Tag: Writing

Hunger by Roxanne Gay

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Anna: Hunger was my memoir of the month, and I’m so glad I chose this one. I loved Gay’s writing style and can’t wait to read more by her! I also listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Roxanne Gay herself, and this made it a really emotional read.

Hunger is an intense account of Gay’s complicated relationship with her body interlaced with critique on the ways that society and the media view obesity. This is a raw account of some of the most personal parts of Gay’s life, and it was often difficult to read. It will make you angry and force you to think about how you might view people who are different than you. Trigger warnings for sexual assault and abuse. 

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What Roxanne Gay book should I read next?

Review: Clock Dance by Anne Tyler

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Alexis:

Clock Dance delves into the life of Willa, exploring her life over several different stages. The beginning of the book focuses on Willa at age 11, 21, and 41. The latter, longer half of the book focuses on her at age 61, when she suddenly decides to fly across the country to take care of a woman’s daughter.

What I liked: I really enjoyed the first three sections of the book. I think Tyler did a phenomenal job describing her life and her thoughts at her different life stages. I especially enjoyed learning about Willa’s family at age 11; it was poignant and explored her family’s dynamics.

The image of a saguaro cactus pops up several times in the story, hence the front cover. I enjoyed the recurring imagery and I thought it served the book well. I also adored the descriptions of Airplane the dog!

What I disliked: I wasn’t a huge fan of Willa’s storyline at age 61. Unlike the first three sections, Tylers’ writing was rambling. Other than Willa, I never felt a great connection to any of the other characters, and even though Tyler’s dialogue was on point, the characters felt too flat.

Derek and Peter were also super douchey. And Willa was such a passive character. The last section was supposed to be when Willa stands up for herself, and makes a life-altering decision. But I never really felt that. I appreciated that this is a book that focuses on the life of the always complacent woman, but I wanted the life-altering decision to be bigger.

I ended up skimming the ending because I couldn’t stand reading another description of Denise hobbling on her crutches, or Willa cooking something, or Cheryl watching TV. Also, a nine-year-old named Cheryl? Maybe I’m just being picky, but overall, the fourth section didn’t do it for me.

VERDICT:

First 3 sections: 5 stars

Last section: 1 star

Total: 3 stars

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Review: The Editor by Steven Rowley

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Alexis: 

What I liked: I like Rowley’s writing style. I remember liking it a lot in his other book, Lily and the Octopus. His dialogue is always on-point and funny, and I enjoy his imagery. 

I also really liked James as a character. I found him funny, and I enjoyed reading about his relationship with Daniel. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in the 1990’s, and I enjoyed the political climate and the history of the book.

What I disliked:

I really couldn’t get into this until about halfway through. James’ story was a little too boring at first, and I found myself skimming a lot of the details. I wanted to have more of James’ backstory earlier on in the story.

My biggest issue with the book was with Jackie Kennedy as a character. I could tell that Rowley was being careful with how he wrote her, and because of this, she never felt fully fleshed out as a character. I’m not a huge fan of historical people being one of the main characters in books, and I don’t think she served a good enough purpose. In my opinion, the editor would’ve made more of an impact in the story if Rowley had made up a famous editor and created a backstory for her. 

There was also an event towards the end of the book which I felt like didn’t fit into James’ character, and was a little too on the nose. 

Overall, I liked James and Daniel, and as a writer myself, I enjoyed reading about James writing his novel. But the slow plot and Jackie’s character dragged this down a star.

VERDICT: 3 stars

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Book Mail!

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Alexis: We love book mail! We’re so thankful to have won We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faaizal and China Dream by Ma Jian through Bookstagram giveaways.

I’m roadtripping to my grad school city tomorrow to finalize my apartment. I can’t wait to have my own space and get a ton of writing done!

I’m looking forward to cracking one of these books open on the drive.

Review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

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Alexis:

Spoilers Below!

Overall, A Court of Wings and Ruin, the third book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy, was a 4 star read. It was more along the lines of the first book than it was the second book. However, I did have a list of issues with it that I will explain below!

I’ll start with what I liked. Maas’ writing shines when she writes action scenes. I loved reading the war scenes. I thought she did a great job with their pacing and descriptions.

I also loved that Rhysand fully transformed in the final battle. I was like, “Heck, yes!”

I also enjoyed having all the High Fae in the same scenes. Their histories and abilities were very interesting all pooled together.

As for what I didn’t like as much, for some reason, Maas’ writing is just a little bit worse in this book. She has a tendency to lean towards the occasional cheesy line, but this book seemed to bring her cheesiness out just a little more.

This book felt like Maas had been rushed, that she had a deadline that her publisher wanted her to keep, so she wrote this book quickly. And then it wasn’t edited enough. The pacing felt slow. This book is about war, and war does drag on, but the plot doesn’t flow as nicely as it did in A Court of Mist and Fury. Everything just felt slowed down.

And…the sex scenes did not fit as well in this book as they did in A Court of Mist and Fury. They felt cringey and all of them were basically a carbon copy of each other. There’s also a scene where Rhys tells Feyre, “You smell like blood,” after they fought in a battle. And then they have sex. Hmm. I don’t know about that.

And, my biggest issue. I am all for diversity, but not just for the sake of diversity. Mor’s reveal as bisexual was a complete cop-out from Maas. Mor’s been hiding that she’s bi…for 500 years?? Just so she won’t hurt Azriel’s feelings?? Her hiding this from her family for that long did not feel true to character.

As for the plot, I had issues with the fact that Feyre is insanely powerful and yet she HARDLY FOUGHT. Obviously, Rhysand has significantly more war experience, but Feyre is his equal, so they should’ve fought together. Her mention of, “You know, I don’t really like war,” was not a good enough reason for her not to fight.

As for the whole new cast of characters at the end, this also felt like a cop-out from Maas. When Rhysand asked why they couldn’t find them, their answer was, “Oh, I guess we hid too well, so even our friends couldn’t find us.”

If they had been such good friends/allies during the last war, they definitely would’ve found a way to keep in contact with Rhysand and his crew.

As for my last complaint, Armen should’ve died. Rhysand coming back from the dead made sense, but there’s no way Armen could’ve come back after all that.

Despite my issues, I enjoyed the book overall! I definitely think the trilogy is worth a read, just be aware that it isn’t perfect.

VERDICT: 4 stars

 

Review: Shadow and Bone; Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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Alexis:

I’ve dedicated this past week to reading the first two books in the Shadow and Bone Trilogy, and hopefully I can get the last book from the library next week!

I read the Six of Crows Duology last year and I absolutely loved it, so I was looking forward to reading the first books in Bardugo’s Grishaverse.

I seem to agree with everyone else (at least on Goodreads) that the second book in the trilogy is better than the first. I was surprised to find that the first book relied on some tropes, the most prevalent of which is the love triangle. However, I thought that Shadow and Bone did a great job when it came to worldbuilding and introducing the Grisha’s powers. 

The second book’s plot is much more intricate than the first. It honestly reminds me of The Hunger Games. Politics come into play, and Alina starts to become a powerful symbol of hope. I enjoyed the new characters that were introduced, but I felt like Mal’s character wasn’t as strong as he was in the first book. However, Bardugo’s keen sense of humor comes out more in the second book.

Minor spoilers below:

One of the biggest issues I have with the two books is the way that male characters interact with Alina, which, unfortunately, only gets worse in Siege and Storm. Multiple male characters touch and kiss Alina without her consent, and the way the Darkling interacts with her makes me sick. In Siege and Storm, no one respects that Alina and Mal are in a relationship, and she gets kissed and even gets marriage proposals. I understood all of this happens for plot reasons, but here Alina is, in a different love triangle than in the first book, and she even enjoys the attention from Nikolai.

I feel like I say this in every review, but despite my issues with the books, I did enjoy reading them. I love the Grishaverse and I’m interested to see where the third book goes. I just can’t help comparing this series to the Six of Crows Duology. It’s interesting to see how much Bardugo’s writing has evolved.

Shadow and Bone: 3 out of 5 books

Siege and Storm: 4 out of 5 stars

We Met Sugar Run’s Author, Mesha Maren!

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Yesterday, we visited the Fountain Bookstore in Richmond to hear author Mesha Maren talk about her new book, Sugar Run.

Sugar Run has already gotten a lot of attention in the book world, and we loved hearing her talk about her book. Maren discussed her research, writing processes, and inspirations. She discussed how West Virginia, where she grew up, was her inspiration for the book. She even told a story about building a log cabin with her dad when she was 17, a log cabin that is now her writing space.

We enjoyed listening to her talk about identity and how she and her main character, Jodi, navigate being LGBTQ in West Virginia.

We look forward to reading and reviewing Sugar Run!

Alexis’ Library Haul

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Alexis:

Library haul time! These are some of my most anticipated reads on my #tbr list.

  • Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
  • Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
  • The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
  • In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

Anna and I went to a coffee shop and got some work and writing done today. And then we went to Ulta, my second favorite store after Barnes and Noble.

I’m starting with In the Midst of Winter since it’s currently 28 degrees outside and dropping! I’ve always loved Isabel Allende’s writing style and I’m enjoying the beginning of the book.

Review: Tin Man by Sarah Winman

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Alexis: Read 11/28/18

“I said to him that just because you can’t remember, doesn’t mean the past isn’t out there. All those precious moments are still there somewhere.”

This is a poignant story of love and grief. This is a story of first loves, final loves, and dying loves.

Winman’s writing style is gorgeous. It’s simple yet raw and peppered with beautiful descriptions and lyricism. Throughout the book, her lack of quotation marks echoes Ellis’ silent grief.

I love the recurring motifs of the color yellow and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Nora, Ellis’ mother, is impactful and realistic, and she sticks throughout the story in the minds of both Ellis and Michael as a reminder to stay true to themselves.

Both Ellis and Michael are realistic characters. Ellis deals with his emotions by withdrawing and keeping to himself, while Michael deals with them through writing. Without giving too much away, both of them end up being more similar than either of them thought. Tin Man is an aptly named book.

I love that this book addresses the importance of art and writing, as said by Nora: “Painting flowers as a sign of friendship and welcome. Men and boys should be capable of beautiful things.”

My only criticism is that Annie does not feel as vibrant as all the other characters. I loved her introduction scene, but I wanted to understand her relationship with Ellis as deeply as I understood Ellis and Michael’s relationship.

All in all, this was a beautiful and quietly harrowing read that I highly recommend.

VERDICT: 5 stars

Review: Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

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Anna: Read 11/26/18

I couldn’t stop reading this. It’s safe to say that I’m in love with Sally Rooney’s writing style- it’s exactly what I want in literary fiction with a modern setting. I also think it’s an accurate representation of my generation. It’s an accomplishment when a book involves technology without taking away from the quality of writing. Everything about this book feels so real. It captures the ideas and ideals of my generation so well, from fluidity when it comes to sexuality, to how frustrating it can be, as a full-time student, managing finances, friendships, and mental health.

I loved Frances as a character. All of the characterization was rich and complex, but especially the main four- Frances, Bobbi, Nick and Melissa.The relationships were complicated and meticulously fleshed out, and the dialogue felt so realistic. I was impressed by the way Frances and Nick’s arguments were written, even over email. This book is aptly named Conversations with Friends as the complexity, frequency, and realness of these dialogues is something that defines this book. These characters actually have real, interesting conversations, which is something I appreciate. There’s nothing worse than fake, fluffy conversation.

Here are some things I didn’t like.

(Below is where the spoilers live!)

I loved this book all the way through, but it would have had even more of an impact without the last chapter. The fact that it implied that Frances is going to enter into a “relationship” with Nick again takes a way a bit from the chapters before.

Frances’s endometriosis diagnosis was a bit strange. I think reproduction problems are important to talk about in fiction, and too often periods aren’t even mentioned in literature, even in explicitly feminist fiction. Though I really appreciated that aspect, I wasn’t exactly sure of its purpose in the plot. All that comes to mind is that Frances being sick interfered with her fixing things with Bobbi and Nick. It also made her think about youthfulness, womanhood, and pregnancy in a different way, especially since she thought she was having a miscarriage when she first experienced the painful symptoms. I wait to read other people’s full reviews until after I write my own, so I will be looking into other takes on this when I finish writing this.

I thought Bobbi was really annoying. She felt so condescending and controlling over Frances, even at the end when Frances had grown a lot and developed her own “real personality.” I liked how complicated and undefined their relationship was, but I couldn’t get over how preachy and elitist Bobbi is throughout the book.

A huge pet peeve I have is how easy it was for Frances to get published. There is NO WAY that her story would have been published in a prestigious journal AND that she was paid royalties for it. Frances wrote the story in one sitting, sent it in unedited, AND it was the first prose she had ever written in her life. As writers and as someone who has worked in publishing, Alexis and I and are very familiar with the publication process. Maybe it’s easier to get published in a journal in Ireland, but I doubt it.

It was funny reading about Frances interning at a literary agency, because I did that. I can say that part was realistic!

This book does so many great things and I enjoyed reading this so much that I am still considering bumming it up a rating, despite the unsatisfying ending. I can’t wait to read Normal People by Sally Rooney soon!

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books