Karen Engelmann's The Stockholm Octavo
It's a time of upheaval for Sweden when this story takes place--things have gotten pretty crazy because of the French Revolution and various plots against the king. When a young, ambitious man befriends a local card-game-hostess (I don't know) with talent as a Seer, the cards she reads for him may deal with more than his chances with romance. But will he ever stop looking at pretty ladies long enough to see the bigger picture? (Seriously, he spends a lot of time dwelling on pretty ladies. He is likable but somewhat silly at times.) Great atmosphere and great handling of political intrigue. I fully expect this to be a big Fall buzz book. A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in October.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
2012 book 189
Guy Gavriel Kay's The Darkest Road
The third book in the Fionavar trilogy isn't predictable, but a lot of it feels inevitable. It's one of those epics that's going to culminate in a good vs evil battle, and those always go the same way. And I still haven't decided what I think about the gender roles in this series--I would have felt better if there was even one warrior woman (some of the women are powerful, but are sidelined during battle and/or only become sympathetic when they finally agree with the men). I mean, even Tolkien had Eowyn. Still, I totally cried like three times during the (long) ending and I did like Dave's story arc especially, which redeemed some things I liked less. B+.
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Update 7/19: The more I think about this book, the more problems I have with the ending in regards to the parallel world stuff. And the more I realize that Kay didn't bother to create backstories for the women at all. I'll let my original grade stand, but if I was grading it today it'd be lower.
The third book in the Fionavar trilogy isn't predictable, but a lot of it feels inevitable. It's one of those epics that's going to culminate in a good vs evil battle, and those always go the same way. And I still haven't decided what I think about the gender roles in this series--I would have felt better if there was even one warrior woman (some of the women are powerful, but are sidelined during battle and/or only become sympathetic when they finally agree with the men). I mean, even Tolkien had Eowyn. Still, I totally cried like three times during the (long) ending and I did like Dave's story arc especially, which redeemed some things I liked less. B+.
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Update 7/19: The more I think about this book, the more problems I have with the ending in regards to the parallel world stuff. And the more I realize that Kay didn't bother to create backstories for the women at all. I'll let my original grade stand, but if I was grading it today it'd be lower.
Monday, July 16, 2012
2012 book 188
Guy Gavriel Kay's The Wandering Fire
The second book in the Fionavar trilogy is a little bit hard to follow--not just b/c there's a large cast of characters always going various places as things creep toward war, but b/c I'm not at all familiar with the Celtic mythology Kay is drawing on. I liked it more than the last one though due to the general lack of rape and/or torture. And I admit that I'm eager to see where the story ends up. B+.
The second book in the Fionavar trilogy is a little bit hard to follow--not just b/c there's a large cast of characters always going various places as things creep toward war, but b/c I'm not at all familiar with the Celtic mythology Kay is drawing on. I liked it more than the last one though due to the general lack of rape and/or torture. And I admit that I'm eager to see where the story ends up. B+.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
2012 book 187
Guy Gavriel Kay's The Summer Tree
Sometimes you just have to read an epic book about five Canadian college kids getting whisked off to a parallel fantasy world on the brink of war. I mostly liked this a lot, but it's getting downgraded to a B for a lengthy rape/torture scene that I found very hard to read. Hoping Kay makes up for that in the second book (it's a trilogy).
Sometimes you just have to read an epic book about five Canadian college kids getting whisked off to a parallel fantasy world on the brink of war. I mostly liked this a lot, but it's getting downgraded to a B for a lengthy rape/torture scene that I found very hard to read. Hoping Kay makes up for that in the second book (it's a trilogy).
Saturday, July 14, 2012
2012 book 186
Robert Hellenga's The Sixteen Pleasures
Somehow I never knew this book existed, and I am so grateful to Sara (the convener of my lady doctor book group) for suggesting it to me! It's 1969, and a 29 year old woman whose plans to attend Radcliffe and have life adventures were altered by her mother's lung cancer is now working as book restoration expert at the Newberry Library. When she hears about the flood in Florence, she's determined to go to Italy and rescue some books--but isn't given the respect she deserves because she's a woman. She somehow ends up in a convent to help save their amazing library and discovers the nuns aren't what she expected at all--and then they find an extremely rare book of Renaissance erotica. And so it seems she may have some life adventures after all. A.
Somehow I never knew this book existed, and I am so grateful to Sara (the convener of my lady doctor book group) for suggesting it to me! It's 1969, and a 29 year old woman whose plans to attend Radcliffe and have life adventures were altered by her mother's lung cancer is now working as book restoration expert at the Newberry Library. When she hears about the flood in Florence, she's determined to go to Italy and rescue some books--but isn't given the respect she deserves because she's a woman. She somehow ends up in a convent to help save their amazing library and discovers the nuns aren't what she expected at all--and then they find an extremely rare book of Renaissance erotica. And so it seems she may have some life adventures after all. A.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
2012 book 185
Terry Pratchett's Dodger
A few days ago, this article appeared in my Google Reader. At the time I was like, "well, that's interesting or whatever" but it turned out to be perfect background reading for the new Terry Pratchett book, whose main character is a tosher--and Mayhew himself appears as well. It's a classic Victorian adventure story--in fact, I would go so far as to call it Dickensian, mainly because Dickens is one of the secondary characters, and the book is full of references to his work (and to other bits of London history and literature--I was delighted whenever I recognized a reference, and I'm sure there were many I missed). Dodger himself is clearly a relative of Dickens' Artful Dodger, and his landlord/father figure is an awesome old Jewish guy (don't worry, not very Fagin-like in the least, a relief to this Jewish reader). Anyway, things get going when Dodger rescues a mysterious girl from a mysterious attack, but of course it's never really that simple in a story like this. A very fun standalone one from Pratchett, for sure. A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
A few days ago, this article appeared in my Google Reader. At the time I was like, "well, that's interesting or whatever" but it turned out to be perfect background reading for the new Terry Pratchett book, whose main character is a tosher--and Mayhew himself appears as well. It's a classic Victorian adventure story--in fact, I would go so far as to call it Dickensian, mainly because Dickens is one of the secondary characters, and the book is full of references to his work (and to other bits of London history and literature--I was delighted whenever I recognized a reference, and I'm sure there were many I missed). Dodger himself is clearly a relative of Dickens' Artful Dodger, and his landlord/father figure is an awesome old Jewish guy (don't worry, not very Fagin-like in the least, a relief to this Jewish reader). Anyway, things get going when Dodger rescues a mysterious girl from a mysterious attack, but of course it's never really that simple in a story like this. A very fun standalone one from Pratchett, for sure. A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Monday, July 09, 2012
2012 book 184
Kat Rosenfield's Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone
God, for someone who's ostensibly smart and about to escape her small town for a good college, the protagonist of this book is a COMPLETE IDIOT. Whether it's mooning over her equally idiotic boyfriend, mildly obsessing over a girl who was found dead in town, or randomly accusing other local idiots of murder, she manages to do the wrong thing every time. (This is especially annoying since the murderer's identity is obvious to the reader.) Her story alternates with the dead girl's, and at least she is likable and interesting. I know that this is a YA mystery, but the plot was really undercooked. C.
God, for someone who's ostensibly smart and about to escape her small town for a good college, the protagonist of this book is a COMPLETE IDIOT. Whether it's mooning over her equally idiotic boyfriend, mildly obsessing over a girl who was found dead in town, or randomly accusing other local idiots of murder, she manages to do the wrong thing every time. (This is especially annoying since the murderer's identity is obvious to the reader.) Her story alternates with the dead girl's, and at least she is likable and interesting. I know that this is a YA mystery, but the plot was really undercooked. C.
2012 book 183
Ann Patchett's State of Wonder
I have to say, this was a perfect book to read for my lady doctor book group, and I look forward to discussing it with actual medical professionals. At first I was reluctant to reread it--I remembered it being a massive tome for some reason, but it's not even 400 pages--but I'm so glad I did--I didn't remember the story well and had completely forgotten one huge plot twist. This totally held up to a second reading. Still an A.
I have to say, this was a perfect book to read for my lady doctor book group, and I look forward to discussing it with actual medical professionals. At first I was reluctant to reread it--I remembered it being a massive tome for some reason, but it's not even 400 pages--but I'm so glad I did--I didn't remember the story well and had completely forgotten one huge plot twist. This totally held up to a second reading. Still an A.
Sunday, July 08, 2012
2012 book 182
Cornelia Read's Valley of Ashes
I had read another boom by Read a few years ago and remember enjoying it a lot, so was eager to check out her latest. And then a few chapters into this book, the protagonist's backstory started to sound really familiar--it turns out that this is actually the fourth in a series that started with the one I read back in 2007. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as awesome as that one. It starts off with promise, as reporter Madeline Dare and her family have just moved to Denver for her husband's job, only he's being a total jerk and she's overwhelmed with their baby twins. When she starts investigating a string of local arsons for the paper, it seems like she's going to get sucked into some dramatic crime story--only things abruptly devolve into a REALLY BORING and pretty annoying domestic drama. The mystery this book is ostensibly about is never really addressed again. Seriously, I wanted to smack some sense into all of these characters because they were all weak morons. C.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
I had read another boom by Read a few years ago and remember enjoying it a lot, so was eager to check out her latest. And then a few chapters into this book, the protagonist's backstory started to sound really familiar--it turns out that this is actually the fourth in a series that started with the one I read back in 2007. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as awesome as that one. It starts off with promise, as reporter Madeline Dare and her family have just moved to Denver for her husband's job, only he's being a total jerk and she's overwhelmed with their baby twins. When she starts investigating a string of local arsons for the paper, it seems like she's going to get sucked into some dramatic crime story--only things abruptly devolve into a REALLY BORING and pretty annoying domestic drama. The mystery this book is ostensibly about is never really addressed again. Seriously, I wanted to smack some sense into all of these characters because they were all weak morons. C.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
Saturday, July 07, 2012
2012 book 181
Jeremy Jackson's I Will Not Leave You Comfortless
Those of you who know me well, or who regularly read this blog, know that I generally have a complete lack of interest in reading non-fiction of any kind. I made an exception for this one, though--Jackson (author of the beautiful Life At These Speeds, written about here and here, and whihc I wish was available for Kindle, and which I cannot recommend enough!) has written a memoir that might as well be a novel, about just over a year in his life when he was ten turning eleven, and the things that happened to his family. The descriptions of their Missouri farm are entirely evocative, and his writing was stellar as always. Lovely stuff. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher (actually, the awesome Milkweek sent me a print copy after I had problems with the digital one, so big ups to them). This book will be released in October.
Those of you who know me well, or who regularly read this blog, know that I generally have a complete lack of interest in reading non-fiction of any kind. I made an exception for this one, though--Jackson (author of the beautiful Life At These Speeds, written about here and here, and whihc I wish was available for Kindle, and which I cannot recommend enough!) has written a memoir that might as well be a novel, about just over a year in his life when he was ten turning eleven, and the things that happened to his family. The descriptions of their Missouri farm are entirely evocative, and his writing was stellar as always. Lovely stuff. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher (actually, the awesome Milkweek sent me a print copy after I had problems with the digital one, so big ups to them). This book will be released in October.
2012 book 180
Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14
Pretty compelling book about two schoolbuses of kids that get driven into a Target-like superstore during a near-future weather disaster (which quickly turns things into something much worse). The six high-schoolers, two eighth-graders, and slew of little kids must figure out how to survive and keep each other safe. Some parts of this were predictable, and I had SERIOUSLY mixed feelings about the ending, but I enjoyed this book a lot--I love near-future dystopias where the characters are well-stocked with supplies and thus have to deal with other issues. And the characters here are pretty strong ones (in terms of writing and the characters themselves). A-/B+.
Pretty compelling book about two schoolbuses of kids that get driven into a Target-like superstore during a near-future weather disaster (which quickly turns things into something much worse). The six high-schoolers, two eighth-graders, and slew of little kids must figure out how to survive and keep each other safe. Some parts of this were predictable, and I had SERIOUSLY mixed feelings about the ending, but I enjoyed this book a lot--I love near-future dystopias where the characters are well-stocked with supplies and thus have to deal with other issues. And the characters here are pretty strong ones (in terms of writing and the characters themselves). A-/B+.
Thursday, July 05, 2012
2012 book 179
James Meek's The Heart Broke In
Meek--author of the awesome The People's Act of Love (excuse the lack of capitalization in that very old blog entry)--brings another book full of complicated and kind of hilarious characters. This book deals with romance, science, blackmail, fame, and family among a large interconnected group of people, including a former rock star turned reality tv producer, his scientist sister, her newsman boyfriend, and a whole host of others. Meek's writing is outstanding and this is going to be a crowd-pleaser (or so I hope). A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in October.
Meek--author of the awesome The People's Act of Love (excuse the lack of capitalization in that very old blog entry)--brings another book full of complicated and kind of hilarious characters. This book deals with romance, science, blackmail, fame, and family among a large interconnected group of people, including a former rock star turned reality tv producer, his scientist sister, her newsman boyfriend, and a whole host of others. Meek's writing is outstanding and this is going to be a crowd-pleaser (or so I hope). A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in October.
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
2012 book 178
Elizabeth Haynes' Into the Darkest Corner
OH MY GOD, THIS BOOK WAS TERRIFYING. Completely terrifying. And the worst part was how realistic it was. It's like a very well-written PSA about domestic abuse. (I don't mean that in a negative way or to say it sounds canned, b/c it isn't at all like that.) It's about a young woman who was in a relationship that we know went very badly (though the details emerge gradually), and how four years later she's still struggling to recover. And it is absolutely TERRIFYING. A/A-.
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Note that this isn't really a mystery, more of a psychological thriller, but I always categorize those with mysteries, so . . .
OH MY GOD, THIS BOOK WAS TERRIFYING. Completely terrifying. And the worst part was how realistic it was. It's like a very well-written PSA about domestic abuse. (I don't mean that in a negative way or to say it sounds canned, b/c it isn't at all like that.) It's about a young woman who was in a relationship that we know went very badly (though the details emerge gradually), and how four years later she's still struggling to recover. And it is absolutely TERRIFYING. A/A-.
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Note that this isn't really a mystery, more of a psychological thriller, but I always categorize those with mysteries, so . . .
Monday, July 02, 2012
2012 book 177
Margo Lanagan's The Brides of Rollrock Island
Lanagan, author of Tender Morsels, delivers a less creepy, but no less lovely, troubling, or weird new novel. And I mean all those adjectives in the best possible way. In this one, different characters take us back and forth in time, narrating the history of an isolated island--and the story of why taking a sea-wife is maybe not a great idea. To say much more would be giving too much away, but this is another winner from Lanagan. A/A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Lanagan, author of Tender Morsels, delivers a less creepy, but no less lovely, troubling, or weird new novel. And I mean all those adjectives in the best possible way. In this one, different characters take us back and forth in time, narrating the history of an isolated island--and the story of why taking a sea-wife is maybe not a great idea. To say much more would be giving too much away, but this is another winner from Lanagan. A/A-.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in September.
Sunday, July 01, 2012
2012 book 176
Patrice Kindl's Goose Chase
Another completely charming story from Kindl, involving a young Goose Girl gifted with beauty, hair that sheds gold dust, and tears that become diamonds--which turn out to be unwanted gifts when they lead local royal to imprison her in a tower till she decides which she will marry. And that's just the start of her adventure. Plus her geese are super awesome. A-.
Another completely charming story from Kindl, involving a young Goose Girl gifted with beauty, hair that sheds gold dust, and tears that become diamonds--which turn out to be unwanted gifts when they lead local royal to imprison her in a tower till she decides which she will marry. And that's just the start of her adventure. Plus her geese are super awesome. A-.
2012 book 175
Katie Kitamura's Gone to the Forest
A well-written, but at time very hard to read, book about a weak-willed son, his domineering father, and the young woman who comes between them. I will say that I was a bit distracted by trying to figure out where/when this was in history--the family is mostly oblivious to a coming revolution, and there are multiple references to "natives"--but I still couldn't figure it out. I know that was on purpose but I found it mildly annoying. B.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
A well-written, but at time very hard to read, book about a weak-willed son, his domineering father, and the young woman who comes between them. I will say that I was a bit distracted by trying to figure out where/when this was in history--the family is mostly oblivious to a coming revolution, and there are multiple references to "natives"--but I still couldn't figure it out. I know that was on purpose but I found it mildly annoying. B.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
2012 book 174
Patrice Kindl's Keeping the Castle
I'd never heard of Kindl until this book came out, and my gosh, have I been missing out. This was GREAT! It takes place in Regency/Jane Austen times, and is the cutest and funniest book ever about a girl determined to marry for money to save her family estate. Most of it was predictable, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. A.
I'd never heard of Kindl until this book came out, and my gosh, have I been missing out. This was GREAT! It takes place in Regency/Jane Austen times, and is the cutest and funniest book ever about a girl determined to marry for money to save her family estate. Most of it was predictable, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. A.
Friday, June 29, 2012
2012 book 173
Jay Caspian Kang's The Dead Do Not Improve
I was intrigued by the description of this first novel by Kang, who works on Grantland--it's about a youngish Korean-American man whose elderly white neighbor is killed in what seems to be random gang gunfire, but then he gets drawn into a much larger mystery. The writing is excellent and I enjoyed some parts of this a lot (primarily the descriptions of the protagonist's childhood/teen years in North Carolina, where he and his Jewish friends were super into rap, and his meditations on Korean-American identity) but some parts were less appealing to me (I think this is more of a dude book, I didn't understand the end AT ALL, and I wanted to know more about the protagonist's family [though I understand why the latter maybe wasn't relevant]). Mainly my problem was that the mystery made no sense to me--I get that this isn't a traditional mystery novel, but still. But like I said, excellent writing, and should be popular among dudes. B.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
I was intrigued by the description of this first novel by Kang, who works on Grantland--it's about a youngish Korean-American man whose elderly white neighbor is killed in what seems to be random gang gunfire, but then he gets drawn into a much larger mystery. The writing is excellent and I enjoyed some parts of this a lot (primarily the descriptions of the protagonist's childhood/teen years in North Carolina, where he and his Jewish friends were super into rap, and his meditations on Korean-American identity) but some parts were less appealing to me (I think this is more of a dude book, I didn't understand the end AT ALL, and I wanted to know more about the protagonist's family [though I understand why the latter maybe wasn't relevant]). Mainly my problem was that the mystery made no sense to me--I get that this isn't a traditional mystery novel, but still. But like I said, excellent writing, and should be popular among dudes. B.
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An e-galley was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
2012 book 172
Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone
Sometimes when a book gets a lot of critical raves, it can never measure up to the hype, and I worried that would be the case with this one--but I liked it a lot. It take place in a fantasy version of historical Russia, where various people have various magical powers, but our orphan protagonist's magical power is the magicalest (it always is, in these kinds of books). Luckily, most of the rest of the story isn't (too) formulaic at all, and I really liked how things proceeded. Definitely a strong start to a trilogy--I look forward to seeing where it goes next. A/A-.
Sometimes when a book gets a lot of critical raves, it can never measure up to the hype, and I worried that would be the case with this one--but I liked it a lot. It take place in a fantasy version of historical Russia, where various people have various magical powers, but our orphan protagonist's magical power is the magicalest (it always is, in these kinds of books). Luckily, most of the rest of the story isn't (too) formulaic at all, and I really liked how things proceeded. Definitely a strong start to a trilogy--I look forward to seeing where it goes next. A/A-.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
2012 book 171
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Sometimes you just have to reread a classic--and I always am delighted anew on rediscovering how hilarious this book is. Plus Elizabeth is just a little bit bitchy--which is why I like her so much!
Sometimes you just have to reread a classic--and I always am delighted anew on rediscovering how hilarious this book is. Plus Elizabeth is just a little bit bitchy--which is why I like her so much!
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