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pineconek's Reviews (816)
I listened to these as bedtime stories while in the European countryside, so take that as you will.
This is my second David Sedaris, and it's not as personal as Calypso but equally enjoyable. Some stories aren't from his perspective at all, but instead we get to briefly visit the brain of truly unhinged and surprising (functional??) people.
The best part of these stories, essays, and even a funny poem, is that they're off the wall in a way that carefully toes the line of an annoying "rawr means I love you in dinosaur haha I'm so random" without actually going over it. There's bizarre taxidermy, culture shock, funny travel story, endless politics, and just general delights in the weirdness of being a human, bodily functions and all.
Recommended if you're in the mood for a book that's really just a stand-up comedy show full of unexpected twists and turns. 3.5 stars rounded down - enjoyable, but not essential reading (Calypso was the stronger collection, so far).
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
This is my second David Sedaris, and it's not as personal as Calypso but equally enjoyable. Some stories aren't from his perspective at all, but instead we get to briefly visit the brain of truly unhinged and surprising (functional??) people.
The best part of these stories, essays, and even a funny poem, is that they're off the wall in a way that carefully toes the line of an annoying "rawr means I love you in dinosaur haha I'm so random" without actually going over it. There's bizarre taxidermy, culture shock, funny travel story, endless politics, and just general delights in the weirdness of being a human, bodily functions and all.
Recommended if you're in the mood for a book that's really just a stand-up comedy show full of unexpected twists and turns. 3.5 stars rounded down - enjoyable, but not essential reading (Calypso was the stronger collection, so far).
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
Things I didn't know going in: I Am Legend was written in the 50s and became the blueprint for vampire and zombie stories thereon out.
And rightfully so. It's bleakness and creepiness is suffocating. Our narrator is all alone, mourning his wife, his daughter, all of humanity. Mourning the people he knew who now show up outside his house in order to coax him out and drink his blood. Mourning the person he could have been. Angry too, at any sign of false hope that makes him hope again. While gruesome details are there, the real horror lies in the narrators loneliness and impending madness.
And, between the tone used by the audiobook voice actor and the narrator's precise vocabulary, the story sounds as if it were narrated by Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons which ads a certain delightful je ne sais quoi.
The other stories differ in settings but often converge around madness. There's a few familiar themes: a woman who needs to kill an evil creepy murder doll, a man whose anger at his wife leaving him becomes his downfall, and creepy little girls with telekinetic abilities. Vampires arrange their own funerals and corpses dance. While nothing exceptional, I overall enjoyed these stories and they were lovely to listen to in October.
5 stars for I Am Legend, rounded down for the remaining short stories which were good but occasionally forgettable. Recommended if you love post apocalyptic fiction, enjoy a more classic style of horror writing (think Ray Bradbury), and are ready for pure bleakness.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
And rightfully so. It's bleakness and creepiness is suffocating. Our narrator is all alone, mourning his wife, his daughter, all of humanity. Mourning the people he knew who now show up outside his house in order to coax him out and drink his blood. Mourning the person he could have been. Angry too, at any sign of false hope that makes him hope again. While gruesome details are there, the real horror lies in the narrators loneliness and impending madness.
And, between the tone used by the audiobook voice actor and the narrator's precise vocabulary, the story sounds as if it were narrated by Sideshow Bob from the Simpsons which ads a certain delightful je ne sais quoi.
The other stories differ in settings but often converge around madness. There's a few familiar themes: a woman who needs to kill an evil creepy murder doll, a man whose anger at his wife leaving him becomes his downfall, and creepy little girls with telekinetic abilities. Vampires arrange their own funerals and corpses dance. While nothing exceptional, I overall enjoyed these stories and they were lovely to listen to in October.
5 stars for I Am Legend, rounded down for the remaining short stories which were good but occasionally forgettable. Recommended if you love post apocalyptic fiction, enjoy a more classic style of horror writing (think Ray Bradbury), and are ready for pure bleakness.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
"insufferable" describes both her depression and the experience of reading this book and that's what makes it great.
I really admire Elizabeth's vulnerability in making herself this vulnerable. This memoir tells the story of her illness, from first symptoms all the way through to chemical treatment that finally offered some relief. Although it's called prozac nation, the pill itself doesn't appear until the very end of the book and isn't actually the core focus of the story. Instead, the focus is the messy, self-centered mind of a teenager and then young adult trying to manage mental illness. Oftentimes badly. Oftentimes at the expense of people around her. Oftentimes in frustratingly relatable ways that made me want to dnf the book.
Reading this was both extremely painful and incredibly worth it. Prozac was similarly a turning point in my own illness, and this narrative brought back emotions and memories from the before times (and some after times). I appreciate how much self reflection this prompted and am glad I annotated a lot of the good bits so that I can revisit them (and there are so many good bits).
A final note: the epilogue and afterword are absolutely fantastic. They examine the bizarre phenomenon where clinical depression is both a serious illness and one that seemingly everyone seems to have nowadays. These sections tackle overprescription of antidepressants along with the under treatment of people who desperately need help. I found these sections incredibly rewarding to read after having finished the memoir.
Recommended if you've dabbled in depression lit in the past (we're talking girl interrupted, darkness visible, the bell jar), are ready for more, and don't mind witnessing firsthand how self-centered someone with the illness can be when they are trying to claw their way out.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
I really admire Elizabeth's vulnerability in making herself this vulnerable. This memoir tells the story of her illness, from first symptoms all the way through to chemical treatment that finally offered some relief. Although it's called prozac nation, the pill itself doesn't appear until the very end of the book and isn't actually the core focus of the story. Instead, the focus is the messy, self-centered mind of a teenager and then young adult trying to manage mental illness. Oftentimes badly. Oftentimes at the expense of people around her. Oftentimes in frustratingly relatable ways that made me want to dnf the book.
Reading this was both extremely painful and incredibly worth it. Prozac was similarly a turning point in my own illness, and this narrative brought back emotions and memories from the before times (and some after times). I appreciate how much self reflection this prompted and am glad I annotated a lot of the good bits so that I can revisit them (and there are so many good bits).
A final note: the epilogue and afterword are absolutely fantastic. They examine the bizarre phenomenon where clinical depression is both a serious illness and one that seemingly everyone seems to have nowadays. These sections tackle overprescription of antidepressants along with the under treatment of people who desperately need help. I found these sections incredibly rewarding to read after having finished the memoir.
Recommended if you've dabbled in depression lit in the past (we're talking girl interrupted, darkness visible, the bell jar), are ready for more, and don't mind witnessing firsthand how self-centered someone with the illness can be when they are trying to claw their way out.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
Sometimes you need to spend a Sunday reading a slow, sickly-sweet fairytale and that's ok!!
Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a "not much happens, but we'll now make you feel at least three emotions" kind of book. The first 3/4 consists of lonely preteens hanging out in a magical castle they can access via a magical mirror from 9-5 . The awkwardness and angst of their interactions is truly something. They also have a quest: find the magic key, and use it to make a wish.
But as the months roll on (and they roll slowly), we find out more about our main character and her six castle companions. The pacing with which the background stories are revealed feels a bit jagged, but I nevertheless enjoyed the reading experience and found myself empathizing with many characters. And the last quarter of the book truly takes us on a little ride (a feels-trip, if you will).
Recommended if you're in the mood for some emotional children's literature and enjoy other sweet Japanese books such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Sweet Bean Paste. 3.5 stars rounded down.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a "not much happens, but we'll now make you feel at least three emotions" kind of book. The first 3/4 consists of lonely preteens hanging out in a magical castle they can access via a magical mirror from 9-5 . The awkwardness and angst of their interactions is truly something. They also have a quest: find the magic key, and use it to make a wish.
But as the months roll on (and they roll slowly), we find out more about our main character and her six castle companions. The pacing with which the background stories are revealed feels a bit jagged, but I nevertheless enjoyed the reading experience and found myself empathizing with many characters. And the last quarter of the book truly takes us on a little ride (a feels-trip, if you will).
Recommended if you're in the mood for some emotional children's literature and enjoy other sweet Japanese books such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Sweet Bean Paste. 3.5 stars rounded down.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
There was a cat who loved her. And she loved her cat.
(Can I make it any more obvious?)
This manga was absolutely adorable. This simple and short story is told from the cat's perspective which made it an emotional experience to say the least. The cat discusses how he and his human save each other, look out for each other, care for each other... we get little glimpses into the human's life such as one-sided phone conversations, doorway chats, or the occasional tidbit shared directly to the cat. My only gripe was that a few serious topics were touched on in passing (through these glimpses) and then resolved off-screen in an unsatisfying way. That said, the cuteness factor made this a 4 star read.
Recommended if you love your cats more than you ever thought possible and would like to read about how much they love you back.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
(Can I make it any more obvious?)
This manga was absolutely adorable. This simple and short story is told from the cat's perspective which made it an emotional experience to say the least. The cat discusses how he and his human save each other, look out for each other, care for each other... we get little glimpses into the human's life such as one-sided phone conversations, doorway chats, or the occasional tidbit shared directly to the cat. My only gripe was that a few serious topics were touched on in passing (through these glimpses) and then resolved off-screen in an unsatisfying way. That said, the cuteness factor made this a 4 star read.
Recommended if you love your cats more than you ever thought possible and would like to read about how much they love you back.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
As a (former?) researcher in nutrition and mental health (among other things) - I've been waiting for a book like this.
I've said before that I love books that change my mind or challenge ideas I currently hold. As soon as I heard the intro of this stunning audiobook, I knew this would be one of those books. The author directly engages with how scientists (especially those doing nutrition research) can fall into the trap of shaming people, and especially mothers, for poor nutritional choices when the data clearly states the benefits of "healthy" food. It's easy to default to simple explanations with "easy" solutions: food desserts, food insecurity, price of "bad" vs "good" foods, lack of nutritional education, time and convenience, etc, etc... but these don't tell the whole story.
This book tackles the complexity of these factors and more through a case study of four families of differing socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, complemented by observations of several dozen other individuals. The focus narrows further to mothers with children old enough to make some of their own nutritional choices. The author does an amazing job of empathizing with everyone she interviews of offering compassionate and fresh explanations into how and why people relate to food the way that they do.
One interesting takeaway that will now live in my brain is the class divide: if you can economically ensure many things for your child and say "yes" to lots of their asks, it's easy to say "no" to a kitkat. But if you keep denying your child money for camp, hobbies, new clothes... the kitkat is one of the few treats you can actually give. The context of "treat" food is completely different.
(and all families eat "treat" food. And all mothers stress about food and about wanting to do well by their kids)
As a scientist and human, I've spent a lot of time thinking and stressing about healthy nutrition. I'm aware of what doesn't work: diet culture, shame spirals, restriction. In my own life, I try to practice abundance and to listen to cues from my body. And I have the great luck and joy of being able to spend time cooking my own with fresh ingredients or going out for greasy, deep-fried, and savoury comfort food. I'm hungry now and I feel like choosing the latter (for reasons that have little to do with nutrition).
Back on track: recommended if you're interested in how obsession with nutrition and food purity/righteousness doesn't necessarily translate well into daily life, the burden of modern mothering in an age of information and overwork, and if you enjoy excellently-written accessible sociology. 4.5 stars rounded up.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
I've said before that I love books that change my mind or challenge ideas I currently hold. As soon as I heard the intro of this stunning audiobook, I knew this would be one of those books. The author directly engages with how scientists (especially those doing nutrition research) can fall into the trap of shaming people, and especially mothers, for poor nutritional choices when the data clearly states the benefits of "healthy" food. It's easy to default to simple explanations with "easy" solutions: food desserts, food insecurity, price of "bad" vs "good" foods, lack of nutritional education, time and convenience, etc, etc... but these don't tell the whole story.
This book tackles the complexity of these factors and more through a case study of four families of differing socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, complemented by observations of several dozen other individuals. The focus narrows further to mothers with children old enough to make some of their own nutritional choices. The author does an amazing job of empathizing with everyone she interviews of offering compassionate and fresh explanations into how and why people relate to food the way that they do.
One interesting takeaway that will now live in my brain is the class divide: if you can economically ensure many things for your child and say "yes" to lots of their asks, it's easy to say "no" to a kitkat. But if you keep denying your child money for camp, hobbies, new clothes... the kitkat is one of the few treats you can actually give. The context of "treat" food is completely different.
(and all families eat "treat" food. And all mothers stress about food and about wanting to do well by their kids)
As a scientist and human, I've spent a lot of time thinking and stressing about healthy nutrition. I'm aware of what doesn't work: diet culture, shame spirals, restriction. In my own life, I try to practice abundance and to listen to cues from my body. And I have the great luck and joy of being able to spend time cooking my own with fresh ingredients or going out for greasy, deep-fried, and savoury comfort food. I'm hungry now and I feel like choosing the latter (for reasons that have little to do with nutrition).
Back on track: recommended if you're interested in how obsession with nutrition and food purity/righteousness doesn't necessarily translate well into daily life, the burden of modern mothering in an age of information and overwork, and if you enjoy excellently-written accessible sociology. 4.5 stars rounded up.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
Shirley!!!!!
I knew I loved you from We Have Always Lived in the Castle and the Lottery. I was lukewarm on Hill House (time for a reread?) and did not know that you'd written more... But you had! And you wrote about mistaken identity, eerie time loops, people trapped in buildings and paintings and buses and towns, mistaken identities, unassuming murderers, and so much more!!
I was absolutely charmed and delighted and creeped out by this collection. The writing was gripping and covered in a veneer of innocence. My favorites were, in no particular order: "Louise, please come home", "the summer people", "the possibility of evil", and the one with the old woman and the small child soaked in the rain.
Conversely, there were some I enjoyed but had to look up because I wasn't clever enough to understand them the first time around. These included "the bus", "a visit", "jack the Ripper", and the one with Y trapped in the painting. This just showed me that 1) a reread will be necessary and 2) more exposure to gothic fiction is a must, because I want to get better at parsing the genre's conventions.
Recommended if you need some classic gothic short stories in your life (who doesn't?) and jive well with horror that leaves you feeling uncertain of what's (and who) is real. 4 very solid stars.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
I knew I loved you from We Have Always Lived in the Castle and the Lottery. I was lukewarm on Hill House (time for a reread?) and did not know that you'd written more... But you had! And you wrote about mistaken identity, eerie time loops, people trapped in buildings and paintings and buses and towns, mistaken identities, unassuming murderers, and so much more!!
I was absolutely charmed and delighted and creeped out by this collection. The writing was gripping and covered in a veneer of innocence. My favorites were, in no particular order: "Louise, please come home", "the summer people", "the possibility of evil", and the one with the old woman and the small child soaked in the rain.
Conversely, there were some I enjoyed but had to look up because I wasn't clever enough to understand them the first time around. These included "the bus", "a visit", "jack the Ripper", and the one with Y trapped in the painting. This just showed me that 1) a reread will be necessary and 2) more exposure to gothic fiction is a must, because I want to get better at parsing the genre's conventions.
Recommended if you need some classic gothic short stories in your life (who doesn't?) and jive well with horror that leaves you feeling uncertain of what's (and who) is real. 4 very solid stars.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
Well, that was a bad choice of something to read before bed. But there I was. Watching people's faces melt. And I liked it.
Everything in this manga melts into goop, but especially brains and faces. The story is told over multiple chapters and include recurring characters as well as an unhinged finale. While some of the tropes (creepy little girl, teenage boy who makes a deal with the devil) felt familiar, they were fresh when combined with Ito's incredible illustrations.
Recommended if you enjoy bone chilling (but also kinda gross) art and have enjoyed other Ito in the past. 3.5 rounded up.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
Everything in this manga melts into goop, but especially brains and faces. The story is told over multiple chapters and include recurring characters as well as an unhinged finale. While some of the tropes (creepy little girl, teenage boy who makes a deal with the devil) felt familiar, they were fresh when combined with Ito's incredible illustrations.
Recommended if you enjoy bone chilling (but also kinda gross) art and have enjoyed other Ito in the past. 3.5 rounded up.
More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/N13GyePhEvk
What is Rouge?
Rouge is the roses from snow white and beauty and the beast. Rouge is the god of the underworld (no, Seth) marking you as you dream of Tom Cruise. Rouge is immortality achieved through beauty. Rouge is your regimented twelve step skincare routine. Rouge is a little jellyfish, gently pulsing in an aquarium. Rouge is having beautiful sin - I mean skin, why would I say sin?
In short, this book was great. It lent itself amazingly to audio, as it was a first person narrative that played with language and perception. We were in the mind of Belle, a young Montreal woman with a complicated relationship with her late mother. Both obsessed with beauty and skincare, both serving as each other's bizarre twisted mirrors.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book and look forward to filming my November wrap up and getting some of them out. As a note to self, I want to touch on two complimentary interpretations of Seth. The short version: this book leaves us to make up our minds about what really happens, and that's both fun and frustrating. But it's definitely memorable.
Recommended if you enjoyed Mona Awad's other descents into madness (or just enjoy experiencing narrators lose their gosh darn minds), mixed metaphors, and don't mind repetition in your fiction. 4 very solid stars.
Rouge is the roses from snow white and beauty and the beast. Rouge is the god of the underworld (no, Seth) marking you as you dream of Tom Cruise. Rouge is immortality achieved through beauty. Rouge is your regimented twelve step skincare routine. Rouge is a little jellyfish, gently pulsing in an aquarium. Rouge is having beautiful sin - I mean skin, why would I say sin?
In short, this book was great. It lent itself amazingly to audio, as it was a first person narrative that played with language and perception. We were in the mind of Belle, a young Montreal woman with a complicated relationship with her late mother. Both obsessed with beauty and skincare, both serving as each other's bizarre twisted mirrors.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book and look forward to filming my November wrap up and getting some of them out. As a note to self, I want to touch on two complimentary interpretations of Seth. The short version: this book leaves us to make up our minds about what really happens, and that's both fun and frustrating. But it's definitely memorable.
Recommended if you enjoyed Mona Awad's other descents into madness (or just enjoy experiencing narrators lose their gosh darn minds), mixed metaphors, and don't mind repetition in your fiction. 4 very solid stars.
Less of a novel and more of a collage, poetry collection, and experimental epistolary (among other things) piece of fiction.
For certain parts, that really worked. I kept turning the pages, wanting to know more. This book made me play detective, and I do enjoy looking for clues. It's a book rife with footnotes, references to other pages, quotes from modern trauma literature (both Bessel van der Kolk and Judith Herman feature prominently), and general mixed media.
But as I kept going through this book, I realized that the format just wasn't working for me anymore. There was a lot of repetition in the places where I wanted more clarity and answers. I really wanted to like this book, as it touched on themes I seek in fiction (trauma, climate/ecology, generational stories) but, in spite of the objective beauty of the layout and design, the overall novel just didn't do it for me.
Recommended if you're into unconventional formatting (think House of Leaves, a book I DNF'd but that I know is loved by many) and themes of intergenerational trauma, community, and the more than human world. 2.5 stars rounded down.
For certain parts, that really worked. I kept turning the pages, wanting to know more. This book made me play detective, and I do enjoy looking for clues. It's a book rife with footnotes, references to other pages, quotes from modern trauma literature (both Bessel van der Kolk and Judith Herman feature prominently), and general mixed media.
But as I kept going through this book, I realized that the format just wasn't working for me anymore. There was a lot of repetition in the places where I wanted more clarity and answers. I really wanted to like this book, as it touched on themes I seek in fiction (trauma, climate/ecology, generational stories) but, in spite of the objective beauty of the layout and design, the overall novel just didn't do it for me.
Recommended if you're into unconventional formatting (think House of Leaves, a book I DNF'd but that I know is loved by many) and themes of intergenerational trauma, community, and the more than human world. 2.5 stars rounded down.