thing about this story, which felt like a dream caused by drugs, a bad dream. #4- The Complete by Gabriel Smith: expermental snippets of someone's life or maybe the novel he's writing? Im not sure. but it wasn't funny or deep as it hoped to be *+#5- The Haunting of Hajji Hotak by Jamil Jan Kochai: Finally, a story I like. We're witnessing the lives of an afghan family in the US through the eyes of the spy spying on them and witnessing their lives like he's watching a tv show. very interesting #6- Wisconsin by Lisa Taddeo: messed up and realistic characters. 7- Ira & the Whale by Rachel B Glaser: felt so surrealist. a bunch of men stuck inside a whale and what they actually think about when they're facing death 8- The Commander's Teeth by Naomi Shuyama Gomez: The writing style wasn't to my taste. about dentists working in rural areas and they encounter a military commander who comes for a checkup 9- The Mad People of Paris by Rodrigo Blanco Calderon: about mad people in paris at the metro and all of their conspiracy theories. is the protagonist just an observer or one of those mad people? the line is blurred. it was interesting, but all the political talk lost me a bit *10- Snake & Submarine by Shelby Kinney Lang: a devastating story about a man going through the suffering of women from cancer, some he knows and another he's writing about. 11- The Mother by Jacob M'hango: felt like a folktale, but it was as if it was missing something *+#12- The Hollow by 'Pemi Aguda: a masterpiece. about the meaning of a house and a home. about the struggle of women to find a safe place for them to be. *+#13- Dream Man by Cristina Rivera Garza: I liked how I was puzzled by this story. is it all a man's or a woman's dream? did a man meet a siren that caused his insanity? are these just hallucinations? you don't know, you just enjoy the ride *+#14- The Locksmith by Grey Wolfe Lajoie: I liked the eerines imposed by other on the locksmith, while he's just a human being trying to navigate life despite his difficulties. i would've loved it if the story was a bit longer 15- After Hours at the Acacia Park Pool by Kristin Valdez Quade: a story about kids and teenagers and navigating life and having different feelings for the first time and all the wrong choices and decisions teenagers make. 16- Happy is a Doing Word by Arinze Ifeakandu: a sad story set in nigeria, wehre we follow a boy growing into a young man and the struggles he goes through 17- Elision by David Ryan: interesting concept of a woman going through an event in her life that changes the way she views her choice and her husband and deciding how to move forward *+#18- Xifu by K-Ming Chang: I was both horrified and mesmerized by this story's mc while she talked about the relationship between mothers and daughters, folk myths, and mothers in law who are annoying. I defintely want to read more from her! 19- Temporary Housing by Kathleen Alcott: interesting look at an individual, looking back at her life and how it affected her present. just nothing new to me 20- The Blackhills by Eamon McGuinness: the writing style really wasn't to my taste ...more |
Notes are private!
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Apr 2024
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Apr 30, 2024
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Apr 01, 2024
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| 1642360880
| 9781642360882
| B09GV73LF8
| 4.00
| 6
| Sep 21, 2021
| Sep 21, 2021
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liked it
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mini review for the stories: 1- The Last Boat-Builder in Ballyvoloon by Finbarr O'Reilly: A post-apocalyptic story of one of humanity's inventions turn mini review for the stories: 1- The Last Boat-Builder in Ballyvoloon by Finbarr O'Reilly: A post-apocalyptic story of one of humanity's inventions turned on them. I felt a bit weirded out when they talked about squids like they were something man-made, but as the story progressed, it started making sense. 2- Obliteration by Robert Reed: would you rather leave your memories under the mercy of AI and machines or disregard them and live life and remember what you can and forget the rest? Interesting concept, but the execution wasn't to my liking all the time *3- Sour Milk Girls by Erin Roberts:: another story dealing with memory, but this one is different. In an agency for orphan girls. It takes a look at how a child would grow up without any memories of their childhood, good or bad. And that was really heart-wrenching to read. *4- Farewell, Adam by Xiu Xinyu: An interesting look at the making of an idol. It's truly terrifying this look at an idol and his team and the managment of his life. *5- Say it Low, then Loud by Osahon Ize-Iyamu: A brilliant story about war, colonialism, betaying your origins and roots, and the conflice of participating in a war. 6- The Rains on Mars by Natalia Theodoridou: depressive story about loss and earth and mars and running from one's past. also are they tears or rain? the nuance is melancholic. *7- Tool-Using Mimics by Kij Johnson: This was impressive. I mean, take a picture and make an entire life, or maybe lives, based on that. *8- Landmark by Cassandra Khaw: I won't pretend like I understood everything I've read of this story. I mean, what's happening? but I know one thing for sure, I loved the writing! *9- The Psychology Game by Xia Jia: Brilliant. About the use of AI in different aspects of life, but focuses on using AI as therapists in the context of a new game show. *10- Dead Heroes by Mike Buckley: soldiers trying to reclaim earth, a forest that causes people to lose their memories, changed heroes who were worshipped, and a ravaged Earth. A brilliant story. *11- Darkness, Our Mother by Eleanna Castroianni: reminds me of "Vita Nostra" mixed with a retelling of Ariadne's story from the greek myths. 12- Who Won the Battle of Arsia Mons? by Sue Burke:: Take Robot fights and NASA on Mars and mash them together, and you get this story. I enjoyed how it seemed to focus on the politics of sending robots to space. If you're a fana of Gundam, you'll like this 13- Falling in Love with Martians and Machines by Josh Pearce: What if car racers were part of their cars? what if you can't distinguish between the machine and the human riding it? Very interesting *14- The Power is Out by A Que: This was brilliant, I could've read an entire novel set in that world. We follow a group of people post-apocalypse: after the power (electricity) went out, and how they survived thus far. I liked how they reverted back in names to descriptions, and it's an excellent commentary on our society and how it's actually regressing not progressing. It felt so real and not far-fetched at all. *15- The Persistence of Blood by Juliette Wade: very interesting world-building. based mainly on caste system and the role of highborn women as the way to ensure the "race is kept alive" by giving birth to a baby after another with no regard to what they want. the main character was a character you could root for, and I felt like this would be just a part of a bigger novel *16- Intro to Prom by Genevieve Valentine: This was haunting, and when I started realizing what was happening and the type of setting these 4 teens were trapped in, it added a lot of sadness to the story. It's one of those stories that needs to be discovered bit by bit, but we follow 4 individuals remaining in a ghost town bidding their time till it's all over. *17- A Cigarette Burn in your Memory by Bo Balder: I don't understand it but I loved it. It was so eerie. set in the future, in a world where internet and airplanes and satellites stopped working and people seem to live with constant amnesia. very creepy and frightening in its quietness. *18- Retrieval by Suzanna Walker: Ghostbusters in Space, but without the light-heartedness of it. It's dark and discusses faith and death and ghosts. *19- The No-one Girl and the Flower of the Farther Shore by E. Lily Yu: felt like a afairy tale, with a tragic ending. loved the setting and wished something better to happen for the girl 20- The Catalog of Virgins by Nicoletta Vallorani: I feel it had potential too be something I like, but the writing was too scattered for my taste. *21- Unplaces: An Atlas of Non-existence by Izzy Wasserstein: This was extremely sad and I liked the style it was written in, as footnotes or just notes between passages of a book about non-existant places. *22- The Nightingales in Platres by Natalia Theodoridou: Gut-wrenching story of faith and greek mythos and traditions in space. from the point of view of a father and a leader, who has a tough choice to make, and all the traditions end beliefs they hold close 23- Prasetyo Plastics by D.A.Xiaolin Spires: eco-sci-fi about the horror of plastic from the point of view of a man who loves the possibility of plastic and how it takes form. felt a bit biographical and not like a sci-fi story 24- Crossing Lasalle by Lettie Prell: I was intrigued by the setting, but the story itself didn't work for me 25- The Sum of Her Expectations by Jack Skillingstead: I liked the way that I was never sure if our main characters was seeing an actual being or was it all just in her head. 26- Deep Down in the Cloud by Julie Novakova: The setting and the world and the motivation were never clear enough, but it sounded bleak enough 27- The Lighthouse Girl by Baoshu: An interesting concept but was ruined by that letter at the end. I felt that it would've been beteer with a shorter ambigious letter. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 02, 2024
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Mar 30, 2024
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Jan 02, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 059346754X
| 9780593467541
| 059346754X
| 3.85
| 617
| unknown
| Sep 13, 2022
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really liked it
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1- “Screen Time,” by Alejandro Zambra: Interesting look at parenting amid covid, and how a child copes when he's not exposed to TV at all, which I thi
1- “Screen Time,” by Alejandro Zambra: Interesting look at parenting amid covid, and how a child copes when he's not exposed to TV at all, which I think is a hard decision to implement, but I still applaud. 2- “The Wolves of Circassia,” by Daniel Mason: I'm not sure I totally got the symbolism of that ending, but it's another pandemic story, this time through a caretaker taking care of an old man with dementia and his family. 3- “Mercedes’s Special Talent,” by Tere Dávila: well, that was depressing. a woman suffering from hypochondria and the suffering of her family as well. 4- “Rainbows,” by Joseph O’Neill: I see where the author was going with this story of immigrants in the US and assimilation and idolizing people, but it felt fragmented, and the ending didn't feel like an end at all 5- “A Way with Bea,” by Shanteka Sigers: weird and unnerving and yet wholesome in a way? An unnamed teacher and her inner thoughts about her life and a certain student of hers called Bea, and her occasional concern for her and her wanting not to get involvd. 6- “Seams,” by Olga Tokarczuk: A heartbreaking story of an old man dealing with life after his wife's death and he seems to notice weird things, like the seams on his socks or the color of ink in his pens, and these thoughts overwhlem him completely. It's very sad. 7- “The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado: read earlier this year in "The Best American Short Stories 2022". my review: What a melancholic story. A widow moves into an apartment building in New York coming from the Dominican Republic and her story turns into a folk tale by her neighbours. loved ths sadness in every word. 5 stars (I discoevered that the story is inspired by a latin american nursery rhyme, and I liked that idea) 8- “Lemonade,” by Eshkol Nevo: not going to read this story. 9- “Breastmilk,” by ‘Pemi Aguda: I don't do well with stories about giving birth. also affairs that go unpunished? and the noosiness of family members after the event of birth, like a woman can't have one minute to herself? but still Liked the story and loved the writing style, it feels sharp and intense. I would love to read more from her. 10- “The Old Man of Kusumpur,” by Amar Mitra: felt like a folktale from Bengal, about an old man embarking on a journey to meet the Big Man he heard about who would solve all of his problems. felt a bit out of place amid these stories. 11- “Where They Always Meet,” by Christos Ikonomou: interresting concept, a journalist encounters a woman, who might be telling the truth or she might be lying, and tells her the story of her life hoping she's publish it: that she's stalin's daughter and that she's followed. 12- “Fish Stories,” by Janika Oza: very short yet packs a punch. a family lost a son and a brother, and how the mother and sister deal with this grief. 13- “Horse Soup,” by Vladimir Sorokin: each collection must have an absurd weird "what the fuck did I just read" story, and this is that one. first of all, it's very long and it's immersive, it had a promising beginning: a men bumps into three youth on the train and becomes obsessed with watching one of them eat, but that relationship becomes more deformed as time goes by, and I think it must have some underlying message about Russia and politics and food and consumerism, but it got too wacky in the end. 14- “Clean Teen,” by Francisco González: Reading this made me sick. trigger warning for a teacher sexually abusing a teenager. it's heartbreaking seeing the progress of the events and what it does to the mind of the teenage boy 15- “Dengue Boy,” by Michel Nieva: a bit of a dystopian story, about a boy who's half bug and he's tormented by everyone around him. had a very gory ending, but also posed a lot of discussions about humanity, pollution and transformation 16- “Zikora,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: This story felt really ffleshed out, I felt like I really know these characters by the end of it. It revolves around motherhood, family, relationships, a daughter that doesn't understand her mother until she's a mother herself, the decision to have a baby, the experience of Ghanian people in the US. I really need to read a full length novel from this author because it feels really overdue. 17- “Apples,” by Gunnhild Øyehaug: huh. a very meta story, I don't think I've read story more meta than this one. I liked the part aboyt Signe and Sonja the best. but it took some interesting turns for such a short story. 18- “Warp and Weft,” by David Ryan: This was immensely tragic and it made me think of the deaths of all my loved ones. I need to forget this because it really tugged all of my heart strings 19- “Face Time,” by Lorrie Moore: a covid story. brings back all the vivid memories of that horrible times of our life. well written. 20- “An Unlucky Man,” by Samanta Schweblin: read it in the author's collection "Seven Empty Houses". my review: this was really uncomfortable. a pedophile-lolita-type story. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 29, 2023
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Nov 23, 2023
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Oct 29, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0358690129
| 9780358690122
| 0358690129
| 3.72
| 604
| Nov 01, 2022
| Nov 01, 2022
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really liked it
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I'm never disappointed in such collections, because they're always great ways to discover new favorite authors! *1- 10 Steps to a Whole New You by Tony I'm never disappointed in such collections, because they're always great ways to discover new favorite authors! *1- 10 Steps to a Whole New You by Tonya Liburd: derived from carribean folklore, about a vampire-like creature. liked it, and it was the perfect length as well *2- The Pizza Boy by Meg Elison: pizza delivery boy in space, and the way his pizzas have a secret message of their own. I liked the universe it was set in *3- If the Martians have Magic by P. Djeli Clark: I knew I would like this author's style and writing, and though this story just plunges you into this new world withtout much introduction, there's a lot of familiarity. it mixes sci-fi & fantasy, martian invasion and magic, gods and demigods and aliens, taking place in Marrakesh, and a lot of interesting things to say about immigrants, individuality, citizenship, slavery and a lot of other heavy topics * 4- Delete your First Memory for Free by Kel Coleman: I mean, do they actually remove memories or is it just placebo effect? convincing you and giving you comfort that certain awkward memories are removed from your memory (I think in our minds, it's worse if we remember all our awkward exchanges, more than other people remembering them, because we really tend to grill ourselves over every little tiny thing). I really like anything about memories and selective memories and such. 5- The Red Mother by Elizabeth Bear: a typical tale of dragons and puzzles and wagers set in a viking setting. I liked the dragon encounter the most 6- The Cold Calculations by Aimee Ogden: I enjoyed it even though I don't think I really understood it completely. It was a mix of interweived flashes of different people's lives and the unfairness of life, I just don't see how they're all connected. unless they're not meant to be connected? not sure, but I liked it. * 7- The Captain and the Quartermaster by C. L. Clark: a love story amidst the war. sweet and sad and heartbreaking, withe delicate details of love against the backdrop of war greatly illustrated. * 8- Broad Dutty Water: A Sunken Story by Nalo Hopkinson: an interesting climate change crisis post-apocalypse world, where most of the world is flooded. a bit of an open ending that promises hope but also has an eerie undertone. I'm a sucker for an animal companion. I liked the character the usage of dialects adds to the story. 9- I was a Teenage Space Jockey by Stephen Graham Jones: gives off the feeling of stranger things gang in the arcade, or ready player one (the book). I was thrown off, because I knew this was a horror author, but the story was just about two twelve year old native american boys being bullied and finding solace in arcade games. even the sci-fi/fantastical element was very brief. wasn't my favorite. * 10- Let all the Children Boogie by Sam K. Miller: give me any story with a hint of time travel and I'm in. two damaged kids connecting over their favorite radio station and the weird voice they hear cutting through their favorite songs. it felt sad, melancholic, and hopeful * 11- Skinder's Veil by Kelly Link: I think this is the only story in the anthology that I've read before, and I just read it last month in Kelly Link's collection, and it was my favorite story in the collection and I think the longest too. it deals with th personification of death and hallucinations and not really knowing what's real and what's not. * 12- The Algorithm will See you Now by Justin C. Key: This isn't the first story I've read by this author, and the first story merges race and social issue with black mirror-dystopia-ish science fiction. this takes on psychiatry and adds sci-fi algorithm-related elemnts to it, focusing again on young black women. it's an interesting look at how some patients can trigger their doctors and make them confront/remember what they don't want to face anymore. * 13- The Cloud Lake Unicorn by Karen Russell: I read a short story collection from this author previously, and while I didn't fall in love completely with each story, the concept for each one was intriguing enough and felt unique to me. and this story between a pregnant mom and a unicorn seemed so otherwordly and yet realistic somehow? It's filled with metaphors about motherhood, life, hope, grief and having a support system. 14- Proof by Induction by Jose Pable Iriarte: a man gets to spend some time with his fathers ghost? soul? echo? after his death, and all they do is work on math equations trying to prove something. the concept is great, but math is my nemsis, so I was mostly bored through this story. nut it says something about grief and the ability to move on after losing someone. * 15- Colors of them Immortal Palette by Caroline M. Yoachim: felt like a novella, with each chapter titled by a certain color, and that color paints (no pin intended) the story. i fell in love from the first chapter. we follow an immortal artist and his model, or at least that's how it starts. The model, Mariko, has grander plans for herself than to just model for hours for other artists than will discard her when they're done with her. It's about women's agency, beauty standards, the differences between male and female artists, the recodgnition of art, and of course, immortality. It dabbles in the art world, so there's a lot of famous classical names here and discussions about the artistic process. gives off the vibe of "The Invisible Life of Addie Larue". * 16- The Future Library by Peng Shephard: Humans suck but few of them prove to be the best, but are they enough? It's an ecological dystopia, and the last forest standing is facing extinction. We have trees telling their tale, a love story, and the overwhelming love for nature and trees thta might salvage it. I liked the style (written like a letter for the reader) * 17- L'Esprit de L'Escalier by Catherynne M. Valente: a modern greek myth retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, in the typical lush writing from Valente. It's dark and sad and lonely. This is closer to "comfort me with apples" than to "space opera", which are the only two things I've read by her. * 18- Tripping Through Time by Rich Larson: trigger warning for death of a family member. discusses classes and how the rich and the poor deal with new technologies differently. felt very realistic even if it dealt with time travel. * 19- The Frankly Impossible Weight of Han by Maria Dong: this was bizarre and melancholic and I just loved it. a scientist makes a machine that copies anything and the butterfly effects that follow his actions. one of the best short stories I've read. 20- Root Rot by Fargo Tbakhi: I feel for this story and its author, as I always feel for Palestine, but the writing style wasn't to my taste. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 11, 2023
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Oct 12, 2023
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Sep 11, 2023
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 035865887X
| 9780358658870
| 035865887X
| 3.98
| 527
| Nov 01, 2022
| Nov 01, 2022
|
liked it
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This was fine, I found some new and interesting non-fiction writers and deven those who has fiction works, but I didn't feel that there was a lot of v
This was fine, I found some new and interesting non-fiction writers and deven those who has fiction works, but I didn't feel that there was a lot of variety in the topics here so it felt repetitive at some times, and for me some writing styles (especialaly in non fiction) are either a hit or not, even if the topic is interesting. 1- Abasement by Brian Blanchfield: I like looking at personal essays with a personal eye as well, and I can relate to the author not able to purchase a house because of his "identity", because even despite the differneces of our identites, I've had similar issues because of the different identities I hold, and it's all just very cruel and unjust. 2- Drinking Story by Elissa Washuta: from the title, it really is a story about the author's drinking and quitting and how she makes the journey into a narrative. interesting writing stle even if the topic wasn't to my liking. * 3- Fire & Ice by Debra Gwartney: I cried. This has to be one of the hardest articles about losing a spouse. It interwieves personal crisis and love with geography crisis and natural disasters. I felt for the author and her train of thoughts in times of grief. * 4- Ghosts by Vauhini Vara: I love the idea and the excution of this one, and it's always intriguing to see how creatives use AI tools that challenge and endanger their livelihood. I too am endangered by AI, because of my profesion, so it's always a topic I'm intrigued by. The author used AI to write short pieces about the death of her sister, each time giving the AI more to work with: from more info to more stylistic guidlines to say, and the result is very intriguing. 5- The Wild, Sublime Body by Melissa Febos: Interesting examination of the way we look at our bodies and femininty, and the destinctions we draw between us and animals. I was more intrigued by the beginning of this essay more than the way it resolved. 6- Baby Yeah by Anthony Veasna So: this story starts with a disclaimer that the author died in 2020, and finding that he died from a drug overdose makes me feel sad. I don't know what or how to feel to that news. this essay itself is about a friend of his who died a year prior. and just there's so much sadness here. It's more than just an essay about two people who died, it's about them being "minorities within minorities" and that's always interesting to read, but in the end, it left me very depressed. * 7- The Gye, the No-Name Hair Salon, the Coup dEtat, and the Small Dreamers by Jung Hae Chae: this essay is imbedded in the author's experience as a child in South Korea then their immigration to the US. It's about the culture and hard lives of women in Korea through political upheavels, tight impossible finane situations, horrible men, and wife-beating husbands. 8- It had to be Gold by Justin Torres: It felt incomplete to me, but it's mainly about authenticity and identity and the way we choose to display that identity, maybe be wearing a golden cross chain. 9- Futurity by Alex Marzano Lesnevich: about the author's transition mixed with experiences about the pandemic, and these two events overlapping really would make anyone existential, wondering about the concept of "future" * 10- Her Kind by Naomi Jackson: about the experiences of the author with mental disorder before and after diagnosis, and her descriptions were raw and got to me. I'm really interested to read her novel and see what she does in fiction 11- Ghost Bread by Angelique Stevens: about ancestors and native americans and the difference between being a father and a dad. it's always hard reading about absent fathers and the ties that still connect you despite everything 12- The Gamble by Lina Mounzer: A story of addiction and gambling and fatherhood and faith and identity, mixed in with the politics of being Lebanese and then an immigrant. I liked how the author mixes the personal with the general, and how her idealized view of her father changes as she got older and knew more and more about him 13- The Wrong Jason Brown by Jason Brown: all the trigger warnings for suicide attempts, emotional abuse, domestic unrest, addiction and more. The problem is the essay started with the idea of many people named "Jason Brown", and then it veered to talk about the author's traumas and how they affected his life and relationships without a good connection between the two parts of the essay. * 14- Between These Lives, Azeroth by Tanner Akoni Laguatan: gives me the vibe of "Ready Player One", in using nostalgia (mainly video games) to deal with trauma, heartbreak and grief. This essay is about the author's experience with the game "World of Warcraft" and the friendships and relationships he made through that game, viewed in hindsight during the recent pandemic. heartbreaking and relateable. 15- Among Men by Calvin Gimpelevich: it was kinda interesting till they mentioned the "occupation", then I lost interest. * 16- China Brain by Andrea Long Chu: investigation into mental illness with personal experience and the chemistry of the brain. very enlightening and intriguing and I liked the prose very much 17- What She Would Always and Should Always Be Doing by Kaitlyn Greenidge: the struggle of identity in the teenage years of the author's life really resonated with me. 18- My Gentile Region by Gary Shteyngart: the topic didn't interest me, and yet another mention of the "occupation". 19- Anatomy of a Botched Assimilation by Jesus Quintero: the author's style in recounting the story of his family's immigration and his poor and difficult childhood was confusing, especially in dialogues, so it was a bit hard to follow who was saying what. 20- Mother Country by Elias Rodriques: anothe article about immigration, but this one deals with the author's mother and her immigration journey and returning back to the mother country after so many years, and how the perfect "home" doesn't really exist. * 21- At the Bend of the Road by Aube Rey Lescure: this was heartbreaking and traumatising and scary and a real fear to every woman everywhere. between the tale of the author's hikes along a famous road and the violence women encountered, she also talk about Bolano's novel 2666, which also centers violence on women. and it's just a big doze of depression for me. I ean, I can relate to her shock and her response to the trauma. I've been in a similar situation (not as horrifying but still scary) and I chose the same reaction. * 22- If you Ever Find Yourself by Erika J. Simpson: another heartbreaking essay about poverty in the usa, told in the stule of bulleted advices. it's unfair seeing these conditions and the author wrote about it with raw honesty and biting sarcasm, and I liked that despite feeling horified by the topic 23- The Lost List by Ryan Bradley: this was just fine. ...more |
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Aug 06, 2023
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Sep 10, 2023
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Aug 06, 2023
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| 164622163X
| 9781646221639
| 164622163X
| 3.76
| 70
| Sep 20, 2022
| Sep 20, 2022
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really liked it
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this month's short story anthology to discover new authors. the downside to this collection is that these are their debut stories from 2021, so there'
this month's short story anthology to discover new authors. the downside to this collection is that these are their debut stories from 2021, so there's a big chance I won't find many - or any- complete published works by them, by I'll remember to take a note of any new fav authors! Authors I want to check out from this collection: Erin Connal - Yasmin Adele Majeed - Patch Kirrschenbaum - Catherine Bai - Preeti Vangani - Seth Wang - Emma Shannon 1- Sacrilege - Edward Salem: the writing style didn't really grip me, despite some good passages about the parallels between art and identity. It humps between Palestine, Egypt, and France, and we follow an artist who's interested in art pieces using rocks/whatever surrounds him in htese areas, and each are intriduces a different question. Palestine and the intifada, Egypt and its history, France and its colonialism. A lot of big ideas but the story was too short, so the ending felt scattered. * 2- The Black Kite and the Wind - Erin Connal: I REALLY find it hard to sympathize with rich white kids and especially if it's a story where they killed someone. but this story doesn't glorify that or even shows that these characters managed to move on from what they did. It's set in Australia, and in the background, the bushfires are tormenting the country, and we follow some high-school girls in their delusional attemp to "shake the system" by setting minor fires in their neighborhood. I liked the writing style, and I'm actually waiting for the author's first novel * 3- A Wedding in Multan, 1978 - Yasmin Adele Majeed: In a way, this gives me "Atonement" vibes? I'm amazed by all the author managed to put in one story: a coming of age story, a mystery story, a political story, and a wedding story, set in Pakistan. really heartbreaking. * 4- For Future Refernce: Notes on the 7-10 Split - Patch Kirrschenbaum: I like a story told by an older adult person to their teenage self, as they usualy have some sort of dark humor. but this one had too many bowling terminology for my taste. I liked his writing style and the emotional punch, but was disappointed when I read that his debut novel will be about professional poker players. I don't know if his writing style will make me interested in reading about poker while I was skimming the parts about bowling in this short story, still an author to keep an eye on. 5- All we Have left is Ourselves - Oyedotun Damilola Muees: normally I like dystopian stories, but this was too fragmented for my taste, and I was never sure of the timing of certain events, were they before or are they happening now in that character's life? the photographer protagonist angle was interesting, it's a shame that it wasn't explored enough. * 6- Writing with Blood - Catherine Bai: such a lyrical story about the barrier of langiage. a chinese girl born in america and her struggle to connect with her chinese family, about immigration and relating it to the nature. it's written in the style of vignettes, so it seemed like different snapshots, but I loved a lot of the imagery! 7- Them Bones - CK Kane: some stories make you wonder if there's something wrong with the author, and this was one of them. depending solely on the shock value of its depraved characters, I expected more than just a story filled with taboos. 8- Man, Man, et cetera - Cal Shook: I'm interested to read more by this author, this story had some things I didn't like (cheating), but it had a lot of things I liked, like the writing style and the way this woman's life was told through all the men she knew, untill she is changed (or maybe not) by motherhood. * 9- Work Wives - Preeti Vangani: I loved this story. a fesh graduate navigating life, relationships, friendships after the loss of her mother and how that coats everything in her life. just loved it. 10- The Chicken - Rz Baschir: a metamorphosis type of story wih some body horror and way too much blood for my liking. I liked the magical realism aspect of the story and would read more by this author, bu I'm not sure if I can read a lot in one sitting if they're all this bloody * 11- The Cacophobe - Seth Wang: this gives off the feeling of "picture of dorian gray" (which I haven't read but I totally know the vibe, and this is it), and I liked the narrator from the first paragraph. another ne of those stories that makes wonder is there's something wrong with the author, but this one was totally to my taste. a story about a boy allergic to ugliness and his time at a retreat and the ugly secret he holds from those days. * 12- Beat by Beat - Emma Shannon: JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ONE. I love the protagnist and his connection to the worm that created our world, the small connections and the bigger meaning behind everything that happens. I can classify this as sof sci-fi and I can't wait for a novel or a collection from thsi author ...more |
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Jul 06, 2023
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Jul 17, 2023
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Jul 06, 2023
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| 0358615291
| 9780358615293
| 0358615291
| 3.82
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| Nov 01, 2022
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really liked it
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to sim it up in ver yfew words: enlightening, frightening, hopeful. A collection mainly written in 2021 and combiles in this book in 2022 and I'm readi to sim it up in ver yfew words: enlightening, frightening, hopeful. A collection mainly written in 2021 and combiles in this book in 2022 and I'm reading it in 2023, so it's interesting to see what still resonates today, even to someone like me, who doesn't really read a lot of science or nature writing if it's not sci-fi or fantasy. 1. The Body's most Embarrassing Organ is an Evolutionary Marvel by Katherine J. Wu: not all creatures poop, but it's interesting studying the creatures that do and that mysterious organ. I mean what other organ could do all of these functions at once, also it allows female birds to eject any subpar sperm after mating with unsatisfactory males to start anew. excuse me? wow. 2. What Slime Knows by Lacy M. Johnson: interesting article about a creature I didn't know anything about. slime mold... "has no brain, no sense of sight or smell, but can solve mazes, learn patterns, keep time and pass down the wisdom of generations. how do you classify a creature like that?" how indeed? I like her connecting the history of studying this slime mold and the hierarchy of evolution "science". 3. Too Big for the Universe by Arianna S. Long: very straigtforward and a little bit terrifying, about galaxies and their life cycle, telescopes and detecting different types of galaxies, 4. Heads Up! The Cardiovascular Secrets of Giraffes byb Bob Holmes: about giraffes and how thie bodies solved their problem with high blood pressure. It's always a wonder when you delve deeper into the bodies of any animals and see how it operates. felt like a fun little lesson. 5. How Far does Wildlife Roam? Ask the "Internet of Animals" by Sonia Shah: about a new project called ICARUS, that will help scientists study animals' mobility and movement in ways that haven't been done before, changing the way scientists used to think about wildlife mobility. I also love it when humans realize how superior other creatures are. 6. Our Summer from Hell by Jeff Goodell: a US centric story about what it would take for Americans to wake up to the effects of climate change. and really it's sad that the whole planet needs a bigger wake up call than the ones we've been hit with repeatedly. Humans (most of them) are greedy and selfish, that's it. 7: How Rising Groundwater caused by Climate Change could Devastate Coastal Communities by Kendra Pierre Louis: Thank you for the nightmares. It's not enough that people are ignoring the obvious dangers like rising seas, it's terrifying to know what the rise in groundwater is causing and that it's being ignored even more because it's not as obvious as the seas. 8. How we Drained California Dry by Mark Arax: Poetic and sad. about the different ways humans drained california. 9. The Climate Solution actually adding millions of Tons of CO2 into the Atmosphere by Lisa Song & James Temple: so humans found a way to even abuse trees and forests, and use them to make the problem of pollution worse? just wow. 10. In the Oceans, the Volume is rising as Never before by Sabrina Imbler: I love clown fish, and it's always nice to know more about them. It's unnerving to know that the ocean which I always though to be the quitest place, has become noisybecause of us and how that affects all of its creatures. 11. The Nature of Plastics by Meera Subramanian: when you think of pollution, the first thing that comes to mind is plastic, especially in water. so it's no wonder that this article hits really bad, and makes me wonder, why ddo we do this? and how can our puny efforts make any difference when most of the world, aka factories and ships and manufacturers, don't care at all. 12. Black Bears, Black Liberation by Rae Wynn Grant: about black bears between folk tales, bedtime stories, collective culture, and hunting culture, tying it to native americans and african americans. I would've loved for this one to be longer. 13. Finding Freedom in the Natural World by Cynthia R. Greenlee: about foragers/naturalists or living from the wild/nature, and it being a trend that people follow by choice, while others have to depend on it not by choice. very interesting, and the intersection with black people and their culture is very insightful. you really can'tseparate racism from any activity today, whether it's done for leisure or necessity. 14. Humanity is Flushing Away One of Life's Essential Elements by Julia Rosen: phosphurus and feces and fertilizers and everything that depends on them in our everyday life. 15. Poisoned - part 1: The Factory by Corey G. Johnson, Rebecca Woolington, and Eli Murray: The start of a horror story, and not the first of its kind. it reminds me of the story of radium women, who worked in factories making watches and died because of all the radium their bodies were exposed to. here is a morde modern investogation of a lead factory and the lead in the air that got into the bodies of all the workers. a very straight to the point piece, because you don't really need any imbellishments when writing about this. I don't know if I have it in me to read the rest of the series. 16. Future Moves by Yeesenia Funes: a short piece about climate migration and the dillemma of choosing where to settle, especially in the US but also all around the world, because every year, everywhere is getting more affected by climate change. no place is safe. 17. There's a Clear Fix to Helping Black Communities Fight Pollution by Rachel Ramirez: the link between pollution and racism or environmental injustice (which is aloaffected by social classes not just races) is often ignored, but this article did a good job of highlighting that. 18. To be a Field of Poppoies by Lisa Wells: loved this! makes you really think about what happens to you body after death and how you can help the environment. 19. To Hell with Drowning by Julian Aguon: it starts with seeing how wayfinding was affected by climate change, then moves to talking about island nations and their climate-induced-relocations. It's filled with sadness yet hope. 20. To Speak of the Sea in Irish by Claudia Geib: about the importance of preserving language, as it is important to preserve creatures and plants. 21. A Tight-Knit Island Nation hopes to Rebuild while Preserving "The Barbudan Way" by Mikki K. Harris: The greed of humans, and taking over island and homes for nations to "develop" their projects. 22. Thriving Together: Salmon, Berries, and People by Cuagilakv Jess Hausti: shows the importance of adhering to the natural order of things and the teachings of ancestors when it comes to plants and fish, when to fish and when to look for other resources. if only everyone adhered to these simple rules, we wouldn't be here. 23. Your Face is not Your Own by Kashmir Hill: most (if not all so far?) of the articles and writings in this book were about nature and extinction, that I forgot this collection should also include science writing, and here I am, reading this terrifying piece about AI, technology, and knowing more about the way we are losing any piece of privacy we had. this article is intriguing because you can't fully say that this company is in the wrong (it helps cats criminals and child abusers, after all), but if tis is allowed, where do we draw the line? 24. Quantum Enlightenment by Ruth Robertson: intriguing and interesting about mixing science with spirituality, even though some of it flew over my head. 25. Why Combining Farms and Solar Panels could transform how we Produce both food and energy by Chris Malloy: you don't need to tell me twice about the benefits of solar panels. liked the ideas here about integrating it with farms and crops 26. A recipe for Fighting Climate Change and Feeding the World by Sarah Kaplan: is it too late to change our farming practices to save the earth? I'm trying not to be pessimistic, but most of humanity are set in their own ways, and they'd rather die and let others die than change their ways. 27. Power Shift by Justine Calma: all big companies everywhere are just the same, and we'll keep paying the price for their greed until we all collapse together. bravo for them, hope they line their coffins with all the money they're earning while burning the planet and killing off other people. this just made me so angry 28. Beavers are Firefighters who work for free by Lucy Sherriff: I'm impressed with the number of articles about/by natives in this collection. it should be more, but it's a start, because if there's anyone who really cares for the environment with no agendas, it's these native tribes. also the US is a frustrating place where it's so easy to kil anything (humans or animals) than it is to pass laws that benefit everyone. I mean, it's about time people suddenly realize thath there was a reason for why the climate and earth were better before human involvement. 29. New Wind Projects Power Local Budgets in Wyoming by Jane C. Hu: clean energy to the rescue as always. 30. Work from Home, save the Planet? Ehh by Emily Atkin: this was what I thought as well, when more people work from home, the emissions are less thus helping in saving the planet. but it seems like people don't change their habits? as it says in the article "we're not going to save the planet by accident." 31. In Amsterdam, a Community of Floating Homes shows the World how to live alongside Nature by Shira Rubin: an excellant example of sustainable living projects that don't add to the pollution of the planet 32. A River Reawakened by Jessica Plumb: will this be the era we listen to indegineous tribes and let nature take its course finally, so maybe, we could recover some of what was lost? 33. There's a Global Plan to Conserve Nature. Indigenous People could lead the way by Somini Sengupta, Catrin Einhorn, and Manuela Andreoni: before even starting, I fully agree with this title, as it truly seems to sum up on of the main ideas in this collection. It's outrageous that indigenous people are left out of discussions to save the planet. ...more |
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May 05, 2023
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Jun 22, 2023
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May 05, 2023
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| 0358664713
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| 0358664713
| 3.67
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| Nov 01, 2022
| Nov 01, 2022
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really liked it
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A really solid anthology. brief reviews of all the stories: - A Ravishing Sun by Leslie Blanco: wonderful and heartbreaking. a story of a cuban woman wh A really solid anthology. brief reviews of all the stories: - A Ravishing Sun by Leslie Blanco: wonderful and heartbreaking. a story of a cuban woman who's starting over in so many ways and how the ptsd of an accident affects her. I saw myself in her and I was scared than I was comforted. 5 stars. (apparently the story is inspired by her real life) - The Little Widow from the Capital by Yohanca Delgado: What a melancholic story. A widow moves into an apartment building in New York coming from the Dominican Republic and her story turns into a folk tale by her neighbours. loved ths sadness in every word. 5 stars (I discoevered that the story is inspired by a latin american nursery rhyme, and I liked that idea) - Man of the House by Kim Coleman Foote: a sad story about family. from the point of view of an older black man, who deals with the passing of his mother and it prompts him to think of his family and the segregation and slavery and all their history of pain. brief mention of domestic violence that I didn't like. 4.5 stars. (like a lot of black writers, the author writes from experience, also the story is inspired by the author's family and relatives) - The Wind by Lauren Groff: my god, this was gut-wrenching. a story of escaping an abusive house, and how we choose to tell that story. what version of the truth we choose to retell. absolutely broke my heart in 15 minutes. 5 stars. - The Hollow by Greg Jackson: It's one of those stories that you're sure there's some deeper meaning behind it, but I couldn't grasp that meaning. a story about two men who were in the same college and their reunion many years later, and their different appraoches to life. 3 stars. - Detective Dog by Gish Jen: a Chinese mother trying to protect her family from politics and covid. About immigration, rich immigrants, politics and protestors and the regime in China, and a mother who's just trying to protect her kids. 3 stars. (one of the prolific author in the collection, and I'm still hesitant if I want to read something else by her seeing how her writings is wraught with politics I don't fully comprehend, but I'm intrigued) - Sugar Island by Claire Luchette: a couple and their relationship on the frings and their trip to buy a couch while one of them contemplates leaving the other. you know how it ends but it still surprises you. 3 stars (seems like another story taken directly from the author's life) - The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken: a story of divorce and motherhood and hidden feelings and sadness. I liked the setting, in Denmark, but I was confused about the timeline and who's who. 3 stars (another prolific author in this collection, and it's interesting to know her insight to writing this story and choosing the setting to be someplace familiar to her) - Post by Alice McDermott: This was depressing. because it's never really over. The story of two people and their lives before, during, and post Covid. Covid changed people's relationships to themselves and others, and we see that through the eyes of a couple here who were both changed by the sickness. 4 stars. (I always thought this author wrote depressing books though having never tried her and now I'm scared to try a full-length novel by her though she's another prolific author. taking inspiration from an older story with the same concept: two people falling in love during 1918 flu pandemic but setting it in our covid life is great. ) - Bears Among the Living by Kevin Moffett: didn't get on with this one. felt like random snippets of a guy's life focused on his dead father and his own son and family. some lines were profound, but the story didn't stick. 2 stars. - Soon the Light by Gina Ochsner: really atmospheric. a bit religious in themes, and uses the trope of possessed/demon child, but the main focus of the story: the relationship of a brother and sister and their relationship to their mother was lost a bit. It's truly an all vibes story. 3 stars. (O'm always intrigued about stories of europeans in the us, and the clash of cultures) - Mbiu Dash by Okwiri Oduor: The writing style is just magical in this one. one of those rare cases where I actually liked the story being narrated by a child. It's very unique. A little girl losing her mom in an african town, with some politics and touching on the lives of orphans in villages like this. It felt very real. 5 stars. (I think the reader of this story would benefit from reading the author's debut novel since it seems like she uses the same protagonist here. ) - The Meeting by Alix Ohlin: Am I imagining things or is the character "James Halliday" based on that millionaire in Ready Player One minus the sci-fi? wsn't he also named James Halliday? anuway, stories like this one about corporate life and being at the mercy of your work really depress me. the end took a darker and grim turn. 3 stars. (a prolific author, for some reason since I didn't read much by these authors I thought they hadn't much published but seems like I was wrong. ) - The Beyoglu Municipality Waste Managment Orchestra by Kenan Orhan: a different look to the "big brother is watching" idea. set in Istanbul and follows a garbage woman who hoardes things banned by the country. has this feel of magical realism mixed with light dystopia. 4.5 stars. (It's always scary when a story that seems really dystopic turn out to be really rooted in reality) - The Ghost Birds by Karen Russell: the elements of sci-fi/fantasy are rare in this collection, but this one just has my heart. a story of a father and daughter in a post apocalyptic world, focusing on all the disasters we brought to our planet and the extinction of birds. taking place in 2080 I think. I loved the emotions and the sadness and even the horror of this future. 5 stars. (a great climate change warning story) - Mr. Ashok's Monument by Sanjena Sathian: liked the setting and the touch of magical realism. I love when a story introduces interesting departments and ministries. an interesting look at myths and the history of India. 5 stars. (this really prompted me to read more into indian mythology, it's really interesting and I haven't read enough of it at all. it also deals with many interesting ideas about history and who gets to write it) - Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers: uh, ma'am, are you okay? first of all, the idea of emotional cheating is still cheating, and any story based on cheating isn't my cup of tea. I was intrigued by the way this woman always had two lives going, one real and the other imaginary. 1.5 stars. - The Sins of Others by Hector Tobar: interesting concept and not too far-fetched sadly, in which there's a "replacement law", and white people can commit crimes and have any of the immigrants replace them in detention and jail. just didn't really get the ending, but it was chilling and frustrating. 4 stars. (when the author mentions Kafka in his notes, everything clicks together. this story is very kafka-esque in its bizarreness and surrealism. - Elephant Seals by Meghan Louise Wagner: this has no right being this beautiful and making me cry. the different life scenarios of 3 people and it's just so beautiful. 5 stars! (I like how this story seems like a recovery story for the author as well) - Foster by Bryan Washington: any story with a cat has my heart, this story was just sad, the brothers' relationship made me really sad. 4 stars. (I don't know much about this author but I'm guessing he used some of these themes before, I heard about his novel memorial and I remember that it had to with Japan, and Japan plays a big role here. ...more |
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| Aug 10, 2020
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really liked it
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As all anthologies, some stories were great and others were meh. It's always a good opportunity for me to discover new authors. and I've already put a
As all anthologies, some stories were great and others were meh. It's always a good opportunity for me to discover new authors. and I've already put all of Triangulation anthologies on my wishlist because they're such a treat. I love it when anthologies have a good theme. It's always interesting to see what authors would do with it. All the authors here were new to me, so that's exciting too. brief review of each story: - Warnings by Liam Hogan: short and horrifying. 4 stars. - The Bubble Tea Frogs by Blake Jessop: didn't expect this mix of anime, j-pop, and extinct frogs. a scientist's trip around asia looking for extinct frogs for his research. 4 stars. - A Killing Garden by Owen Leddy: girl infected with a virus that makes her communicate with plants? a harrowing warning against deforestation. 3.5 stars - Labyrinthula animalis by Katie Sakanai: A story told by a cell (?) after the extinction of all life on earth, and it really puts is face to face with all our wrongs. 4 stars - Migratory by Joshua David Bellin: a visitor at a zoo where the circumstances are weird. wasn't very engaging despite liking the writing. 2.5 stars - There Were Giants on the Earth in those Days by Marshall J. Moore: A spin on Noah's ark, explaining why no unicorns, dragons or giants are present on earth. gives me the vibes of "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse". 4.5 stars - Red is the Taste of Death by Rhonda Eikamp: a story of a marine biologist and her mission to save th dolphins in a dying world. Dolphins have always been the closest to my heart among marine animals. 4 stars. - The Fire of Countless Stars by Jamie Lackey: A story instead of being set in the distant or near future, it's set in the medieval times, dealing with dragons and other fantastical creatures going extinct because of lack of magic. 4 stars. - As much as the Crows by Jennifer R. Povey: a story about racism and genetics and generations that I'm not sure I fully understood. 3 stars - Tales of the Shrub by Jim Hanson: a sad poem-like tale told by a shrub to the last human after tragey strikes, by our hands. 3.5 stars. - Letters for Samantha by Sean Jones: In a world post a pendemic, two sisters joined by two gorillas navigate their collapsed world. Something similar to covid forces social distancing in an extra scary way. a broken down society that still have some sort of order. I'm intrigued to read a full length novel from that world. 4 stars - We Only Have by E. A Petricone: Heartbreaking and wonderful. Extinction and rebirth. 5 stars - The Perfect Solution by Brett Kozlowski: liked the dark humor in this one. any story with people dressing up as something else is bound to end up badly. 4.5 stars. - Four Little Bees by Bradley Heywood: very weird writing and I didn't get on with this one at all. 1.5 stars. - Will-o-the-Walmart by Jennifer Lee Rossman: a melancholic sad story about the artifical life we're heading towards (or are living) and how a little bit of nature can bring us back to life. 4 stars. - No one needs a Chiweenie by Katrinka Mannelly: the first line of this story broke my heart as a cat lover, then it got sadder and sadder like the rest of the book. also, anything with gods ie just perfect. 4 stars. - The Bambi Collaboration by Bo Balder: an interesting story about plastic pollution. 3 stars. - Ancestral Nocturne by Bethany van Sterling: to short to make somthing out of it. - Akiki, the Magician by Steve Carr: So many questions and not enough answers. about killing the gorillas and poachers. I believe it's the 2nd story to center on gorillas in this collection. 3 stars - Run, Baby, Run by Joy KEnnedy O'neil: What an interesting look at extinction and bringing back species. 4 stars. - In the Garden of Burning Plastic by Marissa James: such a sad sad story of how our life would looks like if we survived the destruction of all life forms and only had plastic for company. 4.5 stars. - Conjugation of the Verb by Brian Rappatta: a story in the form of a wikipedia page. wierd and i'm not sure what it really implied. - Loving Monsters by Anya Ow: love the tribal/folk setting in this. seems like it's set among the tribe of some indegineous people and a look on colonization, hunting rare creatures and the building of zoos. also somehow giving off Witcher vibes? 4 stars. - Rare Seeds by Michael Triozzi: set in a rare seeds vault, a perfect place for a story about extinction. posing the question: at the end of times would we save ourselves or the hope for future humans? very dark and won't end well. 4 stars. - Aviatrix Unbound by Carins Bissett: feels like a futuristic version of Circe? at least in a loose sense. 4 stars. - Landscape on the Outskirts by Sam Hicks: I'm not entirely sure what is it I just read. ...more |
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Mar 08, 2023
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Mar 08, 2023
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| 1952303249
| 9781952303241
| 1952303249
| 3.46
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liked it
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Though I haven't read much of Grimm's fairy tales, but I can assume from the title that all the stories here are retellings of those fairy tales. I lo
Though I haven't read much of Grimm's fairy tales, but I can assume from the title that all the stories here are retellings of those fairy tales. I love anthologies, whether they were regular short stories, or in this case, a comics anthology. Each story has a different writer and illustrators, and they're all horror stories with different takes on old gruesome fairy tales, with different settings and interpretations. Some were brilliant, others were okay. I thank Netgalley for the digital ARC ...more |
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Aug 28, 2021
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Aug 28, 2021
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| 9789996645938
| 3.60
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| Mar 01, 2015
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really liked it
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بكون في قمة سعادتي عند اكتشاف مترجم جديد تعجبني اختياراته، ومحمد الضبع هو ذلك المترجم. كنت من معجبي مدونته "معطف فوق سرير العالم" منذ أعوام طويلة، ورأي بكون في قمة سعادتي عند اكتشاف مترجم جديد تعجبني اختياراته، ومحمد الضبع هو ذلك المترجم. كنت من معجبي مدونته "معطف فوق سرير العالم" منذ أعوام طويلة، ورأيته كتابه هذا منذ عامين تقريبا واشتريته وكنت أنوي قراءته على الفور لكن لا أعلم ماذا أنساني إياه لأعود إليه مجددا وأقرأه كله، وأقدر أعتبره كتابا "يشبهني" وتلك الكتب لا أجدها كثيرا. أغلب الاختيارات المترجمة هنا هي حوارات أو مقتبسات مع بعض القصص والأشعار والمقالات، وكلها تتمحور حول حب الكتب والقراءة وعالم الكتاب والقراء المفعم بالجنون والمشاعر المتضاربة القوية. الكثير من هذه الأعمال كانت منشورة على المدونة، لا أتذكر إن كانت كلها من المدونة أم لا. الترجمة ظريفة وخفيفة وفيها بعض التلاعب بالكلمات الذي أحببته، ولما عدت لأرى ما ترجمه محمد الضبع حتى الآن، لاحظت اهتمامه بمات هيغ (كاتبي المفضل) وقررت أن أضيفه إلى قائمة المترجمين الموثوقين الذين أشتري ترجماتهم وأنا واثقة من ظرافتها وجودتها. الكتاب فيه بعض الأخطاء الإملائية، لكن لا أراها عيبا في الكتاب الأول، وتحمست جدا لتجربتي التالية مع ترجماته. ...more |
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Feb 09, 2021
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Feb 11, 2021
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Mar 17, 2020
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| 0751503290
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| 3.92
| 72
| Dec 1991
| 1993
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really liked it
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English Review Below. مجموعة قصصية لكتاب مختلفين من عالم مسلسلات وأفلام "توايلايت زون" القديم والشاسع واللي معرفش عنه كتير بس تشجعت أدخله بعد قراءة الم English Review Below. مجموعة قصصية لكتاب مختلفين من عالم مسلسلات وأفلام "توايلايت زون" القديم والشاسع واللي معرفش عنه كتير بس تشجعت أدخله بعد قراءة المجموعة دي. قصص خيال على خيال علمي، أغلبها رعب وأغلبها جيد مع بعض القصص العادية وشوية قصص مبهرة. القصص دي كلها اتعمل منها حلقات قديمة في السبعينيات أو التمانينيات فخطتي أني أتفرج عليهم وبعدها ممكن تبقى مدخل للعالم ده. مجموعة قصص قوية ورغم أنها قديمة، بعضها حسيت أنه يتفوق على بعض كتابات الخيال العلمي الأحداث، تستحق القراءة. The world of The Twilight Zone is so massive that I won't even attempt to make it seem like I know where it begins and ends, I know there's an old a show, some films, a new show maybe? I'm really making a mental note to get into this world and watch some of the episodes, I might even start with the episodes that were adapted from the stories in this collection. This is a short stories anthology by different authors of stories that were all adapted into Twilight Zone episodes back in the day. All Sci-fi/fantasy, some were quirky, most are horror. Some were good, others were okay, and some really blew my mind. It was a mixed bag but an enjoyable experience nonetheless and though it was an older collection some of the stories were superior to new and modern sci-fi, so that was good too, and it make me excited to just dip my toes into this world, since I can tolerate reading horror a bit more than I can tolerate watching it! ...more |
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Oct 08, 2021
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Oct 29, 2021
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Mar 17, 2020
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Mass Market Paperback
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| 3.82
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| Jul 2017
| Jul 2017
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really liked it
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I love anthologies, just for the fact that I get to try the styles of so many writers so that when I see books written by them I have a better idea if
I love anthologies, just for the fact that I get to try the styles of so many writers so that when I see books written by them I have a better idea if I want it or no. The only names I recognize are Carmen Maria Machado whose short story collection is already on my wishlist so we'll see if I actually like her story, and Sarah Pinsker, who I already read one of her short stories and loved it, "And Then There Were [N-One]". 1- “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers” by Alyssa Wong: a wonderful representation of vicious thoughts and negative feelings with a slightly "vampire-ish" feel to it. I feel if bad thoughts were to manifest, it would be like the manifested in this story. I wasn't the biggest fan of the ending but liked the idea a lot. (4/5 stars) 2- “Selkie Stories are for Losers” by Sofia Samatar: this felt like a fragments from a good novel, I wish it was a bit longer, but I see the potential in this author. This is about mermaids or sirens or selkies, and their inability to adjust and what happens to the people they leave behind. I liked the tiny bits of background stories the heroine used to uncover her own life. I would've loved if it was a full-length novel. (3.5/5 stars) 3- “Tornado’s Siren” by Brooke Bolander: A tornado falling in love with a girl. yup. I honestly loved the creativity in this one! (4/5 stars) 4- “Left the Century to Sit Unmoved” by Sarah Pinsker: This was underwhelming. I expected more from a story about a pond that people vanish when they dive into it. but it was cut short, as if incomplete, maybe that's intended, but it's for sure my least favorite so far, which is a bummer since I liked a story I've previously read by this author! (2.5/5 stars) 5- “A Kiss with Teeth” by Max Gladstone: I had never heard of the seven-year-itch before this story, and when I looked up its definition, and thought how the author's gonna mix it with vampires, I was intrigued. Our main characters are Vlad the impaler and what I presume is in iteration of Buffy. My main problem is that I don't like cheating in stories, not even the hint of it, so that bumped down my rating for this. It was entertaining though. (3/5 stars) 6- “Jackalope Wives” by Ursula Vernon: This was such a fun story about shape-shifting jackalopes. I enjoyed its 2nd half more. (3.5/ 5 stars) 7- “The Cartographer Wasps and Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu: I liked the glimpse into the lives of wasps and bees, and I felt that given the author's experience, she seemed to know a lot about them. But the pacing didn't work well for me and I felt it was missing something. (3/5 stars) 8- “The Practical Witch’s Guide to Acquiring Real Estate” by A. C. Wise: I usually like the stories written as booklets or pamphlets, and I like the humor in them. But I found this dry, not humorous enough (as it tried to be), and not fantastical enough. (2/5 stars). 9- “The Tallest Doll in New York City” by Maria Dahvana Headley: It took me some time to get into this story, which is a shame because just when I was starting to get it, it was ending. but this is a sweet love story with "alive" buildings? I liked its uniqueness. (3.5/5 stars) 10- “The Haunting of Apollo A7LB” by Hannu Rajaniemi: First of all, this guy's biography is incredible! Secondly, I think this my favorite story so far in the collection and the first one I'm rating 5 stars. It's a bit more science fiction than fantasy but I liked it. (5/5 stars) 11- “Here Be Dragons” by Chris Tarry: This is an example of a pretty good story being ruined for me by its ending, it was going so well! It had humor and the prospect of dragons, but the ending was meh. and of course the stereotypes of men and what's manly and the child abuse were more than I liked. (3/5 stars) 12- “The One They Took Before” by Kelly Sandoval: I loved the lyrical and flowery writing, even if the story once again felt like fragments of something bigger. But I loved this story a lot, and would love to read a full length novel from this writer. (4/5 stars) 13- “Tiger Baby” by JY Yang: I love the freeing nature of this story, and I've always liked shape-shifting. Also, felines are my fav! (4/5 stars) 14- “The Duck” by Ben Loory: This has to be the sweetest thing ever. A duck in love! That was just adorable. (4.5/5 stars) 15- “Wing” by Amal El-Mohtar: This was kinda repetitive but I liked the writing style and the lyrical language. (3/5 stars) 16- “The Philosophers” by Adam Ehrlich Sachs: There are 3 very short stories here, and they all are so brilliant. It kinda blew me away? I think this an author I'm gonna keep an eye on waiting for his releases and maybe trying to buy his other two books because wow. (5/5 stars) 17- “My Time Among the Bridge Blowers” by Eugene Fischer: While the story itself was okay and felt like a wikipedia page on some fantastical creatures, the author's imagination is awesome. but still, the story was a bit dry and felt as if taken from a big novel. (2.5/5 stars) 18- “The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado: That was incredibly crafted but so very bizarre. It left me with more questions than answers, but I certainly like her style and I could read more from her. I like the way she incorporated stories into her own story, though sometimes I couldn't see how they related. (4/5 stars) 19- “The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn” by Usman T. Malik: I'm in awe. This was the perfect ending to this anthology. A mix of spirituality and religion and jinns and theories and fairy tales and love and it's so authentic and wonderful. I think I found a new favorite author? (5/5 stars) This was such a fun and varied collection, I would've given it the full five stars if it weren't for a few duds, still I highly recommend it even if you're not an avid fantasy reader, it's worth a read. ...more |
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Mar 04, 2019
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Mar 16, 2019
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