mmccombs's reviews
717 reviews

Stunning prose and gripping characters. I read this via audiobook and really enjoyed the performance, it gave heft and voice to what often felt like poetry, though I imagine a physical read would have been excellent as well. Honestly this could have kept going, the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I wanted to be (though it was still wonderful). Witnessing how the sister developed (both individually and together) was well done and felt so realistic. Glad I finally picked this one up, a short gem!

Absolutely both gross and engrossing, it was a page turner I couldn’t put down. There is not much depth here and it felt like brat summer meets American psycho meets Victorian England.  It kind of read like a book that was solely written to be a movie? Which means it would probably make for a good film but makes for a weird reading experience. 

It was pretty brutal, especially with the amount of babies and children being murdered, so this is a horror that does its work in shock and gore which is likely not everyone’s thing. The atmosphere was dark and unsettling, I enjoy books with conversations (and dinners) that just feels off and dreamy (in a nightmare way) and this hit that mark just right. I felt satisfied by the ending and thought it was well written, but wished I liked it a bit more.

Interesting story, flat execution. Of course a case study of a really unusual catfishing situation lends itself to being compelling, so the author didn’t need to do much other than roll it out, but it could have been a richer story had it been more deftly explored. It was overly detailed in places that didn’t need it and on the whole it didn’t seem thoughtful. The end in which she analyzes this through a sociological lens was probably the most interesting part and should have been integrated throughout the entire story, not just at the end. I also thought it was weird that she kept specifying that it was terrible that this happened to “kind” “hardworking” and “smart” women, simply no person ever deserves to be emotionally manipulated and duped so to keep calling that out felt off. It lacked journalistic rigor to me, it was very much just a read out of emails and texts put into book form, which just isn’t enough for a story like this (could have been an article or a podcast, I guess!)

I an absolutely wowed by this! This took dreaming and imagination to its most stunning potential, I was immediately hooked by the world and its characters. When something includes “dreamer” in the title you hope it delivers something dreamy, and this truly did. The prose flowed and drifted and took its time, which made for a slower pace but ultimately a more satisfying conclusion. I loved the mirroring between Sarai and Lazlo,

Sarai’s gift of moths and entering dreams, and Lazlo’s initial gift of exploring fantastical worlds in books were so similar and made for thought provoking points about what it is to truly live and experience the world.

. Their romance was so sweet, and even though it was a bit insta-love I immediately bought in because it felt so natural and easy. If only every man was like Lazlo Strange tbh! This will be a fun book to discuss and I can’t wait to get to the next one!

The story itself was very compelling but the execution of it missed the mark for me. I really enjoyed learning more about and spending time in this moment in Palestinian history, the sense of place helped the narrative take shape. However, the dialogue and writing style felt a bit stiff and stilted, like each moment was an opportunity to present a fact rather than a real plot point each character experienced. I never quite felt any emotional weight despite the story lending itself to that impact. I also wish we either only followed Subhi or Shams. Introducing Shams’ POV closer to the end was a bit confusing, I didn’t feel I had time to connect with her (even though her story was a bit more interesting) and also missed the emotional impact of following Subhi’s story after the Nakba since we spent most of our time with him, the epilogue felt too quick. I would still recommend, particularly as a companion piece to nonfiction books about the history of Palestine (especially in 1947-1948), I did really enjoy these characters and the setting.

I felt bored and found I was not really paying attention, putting this down.

I am UPSET (time to listen to my “rage mix”)! This helpfully outlined why Spotify was born (and it was NOT for love of music), how the app has evolved, and why the state of the music industry is so dire.

 I knew that Spotify kind of sucked, but it was so abstract it was hard to take it seriously, but this book has fully solidified the multifaceted ways in which Spotify sucks. Pelly clearly shows connections between the original advertising goals of music streaming, our obsession with “vibes” and consuming music in the background (which has flattened out music styles, leading to the proliferation of AI generated music), and how we are generating endless data to help venture capitalists and private equity groups sell us back to ourselves. 

My only complaint is that the narration was absolutely atrocious to my ears, each statement sounded like a question due to the narrator’s style of speaking and almost made me dnf immediately (though the compelling content was enough to help me pretend it wasn’t bothering me).

So I’d recommend reading this physically (or trying out the audio just in case the narrator doesn’t bug you), this book has made me totally reevaluate my relationship to music and might be the reason to finally get off of the app.

Reread via audio, it remained as sweet and magical as the first read! It did feel a bit cheesier and obvious this time around, which is either due to the rereading or the audio experience, but I still had a swoony, magical time and absolutely love these characters.

A beautiful and strange book about grief. It is a zombie/post-apocalyptic story, but more so a story about loss and change and desire. It was a pretty quick read and the prose packed a punch, though sometimes it felt like a little much. I loved how dark and unsettling it was, while also balancing hope and humanity in glimpses. 

A calm, lonely, haunting little book. While it was frustrating at first to realize we wouldn’t be getting any answers about why/how this world was built, I ultimately love that its ambiguity provokes further reflection. The sparseness of the prose and the plot laid bare the heart of this novel, exploring what being a person is outside of the culture, technology, and norms we take for granted today. I loved the main character and how she explored the world, acting as a bridge between past and future. It was dark but hopeful and just very alive, I’m so glad I finally got around to this!