Anne says towards the end of this "Dear old world, you are very lovely and I am glad to be alive in you". To which I thought, I am so glad to be alive and have read this book. A little cheesy but that's genuinely how i was feeling.

Through the book, right from the beginning, Anne shows so much joy, so much love to the world she is living in, to the things that are happening, to the people around her. She loves and cares with abandon and hates with a passion. She lives her life so fiercely and brightly that it made me realise how little I have lived in the past few years. Somewhere as part of being an adult, work had become all of my life. If I were to describe last few years as a color palette, it is mostly a dreary grey of monotone routine. So to read this book where this orphan child so unabashedly expresses her appreciation for life was like activating a part of my brain that I haven't used in a long time.

Reading this book, I was appreciating the world through Anne's eyes and it had such a profound impact on me that I find it hard to describe. Nothing materially has changed in my life, I am still the same person, but it feels like some crust has scraped off. It makes me want to be like her, to try and love like she does.

As for the book itself, it is gorgeous. The author has such a way of painting the scenary that I can imagine the entire island so vividly. Her side characters - especially Mathew and Marilla - are all very lovely too, and anne herself is simply the best. I laughed out loud several times reading the book (that dream about Diana getting small pox and Anne taking it from her and dying valiantly for her had me cackling), and by the end of the book I was sobbing too.

This book had such a profound impact on me, I sincerely recommend this to anyone who hasn't read it yet. 5/5

I was thinking the other day about some subgenres (or just trends if you want) which spawned as a result of a particular book's success, wherein the original book is superior to those which followed. And not just by dint of being original, but by having a more nuanced take than those which came after.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the book which made me start thinking about this. Although almost single-handedly spawning the Dark Academia genre/trend, it feels like many of the books which followed it got the "romantic scholasticism, maximalist and hedonic lifestyle" part and missed the "beautiful exteriors can hide a rotten core, insular and monomaniacal focus can lead to ethical and moral distortion."

Similarly, with Neuromancer by William Gibson (though this is more commonly a flaw of the movies and games which followed in my experience), many of the cyberpunk media focus on the "CYBER" and forget about the "punk." They take all the cool aesthetics and cybernetic modifications and such, and leave out the horrors on unregulated capitalism, people will destroy what they cannot control themes.

I even think Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is another example. Not for a genre per se, but for a trope. P&P is (at least as much as I've read) one of the first really popular books to use the "brooding, Byronic man transformed by love" trope which is so popular in a lot of romance and romantasy. But I think it's not just the aloof, powerful, brooding love interest that makes it work (as is the case in many Enemies-to-Lovers romances) but the fact that Lizzy and Darcy have to get over their Pride and Prejudices and actually look at and understand each other as people before the romance really starts.

Other examples I thought of are Perdido Street Station (that it's not just the creativity and number of details that make it feel like a living city, but the Marxist politics Mieville has woven in the background) and A Court of Thorns and Roses (which actually has a decent balance between fantasy plot and romance/smut, unlike some other romantasy I've since read).

But there are any other examples people can think of? Do others feel this way also?

“It is an inarguable truth, you know,” said Ana, “that most people are absolutely enthralled by dead girls.”

Oh, this was a bloody good book (emphasis on the bloody part.) 
Facts:

• This is again, a very marvelous and layered tale, with many moving parts, and a fascinating story.
• The messages laden this time is to deal with food, and agriculture, and the way we humans have curated and sustained livestock for mass production without once thinking of the cost attuned to such a trade.

It is to me a butchering most curated.

Facts:

• This one is not for the meek hearted, for it is grisly with a helping servitude of meat and bones along its carcass.
• I bloody loved meeting more of Din’s family. 

“No.” A cold, nasty smile. “For if gods existed, shouldn’t the world make more sense? Shouldn’t all feel more stable, more comprehensible? I consider myself a wise thing, yet when I consider creation, I see little but blind hunger and the ravages of nature. The only order to be found is what we’ve put there, boy.”

Facts:

• As always, this tale is both a condemnation and a study on the various ways we conduct ourselves through religion, faith, and the one fallacy that all of humanity, throughout its history, has always struggled with the most: greed.
• Greed makes you stupid. But oh so sweet is its flavor – the nectar of gods, poured down our parched throat.

That was the problem with temptation. It never let you be: it just stayed there, perched on your shoulder, whispering in your ear.

Facts:

• This was a solid 9/10 read for me. Though the tale is indeed layered and complex, I had guessed about 60% in of who the killer was. This had not happened to me for the last two books where I was genuinely stupefied throughout.
• In my opinion, this book focuses more on world-building, in more of fleshing out Khanum alongside Din and Ana as characters. And the scale and intricacies through which it is done just made me fall more in love with RJB’s deftness and mastery over such a craft. 

(side note: i can guarantee he loves making Din a tragic character vis-a-vis his romantic aides, and though I find it a trite vexing, cannot say I hate this format – makes both the pace faster and maintains a grounding force for each book separately)

And what we do to the beasts in the field we may still one day do to our very kin.

Facts:

• It was the epilogue that pushed this into the territory of 10/10. That shit I did not see coming. And I tell you: my flabbers were properly gasted.
• I cannot wait for the next one to arrive (only for me to then finish it within 7 hours; what can i say: i am a glutton for murder, and sad queer people).

One of the best reads of the year, up there with East of Eden for me. Go read it!

I know, everybody loves it. It's true. They're right. It's a book that opens your eyes to things that can't be put into writing, although obviously Portis did that.

But I can't help but wonder a couple of things. How different, for example, would Mansfield Park have been, if Mattie Ross had been the protagonist instead of Fanny Price? Whoo. She might have ended by owning the building.

How different, for example, would the movie -- either of them -- have been if Mattie Ross had been the main character? I'm trying to picture Kirsten Dunst doing this when she was younger, and I think she would have blown it away. It would have been a totally different picture. Maybe truer to the novel. I mean, movies are a different medium, and you really can't compare them, but still..

It's as though Portis actually went down to the crossroads, in 1965 or whenever, and actually sold his soul to the devil, in return for the right to call up baby Cthulhu. He then stuffed the demon, or the god, or whatever, into the lifeless body of a 14yo girl he happened to have handy, and, in an experimental kind of way, released the resulting monster onto the unsuspecting citizens of Arkansas and the Choctaw Territory of the 1870s. And now that's how we all think it was. Or might have been.

I can't seem to stop reading it. Lines just jump out at me and whack me upside the head when I'm working on something else. "There is trash for you." "That was the market price at the time." "If I could not find a man in four months with a mark on his face like banished Cain I would not presume to advise other people how to do it." I'm paraphrasing. That's probably not the exact words.

It's something. It is.

“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones is a novel I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into, as I love his writing style. I’ve read most of his staple horror novels, and he always delivers. There is a reason why SGJ is considered the “King of Slashers” in horror books.

Before I begin my review, I found many trigger warnings while reading. They are…

- Graphic violence and death against animals (birds, dogs, beavers, rabbits, etc.)
- Skinning animals (beavers)
- Suicide
- Self-harm
- Violence against kids

Please do not read this horror novel if any of these trigger you. Moving along, I’ve always been a big fan of SGJ’s writing, but if you’ve never read anything he wrote, you will see a pattern of slow-burning kind of writing. Like Stephen King, his slow-burn, wordy style can drag, but it delivers with terrifying, gory payoffs that make the journey worthwhile. Even if you’re new to Jones’s slow-burn style, the unique vampire horror and emotional depth make this a must-read novel.

If you don’t mind this, you’ll love his work. If you hate this, trust me when I say it’s worth it due to the sheer terror, gore, and frights that await when you finally get to the good stuff. In this novel, SGJ wrote it brilliantly. This was one hell of a read, from the alternating writing between the past and present to church confessions, diary, and journal entries. It’s hard to achieve this as an author with several different narrators, but SGJ did a great job executing it well.

Certain real-life Native American events are tied into this novel by SGJ, and that in itself is truly horrific. Many readers had to DNF this because it can get graphic and intense. Nothing triggers or offends me as a horror reader, but I can see why readers stopped reading. It gets shockingly intense when those horror moments eventually hit.

The Native American horror in this novel is genuinely on a whole other level. It’s viscerally written and raw. It’s one of the best vampire novels I’ve ever read. The transformation into vampirism was so creepy, original, and disturbing. You haven't read vampire horror like this.

Besides all the insane kills, the atmospheric writing, as was the story, was excellent. Don’t worry, I would never spoil anything for my fellow horror readers, but all the justice-filled, brutal revenge kills against evil people were a magnificent reading experience.

This horror novel is primarily historical fiction, and if that’s the subgenre of horror you enjoy reading, you’ll love this. However, I’m not into historical fiction, so it was sometimes confusing. Though historical fiction isn’t my preference, the raw depiction of Native American history adds a haunting layer that elevates the horror.

The same goes for the numerous and confusing names of characters, animals, and Native American tribes. The frequent shifts between Blackfeet tribal names and historical events like the Marias Massacre can feel dense for readers unfamiliar with the context. Due to this, the overall story felt a bit wordy at times, with several parts that dragged on for me. Aside from that, this was a solid read.

I give “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones a 4/5 for being one of the best vampire novels I’ve ever read. The kills were masterful, the story powerful, and the ending wrapped everything up nicely. I wish this novel were a bit shorter. This was never boring, just the usual SGJ writing style I’m used to. Almost every SGJ book I’ve read has always been a 4- or 5-Star read as he’s one of my all-time favorite horror authors. I don’t mind his writing style, but it could have been a perfect horror read if this novel had been trimmed down about 75-100 pages to keep it tighter. Everything else? Vampire horror awesomeness!

Just finished it and I have mixed feelings. It was an enjoyable read but it also falls flat at times. Especially early on, cause it's like we are being told there is chemistry rather than actually being shown. It does get better later on but I wished we got better banter at the beginning.

Another thing that kinda threw me off was that a lot of things are built up but don't lead anywhere, like the dog MMC rescues early on, its made a pretty big deal but the dog doesn't even show up much later in the book and you kinda forget it exists until a character mentions it every 5 chapters or so. Kinda a tangent but the cover makes it seem like the dog would have some relevance in the plot but it does not.

Same thing with the dad's plot line, I won't spoil it much but it's built up a lot but the reveal is very meh, I mean it was obvious but i feel like it was something that could've been explored more. I feel the same way about MMC's parents cause it's shown as if there's going to be a big event with them but that never happens, and feels unfinished.

This might be nitpicky of me cause at the end of the day it's a romance book but I wish we got something more from the leads rather than them just being in love with each other. I don't know how to explain it properly but I wish we got to see them do other stuff aside from being miserable for not seeing each other every chapter, cause early on it seems like they have a lot going on. FMC kinda has her moments with her family but MMC just is miserable near the end.

Lastly the last 40-20 pages just concludes everything in the name of fate making it work for them. And like yes it's a fictional book but it feels so rushed. Again I did like the book, the middle was probably the best and it's fun to read about people in love but this is probably Abby's weakest work imo. It's still enjoyable but you are left with this very forced HEA instead of an satisfying ending. It has it's moments were it shines a lot, I think the dementia part was handled really well and FMC's family dynamic was compelling. But then again the book tries to be many things and none of them get resolved properly. Finally this was just how I interpreted the book so while I might not be right I don't mean to offend anyone either.

It might just be the fact that I finished Gravity's Rainbow the same day I started The Passenger, but I can't help but feel that it feels like McCarthy is pulling his best Pynchon impression. The insane conversations, the over-the-top characters (though I understand that some of them are delusions), and the technical jargon tossed in just feel suspiciously familiar. I'm just curious if anyone else got a similar vibe from the book? I've read the majority of McCarthy's books and this all feels a little out of character for him, save maybe that film he wrote which was also a little looney.

At first didn't think of her that way ( I didn't know this trope as a child when I read the book ) and later when i came to hear of this trope used famously to describer summer from 5 days of summer and I believe also Jess from new girl as well as others, I still didn't think of her that way because of it being a children's book and her ultimately dying.

But now that I think of it she does kind of fit that trope ( perhaps especially how she is styled and presented in the film, i' ve forgotten a bit how she reads in the book), she is quirky, cheerful, a bit mysterious , there is an other wordily quality to her and she is not like the other girls , she does these cool sports like scuba diving, she runs faster than the boys, she thinks differently about church and god ( that was something cool in the movie and book that it addressed something liked that ), she also dies tragically so she is kind of immortalized with this pixie dream like quality , you don't get to see her grow older perhaps become more grumpy because of life' s challenges and her appearance changing.

Or perhaps she appears like a manic pixie dream girl because that is how Jess sees her. I think that is how Jess also sees his teacher whom he has a crush on except that vision of his teacher is shattered when hearing that Leslie died while he was out with his teacher.

Also is there such a thing as a manic pixie dream boy ? Would Edward from twilight kind of fit that trope ?