Ben Saufley - Reading

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Piranesi

by Susanna Clarke

Finished 2024-07-09
The Traitor Baru Cormorant

by Seth Dickinson

Finished 2024-07-06
The Midnight Feast

by Lucy Foley

Finished 2024-06-28
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

by Suzanne Collins

Finished 2024-06-22

I didn’t hate this. I really loved the way Collins ended the trilogy; it was so interesting and real, in a universe that wasn’t very. So I was curious to see how she’d do Snow. I think the biggest issue I have is the pacing. The heel turn feels sudden and late, even if there are some smart breadcrumbs left along the whole journey. I also expected the heel turn to be in response to something but I think it was sly that it was basically always in him. He was never going to be anything else because of his basic flawed belief system. A lot of “banality of evil” stuff here. So I liked it overall but yeah I think it could’ve been better paced and while I thing Collin’s is smarter than some of her “dystopian YA” peers about the things she writes about, I don’t know that this one will stick with me too long, like the epilogue of the trilogy did.
Ordinary Monsters

by J.M. Miro

Finished 2024-06-13

I liked it but I’m not sure I liked it enough to read a second (or third). I think maybe just the whatever it is, Victorian? setting doesn’t grab me. The magic hovered between system-based or even scientific, and mystical, and I kind of wish it would just pick a lane. And Marbur and Marlowe are so easy for my head to mix up, and then you add in that Jacob Marbur is nearly the classic Dickens name Jacob Marley…

Yeah. I liked it but didn’t love it. Maybe I’ll come back to the series in a while when this book has settled into my brain a bit.
One Perfect Couple

by Ruth Ware

Finished 2024-05-26
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

by Stieg Larsson

Finished 2024-05-24
Close to Death

by Anthony Horowitz

Finished 2024-05-15
Dark Matter

by Blake Crouch

Finished 2024-05-11
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

by Gabrielle Zevin

Finished 2024-05-09
Russian Sleeper Cell

by Nathan Monk

Finished 2024-04-26

I really enjoyed a lot of this book. The style is fun and smart; the way it kind of meandered into the main plot was interesting rather than insufferable, and somehow the very unavoidable presence of the author’s voice (which often takes me out of a book) engaged me and kept me reading. But the actual plot of the book was actually kind of weak/straightforward and strangely concluded (what even was the “sleeper cell” the book is so bluntly named after?). Interesting and enjoyable read that was … I don’t know, a little bit of a mess in the end.
Beyond the Shadows

by Brent Weeks

Finished 2024-04-18

There was a lot I really liked about this book but much more than any other Weeks book I’ve read, it spent way, way too much of its time musing on the breasts and bodies of its female characters. Weeks has definitely done some of this in other books and there’s some level to which you can write this off as “we’re seeing the world through the eyes of a young male character” or whatever, but it was just too much in this book. It dragged the book down a lot, to an extent that I almost DNF’ed.
Just Another Missing Person

by Gillian McAllister

Finished 2024-04-06
Shadow's Edge

by Brent Weeks

Finished 2024-04-04
End of Story

by A.J. Finn

Finished 2024-03-26

Honestly the mystery wrapped up really nicely with nothing coming out of thin air and yet I didn’t figure basically any of it out. A very satisfying mystery with what I think is a well-handled “trans!” twist that doesn’t belittle the character, reduce her to the twist, or treat her as abnormal. But I’m an outsider there as a cis dude so maybe I’m off base.

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#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Piranesi

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Traitor Baru Cormorant

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Midnight Feast

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Ordinary Monsters

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } One Perfect Couple

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Close to Death

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Dark Matter

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Russian Sleeper Cell

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Beyond the Shadows

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Just Another Missing Person

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } Shadow's Edge

#frontCover { fill: currentColor; } #spine { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 45%, #000 55%); } #backCover { fill: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 78%, #000 22%); } End of Story

Piranesi

The Traitor Baru Cormorant

The Midnight Feast

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Ordinary Monsters

One Perfect Couple

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

Close to Death

Dark Matter

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Russian Sleeper Cell

Beyond the Shadows

Just Another Missing Person

Shadow's Edge

End of Story