drplantwrench's reviews
129 reviews

you know the saying people say when they find someone just absolutely hilarious - "they could read the phone book and itd still be funny", i think that applies to Vonnegut too. He could write the phone book and he'd make it a hilarious and also somehow life-changing experience. the ending of this is truly beautiful and haunting yet most of the book is hilarious and biting. i'm officially 100% in on Vonnegut as one of my favorites ever

a lot of literature is like "what if i made up a guy and he was miserable", and this great literary tradition was perfected by Fyodor Dostoevsky. this was such an interesting mix of funny, dark, philosophical, and prescient, it was a bit of a trek to finish but well worth it. i'd put it as the 2nd best of Dostoevsky's 4 great works:

1. Crime & Punishment
2. Demons
3. The Idiot
4. The Brothers Karamazov

an insanely readable thats almost a collection of short stories (which I love) that dances together to form a deeply connected mosaic of how slavery, colonialism and racism shaped generation after generation. also really made me wanna try fufu. A+

On my bookshelf, this book will go right next Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Though that is primarily because I haven't ready any books whose authors last name would be between Acaster and Adams. That said, I really enjoyed this book and I love James Acaster, so definitely deserves that 5 star rating.

A memoir that walks the line so expertly between depression and humor. Despite the subject matter being just terribly depressing, never feels oppressive. It has a certain childlike lightness which both makes it a page-turner, but also adds to the tragedy of it all. Overall, I would give a 4.5 out of 5, but given that Goodreads somehow doesn't have that feature, rounded it up to 5.

After reading a dozen Isaac Asimov books (or about 0.1% of his books), someone said I absolutely must read this book. I was like sure, science fiction plus comedy seems good. This then became one of those books that, in my early life, defined who I was. Of course it has been a while since I read them, and I often do question whether a teenage version of myself really had good taste, but I unequivocally support my younger self's support of this book.

A while back, I had finished some non-fiction books that I had on loan from the library. Having grown tired of these kinds of books, I decide to do some research and collect some ultimate list of books-you-should-read-before-you-die kind of thing. When I had found something that could guide me towards the best of the best, I decided to focus on some fiction. With some excitement of new and good, yet also some trepidation of unconquerable and boring, I started making my own list.

Midnight's Children and Salman Rushdie were things I had heard all my life as a book and author you should not miss. I decided to add this to my immediate books to buy, and read it after a short while. This book alone was a inflection point, making me extremely glad that I had started a more purposeful plan on reading. Salman Rushdie perfectly captures magical realism in way that is enlightening on several levels. I am quite glad I read this book, and more broadly, quite glad that an author like Salman Rushdie exists. In light of recent news, I am finally deciding to write the review and encourage others to read this book that I have been putting off for too long.

Call me a sucker, but I love books about ennui, and people searching for meaning. This book so perfectly captures that in a beautiful and charming way I already knew I would like it. I often think about the oddball ending and how serene yet inconceivable it is. There parts of the book where it seems like you are floating along, just as the cover of the book implies, and it doesn't feel pointless, even though pointlessness is arguably the main theme of the book. I'm not sure I understand why I love the prose and characters so much, since on paper, this book could be very annoying if it was written by a less capable author. Instead, it has become one of my favorites.