• Fancy512@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I like these lists for the obvious reasons, but the NPR list is always filled with books I wish I liked more than I did. There are some great stories in here, but some of them felt like homework and so I DNF them.

    • GrimSophisticate@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      I feel like they’re a consistent source of like…two-to-four-star (out of five) books. Nothing that I truly hate but something is almost always missing and the only question is how much.

  • Jan_17_2016@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I wasn’t very impressed with the Stolen Coast. The plot felt very rushed while also leading absolutely nowhere. That, and the dad’s dialogue is extremely pretentious.

    Second, I love Tom Hanks, he’s one of my favorite actors, and I loved Uncommon Type, but The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece wasn’t very good. The redeeming quality was a look into the ins and outs of how movies are made.

  • smalltownlargefry@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Read three on this list.

    The Great Displacement. It was okay. Poverty by America was decent. A Fever in the Heartland was a top 5 book for me this year. So good.

  • Dancing_Clean@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I haven’t read many 2023 novels. I’m about 2/3s into The Wager, which is eaxellent. Didn’t love Yellowface but it had its moments. The Gay Best Friend was a fluffy light romcom that had some runny moments but was too shallow on its subject matter. Almost everything I read this year is like 2010s-2022.

    Our Hideous Progeny felt too long and perhaps I wasn’t the audience for it bc all I’ve seen is galloping praise from readers. I picked up Monstrilio but haven’t started yet.

    My 2023 list includes Britney Spears, Lou Reed, and this one Pitchfork recommended called 60 Songs That Explain the 90s.

    • chb66@alien.topB
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      It’s there because a young NPR staffer likes it, that’s the point of the list; it’s just want a random assortment of what staffers/contributors think.

  • blueberry_pancakes14@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I’ve heard of five of these.

    The Wager was really good. I also really liked Whalefall.

    The other three I haven’t read, just heard of them.

    But I’m guessing this is another Popular = Therefore we put it on these lists kind of list…

  • hangryhyax@alien.topB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Idlewild is the name of a theme park in SW Pennsylvania, and it’s all I can think of anytime I see/hear the name. Seeing it as a book title caused my brain to… do something, and now I want to try the book, just because.