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ginger_curmudgeon's reviews
370 reviews
James Patterson by James Patterson: The Stories of My Life by James Patterson
2.75
Here’s one I wouldn’t normally read. The obvious, this is not well written. I’m hoping it went through another round of editing before being published. Patterson’s style is brief, conversational, and jerky. Most chapters are three pages or less. He admits to writing how he speaks, which unfortunately means there are weird interjections, clunky segues, and he jumps between points and topics. There’s no timeline to his story so if you like memoirs that follow a timeline, this isn’t for you.
All of that said, some of the stories are interesting. I think I was most interested in his time in advertising. Remember the famous Toys R Us tagline? He was part of creating that.
Stories about his writing might have been the next most interesting. He claims to have an average of 30 manuscripts in some stage of development at any given time. I’m not surprised that he creates detailed outlines for his books and then essentially fills them in later. Or has someone else fill them in for him as co-writer.
Overall, I think this landed pretty close to what I expected it to be.
Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
This is so good! Most Ardently is a queer retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Admittedly, I’ve never read the original, but have seen multiple adaptations so I’m not a complete stranger to the story.
I think Gabe Cole Novoa did a great job rewriting this story in a way that stays true to the original, but also feels like an original in itself. I love the way the characters are written. I loved Oliver from the start. I appropriately disliked Collins and Wickham right away. It helps that I don’t like them in the adaptations either.
I appreciate the addition of some history with Molly Houses. It was a nice touch.
Overall, this is a delightful, lighter version of the original.
The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt
I enjoyed “The Librarianist”. It’s not perfect, but overall I enjoyed Patrick deWitt’s writing style. There’s a sort of underlying sarcastic curmudgeonly humor in the book. Not that it’s funny, but it’s there.
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
There are times where I enjoyed Ethan and Connie, but they are generally kind of crappy people and horrible friends. I maybe relate to Bob more than I should, but he’s the most likable of the three. He’s a loner curmudgeon who loves books. Hi, it’s me.
At times I wondered if Bob and Ethan were in love and Connie was just a beard or a conduit for the love they couldn’t or wouldn’t express for each other.
Part three, when Bob runs away as a child, was my least favorite. I enjoyed parts of it, but I occasionally felt bored with it. I didn’t care about some of the characters. I kept dreading the part where the dogs would be lost, but it didn’t happen and I was glad for that.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
adventurous
3.75
Percy Jackson was never on my radar as something to read. I knew of the series, of course, but it isn’t my usual genre and I really never thought about reading it until a friend told me how inclusive Rick Riordan’s books are. If you know me, you know that to read any, I had to start with the beginning of all the different series so naturally that’s what I did.
Percy is dyslexic and I appreciate that it isn’t something that is mentioned once and forgotten. There are a few times where it comes up in the story as it impacts him.
You’re introduced to a lot of mythological characters in “The Lightning Thief”, which I assume sets up their appearance in the rest of the series.
There’s actually more happening in this book than I expected and, at times, I sort of forgot that the majority of characters are pre-teen and teen. There are times where it just feels like they’re older than they are. Mostly Percy because he’s younger than a lot of the others, but doesn’t always feel like it.
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
3.75
I like the overall idea of this story, but the execution falls a bit flat for me. Things wrap up too perfectly and somewhat easily. To be honest, though, I’m not sure that I would have enjoyed having the major resolution drawn out too much. It might have become repetitive. The compromise, to me, would have been to expand on certain parts of the story that are randomly dropped, like the fiancé. Or maybe don’t have all things resolved so easily. I won’t spoil anything more than what I’ve said already, but I was enjoying this a lot until the somewhat perfect resolution and plot points abruptly ending.
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
4.0
Earlier I commented that this isn’t well written, but I want to amend that. My usual genre is literary fiction, which is a different tier of writing. But, this is raw and vulnerable. To go through everything recounted here and come out the other side strong enough to tell your story is commendable. Too much polish would take away from that. You would lose some of the emotional truth.
Admittedly, I don’t follow celebrity gossip. It’s never been something that interests me. Because of that I didn’t know about a lot of things Spears writes about. Her story reads like fiction. Every time I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. Honestly, by the time I finished, I just wanted to give her a hug and tell her things will get better and that she’s worthy.
I don’t read many memoirs, but I enjoyed this one a lot. Yes, I’m a Britney fan so I’m biased in that sense, but I appreciate the accessibility of the writing and the lack of pretension. I have a heightened respect for Britney after reading this. I hope she’s finally able to live her life and take care of herself.
The Free People's Village by Sim Kern
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Do yourself a favor and read “The Free People’s Village”. It’s no secret that I’ve become a big fan of Sim Kern this year, but this is seriously so good. I couldn’t put it down.
There’s a lot on offer here: historical rewriting, historical references, climate everything, solarpunk, current events, music, romantic pairings, and a beautifully designed and well published book. Hats off of to Levine Querido for the quality of this book. Considering all of the quality issues with a certain blockbuster book rushed to press, I can’t tell you how impressed I am with how well done this is.
One more thing on the design of the book. The dust jacket and cover were done by Ganzeer. The dust jacket is designed to be a protest poster, while the actual cover underneath is designed like an album cover. Yes, both things relate to the story!
The heart of this story is very much the same as Kern’s TikTok. There’s an educational aspect interwoven with resistance and organization, but none of that detracts from the story.
With a lot of books I read there is usually at least one scene where I’m annoyed or disappointed by a character’s choices. That didn’t happen here. Sure, I don’t like Fish. He’s kind of a douche, but I wouldn’t change him. I think Maddie’s reactions to some things might even mirror my own. But, at the end of the day I don’t feel any of the characters do anything not fitting for them.
There are some different narratives happening at the same time, but instead of them happening in silos, they weave into each other. It creates a more cohesive overall feel.
I appreciate how Kern ends the book. I don’t like cliche, packaged in a bow endings. This feels much more realistic. Life continues, characters grow and evolve.
Chef's Choice by TJ Alexander
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
“Chef’s Choice” is a cute T4T romance that carries messages about self-love and acceptance.
Admittedly, I didn’t like Luna for a good part of the story. She seems, at times, unnecessarily harsh considering she chose to agree with Jean-Pierre’s offer. But, she’s also the one who opens his eyes to parts of the trans experience and to the idea of loving himself and valuing himself. She teaches him that there’s a world outside of him and his experience. She grew on me, though, and I liked her later in the book.
It’s not surprising that I was drawn to Jean-Pierre, but that’s probably not a good thing. A lot of red flags to be found there. Fits with my modus operandi.
As a cis man, I appreciate that TJ Alexander showed parts of the trans experience that I wouldn’t otherwise have a window into. I feel like it would have been an easy choice to leave that out, but I’m grateful that they included it. I expect it makes the story more relatable for many.
Romance isn’t a preferred genre for me, but after reading this one, I can’t wait to read Alexander’s other books, which seem to have glowing reviews.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
inspiring
lighthearted
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
It’s been a while since I’ve read Frederik Backman, but this one is darned good and now I want to read the others I haven’t gotten to.
I really enjoy how this was written. It reads almost like it’s being told by someone narrating the events taking place in a film. I think it’s because of how he layers the story and speaks directly to the reader in a casual way.
The quirky nature of the story also reminds me of the Hendrik Groen novels, which I adore. The comedic, bumbling events of this story kept reminding me of Hendrik’s antics in those books.
I like all of the characters, except London. She’s annoying. There’s a bit of a trick Backman plays with gender when it comes to the bank robber and the bank robber’s estranged spouse. I was wrong in two ways.
I appreciate the morals behind the story. You can’t judge someone based on one action or one mistake. Everyone deserves a second chance. Everyone is going through something.
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
3.0
This book is a bit messed up. At a high level, the mother of a two-year old is struggling with the shift that has left her as a stay-at-home mother having given up her work, her creative pursuits and her personal life. Her husband is somewhat absent and disconnected. He prefers ignorance over being involved. She thinks she’s becoming a dog and things spiral from there.
I enjoyed the book until a certain graphic scene of violence toward an animal. As quirky as the story is, I was in it until that point. But, that scene was much more graphic than felt necessary. Side note, there’s violence toward animals throughout the book.
I also lost it toward the end. I would have preferred a non-ending to the way this goes. It’s too wrapped up for me, which doesn’t feel right given the story. I think that, having more time since I finished reading this, that I’m starting to understand some the choices better.
I appreciate the mother and father having no names other than mother and father. I don’t appreciate how much the father sucks and just goes along with everything instead of actually being an active part of the family, but I appreciate that it’s unfortunately reflective of reality.
Like I started off with, I was in it for a while until the one scene, and until the ending arc really lost me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty