pineconek's Reviews (816)

(review writen Nov 2024, several months after finishing the book)

The audiobook of this made for a lovely, documentary-like experience. Wild New World tells the story of the North American continent from prehistory, to first nations, to colonization, industrialization, re-wilding, and climate change. It's an ambitious arc and the author pulls it off. 

I personally found the pre-european contact sections most interesting and wish they had taken up a larger fraction of the book. Similarly, I found the industrial era stuff really dragged, and lowered my enjoyment of the book. 

Recommended if you want to hear about mammoths, horses disappearing and coming back, ancient and modern peoples, and rewilding of wolves in an encyclopedic voice. 3.5 stars rounded down. 

I expected so much more from this. Reviewing this novella properly feels like spoiling it, and I know that I am in the minority in terms of not having liked it. But I will say this: I just didn't like the murderbot, being in the POV of the murderbot, or the entire plot around the murderbot. There were a few fun moments and the writing was good, but I was the wrong audience for this. 2.5 stars.

A review I dreaded writing, and so put it off by several months. 

The central thesis of the book is reflected in a song by SOFIA ISELLA: "All of Human Knowledge", which I highly recommend. The author focuses on all that went wrong with putting our lives online: surveillance, immediate gratification, the loss of privacy, the loss of embodiment, fractioned attention, etc... and ties it with the rising rates of mental illness in children and adolescence. As in any book arguing for specific policies, some of the data is cherry-picked and over-extrapolates, but the book still hits some salient points. 

Several months later, I still think of the little buzzers in the ears of the children in Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron. 

Recommended if you're interested in getting a pulse on the conversation around social media and adolescent mental health. 2.75 stars. 

This was incredibly brutal. Took me months to read and it will likely take me years to recover from, if ever.

Genuinely one of the most horrifying books I've ever read (so five stars, obviously)

What a Ride.

This is my second Ryu Murakami, and I think I need more. But I can't explain why I find these books so addictive to read. The writing is telegraphic and very direct, and the characters are painted in brief specificity.

The plot is straightforward: a middle aged widower decides that he's ready for a new wife and sets up a little audition scheme so that he can meet many young women at once and have an excuse to ask them questions. He's immediately drawn to one particular young woman, and we follow their courtship. The tension rises with every page and while I roughly knew where the story would go, I did not envision those gruesome details.

Recommended if you think Stephen King's Misery wasn't brutal enough, enjoy telegraphic writing, and have a strong stomach. Looking forward to reading more his work. 4.5 stars rounded up.

(Review written Nov 2024, several months after finishing the audiobook). 

Here is what I take away from this book: motifs of bees, keys, swords, books, weird time stuff, living paintings, death heaven and hell, and the name Zachary Ezra Rawlins. Much like the Night Circus, the imagery in this book is exquisite and sumptuous. This one kept my interest a little bit more than Night Circus but, ultimately, was something I struggled getting into. 

Recommended if you're into secret societies that transcend space and time, a dark academia atmosphere, and a book that leans strongly into its aesthetic. 3.25 stars. 

(written Nov 2024, several months after finishing the book)

I think I read this at the wrong time in my life and did not give this work the attention it deserved. While historically important and clearly well crafted, it did not make for an enjoyable experience. I found some of the pacing choices frustrating, and didn't care for the characters or setting. 

Recommended if you're looking for classic literature depicting a man struggling with his sexuality, enjoy a posh turn-of-the-century british setting, and are looking for a novella that requires some close reading. 2.5 stars rounded down (which, as always, reflect my personal enjoyment of this book and not its literary merit). 

(review written Nov 2024, several months post-reading the book)

This book is an explicit commentary on the reporting around serial killers - reporting that places emphasis on the perpetrator rather than the victims. This fictional retelling never mentions the killer's name, but Ted Bundy is the clear inspiration and remained at the back of my head as I listened to this book. 

Recommended if you're looking for a female-centered story of the fallout of senseless murders. 4 stars.