Fast and somewhat funny read without much character development, very predictable plot and the characters I cannot like. #bookclub

This is a gothic story spaced with the language of magical realism and eerie, dark bits of old fairytales with a twofold narrative: that of a man, troubled by memories who married a mysterious young woman and another one of a girl, almost abandoning her family to live a magical life with a friend. My expectations for the ending vacillated from happy to tragic until the storylines met to find the end... There will be no spoilers..
#told_by_a_woman

It's nice how Kloos succeeds in keeping the overall level of worldbuilding and characters consistency. It might not be the highest level of the genre, but it is definitely a very solid writing.
So the intrigue both gets more complicated and more details are revealed to the reader: we see more people involved and more motives and actions revealed, but the overall picture is still unclear. Now waiting for the next installment
#SeriesLove2024

Bailed after 1/3 of the book: huge disappointment. There is an amazing world where words have power and translators are doing magic. But there is no action at all, the characters lack substance and the anti-colonial agenda is being pushed down the reader's throat with much force, but little understanding of nuances
#told_by_a_woman
#bookclub

With all the right premises of a secret wizarding society based in an antient library, the book turned to be a disappointment. Very little happens in terms of plot development, the characters are flat and the female ones are so stigmatic as if taken from some patriarchal encyclopedia of female heroines. And the sex scenes reek of dubious consent. Not sure I'm going to continue the series
#SeriesLove2024
#told_by_a_woman

This dystopia is a mix of ideas already seen elsewhere, beginning from Harry Potter and going through Hunger Games and Divergent. There are lots of logics and science gaps, not much in terms of character development, but the storytelling is fast pacing, angsty and full of drama. Don't think I'll continue with the series :(
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This collection of short stories is very uneven: some stories are fascinating and engaging, and some are at the very least boring. I think the best part is the introduction, where Geiman discussed how the idea of trigger warning crossed from the Internet to the world of things and how that might change our approach to art #bookclub

Got my mail yesterday - I‘m not sure how slow snails 🐌 are supposed to be, but this one was not very fast at all. Now penning my response to @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @sleepwithbooks @Deblovestoread @dabbe @TieDyeDude @TheSpineView @readwithcori #litsylove

This is a rather unusual book: it has the coming-of-age material, and some love story, and there are aliens, and adventures, and diplomacy and war. But at the center of the story there is a language, an alien language that no single human can speak and special pairs of "ambassadors" are grown and trained to use it. I could never imagine, that Ferdinand de Saussure's linguistic theory can be turned into an interstellar adventure narrative #bookclub

It's wonderful how Wells continues to keep the tone and the plot development without loosing the quality of the storytelling ❤
#told_by_a_woman #serieslove2024

This is a very easy read (listen) with a Murderbot aka rogue security android becoming more and more a very decent human #told_by_a_woman #serieslove2024

Danny Conroy, the protagonist and the narrator, reminiscents about his childhood by saying: “Our father never met his own wife.“ The irony is poignant as he realizes much later that he too failed to truly know his wife. In some way he repeated not only his father's success but the failures as well. It's just that the cost of these failures was not as high.
Once again, Ann Patchett tells a very usual story in an amazing way
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I know it's a genre classic and is appreciated by many. Despite its engaging language and pace, the narrative has numerous logical gaps, unresolved plot threads, and a murky ending. Though it explores intriguing concepts, none are fully developed. Furthermore, its misogyny, especially considering the era of its publication amidst second-wave feminism, is particularly jarring. One wonders if the author ever ventured beyond his hovel.
#bookclub

This book is a bit more meditative in nature compared to the first part. It's still full of humor and of an unexpected adventure, and lovely heroes - human and not. The ending is sort of obvious: even if you a Murderbot in a search of answers, finding them won't be any easy and you have to start looking from within.
#SeriesLove2024 #told_by_a_woman

When a security android slash synthetic slave goes rogue, it becomes a wild card in a sci-fi adventure. However, the best part of the book is the part of this android being very humane, shy, sarcastic and sacrifices himself to safe the humans who for the first time treat it decently.
Will go straight to the second book in the series
#SeriesLove2024 #told_by_a_woman

You could hardly err on a book about a book, or a library, or better yet both. And if it entertains the idea that manuscripts don't burn - you have it all. Though they do burn, or drown, or get eaten by mice. But stories survive and get retold. Bulgakov's Woland has more flair with that, but Doerr's Zeno Ninis feels closer to us, mere mortals, with his humility and humanity. And with his story

As I was very disappointed in the first book of the series, I only read this one for the book club discussion. It is dull (
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This book is often labeled cozy or literary embrace, but as it lacks a conflict or moral dilemma, it is simply dull. The worldbuilding is incomplete and unclear, and for me it hints at a population manipulated by a dictatorship maintaining specific social order #told_by_a_woman #bookclub

Facebook reminded me that today is the birthday of the last book in #TheWheelOfTime - my favorite series ever. Should I #reread again? 🤔

The book comes with all the tropes of the genre: slow suspense, a creepy house, lecherous men, and a female antagonist. It also connects to other books in the genre, creating a sense of camaraderie with likeminded readers. Deeper themes are subtly addressed: women's lack of independence, power abuse, social inequality. Though, character development falls short, as the protagonists remain almost unchanged #told_by_a_woman #womenwiters #moderngothic

It‘s a nice turn how a character that loved “Wuthering Heights” and “Jane Eyre” is now a subject of a gothic mystery herself. The main heroine and most of the other heroes bow to these two books here and there as well. #womenwiters #told_by_a_woman #moderngothic

A bit oversimplified, but still interesting in his analysis of ethics definitions.