quaad started reading Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
The author shows that before there was money, there was debt. For 5,000 years humans …
waited for like a year for this audiobook from the library.
Reviews and Comments
a veeery... slooow... reeeeader...
(he/him)
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quaad started reading The Hollywood Studios by Ethan Mordden
This one's been sitting around for a while waiting to be read. I've been on a steady diet of pre-code films so it seems like as good a time as any.
quaad commented on The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1) by Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It …
first time actually reading an Agatha Christie novel. Imagine being the person who sprung Hercule Poirot on the world.
quaad finished reading Spear by Nicola Griffith
The girl knows she has a destiny before she even knows her name. She grows …
Content warning possible spoilers?
I really liked this. it has a sort of dream like feel and it's pacing is reminiscent of a good legend or folktale. Good knight action as well, fighting and tests of honor. I'm not familiar enough with Arthurian literature to judge how much she deviated from the norm. i guess i'll have to read some Mallory. I did feel bad for Guinevere as she's depicted in this and Arthur, well he's pathetic.
quaad commented on The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1) by Agatha Christie
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie. It …
Content warning This book contains poisons
Having read the first few chapters, here's what i've learned so far: England near the end of the first world war was awash in poisons. everybody is obsessed with poison and it's a frequent topic of conversation. there are shelves full of jars of poisons everywhere. English estates at this time are stuffed to the gills with questionable characters who all have dark secrets and skulk guiltily around in various degrees of crisis. Despite all this, they all have plenty of time for long walks in the woods, tennis matches and breaks for coffee (though drinking coffee is not without risks, considering all the poisons laying around.)
quaad commented on Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
"Command the murderous chalices! Drink ye harpooners! Drink and swear, ye men that man the …
Content warning bonkers 1930 film adaptation, spoilers galore!
How is this even possible? John Barrymore (a legit film star with epic charisma) plays Ahab. there is NO Ishmael. Poor Queequeg is reduced to a buffoonish caricature (ok, i guess that's pretty standard for the 1930s). But they invented a plot and it's a love triangle(!) between Faith (the preachers daughter), Ahab, and Ahab's brother Derek. DEREK! And to cap it all off, the ship is called The Shaghai Lily!
apparently nobody was sent to prison for this travesty.
on the other hand, the special effects were pretty amazing for 1930.
quaad started reading The Confidence-Man by Herman Melville
The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade, first published in New York on April Fool's Day 1857, is …
i'm a little all over the place with my reading at the moment.
quaad commented on No Immediate Danger by William T. Vollmann
The first volume in a timely series about climate change and energy generation focuses on …
Not to far into this but one thing is clear: William T Vollmann is not at a loss for words. statistics coming at me tsunami style can be overwhelming but there's something comforting in knowing that if there was a way to internalize all this information one would have a response to any argument made by the climate denier set. and statistics relayed not in a dry way but in a disarming curmudgeonly rant by a know it all who can't help themself.
quaad rated The Grief of Stones: 4 stars
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #2)
In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin Emperor with a direct sequel …
quaad commented on The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #2)
In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin …
the protagonist uses archaic diction and is kind to stray cats; that's pretty much all you need to know.
quaad commented on The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison (The Cemeteries of Amalo, #2)
In The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison returns to the world of The Goblin …
Thara Celehar, semi-private eye
quaad rated The Memory of Babel: 4 stars
The Memory of Babel by Christelle Dabos, Hildegarde Serle
In this gripping third volume of the Christelle Dabos’s best-selling saga, Ophelia, the mirror-traveling heroine finds herself in the magical …
quaad reviewed The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (The Goblin Emperor, #1)
Maia, the youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, …
The Gobblin' Emperor, amiright? (not really, there's not much eating)
4 stars
Content warning maybe general story details
I enjoyed this, i like the world Addison builds and the complex social milieu. my critique would be that the stakes are never very high. it's essentially a fish out of water fairy tale. all the characters are good or evil without much complexity and every crisis is resolved as quickly as it arises, so there isn't much time for tension or suspense. I wished that a few of the characters were more fleshed out; Maia's fiancé, for instance....
quaad reviewed The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison (The Goblin Emperor #2)
A standalone novel in the fantastic world of Katherine Addison's award-winning The Goblin Emperor.
When …
fantasy noir?
4 stars
I quite enjoyed this, the story moves along, it's varied and intricately drawn with gritty details. I felt at times like i was reading Dashiell Hammett, but with ghouls and elves and goblins. i think some of the subtleties of the world Addison creates were lost on me because i haven't read the Goblin Emperor. (can't say i wasn't warned.) I liked the names and titles of the characters; they have a nice musical ring to them, but again, i felt a like i was in the deep end of the pool trying to keep all of them straight in my mind. I think it'd be worth reading again this after i read the GE.
quaad rated The Dispossessed: 5 stars
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (Hainish Cycle, #6)
Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down …