"For now, the massive walls hold back the rising sea, but it won't be too long before the ocean reclaims what is hers."

Conceptually really fun and looks into a dystopian world with accelerated technology. We follow Isabel, a genius physicist, Diego, and Matt. The funnest part about is seeing what AI entity Madders has to say at the beginning of each chapter; it tries to predict the probability of the end of the world, the progress that's been made, and the character's timeline. I also adore Matt's relationship with his niece, he's probably my favorite character from the novel.

What I do feel like is severely lacking is how the characters' personalities are laid out. They seem quite one-dimensional, and I understand if the book wants to convey a more humorous tone. But I do think that a lot of the jokes and the register don't play out well, they are often awkward and unfunny, and way too dragged out like it's a 2000s sitcom that didn't age well. It's even more annoying to read because the one-note aspect comes across tone deaf, with Diego being a stereotypical Hispanic romantic who sprinkles a couple of Spanish words for a Western audience, and some characters being described as just "Asian" (assuming the author means East Asian) on a way that almost tokenizes them.

It's overall not my cup of tea, but I can imagine liking it much more if the characters were more fleshed out.

"So for the moment it didn't matter that we looked like salt and pepper standing there and that's what the other kids called us sometimes."

Almost loved the intro more by Zadie Smith, but overall it's a very unique and experimental story that follows two women, one Black and one white, and the author intentionally never makes it clear who is who.

It forces us to acknowledge the complexity of humans and that people aren't black and white (no pun intended). I think this is also particularly interesting to read as a non American who isn't always familiar with all the ingrained stereotypes that have historically been a thing in the US. To me, it comes across like class, is first and foremost the common denominator among the two women, with their class status eventually changing into something else.

And despite their status of being "orphans but not proper orphans," they can still have the same level of privilege in certain contexts, i.e their able-bodiedness, and how they devolve into oppressors. A really layered and important purview of intersectionality.

"Anticipation is born of hope. Indeed it is hope's finest expression. In hope's loss, however, is the greatest despair."

A short story that feels like a million years because of how immersive it is. Soren Johansson finds himself in hell, eventually transported to a library that kind of feels like purgatory. There's one task he needs to do to get out - look for a book in the library about his life story. Sounds easy enough, except the library appears to have infinite floors and most books contain nonsensical symbols.

In the process, Soren makes friends and even falls in love. Being stuck in a library might seem like a bookworm's dream (if those books actually made sense), but the monotony and the despair in search of what feels like the impossible just renders a miserable loop. There is no progress, no break out of routine excerpt for the worse, and it even robs you of the anxiety of uncertainty. And the further Soren travels, the more dissimilar everything seems to be. It's crushing to read Soren's thoughts and the potential of a miracle to happen, which is what the author hints at throughout the book. Wishful thinking does a lot of the heavy lifting, and by the end it all appears to be a fruitless journey.

I do find the demon initially pretty funny, especially with how the book approaches the "one true religion" aspect, Zoroastrianism. By the end I simply wanted more besides an existential crisis.

"The point is to master the habit of showing up."

Even for its short length it's still way too long-winded for the message it's trying to send. Granted, the author is just practicing what he's preaching, which is repeating and drilling simple plans in your head that you should translate into action. But I think it could have been more concise, especially since the prose is so bland, and most examples in the beginning or anecdotes are pointless, boring or unrelated.

Every chapter is summarized at the end which is nice (and tbh you're better off reading that instead of the whole thing). It mainly contains common sense but effective tips like focusing on "showing up" instead of trying to achieve perfection which will lead to perfection, and the concept of habit stacking, and how the small things are what determine your life. I do appreciate those, however there's a bunch of times where the author kept promoting his website which was off-putting. And his part regarding building your identity doesn't make sense either. On the one hand he says it's better to solidify your identity as someone you want to be instead of something you're trying to do, e.g. Say "I'm not a smoker" instead of "I'm trying to quit smoking." In the later chapter, though, he kinda backtracks and says that you shouldn't aim for too high because depending on your condition etc, it may not be realistic.

Of course everyone should take their own situation into account, but this identity aspect seems super vital in starting good habits according to the author, and imo not discussing this in the exact same chapter dampens the initial message of identity, it just contradicts it and is not very well thought out.

You can also kind of tell that this perspective is very much coming from a privileged "bro" perspective, suggesting to get your groceries delivered to save time and effort like it's accessible to the average person.

If I had read an article on this I'd think it's kinda neat. But the entire thing just makes it seem like the author is more concerned with his own branding than the veracity of his message/advice.

"We were, for whatever reason, the lucky ones who survived when no one else had. Pretty girls covered in blood. As such, we were each in turn treated like something rare and exotic. A beautiful bird that spreads its bright wings only once a decade. Or that flower that stinks like rotting meat whenever it decides to bloom."

Overall an ok, entertaining thriller. Writing wise was serviceable, though I don't think a lot of the dialogue, especially in the first half was written with purpose. It just felt like a lot of things are repeated and didn't add a lot at times, just needless melodrama. But this gets better as it progresses. Warning, major spoilers below.

[WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS]

One thing that I really liked is the Pine Cottage chapters, and the way the Quincy transitions from the past to the present or vice versa.The book definitely kept me guessing because at some point I really thought Quincy was the killer, especially because she randomly attacked that guy at the park, and even though I suspected Coop at the very beginning, I eventually thought it was someone else so this came as a surprise for me.

I think Tina taking the fall for Quincy's crime makes no sense whatsoever. Even if she did try to "test" Quincy, and had noble intentions of proving Joe's innocence, she's displayed some pretty rude and selfish behavior regardless. I guess you can argue that Joe's innocence being proven gives Tina closure, hence she doesn't care about being arrested. But it actually feels very convenient plot armor because the "main character isn't supposed to have a bad ending." If anything, I'd appreciate if the author stuck to the very-flawed-but-badass? final girl who isn't the "perfect victim," let Quincy take accountability for her actions, maybe she has to undergo intense therapy at a facility or something like that.

Final point, maybe I'm being overly nitpicky but sometimes the author would write something suspenseful and vague, only for him to spell it out in the next sentences, like he doesn't trust the readers to interpret it or think just for a second. One example that kind of annoyed me is when she was having flashbacks to Pine Cottage, then Coop shot Tina, and she said "that shot sounded louder than memories. Must be real life. It's definitely real life," maybe it's supposed to be quirky or humorous, but it comes across as lazy writing to me. There's also one scene that seemed like a very lame replica of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, was kind off-putting.

And I actually laughed out loud at that last part bc it's just so cheesy, feels like the author was trying to mimic a scene from a movie where the hero walks away with swag from an explosion behind them. Quincy is no state to be didactic when she just truly begun her healing journey.

Overall this just the average fun ok thriller I guess, nothing mindblowing, with so many flaws.

A necessary & important read about Palestine and Palestinians, from a foreigner's perspective that touches on the dehumanization that Palestinians undergo and the many justifications that Israel and the west propagate. The art style is not my favorite and is a bit chaotic (so it may be hard to follow at times), intentionally so, mimicking the erratic and overwhelming situations Palestinians have to face every day.

As this is from a Maltese American perspective, Sacco does acknowledge the privilege he has. He has sympathy for the Palestinians, and yet he still has room to be numbed and to be mildly annoyed by the same tragedies he keeps on hearing from different Palestinians. Likewise, the Israelis he met at the end are able to "feel tired of hearing about it" and try to assuage their own guilt - all while the Palestinians are in constant survival mode, and can't even grieve properly. Joe Sacco also shows their humanity and the small joys that they try to create, from weddings to tea time and the abundance of hospitality they show guests, despite scarce resources.

The graphic novel shows a diverse account of perspectives, like feminists, differing viewpoints of how to free Palestine (e.g. PLO vs Fatah), issues outside of the genocide that persist, the intifada, teenagers who get recruited to fight for their freedom, prisoners who still educate themselves, create art, and simultaneously try to strategize their battles, mothers who grieve. Palestinians are systematically surpressed in terms of jobs, housing, water resources etc - and it's hard to imagine how one continues to be peaceful or hopeful, especially when the violence they face is often legal.

Joe Sacco met so many Palestinian men who went to prison that it's almost suspicious if one didn't, because "why the hell didn't [they]". It's terrifying to read about prisons like Ansar 3, the case with Mustafa Akawi, that would be condemned anywhere else, but is somehow justified or something people simply don't know about. And it's sad that this novel feels like it was just written yesterday with how relevant it is and how the same things keep happening. Heartbreaking & eye-opening.