Metronomica.blog
books
2025
Borne
Author:Read: January 14 - 19, 2025
Pages: 336
Stars: 3.5
A wonderful world that I wanted to get lost in; a story that kind of lost me.
This Wretched Valley
Author:Read: January 19 - 23, 2025
Pages: 304
Stars: 2.0
Ex: “A waterfall of blood gushed around it, looping like a GIF.”
The Little Stranger
Author: Sarah WatersRead: January 25 - February 5, 2025
Stars: 3.75
Spooky and sad, with one terrifying set piece, but I wish it went just a hair further.
Stand Out of our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy
Author: James WilliamsRead: February 5 - 6, 2025
Stars: 2.0/5
After reading this, I feel like I understand enough about the author’s thesis and ideas to lay the groundwork for a re-read. It puts into words so much of how I feel about my relationship with my devices, and how adversarial that relationship is. I want to dig back in with a pen and paper and really peel back the layers.
A Wizard of Earthsea
Author: Ursula K. Le GuinRead: Feb. 8 - 16, 2025
Stars: 4.25/5
Unfussy, foundational fantasy. Felt like someone was walking me through a legend. Beautiful world, charming all around.
Dead Astronauts
Author: Jeff VanderMeerRead: February 17 - 27, 2025
Stars: 4.5/5
A complete fever dream where narratives and points of view stumble over each other, bizarre inhuman narrators half-explain their thoughts, and an enormous sea monster is taken over by an alien. Vandermeer has a great time playing with form and tone. Bits of lore are sprinkled throughout, just enough to make you feel like you might know what’s really going on. So challenging, sometimes off-putting, but ultimately gorgeous.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Author: Shirley JacksonRead: March 2 - 4, 2025
Stars: 4/5
Entrancing narration unlike anything I’ve read, surrounding a simple story that’s eerie without succumbing to outright horror.
Our Wives Under the Sea
Author: Julia ArmfieldRead: March 5, 2025 - March 9, 2025
Stars: 3.5/5
Even though the slow first half led to a gripping second half, the split POV hurts the story, placing it in a liminal space between reflection on grief and cosmic horror story. If you’re more excited about the latter, the book will only half hit.
The Troop
Author: Nick CutterRead: March 15, 2025 - March 18, 2025
Pages: 358
Stars: 3.25/5
Propulsive, eventually, and absolutely disgusting. But I really disliked the structure. Everything goes to shit so fast that the characters need to be shaded in while the action is on. I’d rather a slower burn.
// tags: books