John Dies at the End by David Wong
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Warning: This Book Contains Multiple Scenes With Disgusting Huge Spiders
*ahem*
I had avoided adding John Dies at the End until a friend roped me into it through a challenge. I have to say, it was a pleasant surprise. Well, maybe not pleasant. That’s not a word that describes, well, anything in this book.
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The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror is good stuff. I’ve always been a bit skeptical of Christopher Moore, but I may look into some of his other books. There are zombies, evil Santas, they make fun of those horrible bell ringers, there’s a crazy Zena-type, and a remarkably mentally challenged angel. Oh, and the fruit bat. What’s not to love? I’m not coming up with anything. If you take the holidays seriously, you might disagree and should probably steer clear. There isn’t a lot of Christmas cheer and you’d be horrified by some of the things done to Santa and the Nativity story. If you revel in the irreverent, well, this is the Christmas book for you.
Heartless by Gail Carriger
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Oh, goodreads, why do you let a few people keep the rest of us from having half stars. By rights, Heartless should get 3.5/5 or 6/10 stars. As it is, because I like the series & goodreads is lame, I’m giving it 4. In this latest addition, we see a lot more of the same. The primary plot is nowhere near as interesting as some of the things we learn about our primary and supporting characters. Some of them have pasts much deeper and more complicated than we previously knew. We also learn more about Alexia’s father. Naturally, these are the tamer aspects, but, you know…spoilers! Regardless of the ways this book went flat, I definitely am looking forward to the release in March of the next in the series.
Blameless by Gail Carriger
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I don’t know quite how I would explain why I love Gail Carriger‘s Parasol Protectorate series so much, but I really do. While not so good as the others, Blameless has that same mixture of wit and “d’aww” reaction that I enjoyed in the previous books. As always, Alexia is involved in crazy adventures and Conall rages about wildly. Well, that isn’t all, but it does take up a fair amount. Basically, I continue to recommend these books to those who like Regency romances, even though these are set in Victorian times, as well as those who like light urban fantasy. There’s a little something for everyone here. For me, it’s on to Heartless! (Oh yes, ladybugs and pesto both play major roles in this. What’s not to love?)
Changeless by Gail Carriger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
While not quite as good as Soulless, Changeless was a delightful read and exactly what I needed to cleanse my brain after reading American Psycho. Gail Carriger writes good, funny yarns. There is a definite amount of repetition, but it can be forgiven. I can’t bring myself to say that her stories and characters are original, but there is a certain freshness to her stories. Perhaps it is the way her points of view are written or the very, very mild inclusion of a few steampunk elements. Regardless, I look forward to continuing the series. I mean, how often are Victorian romances & fantasy mixed without being tedious? Not often enough, I say.
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, I have now read American Psycho. I now feel completely justified in my previous suspicion that Bret Easton Ellis is not the author for me. Oh, when it isn’t taking itself seriously, the book is very well-written. Even the originally incredibly irritating repetitive detailing of brand names and prices and food became a part of the rhythm of the book in a way I was not expecting. Patrick Bateman is certainly a psychopath, whether his crimes are only in his head or real. With all of these things though, I would still love to give this one star. The reason it gets three is because of the way a consistent crawling horror was maintained. There was no respite, even in the seemingly innocuous sections. This takes talent. I still found it anything but enjoyable, and towards the end became annoyed when Ellis tried to make it somehow meaningful in a greater sense. Oh, and it’s certainly gory in every sense of the word, in case there was someone who missed that. I need a stiff drink now.
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Incredible. Parts of “How to Tell a True War Story” come to mind regularly. I love Tim O’Brien‘s writing. Those were the three things I had to say about The Things They Carried when I initially “reviewed” this book. I hold to all of those. This is my third reading and I found the book even better than it was eleven years ago. “How to Tell a True War Story” has probably influenced my views on writing and literature more than anything else I have ever read. There is a beautiful clarity and painful honesty that permeates this book. I can’t say enough good things about it.
Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Yeah…this was definitely not my thing. Both facepalmed and hoity-toity should not be in the same book. “Extra sparkly unicorn fart kind of special” also made an appearance. I use these to illustrate one of the most annoying aspects of the book; the bizarre swings between quasi-Victorian language and contemporary youthful slang. I also found the characters flat and, honestly, the basic premise of girl on zombie kind of grossed me out. I think I can quite definitely say that I will not be reading anything additional by Lia Habel. (Oh yes, did I mention that the series is named Gone With the Respiration. Seriously.)
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
The Unit is the saddest piece of dystopian fiction I have ever read. Normally the genre leaves me angry or frightened or feeling the need for a good shower, but this made me feel heartbroken. The Unit is a place where women who have reached the age of 50 and men who have reached the age of 60 without having children are sent to live in order to participate in “humane” experiments and act as organ donors for the so-called needed. These people are known as dispensable.
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People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
People of the Book is a stunningly beautiful book about another stunningly beautiful book. It fictionalizes the true story of the Sarajevo Haggadah, a unique, 500-year old version of a book read at Jewish Passover Seders. It illustrates the story of how and why Passover came to be. People of the Book looks at the fascinating story of the Haggadah’s travels through the years and creates a story from them. All of the characters are fictional and some of the chapters are admittedly entirely fiction while others contain more factual information. While reading I did not care at all which was which and I am not certain I do now. Geraldine Brooks.ostensibly tells the story of a book, but as the title hints, what she really tells is the story of a people.