We're ramping up to my blog's 20th anniversary on Sunday! I'll post a list of twenty things every day between now and Sunday and it will culminate, anticlimactically, on Sunday.
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Most Viewed Reviews
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - I went HARD on Quinn here and I think that's why it's one of my most viewed posts of all time.
Today Will be Different by Maria Semple - I didn't like this book, but I wasn't terribly mean about it. I don't know why so many people click on this one.
Moonglow by Michael Chabon - Such a good book, friends.
Time and Again by Jack Finney - I wrote this review in 2016 and currently have zero recollection of the book. Why are people reading this review so much?
Meanest Reviews
Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez - I am still so angry about how Jimenez didn't take women's health seriously in this book.
Song of Susannah by Stephen King - I am laughing at my referral to King as "an egomaniacal piece of lint."
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout - "He's an alpha dipshit who insists on calling Poppy a nickname she doesn't like, repeatedly assaults Poppy, and yet, we're supposed to think he's simply swoony." I did not hold any punches with this review.
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid - In retrospect, maybe I didn't have to go quite so hard on this one. It's fine. But it is sort of too much tennis.
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Books I Still Think About
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - I learned so much about the institution of slavery in this book and I am a huge stan for how powerful and good this book is.
Birth by Tina Cassidy - We still don't know the optimal time to cut the umbilical cord!!! Billions of babies have been born. BILLIONS. I think about this nearly weekly.
American Hippo by Sarah Gailey - People riding hippos like they're horses!! This image lives rent free in my head.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - I didn't immediately love this one, but it has grown on me so much. I find a lot of the book's images haunting and I can't get them out of my head.
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Best Series
Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb - Seriously, this saga altered my life and is an example of true characterization. Fitz and Nighteyes are with me forever.
Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante - I know that maybe it's just J who will appreciate this, but these books make me feel so seen.
The Expanse by James S.A. Corey - Just...so good. Another example of a series where the characters will become part of you.
Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - I didn't love the latest edition of this series, but it's hilarious and dark and Murderbot's level of misanthropy is perfect.
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Best Reviews
Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoag - Smilla is such a great character. And then the ending of that book was a big disappointment.
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton - I despised this book, but worked so hard on reading it for book club only to find no one else did the work. Also, the review was a lot of work. Basically, so much work.
The Ghost in the House by Sara O'Leary - I did enjoy this book, but mostly this review is all about the fact that the author commented on my review!
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall - I like that I showed illustrations from the book to make my points. It's a wonderful book. Hard, but wonderful.
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Do you remember any of these reviews? Has an author of a book you read ever commented on your blog?
I read and loved both Homegoing and Birth - great books, so much to think about.
ReplyDeleteI think I heard about Birth from you first! Or maybe it was Stephany? I don't know, but it was so fascinating and terrifying. There's so much we just don't know!
DeleteI remember your review of Carrie Soto. It was a book that the Sarah's Bookshelves podcast was raving about, but I'm not a sports person and especially not a tennis person, so I was on the fence. Your "nope" factored me putting it on the "yeah I'm not gonna read that" list.
ReplyDeleteAn author of a book that I've read has commented on my blog! But she did it because she's a blogger, not because of the book. The book is Boston Bound, the author is Elisabeth Clor, and her blog is Racing Stripes. The book is about the physical and mental roadblocks that she had to work through to qualify for the Boston marathon, and it's a good read. I think she must have found me through comments that I've left on her blog.
Aren't you glad it was a nice review and not mean? The biggest gripe in the post I wrote was about deckled edges, so I was relieved by that. On the other hand, I don't think Stephen King would care that I called him egomaniacal.
DeleteIt's so cool that an author left a comment on your review! Cool, but it could also be scary if it was a bad review! 😂Can you believe I haven't read a single one of these books? But now you've given me a great list of books to check out!
ReplyDeleteI actually can believe you haven't read any of these books! There are so many books out there!
DeleteI have not been reading your blog long enough to have read these reviews, but I need Roche k some of them out. Books that still live rent free in your head made me laugh. I hope to read Birth. Sounds really good. I do not review books usually. . . maybe in part because I'm usually the last one to read a book. No an author has not visited my blog.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I read books YEARS after they come out. No one has ever asked me why I'm reviewing a book that is not a new release. If you want to write a review, do it! But I can see why writing reviews is not for everyone. It's a lot of work and you have defend your position a lot more than you might want to.
DeleteI remember your Carrie Soto review because we felt very differently about that book. It made me want to watch and learn to play tennis! But I tend to like books where sports feature prominently in the storyline even though I am terribly unathletic!
ReplyDeleteYes! We are opposites on this. I do not like to read books about sports. I find the single-mindedness of many athletes to be too challenging for me to enjoy spending time with them. And it was true of Carrie Soto!
DeleteSo many good books here, and I love your book reviews! (Homegoing, Lincoln, and Smilla are big favorites.)
ReplyDeleteMy blog is fairly incognito these days as I don't advertise it to people I know IRL. A long time ago, the author Teju Cole was a regular commenter on my blog.
Yes, I don't really advertise my blog IRL, either. It was just luck (?) that the author stumbled upon my blog. Or a Google alert.
DeleteHmm, this was fun! I went back and read some fo these reviews- I was especially interested in the King Dark Tower series. After I loved 11/22/63, one of my coworkers recommended The Dark Tower and I was considering it. Now, I don't know. I trust you, and there are so many other things to read.
ReplyDeleteHey, if you read The Gunslinger you'll know right away whether or not it's the series for you! It's not a seven-book commitment unless you want it to be.
DeleteYou read so many books! It's awe-inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI like your book reviews because they are often more fun to read than the book themselves.
Ha! That's a compliment I'll take. Thanks so much!
DeletePlease don't apologise for the Neopolitan novels, they were (are) absolutely beloved in the U.K. I walked around silently not liking them for years, wondering what was wrong with me! Your comments about Lincoln were spot on, as was the review for Time and Again. So many problems in that book but the descriptions of New York were amazing. I think I need to read Smilla again, and some others here - great list.
ReplyDeleteThe Neapolitan novels are beloved among certain readers, that's for sure, and I do count myself among those numbers. It's too bad it didn't go over better in CBBC. I feel like my persuasive skills about the power of that book were lost.
DeleteI didn't even remember the review I read and commented on, because perimenopause, jesus.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved Kavalier and Clay by Chabon and am not sure why I haven't read this book - maybe because I was consciously trying to read more women authors. I read Time and Again and a sequel or two - I thought I remembered liking them, but it was a long time ago.
I liked the Dark Tower series as a whole, and am intrigued by your assessment of the Song of Susannah.
Two authors commented on my reviews, not comprehensively. Clearly it was just a case of being notified of a mention of their books. One was in a post on censorship I wrote that mentioned the author's use of the term 'giant gazongas'. The other was a Frances Kuffel book about weight and weight loss, and my mention of it was a little glib even though I quite liked the book. She just commented 'coulda been worse!' and I felt like a bit of an ass.
Sometimes I'll be poking through a blog's archives (because I am nosy) and I'll see that I commented on something and have no memory of it. We are cool like that, friend.
DeleteThe Dark Tower series was so inconsistent. I really enjoyed my time with some of those books and others were a real slog. I don't know if I can recommend it in good conscience.
You are so right! I am so glad that it was a positive review that the author commented on. I once had a negative review of a podcast and the podcaster chimed in and I felt terrible. But I stand by my review.
I like your reviews even though (because?) we have such wildly divergent tastes.
ReplyDeleteI just love reading book reviews because I love that other people read!
DeleteUGH YES TO THE FRIEND ZONE. One of those books I wanted to throw across the room when I finished it!
ReplyDeleteI have SO MUCH righteous indignation about this book.
DeleteYou know I loved the Neapolitan Novels, thanks for mentioning me. :-) I just went and read your review for The Ghost in the House and loved the author's comment. I had an author come to my blog once, YEARS ago, Molly Gloss. She was complimentary about my review, and I was blown away!
ReplyDeletehttps://jellyjules.com/the-hearts-of-horses/
Wow! And what a lovely compliment from the author about the quality of your review!
DeleteAbby Jimenez is a no-go author for me for other reasons. Glad I haven't persisted and run into the other issues you and Stephany had. Whew.
ReplyDeleteShe's so inconsistent. Some of her books are not terrible. But I'm curious why she's a no-go for you. Is she too steamy?
DeleteGot it one, my friend. You know me too well. I am a Prude with a capital "P".
DeleteGot it. It's rarely the sex scenes that get me, but sometimes it will be a thing if I'm reading a YA or New Adult book.
DeleteThat is so cool you had the author comment on your blog.
ReplyDeleteI had an author like something on Instagram.
I really neeed to check Realm of the Elderlings. It seems like something I would enjoy.
Realm of the Elderlings is SO GOOD. Nothing will ever live up to it. Next year I'm going to do a reread of all of the books.
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