Wednesday Reading Meme... and another update
Well, I think I'm about at the point where I'm going to have to bite the bullet and see about getting my own internet connection in the top part of the house. I keep getting a 'no memory' message on Chrome, and the source when I google it comes up as 'unstable internet connection'. I can reset the modem/router/whatever downstairs and that'll work for a few days but then the error comes back and literally no web pages will load.
Amy, my bestie/landlord, had called our ISP a while back to just make some general enquiries about it on my behalf, and it sounds like it's doable. I'm not sure how much it'll cost for them to do it and I seriously really cannot afford the monthly bill either, but what else can I do? I'm stuck. Trying not to cry.
Anyway. The week's reading. Not much.
What I Just Finished Reading: Just two books, Unwind by Neal Shusterman and Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm nearing the end of The Postmortal by Drew Magary, about the effects on society of the discovery of a cure for aging. It's very good.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: I'm going to my sister's for the weekend (we're going to a peach festival out her way on Saturday) so I'll probably get back to Edin by Lily Mayne, a m/m book in the Monstrous series, because it's on my Kindle so I won't have to carry around a physical book. I also have The School for Good Mothers out from the library so I may go with that.
98. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
This book blew me away. The best of the best in YA dystopia, it centers on the aftermath of the second US Civil War, which pitted pro-choice and pro-life forces against each other and came to an end when both sides agreed to ban abortion (and institute a policy called “storking”, in which unwanted babies are left on doorsteps in affluent areas with those families obliged to care for the child) and the even more chilling practice of unwinding, in which teenagers can be turned over to the government where they will be harvested for body parts, the thought being that they still “live on in a divided state.”
(And live on they do. A trucker has a grafted arm that can do magic tricks that he has never learned. A boy is drawn to return to his “donor’s” hometown for reasons he can’t explain. It’s super disturbing and creepy.)
The story focuses on three teens who escape on their way to the harvest camp and their struggles to survive. The book is made more realistic, I think, in how ordinary the whole thing is to most of the adults who populate this world. Children are disposable or even worse, a commodity. Because people will pay good money for a nice pair of eyes or a strong heart. How easy it becomes to make harvesting simply good business practice. Yet even then there is hope. Some adults want to end the practice. Some actively help aid the kids. And the kids themselves are resilient. They just need a leader.
Dates Read: August 15 to 17, 2023
Page Count: 335
5 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 7 - read 7 books written by a man (05/07)
Lost Challenges Want To Read Bingo - G58 (15/25)
CCC Aah Walkers - Prompt 40 - travelers find a play to stay (45/52)
99. Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
I was super looking forward to this: an apocalyptic zombie tale told from the POV of a hand-raised crow, who sets out after the zombiefication of his owner with their pet dog, Dennis the bloodhound, to save the other domesticated animals still locked in their homes. I mean, what’s not to love?
Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a mess. S.T. the crow refers to humans as Mofos (which is what his owner called them) and it just grows tiresome. There are some truly humorous moments and some touching moments, but the book overall is just overwritten. It also reads to me as though the author wasn’t entirely sure what her apocalypse entailed - it’s not zombies, but then occasionally there’s zombie behaviour so it kind of is, but then there’s an awkward attempt to make a statement on the whole “humans are addicted to cell phones” thing, and then there’s weird mutants, and it’s just all a bit much. What could be a really fun, engaging and original story gets buried under a lot of unnecessary mess.
Dates Read: August 19 to 20, 2023
Page Count: 304
3 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 10 - read 10 books that take place in a city [Seattle] (04/10)
CCC Aah Walkers - Prompt 47 - book in which disease is rampant (46/52)
.
Amy, my bestie/landlord, had called our ISP a while back to just make some general enquiries about it on my behalf, and it sounds like it's doable. I'm not sure how much it'll cost for them to do it and I seriously really cannot afford the monthly bill either, but what else can I do? I'm stuck. Trying not to cry.
Anyway. The week's reading. Not much.
What I Just Finished Reading: Just two books, Unwind by Neal Shusterman and Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. Reviews below.
What I'm Reading Right Now: I'm nearing the end of The Postmortal by Drew Magary, about the effects on society of the discovery of a cure for aging. It's very good.
What I'm Planning to Read Next: I'm going to my sister's for the weekend (we're going to a peach festival out her way on Saturday) so I'll probably get back to Edin by Lily Mayne, a m/m book in the Monstrous series, because it's on my Kindle so I won't have to carry around a physical book. I also have The School for Good Mothers out from the library so I may go with that.
98. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
This book blew me away. The best of the best in YA dystopia, it centers on the aftermath of the second US Civil War, which pitted pro-choice and pro-life forces against each other and came to an end when both sides agreed to ban abortion (and institute a policy called “storking”, in which unwanted babies are left on doorsteps in affluent areas with those families obliged to care for the child) and the even more chilling practice of unwinding, in which teenagers can be turned over to the government where they will be harvested for body parts, the thought being that they still “live on in a divided state.”
(And live on they do. A trucker has a grafted arm that can do magic tricks that he has never learned. A boy is drawn to return to his “donor’s” hometown for reasons he can’t explain. It’s super disturbing and creepy.)
The story focuses on three teens who escape on their way to the harvest camp and their struggles to survive. The book is made more realistic, I think, in how ordinary the whole thing is to most of the adults who populate this world. Children are disposable or even worse, a commodity. Because people will pay good money for a nice pair of eyes or a strong heart. How easy it becomes to make harvesting simply good business practice. Yet even then there is hope. Some adults want to end the practice. Some actively help aid the kids. And the kids themselves are resilient. They just need a leader.
Dates Read: August 15 to 17, 2023
Page Count: 335
5 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 7 - read 7 books written by a man (05/07)
Lost Challenges Want To Read Bingo - G58 (15/25)
CCC Aah Walkers - Prompt 40 - travelers find a play to stay (45/52)
99. Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
I was super looking forward to this: an apocalyptic zombie tale told from the POV of a hand-raised crow, who sets out after the zombiefication of his owner with their pet dog, Dennis the bloodhound, to save the other domesticated animals still locked in their homes. I mean, what’s not to love?
Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a mess. S.T. the crow refers to humans as Mofos (which is what his owner called them) and it just grows tiresome. There are some truly humorous moments and some touching moments, but the book overall is just overwritten. It also reads to me as though the author wasn’t entirely sure what her apocalypse entailed - it’s not zombies, but then occasionally there’s zombie behaviour so it kind of is, but then there’s an awkward attempt to make a statement on the whole “humans are addicted to cell phones” thing, and then there’s weird mutants, and it’s just all a bit much. What could be a really fun, engaging and original story gets buried under a lot of unnecessary mess.
Dates Read: August 19 to 20, 2023
Page Count: 304
3 out of 5 stars
Lost Challenges Pyramid of Books - Task 10 - read 10 books that take place in a city [Seattle] (04/10)
CCC Aah Walkers - Prompt 47 - book in which disease is rampant (46/52)
.