23 July 2018

Review: 11/22/63

11/22/63 11/22/63 by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It has taken me a long time to dive into Stephen King in-depth, and every time I read one of his books I wonder why it took me so long. Likely because many of my memories of my childhood were my mother slamming his books shut because she was so scared by them. 11/22/63 is not a scary book in and of itself, but instead one of the best, well-crafted time travel stories I’ve read.

The story follows a guy who is able to go back in time to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and largely follows his trajectory as he attempts to navigate an era 50 years before his time and get the job done.

At 900+ pages, this book has a lot of meat to it, and not a word or scene feels wasted. I was absolutely hooked in the entire time, and it has been ages since I was trying to sneak a few pages in at any point in time I could. It’s that good, and as a history nerd and a time travel buff, so much of this book just fed into my interests that I’m basically kicking myself that I waited to read this when it has been on my shelf for years.

A must-read across the board, in my mind – easily the best that mainstream literature can offer.

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Review: Hope Never Dies

Hope Never Dies Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can’t say I was much of a fan of the Obama Presidency on a whole, even knowing what the current situation has brought us. But I did think Obama was a good dude, and the whole “Uncle Joe Biden” persona that kind of got cultivated in popular culture certainly amused me. So when I saw that there was a murder mystery starring Joe Biden trying to solve the murder of his favorite train conductor, and post-presidency Barack featured heavily? Yeah, I’ll give it a look.

The good news is that it starts out as goofy as you’d imagine, and the charm that is laid on thick during the opening scenes of this book is crucial, as the book unfortunately devolves into a bit of a formulaic mystery noir without a ton of heart or character. The novelty quickly becomes secondary to a story that is only really interesting because of the novelty, and it leads to what is ultimately a bit of a disappointment.

My expectations were not especially high, and this was serviceable enough. It just should have been more.

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Review: The Chrysalis

The Chrysalis The Chrysalis by Brendan Deneen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was like a weird old horror movie in all the best ways. Family buys an old house, and the old house has… something in the basement that is causing a lot of issues. It slowly drives a man mad, and the book chronicles the decline of his family and himself as the thing in the basement gains power. There’s not much more to it than that – it is a b-movie of a book in every conceivable way, and while it’s not going to win any awards, it was an absolutely fun ride that I could really get behind.

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Review: The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money

The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money The Case Against Education: Why the Education System Is a Waste of Time and Money by Bryan Caplan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am trying to be more selective in reading books that confirm things I know these days. Not necessarily for “expand your bubble” reasons, since I could honestly use some more people who agree with me in my various feeds, but just because it is kind of dull to nod along at something you already agree with. Thankfully, Bryan Kaplan provides a book that I somewhat agreed with going in (spoiler alert: current plans are to be a homeschooling family), but provides a great and exhaustive treatise on the state of education.

Much of the argument is based in economics and signaling, which is expected, but seeing the information laid bare is kind of shocking, and provides a lot of jumping off points for various reform options. Less a book for parents and teachers and more for policymakers and political wonks, this should really be required reading for anyone interested in the topic, in schools, in municipal/state budgets, and so on, no matter your ideological position on schools or on politics.

It’s just shocking stuff.

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Review: American Hippo

American Hippo American Hippo by Sarah Gailey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sometimes a concept is overall better than the execution. Such as it is with this collection, which advertises itself as an alternate history where the proposal to relocate hippos in the United States actually occurs.

These two stories are less about a world with American hippos and more a few traditional western-style tales with hippos replacing other livestock. I came for a tale on how the economy or politics of the time may have changed and was presented something a lot less invigorating. They’re well-written enough, and I’m sure many will find this compelling on its own, but I felt like this was more a bait-and-switch than a truly sound tale.

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Review: Buying Time

Buying Time Buying Time by E.M. Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m a sucker for a good time travel story, and basically found this to be a fairly endearing time travel story with perhaps a little more heart to go along to it. The way the structure works was fascinating and memorable, and the meat of the story itself was pretty solid on a whole.

A fairly great read on a whole.

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Review: Buying Time

Buying Time Buying Time by E.M. Brown
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I’m a sucker for a good time travel story, and basically found this to be a fairly endearing time travel story with perhaps a little more heart to go along to it. The way the structure works was fascinating and memorable, and the meat of the story itself was pretty solid on a whole.

A fairly great read on a whole.

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