69. Die Trying by Lee Child (3 stars) I’m not entirely sure why I keep returning to these kinds of books. I don’t know what “kind” of book it is, other than “airport fiction”. You know the kind; the mass market vaguely defined fiction that goes down easy without leaving much of an aftertaste. Easily digested and forgettable, these books cover the literary landscape without leaving any kind of quantifiable mark. They exist to sell books, and they sell books because they exist. I don’t […]
This Kind of Read Like Someone’s Recounting of a Wacky Fever-Dream, and I Honestly Kind of Dig It
You know when you’re dreaming and something absurd and surreal happens but your dream self is just like, “yeah, that makes sense”? That’s what the progression of this book and the characters’ reactions felt like to me. They just kind of rolled with everything, despite it being a ridiculous ride of the supernatural and things that don’t entirely make sense. A crossover between our world and another filled with monsters and other strange beings and seemingly arbitrary rules of what is possible and what is […]
I want to go back and read this again for the first time.
So, I think I found a new favorite writer. The kind of writer that necessitates my active engagement whenever a new book is published. I mean, look, this book didn’t fundamentally rewire my brain. I’m not re-invigorated, or inspired to change my life. This isn’t like when I read Moby Dick last year. But this book was good. And John Dies at the End was just the right blend of chaotically eccentric and delightfully whimsical. And Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits was charming, and fun, […]
I Love This Book But I’ll Never Recommend It To Anyone
There’s absolutely no reason why I should like or even love this book. In fact, I’m not going to recommend it to anyone I’ve ever met (on the Internet or in real life)…ever…because I don’t want to be judged on this book. John Dies at the End is uneven, it definitely feels like something someone published piecemeal on the Internet before it was picked up by a publishing company (oh wait, it was), it needs a much better editor because there are issues with a […]