catalyst226's reviews
188 reviews

They Came to Slay: The Queer Culture of D&D by Thom James Carter

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informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

This was a long-form essay on queerness and Dungeons & Dragons. It explored the history of the TTRPG, how it's become an outlet for queer folks depending on who they're playing with, some of it's problematic elements, and how it evolving over time.

As a big D&D fan myself, it suddenly makes sense that I regularly play what my DM and party members describe as a "disaster lesbian" (as a term of endearment of course)...
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"The truth is that this was a story about many different things, but most of all about idiots. Because we’re doing the best we can, we really are."

I've always loved the thought of a bunch of characters that's lives overlap and they have no idea and the story slowly unravels from there. This story had that plus a host of other silly characters trapped in a hostage drama on the New Year's Eve Eve.
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A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

In a world where all sirens are Black women but not all Black women are sirens, this story tells the story of Travis the siren and her play-sister Effie (who is something else altogether).
Maybe this one just wasn't for me. It felt like a combination of genres and blending of real-world issue and fantasy creatures that didn't quite stick the landing on anything in particular.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

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emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's been a while since I've read a book that tells a full story, start to finish rather than a snippet of a character's story. Faustian bargains and immortality are your broad topics. I highly enjoyed this and could barely put it down.
It does quite a bit of bouncing between past and present, so it can be jarring if you're not paying attention at the start of a chapter.


Schwab writes an EXCELLENT will they/won't they. It's got the just right amount of tension between that and the plot that quite literally fueled me to devour like 70% of the book in one sitting. Plus, THE ROMANCE IS IN THE PAST in reference to the present of the plot. Noting it's in the past, it's obvious that they will but I was so invested in figuring out how they got there (a well written and plausible enemies-to-lovers) and why it went wrong (further cementing the enemies bit).
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

If you'd told me at the beginning of the year I'd read two fungal-inspired horror novels, I wouldn't have believed you but here we are...

Very spooky and atmospheric until the last quarter of the book where it feels like a coin flip on whether our protagonist will live or die. Pretty gross descriptions of decay and rot (which I love in a scary story but I get it's not for everyone).
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This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life by Lyz Lenz

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funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.5

Please note, the first chapter of this book made me so angry that I rage cleaned my apartment for the rest of the evening.

Covering a range of topics from traditional gender roles, household task burden, and the act of taking another last name for example, I found myself re-interrogating a lot of things about heteronormative ideals of marriage.
Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 62%.
I didn't love the first two historical figures as a vampire introductions and drew a line at the third and biblical one...
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A lighthearted story about a young woman moving into her uncle's bookshop after a string of misfortune and then helping her uncle once she's back on her feet. Very cozy and sweet.
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

All-in-all, this was a love story. It was a dance between joy, and intimacy, and violence in peripheral to one another. Highly, highly recommend.
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong

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challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

This was one of my book clubs' choice for Disability Pride month. It unexpectedly and delightfully focused in on the intersectionality of disability and other marginalized identities. While each essay is incredibly valuable, the essay that hit me most was 'How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage' by Elsa Sjunneson.