Xavier鈥檚 Year in Books

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2023

4,884

pages read

books read

Xavier Stillson

Shortest Book

pages

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Longest Book

564

pages

Average book length in 2023

287

pages

Most Shelved

6,108,005

people also shelved

Least Shelved

555

people also shelved

Xavier鈥檚 average rating for 2023

3.9

Highest Rated on 欧宝娱乐

4.42 average

Xavier鈥檚 first review of the year

really liked it

While this collection starts off with stories that feel pointless, or like they've lost focus at the end, it ends up delivering some very thought provoking situations and philosophical questions, though not always presented by the most mentally stable people.

(Which in some ways remind me of another collection I read, Angel Dust Apocalypse by Jeremy Robert Johnson. Some of the feelings and thoughts of the characters in these works can hit home (be ...more

齿础痴滨贰搁鈥橲 2023 BOOKS

it was amazing

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfor... by Eric LaRocca

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

it was amazing

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

The Heavenly Table by Donald Ray Pollock

Zoey Is Too Drunk for This Dystopia by Jason Pargin

Xavier鈥檚 last review of the year

really liked it

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's press, 欧宝娱乐, Jason Pargin and whoever else for this ARC. (I'm sorry I had to delay reading this until a few days before it's release, the moment I knew I won a copy, I was away from my house for six months.)

This is my first Zoey Ashe book, and because of that, I was expecting to be completely lost at the start of it, but was surprised to see how well the author was able to accommodate for new readers. Esp Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's press, 欧宝娱乐, Jason Pargin and whoever else for this ARC. (I'm sorry I had to delay reading this until a few days before it's release, the moment I knew I won a copy, I was away from my house for six months.)

This is my first Zoey Ashe book, and because of that, I was expecting to be completely lost at the start of it, but was surprised to see how well the author was able to accommodate for new readers. Especially in a way that I don't think would come off as annoying for a returning audience. The characters' personalities and presence is used to ease you in very well. But, because I haven't read any previous books, I can't be completely certain who and what is currently known about, so I might have to be less specific than I would like to be here.

A big draw to this book is how grounded it's view of our world is. There's a lot to say about morality, and politics, and human nature, and exploitation, but in the end, everything will always end up coming to people being violent, stupid, weirdos. Destructive hiveminds will always do as they please, be it for better or worse, and people will always abuse others. But at the beginning of everything that they do, there is an actual human inside. Wether that human is good or bad or misunderstood, there is complexity to them. Even the less complex and developed characters have a real human feel to them. The major characters all have genuine heart put into them, and it makes them very interesting to have around, and that is especially important considering that this book is mostly made up of conversations.

Other than that, I liked all of the setpieces. They were all visually interesting and had well thought out ideas and backstories behind them. I liked how this book didn't shy away from dark and heavy topics, or away from having real stakes. And I liked how modern and relatable the setting was. It's futuristic for sure, and the element of body augmentations is unrealistic, but for the most part, we live in this future. Just like with the characterization, this book knows what people are like, what they want, and what they're headed towards. ...more

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