This book reminded me of a lot of things. From early-90s pop culture references to the difficulty of growing up unpopular on the poor side of town, it's got it all. A bunch of bullies named John, a tight-knit group of nerdy friends, a high school with a 0% college acceptance rate, a town with… Continue reading In Beta (Prescott Harvey)
Author: apooltoswim
Striving for better mutational capabilities since '77...
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab)
This book broke my heart. It also made me laugh aloud, made me stay up WAY too late to finish just a few more pages, and made me think. In fact, I'm still thinking about it now, instead of immediately engaging in my usual desperate rush to find my next read. Yes, it's that good.… Continue reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (V.E. Schwab)
Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson)
I've written in the past about empathy (no longer a fan), as well as about being a carnivore (a fan of it, mostly). But I haven't written anything about mercy. That topic will, no doubt, get covered more than adequately in this review. So you're in luck. Just Mercy is a knockout of a book. … Continue reading Just Mercy (Bryan Stevenson)
Matt Reads is back!
I know. It's been a while. You've often caught yourself wondering, 'Self, where has Matt been? Has he still been reading, even though he isn't writing? This is a crisis of historic proportions!' But seriously. I'm back. I'm still reading, and I'm finally ready to start writing about it again. The truth is, many of… Continue reading Matt Reads is back!
American War (Omar El Akkad)
I can't stop thinking about this book. Even though I just finished it last night, and that makes perfect sense, somehow the fact that it's sitting so vividly in my mind after 24 hours feels meaningful in some way. This is a beautiful novel about a dirty subject. American War is a masterwork of speculative… Continue reading American War (Omar El Akkad)
Moral Combat (Patrick M. Markey & Christopher J. Ferguson)
I don't care whether you like video games or not. Honestly, I don't. Just because they've been a major source of happiness in my life, for most of my life, doesn't mean that they play the same role for you. I have no issues with you putting your time into the particular hobbies you've got. … Continue reading Moral Combat (Patrick M. Markey & Christopher J. Ferguson)
All Our Wrong Todays (Elan Mastai)
I've read a lot of time travel novels and short stories in my time. I've even watched plenty of time travel movies and TV shows. I'm sure you have as well--this subject has been fertile ground for creative types going back to H.G. Wells. So what, you might ask, attracted me about All Our Wrong… Continue reading All Our Wrong Todays (Elan Mastai)
Year of No Clutter (Eve Schaub)
Uh oh--another book that made me think a whole lot about my life. I'd better stop reading so much, right? Or, at least, stop reading so many thought-provoking books. Do you have any clutter in your home? What about your office? What's the definition of clutter to you? In this fantastic book, Eve Schaub not… Continue reading Year of No Clutter (Eve Schaub)
Six Wakes (Mur Lafferty)
Okay, I know I failed at posting last week. Work has been exceptionally worky lately, and resting doesn't sound much like "writing a thing for the Net about a book". Still, I'm back. Because I couldn't help but review this one--I loved it so much! The world is an exceptionally complicated place these days. Many… Continue reading Six Wakes (Mur Lafferty)
The Wolf Road (Beth Lewis)
Let me get this out of the way: I'm deeply envious of Beth Lewis for pulling this off. As you may or may not know, I wish I could actually finish writing a book. I've written 6 or 7 first drafts of novels, but editing them into a form that I'm comfortable sharing with the… Continue reading The Wolf Road (Beth Lewis)
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