#2020 book review

[liriostigre]

btw here's my storygraph. let's follow each other 💐

#i've added my reads since 2020 - rated but without reviews #but my 2024 reads (only 4 so far 😐) are rated AND with reviews 🥳 #except the most recent one cause i'm still writing it 👍🏻 #books that i read in spanish are reviewed both in spanish and english 👍🏻

[garadinervi]

Etel Adnan – Laure Adler, The Beauty of Light: Interviews, Translated by Ethan Mitchell, Nightboat Books, Brooklyn, NY, 2023

Excerpt: Beginning with Color: An Interview with Etel Adnan, by Laure Adler, The «Paris Review», October 4, 2023

#graphic design #art #drawing #poetry #interview #book #cover #book cover #etel adnan #laure adler #ethan mitchell #nightboat books #paris review #2020s

[mylifeinfiction]

Harleen by Stjepan Šejić

He smiles... and I make the worst mistake of my life... I smile back.

As fascinating an origin story as it is a compelling, thematically complex study of mental illness, Stjepan Šejić's Harleen shows us the 'meet cute' behind the twisted relationship between Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker, and Dr. Harleen Quinzel. It's heavy on the psychiatric, favoring conversations and inner monologue over any substantial action; a choice that works beautifully in showing how inevitable Dr. Quinzel's transformation into Harley Quinn really was. However, the moments of action we do get, throughout, are delivered in a satisfyingly graphic manner that effectively displays the erratic, manipulative psychology of these characters.

I really enjoyed getting a more nuanced look into Harley Quinn, a character I'm mostly familiar with through animated series (where she's little more than a caricature of 'mad love') and films (where's she's so far gone, there's really no trace of Dr. Quinzel left). Šejić's smart writing and gorgeous artwork elevate this character to something more interesting, more consequential, than a secondary villain while also giving further insight into the psyches of several other Batman villains, in the process.

9/10

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

#booklr #comic book review #graphic novel review #Stjepan Šejić #harleen #stjepan sejic #dc comics #comic book #comic books #comics #graphic novels #graphic novel #2020 books #books #reading #book review #fiction #book reviews #new books #readers of tumblr

[megsbooknook]

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Don't make your life about the loss. Make it about the love"

Wow! When I finished this book that was the only thought on my mind. I'm not usually a big fan of fantasy novels but with this book I found myself truly giving this book my full attention. The magical system in this book is really cool and I found it pretty easy to understand. It was a little slow to start, but when it got started it really got started and I just couldn't stop reading.

Legendborn tells the story of Bree, a 16 year old girl attending a program for high schoolers at UNC Chapel Hill. Bree's mother dies in a car accident before the story even begins and throughout the book Bree is shown to be struggling with this sudden and tragic loss. Very quickly, she finds herself involved in a secret society dedicated to fighting demons on campus. When Bree realizes that there's a connection between her mother's death and this society, she starts to think that maybe it wasn't a simple car accident that killed her mom. And now she's determined to get to the truth even if it means infiltrating the Legendborns. She recruits Nick, a self exiled Legendborn to help her out and as they're drawn deeper into the society, they're also drawn closer together. When she learns of an impending magical war, Bree must decide if she should take down the society or join their fight before it's too late.

Deonn's writing had me completely engaged in the story. The way she wrote about Bree's grief and the connections she's trying to establish to her roots had me flipping pages when I probably should have been focused on other work.

I'm almost upset this was the first book I read for my reading project because all I want to do is crack open the second book, but I have 3 more books I need to read before I can do that.

#legendborn #bree matthews #selwyn kane #nick davis #5 star review #i loved this book more than words can explain #bookblr #legend born (2020) by Tracy Deonn #published by Margaret K. Elderberry Books

[eva-reviews]

The Invisible Life of Addie LeRue by V. E. Schwab -- A Review

Trigger Warnings: Death, starvation, suicide attempt, depression,  drug addiction, alcoholism, mentions of sex, mentions of oral sex, mentions of rape, prostitution, emotional manipulation, abusive relationship, war, imprisonment, mentions of WWII, sexism, grief, homelessness, family trauma, mentions of homophobia. 

My Rating 

10/10. My best friend has been telling me to read this for 3 years, and I finally got around to it. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint at all. The way that I felt Addie's pain, joy and fear was incredible, and the little twist at the end was so good. The characters developed and evolved so well. Since Addie has lived 300 years, it does give you a lot to work with, with how she can change, grow and develop. Same with Luc, he was such an amazing character. He is definitely the epitome of chaotic neutral, satisfying his own needs before others, but by no means evil. He has his rules and he plays within them. Luc is neither a villain nor hero. I really love morally grey characters, they are so much fun, and because they are neither good nor bad, you don’t really know what they will do next. 

Overview

Addie LeRue asks for a wish she doesn’t understand the consequences of. Being able to live forever and be remembered by no one, is a sure way to become a living ghost. Still determined to find adventure and love, she wanders around in the big wide, ever-changing world, completely alone. Well, except for Luc, who asks every year if she has had enough, asks if she is ready to rest in exchange for her soul. And every year, Addie declines, continuing on to spite Luc. Their back-and-forth game of lies, testing, and gentle touches goes on for three hundred years, until, someone remembers her. And her once lonely existence is not so lonely anymore. 

My Thoughts 

This whole book revolves around time and feeling like you don't have enough of it. Addie asks for more time saying “... so scared of the years rushing past beneath my feet. I do not want to die as I’ve lived, which is no life at all … I want more time” (pg 46). Luc comments how humans need more time when he is showing Addie how different they are. He states “The vexing thing about time is that it’s never enough. Perhaps a decade too short, perhaps a moment. But a life always ends too soon.” (pg 333). This is something I think everyone can relate to, I’m constantly hearing, ‘Time is flying’, ‘I can’t believe how fast they grow’, or ‘It's already been a year?’. Even for myself, it feels as though every year is passing faster than the last. You always need more time, more time to learn, to love, to live. There will never be enough time “God, what he would give for just another day” (pg. 422). It can be really depressing to think about, how, we as humans only have a little to accomplish so much. But it can also be so invigorating because we don't have a long time we have to do things that matter, that we enjoy. After all, we won't always have the time to do so. 

“Because happiness is brief and history is lasting, and in the end, everyone wants to be remembered” (pg 351) 

Everyone can relate to this quote. No matter who you are or what you do. People want to be remembered. Whether it is through graffiti, books, inventions or art, people want to leave a lasting impression. 

Luc is neither a demon nor a god, Luc has no gender and he is absent of appearance. He simply appears how you want him to appear. For Addie, he is tall dark and handsome. We first meet Luc when Addie feels as though her life is falling apart, she prays after dark and he is the one who answers. When Addie says what she wants, he originally declines “I am not in the business of charity. You ask for too much. How many years until you’re sated? How many, until I get my due?” (pg 47). This deal does nothing to benefit him. It isn’t until Addie says he can have her soul once she is done with it, that he agrees to it. Every anniversary, Luc shows up. Whether or not he makes his presence known, he is always there in the shadows. It originally starts so he can ask if she is ready to give him her soul, to make her cave, saying “Come give me what I want, and the deal will be done, this misery can end” (pg 117) Addie denies him, just to spite him. This continues on for years until it is no longer just to taunt Addie, but it becomes a form of a relationship. Not only is Luc the only person who remembers her and sees her once a year, but Addie is there for Luc. Whether Luc realizes it or not, he desires connection, and Addie has been there for multiple lifetimes, much longer than his normal deals last. 

Henry's curse is for people to see what they want to see. I think that this is something that so many people can relate to. We want to fit in, we want people to like us, and especially, we want the people who we love to be proud of us. Henry goes through his life, before Luc, becomes a disappointment, his brother is a doctor, his sister is an art critic, and Henry dropped out of college. He is the black sheep of the family. His ex-boyfriend, whom he loved and deeply missed, wants him back, Robbie says “You were different, we weren’t a fit … You didn't know what you wanted … You have to know who you are. Back then, you didn’t” (pg. 276), but Henry knows that his feelings are not his real feelings. We all want love, and the things that we will do for love can be drastic, “You want to be loved. You want to be enough” (pg.248). When you know that they don’t love you, they love the idea they have created for you, sure, it feels nice in the beginning. But it doesn't last long, it is not real, and sometimes it can hurt more than not being loved. Because it isn't you. “Henry has no idea who he is, and now, neither does anyone else” (pg 276).  

Throughout Henry and Addies time together, Henry made a point to record Addies life. So people could remember her and speak her name. A year after Addie's disappearance, Henry published her biography as a work of fiction. Not only was he able to keep the memory of Addie alive, so people could, in a way, know her, but he also found something to do. Instead of feeling like he is existing for no reason, just taking up space. I thought it was such a cool idea to have us read the whole book, looking at it as if it was all fantasy. And having that reveal that it was a biography. It really makes us as the audience feel as though we could be part of this world, as we would never remember seeing Addie, and this is a book we just read. And we can really resonate with Bea’s anger at the end of the book when Addie just disappears, we also feel that anger/loss that Addie and Henry are not able to stay together. 

Conclusion

I loved this book. I thought it was so interesting how it jumped around from times. Sure it was a little confusing at times, but it was able to make us understand why Addie would react a certain way, or how it affected her. I think this would be a great first book for someone new to fantasy, as it is low fantasy. Meaning it takes place in our world, with our history. You should definitely read this.

#the invisible life of addie larue #v.e. schwab #book review #historical fantasy #historical fiction #lgbtqia #lgbtq pride #books #review #adult fiction #2020 #queer #fantasy #bisexual #queer relationships

[thatretro]

It's the Stinal Endeavor, a ranking of (almost) Every Single Goosebumps book.

#blog #review #goosebumps #90s books #2000s books #2010s books #2020s books #2020s horror #2010s horror #2000s horror #90s horror #r.l. stine

[etirabys]

ACX book review contests bring out the low ranking medieval courtier frantically looking for the right contribution to the big poetry improv event event. in me

#rambl #someone I almost went on a date with in 2020 reviewed my top pick in a different rationalist book review contest a year ago... #i can probably still submit it but only if I beat his by A Lot and I don't think I'm going to #lesswrong dot org people

[blackcatfilmprod]

Hi Guys,

Fangirl Reviews is back with more reviews for you. Today we are review the remade tv series The Baby-sitters Club HERE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYpFk0d_NdI&t=2s via YouTube

#FanGirl Reviews #FanGirl #The Babysitters Club TV Series 2020 #The Babysitters Club #Comedy #Drama #Teen Comedy Drama TV Series #Netflix #Books #Movie Reviews #Film Reviews #TV #Youtube

[dijetemjeseca]

Rupi Kaur, Home Body: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#myupload #book review #rupi kaur #home body #Harpercollins Publishers #2020 #book #bookworm #bookblr #winter #winter reading #mannheim #germany #poetry

[garadinervi]

An Open Letter on the Misuse of Holocaust Memory, by Omer Bartov, Christopher R. Browning, Jane Caplan, Debórah Dwork, Michael Rothberg, et al., «The New York Review», November 20, 2023

«Appealing to the memory of the Holocaust obscures our understanding of the antisemitism Jews face today and dangerously misrepresents the causes of violence in Israel-Palestine.»

(Image: Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, August 28, 2015. Fotogoocom/Wikimedia Commons)

(Via: Laia Balcells)

#history #historiography #education #magazine #omer bartov #christopher r. browning #jane caplan #debórah dwork #michael rothberg #the new york review of books #2020s

[literary-lion]

Black Butler Vol. 29 | Book Review

We slowly start to come down from the high of the big reveal and the series starts to settle into the new way of things again. There are still so many questions but the story must press forward, we will have time to learn O!Ciel’s name in the future. For now, he and the servants need to set in motion a plan to stop R!Ciel from taking everything from beneath O!Ciel’s feet. The volume opens by…

View On WordPress

#2020 #3 stars #Black Butler #Black Butler Vol. 29 #book #book blog #book blogger #book blogging #book blogs #book review #book reviews #books #Fantasy #Historical Fiction #manga #reader #readers #reading #Yana Toboso #Yen Press

[mylifeinfiction]

Wonder Woman: Dead Earth by Daniel Warren Johnson

**WARNING: MINOR/VAGUE SPOILERS!!**

"Will you help me revive this Dead Earth?"

Daaaamn! Wonder Woman's a badass!

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I get it, we already knew this, but until you see what happens between her and Superman in this story, you don't really know the least of it. The rest of the book is a solid story about the core beliefs of Wonder Woman being challenged by the ghosts of her past, and her journey to find a way to put those ghosts to rest. The art is chaotic and messy and totally at home within this story full of ravaged landscapes and mutated monstrosities. It makes the action explode off the page with a ferocity as ugly as it is riveting. The new characters are okay, but only really ever work as well as they do in direct relation to how well this broken down version of Diana works. The parts are definitely better than the whole, but they're more than enough to make the whole worth reading.

But that Superman flashback... Daaaamn!

7.5/10

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

#booklr #comic books #wonder woman #wonder woman: dead earth #DC Comics #graphic novel review #comic book review #book review #books #fiction #reading #book reviews #readers of tumblr #2020 books #comics #comic book #graphic novel #daniel warren johnson

[songsofbloodandwater]

So I'm reading Of Blood and Bones by Kate Freuler because, as you could tell by my url, I'm all about blood and if I see it in a witchcraft book title, I'm in. I was told it's a good book. It claims "This book explores topics such as the ethical use of animal parts and bones, blood magick, dark moon energy, and other rarely discussed aspects of witchcraft". But I've only gotten to the 1st chapter and it's already disappointing.

The author states "I’ve heard it said that the dark moon is a time for rest and little magickal work. Likewise, when you’re going through emotional upheaval and hardship, it’s best to put your wand away and wait it out. This seems strange to me, as these energies have so much to offer". Note the use of "magickal" which is already giving me a certain ick , but at least we can agree on something! working with the dark moon shouldn't be feared. Harnessing "negative" emotions to get a positive outcome is incredibly useful. When you're going through emotional upheaval and hardship... is precisely when you should be reaching for your wand (ehh, not a wand type of witch, but still) to find a way to fix things in your favor.

And so I'm expecting the next thing the author will say is something along the lines of that but instead, I get: "...shadow work! it's a good time to look inwards and journal!"... and while that could be useful for some, sure, that's not even witchcraft. That's jungian psychology and you're still not reaching for your proverbial wand to get shit done. It's akin to saying "see a therapist" and in fact, you should at least recommend getting help from a professional if we're talking psychology... but the book doesn't even mention it.

Does it eventually get better than this? Will I be able to salvage anything from the book? Stay tuned to find out.

While we're at it, friendly reminder that witchcraft is not therapy, and it's not a substitute for therapy either. If your psychological health is compromised, you should always seek professional help.

#ugh #Of Blood and Bones #Where's the blood I was promised #Are we seriously treating psychology as witchcraft in the year of our lord *checks publication date* 2020 #Kate Freuler #Reading #My notes #Book review #Of sorts #traditional witchcraft #folk witchcraft #folk witch #traditional witch #witchcraft book #witchcraft books

[naorisvisits]

“A Dowry of Blood” by S.T. Gibson.

The way this particular author writes her stories is so different. It’s from the perspective of a self-written letter or diary. First person, but her alignment of the stories are so vividly pressed together that it feels as though you are standing there, watching everything unfold.

From each rude awakening, to every somber moment, to the toxic tendencies, to the sickly nostalgia.

It’s like this sticky, hot, rancid hole of intoxicating emotion thrown into a boiling pot of imaginary.

Okay, my apologies for my dramatic ramblings, I was once a theatre kid, forgive me. But, read if this is your cup of tea. Vampire, Victorian, Dracula’s Wives and all the wiser. I recommend it!

#book review #book recommendations #dracula 2020 #draculas brides #st gibson #vampire #victorian #poety

[thatretro]

https://raidersofthebookmark.blogspot.com/2023/07/horrific-hindsight-goosebumps.html

It’s the end of the SlappyWorld as we know it and I feel fine. 

New Horrific Hindsight: Goosebumps SlappyWorld

#90s Horror #90s books #goosebumps #Goosebumps SlappyWorld #slappy the dummy #Slappy #R.L. Stine #2020s books #2010s horror #2010s books #2020s horror #blog #review

[foxounderscorecube]

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

¼⭐

I'm leaving a review at all because I really passionately hate it. It's probably one of the worst books I have ever read.

As a disclaimer, this isn't a book that appealed to me a whole lot conceptually. I did my dissertation on cyberpunk media and this was one of the books I read for it, and I really wish I'd read some of the other books I'd bought and never ended up getting round to instead. I finished it only because I couldn't let such a terrible book beat me.

The book follows Wade Watts, an insufferable young man, as he competes to find an Easter egg within the OASIS - the MMORPG everyone plays in Cline's vision of the future - and win a whole load of money. Wade is very poor and very sad and so he wants to win the fortune, and because he knows so much about video games and 80s culture (much like the creator of the game), he wins, obviously, and he kisses the girl he likes and everything is lovely and happy. A lot of critical literature I read for my dissertation spoke about how cyberpunk as a whole had a tendency to be a way for nerdy guys to write a fantasy story where they were really cool and powerful as a direct result for their nerdiness, and I'd say this particularly applies here.

The misogyny is really out there. It's that weird "nice guy" flavour of misogyny. Apparently, all the girls in the OASIS have avatars that either look like supermodels (read: too skinny for Cline's self-insert) or porn stars (read: too "fake" and large-breasted for Cline's self-insert). The girl Wade likes isn't like that. She's curvy. Nerdy, too. And Wade saves all the pictures of her avatar that she posts and stalks her obsessively for years, because, you know, normal behaviour. Yes, of course he ends up dating her. No, he never faces consequences for being a massive creep, unless you count a falling-out they have at one point where he wins her affection back by stalking her some more. As in, she blocks him on everything, stops posting on her very popular blog, so he visits her in-game home repeatedly to harass her, because he reckons that's really romantic. I reiterate: he never faces consequences for this.

Similarly, there's a degree of racism, mostly in the characters of Daito and Shoto, who are always going on about "honour" and are essentially walking stereotypes. Daito gets "disappeared" by Generic Big Evil Corporation in the real world, and Wade asks if he could have possibly killed himself after losing access to his avatar (on which he had made good progress in the Easter egg hunt, and maybe you can only have one avatar, I don't recall). Shoto says "No, Daito did not commit seppuku," because, you know, he's Japanese. Not like seppuku is a very specific form of ritual suicide or anything. The scene is meant to be very serious and dark, to my recollection, and it feels like a weird joke that doesn't land.

There was a missed opportunity, I think, in that Wade would have made a good main character for something satirical, or at least something where the overall goal of the story was for him to grow from his mistakes. Instead, he remains whiny, immature, and generally dislikable, and the most character growth we see is probably after a point where he becomes depressed and stays inside masturbating constantly, and eventually decides to stop doing that.

The book relies on the reader thinking "Hey, I get that reference!" very, very heavily, and so most scenes that are clearly meant to be really cool and epic end up reading as… a bit sad, honestly. I have my own niche and/or obsessive interests, and will never put people down for loving a franchise or whatever, but "Ooh, my car is the DeLorean from Back to the Future and also the Knight Rider car and it has the Ghostbusters numberplate!" is just, I don't know. A bit much, maybe. A bit fanfic.

The book tries to have a vaguely anti-corporate message, presumably because Cline felt that was needed as part of the cyberpunk-y vibe he was going for, but it falls on its face even conceptually when it is so indulgent in the consumerist nostalgia that's so prevalent in media currently in the real world. I personally think it's perfectly fine for a book to be fun fluff in general, don't get me wrong, but I still feel like the irony is worth mentioning.

If you like to get references and you miss the nerd culture of the 80s, maybe you will like this book. A lot of people do and I would guess there's a reason for it. If you want to emulate the experience of this book without actually reading it, then I recommend reading Reddit posts by lonely "nice guys" and switching to a tab to read an entire Wikipedia article about an 80s video game every so often. I'd say that'd be rather more fun.

#read 2020 #reviewed 2022 #I will never get over this awful fucking book #book review #books