Book #185 of 2019: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials #3) Author Philip Pullman takes some odd plotting shortcuts in this trilogy’s conclusion — like offering practically no motivation for a pivotal trip to the world of the dead — and it’s easy to see how his populating a traditional Christian theology …
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Book #184 of 2019: The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz (Hawthorne #2) I’m still not sold on the metafictional conceit of this mystery series, which places its author as a Watson-type narrator to the investigations of a supposed Holmes-like acquaintance. This second novel continues that detective’s odious streak as well: it’s true that Anthony …
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Book #183 of 2019: What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte A short but interesting pushback against J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy and the outsized footprint it has gained in popular culture as an explanation for how Donald Trump won the presidency. Historian Elizabeth Catte, a fellow native of Appalachia, details how the …
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Book #182 of 2019: She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey Overall, this is a riveting firsthand account of Pulitzer-winning investigative journalism in the style of All the President’s Men, told by the New York Times reporters who broke the news of Harvey Weinstein’s …
Over on Patreon, I’ve posted a recap of everything I read and watched in September, including links to individual reviews and an update on my progress in migrating the older reviews over to this new blog site. Thanks to everyone who has already subscribed!
Book #181 of 2019: Turbulence by David Szalay I think I like the idea of this book more than the execution. It’s a quick read told over a dozen chapters, each focusing on a minor figure from the one before, who either has recently taken a flight or will be taking one soon. These character …
Movie #9 of 2019: Avengers: Endgame (2019) These tentpole Marvel movies are tricky to review individually, because each one is so intertwined with both the past and the future of the franchise. Case in point: everyone knew that this latest Avengers flick would find some way of walking back the unfathomable calamity of the previous …
Book #180 of 2019: City of Dragons by Robin Hobb (The Rain Wild Chronicles #3) Fantasy author Robin Hobb can effortlessly spin out a tale, but this quartet remains one of the weakest elements within her larger Realm of the Elderlings saga. Although this third volume is at least more action-packed than those before (and …
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Book #179 of 2019: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein An interesting pop psychology book, putting forward the argument that training in multiple skill domains yields more breakthrough successes than narrowly focusing on proficiency in a single field. From musicians who play several instruments to students who declare a late …
Book #178 of 2019: Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield (Alice Payne #1) Although this novella about rival factions of time-travelers isn’t as mind-bending or as inventive with the concept as the similarly-focused This Is How You Lose the Time War, it’s still a lot of fun and offers some great character moments throughout. Alice …
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