Found this book to be a real slog, did not enjoy the writing style and found the stories uncompelling.
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James's books
2024 Reading Goal
31% complete! James has read 5 of 16 books.
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James rated Before the coffee gets cold: 2 stars
Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
[Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary] What would you change if you could go back in time?
In a small back …
James finished reading Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
James started reading Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
James finished reading How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin (Dreamblood, #0.5)
James finished reading Quarterlife by Satya Doyle Byock
James started reading Quarterlife by Satya Doyle Byock
James started reading How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin (Dreamblood, #0.5)
The first half of the book felt a little like a loose tale spliced into a taxonomic exploration of the world's flora and fauna, readable but not engrossing. In the second half the story picks up and the themes of the first half make more sense, and by the end I felt like it was a complete story and the encyclopedic nature of the definitions and plant descriptions make sense as part of the journey of the protagonist. The book describes a fascinating world, and you can sense the depth of consideration and thought the author has put into it. The story does leave some unresolved questions about the nature of some things, but these loose ends feel like evocative possibilities, things to ponder upon, rather than gaps in the narrative.
James finished reading Appliance by J. O. Morgan
A series of short scenarios from an alternate earth history in which matter transportation is invented in the 50's ish. It presents an interesting framework to explore ideas about technology, society interaction and opportunities of control by monopoly corporations. It's a simply written book which I read within a week. Lots of the literary tools are left very exposed in the book. I think this makes it bad writing as this stuff is expected to be more subtle. But I kind of like it being visible and being able to spot it easily amd may itself be a stylistic choice.
James set a goal to read 16 books in 2024
James stopped reading
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The adventures of four amiable animals, Rat, Toad, Mole and Badger, along a river in the English countryside.