Tag Archives: book review
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I suspect that, had I read The White Queen first, I would have understood and enjoyed Richard III far more. I do not find Philippa Gregory to be a particularly compelling author, but the subject matter fascinates me. I cannot say where this fascination with the Tudors and now their Yorkist and Lancastrian ancestors first began, but it seems to be quite persistent. I will almost certainly read more of these books. They are a pleasant diversion from anything serious. Well, pleasant other than all of the dying. And children being used as pawns. And children dying. What happened to the princes in the Tower anyway?
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 3 stars, aristocracy, book review, books, Britain, conspiracies, everybody dies, fiction, greedy relatives, historical fiction, House of York, london town, review, romance, royalty, sweet sweet luuurve, up to no good, war | posted in Words
Bossypants by Tina Fey
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Tina Fey is one of the funniest women in the comedy world. Bossypants is her venture into the comic memoir and it is a success. I highly recommend that you listen to the audio book. While the first third, largely a description of the years before she moved to New York, dragged a little bit, by the time she hit NBC she was in perfect groove. Ever wondered what it is like to be in a photo shoot? Want to know more about raising a child who has always seen her mother in the media sphere? Have you ever wondered the correct way to put on eye cream? All this and more are included in this truly hilarious tale. Go listen to it. Now.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: (auto)biographies & memoirs, 3.5 stars, beautiful people, book review, books, humorous, memoir, review | posted in Words
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Locke Lamora is what Oliver Twist could have been, had he not been so impossibly perfectly naive to the point of stupidity and dull innocent. Actually, I suppose one would have to say Locke has more in common with The Artful Dodger. An orphan who becomes a skilled thief, but with far more intelligence and skill. And burning down of large inns. In The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch creates a cast of characters who you’ll love and who will make you laugh. An equisite work of fantasy that overlaps heavily with the action genre, I highly recommend this work to anyone who likes their characters to be badass and have questionable motives.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 4 stars, action or adventure, badassery, bloody spiders, book review, books, everybody dies, fantasy, fiction, questionable motives, review, up to no good, xposted to OSgA reviews | posted in Words
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Forget cabins in remote wooded places or suspicious small towns; I am convinced that English country houses, particularly in cloudy areas, are the most dangerous places to live or visit. At best, you’ll be robbed of something valuable. Maybe something you own will turn out to be cursed. Most likely you or someone else in the house will be brutally murdered. If you’re lucky, that is. The characters in The Turn of the Screw do not get off so lightly. The book is narrated from the point of view of a governess who may or may not be insane and includes such staples as precocious and creepy orphans, possible ghosts, mysterious pasts, and a handsome but distant master. A very good book to read for Halloween and one which will likely be argued over until the end of humanity.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 3.5 stars, book review, books, country houses, gothic fiction, horror, precocious kiddos, questionable motives, questionable sanity, review, up to no good | posted in Words
You Don’t Look Like a Librarian: Shattering Stereotypes and Creating Positive New Images in the Internet Age by Ruth Kneale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I stumbled across You Don’t Look Like a Librarian: Shattering Stereotypes and Creating Positive New Images in the Internet Age while randomly browsing at a library today. Shocking, right? Given the title, length and terrible choice of font, I did not have high expectations, but it seemed worth checking out. I’m glad I did. Not so much because the book said anything particularly profound, but because it is a trove of other books and media I now want to find. It was rather irking to see just how terrible a survey the author conducted and cited was, but Ruth Kneale did acknowledge its shortcomings. Overall, I’m glad I read this. Even though I could probably have found the resources elsewhere, I’m fine with doing it the lazy way.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 3 stars, book review, books, librarian, libraries are awesome, library, library sciences, non-fiction, random discovery, review | posted in Words
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Yevgeny Zamyatin described We as “my most jesting and most serious work.” Having read nothing else by the author I cannot completely concur with the statement, but serious and jesting it certainly is. We describes a supposedly utopian society based on mathematics and a petroleum based food substance. (If the latter seems an odd choice, keep in mind that the book was written in 1920.) This society is the result of a two hundred year war in which all but 0.2% of humanity is wiped out and the remainder go to live in a city surrounded by a glass wall where even the weather is rigidly controlled. Schedules are king, they have a Benefactor who is unanimously elected each year, and every aspect of life is controlled. We is the story of a mathematician who begins to realize, with the help of a woman he falls in love with, that perhaps all is not well in this alleged Eden.
Ultimately, while I enjoyed this book, I had some problems with the writing. It ended up being highly disjointed and frequently confusing. This is partially explained by the fact that it is written as a series of journal entries. Nevertheless, it could have been executed more skillfully, in my opinion.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 3.5 stars, book review, books, dystopia, review, Russia, satire, science fiction, so much math | posted in Words
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Given how many of [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1190633574p2/123715.jpg]’s works I read as an adolescent, I was somewhat astounded to realize as I read that I had not read [b:The Mysterious Affair at Styles|140290|The Mysterious Affair at Styles|Agatha Christie|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1207178577s/140290.jpg|3366260]. Written in 1916 and set during the first World War, it introduces us to both Hastings and Hercule Poirot. Like the first Miss Marple book, it is primarily fascinating because of the “origin story” aspect. Both characters became more fascinating over time as Christie developed them. That being said, this was a delightful read filled with the red herrings and twists that made Dame Agatha a master of the genre. I highly recommend this for any aficionado of English mysteries.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 3 stars, book review, books, country houses, eccentric old men, fiction, greedy relatives, mystery, never-ending tea time, review, star-crossed lovers, time to break out the brandy | posted in Words
A Suitable Vengeance by Elizabeth George
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
[b:A Suitable Vengeance|234232|A Suitable Vengeance (Inspector Lynley #4)|Elizabeth George|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HVAW066FL._SL75_.jpg|1896269] is the fourth book in [a:Elizabeth George|1402383|Elizabeth George|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1235518043p2/1402383.jpg]’s Inspector Lynley series, but chronologically it occurs years before the first three. In it we see the main characters much younger and gain far more insight into the tangled relationships of Lynley, Deborah, and St. James. Given how much those relationships make me want to shake each one of the players hard, this was my least favorite so far. The mystery itself was interesting, but bizarre in a way that did not redeem the book. I did enjoy the revelations regarding Lynley’s relationship with his family, but again, those did not do enough to redeem the book. Not weak enough to put me off the series, but not what I would call good.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 2 stars, book review, books, mystery, review | posted in Words
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
If you’ve ever watched Archer and heard Lana say “Nope,” you can understand when I say that my reaction upon finishing [b:A Visit from the Goon Squad|7331435|A Visit from the Goon Squad|Jennifer Egan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1290480318s/7331435.jpg|8975330] was pretty much that. It’s not a bad book, in a lot of ways it’s probably a good book. There was just one giant problem for me–I didn’t enjoy it. Not in the way of a book that is uncomfortable for its honesty or its tragedy or the humanity it depicts. In fact, all of those elements are present, although too many slip by frustratingly neglected. Rather, it was unenjoyable because it lacked substance. The characters had all been through heartbreaks, but something still felt off. There was something lacking. I truly do not understand the reaction to this book. Maybe it’s just me.
View all my reviews
Leave a comment | tags: 2 stars, bands, book review, books, disappointing, drugs, musicians, review, washed up | posted in Words
