Resident of Aotearoa New Zealand, and a lover of cats, theatre, and history. Chronically fatigued and trying to rebuild my reading habits so I can inhale massive tomes on the regular again. They/them.
Also @jojoinabox on mastodon.nz, BlueSky, and The StoryGraph.
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25% complete! Jojo has read 5 of 20 books.
"Addison Harper is abruptly summoned to Milverton at the behest of an abrasive lawyer. He …
A quick and easy read; it only took me a single sitting over a few hours to whizz through it. Murder on Milverton Square is a lot of fun, and I can't wait to get hold of the next book!
"Addison Harper is abruptly summoned to Milverton at the behest of an abrasive lawyer. He …
This introduction to the town of Milverton and the Milverton Mysteries series is a warm, cosy book that kept a smile on my face for the whole single sitting it took for me to read it. The city-boy-relocating-to-a-small-town-via-inheritance premise reminds me a lot of a long-time favourite murder mystery series of mine, the Cat Who... books by Lilian Jackson Braun; the tone is also fairly reminiscent in a friendly, entertaining sort of way.
The setting, however, is a little bit less Moose County and more Brokenwood, depicting a small rural town in the mid-North Island of Aotearoa. This setting really works to bring Milverton to life, and I can clearly recognise the likeness from similar towns I have visited. The characters also feel very true to life, quirky and unique but also familiar.
I greatly enjoyed starting on this series, and I look forward to starting the next book (once …
This introduction to the town of Milverton and the Milverton Mysteries series is a warm, cosy book that kept a smile on my face for the whole single sitting it took for me to read it. The city-boy-relocating-to-a-small-town-via-inheritance premise reminds me a lot of a long-time favourite murder mystery series of mine, the Cat Who... books by Lilian Jackson Braun; the tone is also fairly reminiscent in a friendly, entertaining sort of way.
The setting, however, is a little bit less Moose County and more Brokenwood, depicting a small rural town in the mid-North Island of Aotearoa. This setting really works to bring Milverton to life, and I can clearly recognise the likeness from similar towns I have visited. The characters also feel very true to life, quirky and unique but also familiar.
I greatly enjoyed starting on this series, and I look forward to starting the next book (once I can prod the library to get a copy in)!
"Addison Harper is abruptly summoned to Milverton at the behest of an abrasive lawyer. He plans to be in and …
"Addison Harper is abruptly summoned to Milverton at the behest of an abrasive lawyer. He …
I've been looking for this book for a while, and the local library has finally gotten a copy for me! Very excited to start reading.
The only book I've ever read to have six epilogues. I definitely enjoyed it, and now want to learn more about the history of 16th century Italy.
Niccolò Machiavelli is a name familiar to many people, but much less is known about the man himself. I enjoyed getting to acquaint myself a little better with Machiavelli in this novel, and to understand his context in history. I found the relationship with Cesare Borgia particularly fascinating, with all its complexities. Like Machiavelli himself, I found the presence of Borgia throughout the book to be equally compelling and horrifying. The Throne is a thoughtful read, with lots to mentally chew over.
I'm pretty intrigued from the get-go. There's quite a lot of exposition in these early chapters, but I don't know much about Machiavelli going in so it's not unwelcome. I was expecting something not unlike Wolf Hall; it doesn't go into quite the same level of interiority, though, which makes it less dense of a read. Definitely getting the sense of Machiavelli as a complex character with a lot going on in his head that doesn't get let out.
In fifteenth-century Paris, a disfigured man named Quasimodo, who was abandoned as an infant in …
Well, that went about as tragically as I expected. Hugo is a true master of his craft, for sure, and the final act is one of great drama and equal catharsis. Not a book to read for its optimism, though I would still recommend it for its architectural snark
In fifteenth-century Paris, a disfigured man named Quasimodo, who was abandoned as an infant in …
I feel like Hugo is a bit more focused on his plot in this book, compared to Les Misérables at least. He has some good tangents in there nonetheless, and very entertainingly sarcastic ones at that!
As with the beloved Brick, Hugo shows himself in The Hunchback of Notre Dame to be an expert at crafting tragedies that feel unearned yet entirely inevitable. The catharsis is strong!
In fifteenth-century Paris, a disfigured man named Quasimodo, who was abandoned as an infant in …
Not to give spoilers or anything, but Phoebus is so much more of a fuckboi than the Disney film led me to believe. (Frollo is proving to be exactly as much of a creep as I expected, however.)
On a different note, there has been surprisingly little focus on the titular character so far in the book. Quasimodo is around, but only for short bursts usually.
In fifteenth-century Paris, a disfigured man named Quasimodo, who was abandoned as an infant in …
So book III is where Hugo gets really caught up in architectural history, and BOY HOWDY is he salty about it! As far as he's concerned nothing worthwhile has been built since 1500. I love it.
I also realise now that I've picked entirely the wrong publication of this book. It's hard when the copy I'm reading is mid-20th-century-ish and has no publishing info listed.
In fifteenth-century Paris, a disfigured man named Quasimodo, who was abandoned as an infant in …
It is certain that if Ravaillac had not assassinated Henry IV, there would have been no documents of his trial deposited in the Rolls Office of the Palace of Justice, and no accomplices interested in the destruction of those documents; consequently, no incindiaries obliged, for want of better means, to burn the Palace of Justice in order to burn the Rolls Office; of course there would have been no fire in 1618. The old palace would still be standing with its old great hall, and I might then say to the reader, "Go, look at it," and thus we would both be spared trouble—myself the trouble of writingm and him that of perusing, an indifferent description. This demonstrates the novel truth that great events have incalculable consequenses.
— The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Illustrated Classics) by Victor Hugo (Page 8)
A typically wry tangent from Victor Hugo, or part of one. To further the entertainment, he goes on in the next paragraph to admit that Ravaillac's accomplices may very well had nothing to do with the fire in the first place, but that it might have been caused by a meteor, or perhaps the frivolity of Justice herself.
In fifteenth-century Paris, a disfigured man named Quasimodo, who was abandoned as an infant in …
I'm very tired today and didn't get terribly far in, but I've made a start, and hopefully I'll have more reading brain for my next stint.
It's good to be reminded of how much I enjoy Hugo's style of writing, including his meanderings. Also, top marks to the uncredited translator who used (or retained?) the description of the Palace of Justice as a "prodigious parallelogram"!
Listen. A god is speaking. My voice echoes through the stone of your master's castle. …
I particularly enjoyed how the Hamlet elements were woven in well enough for me to recognise what they were, while still keeping the story decidedly not-Hamlet, and not relying on the familiar features despite leaning into them.
The "past" storyline of the narrator is also incredibly intriguing, and plays out very effectively. The use of second person, unusual for novels, is also very effective
Overall, it may not have sucked me in completely, but it was certainly an enjoyable read and very well crafted.
Listen. A god is speaking. My voice echoes through the stone of your master's castle. …
Finished! Very well written, and definitely not an ordinary sort of tale.
I particularly enjoyed how the Hamlet elements were woven in well enough for me to recognise what they were, while still keeping the story decidedly not-Hamlet, and not relying on the familiar features despite leaning into them.
The "past" storyline of the narrator is also incredibly intriguing, and plays out very effectively.
Overall, it may not have sucked me in completely, but it was certainly an enjoyable read and very well crafted.