Books tagged "fiction"

The Candy House - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
May 7, 2023
by Jennifer Egan

An enjoyably rich read. I can't quite say what I got out of this other than simply the joy of reading. One thing I know for sure is that Egan is an amazing writer. I was reading this and another book, at the same time, and it was just incomparable how good her writing was ... in comparison :D. One memorable moment is that I read a lot of this book aloud, and the part where she writes as a teenager is just, for my mind, absolutely spot on. Anyway; highly recommend this one for some relaxing reading!

fiction, technology
The World We Make - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
April 16, 2023
by N.K. Jemisin

Not bad; just not mind-blowing like the rest of her work. She's set an extremely high bar for her work, and while this series is good for anyone else, for me it was just a bit lacking the brilliance of her earlier ones. But it's a bit of an unfair comparison. Her first few books were, for me, just absolutely amazing, and this series didn't quite compare. It's still good, and worth reading all the way to the end of the acknowledgements for an alternative title. But if you were compelled to read only one of her works, you would start with literally any other series.

fantasy, fiction
Small Things Like These - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
February 5, 2023
by Claire Keegan

Loved this one. It's indeed beautifully written; extremely readable and interesting. It has a softness, and I really enjoyed my time with this one :) Also nice to learn some Irish words and culture!

fiction, informative, short-read
Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
January 29, 2023
by Emily R. Austin

Hilarious and brilliant. Very enjoyable reading; only note is that at the time I was reading this I was occasionally visiting a hospital, and I had to hide the cover :)

fiction, fun
Peaces - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
November 20, 2022
by Helen Oyeyemi

A fairly strange but reasonably interesting story. I think in the end I liked it; perhaps I was hoping for a bit more of a feeling of "mysterious train journey", but what I got was more "confusing train journey"; but, I did find the ending worth-while; so I don't regret my time reading it. Worth picking up :)

fiction, quirky
Girlcrush - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
October 9, 2022
by Florence Given

This was a real page-turner for me; I read it within two days of picking it up. I quite enjoyed it! A fun and thoughtful read and perspective.

feminism, fiction, fun, quirky
For The Good Times - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
September 11, 2022
by David Keenan

Being a bit closer to Ireland these days I've been quite interested in learning about their history. I didn't quite expect what I got from this book, which is the viewpoint of (fictional?) people who were part of the IRA at the time. A quite interesting read, really, and a perspective that I haven't seen before. Worth a glance!

fiction, history, informative
Scattered All Over the Earth - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
August 1, 2022
by Yōko Tawada, Margaret Mitsutani

I really enjoyed this book! It's a strange exploration of language and friendship. Moreover it was just a strange little group of people to follow and learn about. It was nice to read this following The Last Children of Tokyo. Recommended!

fiction, quirky
The Last Children of Tokyo - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
July 17, 2022
by Yōko Tawada, Margaret Mitsutani

I read this as part of a local climate-fiction book club. I think, really, it's my first excursion into climate fiction, so it's hard to judge the entire genre from this example. Overall I think I enjoyed it; it certainly had some nice moments. Interestingly, I got a lot out of subsequently reading the authors next book, "Scattered All Over the Earth"; it helped me understand the author a bit more, and how she writes.

climate, fiction
Children of Blood and Bone - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
January 30, 2022
by Tomi Adeyemi

This was a very enjoyable and engaging read. It's pretty interesting, has some nice characters and nice story development; I think it's also nice to see these kinds of fantasy stories from a different perspective. That said, I've also read the second book in this series, and that one I didn't enjoy quite as much. I will still follow the series to the end, but that has coloured my review. In any case, I still had a great time with this one!

feminism, fiction
The Cat Who Saved Books - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
December 26, 2021
by Sōsuke Natsukawa, Louise Heal Kawai

I really loved this. It's a nice simple story about books, and how different people interact with them. I enjoyed the style, and how the different stories were introduced and resolved; it made me want to see more topics explored in this way! Just a great read :)

fiction, fun, philosophical, short-read
Piranesi - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
October 17, 2021
by Susanna Clarke

I really enjoyed this one. I had heard about it for a while, and finally decided to pick it up after I saw it picked up a prize. My only regret is I waited so long! It's a really nice story, quirky and interesting and compellingly-written. I read this quite fast, and although it's short I wasn't left feeling like I wanted more, or anything was unexplained. Just a great book!

fiction, fun, short-read
Mexican Gothic - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
August 8, 2021
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I picked this book up in part because my partner is Mexican, and I was curious to see what kind of Mexican culture would be included in a book like this One aspect that I found interesting was how Mexican culture relates to ghosts. I found this book a nice, simple, and compelling read.

fiction, fun
The Mere Wife - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
July 24, 2021
by Maria Dahvana Headley

I loved Beowulf, by the same author; and this book promised to be a "modern" version of Beowulf. I have to say, I quite enjoyed it. I think I'm glad I read Beowulf by her *first*, as it gave me context for understanding this story. That said, I don't think that context is necessary; and this is a great read on it's own. If you could pick only one, I'd say read her version of Beowulf; but for a nice modern feminist retelling, you can't go wrong with this book!

feminism, fiction, history

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