Tag: Ben, More Words About Books

April 24, 2023

Ben Reviews: One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

One of Us Is Lying is a predictable, trope-laden, YA, American high school crime drama. I absolutely loved it. To be fair, though, I’m a bit of a connoisseur of such things. Karen McManus relies on so many tropes and cliches that it is not an exaggeration to say that once I had read each character’s perspective for the first...

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August 7, 2021

Ben’s Goodreads Review of The Wrack by John Bierce

The Wrack by John Bierce My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. I also completely understand why this book seems not to have worked for many of my fellow reviewers. It’s not a traditional narrative with characters who have arcs. The main focus of the book is The Wrack,...

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June 12, 2021

Ben’s Book Review Philosophy

Goodreads and 5-star Ratings First, let’s talk about the “Goodreads problem.” Goodreads is a troubled site that most of its active user base hates. The technology and design of the site are outdated. There are numerous bots and hacked accounts that go around liking posts in an effort to get you to click on their shady, shortened urls. In a...

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May 24, 2020

The Fold: Active vs Passive Reading

It’s no secret that I didn’t enjoy The Fold. I think Nate and I make a fairly good argument that the text has numerous logical errors, inconsistent character motivations, and some truly bizarre plot choices. According to goodreads I’m in the minority, though. The overwhelming majority of readers “liked” the book. With that in mind, I want to explore the...

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