The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory
Okay so this is basically historical smut. But what fine historical smut it is! Well-written and well-researched and I didn’t hate the execution of any of the characters. And if everyone getting it on with the king is a little…much, sex is and always has been a major part of world politics. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AMIRITE. Anyway, as far as historical smut goes, this was less smutty and more historical than I expected.
Okay so this is basically historical smut. But what fine historical smut it is! Well-written and well-researched and I didn’t hate the execution of any of the characters. And if everyone getting it on with the king is a little…much, sex is and always has been a major part of world politics. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AMIRITE. Anyway, as far as historical smut goes, this was less smutty and more historical than I expected.
Jpod – Douglas Coupland
Firstly, self-referential books are total crap. Second: making lives of crime surreally mundane is overblown and conceptually not at all clever. Third: the quality of the prose is degraded and pretentiously faux-hip. Fourth: this is the first book in a while I have genuinely regretted spending time and money on
Firstly, self-referential books are total crap. Second: making lives of crime surreally mundane is overblown and conceptually not at all clever. Third: the quality of the prose is degraded and pretentiously faux-hip. Fourth: this is the first book in a while I have genuinely regretted spending time and money on
Moll Flanders - Daniel Defoe
I have repeatedly tried – and failed – to get through this book. Defoe’s writing style is too close to the horrible Victorian word-vomit style that makes me shudder. Also writing in dialect is just so difficult to deal with. I can’t even. Maybe one day I will go back and get through it, finally.
I have repeatedly tried – and failed – to get through this book. Defoe’s writing style is too close to the horrible Victorian word-vomit style that makes me shudder. Also writing in dialect is just so difficult to deal with. I can’t even. Maybe one day I will go back and get through it, finally.
The Illustrated Man – Ray Bradbury
Chilling. And heartbreaking. And heartbreakingly chilling. Bradbury is such a delicious writer, and I love the conceit of the Illustrated Man as the element tying all the stories together. His story is the saddest of them all, and they’re pretty brutal. But beautifully so.
Chilling. And heartbreaking. And heartbreakingly chilling. Bradbury is such a delicious writer, and I love the conceit of the Illustrated Man as the element tying all the stories together. His story is the saddest of them all, and they’re pretty brutal. But beautifully so.
The Golden Compass – Phillip Pullman
For someone who claims to hate allegory as much as Pullman does, he manages to write a tiringly transparent attack on organized religion. I mean, I guess I appreciate the conceptual work, but I don’t think the writing is of a high enough quality to do any of what Pullman seems to have set out to do.
For someone who claims to hate allegory as much as Pullman does, he manages to write a tiringly transparent attack on organized religion. I mean, I guess I appreciate the conceptual work, but I don’t think the writing is of a high enough quality to do any of what Pullman seems to have set out to do.
The Subtle Knife – Phillip Pullman
Pullman has no subtlety or elegance. The threads come together so clumsily, and that it is written for children is no excuse. Children deserve well-crafted literature as well. Also the Aristotelian shades are irksome. And he’s reusing tropes in such inelegant ways! It’s almost painful.
Pullman has no subtlety or elegance. The threads come together so clumsily, and that it is written for children is no excuse. Children deserve well-crafted literature as well. Also the Aristotelian shades are irksome. And he’s reusing tropes in such inelegant ways! It’s almost painful.
The Amber Spyglass – Phillip Pullman
Clumsy again. And also blatant and unsubtle – it reads like a first, teenaged attempt at a novel. There are some promising elements but Pullman’s writing isn’t up to the task.
Clumsy again. And also blatant and unsubtle – it reads like a first, teenaged attempt at a novel. There are some promising elements but Pullman’s writing isn’t up to the task.
Walden – Henry David Thoreau
The account of Thoreau’s time living by Walden Pond is strikingly similar to rNamtar – not only in content, but in narrative style as well. And his prose can be so beautiful! When he deviates from moralizing descriptive of his activities and gets into the meat of his philosophy, or what he thinks all the birdsongs sound like, it’s haunting. I almost find myself agreeing with much of what he says, especially Reading.
The account of Thoreau’s time living by Walden Pond is strikingly similar to rNamtar – not only in content, but in narrative style as well. And his prose can be so beautiful! When he deviates from moralizing descriptive of his activities and gets into the meat of his philosophy, or what he thinks all the birdsongs sound like, it’s haunting. I almost find myself agreeing with much of what he says, especially Reading.
Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins
I will admit freely that I love YA. And we’re all probably well aware of my abiding love for dystopian literature. Collins has managed to make a second book that catches the imagination and is somehow both brutal and childlike. I GET Katniss, I really do. She doesn’t feel fake or like there’s a moral hiding somewhere, and, of course, the world that Collins creates is one that defies logic while at the same time making a twisted sort of sense. And I love Cinna. Love, love, love.
I will admit freely that I love YA. And we’re all probably well aware of my abiding love for dystopian literature. Collins has managed to make a second book that catches the imagination and is somehow both brutal and childlike. I GET Katniss, I really do. She doesn’t feel fake or like there’s a moral hiding somewhere, and, of course, the world that Collins creates is one that defies logic while at the same time making a twisted sort of sense. And I love Cinna. Love, love, love.
Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
I think the end was a cop-out and I’m not afraid to say it. It was a disappointing, unexplained, overwrought and underdone end to a fascinating and fabulous series that deserved better. And this is not just me being bitter because *SPOILERS* Katniss ends up with Peeta. Not that I have anything against him, or anything in this amazing series at all. Except the end. The rest is perfect.
I think the end was a cop-out and I’m not afraid to say it. It was a disappointing, unexplained, overwrought and underdone end to a fascinating and fabulous series that deserved better. And this is not just me being bitter because *SPOILERS* Katniss ends up with Peeta. Not that I have anything against him, or anything in this amazing series at all. Except the end. The rest is perfect.
Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
Okay so we all know how much I love YA, and we all are definitely aware that Neil Gaiman is my modern-esque fantasy crush (except for maybe that guy who wrote Widdershins whose name escapes me), and this book is…I might propose to him at this rate. The Jacks are just blood-chilling, and I love how Gaiman just gives enough teases to keep you knowing that there’s something deeper to this than a sweet and saucy little boy hanging out with some ghosts. I love how ALMOST everything is revealed, and how all the little details make the narrative so rich and perfectly normal and…and…characters! Dialogue! Critical things? Neil Gaiman marry me.
Okay so we all know how much I love YA, and we all are definitely aware that Neil Gaiman is my modern-esque fantasy crush (except for maybe that guy who wrote Widdershins whose name escapes me), and this book is…I might propose to him at this rate. The Jacks are just blood-chilling, and I love how Gaiman just gives enough teases to keep you knowing that there’s something deeper to this than a sweet and saucy little boy hanging out with some ghosts. I love how ALMOST everything is revealed, and how all the little details make the narrative so rich and perfectly normal and…and…characters! Dialogue! Critical things? Neil Gaiman marry me.
Against the Fall of Night – Arthur C. Clarke
Can I just say that dystopian fiction is the absolute bomb? This book is no exception. Slender and sparse and yet somehow so chock full of vivid mental images and startling humanity, Clarke has proven that he is a master of writing. I loved the whole idea of Alvin as the only child born in 7000 years, and Vanamonde was just spectacularly innovative and I felt surprised and yet strangely unsurprised at every turn of events, as if it were all right, just not necessarily foreseeable.
Can I just say that dystopian fiction is the absolute bomb? This book is no exception. Slender and sparse and yet somehow so chock full of vivid mental images and startling humanity, Clarke has proven that he is a master of writing. I loved the whole idea of Alvin as the only child born in 7000 years, and Vanamonde was just spectacularly innovative and I felt surprised and yet strangely unsurprised at every turn of events, as if it were all right, just not necessarily foreseeable.
The Bridge – Charles Dalrymple-Fraser
There are so many things to say about this book, but I will start with saying that it bugged me. I like thinking about books, but I don’t like spending every second wondering what words and sentences and plotlines MEAN. I would prefer to think about a book afterward and spend the reading time enjoying the story. That being said, I did think, which was pleasant, and I feel like, despite my dislike of the subject matter and the style, it is well-crafted and the author made decisions for reasons that make sense to me. And maybe I was supposed to dislike it. Maybe making me uncomfortable is the best praise for a book.
There are so many things to say about this book, but I will start with saying that it bugged me. I like thinking about books, but I don’t like spending every second wondering what words and sentences and plotlines MEAN. I would prefer to think about a book afterward and spend the reading time enjoying the story. That being said, I did think, which was pleasant, and I feel like, despite my dislike of the subject matter and the style, it is well-crafted and the author made decisions for reasons that make sense to me. And maybe I was supposed to dislike it. Maybe making me uncomfortable is the best praise for a book.
The Horse and His Boy – C.S. Lewis
I had forgotten how lovely and well-written the Chronicles of Narnia are. The Horse and His Boy is one of my favourites because it offers something like an outsider’s view of the Pevensies and their kingdom, and deals quite well with moral dilemmas and questions of diasporic communities. Also it’s just such a good story. I found myself tearing up at all the inspiring bits.
I had forgotten how lovely and well-written the Chronicles of Narnia are. The Horse and His Boy is one of my favourites because it offers something like an outsider’s view of the Pevensies and their kingdom, and deals quite well with moral dilemmas and questions of diasporic communities. Also it’s just such a good story. I found myself tearing up at all the inspiring bits.
Prince Caspian – C.S. Lewis
Apparently I’m re-reading all of Narnia this spring. I have to say, Caspian is one of my favourite characters in all of literature. He manages to be both boy and king, and Lewis strikes the really nice point of questioning why we put authority in people’s hands. Also the idea that one can go back to Narnia is one which I treasure so closely, as well as Aslan’s words to Lucy, that he grows bigger as we grow older. Allegories. I love them.
Apparently I’m re-reading all of Narnia this spring. I have to say, Caspian is one of my favourite characters in all of literature. He manages to be both boy and king, and Lewis strikes the really nice point of questioning why we put authority in people’s hands. Also the idea that one can go back to Narnia is one which I treasure so closely, as well as Aslan’s words to Lucy, that he grows bigger as we grow older. Allegories. I love them.
Atlas of Unknowns – Tania James
I feel like this book really wanted to be good, and it was lovely, to be sure, but it wasn’t quite as impactful as it could have been. The characters werewell-made, but not quite realistic. The descriptive was lovely, but not quite evocative. The plot was interesting, but not quite gripping. And I feel like it almost engaged with the realities both of India and of Indian immigrants, but fell just short of doing that in any meaningful way.
I feel like this book really wanted to be good, and it was lovely, to be sure, but it wasn’t quite as impactful as it could have been. The characters werewell-made, but not quite realistic. The descriptive was lovely, but not quite evocative. The plot was interesting, but not quite gripping. And I feel like it almost engaged with the realities both of India and of Indian immigrants, but fell just short of doing that in any meaningful way.
Sebastian R. Delaney – Nova
AHHHH It has been way too long since I read genuinely good hard SF. Was it a little rushed in places? Yes. Was it disproportionately focused on internal narratives to the detriment of explanation of the actually interesting bits? Maybe, although I almost like the air of mystery. Dialogue magical, characters wonderfully fleshed, and the plotline intriguing, and his writing is just so…pretty. So pretty. I love writing that flows over your tongue like silk.
AHHHH It has been way too long since I read genuinely good hard SF. Was it a little rushed in places? Yes. Was it disproportionately focused on internal narratives to the detriment of explanation of the actually interesting bits? Maybe, although I almost like the air of mystery. Dialogue magical, characters wonderfully fleshed, and the plotline intriguing, and his writing is just so…pretty. So pretty. I love writing that flows over your tongue like silk.
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull – Richard Bach
Allegories. I like allegories. I just wasn’t quite sure what this allegory was OF. The spiritual journey aspect was confusingly quasi-religious, with various elements that made me think of Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism. I mean, I enjoyed it nonetheless – the writing is so smooth and reads like an otherworldly story – but I really want to know where the inspiration came from.
Allegories. I like allegories. I just wasn’t quite sure what this allegory was OF. The spiritual journey aspect was confusingly quasi-religious, with various elements that made me think of Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism. I mean, I enjoyed it nonetheless – the writing is so smooth and reads like an otherworldly story – but I really want to know where the inspiration came from.
Remembering Babylon – David Malouf
This story is disjointed and unbalanced and somehow that doesn’t detract from how perfect it is; somehow that makes it perfect. Dreamtime and the Old World and the terrors of newness and the need for the security of connection: it’s all there in this dreamy, slow, perfect story that somehow doesn’t really tell a story that may or may not be about a castaway boy or an orphan or a family or a land that is older than old and newer than new.
This story is disjointed and unbalanced and somehow that doesn’t detract from how perfect it is; somehow that makes it perfect. Dreamtime and the Old World and the terrors of newness and the need for the security of connection: it’s all there in this dreamy, slow, perfect story that somehow doesn’t really tell a story that may or may not be about a castaway boy or an orphan or a family or a land that is older than old and newer than new.
The Lions of Al-Rassan – Guy Gavriel Kay
I re-read Kay every once in a while in the fond hope that I will have remembered his brilliance incorrectly. Invariably, I have. Everything is better, somehow, more beautifully phrased, more elegant, better-crafted and more sorrowful upon re-reading. Lions is perfect, as a novel, as a love song to a place that once was and will never be again.
I re-read Kay every once in a while in the fond hope that I will have remembered his brilliance incorrectly. Invariably, I have. Everything is better, somehow, more beautifully phrased, more elegant, better-crafted and more sorrowful upon re-reading. Lions is perfect, as a novel, as a love song to a place that once was and will never be again.
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
Bradbury continues to be a consummate storyteller, and his prose is evocative and alive. Jim/Will/Charles are easy to slip into, and their triumph over the Dark real.
Bradbury continues to be a consummate storyteller, and his prose is evocative and alive. Jim/Will/Charles are easy to slip into, and their triumph over the Dark real.
Child of the Morning – Pauline Gedge
I continue to love the raw power of this woman’s work. I have a weakness for Egypt, but also a weakness for the excellent writing that lends humanity in all its joys and sorrows and loves to characters breathed from the depths of the desert.
I continue to love the raw power of this woman’s work. I have a weakness for Egypt, but also a weakness for the excellent writing that lends humanity in all its joys and sorrows and loves to characters breathed from the depths of the desert.
The Rebel Angels – Robertson Davies
It was lovely, but a little too mixed and muddled for my liking, and began to be unsatisfactory about halfway through. Rather an unremarkable book, all told.
It was lovely, but a little too mixed and muddled for my liking, and began to be unsatisfactory about halfway through. Rather an unremarkable book, all told.
Good Omens – Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
The cleverest! Anyone unfamiliar with British tropes and obscure Christian mysticism will not find it as astoundingly witty and actually rather insightful as I have, but OH MAN. Neil Gaiman, marry me?
The cleverest! Anyone unfamiliar with British tropes and obscure Christian mysticism will not find it as astoundingly witty and actually rather insightful as I have, but OH MAN. Neil Gaiman, marry me?
The People’s Guide to JRR Tokien – Erica Challis
OH MY GOODNESS. I am, of course, madly in love with this man’s work, and to read so much exposition and so much insightful, analytical exegesis…it was pure bliss. I have not been this pleased since rereading LotR last summer.
OH MY GOODNESS. I am, of course, madly in love with this man’s work, and to read so much exposition and so much insightful, analytical exegesis…it was pure bliss. I have not been this pleased since rereading LotR last summer.
The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde
Can I just say that British wit and literature inside jokes are my heart? I was worried that this wouldn’t be as good as when I read it in high school, but the writing is still believable and clever and the story even more engaging. I definitely appreciate it now more than I did then.
Can I just say that British wit and literature inside jokes are my heart? I was worried that this wouldn’t be as good as when I read it in high school, but the writing is still believable and clever and the story even more engaging. I definitely appreciate it now more than I did then.
Equal Rites – Terry Pratchett
This man can do no wrong. I must admit, this book pulled me from a blue funk and made a really hard few days bearable though its humour and general enjoyability.
This man can do no wrong. I must admit, this book pulled me from a blue funk and made a really hard few days bearable though its humour and general enjoyability.
A Doll's House – Henrik Ibsen
Ibsen is pretty brutal. The worst/best part is the naturalness of the dialogue; I genuinely believed that not only could this tragic dissolution happen, but that it does, and frequently. And despite all the plot threads and the brevity, it didn’t feel crowded. Ibsen is the master.
Ibsen is pretty brutal. The worst/best part is the naturalness of the dialogue; I genuinely believed that not only could this tragic dissolution happen, but that it does, and frequently. And despite all the plot threads and the brevity, it didn’t feel crowded. Ibsen is the master.
Katherine Swynford – Alison Weir
I love me a good historical romp, and also a good historical badass lady. This book is similar to a book on Eleanor of Aquitaine that I read in CEGEP – gleaning from documents of all sorts the ways in which a woman lived and how her life affected and was affected by the momentous events of 14th century England. Well-researched and well-crafted and thus excessively well-played.
I love me a good historical romp, and also a good historical badass lady. This book is similar to a book on Eleanor of Aquitaine that I read in CEGEP – gleaning from documents of all sorts the ways in which a woman lived and how her life affected and was affected by the momentous events of 14th century England. Well-researched and well-crafted and thus excessively well-played.
Going to Meet the Man – James Baldwin
Short story collections are not usually things I make much time for; I’m much more inclined to longer-form prose. I’m rather glad I made the exception, here, though – aside from one which was positively interminable and not at all engaging, all of these stories touched me, whether my curiosity, my intellect, or my emotions, which to me is one of the hallmarks of good writing. An absolute pleasure.
Short story collections are not usually things I make much time for; I’m much more inclined to longer-form prose. I’m rather glad I made the exception, here, though – aside from one which was positively interminable and not at all engaging, all of these stories touched me, whether my curiosity, my intellect, or my emotions, which to me is one of the hallmarks of good writing. An absolute pleasure.
Literary Lapses – Stephen Leacock
I must admit that Leacock’s tongue-in-cheek humour is clever and well-written, and that I thoroughly enjoyed this compilation of putterings, but there’s something insubstantial about it. I confess to preferring novels to collections of anything.
I must admit that Leacock’s tongue-in-cheek humour is clever and well-written, and that I thoroughly enjoyed this compilation of putterings, but there’s something insubstantial about it. I confess to preferring novels to collections of anything.
Mort – Terry Pratchett
Somehow a bit less light than the previous Discworld books – this is not the epitome of Pratchett’s capabilities as an author. Nevertheless, very enjoyable. I especially like Death’s stint as a line cook and his fondness for kittens.
Somehow a bit less light than the previous Discworld books – this is not the epitome of Pratchett’s capabilities as an author. Nevertheless, very enjoyable. I especially like Death’s stint as a line cook and his fondness for kittens.
Red Velvet Revenge – Jenn McKinlay
Rodeos, cupcakes, a good dose of romantic trickiness, oh and murder. This book is silly and cute and not ESPECIALLY well-written, but still a lot of fun to read.
Rodeos, cupcakes, a good dose of romantic trickiness, oh and murder. This book is silly and cute and not ESPECIALLY well-written, but still a lot of fun to read.
The Name of the Wind – Patrick Rothfuss
High-class fantasy. A well-developed world, non-stereotypical characters, and a wealth of suspenseful storyteller makes this a worthwhile acquisition. PLUS the switch in perspective conceit is just genius.
High-class fantasy. A well-developed world, non-stereotypical characters, and a wealth of suspenseful storyteller makes this a worthwhile acquisition. PLUS the switch in perspective conceit is just genius.
The Wise Man’s Fear – Patrick Rothfuss
This man is actually a consummate storyteller. His use of language is plain but captivating, and he knows how to make words work for him, and sometimes even how to make them dance. The characters are brilliantly conceived (an actually flawed hero!) and uncontrived, and the story flows intriguingly. I can hardly wait for the final installment.
This man is actually a consummate storyteller. His use of language is plain but captivating, and he knows how to make words work for him, and sometimes even how to make them dance. The characters are brilliantly conceived (an actually flawed hero!) and uncontrived, and the story flows intriguingly. I can hardly wait for the final installment.
Tigana – Guy Gavriel Kay
This is, still, my favourite book in the entire world. Not the best, mind, nor perhaps the cleverest or the sweetest or the most beautiful, but to me it is, still, after everything, the most precious thing I have ever read. And it is only better for the re-reading.
This is, still, my favourite book in the entire world. Not the best, mind, nor perhaps the cleverest or the sweetest or the most beautiful, but to me it is, still, after everything, the most precious thing I have ever read. And it is only better for the re-reading.