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aaronj21's Reviews (912)
The baffling rise and spectacular implosion of cryptocurrency has been one of the more interesting, and confusing, phenomenon of the past decade. Speaking as a reasonably online individual who lived through it, it seemed like Bitcoin, the Block Chain, NFT’s and those hideous ape jpegs were everywhere and suddenly, silence. After years of hearing how the shiny new crypto-whatever was going to somehow change the world, the whole house of cards seemed to collapse with hardly a whimper.
That’s where a book like this comes in. The author begins by investigating one simple question, does Tether (one of the countless crypto currencies) actually have a one to one backing based on U.S. dollars like the company claims? This seemingly simple question (never satisfactorily answered, although “signs point to no”) leads down a rabbit hole of exaggeration, fraud, duplicity, and lots and lots of money evaporating. The author has a real talent for synthesizing complex and disparate information in service of a compelling narrative. A story like this could have very easily gotten lost in the weeds but, like a well done documentary, a central theme and one core story remain central throughout. In reading this book I was educated, entertained, and left with a better understanding of some of the highlights of Crypto’s spectacular rise and fall.
That’s where a book like this comes in. The author begins by investigating one simple question, does Tether (one of the countless crypto currencies) actually have a one to one backing based on U.S. dollars like the company claims? This seemingly simple question (never satisfactorily answered, although “signs point to no”) leads down a rabbit hole of exaggeration, fraud, duplicity, and lots and lots of money evaporating. The author has a real talent for synthesizing complex and disparate information in service of a compelling narrative. A story like this could have very easily gotten lost in the weeds but, like a well done documentary, a central theme and one core story remain central throughout. In reading this book I was educated, entertained, and left with a better understanding of some of the highlights of Crypto’s spectacular rise and fall.
Occasionally poignant, utterly original, and always uniquely hilarious, this was a rather obscure book I was glad I was told about.
I re-read this for a book club and while initially hesitant, I was very glad I decided to revisit this consummately creepy classic.
I remember being a bit underwhelmed the first time I read The Haunting of Hill House some thirteen years ago, I’m going to blame that on youthful inexperience or perhaps wanting a different flavor of horror than what was on offer here.
There was no disappointment or dull periods for me this time, even when not overtly dark and chilling the prose is deliciously crafted and a joy to read. I just love how Jackson writes, her tone is that of a weird, reclusive person with an acute sense for the casual horror of everyday situations, the mundane terrors of social conventions, awkward meetings, and other people.
The story that Jackson weaves so skillfully is one of many facets. There’s the story of Hill House, the epitome of a haunted mansion, a house “born bad” and its malign influence on all around it. there is the story of Dr. Montague, a principled if misguided man of science trying to peer into the supernatural through careful observation and study. And of course there is the story of Eleanor, perhaps one of the most intriguing, sympathetic, and tragic characters in American fiction, a young woman with a rich inner life and a tenuous grasp of the real world. All of these elements come together in a story that is as memorable as it is chilling, as well executed as it is peerless horror fiction.
I remember being a bit underwhelmed the first time I read The Haunting of Hill House some thirteen years ago, I’m going to blame that on youthful inexperience or perhaps wanting a different flavor of horror than what was on offer here.
There was no disappointment or dull periods for me this time, even when not overtly dark and chilling the prose is deliciously crafted and a joy to read. I just love how Jackson writes, her tone is that of a weird, reclusive person with an acute sense for the casual horror of everyday situations, the mundane terrors of social conventions, awkward meetings, and other people.
The story that Jackson weaves so skillfully is one of many facets. There’s the story of Hill House, the epitome of a haunted mansion, a house “born bad” and its malign influence on all around it. there is the story of Dr. Montague, a principled if misguided man of science trying to peer into the supernatural through careful observation and study. And of course there is the story of Eleanor, perhaps one of the most intriguing, sympathetic, and tragic characters in American fiction, a young woman with a rich inner life and a tenuous grasp of the real world. All of these elements come together in a story that is as memorable as it is chilling, as well executed as it is peerless horror fiction.
Michael Cunningham has always been a favorite author of mine, his writing style is accessible but brilliant and always makes me wish I was half as articulate in either my thought or speech as his prose and characters.
His inimitable style is on bold display in this latest novel, Day, which follows the lives of several interconnected characters on one day in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The characters are all interesting, messy, flawed, deeply human people and it was a joy to read about them and delve deeper into their internal lives. When reading you feel as if you really get to know these people, like members of your own dysfunctional family. In this novel, perhaps more so in any other of Cunningham’s work that I’ve read, the characters are balanced, nuanced, and play impeccably well off each other. The plot, such as it is, is given less weight than the character’s internal struggles and development which is no bad thing when the writing it this good.
I will continue to eagerly pick up anything Michael Cunningham writes, and this novel is a great reminder of why that is.
His inimitable style is on bold display in this latest novel, Day, which follows the lives of several interconnected characters on one day in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The characters are all interesting, messy, flawed, deeply human people and it was a joy to read about them and delve deeper into their internal lives. When reading you feel as if you really get to know these people, like members of your own dysfunctional family. In this novel, perhaps more so in any other of Cunningham’s work that I’ve read, the characters are balanced, nuanced, and play impeccably well off each other. The plot, such as it is, is given less weight than the character’s internal struggles and development which is no bad thing when the writing it this good.
I will continue to eagerly pick up anything Michael Cunningham writes, and this novel is a great reminder of why that is.
This book falls into that category of “classics I hadn’t really read, but did peruse the children’s illustrated version of when I was 9”. Meaning that I knew the broad strokes of the plot already. This was something of a detriment since this book is mostly plot, but that’s not its fault. I felt that the beginning was the strongest part but that the wonder and awe of captain Nemo and his miraculous Nautilus grew somewhat stale towards the end.
This book bills itself as a very broad very general introduction to some of the key topics in artificial intelligence. It states from the outset that book purporting to be cutting edge and up-to-date must, necessarily, be obsolete by the time it hits the shelf. This book mostly delivers on the premise; I think if I were to read anything further on this topic I would have somewhat of a foundation to start from. However, it was dry at times and, perhaps due to its purposefully limited scope, seemed to abandon a topic as soon as it became really interesting.
The gist of this novel is that a true crime writer, one whose shtick is having a strong sense of place for his books, a keen attention to detail, and meticulous research skills, buys and moves in to “devil house”, a building that in the 80’s was the setting of two grisly, unsolved murders. The premise alone sold me, but since it’s a John Darnielle book I should have known to expect something other than a typical haunted house or horror story.
John Darnielle has a very particular style of writing that appeals to me although I could see how it would bore or frustrate someone else. He writes like this, imagine you had a very pleasant old grandfather. Maybe he was an English teacher or a poet or something, and he absolutely loves telling stories. His voice and tone are warm and unique, and he has a gift for turning a phrase. However, your grandfather isn’t particularly concerned with telling a story concisely or with approaching the point, such as it is, in a linear manner. He prefers to hold out the story like a glittering bauble, showing you a glimpse of it before whisking it out of sight and then spending the rest of a lazy Sunday afternoon telling you stories that aren’t actually the story you’re expecting, they’re very loosely connected and tie back to the main tale in the end, but it’s definitely more about the journey rather than the destination.
Like I said, I enjoy this writer’s particular style, though I can see how it may be divisive. All in all, I really liked this book and the journey it took me on. I was expecting a fairly straightforward tale about a haunted house, or possibly a mysterious homicide from the 80’s. But what I got was a thoughtful, poetic tale of the importance of narrative, the indelible mark loss leaves, and a thoughtful meditation on the nature, limits, and pitfalls of true crime writing.
John Darnielle has a very particular style of writing that appeals to me although I could see how it would bore or frustrate someone else. He writes like this, imagine you had a very pleasant old grandfather. Maybe he was an English teacher or a poet or something, and he absolutely loves telling stories. His voice and tone are warm and unique, and he has a gift for turning a phrase. However, your grandfather isn’t particularly concerned with telling a story concisely or with approaching the point, such as it is, in a linear manner. He prefers to hold out the story like a glittering bauble, showing you a glimpse of it before whisking it out of sight and then spending the rest of a lazy Sunday afternoon telling you stories that aren’t actually the story you’re expecting, they’re very loosely connected and tie back to the main tale in the end, but it’s definitely more about the journey rather than the destination.
Like I said, I enjoy this writer’s particular style, though I can see how it may be divisive. All in all, I really liked this book and the journey it took me on. I was expecting a fairly straightforward tale about a haunted house, or possibly a mysterious homicide from the 80’s. But what I got was a thoughtful, poetic tale of the importance of narrative, the indelible mark loss leaves, and a thoughtful meditation on the nature, limits, and pitfalls of true crime writing.
The Great God Pan, perhaps unfairly, seems to me to be the neglected step child of “weird fiction”. This little book gets nowhere near the attention of Lovecraft’s stories, The King in Yellow, or anything by Lord Dunsany. I think that has more to do with this tales’ lack of a central, charismatic supernatural figure than with the writing, there is no Cthulhu or Hastur here for readers to latch onto. Despite this mild PR problem, this is a properly frightening tale about the limits of human understanding and what unknowable forces might lie right outside our limited perceptions. Dr. Raymond’s monologue in the beginning is certainly a highlight, setting the ominous tone for the rest of the work. Read this if you like Lovecraftian style horror fiction and have an afternoon to kill.
This interesting book has quite a lot going for it. The main subject, the Galvin family and how six of their twelve children were diagnosed with schizophrenia, is complex, intriguing, and multifaceted on its own, making a great topic for a non-fiction book of this type. The writing also contributes to the overall quality as Kolker writes with precision, investigative rigor, and a certain understated and respectful style. Overall this is an interesting and informative book with a lot to say about schizophrenia, the changing mental health landscape, and the impact mental illness has on all members of an affected family.
Thomas Mallon’s Fellow Travelers is a difficult book to place in one genre. It isn’t quite focused on the relationship of Hawkins Fuller and Timothy McLaughlin enough to count as a romance or “LGBTQ” book. Its undoubtedly rooted in its setting (you can practically smell the cigars and highballs wafting to your senses straight from the shady backrooms of 1950’s D.C.) yet the historical events seem too incidental to the plot to claim it as historical fiction. It’s like very meticulous window dressing. It is, undoubtedly, well written so maybe literary fiction is the nebulous category it was going for?
Difficult as it is to label, Fellow Travelers is certainly and affecting work. The relationship between Fuller and McLaughlin seems doomed from the start, less from the homophobic culture of 1950’s America than from their inherently incompatible natures (a fancy way of saying Hawkins Fuller is a profoundly shellfish and condensing man incapable of having a real relationship with anyone). Nevertheless, it’s interesting to watch their relationship unfold over the years. Though this all takes place in the shadow of McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare following fast on the heels of the Red one, being discovered is not these characters’ primary impediment, it’s Fuller’s jaded and cold personality. Indeed, throughout the story several characters pick up on the men’s relationship to no great or lasting effect. Overall this makes for a more interesting story in my opinion, I was pleasantly surprised to find the whole book wasn’t just these two men worrying and fretting and trying to cover up their relationship and their natures.
Though the plot flags somewhat in the latter third of the novel, the ending is appropriately wrenching and seems a fitting end for this story. Ultimately both characters don’t really change, only lean more into their defining characteristics, perhaps a fitting theme for a novel set in such a repressive and conservative era of American history.
Difficult as it is to label, Fellow Travelers is certainly and affecting work. The relationship between Fuller and McLaughlin seems doomed from the start, less from the homophobic culture of 1950’s America than from their inherently incompatible natures (a fancy way of saying Hawkins Fuller is a profoundly shellfish and condensing man incapable of having a real relationship with anyone). Nevertheless, it’s interesting to watch their relationship unfold over the years. Though this all takes place in the shadow of McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare following fast on the heels of the Red one, being discovered is not these characters’ primary impediment, it’s Fuller’s jaded and cold personality. Indeed, throughout the story several characters pick up on the men’s relationship to no great or lasting effect. Overall this makes for a more interesting story in my opinion, I was pleasantly surprised to find the whole book wasn’t just these two men worrying and fretting and trying to cover up their relationship and their natures.
Though the plot flags somewhat in the latter third of the novel, the ending is appropriately wrenching and seems a fitting end for this story. Ultimately both characters don’t really change, only lean more into their defining characteristics, perhaps a fitting theme for a novel set in such a repressive and conservative era of American history.