The Bibliophile's Compass

Title : The Year of the Locust Author : Terry Hayes Publication Year : 2023 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ Pages : 652 Source : ebook Genre : Thriller, mystery, spy, science fiction, time travel I loved I Am Pilgrim, Haye’s first novel. I even bought a physical copy, which is a serious declaration of affection from someone whose book-buying budget requires diplomatic negotiations. Naturally, I approached this novel with considerable enthusiasm. I expected espionage, danger, an elaborate plot, and the pleasure of gradually understanding how everything connects. For much of the first part, that is exactly what I received. The execution scene involving spies was particularly difficult to read. Political violence can make a thriller feel urgent, but it can also make the reading experience genuinely distressing. There is a difference between enjoying suspense and wanting a short break from humanity. Still, I was invested. I finished the novel in about twelve days, which, by my recent standards, qua...

2021 | 📖 Wergen: The Alien Love War by Mercurio D. Rivera | United States | 276 pages | Science Fiction / Novella / Speculative Fiction | Goodreads | 🏆 | @davidmercuriorivera 2021 | 📖 The Sentence by Louise Erdrich | United States | 387 pages | Fiction / Literary Fiction / Magical Realism | Goodreads | 🏆🏆🏆🏆 | 🎧 2023 | 📖 The Year of the Locust by Terry Hayes | United States | 652 pages | Thriller / Suspense / Espionage | Goodreads | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 🎧 2023 | 📖 Held by Anne Michaels | Canada | 220 pages | Literary Fiction / Historical Fiction / Poetry | Goodreads | 🏆🏆🏆 | 🎧 2025 | 📖 One Little Mistake by Miranda Rijks | United Kingdom | 286 pages | Psychological Thriller / Suspense / Mystery | Goodreads | 🎧 | @mirandarijksauthor

Title : Pond Author : Claire-Louise Bennett Publication Year : 2015 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ Pages : 148 Source : ebook Genre : literary fiction, Short story, poetry, Modernist Fiction Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett initially felt like Virginia Woolf’s stream of consciousness after someone removed the banks, redirected the river, and declined to inform the reader. Even its classification is uncertain: linked short stories, a novel, or one woman’s thoughts refusing to observe conventional boundaries? We have an unnamed female narrator, but please do not mistake that information for a stable foundation. At first, I loved it. The confusion was peculiar, delightful, and occasionally delicious. Ordinary objects received extraordinary attention, thoughts wandered into unexpected territory, and the narrator’s comparisons made me wonder how anyone could look at the same world I inhabit and arrive at those conclusions. I wanted to understand her. Who was this woman? Why did her observations keep b...

1838 | 📖 Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo | France | 108 pages | Plays / Drama / Classics | Goodreads | 1900 | 📖 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser | United States | 499 pages | Fiction / Classics / Naturalism | Goodreads | 1978 | 📖 Night and Day by Tom Stoppard | United Kingdom | 124 pages | Plays / Drama / Comedy | Goodreads |