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Sunday, January 22nd, 2012
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9:52 am - The Cabinet Garden
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The Rose Garden, by Susanna Kearsley
Kearsley writes slightly paranormal, slightly old-fashioned, contemporary Gothic romance novels. I have adored every single one of them I've read, mostly for reasons of character, language, and kindness of perspective, and I adored this one too. Its central conceit is time travel, which did not hurt, as I'm quite fond of that genre too. I always feel well-rested after spending some time with her books.
(16)
The Cabinet of Wonders, by Marie Rutkoski
Fun and adorable, but never over-the-top precious, novel set in an alternative magical Bohemia. A young and stubborn girl sets out to steal her father's eyes back from a cold-hearted prince. One of the several things I liked about this story is that the steampunk trappings are delightful, surprising, and never self-conscious. They fit right, and work to support the story, instead of being pasted on.
(17)
current mood: anticipatory
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| Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
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8:27 pm - Reclaiming Wild American Science and Nature
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Field Notes on Science and Nature, edited by Michael R. Canfield
Collection of essays by a wide variety of field-note using scientists, talking about how they use their notes and how they feel about them and other stuff like that. Copiously illustrated, hurrah! Loved it.
(11)
Reclaiming Fair Use, by Pat Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi
This was good, and it was interesting to see a lot of the ideas I first heard about in an online class taught by these two "buffed out" into proper book format. I'm at the point of learning about copyright these days where if I read about a topic I already know reasonably well, I get a little impatient, and fair use is the aspect of copyright I work with most often ... but it's always good to see someone else's take on things, when it's this good a take.
(12)
Best American Science Writing 2011, edited by Rebecca Skloot, Floyd Skloot, and Jesse Cohen; Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011, edited by Mary Roach and Tim Folger
Every year I read both of these, and every year I explain to you, gentle reader, that Best American Science Writing is more exciting, but I still like Best American Science and Nature writing too. This year, I liked 'em both about the same, which was surprising. They both suffered a bit from "science writers aren't so much into Cool Cutting-Edge Discoveries as scientists are," in terms of the guest editors' choices. On the other hand, they both benefited from "science writers tend to have more exacting writing standards than scientists do." :) Tons of stuff about medicine and environmental disasters. Only one overlap choice that was in both books, and it's such a good essay I read it twice.
(13, 14)
The Wild Ways, by Tanya Huff
Some authors just suit me as a reader, and Tanya Huff is in the top rank of those. Whatever she writes, I devour, and this fantasy was no exception. It did not hurt one bit that it was set mostly in the Maritimes. *pines for the Atlantic* If you haven't read The Enchantment Emporium yet, I strongly suggest you start there, not here. Her characters develop through the course of the series, and there are frequent (sometimes spoilerrific) references to past events.
(15)
current mood: bubbly
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9:35 am - Retrospective Silver Airbender; Remember Joe
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Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1, by Gene Luen Yang (e-ARC)
So fun! This continues the story (plausibly) after the ending of the series. Can't wait for the next chunk to come out. Art is delicious, as one might reasonably expect.
(6, A1)
The Silver Chair, by C. S. Lewis (reread, audiobook)
Man, the only things I remembered about this were the titular chair, the underground realm, the snake, and the marshwiggle. *Lots* more going on, so I enjoyed it more than I expected - "Oh, THAT part! I love that part." Also the reader (Jeremy Northam) was fabulous.
(7, O4)
Joe Brainard: A Retrospective, by Constance Lewallen
Beautiful and sometimes provocative art, almost always making me think in one way or another, with interesting contextual essays.
(8)
Joe: A Memoir of Joe Brainard, by Ron Padgett
The emotion slides in the cracks. I appreciated this book rather a lot.
(9)
I Remember, by Joe Brainard (reread)
Was neat to reread this in context, knowing what a lot of the references meant, so soon after reading it as an independent work by someone about whom I knew next to nothing about.
(10)
current mood: lazy
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| Thursday, January 12th, 2012
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11:29 am - Essential Incorruptible Barbarian Daughter Somewhere
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Incorruptible, vol. 1, by Mark Waid
I'd gotten really burned out on the original series for this, Irredeemable - it's just so relentlessly bleak - so I almost didn't try this one. Glad I did, though. A bad guy compelled by circumstances to become a good guy leaves a lot more room for comedy and hope than the other way around... and I'm now caught up in the world of the story enough to want to go back to the Irredeemables, as well.
(1, O1)
A God Somewhere, by John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg
An existentialist, power-mad, Nietzschean, single-volume superhero. There was a comic book series a few years back - maybe it's still going on? - that tried to set Greek tragedy in the present day, and (IMO) failed, because it lacked the depth and passion and vividness of its source material. This story is much less obviously drawn from that well, but does a better job of pulling out the same mix of emotions. Very tasty.
(2)
Joe the Barbarian, by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy
Powerful, witty, gripping, and adventurous. Balances several levels of tension expertly, and is beautifully drawn to boot. I was all "how did I never hear of this brilliant graphic novel classic before??" and then found out it's relatively new... last two years. So, I guess you could add timeless to that list of adjectives as well.
(3, O2)
Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, by Alison Bechdel
Memories piled upon memories for me, reading this "best of" collection for a strip I first started following in the mid-90s in Montreal. It was neat to watch the evolution of so many favorite characters, telescoped into a mere 300 pages or so.
(4)
Death's Daughter, by Amber Benson
Hm. I have severely mixed feelings about this fluffy contemporary fantasy. At it's best, it's hilarious and winning, but there were several sections where I just got so darn *annoyed* with the protagonist or the explicitly stated world-building assumptions (hint: Kali is not actually "all washed up" as far as modern-day worshipers go: fun character, crappy Eurocentric(?) logic for including her) - that I had to put it down for a month or two before trying it again. So it took me months to get through a chicklit-style fantasy novel! Most of those sections were near the beginning of the book, so I'll probably (cautiously) try the next one.
(5, O3)
current mood:  contemplative
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| Monday, January 2nd, 2012
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2:19 pm - top 3 titles of 2011
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Usually I skim the top 10 percent or so of my reviews, and republish them at the end of the year. And there were certainly at least 22 or so books I super-dug this year. However, 3 of the things I read were so much brillianter than all the rest that I'm just going to post those. THESE BOOKS ARE THE BOMB AND I FELL MADLY IN LOVE WITH THEM, YO. xxoo, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=88.8) maribou
Among Others, by Jo Walton
This is a book I always hoped someone would write without imagining it was actually possible, and also a wondrous strange thing I never would've dreamed could exist.
I am all undone.
(I got home after 8:30 tonight and did almost nothing but read this book until I'd finished it around 1:30 in the morning. It is everything I hoped it would be, and my hopes were so high. And also, I was often surprised, thinking "I thought *I* was the only person who thought that thing that seems so weird". And also, I was frequently moved to audible reaction while reading it. I think I need to buy another copy for lending to people so that I can mark the hell out of my own. (And yes, there will also be copies bought for other people, for years to come.) Notice how I'm skipping it ahead of all the books I haven't written up yet? That's because it's so great I couldn't keep from telling you about it for one minute more. And also, did I mention? Perfect. I loved it. )
(25/200, 20/100)
Picture This!, by Lynda Barry
OMG THIS BOOK IS SO FUCKING BRILLIANT I CAN NOT EVEN TELL YOU. You would have to read it. Then you would run around saying NO REALLY YOU HAVE TO READ IT to everyone you know who cares about art or drawing or figuring out how to let yourself be yourself instead of freaking out all the time. WOW. I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK SO MUCH. And if anyone says "oh, I don't know, it's good and all that..," I start RABIDLY EXPLAINING how amazing it is. That reminds me, I need to go send this book and another book to my aunt for her birthday! Right now!! There, I sent it. (Along with Marian Bantjes' _I Wonder_, which is wonderful in fairly different but not unconnected ways.)
(26/200)
Astro City: Family Album, Astro City: Life in the Big City, Astro City: Confession, Astro City: The Dark Age, vol. 1: Brothers & Other Strangers, Astro City: The Tarnished Angel, and Astro City: Local Heroes, by Kurt Busiek et al
The worst of these was still pretty good, and the best ones are amazing. Seriously. The best comics I've read all year. Meta, but deeply in love.
(164/200, 96/100; 165/200, 97/100; 166/200, 98/100; 167/200, 99/100; 170/200, 100/100; 173/200, 103/100)
current mood: complex
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1:34 am - Content Nights of Supernatural Bone; Farm February Park
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Supernatural Noir, edited by Ellen Datlow (e-ARC)
The stories in this anthology are absolutely top-notch; the noir element was sometimes more hardcore than I could comfortably handle. (Horror Noir is a different and grimier beast than Fantasy Noir, I tell you what.)
(222/200)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor
Dark fantasy of the wish fulfillment kind. Lovely, lush language and world-building, although the "real world" bits were too wish-fulfillment-y until I realized I should just treat them as if they all took place in a secondary world (that just happens to very closely resemble our own). Then I really got into the story - finished it in two days.
(223/200)
Nights of the Round Table and Other Stories of Heroic Fantasy, by Tanya Huff (nook)
Short fiction set in another world is probably my least favorite mode for Huff to work in, but since she's one of my very most favorite writers, "least favorite Huff" is still way more fun for me than most other things:). An excellent way to cleanse my palate between large chunks of The Idiot, too.
(224/200, 124/100)
Content, by Cory Doctorow (creative commons, nook)
The speed of change in the field of copyright, and for internet-related topics in general, is incredibly slow in some ways and incredibly quick in others. So some of these essays still read as forward-looking, while others made me nostalgic. Doctorow writes with such fluidity and inventiveness that I always enjoy his non-fiction, regardless of the topic. (I usually enjoy his fiction too, except when it is VERY CLUMSILY DIDACTIC, something that never bothers me - and doesn't feel clumsy - in his essays.)
(225/200, 125/100)
Hit by a Farm, by Catherine Friend
Frank, charming story of a children's book writer who took up farming in support of her long-term life partner's lifelong dream. I spent a lot of time on neighbors' farms as a kid, and we had horses in our pasture for most of my adolescence, so farming memoirs flood me with good memories. *happy sigh* This one is particularly full of sheep and chickens, if you have species preferences for such things.
(226/200)
February Thaw and Other Stories of Contemporary Fantasy, by Tanya Huff (nook)
This was great. I flew through it with relish. My appetite for Wild Ways, which just came out, is totally whetted, and I will be starting it this week.
(227/200, 126/100)
A Year in Fife Park, by Quinn Wilde (creative commons, nook)
Funny and brash and charmingly predictable without losing its originality of voice, this novella-length work made me smile fondly more than a few times, as I thought of the guy or two like that I knew in college, the man or two I know who seem to feel similarly about their own college years. Perfect airplane reading.
(228/200, 127/100)
current mood: waiting to be sleepy (where'd I put that copy of The Idiot?)
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| Sunday, January 1st, 2012
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2:12 pm - Super Prince Sensibility and the Good Dawn Wardrobe
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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis (audiobook, reread)
Michael York did a superb job reading this. Everything sounded exactly how it should. So many layers of memory and imagination.
(216/200, 119/100)
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen (nook, public domain)
Daffy in all the right ways, and incisively thoughtful enough to balance out the daffiness. My second-favorite Jane Austen so far.
(217/200, 120/100)
Fables, vol. 16: Super Team, by Bill Willingham et al
There were some very nifty resolutions in this volume, but overall I found it a bit frustrating and scattered. Willingham picked up the superhero theme with a deft hand, but he didn't dive into it nearly as deeply as I would've liked. Not that that will keep me from pouncing upon the next volume as soon as it comes out...
(218/200, 121/100)
Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis (audiobook, reread)
I was startled by how much of Prince Caspian I had forgotten, and how good those bits were. Also, there are aspects of this book that I found dull as a child, but don't now.
(219/200, 122/100)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis (audiobook, reread)
As mysterious and strange and wonderful as ever.
(220/200, 123/100)
Where Good Ideas Come From, by Steven Johnson
There is a fine line between sweeping generalizations that drive me crazy and put books in peril of being thrown, and sweeping generalizations that set off mental sparks and incite enthusiasm while remaining sufficiently respectful of their source material, and Johnson held steady on the righteous side of that line. Fascinating stuff.
(221/200)
current mood: caffeine-ingestion-mode-activated
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1:22 pm - I Bring Arcadia Up; Unpacking the Reawakened
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Bring on the Night, by Jeri Smith-Ready
Fluffy fluff about a kick-ass ex-grifter with a vampire DJ / grunge rocker for a boyfriend. Not quite as good as previous entries in the series, but still solid.
(210/200)
I Remember, by Joe Brainard
This is an exceptional, lovely, admirable, and occasionally wicked book. I intend to reread it before I give it back to the library.
(211/200)
Arcadia, by Lauren Groff (ARC)
One of the most beautiful stories I've read all year. Eloquently told and perceptive. I think even those who didn't grow up boyish and surrounded by back-to-the-landers (as I did) might love this book. All of the pieces fit together perfectly; it's fable-like, but grounded.
(212/200)
Why We Broke Up, by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman
Gorgeous and wry and gripping. It didn't make me miss any buses (as Watch Your Mouth did!), but I had trouble putting it down.
(213/200, 118/100)
Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books, by Leah Price
I had no idea whose libraries would be unpacked in this book before I started reading it. Turns out they belonged to: Alison Bechdel, Jonathan Lethem, Lev Grossman and Sophie Gee, Rebecca Goldstein and Steven Pinker, Phillip Pullman, Edmund White, Claire Messud and James Wood, Gary Shteyngart, Junot Díaz, and Stephen Carter. An eclectic and delicious mix. I imagine that if you like perusing bookshelves, you've already wandered off to order this book at this point, or put a library hold on it, and YOU ARE RIGHT. There's another book in this series that looks at the libraries of architects - I'm curious about it, particularly for the "how architects use their own spaces" angle, but not sure I will like it as much, since I don't feel the same pull toward specific architects that I do toward these (and many other) writers.
(214/200)
The Reawakened, by Jeri Smith-Ready
More fluffy fantasy fluff. This one set in a secondary world with an interesting animal-totem-based magic system - the satisfying conclusion to a trilogy I started reading a few years back.
(215/200)
(expect more postings from me later today - I intend to catch up on my 2011 reading!)
current mood: slow
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| Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
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10:59 pm - Unlikely Magic
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| Monday, December 12th, 2011
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11:20 pm - Allowed After Wildwood; White Leviathan on the Run; Ivory Now
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Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Carson Ellis
Thoroughly derivative of classic children's stories, but in the best possible ways, and with its own story to tell. I adored it.
(200/200)
Happily Ever After, edited by John Klima
Loads of reprints of wonderful fairy-tale-related stories, very many of which I had read before and was delighted to reread. The few stories that were new to me were also good, and the book is both prettily set and comfortable in the hand (important for bedtime reading!). Lovely all round.
(201/200, 115/100)
17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore, by Jenny Offill and Nancy Carpenter
Ebullient, hilarious, beautifully illustrated book about a small girl who specializes in making trouble. Loved it so much I made three of my friends at work read it:).
(202/200)
Teacher on the Run, by Francis Gilbert
Funny and sometimes heartbreaking. Clumsy in places. The British school system continues to fascinate me.
(203/200)
The Unwritten, vol. 4: Leviathan, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
This was fantastic, albeit not quite as mind-blowingly fantastic as vol. 3. The Sandman influence sat a little heavy on the page at times... but the Paulie Bruckner subplot was brilliant.
(204/200, 116/100)
The White Dragon, by Anne McCaffrey (reread)
Clunky in the places I expected it to be, but very satisfying overall. Suffused with memories - I must've read this book at least half-a-dozen times as a teenager.
(205/200, 117/100)
Okay for Now, by Gary Schmidt
I have not fallen so hard for this particular kind of story since I started reading Chris Crutcher in the 10th grade. <3 <3 <3. I was also (strangely) reminded of Beverly Cleary. Before now, I do not think I could have imagined juxtaposing those two authors...
(206/200)
In the Basement of the Ivory Tower, by Professor X
He fell down badly on some social issues (race and class, for eg), and I don't always agree with the rest of his arguments, but I loved huge swathes of this book. The memoirish parts are especially good.
(207/200)
current mood: fond
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| Thursday, November 24th, 2011
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11:55 pm - Shining Summer of Two Other Physics Brothers
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The Summer of Permanent Wants, by Jamieson Findlay
Gently but firmly surreal throughout. Perfect for my inner 11-year-old.
(194/200, 111/100)
Astro City: Shining Stars, and Astro City: The Dark Age Book 2: Brothers in Arms, by Kurt Busiek et al
Shining Stars was brilliant, Brothers in Arms was quite good. I think the main difference is that I like solo/team superheroes better than mega-organizations of superheroes (and supervillains)... I wanted lots more Street Angel and way less Pyramid even though I understand what they were doing and why they did it that way.
(195/200, 112/100; 196/200, 113/100)
Mothers and Other Monsters by Maureen McHugh (nook)
Maureen McHugh is the bomb, always. My favorite story in this set is about a woman, her dog, another dog, its owner, and the woman's invisible friend; she has a genius for making bizarre setups seem completely naturalistic - the great art of seeming artless. I think I prefer her novels to her short stories, but I'm still looking forward to reading the new volume of short stories she just published.
(197/200, 114/100)
Two Times Intro: On the Road with Patti Smith, by Michael Stipe
If you are as fascinated by Patti Smith as I am, and/or you enjoy blurry black-and-white photographs with tons of heart, you should find this book. Pleased Akashic reissued it, so I could find out about it: I was only 18 when it came out the first time.
(198/200)
Art & Physics, by Leonard Shlain
Perhaps as a teenager, you knew an adult who was decidedly brilliant and thoroughly educated but kind of kooky, and that adult liked to tell anyone who would listen (including you) all about their articulate, fascinating insights and their wacky, misconceived theories and had no sense whatsoever of the differences between the two. If so, then you, like me, will find the experience of this book weirdly familiar. There is some absolutely amazing stuff in here, but you have to be really patient to read the entire book. Or at least I had to be.
(199/200)
current mood: sleepy
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| Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
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11:16 pm - Half Bento Gifts; Steel Blood Discovery of Ant Crow
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Half World, by Hiromi Goto, lightly illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Thoroughly, Japanesely weird, in that way which feels gentle but isn't really. I liked this very much, and would've liked it even better as a teenager.
(185/200)
Gifts, by Ursula K. LeGuin (reread)
Every time I reread a LeGuin book, I like it even better than the time before. All the things that struck me about this one this time are inexpressible without spoilers.
(186/200)
Bento Box in the Heartland, by Linda Furiya
This book wasn't really my thing stylistically, but the worth of the stories being told transcended that minor gripe.
(187/200)
Coronets and Steel, and Blood Spirits, by Sherwood Smith
I read the ~950 pages of this duology in less than 2 days (days in which I also did homework and worked and stuff like that). Perhaps understandably, when I osmose books like that, they get a bit blurry round the edges. It's a modern Ruritarian novel and it reminded me (in a good way) of Susanna Kearsley and it had the sensitivity and dry humor I expect from Sherwood's work, and yeah. Loved these.
(188/200, 108/100; 189/200, 109/100)
A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness (nook)
I read this book on a library nook and I liked the interface so much I went and bought my own (marvelous) nook before I even finished it... Anyway, this falls into the "ripping good yarn" category for me. Flawed, but awesome. (Be warned, it's book 1 of ... at least 2. I hate that "oh, wait, I only just realized this isn't going to conclude" feeling at the end of really long books, so I thought I should save y'all from it.)
(190/200)
Ant, by Charlotte Sleigh
Artful synthesis is one of my favorite kinds of popcorn reading. GNOM NOM NOM.
(192/200)
Crow, by Boria Sax
This one was noticeably less artful, though still worth finishing. Too much literature and myth (even for me!), not enough science and history.
(193/200)
current mood: chill
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| Sunday, November 20th, 2011
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9:12 am - Dead Light Lords; Irredeemable Glass City
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The Glass Demon, by Helen Grant
Thoughtful, creepy fun. Shades of both I Capture the Castle and Shirley Jackson, though not quite up to their incredibly high standard.
(179/200)
Chicks Dig Time Lords, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O'Shea
Pop-culture geekery. <3. Especially the recollections of random voice actresses for parts of the canon I've never paid any attention to before:).
(180/200)
A Trick of the Light, by Louise Penny
I love this series of mysteries, I sink wholeheartedly into each one, and then when they're over, I have trouble explaining anything about them. Definitely character-driven, I can give you that much:).
(181/200)
The House of Dead Maids, by Claire Dunkle
Slight, haunting, but not quite all there. I was disappointed, & wonder whether I would've appreciated it better if I'd read Wuthering Heights, despite only tenuous plot connections. I liked it, but it's far from Dunkle's best.
(182/200)
Naked City, edited by Ellen Datlow
Like most original anthologies, uneven. Like most Datlow anthologies, mostly very good. I liked what a wide variety of stories plausibly showed up under the "urban fantasy" banner. Some of my favorite stories in here weren't things I would've previously labeled that way.
(183/200)
Irredeemable, vol 4. and vol. 5, by Mark Waid et al
The shock of the premise and the initial unfolding of same were more exciting than these later volumes are... but they're still telling a decent story.
(184/200, 107/100; 191/200, 110/100)
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| Monday, October 10th, 2011
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12:29 am - Anonymous Irredeemable Avatar; Fantastic Nonrequired Example; Trail of Bulldog; Astro Ultimatum X
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| Friday, September 16th, 2011
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1:19 pm - Last Symbiotes Nesting; Lost Magician; X-Men-Palooza
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The Magician King, by Lev Grossman
This was wonderful. Just as wry and full of overturns as the first one, but it never fell apart the way the first one did. Also I found Julia very compelling as a character. Loved it.
(138/200)
Ultimate X-Men, vol. 2: Return to Weapon X; vol. 3: World Tour, vol. 4: Hellfire & Brimstone, vol. 5: Ultimate War, and vol.6: Return of the King, by Mark Millar et al; vol. 7: Blockbuster, and vol. 8: New Mutants, by Brian Michael Bendis et al; vol. 9: The Tempest, and vol. 10: Cry Wolf, by Brian K. Vaughan et al
Heh. Yeah, so I kind of went on a bender. Got past the clunky dialogue of Millar into the smoother style of Bendis and then was reminded by the awesomeness of Brian K. Vaughan that I really want to read the Runaways series... I only stopped reading these because we're missing volume 11. Comic book store tomorrow!
(139/200, 76/100; 140/200, 77/100; 142/200, 78/100; 143/200, 79/100; 144/200, 80/100; 145/200, 81/100; 146/200, 82/100; 147/200, 83/100; 148/200, 84/100)
The Last Dragon, by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Guay (e-ARC)
An absolutely beautiful fairy tale comic. Guay's artwork is somewhat reminiscent of N. C. Wyeth, but she has some elements all her own. And, as one would expect from Jane Yolen, the story has such a fine patina that anyone might think it several centuries older than it really is. PS DRAGONS!!!!
(141/200)
The Nesting Dolls, by Gail Bowen
If, like me, you read mystery novels for the characters and their interactions, rather than the whodunit, you would love Gail Bowen's work... if you're a whodunit fan, well, I confess I figured that out about 200 pages before the main characters did. But, as noted, I don't care. <3 <3 <3.
(149/200)
Avatar the Last Airbender: The Lost Adventures, by Aaron Ehasz et al (e-ARC)
Oh! These seemed just kind of fun and goofy and Spirou-magazine-like for the first few pages, but the long stories really DO faithfully bring the spirit of the show to life on the page. I sighed, I hooted, I wished there were more... Excellent collection.
(150/200)
Ultimate Spider Man, vol. 21: War of the Symbiotes, by Brian Michael Bendis et al
This was ... interesting. Not much I can say about it that won't involve spoilers, honestly. But it was a fun read.
(151/200, 85/100)
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| Thursday, September 1st, 2011
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10:47 pm - Different Level; Renegade Homecoming: Breath of Tomorrow
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This Girl Is Different, by JJ Johnson (e-ARC)
In the first half of my teenagerhood, I read a bazillion package-y teen romance novels. I didn't exactly like them, but I was trying to figure out a lot of confusing stuff and they were one of the tools I had at my disposal. There were some people writing better teen romance novels (ME Kerr, Paul Zindel, Paula Danzinger, Ursula Le Guin - really! - , and even Gordon Korman) and I was SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for those stories, even when they were less than perfect, because the teenagers in them had complex feelings and were interested in things other than their love interest. My fifteen-year-old self would have been SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for this book, too. At thirty-four, I found it overearnest, and a touch didactic ... but I still had a good time. Predictable, and satisfying.
(132/200)
Level Up, by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Thien Pham
Charming, straightforward story about embracing and transcending your dreams. American Born Chinese was so marvelously complicated - I was hoping for more of the same here, and so I don't think I could judge the book fairly on its own merits once I realized I wasn't getting something so multi-layered. Sweet with just a hint of something more.
(133/200)
Mercy Thompson: Homecoming, by Patricia Briggs et al
Origins! Whee. Well drawn, though one of the artists was a bit much on the stylization - too superhero for this story.
(134/200)
The Rise of Renegade X, by Chelsea Campbell
I've been meaning to read this book forever, and I finally did; I was spurred into picking it up when I found out the author is in my library school cohort, of all things! She is wicked funny and thoughtful in person, so I rightly guessed that her novel would be funny and thoughtful too. I was trying to explain its niftiness to a friend, and I ended up saying that more often than not, YA books feel as though they've been written for grown-ups (and teens that already think like grown-ups) or kids (and teens that still think like kids). This book is one of a rare few that feel truly aimed at a teen audience. I dug it a lot, even though I am a grown-up (who probably does not still think like a teenager all THAT often). As satisfyingly flawed, yet likable, a first-person narrator as this connoisseur of first-person narrators has seen in a while.
(135/200)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes, by Diana Gabaldon
The first-person narrator of this series occasionally drifts a bit too close to Mary Sue (subspecies: gorgeous when angry), and there were some other grating absurdities. But I always enjoy Gabaldon's books, and, especially at the end of a long, hot summer, I do appreciate a good time-travelling historical romance potboiler with a snowflake on the cover.
(136/200)
Ultimate X-Men, vol. 1: The Tomorrow People, by Mark Millar et al
Mark Millar is no Brian Michael Bendis. But I looked at subsequent volumes, and it seems as though if I stick with this title, Brian Michael Bendis will eventually show up. Also, the plots/characters are fun - it's just that most of Millar's dialogue bounces against my ears like a pair of pot lids wielded by a toddler.
(137/200, 76/100)
current mood: tuckered
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| Saturday, August 20th, 2011
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11:21 pm - Librarianship as Conversation
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The Atlas of New Librarianship, by R. David Lankes
So I wrote class-assignment posts about each of the major sections of this book over on my school blog, Tiny Glass Houses - if you'd like my thoughts in depth, best to mosey over there (and you may want to start with the oldest posts if you don't want things to build backward). Here I will just say that it's one of only two times in my life that a prof assigning his own book turned out to be a very good thing indeed, and that the usefulness of this book as a provocation, guide, and sampler far outweighed the frustrations I occasionally experienced while reading it.
(131/200, 75/100)
current mood: pensive
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4:52 pm - Tiffany Guys at Emperor Point
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The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, by Jeanne Birdsall
This middle-grade series continues to somehow stay totally wholesome and totally non-saccharine. I am deeply fond of it.
(127/200)
The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Kind of a slog, but worth it. Everything you could want to know about the history of cancer research. I was particularly absorbed by reading about stuff that I had to study in college, because back then it was all confusing and boring, but Mukherjee put it all in context, and I was fascinated.
(128/200)
A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls, by Nina Grey et al
This was SO much better than the novel I read about it. Tons of luminous photos of the glass, tons of moving photos of the women artisans, tons of quotes from Driscoll's letters, and a solid historical framework. One of those exhibition catalogues that you'd never know wasn't a regular straight-up book. Solid.
(129/200)
Good Guys and Bad Guys, by Joe Nocera
So business is not high on my list of interests, but Joe Nocera is a fine fine writer. I really enjoyed pushing myself a bit to fill some gaps in my financial knowledge through the vehicle of his stories about the people behind the news. Also, my kneejerk reaction to the people who run corporations is about what you'd expect from someone whose parents were hippies when she was a child, and this helped me think somewhat more broadly about that.
(130/200)
current mood: relaxed
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Saturday, August 13th, 2011
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4:45 pm - Ultimate Thackery Tiffany Love; Read Kafka
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Clara and Mr. Tiffany, by Susan Vreeland
This book was really charming in some ways - mostly when describing the various lampshades and other art objects - but this author just Did. Not. Manage. Narrative. Voice. In theory, the narrator was a woman living in turn-of-the-20th-century (+/- 20 years) New York. Way too often, she sounded like the heroine of one of my mom's British romance novels from the 1960s. The dialogue abounded in speech patterns and turns of phrase that were jarringly anachronistic. My grumpiness suggests to me that I care about language more than I do about plot and setting (which were solid). I found myself wanting to know lots more about Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Women's Department, but eager to be done with this novel. (I've ordered the exhibition catalog Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls via interlibrary loan.)
(121/200)
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (complimentary copy)
Now the authors of this book had pitch-perfect narrative tone. Brilliant, kaleidoscopic metafiction - catalogue entries mixed with short stories mixed with journal articles, and so on - all seasoned with lovely art. Exactly surreal enough. Rachel Swirsky's story was my most-favorite, and Mike Mignola's illustrations made me remember reading The Telltale Heart in seventh grade. Recommended if you like Wunderkammer, slipstream, and/or the creepy tingle of things that threaten to make sense.
(122/200, 73/100)
Ultimate Spider-Man, volume 20: Ultimate Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, by Brian Michael Bendis et al
Good times.
(123/200, 74/100)
Lego: A Love Story, by Jonathan Bender
This book was captivating. I caught myself sighing wistfully, laughing out loud, and even tearing up. Nothing makes me quite so happy as books about people who really love the thing they love to do.
(124/200)
Kafka Was the Rage, by Anatole Broyard
A window into the Village, circa 1950. Honest and fragmentary.
(125/200)
Why Read?, by Mark Edmundson
This book isn't about whether to read or not, it's about what the reasons behind an individual's reading should be. More than that, it's about how teachers should teach, and what great books are for. Parts of this book delighted me and parts irritated me and parts made me uncomfortable and and other parts yet just straight up made me think really hard. Candid and provocative.
(126/200)
current mood: lazy
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(comment on this)
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| Saturday, August 6th, 2011
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12:38 pm - Dance with Cult Shadowborn
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A Dance with Dragons, by George R. R. Martin
The story dragged in places, due to the problem of "I want this character's stuckness to make the reader uncomfortable" lasting long enough to make this reader not just uncomfortable but kind of bored.... but I still tore through it, and once said characters got UNSTUCK: Woot! High gritty adventure galore. This is one of my all-time favorite fantasy series; try it if you are intrigued by multiple viewpoints, dire happenings, and a slow build of magic rather than a lot of flash up front. Also if you can deal with the fact that it will be YEARS until book six comes out.
(118/200)
Shadowborn, by Alison Sinclair
I'm pretty sure that my diminished experience of this book falls squarely into the "it's not you, it's me" category. It brought all the same nifty world-building, thoughtful characterization, and sharp dialogue to the yard that the previous two (excellent) books in the series did; but I brought a level of distraction, poor memory, and inattentiveness to reading it that didn't match how I read the first two.
(119/200)
The Cult of Information, by Theodore Roszak
O, curmudgeonly jeremiads seasoned with trenchant insights, how I do love ye. This one is from 1986, railing against the dangers of the "Age of Information" in both reasonable and ridiculous ways. Lots of salient history mixed in with the railing, too.
(120/200)
current mood: relaxed
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