Beatricksy's Completed Shelf
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Added Sep 03, 2019
Beatricksy's rating:
Added May 16, 2019
UngovernableUngovernable, BookThe Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children
by Oneill, ThereseBook - 2019Book, 2019
Beatricksy's rating:
Added May 16, 2019
Comment:
As with Oneill's first book in the Victorian Guides, this one is hilarious. The comedy is charming, the information cheerfully cherry picked, the organization nicely done. But the formatting, with the Q and A style, is sort of distracting and the attempt to make in-jokes (ass milk) is sometimes a little too overdrawn and wearying. The added illustrations taken from newspapers and books and photo albums from the time period are gems, and the stuff it contains is super great, just like the last one. Or, super terrible, actually. But you'll pick up all sorts of silly dinner trivia remarks (the Girls liked Blue and Boys liked Pink rumor is satisfactorily squashed). It asks things you've always quietly sort of wondered but never bothered to actually look up, like, "What IS castor oil, anyway?"
A super great, easy diversion. A casual, pop history that's terrifically entertaining for one go at it, but is by no means a reference book (seriously, did you expect that? did you even READ Unmentionable??) or probably has much rereading value. Do try it, though; it's quite fun.As with Oneill's first book in the Victorian Guides, this one is hilarious. The comedy is charming, the information cheerfully cherry picked, the organization nicely done. But the formatting, with the Q and A style, is sort of distracting and the…
See You Again in PyongyangSee You Again in Pyongyang, BookA Journey Into Kim Jong Un's North Korea
by Jeppesen, TravisBook - 2018Book, 2018
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Feb 26, 2019
Comment:
I think Jeppesen is a talented writer. He blends history with montages from his travels, expounding on what his guides told him and what the rest of the world's historians would say. He blends real stories from his guides, companions, and friends with myths and lies, presenting a convoluted and complicated text that's hard to muddle through but fascinating in its descriptions. He describes the crushing confusion he feels after weeks in this mire of conflict, in which he's starved for touch, starved to talk, and not permitted any of it. He never paints his guides in a bad light, but instead respects the humanity of the people he meets while shifting away from the more bitter parts. But, like, that's what the book is. It's shifting away from the bitter parts. The way he travels, it's almost like a frat party. He jets around all the good parts built up for the extremely wealthy because that's what he's allowed to see. It's a weird dual perspective in which he's both respectfully laying out history and having a drunken meander through desolate clubs and occasionally imperiling his guides. In the end, I'm just not sure what it all means, or why he keeps going back again and again in this touristy capacity where he accomplishes nothing but sight seeing and drinking.I think Jeppesen is a talented writer. He blends history with montages from his travels, expounding on what his guides told him and what the rest of the world's historians would say. He blends real stories from his guides, companions, and friends…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Feb 26, 2019
Comment:
Wonderful. Stressful. Frightening. A harder protagonist to like than The Hate U Give, but so fascinating and raw and real. Ahhhhh. Also I think I read the whole thing in one day? Impossible to put down. I haven't done that in a long while. You can tell Thomas used to be a rapper herself. The lyrics are sharp and clean and oh so good. I mean, I listen to, like, Legend of Zelda soundtracks when driving around so I'm not exactly the right person to ask about this sort of thing, but it felt oh so right. I even wish there were more lines. Her Tweety-bird shrine? Hilarious. And also the Big Bird fear, respectable.Wonderful. Stressful. Frightening. A harder protagonist to like than The Hate U Give, but so fascinating and raw and real. Ahhhhh. Also I think I read the whole thing in one day? Impossible to put down. I haven't done that in a long while. You can…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Feb 26, 2019
Comment:
Is it possible to give an honest, detailed review of this? No. Do I love it with my whole heart? Yes. It's the best thing. No one is ever on model, and that's most of the fun. Mario and Luigi have positively adorable personalities. The side characters are a joy, the Koopa Kids are fun, there's a cute chapter with Wario at the end that shows how much of a jerk Mario can be (and might have been Wario's introduction to the universe if I read the back of the book right?), and it's just So Much Fun. Also, Peach runs around doing AMAZING things and it's Mario who gets captured a LOT so I guess your plumber is in another castle.Is it possible to give an honest, detailed review of this? No. Do I love it with my whole heart? Yes. It's the best thing. No one is ever on model, and that's most of the fun. Mario and Luigi have positively adorable personalities. The side…
Lemony SnicketLemony Snicket, BookThe Unauthorized Autobiography
by Snicket, LemonyBook - 2002Book, 2002
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Jan 28, 2019
Comment:
How can you rate a companion book that doesn't make any sense whatsoever? It's a pile of photographs, records, letters, transcripts, notes, book fragments, codes, instructions...difficult to comprehend, entirely silly to read, and pretty much a joy from page to page. I don't remember where in the series I'd originally read this (between books 8 and 9? after book 10 or 12 or even 13?), but it adds such a bizarre little level to the Series of Unfortunate Events, some deeper, twisted meaning to the words. I love it, with all its confusing conundrums.How can you rate a companion book that doesn't make any sense whatsoever? It's a pile of photographs, records, letters, transcripts, notes, book fragments, codes, instructions...difficult to comprehend, entirely silly to read, and pretty much a joy…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Jan 28, 2019
Comment:
I mean, it’s big and bright and colorful and fun and The College Experience Kinda, but it feels on the mean spirited side.
It’s fine. It’s not my favorite thing, and the art somehow doesn’t do anything for me, but it’s okay.
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Jan 28, 2019
Comment:
It's two books shoved together. There's the very slow first half, with inconclusive world building and sort of flirting and sort of a murder mystery and some gentle strains of magic. And then there's the second half, with backstabbing betrayal and family drama and proper bouts of powerful magic and the sweetest romance and pancakes and blood and country wide infiltration of evil necromantic schemes. All wrapped up in tweed and bowler hats and bicycles and stiff upper lips and polite manners to sort of give it a flow between the two sections. I prefer the last 40% of the book immensely, while I really could have walked away from the first section. I do like more edge to my plot, and this was the sleepiest of gentle mysteries in which nothing much really wanted to happen. I can't say there are any surprises to be found here. It's a very gentle mystery with a twist of magic on top, with a cute romance sprinkled throughout. The world building is quite fuzzy and confused. But it's a cute enough jaunt, so if you've got a light week of reading ahead of you it's probably worth some time.It's two books shoved together. There's the very slow first half, with inconclusive world building and sort of flirting and sort of a murder mystery and some gentle strains of magic. And then there's the second half, with backstabbing betrayal and…
King Leopold's GhostKing Leopold's Ghost, UnknownA Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
by Hochschild, AdamUnknown - 1999Unknown, 1999
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Jan 28, 2019
Comment:
This book is compulsively readable; it's very hard to put down. Characters assume larger than life stances and cannot be ignored. Everything is well researched and beautifully put together, despite Leopold ordering most of the paperwork burned at the end of his reign. It's kind of amazing how Hochschild and the researchers before him in the 80s and 90s were able to first get access to the scanty existing information, and then tame it into something understandable. For that alone, this book is a marvel. It's lush and visually strong, and it depicts positively chilling events in unforgettable strokes. An excellent read about a period that I somehow knew nothing about.This book is compulsively readable; it's very hard to put down. Characters assume larger than life stances and cannot be ignored. Everything is well researched and beautifully put together, despite Leopold ordering most of the paperwork burned at…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Jan 28, 2019
Comment:
I feel...more indifferent than anything else. I wish that wasn't the case, since so many people I trust recommended this to me and said it was a favorite book, but it just never caught me. I didn't care for the character types. It felt very early 2000s to me. Super quirky girl with a color for a name who modifies clothes to make them cool, and runs around with rich kid and friends. Rich kid adopts a weird cast of characters around him to "fix" them and make them "his." The writing style somehow didn't work for me, bouncing between lyrically fluid and nearly purple prose, and then slamming down into flat stretches usually punctuated by intense swearing. The plot was as slow moving as molasses, but rather than doing this to build up a complex story, it just kinda felt confusing. For the first thirty percent, I had no idea what was going on, and for the last twenty I kinda stopped caring. Wandering around the country and searching for the king, and then dealing with their ghost friend, was great fun, and the audiobook was well done, but the cons outweigh the pro(se). I'm deeply indifferent to the end result, although I've been told it gets better and better the deeper into the series you get.I feel...more indifferent than anything else. I wish that wasn't the case, since so many people I trust recommended this to me and said it was a favorite book, but it just never caught me. I didn't care for the character types. It felt very early…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Dec 03, 2018
Comment:
In a book about big air quotes feminism, a man saves the day. She doesn't do all that much, in the end. And that end came too quickly; I guess there was some build up, but suddenly the book was just over, and nothing felt resolved at all.
Dialogue sounds like a screenplay: no one actually talks like the spunky lesbian activist does. It reads like a tumblr-social-activist post. No one actually talks like these characters. They're all stereotypes (the good housewife next door with a naughty daughter, the big buff brick wall guard who helps them, the chirpy lesbian activist, the big bad religious puppeteer controlling the stupid president, that sexy Italian who can do no wrong). There's no dimension here, nothing to grab on to when you're reading about the slippery slope plot that tries so hard to be so relevant that it plummets well past the sensible-plot marker and goes screaming into the depths.
The anti-religion message was relentless and angry, but offered no replacement. And the author tried so hard to make it seem like it could really happen...and I still felt unimpressed. There's no subtlety. There's a wall. There's a literal wall, like, the one they currently want to build along the southern border. It's been built here, and it keeps Americans in. It's also been spray painted with "DO YOU GET IT YET" in giant letters, because Dalcher doesn't think you've gotten her point yet.
Go read Handmaiden's Tale again. This is just a cash-cow trying to take advantage of the television adaptation's popularity. It offers nothing new, merely blows current politics waaaay out of proportion without offering anything in return.In a book about big air quotes feminism, a man saves the day. She doesn't do all that much, in the end. And that end came too quickly; I guess there was some build up, but suddenly the book was just over, and nothing felt resolved at all.…
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth FrankensteinThe Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, Book
by White, KierstenBook - 2018Book, 2018
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Nov 21, 2018
Comment:
Fabulous. It's a little slower, but that's because it's building the dread. Magnificently unlikable protagonist: Elizabeth lies and deceives with every breath to defend a character who, in the the original story, I vaguely pitied but here actively fear. Despite this, we never truly dislike her. She's just doing her best to survive in a world that is centered on death. The balance between her and the other characters is a delight to behold. The counterpoint between Victor and Justine and Elizabeth...you could write essays about this and annotate it to pieces and cross compare to the original text. And the point where it goes off the rails of the original into its own thing? THAT'S how you do an adaptation.Fabulous. It's a little slower, but that's because it's building the dread. Magnificently unlikable protagonist: Elizabeth lies and deceives with every breath to defend a character who, in the the original story, I vaguely pitied but here actively…
The Sisters of the Winter WoodThe Sisters of the Winter Wood, Book
by Rossner, RenaBook - 2018Book, 2018
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Nov 14, 2018
Comment:
I anticipated a mix of Spinning Silver, Bear and the Nightingale, and The Golem and the Jinni--magic, humanity, and Jewish perspective, with the Goblin Market poem as added flavor. What I got was entirely forgettable, repetitive, and frustrating beyond belief. There's no consistency in action or characterisation. The alternating poetry chapters feel like the author found the "enter" key, but didn't actually consider what the breaks were doing for the rhythm of the section. Plot contrivances abound. There are background pogroms and other history things in the background that could have made the story so rich and detailed and grounded and horrifying and real. But they're only cursorily glanced at and almost seem a distraction from the hacky romance. It just feels like such wasted potential, especially when there are a few legitimately good lines here: like, when Liba says, "Let's give them hope. Let's help them believe that being a Jew means always changing--staying true to what you are, but adapting to your surroundings. That's what our people have always done. Let's give them something worth fighting for." That's a good sentiment, a great line! But it's surrounded by such junk that earnest moments fall flatter than crepes.I anticipated a mix of Spinning Silver, Bear and the Nightingale, and The Golem and the Jinni--magic, humanity, and Jewish perspective, with the Goblin Market poem as added flavor. What I got was entirely forgettable, repetitive, and frustrating…
The Tattooist of AuschwitzThe Tattooist of Auschwitz, BookA Novel
by Morris, HeatherBook - 2018Book, 2018
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Nov 14, 2018
Comment:
This was originally written as a screenplay, according to the author notes. You can tell. The prose built around the dialogue is often clumsy and reads like a transcript. Sentences are abrupt, and I'm *told* emotions more often than not. Sure, I can extrapolate inflection from the scenario and context, but the book sure isn't going to give it to me on its own writing merit. It's much more like a loose nonfiction--rather what I would assume the first pass draft of a biography would look like. Scenes are brief, often taking only a few paragraphs before we're on to the next one, so that little feels fully developed. Characters appear and disappear but never feel more than flat figures going through the plot. Tension is built purely on scenario and circumstance, not because the book has any true quality or skill associated with it. This would work better as a script since you crave actors, costumes, and music to really make the lines shine--cos the book isn't doing it on its own.This was originally written as a screenplay, according to the author notes. You can tell. The prose built around the dialogue is often clumsy and reads like a transcript. Sentences are abrupt, and I'm *told* emotions more often than not. Sure, I can…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Nov 14, 2018
Comment:
Kiiiinda weird how the book bounces between sarcastic eyerolling "Witches aren't real, aren't those villagers terrible people for being so superstitious ughh" and earnest leaning in over the fire whispering, "...and then the witch CURSED THEM and they were NEVER SEEN AGAIN." Weird tonal shifts are weird. Some stories are better than others, but you don't feel bad for skipping over chunks of books thanks to the format. It did feel a bit same-again-repetitive when read in one go--it likely works better in the podcast format.
It's well written and the jokes are charismatic and the author seems like an interesting person who did a TON of research...but I'll probably stick to Buzzfeed Unsolved videos for my small doses of the macabre.Kiiiinda weird how the book bounces between sarcastic eyerolling "Witches aren't real, aren't those villagers terrible people for being so superstitious ughh" and earnest leaning in over the fire whispering, "...and then the witch CURSED THEM and…
Of Mouse and MenOf Mouse and Men, BookConfessions of A Walt Disney World Character Performer
by Hopkins, NicklausBook - 2017Book, 2017
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Nov 14, 2018
Comment:
Cute. Fast paced, excellent voice. The writing is smooth and entertaining and Nicklaus Hopkins seems like a really swell guy with a great sense of humor. I've never been to any of the Disney parks, so this was my first real taste of what the they might be like. It was delight to see all the underworkings and back corners and gallons of Powerade. I almost wish it had been longer--it's quite charming. I'd love to read a similar memoir from a face character, one of the people allowed to speak to the guests, to see how it compares.Cute. Fast paced, excellent voice. The writing is smooth and entertaining and Nicklaus Hopkins seems like a really swell guy with a great sense of humor. I've never been to any of the Disney parks, so this was my first real taste of what the they…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Nov 14, 2018
Comment:
I could never call this a good book. I'm probably not even going to remember it in a week. But man, is it a zippy, popcorn thriller *made* for lazy beaches and short attention spans. Did you know you can just stick random thumb drives into super secure computers at the CIA and not get caught? If you wanna steal a ton of paperwork from a secure office, just duct-tape it to your back. No one will notice your shell of dead-tree-mulch beneath your sweat shirt. It's cool.
It's a story about marriage and how much you can trust someone or shouldn't trust someone, and in the end she shouldn't trust anyone and the day is saved (???) by men I guess so like, good career woman show us your ways and all. But you're here for two CIA agents literally meeting at the Reflecting Pond in the early morning watching ducks gorge themselves on bread crumbs while side-mouthing state secrets at each other, not because you wanted hand-wringing earnest thoughts on fidelity. Right? Oh, you wanted the fidelity discussion? ...well, you can go read a different book, then; we're enjoying watching Baby Sleuthing Hour in which random desk agent sneaks into a Russian Sleeper Cell Safe House and expects everything to be sunny and every single forsaken person is a double or triple agent for Absolutely No Reason But The Plot Twists!
Hilarious, completely forgettable, and took like...four hours to read. It reminds me incredibly of Grisham's The Firm, even ending on an idyllic beach with money. Good stuff, yo. Pointless stuff, but good.I could never call this a good book. I'm probably not even going to remember it in a week. But man, is it a zippy, popcorn thriller *made* for lazy beaches and short attention spans. Did you know you can just stick random thumb drives into super…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Oct 01, 2018
Comment:
Indifferent hand wiggle, accompanied by a long, "Ehhhhh." It never seemed to really capture my attention. The character cast is too big and many of them don't seem to have enough life to them. The pacing on this book feels like a nightmare. It opens punchy and fast and delightful, but somehow, once San is forced to join up with the scientists, the interest quickly wanes as we get deeper and deeper into the boggy How The Magic Works explanations.
It definitely had good parts to it, but flat character interactions and inconsistent pacing made it feel like a bun that's been baked in an uneven oven. Parts of it seemed burned (too much magic description), parts of it seemed soggy and damp (most characters never seem to get the necessary spark of life and background and blur together), and parts of it seemed soft and chewy and so, so flaky good (Clef, the landscape, the banter, the concept).Indifferent hand wiggle, accompanied by a long, "Ehhhhh." It never seemed to really capture my attention. The character cast is too big and many of them don't seem to have enough life to them. The pacing on this book feels like a nightmare. It opens…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Oct 01, 2018
Comment:
This book is like if you asked Robin McKinley, Lois McMaster Bujold, and George R. R. Martin to form a secret time travel club, and then you all sucker-punched Shakespeare and stole his notes while he was unconscious.
I love political fantasy with the deep, cold intricacies of kings and courtiers and a broken landscape. I especially love it when there's a healthy amount of sensible magic incorporated near seamlessly into their workings. I love the dreamy, elegant prose and the way individual scenes feel so sparse and sharp and like punches right to the heart. Emotions are wrangled out of the reader in such skillful ways; I found myself cringing from Lear's anger and crying at his loss. Characters are delightfully developed and all have clear desires and intentions. It's true that some characters I didn't really want to read about (whenever I saw a Kayo or Mars chapter I kinda groaned just a bit before getting into it, kinda like starting a Davros or Bran chapter in ASoIaF). But even the characters I cared less about were still able to shine. They developed naturally, beautifully, and I can't handle the last chapters for what they did to my soul in such sharp swipes.
And the landscape! The setting! The description, and how *alive* this world feels, with small characters and tradition and such an elaborate interaction between everyone. No cardboard cutouts in a plastic land here, but a truly thorny fantasy version of England and France that has hard working people and complex royalty and shifting alliances.
But there's SO MUCH here. It sat on my desk for Months before I finally got up enough courage to get through the mired first chapters. It's Hard Work to read. But the work is worth it. I swear I'm not crying. It's just raining. Inside. On my face.This book is like if you asked Robin McKinley, Lois McMaster Bujold, and George R. R. Martin to form a secret time travel club, and then you all sucker-punched Shakespeare and stole his notes while he was unconscious.
I love political fantasy…
An Absolutely Remarkable ThingAn Absolutely Remarkable Thing, BookA Novel
by Green, HankBook - 2018Book, 2018
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Oct 01, 2018
Comment:
I hate the phrase "millennial humor" -- but I think that's what this book is. The sort of humor that fills tumblr to the brim. Where random phrases are CAPSLOCKED, and characters swear in new and interesting ways, and we throw memes around like confetti. Green has great ideas about what it's like to be part of this worldwide Internet culture thing. But...other than feeling dated the minute it was published (thanks to reliance on Twitter and Facebook and the hot-topic issues of this exact moment that might not be relevant with the next twist in tech), the morals in this book are too heavy handed to be the good support the book needs. Rather than holding the book up and acting as a bone structure for the characters to work on top of, the themes become a weight that the rest of the book has to try and support. Every couple chapters, Green himself hops up on a soapbox and makes April parrot out his thoughts (see: tiers of popularity speech). It's to the point where it feels like Green's liveblog musings. Ultimately, instead of a cohesive and well-considered book with strong plot points, it's flabby and a vehicle for these blog-post moments. But it's relevant and modern and the Carls and infectious dream are cool, and I can see it being the hot new thing for a little while.I hate the phrase "millennial humor" -- but I think that's what this book is. The sort of humor that fills tumblr to the brim. Where random phrases are CAPSLOCKED, and characters swear in new and interesting ways, and we throw memes around like…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Oct 01, 2018
Comment:
A very gentle fantasy, more condensation on a window on a snowy day, a little bit of a glow on top of a simple story about human nature and culture and religion and above all immigration and the struggles of daily life in a strange place, and how out of place we can feel. A bit too wordy and lingering, though: despite elaborate settings and beautiful language and complex characters, I never felt more than passingly engaged in it. The ending was too abrupt and action-packed compared to the rest of the book and gave it a sloppy conclusion. I wanted to like it, and there's a lot to enjoy, with the gentle lilt of magic and the comparisons to Muslim and Jewish societies in 1899 New York. But the weak romance (bickering, primarily), the distance of the characters (thanks to constant scene swapping), the too-numerous-characters (all of which required deep introspection, which added to the Incredible length), and the plodding nature of the plot made me feel distant, like I was an unwelcome onlooker.A very gentle fantasy, more condensation on a window on a snowy day, a little bit of a glow on top of a simple story about human nature and culture and religion and above all immigration and the struggles of daily life in a strange place, and how…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Oct 01, 2018
Comment:
How can such a sparse, quiet little graphic novel evoke such powerful feelings so quickly? Beautiful, and worth every minute.
Space donuts.
The Great Beanie Baby BubbleThe Great Beanie Baby Bubble, UnknownMass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute
by Bissonnette, ZacUnknown - 2015Unknown, 2015
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Sep 11, 2018
Comment:
The opening and closing couple chapters are a bit meandery and loop back on each other, and I felt myself glazing over a few times here and there as I struggled through some of the stickier sections. Still, most of the text--the thesis and the explanation of economics and herd mentality and the nonsense people did for these cute creations and the out-of-touch creator with his casual abuses and control issues stemming from his own childhood abuse--was memorable. The writing style is spare and I'm not sure I'm going to take away any real valuable information about fads and bubbles that might come up in future, but it was fascinating watching what the 90s and the growth of the Internet could do. I only partially remember this craze, so it felt like a walk down a road that I should remember, and I delighted in the little details.The opening and closing couple chapters are a bit meandery and loop back on each other, and I felt myself glazing over a few times here and there as I struggled through some of the stickier sections. Still, most of the text--the thesis and the…
Beatricksy's rating:
Added Sep 11, 2018
Comment:
The art's nice and soft and pastelly. And the range of character types is nice and highly diverse. But the pacing is disjointed and the panel placement is sometimes just baffling. There doesn't seem to be any strong basis beneath the universe; it's just a light, peppy tale that doesn't go anywhere in particular. I want more of a basis for why this fantastical cast of characters can also interact with perfectly normal humans. Maybe later volumes get into it?The art's nice and soft and pastelly. And the range of character types is nice and highly diverse. But the pacing is disjointed and the panel placement is sometimes just baffling. There doesn't seem to be any strong basis beneath the universe; it's…
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