Books Read in 2023: One and Two-Star Reads

Happy new year! I am not hung over, but I am tired. We were up until two new years eve-ing, then came home and got ready for bed, then Eve came home at three and we talked for a bit and then I read a little, so it was four before I turned off the light, and then I had twitchy legs like mad, so lord knows what time I actually fell asleep. 

139 books this year. More than last year, fewer than the year before. If I was Eve I'd be annoyed I didn't round it out at 140, but being me I kind of like the spiky screw-you-ness of 139. Speaking of Eve, she was convinced she wasn't going to make her goal this year of 20 books (demanding course load, musical rehearsals, etc.). Then she came home and reread the Hunger Games trilogy and then reread Fantastic Mr. Fox to make 20 and is calling it, with accustomed restraint, The Comeback of the Century. 

Only 32 books are three stars or fewer. I might be getting better at book selection, or I might be getting more generous with my star ratings. I'm fine with either. I don't tend to agonize over ratings as much as I used to. If I really liked reading a book, I really liked reading it. If I read reviews later that bring up good points about why the book might be open to criticism, that's fine, but the fact is I still enjoyed reading it. I also acknowledge that books that I don't like may very well be enjoyed by other people. I don't subscribe to "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" in book reviews, although I'm fine being argued with - god knows I can be downright combative if I don't watch myself. 

As usual, I've considered just not including the one or two star reads, and then included them anyway. I'm a creature of habit. Or compulsion. Or something. I've also considered not doing these posts anymore since I now know many blog friends who read as much or more, and lay out their year's reading in succinct little posts with statistical breakdowns and pie charts, or review more throughout the year so it's less of a monolithic wall of review. But I've worked hard to get to a place where I don't compare myself to others where I don't compare myself to others as much, and I have IRL friends who enjoy the posts. And some books I want the space to ramble about. And the structure of putting the posts together helps a little with my January depression, or at least postpones it for a while (I just typed Kanuary instead of January more times than I'm comfortable admitting).

One-Star Reads 

Stray Dogs: Stories by Rawi Hage: Synopsis from Goodreads: SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZEFrom the internationally acclaimed author of the novels De Niro’s Game , Cockroach , Carnival and Beirut Hellfire Society , here is a captivating and cosmopolitan collection of stories.

-”He was paid relatively well but led a frugal, melancholic existence, weathering constant regret that he had appeared in the world only after all the great thinkers and prophets had long gone. In his youth, his contempt for modern life had led him to his current state: dwelling in the permanence of the obscure.”

I read this because I was trying to read all the books on the Giller Prize Shortlist from last year. I wish I had started with another of Hage's books. My review means that I didn't like reading the book, not that it was necessarily a bad book. There may very well be some thread that connects these stories, but I couldn't see it. They seemed like a fairly random collection of scenes, some Kafkaesque, some icky in a very male-sexual-gaze way (I understand some people like that kind of thing), some clever, but then I'd move on to the next story and be back to square one. If it was all some brilliant metaphor, it was lost on me. At the end of it all I remained uncaptivated and kind of wanted a cosmopolitan.

The Last Laugh (The Initial Insult #2) by Mindy McGinnis: Synopsis from Goodreads: In the dark and stunning sequel to The Initial Insult, award-winning author Mindy McGinnis concludes this suspenseful YA duology as long-held family secrets finally come to light . . . changing Amontillado forevermore. Tress Montor murdered Felicity Turnado—but she might not have to live with the guilt for long. With an infected arm held together by duct tape, the panther who clawed her open on the loose, and the whole town on the hunt for the lost homecoming queen, the odds are stacked against Tress. As her mind slides deeper into delirium, Tress is haunted by the growing sound of Felicity’s heartbeat pulsing from the “best friend” charm around her fevered neck.

SO SAD about this. The Female of the Species is one of my favourite YA reads of all time - I can still remember whole scenes and passages from it. Eve included a review of it in her application for the Arts and Science program and we suspect it played a big part in her getting in. Nothing I've read by McGinnis since has been as good, in my opinion, but I still liked the first book in this series. Merciless teenage girls, deep family secrets, body horror. The conclusion just seemed like a bloody (burny, barfy) mess. I am by far the minority in this opinion, so who the hell knows, it might have been the wrong time in my life/perimenopause.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides: Synopsis from Goodreads: I read one other thriller by this author and it was completely passable and diverting. This was, um, not so much. The twist was surprising only because it was so ridiculous.

The Camp by Nancy Bush: Synopsis from Goodreads: Perfect for readers of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix, a chilling new read from the New York Times bestselling author where a diabolical modern twist on Friday the 13th meets Yellowjackets at a summer sleepaway camp isolated in the woods of Oregon. There are always stories told around the fire at summer camp—tall tales about gruesome murders and unhinged killers, concocted to scare new arrivals and lend an extra jolt of excitement to those hormone-charged nights. At Camp Luft-Shawk, nicknamed Camp Love Shack, there are stories about a creeping fog that brings death with it. But here, they’re not just campfire tales. Here, the stories are real.

Not my only summer camp thriller this summer, thank goodness. I have read Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix, and seen Yellowjackets and Friday the 13th, and this deserves NONE of those comparisons, hmph. Badly written, badly plotted, skimmed most of the second half. I'm getting a little better at checking whether I've read an author before (a little) so hopefully I won't try any more by this one. 

Two-Star Reads

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca: Synopsis from Goodreads: Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death. A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s—a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires.

What have you done today to deserve your eyes?

Given that description, one would be within their rights to say what the hell did you expect? I did not read this on the strength of that synopsis, it was actually recommended to me. I am not one to shy away from dark writing. Black humour, twisted murdery stuff, bring it all on. Not sure if this was worse than usual or if I'm getting more delicate in my old age. Other reviews cover a range between "shocking and depraved in a good way" and "stop writing trauma porn about lesbians", so....? I will be steering clear of this author in the future, but if you're looking for something super gross and maximally disturbing, fill your boots. 

Seasonal Fears (Alchemical Journeys #2) by Seanan McGuire: Synopsis from Goodreads: Melanie has a destiny, though it isn’t the one everyone assumes it to be. She’s delicate; she’s fragile; she’s dying. Now, truly, is the winter of her soul. Harry doesn’t want to believe in destiny, because that means accepting the loss of the one person who gives his life meaning, who brings summer to his world. So, when a new road is laid out in front of them—a road that will lead through untold dangers toward a possible lifetime together—walking down it seems to be the only option. But others are following behind, with violence in their hearts. It looks like Destiny has a plan for them, after all….

Never in a million years would have guessed that I would one-star a Seanan McGuire unless it was to signal that I was being held hostage, and yet here we are. I didn't love Middlegame (the first book in the series) either, although I was inordinately amused that I was reading it at the same time as Middlemarch and The City in the Middle of the Night. McGuire is an astoundingly prolific writer whose quality always impresses me given the quantity. She has so many series I love - Wayward Children? Adore: Ghost Roads? Smitten: October Daye: So fun: Newsflesh (as Mira Grant) - Devoured. Also a couple of standalone ghost stories that were bittersweet and haunting (ha), and Into the Drowning Deep, which if it doesn't get a sequel I may cast myself into the ocean.

Ahem, I have meandered. McGuire wrote that even one of her close friends and fans isn't a fan of the series, so maybe it's just not my thing. It just seemed like so much more telling than showing, and not a whole lot happened, it was just pages and pages of setting the stage and then the action was brief and abrupt. I only borrowed the second book because I saw it on the library ebook collection and it was available. I should skip the next one - it remains to be seen whether I will. 

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin: Synopsis from Goodreads: Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive. In the lucrative world of finance, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are at the top of their game. They’ve mastered the art of the deal and celebrate their success in style―but a life of extreme luxury always comes at a cost. Invited to participate in an escape room challenge as a team-building exercise, the ferociously competitive co-workers crowd into the elevator of a high-rise building, eager to prove themselves. But when the lights go off and the doors stay shut, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary competition: they’re caught in a dangerous game of survival.

-”’Lisa wants a church wedding – I think her parents are behind it. I told her, ‘No fucking way. I don’t believe in God.’

‘The only thing that you worship is your investment portfolio,’ the other said, laughing. ‘You’d think she’d know that by now.’

‘Exactly. I pointed to the fucking rock on her finger and told her that investment bankers don’t need religion. We don’t need to wait for the next life to enjoy paradise, not with the money we 

make.’

The Night Swim by this author was an amazing book - a thriller about a woman who does a podcast, but also a biting social commentary thread about how girls from a lower socioeconomic rung are treated in life and death. I've been chasing that high with Goldin ever since, fruitlessly, FRUITLESSLY I say! This was super dumb. The parts about working as an investment banker in a top firm are interested for about four pages and then very much not. The part where four people are stuck in an elevator for a day and a half, and no one has to pee, and some people actually experience sexual arousal and consider having sex IN AN ELEVATOR WITH TWO OTHER PEOPLE IN IT, and these supposedly highly intelligent people can't figure out the most basic of codes, and still worry about their bonuses while they're facing death? Like I said, super dumb. I am find reading a book with no likable characters. Just make them do interesting stuff. 

The Pledge by Cale Dietrich: Synopsis from Goodreads: Scream meets Clown in a Cornfield in this young adult horror novel by bestselling Cale Dietrich featuring a masked killer who targets frat boys. Freshman Sam believes that joining a fraternity is the best way to form a friend group as he begins his college journey – and his best chance of moving on from his past. He is the survivor of a horrific, and world-famous, murder spree, where a masked killer hunted down Sam and his friends.

Sam had to do the unthinkable to survive that night, and it completely derailed his life. He sees college, and his new identity as a frat boy, as his best shot at living a life not defined by the killings. He starts to flirt with one of the brothers, who Sam finds is surprisingly accepting of Sam’s past, and begins to think a fresh start truly is possible.
And then... one of his new frat brothers is found dead. A new masked murderer, one clearly inspired by the original, emerges, and starts stalking, and slaying, the frat boys of Munroe University. Now Sam will have to race against the clock to figure out who the new killer is - and why they are killing - before Sam loses his second chance – or the lives of any more of his friends.

I like horror, and I'm always up for a YA book with representation. Gay romance in a frat, where it's kind of no big deal? May stretch the bonds of credulity a bit, but yes, I'm absolutely on board. Masked killer enters stage left? Tell me more. But the writing was mediocre, the dialogue clunky and the characterization didn't really make anyone's death as poignant or affecting as it should have been. It's fair to say that representation matters even in shitty forgettable books - god knows the straights have enough of those, and no shade to this guy for getting published. I hoped for more. 

Clown in a Cornfield (Clown in a Cornfield #1) by Adam Cesare: Synopsis from Goodreads: Quinn Maybrook just wants to make it until graduation. She might not make it to morning.  Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. On one side are the adults, who are desperate to make Kettle Springs great again, and on the other are the kids, who want to have fun, make prank videos, and get out of Kettle Springs as quick as they can.

Kettle Springs is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.

Obviously I couldn't resist this title (some would say I need to put more effort into resisting titles. And tropes.) There was a good story in here somewhere, but it needed a few more passes. The main character (I can never remember characters' names even if I like them) and her father are pretty well drawn, but no one else is given enough nuance or time to develop to the point that we care about whether they die or are revealed to be a villain. I did enjoy one twist quite a bit, to be fair. Apparently this is the first in a series, but I don't think I'll be following any further unless I hear that there's been a significant improvement.