Red Rising (Red Rising, #1)

by Pierce Brown

I almost want to rate this 4 stars. I'll see if the sequel takes it. This is a cool read with lots of action and drama.

The Library Book

by Susan Orlean

Awesome read. Orlean tells a lot of history about American libraries and significant figures that have shaped them. She has also made me better understand the civic importance of libraries and all that they contribute to the communities they're in.

Misery

by Stephen King

Wow, this has gotta be peak Stephen King. My jaw literally dropped multiple times while reading this. The main thought I have post reading this is, how much does King relates to the protagonist, Paul Sheldon? They’re both authors and Paul has some interesting thoughts about his writing that I could see King having.

Home Before Dark

by Riley Sager

This book has good bones but the author’s prose is bloated and often felt like I was reading a teen’s diary. Maybe the first person POV made it seem worse, but I felt that the narration was made up of incessant inner dialogue from the protagonist that repetitively over explained their feelings about everything. This narration also frequently trails off into exposition that is largely inconsequential. This writing gets in the way of itself and keeps any good moments in the book from being great.

The Things They Carried

by Tim O'Brien

Tim expressed a lot of things I've felt myself. Things that I don't think I could have put into words or knew that others felt.

Red Country

by Joe Abercrombie

Probably the worst of Abercrombie’s books. I liked it for the old characters he brought back and some really cool moments, but much of it dragged and for some reason half the dialogue is made up of sarcastic one-liners. There’s also too many “I’m 14 and this is deep” type of quotes. Abercrombie likes to criticize society through his characters, but it’s usually too on the nose in this book.

Letters to a Young Poet

by Rainer Maria Rilke

In his collection of letters, Rilke writes about the human experience. From doubt to love to fear, he provides comforting epithets on these universal emotions. I wasn’t looking for comfort from his letters, but I found it.

Giovanni’s Room

by James Baldwin

Good book, but I didn’t connect with the characters well. Some parts were great, others dragged for me.

Passing

by Nella Larsen

The Return of the Soldier

by Rebecca West

Bartleby the Scrivener

by Herman Melville

Sea Oak

by George Saunders

Read this for class. It's a funny and meaningful satirical short-story on American culture that I very much enjoyed

Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man and his Times

by William E. Wallace

An excellent biography that provides a grounded look at Michelangelo as a person and the milieu of Renaissance Italy that was extremely influential to the course of the artist's life. I loved the letters Wallace included that show not only some of the day-to-day happenings in Renaissance Italy, but also Michelangelo's personal struggles, such as his grapple with death in the final decade of his long life.

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

by Jane Jacobs

I think anyone who lives in a large or growing city (Nashville/Knoxville!) should read this book. In her criticisms of mid 20th century city planning, Jacobs provides some rigor as to how a city street, park, or people can thrive. This information allows city residents to understand their environment while also creating a foundation of knowledge that ensures they’ll be able to discern when their representatives might be making city planning decisions not within their interest. Poor city planning can exasperate crime, inequality, and poverty so it’s important to stay informed!

The Martian Chronicles

by Ray Bradbury

This book is set on mars but has very human stories, often dealing with loneliness and loss. The chapters almost read like an anthology and were tied together by the setting and passing of time. Overall I enjoyed the book, but the anthology-like structure had some chapters feeling experimental and often disrupted the momentum of the story. On another note, I enjoy the artifacts an author leaves behind once their work is aged by a few decades (or more). Whether it’s Martian wives serving in their gendered role as household caretakers (on mars!), or the overall theme of war always being an inescapable, close thing. It’s obvious to see the influence of 1950s America on Bradbury. I’ve started looking up authors before I read their books so that I understand where they’re coming from, and it’s always gratifying to see how the world may have been influencing them from that time.

The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia

by Ursula K. Le Guin

I started this book without looking much into what it’s about and got something I didn’t expect from a sci-fi novel. This book tends to be very introspective. It brings a lot of direct commentary on social structures (capitalism/socialism) within a sci-fi setting. Overall it was interesting and I became invested in the characters. I recommend it if you’re looking for something different to read, but it can feel slow at times if you’re expecting a traditional sci-fi story.

The Plot (The Book Series, #1)

by Jean Hanff Korelitz

November 9

by Colleen Hoover

I thought about giving this book 2 stars because I thought the ending was interesting, but I still don’t think it’s quite there for me. Colleen’s prose is generally weak because she pretty much names every feeling each character feels through narration instead of conveying these feelings through dialogue or descriptive action. This left me feeling bored and like I was reading a child’s diary. There’s also some moments where the male love interest of the book acts pretty aggressive, but the author doesn’t recognize or address this which was pretty off-putting to me. Could be a fun popcorn read for some people, but not for me.

Fairy Tale

by Stephen King

Starts out as a familiar slice-of-life SK book that turns into a fantasy adventure. There were a couple build ups that got to feel long, but definitely paid off in their climaxes for me.

History of Architecture

by Alfred D.F. Hamlin

This book is a great introduction to architecture and very palatable for the average reader. Although the book had images and diagrams of some mentioned buildings, I kept my phone handy to look up other un-pictured buildings and terms I was unfamiliar with. I would say this book is only as good as you are interested in architecture/history.

The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man: Essential Stories

by Franz Kafka

This short story collection is full of bizarre stories that often end with me asking, “what?”, but keeps my interest throughout. Kafka is skillful at expressing anxiety and uneasiness in his characters, in turn making the reader feel the same.

1984

by George Orwell

1984 is a good novel dragged somewhat by modern context. Orwell wrote this novel in post-war England and depicted a future where: people live in a surveillance state, the public's perception of "truth" is clouded by misinformation, and humanity loses itself due to war hysteria and thirst for power. Winston's (the main protagonist) monologues on the Party's use of misinformation to manipulate the public happens to be a hyperbolic reminder of today's political climate, yet to me it felt somewhat stale and long winded. He also explains the surveillance state and "new" technology in great detail, but once again this sounded like something I've heard before. The idea of society being under constant watch by a government entity is now a mainstream topic of debate, and the technology to do it already exists. This made even more of the book slightly tedious to read for me, although, my casual boredom speaks to Orwell's uncanny foresight on how these topics fit into modern society, and if I had read this 10 years ago I might be writing a different review. Orwell also makes a point that we could lose our humanity by becoming cogs in a destructive, power-hungry machine, despite (or because of) the emergence of new technology and the abundance of resources provided by manufacturing. This would be a palpable prediction coming out of the World Wars and it's even more interesting because it's basically true during the Cold War era in the last half of the 20th century. Americans squirmed under the pretense of nuclear war and destruction, yet it became an ordinary part of life and people went about their lives. But now, in 2022, I believe that we've mostly avoided this fate. War has largely fallen out of favor (I'm thinking of the loss in Vietnam, nuclear disarmament, withdrawal from Afghanistan, and economic globalization) and, more or less, the pretense for war has withered. Now, our generation's hurdles are consumerism, equity, and climate change. In my opinion, if we lose our humanity it will be due to mindless scrolling, a corporate job, or obscurity in history. As a casual reader, 1984 dragged in bits throughout, shined in the last quarter, and provided some interesting introspection, so "I liked it" at 3/5 stars.

The Heroes

by Joe Abercrombie

Man’s Search for Meaning

by Viktor E. Frankl

Watchmen

by Alan Moore

The Forever War (The Forever War, #1)

by Joe Haldeman

Firestarter

by Stephen King

Best Served Cold

by Joe Abercrombie

Educated

by Tara Westover

'Salem's Lot

by Stephen King

Kingdom Come

by Mark Waid

Norse Mythology

by Neil Gaiman

In the Dream House

by Carmen Maria Machado

Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)

by Orson Scott Card

Neverwhere (London Below, #1)

by Neil Gaiman

Art Matters: Because Your Imagination Can Change the World

by Neil Gaiman

The History of the World in Bite-Sized Chunks

by Emma Marriott

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1)

by Catherynne M. Valente

Slaughterhouse-Five

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The Road

by Cormac McCarthy

Hatchet

by Gary Paulsen

Lost Stars (Star Wars)

by Claudia Gray

Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000

by L. Ron Hubbard

If this book was 300 pages shorter I could’ve easily given it two stars. It’s not well written, but it does have exciting moments and an interesting plot. These redeemable qualities could’ve carried my rating to two stars if the book wasn’t exhaustively long and bloated. I do not recommend spending your time in this one.

A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens

Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)

by Joe Abercrombie

Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)

by Joe Abercrombie

The second book of the First Law Trilogy is a big improvement over the first. It’s paced better, written better, and the characters are fleshed out.

The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)

by Joe Abercrombie

The Blade Itself is an enjoyable book, but has some problems. The first and foremost being the author’s prose. Not all of it is bad, but many of his descriptions are wrought with overuse of adjectives. I also roll my eyes as a lot of his phrasing, it being over dramatic and a little cringey like something you would find in a fanfic. Toward the end of the book these problems lessen and I hope that trend continues in the rest of the trilogy. I’ll continue reading for the well-established politics, interesting characters, and complex plot that I’m sure is hiding a lot from us in the first book.

Before She Knew Him

by Peter Swanson

The Butterfly Garden (The Collector, #1)

by Dot Hutchison

Robinson Crusoe (Robinson Crusoe #1)

by Daniel Defoe

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)

by J.K. Rowling

The Outsider

by Stephen King

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by J.K. Rowling

Different Seasons: Four Novellas

by Stephen King

The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)

by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Martian

by Andy Weir

Men Without Women

by Ernest Hemingway

All Quiet on the Western Front

by Erich Maria Remarque

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)

by J.K. Rowling

The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)

by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)

by J.R.R. Tolkien

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)

by J.K. Rowling

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

Smooth Operator (Teddy Fay, #1)

by Stuart Woods

The Bourne Supremacy (Jason Bourne, #2)

by Robert Ludlum

The Bourne Identity (Jason Bourne, #1)

by Robert Ludlum

Orcs (Orcs: First Blood, #1-3)

by Stan Nicholls

Dune (Dune, #1)

by Frank Herbert