☕📓

Palahniuk, Chuck. Choke. ⭐⭐⭐ finished: date Pretty good. Palahniuk can really write a line. I think this can work for readers who want a straightforward story because it has enough going on to be entertaining, but it's even better if you enjoy analysis because there's a lot to work with. Actually, there were several moments in which something that could be picked up on was explicitly pointed out later---it wasn't constant, which would have ruined it. Twice that I can remember, in fact. So if you're interested in a deeper, closer reading, this would be a good one to do that with because there's plenty to work with. I'd like to read more from him. No, I haven't read Fight Club yet, but I suppose that should be the next one I pick up.

Howarth, Chloe Michelle. Heap Earth Upon It. ⭐⭐ finished: 2026-05-18 This was frustrating to get through for me. Maybe it's the autism, but I was incredibly irritated with the ricocheting between was that too direct? should I be more direct? I should ask this question so they don't think I'm uninterested. was that too nosy for me to ask? I do plenty of that in my day-to-day life and it's not a game I was willing to play for this book, which invited a new narrator every (incredibly short) chapter to speak to an unknown person in exactly the same voice. The first half was treading water. Stakes appeared in the back half, and maybe I would have seen things forming before that point, but I just couldn't stay engaged. I picked this one up because I wanted to read it before watching frankiesshelf's video about it (I'm reading King's A Good Person next before watching that video, too) but I almost didn't make it through. I knew he'd like it---short chapters, monomaniac narrator, second-person--and when I did watch the video, I realized something: the slow pace made me read this too fast and I missed out on what would have been a good overall story otherwise. I also didn't read the summary of the book whatsoever, so I didn't know what I was in for, and that probably would have helped. A note for next time.

King, Kirstin. A Good Person. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ finished: 2026-05-21 For this one, I made sure to read the summary before jumping right in, but I don't know if it even made that much of a difference here! This one was fun, and I think that I would have thought so going in blind, too. There's not a lot of need for me to expand on it because Frankie said everything I would say about this book... one or two pop culture references or millennial jokes were funny while most pulled me out of the story and a few were downright cringey, but it was entertaining and I think the pieces came together very well... with the exception of Lillian's sudden revelation, which disappointed me. On Storygraph, I've got this rated at 3.75 which is a rating I feel confident in, but I'll go ahead and go with 4 here because I won't read it again, but I'm glad I did and I'd recommend it.

Folk, Kate. Sky Daddy. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ finished: 2026-05-23 This one was a Mother's Day gift: one I loved. I've been wanting to read this for a while, and it was absolutely worth it. Of course I'd heard good things, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee I'll like it (for example, see below). This one I loved. It matters a lot to me that the narrator is someone I'm comfortable with... the voice means everything. Just as importantly, Folk nailed the ending. Go read this, especially if you appreciated Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.