While it might not be necessary to be a huge video game lover in order to enjoy Ready Player One, it will help. And you will definitely need to have an affinity for pop culture — the 80s, in particular — or some of the lists of movies, tv shows, songs and games will get old in a hurry. Luckily if, like me, you generally enjoy these things, then you will freaking love this book. “If I was feeling depressed or frustrated about my lot in […]
Secrets, Secrets are no fun
Set in 1686, in the god-fearing yet gold-centric city of Amsterdam, The Miniaturist features a beautiful background, but very little enjoyment in the way of plot. The main character, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman, newly married to a prosperous merchant, irritated the hell out of me, and the author seemed so intent on hiding and revealing secrets that not much else happened. “Amsterdam: Where the pendulum swings from God to a guilder.” Nella has arrived in Amsterdam to make a home with her new husband, whom she barely knows. Unfortunately, she continues […]
Be grateful you get to enjoy 21st century medicine, people
So I’d actually heard of Dr. Mütter before reading this book, primarily because of his museum in Philadelphia, which he had commissioned before his death and to which he left his collection of “medical oddities”. The museum has been added to over time, and I believe I first heard of it because my friend Cat told me it had the world’s largest collection of penises. That may or may not be correct, but it does boast over 3,000 “wet specimens”, a multitude of skulls, medical instruments, removed tumors, […]
Hard to see much Lorelei in this one
I tried hard to separate the writing in Someday, Someday Maybe from my intense, decades-long crush on Lauren Graham. It wasn’t really hard to do, since I pretty much equate Lauren Graham with Lorelei Gilmore in my head (and maybe a little of her character in Bad Santa…) and the heroine of Someday, Someday Maybe doesn’t bear much resemblance to Lorelei. “Once again, I’ve been thwarted by the massive difference between my vision of the successful me and the me I’m currently stuck with.” Good lord, girl, we all […]