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Nicole | Bookstagrammer

@a.single.book

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▪︎ Expert Bookseller 📚
▪︎ Sort of owner of 2 weird cats and 1 lunatic dog
▪︎ Sharing books with you, one at a time. 📖
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Somehow someone thought this book was good enough to be the B&N Monthly Pick a few months ago….in hardcover. A wild choice, honestly. Cold selling paperbacks is tricky enough, but a hardcover with no discount? Oof.

It started out interesting, with a story that sounded like it would be intricate and messy and then just kind of…went nowhere. The guy didn’t learn anything. No growth. Um…ok I guess? And after that it was just a series of people who all seemed to be miserable in some fashion or another, with a lot of aging/dying parents (which was hard for me to read with my parents being older and having been through cancer and such), a lot of resentment and generational trauma, with various connections for each person. Except I never found any of them to be interesting enough or memorable enough to be suddenly intrigued when one character connected with another in a different story. And if I remember right, one character wasn’t even impacted in any way by the false missile strike alarm. We got his entire life’s story in a nutshell and then that was pretty much that.

To be 100% fair, I am not the right audience for this book. I’m not a fan of general fiction. People and their everyday problems - especially when they’re sad or have trauma or interpersonal problems, and geez does anyone not hate their parents/kids in this book? I feel like there was maybe one example? - just isn’t what I want to read about. Because that’s around me. All the time. With people I know, people you see on socials whether you want to or not, famous people’s lives splashed all over the place, and so on. I want to get AWAY from that kind of thing, not swim in it more. So maybe people who like this sort of fiction will enjoy this book far more than I did. by @a.single.book

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6 days ago

I’ve been wanting to read this book for ages. It sounded so good, and it was always a steady seller, though I don’t know if I ever actually bumped into anyone that said I should read it.

It turned out to be…okay. It did a lot of things that didn’t actually make sense to me. Like why this particular spirit (I suppose I’ll call it) was so angry at these men vs. literally anyone else throughout the duration of time. Why basketball became such a key component at the end (and can someone explain to me how a wild elk spirit knew how to play basketball, much less play it well?). I’m all for suspending my disbelief, but I need those strange things to make some kind of sense in the world they’re in. To me a lot of this simply did not. Like the spirit being spooked by an old train boxcar from an experience it had long ago…except the box car is clearly derelict. It can do so many things, experience so many other strange things it never would have otherwise as an elk spirit, and yet this one random box car scares it? I have questions.

I also had a difficult time connecting with the characters even in simple ways. The narration felt very detached from them, for lack of a better word. I’m not sure what it was or why it read that way to me, but it made it difficult to really care about them, aside from the fact that I didn’t think any of what was happening to them was fair (see my confusion about why the spirit was angry above). Ultimately a 3 out of 5 star read.

#bookstagram #horrorgram #horrorbookstagram #bookaddict #readingtime by @a.single.book

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3 months ago

I won’t lie - I DNF’d this book. Because nothing. Happens. I bought it on a whim because it sounded promising and yes, the cover is very pretty (along with the sprayed edges). But it started out not great, got slightly more interesting, and then began to absolutely d r a g. The problem is that this actually began as a graphic novel (manhwa to be more precise) and that’s how it should have stayed. Imagine every single panel of a graphic novel being described to you. It goes on for waaaaaay too long. This book needed editing. Badly. I wouldn’t even say it’s written badly, it’s just written by someone who clearly doesn’t do book versions of stories. It should have gone through an editor or at most a beta reader somewhere who would have told them to tighten up literally everything and adjust other areas. There are pages and pages of the main character agonizing over not knowing the amounts of specific coins, how to decorate a castle, and more.

And the male love interest sucks. He has zero personality and when he’s on the page all he wants to do is drag our female main character into bed. They never talk. At all. Or if they do it’s never of anything meaningful. There are a lot of issues the main character needs to work through, but I’m definitely not going to be there when she does it. Not at the current pace. I eventually skipped toward the end to see if anything interesting happens or if it gets cliff-hangery. Nope. Nothing. I put it on my shelf for aesthetic purposes, but maybe someday I’ll sell it or just donate it. I’m certainly not going to finish it. by @a.single.book

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3 months ago

I’ve been trying to get back into reading this year. I used to be a voracious reader and fell off a while ago. I struggled through a few books - and then saw this one at work (don’t I always?). I was immediately intrigued. I bought it on a Saturday night and finished it Monday morning. I probably would have finished it that Sunday if I’d had the chance. Seriously, I *devoured* this book (heheh). The combination of the concept, the writing, wondering where the story would lead, and how it touched on several of society’s current issues, expectations, and emerging (or perhaps, reemerging?) roles that women are supposed to play.

It’s kind of funny (ironic?) that this is the book that made me put up my first post in over a year. But I’m not scraping for likes and comments with perfect aesthetics - the second Instagram decided it had to be TikTok I dipped out. I’m not a dancing monkey for anyone or the algorithm. I just want to share books with people, and this one was so good I couldn’t resist hopping back on and hopefully anyone who sees this and likes horror will pick it up and give it a try. by @a.single.book

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3 months ago

After reading Jeff Vandermeer's latest release, I had to go back and skim this book st least to see if I could connect some dots. Well...there weren't any, really. In fact, a lot of things didn't even really match up. I don't know if that was on purpose or if he just didn't remember what he wrote the first time and chose to not read up on it. Oh well.

#books #bookstagram #southernreachtrilogy #authority #bookworm #readinglist #readmorebooks #readitagain by @a.single.book

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a year ago

I've wanted to read this book ever since it came out in hardcover. I like octopuses (I'd love to get a tattoo of one), and it sounded like a good story.

Well, it was. I finished it last night. It's easy to see where things will lead, but what happened to one character long ago is the mystery I couldn't guess the answer to until it was spelled out (more or less).

Give it a try if you need a nice summer read. Only a little sad here and there, but ultimately a warm, feel-good tale that's great to take to the beach. by @a.single.book

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a year ago

I do miss my old phone - the camera was better. Then again it is kinda hard to light library books because ✨️shiny.✨️

I read Annihilation years ago and was excited when this book appeared on the shelves. I was a bit disappointed since it pretty much didn't answer anything and instead only raised more questions. But it was interesting at least. Trippy stuff, as usual.

I'd still love to have another story set in the Borne universe. Although one that makes more sense than Dead Astronauts. Pretty please, Jeff Vandermeer?

#bookstagram #absolution #jeffvandermeer #librarybooks #bookreader #librarylove by @a.single.book

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a year ago

Apparently it's unicorn season. 🦄

This ARC came through a while ago and has since been donated. But I thought it was kind of funny I still had this pic, what with Death of a Unicorn now in theaters. Given the cover here, maybe still don't mess with unicorns, you know? They're clearly ready to mess stuff up. 😆 by @a.single.book

10

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2 years ago

Beauty and the Beast vibes, anyone? 🌹

The library had this one propped up in one of their little featured areas, so out of curiosity I picked it up and read the back.

I like a good monster story with some romance thrown in. And I enjoyed this one. I like that the monster was kind of like something out of Resident Evil Village (Varcolac, anyone?). And it is NOT nice.

I noticed how later on it also got a little Phantom of the Opera-y which I will never object to. So you get a little of everything here.

If fantasy is your style, coupled with romance and a splash of horror, well then ready, set, go! by @a.single.book

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5

2 years ago

Clearly a book I should have posted back in October. Unless you're of the December spooky persuasion?

I've been enjoying Sarah Hawley's books. I like the little world she's made, the town with all its magic and filled with all number of fantastical creatures. Never a dull moment in a place like that, for sure.

Sometimes I got taken out of it for various reasons, but the book as a whole is a fun romp that for folks who read the first two will definitely enjoy.

#bookstagram #books #booklover #book #bookworm #bookstagrammer #reading #bookish #bookfluencer #bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bookaholic #readersofinstagram #read #bookphotography #booksbooksbooks #bookobsessed #booklove #flatlay #bookblogger #bookcommunity #bookmail #booklovers #reader #bookrecommendations #romancebooks #romancereader by @a.single.book

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2 years ago

I recently finished this book and I think my final decision is - I enjoyed it overall.

When I first read the back - girl must rescue sister after playing super deadly game in which the prize is a wish - I immediately thought, "This sounds an awful lot like Caraval." Which I adore, by the way. But to be fair, it wouldn't be the first time a girl has to figure out puzzles and riddles, and dangerous situations *glances at the book I started in 2016...glances again at Labyrinth* so it's fine. This is a lot more like if Caraval were in a horror situation and not in the YA section. Because it's violent and spicy. Which kind of works because at the time I was looking for horror romance. Not exactly what I'm craving, but I'll take it.

I wasn't expecting it to take place in the real world (it's in New Orleans - granted we don't have ghosts and paranomal creatures that you blatantly have to worry about here, but still). But since the vast majority of the book takes place inside Phantasma, it didn't really matter. A lot of the trials I wondered how people would survive any of them, because the clues weren't that great and they didn't seem to have a very clear way to figure out wtf you had to do. I could go in depth, but this is Instagram, so I won't. Ophelia sometimes said and did dumb things (i.e. saying Blackwell was talking in riddles when he couldn't have been more clear; not calling for him IMMEDIATELY like he told her to and she absolutely should.) Overall, though, she was a good character that had growth and was able to sort herself out.

I had a good time in the long run, and I suppose that's what ultimately counts.

#bookstagram #phantasma #booksbooksbooks #booklover #bookaddict #booknerd #bookstoread #spicybooks #spicyromance #horror #fantasybooks #phantasmagoria #bookcover #bookcollector #bookblogging #bookillustration #romancebooks #bookaddiction by @a.single.book

5

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2 years ago

I feel like I don’t have the right words to describe how this book made me feel.

I first saw it on a cart at work. It was the title that drew me in, and the blurb on the back cinched it. So I got it from the library and dove in.

I read this book in two sittings. The book has no chapters, but as you read you realize it makes perfect sense for it not to. I was fascinated. The strangeness of it. The desolation. The hope and despair. The way the narrator continued onward eagerly. It was so hard to put down. There are so many questions, and so, so many of them go unanswered. In the case of this book, it’s not the destination, but the journey. And what a journey. This book is absolutely something I’ve been seeking for a very, very long time. At times I could see parts of myself in the narrator; there’s a part of me utterly obsessed with the concept of just *going* - and often going alone - in the face of the unknown. The description on the back sums it up so perfectly:

“I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation.”

It could almost be shelved in Science Fiction rather than Fiction as you discover more about these 40 women and where they are - or might be. I was so incredibly riveted to this book and what was happening to these women and what they did, and did not, discover. I cried at one point. I was up until 12am (or later?) just so I could finish it. I fell asleep thinking about this book. I woke up and immediately started thinking about it. And then two days later when I was back at work, I bought it. I was SO happy to see we had multiple copies so I could face it out and put a shelftalker under it. I brought it up and one of my co-workers *immediately* said “YES” because she wanted to read it. So when I got my copy, I bought her one as well.

This description is already way too long, but seriously. I need more people to read this book. It’s been in publication since 1995 - it needs to finally have its time to shine. by @a.single.book

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2 years ago