I gave Survivor's Song a begrudging 3 stars because I did finish it and I liked Cabin at the End... enough to give 4 stars....but I really liked this. I read some conflicting reviews but I think if you like horror and are a trope junkie, you could do a lot worse, even amongst his own books. I ripped thru it in a few hours and I might reread it to see how the story changes on a 2nd reading.

I didn't think the blogger was annoying; I think the blogger captured the essence of a pop culture nerd typing away on Reddit. I know people who write this way. The unique viewpoint of the blogger was compelling, especially after we find Merry is the possessed. So the demon is bragging about what happened in the house thru this energetic, spirited blog? Is the demon emulating what he assumes is a woman's voice? "Hello, fellow young people, I too am young and hip."

Was Marjorie ever possessed? I don't think so. But why did she go so fecklessly into her spaghetti? Why did she tell Merry about the basement shrine? Why did she ask Merry about her sauce aversion so openly?

I thought the story would be predictable--it was cribbing The Exorcist and House of Leaves pretty hard. Ultimately at the end, I felt satisfied which really doesn't happen that much for me. I enjoy reading most books but it comes down to the ending of how a writer ties things up: not too neat, not too much of a non sequitur, there's a very Goldilocks zone for endings and this fit snugly. Five stars.

I liked that the cafe got cold at the end (was the barista in on it, he seemed kind of winky and hyuk-hyuk-ing her, offering her more coffee and scones, hailing her power). Sometimes it seems like you get beaten over the head with the concept but this just tipped the cards a little so you could make out what was going on. I loved that the demon used the signs to avoid his voice and the demon made the decision (the same way Marjorie says, the idea is just there and it's like it was never not-there) about the spaghetti. The demon acknowledges Merry will never have a lunch with Rachel where they don't talk about this history.

I don't think it would work as a movie but I'd still probably watch it they do make one.

Beautifully, painfully tender. I feel like if I met Nadia in a coffee shop, we'd have an awkward conversation over something I clumsily spill and become tentative friends, bonding over mom-trauma and a lack of feeling like you truly belong, whether imagined feeling or true. Being adopted by one parent and being raised in a military environment, I can't echo her experience of being a global citizen and a woman of color but I can echo an experience of feeling misplaced and like you're a raggedy puzzle piece no one quite wants.

Absurd and I'm here for it. Some other book I read (was it In Watermelon Sugar?) mentioned Ionesco plays so I wanted to see what the atmosphere was like. Bizarre and philosophical, therefore: awesome. Not as absurd as a Lynch production but sort of atemporal and Greek. I would love to see his work on the stage.

This book bored me. It was meandering and kind of dumb. I guess postpartum delusional psychosis is an interesting topic but the style of the book is like a thriller so then as the end draws nearer it's like, surprise- gotcha- mental illness! It wasn't for me.

Achingly lifelike. "I believe friendships are the purest relationships in your life, the ones where nothing is asked of you but yourself, and I am so lucky I have so many."

To say my mind is blown doesn't do it justice. It sparked creativity and produced wonder. It prompted me to reserve a sno cone machine to borrow from a kitchen library to try his margarita recipe!

I wanted to read this not only because I didn't remember it from assigned scholastic reading (why is this relevant to school kids? Were we supposed to diagnose this depression in our parents?) but also because it was mentioned as a book that dealt with discouragement and feeling like you should be more than you are in midlife. I relate to this, feeling I peaked decades ago and I stalled out; remembering how many friends and cheerleaders you had then, with the road rolled out ahead of you, and how now you might be lucky if a handful of people came to your funeral. Willy is kind of a has-been, sad sack, loser but I'm sure a lot of people have that feeling in measured doses at his age.

Willy Loman is a character who is hard on himself but proud and expects a lot from his kids. His best years are behind him and he bemoans not only his current station but also the decisions he let slip by in his youth. He is big into networking and social niceties. His wife loves him after so long- a true achievement! - but he dismisses the love because his work dismisses him: who could really love this, knowing I am what I am and everyone else sees me as a nuisance. I loved that Willy was hurt by hearing some person POSSIBLY referring to him as a walrus. He assumes most people think the worst of him but he also thinks people should shower him with praise for what he was. Classic White Man. Also, relatable.

Willy is reconciling his past success with his current plateau and it's heartbreaking to see. He's placing overstated value on the wrong things (work, new stockings) and blows up his family in the name of respect, his expectations, and perceived slights (HE NAMED HOWARD). Should he get over himself and adjust his expectations? Maybe, but it's hard, knowing what he was and how his trajectory was poised, to now see his star sputtering out. He could confidently make a new career just then same as he did with sales "back then", fade into nothing, pin his hopes on his kids or violently reject his life. He does not attempt #1, but we see a mix of everything else. He does grow enough to see how much his kids care, but it isn't enough. He makes the choice he feels is best for him and we have to accept that. It got me when Linda says how the house they worked for is paid off now but it's an empty house. They worked hard to make a home and a life and Willy bails short of the finish line, being shortsighted but intensely feeling he is a failure whose only move is to cash in his life insurance. Willy got married young and was emotionally stunted as a result, making him ill prepared to handle this suffocating ennui, if anyone could have been prepared. I still don't think he ever did much soul searching or emotional excavation. He just kinda bopped along making money til he woke up at 40(?) with two grown kids and a pink slip. Instead of studying his feelings, he spaced out driving, unable to understand what he was going through. I'm glad now eighty odd years later we have more (if not unabated) resources for mental health.

If I think about it, he's a lot like Michael Scott (a bumbling doof who was promising but has "settled" past his prime) but Michael is living an unexamined life that keeps him blissful instead of overflowing with failure.The difference is expectations: Willy wanted more and Michael thought that being a manager was the absolute pinnacle so he's living his dream. The only thing Michael really regrets is never having a family, the very thing Willy has and ignores or badgers into tenuousness. We always know somehow that if Michael had a wife and family, he would really treasure it, pretty far beyond what others would recommend (he really stuck it out with Jan: that famous Dinner Party).

I liked the pacing of the story and the character nuances. There's enough to make the people seem fully developed without overburdening you or overexposing. You see how people react to Willy now and how he was. It's a bleak little vignette. Four stars.

I had to return this but honestly I want to own this book and I don't say that about many books. For as much as I read, I'd be bankrupt if I owned everything I read. This is a great book to have on your coffee table or to reference making drinks. I think I'm going to buy it. Liquid Intelligence was technically esoteric: will I actually make recipes from it? Maybe. Ditto that with the Aviary (holiday cocktails). The Cocktail Codex is amazing at mapping similarities and backbones of different drink. Drunken Botanist is 1 part history, 2 part biology and 3 part mixology strained over papyrus (har har) and I love it.

I experienced this as an audiobook and more often than not, audiobook narrators annoy me with their diction and pacing. It seems like watching a dramatic re-enactment from Unsolved Mysteries or the "before" clip of a tv infomercial....It distracts from the actually good story with mediocrity. Perhaps this is just me. But this narrator really swept me into the story. Her name is Lisa Flanagan. The story was 90% engrossing, but like many books, I was kinda let down at the end. It was a cute little bow ending. You root for the characters and I don't think I could write a better ending, off the cuff, but I feel like it wrapped up like a too-easy hopscotch board. I liked that the female protagonist wasn't hung up on a man and they didn't force a romance the way many books do (Twilight, Hunger Games, ad nauseam). I felt like the story unfolded in an interesting way, with flashbacks being triggered by current moments. Minus one star for a "ok I guess so" ending. I would read more of her books, if there are any.

I liked this the most of the cocktail books I've read, tied with the Botanist title.