rudyreads's Notes
2026
Jan 02, 2026
The Graceview Patient
By Caitlin StarlingThis one is a slooww burn. (If that's not your jam, skip it.) The horror sneaks in initially as glimpses, possibly hallucinatory snippets. It's unclear and the main character doesn't trust herself to know what's real and what's not. The "reality" of what's happening is unveiled late in the book.
As someone who has spent more time than I'd like in medical facilities recently, this book, unnervingly, did resonant. The author's attention to the medical details made it very real: the indecipherable chart notes, the constant needle poking, the bruising, the uncertainty of what day/time it is when you're half sedated, the weakness you feel, the churn of nurses but hardly ever seeing your actual doctor, etc. Above all though, the amount of trust you need to immediately hand over to complete strangers when you're in a hospital is uncomfortable to say the least. You're at their mercy. This book takes it to the extreme but the crux of it is the same. (If you can, always have an advocate with you!)
For a while, this book did give me Misery vibes. The patients are both authors. Their friends and family don't really know where they're located. They're isolated and confined against their will by someone who "has their best interest" in mind -- doing this for "their own good". Of course, the motives are very different. But the result is the same: they must escape their captors who become increasingly monstrous.
The audiobook narrator, Xe Sands, does an excellent job of making the prose come to life with the hesitation in her voice, the fear, the uncertainty with aptly timed pauses and trembling utterances.
2025
Nov 04, 2025
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
By V E SchwabA deal with the devil eventually brings two people together who have an intense and memorable connection. I'd say it's more of a romance novel than anything else but I also enjoyed following Addie's life through the decades/centuries.
The idea of loneliness is also present. When you can never connect with anyone, what type of toll does that take? I think Addie fared pretty well in coping with that all things considered. In addition to the lack of connection, the book also explores the lack of identity, let alone recognition. Something many women from that time experienced, and far too many still today.
Oct 31, 2025
Horror Movie
By Paul TremblayVery suspenseful and I liked the behind-the-scenes look at movie making. Splicing the story-telling of the production of the films (both original and the reboot) with the script of the original film allows truth and fiction to get a little muddled. The idea of victim/perpetrator is also quite fuzzy...and with the cast and crew pushing the limits on the movie set, it's hard to distinguish how much they are at fault when things go south and how much it's just acting. Especially when the main character, who takes the brunt of the abuse, seems to be playing along for his own mysterious motivations.
Definitely want to read other books by Tremblay now.
Definitely want to read other books by Tremblay now.
Oct 01, 2025
Katabasis (Standard Edition)
By R F KuangA journey into the bowels of hell and plotting the way according to the philosophers and magicians of yore just to learn that idolizing the teacher with MWM syndrome wasn't worth it.
If only we didn't need to learn this lesson the hard way, where we suffer and torment ourselves. Maybe the more books we read like this, the more we learn we can skip that part and just know that we don't need their approval or permission to be enough in the world. We already are.
*Tip: don't listen to the audiobook version. The narrators aren't very good and one slips into a British accent on occasion for the American character. We don't eat "pizzar" in the U.S.
2024
Oct 13, 2024
Human Acts
By Han KangHaunting, devastating. Highly recommend.