Bookish Belle

[bookishbelle137]

Not Your Mother’s Book Club Book (Unless They’re Into the Occult)

I received this book as a Christmas gift as it was a high priority on my wish list. I read the book with a person whose genre is NOT Fantasy, feeling a bit bad for them as they might be confused. Naturally, they asked many questions but they seemed to get the hang of it pretty quick. 

SPOILER FREE:

The book’s main character, Galaxy (Alex) Stern, is a force to be reckoned with as she is the only human known at Yale University (the secret occult sector) that can see dead people (cue Sixth Sense scene.) Not only can she see dead people, but she can see them IN COLOR, something no one else can do.

Throughout the book, she is solving a mystery and her past is slowly revealed throughout. 

What I liked: I liked the main setup and the world building. It’s detailed and there’s a guide in the back of the book to help readers along the way. I also like the main protagonist (for reasons unnamed) but basically because SHE GETS SHIT DONE. She has a no half-ass attitude and is truly a BOSS. Think Buffy but 10 times grittier and un-apologetic. I also liked the secondary characters who help her along the way. 

What I didn’t like: There was a HUGE red herring and I feel it went on just a bit too long. There also could have been more build-up and clues to the big reveal which I feel came a bit out of nowhere. Despite the secondary characters being interesting, there were no real arcs and they could’ve been fleshed out a bit more. 

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

[bookishbelle137]

I received this book as a gift for my birthday and as soon as I saw the author’s name, I was really excited to read it. It did not disappoint!

What I liked:

There is so much vulnerability in her writing but not in a “pity me” way. She also backs up her essays with sources that you can research for yourself and form your own thoughts on each topic. She’s not afraid to be candid in her writing either, slipping some swear words in at times. Most importantly, she’s honest. Her last chapter is definitely proof of this fact. She knows she is an imperfect feminist and she owns it.

What I didn’t like so much:

Sometimes the topics went over my head or were too short. Some essays were only a couple pages and I wish she had expanded it a little more. It felt like I had just gotten into the topic and then it would be the end already. Also, I couldn’t understand all the topics or references as much as I would have liked.

Overall: I would rather call this book “imperfect feminist.” I don’t think it’s bad that we are all human and don’t always meet perfection in the areas we would like to, especially when it comes to being a feminist. She admits she likes smooth, shaved legs and a closet full of pretty clothes and shoes. Why does being a feminist mean you can’t try to look your best? All these stigmas and stereotypes are explored throughout the book along with multiple other important subjects.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

[bookishbelle137]

Birthday/Christmas Book Haul!

[bookishbelle137]

Wow was this book all over the place (in a good way) 

I read this book for book club. I had passed the title by a few times in the library, not really sure what it was about. As soon as our leader described it to us as “multi=genre,” I said SOLD. 

I guess the best way to review this book is to break it down into the parts. 

NON SPOILER REVIEW:

What I liked:

This book was so mind-bending, I couldn’t just read into the next section. I had to read each section and then wait a few hours to begin another. Even though all sections are different, they reveal different parts of the story that are important to the cohesion of the entire plot. 

Each section expands on a certain character or part of the story, so it’s not just the same old same old but written in a different way. 

What I didn’t like as much:

The fourth section didn’t really work for me. I can’t give details in this section (hint hint spoilers review below if you’ve read the book already) but I can say that, compared to the other two, it was just too much. 

I know that it’s the same time-frame in each section written differently, but I hate reading the same parts over and over again. By that I mean, same sentences, same revealings, etc. etc. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. 

For fans of: sci-fi, mystery, horror, fantasy, etc. (I mean it is written in different genres) 

SPOILER REVIEW BELOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK 

What I liked:

I love that the author took a risk writing this book and writing each part in a different GENRE. I don’t think that’s really been done before. (If it has let me know because I’m interested in reading it.) The horror section and fantasy (last section) were my favorites. 

I can safely say that this is the only book I’ve read that makes me NOT want to go into someone’s home library. Also, poor Winnie the Pooh. The horror section was perfectly disturbing and unsettling. I’d be interested in reading more of her work if she writes a FULL horror book. 

I did also did like the fantasy part (even if it was a bit close to the multiple universe section) because who doesn’t want to reach into a painting to find a different world? When I read about the umbrella painting and the dog, Jasper, I knew that they would be very important parts of the story. Jasper’s doggy character is very fleshed out in this section and I thought it worked well. 

What I didn’t like as much: I would say that all the parts really worked for me except for the Multiple Dimensions part. I’m a huge Doctor Who fan, so I was really surprised when this part just didn’t grab me like the others. Maybe it was too far out there considering the context of the plot and characters. There was so much going on already besides the “multi-genre.” So spies, multiple dimensions, pirates that don’t look like pirates in other dimensions and a human-eating house just didn’t do it for me. 

Questions I still have:

-Why in the WORLD would Aunt Magnolia NOT send Jane a letter saying “hey, I’m not dead, don’t worry.” It seems a bit unnecessary that she had to tell Jane to “Never turn down an invitation to Tu Reviens. 

-While we are at that, why would you want her to go to a HUMAN EATING HOUSE???? I mean, unless she didn’t know it was human-eating in the first place of course, then I guess it’s ok.