Joe Kessler > Recent Status Updates

Fuck this book. I'm done.

This book is half over and I still have basically no idea why anything is happening.

"What's going on?" I say.

"Never you mind."

This book is more than a third over. You can't keep hiding basic things from the protagonist and the readers like this!

This baby was born a month early and was running around by 5mo? I have... some questions for this author.

I'm intrigued by the worldbuilding and the mysteries, but this plot is a pretty basic hero's journey so far. "You must flee your home for mysterious reasons, young Todd!" Come on. Also, stop hitting your dog, for real.

I think I like this one even better than the first.

Aaaaaaaand there's the expected antisemitism. We also had a completely gratuitous use of the n-word earlier (in this translation, at least).

Orrrrrr we could just never mention that one interesting development again? Cool.

Finally an interesting development. Hmm... This book might end up as high as 3 stars after all. But it's taken way too long to get even reasonably good.

Why are there periodic summaries of what we've just read?? I really don't understand what this book is going for.

Okay, we finally have some plot movement now. Also this main character is a bit of a creep.

This book has basically been... entirely exposition so far. Lots of explanation about how the technology works; basically no plot.

These characters are... a lot. But Gracie is already my favorite.

This is not my usual genre, but it's better / less hokey than I was expecting it to be.

"Are there even ten righteous among them?" I feel so incredibly seen by the Jewishness in this book.

This author just described an animal with "the emaciated build of a supermodel." Really? Can we not?

I know this is historical fiction, but the narrator relating her grandparents' antisemitism as though it's a quirky eccentricity is a disappointing authorial choice.

Honestly loving this book to pieces. Could well end up being my top read of the whole year.

I've been live-tweeting just how nonsensical this book is over on Twitter (@lesserjoke). So glad it's almost over...

The main character of this book is unfathomably stupid, and the narrative doesn't seem to understand that. I might be kind of hate-reading it at this point.

I'm trying to remember whether my usual cutoff for quitting a book is the first 20% or 25%... And looking forward to getting there for this one.

Yeah, switching away from the audiobook was a good call. No issues with distinguishing between the two viewpoint characters on the (e-)page.

Also this book is really good... Feels like it will end up at least a 4-star read for me, if not a 5.

Aaaaaaand there's the straight-up sexual assault this book has been threatening all along. Cool. (Very much not cool.)

Just reached Part III. This book is definitely getting better as it goes along. New character M-Bot is a delight.

A little bit further behind on this one than I'd like, but I should still be able to finish before book club on Tuesday.

"Two miles later, he wished he had stopped by the house to put on different shoes." Bruh... your superpower is to bring your sketches to life, and you have your fancy marker with you. You could literally draw yourself a new pair of shoes anytime you want. You should never be without any material comfort that you could easily draw and bring into being.

After the weakest start I've ever seen from Sanderson, this book is finally getting better.

‪"He walked down the ramp into the millyard and muttered to himself what was less a spell than a set of vows of what he planned to do, and how often, and to whom. But vows are like spells, too, Petey knew; they're prayers to ourselves, and they work even better, if heeded."‬

‪"Begging your pardon," said the landlord, "but meat pies is all we have just now."‬

‪"What sort of meat is in these pies?" asked Chimwazle.‬

‪"Brown," said the landlord. "And chunks of grey."‬