This felt like reading a creepy pasta on Tumblr in 2010.

I had a lot of fun reading Strange Houses because it was so creative - the use of home floorplans to create a mystery was very unique. I felt engaged because I kept staring at the floor plans trying to figure out what was so wrong with their design. Strange Houses is a very short read and I think that kept the story feeling fresh and entertaining. Any longer and we would have lost the novelty of the situation.

I don't think Strange Houses is a particularly strong mystery/thriller. One character makes a whole bunch of bat shit crazy guesses based on a floor plan design and end up being mostly correct. 🤷‍♀️

As a side note - I wasn’t very active in the forum for this one and I think that’s just because there wasn’t really that much to discuss. Which is kind of a point against the book if I don’t feel like there’s enough meat to yap about it

This book is a feat of writing. Elaine Castillo writes with such clarity and insight that I really think everyone (even non-readers) should give this book a try. As she says in her intro, EC isn’t just talking to readers, but everyone who engages with media (which is all of us).

Just as valuable as the message EC tries to convey is how she does it. Her writing is so witty and sharp. It’s genuinely fun to read EC even when the subject matter is quite serious. She often speaks directly to the reader, bringing you into her thinking and inviting you to apply these techniques to your own daily life. And her bibliography was incredibly robust with insightful authors notes throughout to explain how the cited work influenced her thinking. Definitely motivated me to become more well read in non-fiction!

This book really impacted the way I engage critically with media and I put together a set of questions for myself based on EC’s essays in order to engage more critically with the media I consume:

1. Who is writing the story and what perspective is the story being told from?
2. Who is the "expected reader" of this story and how does that shape the narrative?
3. Who or what histories are not mentioned in the story?
4. How does the story handle community vs individual successes and achievement?
5. How does the story handle issues, systemically or individualistically? (Does it acknowledge the political reality of these issues at all?)

In conclusion, everyone needs to read this book. Absolutely one of my favorites of the year.

(Somehow I failed to write a review of this book even though I loved it so much I put it into my My Taste section)

This book made me want to pick up letter writing. This isn’t my typical genre but I enjoyed it and thought it was very touching. A good casual read over the Christmas holidays but I don’t think I would pick up another book by this author.

I think the charm of Sybil is that she has very strong beliefs/opinions and is willing to say what she thinks. And while she is very stubborn, she’s willing to admit when she is wrong. It means Sybil has a very strong voice that comes through clearly in her letters.

There’s something about this book that isn’t quite working for me and that’s why I’m giving it a 3.5. Maybe I’ll come back and edit this review if I can figure out what’s bothering me.