Gender- and genre-bending
The Age of Miracles
Beautifully written, but with some serious science-related bloopers (and I am not talking about the kind of 'gobbledegook science' you sometimes see in sci-fi, but more about 'you should not be making terrible mistakes like that past second grade'). Some of it might be corrected before the publication, but some of it is part of the story and therefore unlikely to change. I don't really mean to nerd-rage here, but this kind of silliness makes it hard to suspend disbelief. That said, it IS a beautiful book, and I loved the narrator's voice.
Canada
Reading this is like what? Watching wheat grow in Saskatchewan? Excruciatingly slow. I don't mind some lack of action if it is balanced by lovely prose, but I can't say I enjoy Ford's style. He is fond of sentences that seem important and quote-worthy, and yet are so confusing you can't figure out what he meant to say.
Ty proti mne
I honestly think this would have been a better novella. There are some neat characters in this book, but the story just didn't come together for me. I felt like I was missing something, and, despite being technically a mystery, it just wasn't suspenseful enough.
Killing Moon (Dreamblood 1)
I love N. K. Jemisin. The lady's got TALENT. This time she took the culture of Ancient Egypt and the Jungian idea of collective subconscious and put them both together in a way that feels wholly original. It is entirely possible that I loved this book even more than I had loved The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but both of them are definitely on my favorites shelf. Great, great fantasy.
The Tiger in the Well (Sally Lockhart Trilogy, Book 3)
I would say it was somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. I remain steadfast in my opinion that the first four Dark Tower books are excellent, and then it all went downhill. This was a nice addition, but it didn't really grab me (still, it was much better than the last three DT books). The book is a story within a story within a story, and the story of Tim was the most enjoyable.
Special Topics in Calamity Physics
I found this book to be very uneven. Parts of it were absorbing, and parts of it were examples of Author Trying Too Hard.
The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature
Meditation on the forest. Beautiful, but also quite educational -- fascinating facts about nature, from sexual life of fungi to mechanics of hawk's flight. The author is also a poet, and it shows in his choice of words and his style.
Making Babies: Stumbling Into Motherhood
If you have kids, you will want to jump off the couch and yell 'Yes! YES!!' You will possibly cry and definitely laugh. It's a great little book, and, at least in my opinion, it is spot on. Motherhood is like this, yes.
The Snow Child: A Novel
I have a soft spot for novels set in cold climates, where sunlight is scarce and days are short, where people have to hunt moose to survive the winter, and where boiled turnips or potatoes are the height of gourmet cuisine. The Snow Child is the perfect Northern story -- it's a retelling of a Russian fairy tale 'Snegurochka', in which a girl made of snow magically comes to life. I loved the style, the bittersweetness of the story, and the magic you can feel on every page.
Kingdom of Gods
I love this series, but the last volume seemed somewhat underwhelming to me. I love Sieh, and I expected to love this book just because he is the main character here, but that didn't happen. It was a good story, but it seemed too long to me and not as engrossing as the first two. That said, definitely looking forward to Jemisin's new books!
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin
At a recent reading, Masha Gessen said she hopes that right now Putin has bigger fish to fry than chase after journalists who criticize him and his policies. I really hope she is right, because this is a courageous book. It is a thoroughly unflattering portrait of the man who is now back in the president's seat (not that he really ever left). He does not seem to possess much history that can definitely be confirmed, and Gessen acknowledges this, but evidence that can be collected paints a picture of a vindictive and spiteful man, who is willing to imprison people on false charges, remove those he cannot imprison, and in general put the country back on the way to the Soviet past. (Really, it's a very screwed-up situation when you feel bad for guys who have more money than god.)
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy)
I would have never picked up this book if I just read the blurb, but this book got some exposure on the fantasy blogs and it sounded intriguing. It was really well-done. I liked the writing style, I liked the characters (especially Sieh, but then I am a sucker for any kind of Trickster figure). It also raises some interesting questions about religion, theology, and humans' relationships with deities. The sequel is coming out later this year, but I think this book can be read a stand-alone novel.
Last Werewolf
I found the writing to be way too pretentious at times, though there were moments of brilliance. It seemed like it was going to be a great read, but the book lost its charm for me about halfway through.
Rule 34
Funny and smart. Actually, scratch that, I would say it's brilliant. I haven't actually read 'Halting State', and now I think I should.
Please Look After Mom
Incredibly poignant book. It's about sacrifices mothers make for their children, about appreciating people while they are still with us, it's about regrets. It actually made me cry in a couple of places.
A Partial History of Lost Causes: A Novel
Dubois gets 4-5 stars for scenery. Obviously some research went into those little details than made the Soviet/Russian cities come alive. There was some great writing, but I would give 3 stars for pacing and overall story.
Currently reading
Nina Here Nor There: My Journey Beyond Gender
La Délicatesse (Folio) (French Edition)
