http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/113980 en-US Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:08:33 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 28134564 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:08:33 -0700
author: David Gerrold
name: Trin
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/23/08
shelves: queerlit, sci-fi
review:

]]> 4913631 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:54:42 -0700
author: Scott Lynch
name: Trin
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/23/08
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 27925877 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:31:59 -0700
author: Stephen King
name: Trin
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/21/08
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> 27735460 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:54:19 -0700
author: Alison Bechdel
name: Trin
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/19/08
shelves: biography, booksaboutbooks, graphicnovel, queerlit
review:

]]> 27722037 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:43:52 -0700
author: Pat Barker
name: Trin
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/19/08
shelves: historicalfiction
review:

]]> 27683160 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:59:05 -0700
author: Anthony Bourdain
name: Trin
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/18/08
shelves: biography, food
review:

]]> 27469666 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:29:16 -0700 Franny and Zooey—but I felt a shivery sense of resonance reading about the vast Irish/Jewish Glass clan. That’s us—or at least, that’s very much what I imagined when my grandfather talked about growing up in Connecticut and New York and fighting in World War II; it’s what comes to mind when my mom talks about her own New York childhood—which took place a decade after these stories, but still seems to have been alive with the same sort of scenery. And emotionally, too, these crazy, fucked up intellectuals—it’s a little close for comfort.

Salinger’s writing is also just beautiful, and the stories beautifully crafted. He writes actions—not action, but actions—so well: these characters come alive in their fiddly, fidgety motions. “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” “The Laughing Man,” and “For Esmé — with Love and Squalor” were my most obvious favorites, but there’s also something about the quiet “Down at the Dinghy” that’s still holding me. I look forward to rereading this many, many times in years to come.]]>
author: J.D. Salinger
name: Trin
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/18/08
shelves: classics, shortstories
review:
It’s a strange thing to recognize yourself in a piece of fiction. I see my whole family in Salinger’s. I don’t know what it was about these stories in particular—even more so than Franny and Zooey—but I felt a shivery sense of resonance reading about the vast Irish/Jewish Glass clan. That’s us—or at least, that’s very much what I imagined when my grandfather talked about growing up in Connecticut and New York and fighting in World War II; it’s what comes to mind when my mom talks about her own New York childhood—which took place a decade after these stories, but still seems to have been alive with the same sort of scenery. And emotionally, too, these crazy, fucked up intellectuals—it’s a little close for comfort.

Salinger’s writing is also just beautiful, and the stories beautifully crafted. He writes actions—not action, but actions—so well: these characters come alive in their fiddly, fidgety motions. “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” “The Laughing Man,” and “For Esmé — with Love and Squalor” were my most obvious favorites, but there’s also something about the quiet “Down at the Dinghy” that’s still holding me. I look forward to rereading this many, many times in years to come.
]]> 27347926 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:54:50 -0700
author: Michael Perry
name: Trin
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/18/08
shelves: biography, essays
review:
Perry recounts how he moved back to his very small Wisconsin hometown and reintegrated himself into the community by becoming a volunteer firefighter and first responder. This is an amazing book. The stories Perry tells contain dozens of moments that are both hilarious and heart-wrenching—often within sentences of each other. The details about firefighting and working as an EMT are fascinating, as are the portraits Perry draws of various figures in the community—and of the community itself. He actually made me nostalgic for my tiny hometown—which, although twenty times bigger than Perry’s, still seemed stifling to me when I lived there. Perry’s writing revives in me a sort of innocent belief in American communities, although there’s nothing naïve or whitewashed about his portrayal of his town and its people. Infrastructure crumbles; petty cruelties persist; bad things happen, often to good people. But Perry, it seems, has found whatever secret thing it is that makes it worth it to go on. And there’s a taste of it here between these pages.
]]> 27155612 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:52:09 -0700 Guards! Guards, I loved so much about this. Loved Vimes, loved Carrot, loved Cuddy and Detritus, loved Angua, loved Vetinari (especially his surprise and horror at getting shot, and the scene at the end with Carrot). I guess my review, if it can be called that, is basically <3 .]]>
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Trin
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/18/08
shelves: fantasy
review:
Even better than Guards! Guards, I loved so much about this. Loved Vimes, loved Carrot, loved Cuddy and Detritus, loved Angua, loved Vetinari (especially his surprise and horror at getting shot, and the scene at the end with Carrot). I guess my review, if it can be called that, is basically <3 .
]]> 27016285 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:24:51 -0700 In the Bleak Midwinter. I loved the first three-fourths of this, though I think it kind of fell apart at the end. Among the good: meeting Russ’ wonderfully eccentric mom, Clare helping Russ confront his internalized homophobia (and his willingness to do so, which shows, despite his discomfort, what a good man he is), Clare interrupting her investigations to get drunk and flirty with a cute Brit—a sequence that, since it’s her, ends with her jumping out a second story window. It’s nice, in a sophomore effort, to feel like you’re really getting comfortable with the characters, and this book also has a mystery that honestly did keep me anxiously on the edge of my seat.

However, I felt everything that led up to getting Clare in the pilot’s seat of that helicopter seemed rather contrived. I understand why Spencer-Fleming wanted to go there, but I don’t think she quite made it work. And following on the helicopter sequence’s heels, the unraveling of the conspiracy at the end felt unsuspenseful and almost airless.

In general, I just don’t think my enjoyment of this book could match my delight at the discovery of the first, but I’m still looking forward to the next one and seeing Russ and Clare’s relationship progress.]]>
author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
name: Trin
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/18/08
shelves: mystery
review:
Sequel to In the Bleak Midwinter. I loved the first three-fourths of this, though I think it kind of fell apart at the end. Among the good: meeting Russ’ wonderfully eccentric mom, Clare helping Russ confront his internalized homophobia (and his willingness to do so, which shows, despite his discomfort, what a good man he is), Clare interrupting her investigations to get drunk and flirty with a cute Brit—a sequence that, since it’s her, ends with her jumping out a second story window. It’s nice, in a sophomore effort, to feel like you’re really getting comfortable with the characters, and this book also has a mystery that honestly did keep me anxiously on the edge of my seat.

However, I felt everything that led up to getting Clare in the pilot’s seat of that helicopter seemed rather contrived. I understand why Spencer-Fleming wanted to go there, but I don’t think she quite made it work. And following on the helicopter sequence’s heels, the unraveling of the conspiracy at the end felt unsuspenseful and almost airless.

In general, I just don’t think my enjoyment of this book could match my delight at the discovery of the first, but I’m still looking forward to the next one and seeing Russ and Clare’s relationship progress.
]]> 27347825 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:07:48 -0700 safety in ways, I think, few monster stories do.

It’s also interesting to look at this book as Brooks’ warm-up exercise for World War Z: he’s laying out the rules of his universe here, getting a feel for it. But this book, like I said, doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. World War Z knows. And when it tells you, you don’t forget.]]>
author: Max Brooks
name: Trin
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/17/08
shelves: horror
review:
There seems to be some disagreement as to whether this is a humor or a horror book. It was marketed as the former, but I actually think it’s more effective as the latter. If it’s a humor book, it’s strictly one-note—survival guides expect you to be ridiculously over-prepared, haha! As a horror book—even keeping in mind its goofier moments—it really gets under your skin, makes you reassess your surroundings and your safety in ways, I think, few monster stories do.

It’s also interesting to look at this book as Brooks’ warm-up exercise for World War Z: he’s laying out the rules of his universe here, getting a feel for it. But this book, like I said, doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. World War Z knows. And when it tells you, you don’t forget.
]]> 26807621 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:55:03 -0700
Although actually: actually, one of the amazing things about Sedaris is that he attains emotional depth in essays nominally about ass boils—“Old Faithful,” one of my favorites in this collection and the only one I had read previously, is somehow one of the sweetest love stories I’ve lately encountered. And the final, sprawling essay about quitting smoking and living in Japan, is wonderfully complex and detailed. I already want to read it again. Too bad the public library discourages stealing.]]>
author: David Sedaris
name: Trin
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/17/08
shelves: biography, essays, humor, queerlit
review:
Another immensely enjoyable Sedaris collection. Most of the laugh out loud moments for me revolved around jokes about shit, pee, the flatulence of elderly women, ass boils, and camels, but that’s just because I’m sophisticated like that.

Although actually: actually, one of the amazing things about Sedaris is that he attains emotional depth in essays nominally about ass boils—“Old Faithful,” one of my favorites in this collection and the only one I had read previously, is somehow one of the sweetest love stories I’ve lately encountered. And the final, sprawling essay about quitting smoking and living in Japan, is wonderfully complex and detailed. I already want to read it again. Too bad the public library discourages stealing.
]]> 26772702 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:29:34 -0700 Legacy. I enjoyed seeing Dag and Fawn’s quest to better integrate the Lakewalker and Farmer societies take shape; I liked the reintroduction of Fawn’s brother, Whit; and I loved when the story became a river narrative, a kind of Huckleberry Finn with magic.

I hope there’s another volume; I’m still not convinced that Dag isn’t getting into something dark and dangerous and way over his head, and that Fawn’s going to need to pull him back. I like how Bujold writes her—so unassumingly clever and sensible, yet believable, where in a lesser writer’s hands I think she would easily become an utter blank or a Mary Sue—but I feel like she hasn’t reached her full potential yet, and I’d like to see that—a little forced self-reliance, separate from Dag, before the two of them have their final happily ever after. So…next book soon, plz?]]>
author: Lois McMaster Bujold
name: Trin
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/17/08
shelves: fantasy
review:
A much more engaging and fulfilling installment than the last book in the series, Legacy. I enjoyed seeing Dag and Fawn’s quest to better integrate the Lakewalker and Farmer societies take shape; I liked the reintroduction of Fawn’s brother, Whit; and I loved when the story became a river narrative, a kind of Huckleberry Finn with magic.

I hope there’s another volume; I’m still not convinced that Dag isn’t getting into something dark and dangerous and way over his head, and that Fawn’s going to need to pull him back. I like how Bujold writes her—so unassumingly clever and sensible, yet believable, where in a lesser writer’s hands I think she would easily become an utter blank or a Mary Sue—but I feel like she hasn’t reached her full potential yet, and I’d like to see that—a little forced self-reliance, separate from Dag, before the two of them have their final happily ever after. So…next book soon, plz?
]]> 15210874 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:28:21 -0700 fun, with adventure and space battles and espionage and all that good stuff. And yet Bujold makes time for the important character moments, too. All of which really makes me wonder…why has no one tried to adapt these books as a TV series?]]>
author: Lois McMaster Bujold
name: Trin
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1990
rating: 5
read at: 02/08
date added: 07/17/08
shelves: sci-fi
review:
This is my favorite type of Miles novel: I love him when he’s being Admiral Naismith. And all the shenanigans with Emperor Gregor are fun, too—I finally see why some people ship Miles/Gregor (although I am still not inclined to). This book is just so much fun, with adventure and space battles and espionage and all that good stuff. And yet Bujold makes time for the important character moments, too. All of which really makes me wonder…why has no one tried to adapt these books as a TV series?
]]> 26615605 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:46:50 -0700 Joss. This is classic Whedon, with a plot device that allows for an in-depth exploration of each of the characters’ greatest fears—and it’s delicious. I just wish that these collections weren’t so damn short, especially since this one’s a cliffhanger!]]>
author: Joss Whedon
name: Trin
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/17/08
shelves: graphicnovel
review:
Oh, Joss. This is classic Whedon, with a plot device that allows for an in-depth exploration of each of the characters’ greatest fears—and it’s delicious. I just wish that these collections weren’t so damn short, especially since this one’s a cliffhanger!
]]> 2640908 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:02:24 -0700
Keyes does the same thing with the flashback abortion plot. Main character (whose name, in case you can't tell, I've totally forgotten) goes to England to get an abortion. But at the last second she changes her mind! THEN SHE MISCARRIES ANYWAY! Now, in the present, she has angst because she thinks this has made her unable to have a baby now that she wants one. Um...wouldn't this plot have been better if it involved actual guilt from an actual abortion? There's too much trying to play to both sides in this book. It's annoying.

But the brief lesbian fling part was hot.]]>
author: Marian Keyes
name: Trin
average rating: 2.76
book published: 2003
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/16/08
shelves: fiction
review:
This book almost does something very interesting for chick lit: the main character, an Irish woman whose marriage is coming apart, comes to L.A. to escape from it all. She is shocked—shocked!—to discover that the old friend she's staying with has another friend who's a lesbian. Then she gets a little crush on the lesbian friend. Then she has a lesbian fling! This is almost cool like fanfic. But then the main character realizes that she really loves her husband and goes back to him. Sigh.

Keyes does the same thing with the flashback abortion plot. Main character (whose name, in case you can't tell, I've totally forgotten) goes to England to get an abortion. But at the last second she changes her mind! THEN SHE MISCARRIES ANYWAY! Now, in the present, she has angst because she thinks this has made her unable to have a baby now that she wants one. Um...wouldn't this plot have been better if it involved actual guilt from an actual abortion? There's too much trying to play to both sides in this book. It's annoying.

But the brief lesbian fling part was hot.
]]> 27134453 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:30:14 -0700 The Vanishing Hitchhiker is still, I think, the most satisfying and shiver-inducing.]]>
author: Jan Harold Brunvand
name: Trin
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/14/08
shelves: folklore
review:
I seem to be addicted to Brunvand’s urban legend books. This is one of his longest, but not one of his best—I really like the whole section devoted to academic legends, but in general, his earlier books had the choicest (creepiest) legends and the most in-depth analysis. The Vanishing Hitchhiker is still, I think, the most satisfying and shiver-inducing.
]]> 26880700 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:05:03 -0700 The Cutting Edge FTW!]]>
author: Meg Cabot
name: Trin
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/14/08
shelves: fiction, ya
review:
I think what I like best about these books are all the dumb pop culture shoutouts. The Cutting Edge FTW!
]]> 26579177 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:57:46 -0700 Terry Pratchett I’ve been reading lately. To start with, it’s just not that funny—the plot revolves around a lot of aspects of forced wackiness, such as bad smells and accountants, that really don’t do much for me, and at best the writing achieves a sort of affable Englishness which is pleasant, but hardly uproarious. It would work if the core of the book were meatier, but it isn’t. Pratchett is so impressive because, at his best, he’s not only funny, his books mean something—he addresses real-world issues through a fantastical setting and a lot of sharp satire. In Holt’s book, however, the Flying Dutchman and his situation aren’t representative of anything but themselves. I’m not saying everything I read needs to be OMG STEEPED IN METAPHOR AND SYMBOLISM!—but, you know, a little depth wouldn’t hurt.

Better jokes would be good, too.]]>
author: Tom Holt
name: Trin
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1993
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/14/08
shelves: fantasy
review:
British comic fantasy that really pales in comparison to the Terry Pratchett I’ve been reading lately. To start with, it’s just not that funny—the plot revolves around a lot of aspects of forced wackiness, such as bad smells and accountants, that really don’t do much for me, and at best the writing achieves a sort of affable Englishness which is pleasant, but hardly uproarious. It would work if the core of the book were meatier, but it isn’t. Pratchett is so impressive because, at his best, he’s not only funny, his books mean something—he addresses real-world issues through a fantastical setting and a lot of sharp satire. In Holt’s book, however, the Flying Dutchman and his situation aren’t representative of anything but themselves. I’m not saying everything I read needs to be OMG STEEPED IN METAPHOR AND SYMBOLISM!—but, you know, a little depth wouldn’t hurt.

Better jokes would be good, too.
]]> 5396868 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:35:01 -0700
Edit: Having finished it, I stand by my original assessment! This book makes no sense.]]>
author: Cameron Rogers
name: Trin
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2007
rating: 1
read at: 10/07
date added: 07/14/08
shelves: fantasy, historicalfiction
review:
Wow. I'm 96 pages in and I have next to no idea what this book is actually about.

Edit: Having finished it, I stand by my original assessment! This book makes no sense.
]]> 21460425 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:24:25 -0700 finally seem to be breaking out of his mold at least a little; I skipped reading Haunted because I wasn’t in the mood to be squicked, but what had been irritating me about all his previous books were that they all seemed the same. They all utilized a near-identical style of narration, just with different “choruses” thrown in. And I say this as someone who was totally obsessed with Fight Club (though more the film than the book) and still gets gleeful amusement out of her memories of Invisible Monsters. (Which was also the book that introduced me to the concept of “felching”! Chuck, you and Lauren Groff need to have a word.)

Rant, presented in the style of an oral history, is not only quite different in its telling from Palahniuk’s previous books, it’s different from anything I’ve read in a long while. The myriad POVs are cool in that I always like to see characters through a variety of different perspectives. However, the character of Buster Casey, a.k.a. Rant, remains frustratingly obtuse. Palahniuk spends quite some time on his childhood, in which we are treated to lengthy descriptions of menstrual blood stains (mental category: did not need), and strangely less on his adulthood, though we do get lengthy descriptions of his ability to tell what his girlfriend last ate by licking her pussy (mental category: REALLY DID NOT NEED). Palahniuk certainly never runs out of new ways to shock and horrify. Unfortunately, that kind of thing was rather more tantalizing to me when I was in high school.

However, like I said, I really did feel like Palahniuk was stretching himself a bit here; he’s got a sort of interesting time travel plot going on, and I actually really liked the characters of Shot and Echo, and the idea of the dystopian Daytimer/Nighttimer future society. So I guess where I think this book really suffers is in the simple fact that there’s just too much going on. I mean, just on the most basic level there’s: 1) Rant’s fucked up childhood, 2) rabies outbreak, 3) party crashing, 4) future dystopia, and 5) time travel—and these never stop being rather disparate things. Worse, as I mentioned before, Rant remains a total cypher. I think this book would have worked a thousand times better if he’d felt like a real, vibrant anti-hero. Instead, we get pages and pages of Rant the cunning linguist. (Seriously, WTF? Was that supposed to be sexy? Echo seemed to think it was sexy, and otherwise, she seemed almost sensible. I have some weird kinks myself, but OMG NO.) I loved the idea Palahniuk almost seemed to be reaching for toward the end, about the ways Echo and Shot and the other party crashers would remake the world, but it’s surrounded by so much muddle. Ultimately, this felt like the first draft of what could have been a legitimately incredible novel; as-is, it’s just kind of…confusing.]]>
author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: Trin
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 05/08
date added: 07/14/08
shelves: fiction, sci-fi
review:
Yeah, I just read a Chuck Palahniuk book; I feel like I’m back in high school and should begin loudly listening to Garbage CDs and writing “I <3 Spike” all over my notebook any second now. In fairness, Palahniuk does finally seem to be breaking out of his mold at least a little; I skipped reading Haunted because I wasn’t in the mood to be squicked, but what had been irritating me about all his previous books were that they all seemed the same. They all utilized a near-identical style of narration, just with different “choruses” thrown in. And I say this as someone who was totally obsessed with Fight Club (though more the film than the book) and still gets gleeful amusement out of her memories of Invisible Monsters. (Which was also the book that introduced me to the concept of “felching”! Chuck, you and Lauren Groff need to have a word.)

Rant, presented in the style of an oral history, is not only quite different in its telling from Palahniuk’s previous books, it’s different from anything I’ve read in a long while. The myriad POVs are cool in that I always like to see characters through a variety of different perspectives. However, the character of Buster Casey, a.k.a. Rant, remains frustratingly obtuse. Palahniuk spends quite some time on his childhood, in which we are treated to lengthy descriptions of menstrual blood stains (mental category: did not need), and strangely less on his adulthood, though we do get lengthy descriptions of his ability to tell what his girlfriend last ate by licking her pussy (mental category: REALLY DID NOT NEED). Palahniuk certainly never runs out of new ways to shock and horrify. Unfortunately, that kind of thing was rather more tantalizing to me when I was in high school.

However, like I said, I really did feel like Palahniuk was stretching himself a bit here; he’s got a sort of interesting time travel plot going on, and I actually really liked the characters of Shot and Echo, and the idea of the dystopian Daytimer/Nighttimer future society. So I guess where I think this book really suffers is in the simple fact that there’s just too much going on. I mean, just on the most basic level there’s: 1) Rant’s fucked up childhood, 2) rabies outbreak, 3) party crashing, 4) future dystopia, and 5) time travel—and these never stop being rather disparate things. Worse, as I mentioned before, Rant remains a total cypher. I think this book would have worked a thousand times better if he’d felt like a real, vibrant anti-hero. Instead, we get pages and pages of Rant the cunning linguist. (Seriously, WTF? Was that supposed to be sexy? Echo seemed to think it was sexy, and otherwise, she seemed almost sensible. I have some weird kinks myself, but OMG NO.) I loved the idea Palahniuk almost seemed to be reaching for toward the end, about the ways Echo and Shot and the other party crashers would remake the world, but it’s surrounded by so much muddle. Ultimately, this felt like the first draft of what could have been a legitimately incredible novel; as-is, it’s just kind of…confusing.
]]> 27016165 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:39:04 -0700 it made me really unhappy. Sigh.]]>
author: Brian K. Vaughan
name: Trin
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/11/08
shelves: graphicnovel, sci-fi
review:
Probably deserves a higher rating, but, well—it made me really unhappy. Sigh.
]]> 26530579 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:16:15 -0700
That said, however…I genuinely liked the heroine, a succubus by night/bookstore assistant manager by day. Her angst was believable, and I liked that she refused to sit quietly when told and instead went out and investigated (even if she was a liiiiiiiitle bit slower to put certain things together than I’d have liked—though I did have the advantage of knowing I was reading a book, etc.). I also liked her geeky novelist love interest, and there were some genuinely clever moments. So: not brilliant but enjoyable, and far more surprising/delightful than the “Sex and the City with a little Buffy thrown in” mix it’s billed as.]]>
author: Richelle Mead
name: Trin
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: fantasy
review:
Paranormal romance/urban fantasy thingy that I enjoyed in spite of some rather obvious flaws. Namely: the writing’s only okay (no first person narrator should ever say “as I noted earlier” unless they’re narrating an academic text), the identity of the villain is obvious pretty much from the moment he’s introduced, and the ending’s kind of an anti-climactic cop out. I was also kind of bummed that in a novel about angels and demons, no one seemed particularly good or evil; there’s a second-rate Crowley-and-Aziraphale pair, for instance, but for most of the book, you’d be hard pressed to tell which of them is on which side. Maybe that’s kind of the point, but I’d like to see a little more demonic energy from a group of vampires, imps, and succubi.

That said, however…I genuinely liked the heroine, a succubus by night/bookstore assistant manager by day. Her angst was believable, and I liked that she refused to sit quietly when told and instead went out and investigated (even if she was a liiiiiiiitle bit slower to put certain things together than I’d have liked—though I did have the advantage of knowing I was reading a book, etc.). I also liked her geeky novelist love interest, and there were some genuinely clever moments. So: not brilliant but enjoyable, and far more surprising/delightful than the “Sex and the City with a little Buffy thrown in” mix it’s billed as.
]]> 25484046 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:12:39 -0700 Night Watch before the earlier Watch books, and because Wychwood has been saying that Carrot is basically Benton Fraser and would crack me up. He did, and the book in general did—as Terry Pratchett always does. I hope to read the rest of the Watch books in a more timely manner than I’ve proceeded with the Discworld novels so far.]]>
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Trin
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: fantasy
review:
Am finally making an effort to make up for my thus far rather sporadic reading of the Discworld novels. Started with this one because Korax yelled at me for having read Night Watch before the earlier Watch books, and because Wychwood has been saying that Carrot is basically Benton Fraser and would crack me up. He did, and the book in general did—as Terry Pratchett always does. I hope to read the rest of the Watch books in a more timely manner than I’ve proceeded with the Discworld novels so far.
]]> 24683694 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:31:25 -0700 amazing, and that, coupled with the brilliant use of the “oral history” format, makes the somewhat outlandish idea of a “zombie war” seem very real—and very, very scary. The one thing that bothered me was that, proportionally, there were far fewer women’s stories: it takes about 60 pages for a female voice to appear, and even then, most of them are fairly passive—with the notable exception of the Air Force pilot character, who does get one of the most engaging sections in the entire thing. Anyway, aside from that usual bit of crankiness, I really do think this is beyond terrific: dynamic, creative, and truly unique. I’ll be making a careful stash of blunt objects, now.]]>
author: Max Brooks
name: Trin
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: horror
review:
Pretty much exactly as awesome as everyone said it would be. Brooks obviously put an incredible amount of thought into this—the world-building is amazing, and that, coupled with the brilliant use of the “oral history” format, makes the somewhat outlandish idea of a “zombie war” seem very real—and very, very scary. The one thing that bothered me was that, proportionally, there were far fewer women’s stories: it takes about 60 pages for a female voice to appear, and even then, most of them are fairly passive—with the notable exception of the Air Force pilot character, who does get one of the most engaging sections in the entire thing. Anyway, aside from that usual bit of crankiness, I really do think this is beyond terrific: dynamic, creative, and truly unique. I’ll be making a careful stash of blunt objects, now.
]]> 25054987 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:18:31 -0700 The Vanishing Hitchhiker, last year; first published in 1981, it apparently became a bit of a phenomenon, and the later books reflect that. I preferred Doberman to The Mexican Pet, which I read soon after, because it contains more in-depth analysis, though both books are a great deal of fun, both because they reprint these delightfully disturbing tales (many of which still have the power to freak me out, even though I know they’re fake fake fake) and because they do such a good job tracing the ways the various stories shift and evolve. I am also quite charmed by the fact that all of these books are pre-World Wide Web, giving them a glamour that only tales passed on by mimeographed pages can provide.

Urban legends have of course evolved to fit the age of the internet, though. In fact, just this weekend I was having lunch with my brother when he leaned across the table and said, in utter seriousness, “I heard the creepiest story the other day. A friend of a friend was babysitting…” I interrupted him with a burst of laughter right there, as babysitting and FOAFs are two of urban legends’ most common tropes. He was terribly pissed at me for being so reluctant to believe his story from the get-go, as he’s going through a rather pretentious film school phase and he bought it, hook, line, and no doubt photoshopped photographic “proof”-sinker. I’d be cool if Brunvand wrote a modern book that includes details like doctored jpegs. Until then, I’m going to continue to enjoy these wonderful ’80s relics.]]>
author: Jan Harold Brunvand
name: Trin
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: folklore
review:
Popular analysis of urban legends by a folklore professor. I read Brunvand’s first book, The Vanishing Hitchhiker, last year; first published in 1981, it apparently became a bit of a phenomenon, and the later books reflect that. I preferred Doberman to The Mexican Pet, which I read soon after, because it contains more in-depth analysis, though both books are a great deal of fun, both because they reprint these delightfully disturbing tales (many of which still have the power to freak me out, even though I know they’re fake fake fake) and because they do such a good job tracing the ways the various stories shift and evolve. I am also quite charmed by the fact that all of these books are pre-World Wide Web, giving them a glamour that only tales passed on by mimeographed pages can provide.

Urban legends have of course evolved to fit the age of the internet, though. In fact, just this weekend I was having lunch with my brother when he leaned across the table and said, in utter seriousness, “I heard the creepiest story the other day. A friend of a friend was babysitting…” I interrupted him with a burst of laughter right there, as babysitting and FOAFs are two of urban legends’ most common tropes. He was terribly pissed at me for being so reluctant to believe his story from the get-go, as he’s going through a rather pretentious film school phase and he bought it, hook, line, and no doubt photoshopped photographic “proof”-sinker. I’d be cool if Brunvand wrote a modern book that includes details like doctored jpegs. Until then, I’m going to continue to enjoy these wonderful ’80s relics.
]]> 24940545 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:05:25 -0700 Star Trek conversations and somehow, even less of a plot. These are still a great deal better than a lot of other popular teen fiction, however. *cough Twilightcough*]]>
author: Meg Cabot
name: Trin
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2001
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: fiction, ya
review:
I enjoyed this one less than the first, as it had fewer Star Trek conversations and somehow, even less of a plot. These are still a great deal better than a lot of other popular teen fiction, however. *cough Twilightcough*
]]> 24683596 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:03:18 -0700 Star Trek. I can see why people like these books and will probably read more as I will inevitably continue to be very, very bored on a regular basis while trapped behind my desk.]]>
author: Meg Cabot
name: Trin
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: fiction, ya
review:
Bored-at-work read, which I actually enjoyed more than I expected to. Yes, Siria, I know they make no sense (seriously: NONE) but I like Mia and her dorky friends and their conversations about Star Trek. I can see why people like these books and will probably read more as I will inevitably continue to be very, very bored on a regular basis while trapped behind my desk.
]]> 26136476 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:12:15 -0700 Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Colette, etc.—are reincarnated as the graveyard’s many cats; I actually found it rather disturbing. There are some nice moments— Alice B. Toklas’ longing for the thus far absent Gertrude Stein forms the heart of the book, and it’s appropriately achy and passionate; I was also really struck by a scene with Chopin in which he morns the fact that his music must now remain entirely within his head. However, I’m not sure that the conceit that these humans-reincarnated-as-cats still behave entirely like humans—they write letters, bake, go ballooning, launder sheets, and so on—really worked for me, especially contrasted with the occasional bursts of pure animal behavior, starting with ass-sniffing and moving on to rape and castration. Ack! I simply couldn’t connect with whatever tone Richardson was going for, and thus continued to feel an at times welcome remove. Strange and unsettling and not, ultimately, for me.]]>
author: Bill Richardson
name: Trin
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2003
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: fiction, queerlit
review:
A bit of whimsy in which the famous people buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris— Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Colette, etc.—are reincarnated as the graveyard’s many cats; I actually found it rather disturbing. There are some nice moments— Alice B. Toklas’ longing for the thus far absent Gertrude Stein forms the heart of the book, and it’s appropriately achy and passionate; I was also really struck by a scene with Chopin in which he morns the fact that his music must now remain entirely within his head. However, I’m not sure that the conceit that these humans-reincarnated-as-cats still behave entirely like humans—they write letters, bake, go ballooning, launder sheets, and so on—really worked for me, especially contrasted with the occasional bursts of pure animal behavior, starting with ass-sniffing and moving on to rape and castration. Ack! I simply couldn’t connect with whatever tone Richardson was going for, and thus continued to feel an at times welcome remove. Strange and unsettling and not, ultimately, for me.
]]> 25628318 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:59:35 -0700
author: Larry Smith
name: Trin
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: biography
review:
These are a lot of fun, and some are clever, and some are touching. After a while, though, they get a bit same-y—“Understood: bad romantic decisions were made”—but I continue to dig the concept and look forward to dipping back in occasionally, now that I’ve read the whole thing.
]]> 25721814 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:34:05 -0700 London Independent about, well…the art of fiction. Lodge’s tone is engaging and informative; he never talks down to the reader, and he’s not just showing off, either. My one gripe would be that the essays—having previously been newspaper columns—were all too short: I kept feeling like they ended just when he was starting to really get somewhere. But then, I was trained on lengthy English lectures. I bet Lodge was a rockin’ professor, and I wish he’d been mine.]]>
author: David Lodge
name: Trin
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: booksaboutbooks, essays
review:
A series of essays Lodge wrote for the London Independent about, well…the art of fiction. Lodge’s tone is engaging and informative; he never talks down to the reader, and he’s not just showing off, either. My one gripe would be that the essays—having previously been newspaper columns—were all too short: I kept feeling like they ended just when he was starting to really get somewhere. But then, I was trained on lengthy English lectures. I bet Lodge was a rockin’ professor, and I wish he’d been mine.
]]> 25968417 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:30:30 -0700
In summation: Roz Chast = WIN.]]>
author: Roz Chast
name: Trin
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/07/08
shelves: comics
review:
An older Roz Chast collection featuring many cartoons that don’t appear in her later “best of” books. I love Chast’s cartoons for their literary humor and for her ability to find fun in all sorts of modern neuroses and peccadilloes. Her sketchy art is great, too—there’s one in here in which Freud is, somewhat randomly, a dinosaur, and it’s the drawing of the little dino with a beard and glasses that really made it for me. I also love her occasional narrative comics—the standout one in here is about going with some friends for a nighttime drive. It’s perfectly real and true.

In summation: Roz Chast = WIN.
]]> 24810347 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:37:16 -0700 Enemy Mine, which was made into a movie starring Dennis Quaid which I’ve seen five minutes of and in filmic form looks ridiculous, was actually pretty good: the humans and the Dracs are at war, but when a human and a Drac fighter pilot each crash-land on a deserted planet after a space battle, they must become reluctant allies, then friends (read: kind of gay for each other). I found the ending deeply and unnecessarily depressing, though.

In Another Orphan, a stockbroker finds himself thrust into the world of Moby-Dick. I enjoyed this less. It was rather reminiscent of Michael Moorcock’s Behold the Man, especially in its use of flashbacks; however, it doesn’t really build to anything much—the revelation at the end was, to me, decidedly unrevelatory. Also, I was very disappointed by the lack of Queequeg. Dude, if you are trying to position yourself as the story’s Ishmael, STEP ONE should be to make out make friends with Queequeg. Because, among other things, Queequeg is just awesome. MOAR QUEEQUEG PLZ.

The two stories don’t really complement each other in any way. Combined, they’re diverting, but I felt like I really wasn’t getting much bang for my buck with this whole “Double Novel” thing. I mean, two semi-lengthy short stories do not equal a single novel, let alone a double. A better bet would be to track down a collection that contains Enemy Mine and more than one other tale.]]>
author: Barry B. Longyear
name: Trin
average rating: 3.00
book published: 1989
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/02/08
shelves: fantasy, ficbutnot, sci-fi
review:
A “Tor Double Novel,” which is really two unrelated novellas packaged together for convenience. Enemy Mine, which was made into a movie starring Dennis Quaid which I’ve seen five minutes of and in filmic form looks ridiculous, was actually pretty good: the humans and the Dracs are at war, but when a human and a Drac fighter pilot each crash-land on a deserted planet after a space battle, they must become reluctant allies, then friends (read: kind of gay for each other). I found the ending deeply and unnecessarily depressing, though.

In Another Orphan, a stockbroker finds himself thrust into the world of Moby-Dick. I enjoyed this less. It was rather reminiscent of Michael Moorcock’s Behold the Man, especially in its use of flashbacks; however, it doesn’t really build to anything much—the revelation at the end was, to me, decidedly unrevelatory. Also, I was very disappointed by the lack of Queequeg. Dude, if you are trying to position yourself as the story’s Ishmael, STEP ONE should be to make out make friends with Queequeg. Because, among other things, Queequeg is just awesome. MOAR QUEEQUEG PLZ.

The two stories don’t really complement each other in any way. Combined, they’re diverting, but I felt like I really wasn’t getting much bang for my buck with this whole “Double Novel” thing. I mean, two semi-lengthy short stories do not equal a single novel, let alone a double. A better bet would be to track down a collection that contains Enemy Mine and more than one other tale.
]]> 24940436 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:22:52 -0700 as people. They solve the crime at the novel’s center based on a combination of their respective skills, and I really liked all the scenes where they just…enjoy each other’s competence. The sexual tension is well drawn out in general; Spencer-Fleming makes good use of Russ’ (and possibly her readers’) ignorance about various denominational differences in a fun scene where Russ discovers that no, Clare has not, in fact, taken a vow of celibacy—though that doesn’t change the fact that Russ is married. UST FTW!

As for the mystery plot itself, aside from one “I’ll just follow the instructions in this telephone message of dubious origin and go out to a cabin in the middle of the woods by myself in a snowstorm without telling anyone” moment, which actually had me sending keyboard-mashing IMs to Siria, there aren’t too many bad mystery clichés or examples of terminal character stupidity. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and look forward to reading the next book in the series when my mood rolls around that way again.]]>
author: Julia Spencer-Fleming
name: Trin
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/02/08
shelves: mystery
review:
Mystery in which a male cop and a female (Episcopalian) priest in a small upstate New York town team up to fight crime! I liked this more than I expected to. Russ (the cop) and Clare (the priest) are both complex, realistic characters, and I really enjoyed how the relationship between them was developed. The way they find common ground and begin to seek out and crave each other’s company felt very natural and wonderfully genderless, if you know what I mean, and after reading a lot of crappy, weirdly misogynistic romance novels, it was very refreshing to see two people become attracted to each other as people. They solve the crime at the novel’s center based on a combination of their respective skills, and I really liked all the scenes where they just…enjoy each other’s competence. The sexual tension is well drawn out in general; Spencer-Fleming makes good use of Russ’ (and possibly her readers’) ignorance about various denominational differences in a fun scene where Russ discovers that no, Clare has not, in fact, taken a vow of celibacy—though that doesn’t change the fact that Russ is married. UST FTW!

As for the mystery plot itself, aside from one “I’ll just follow the instructions in this telephone message of dubious origin and go out to a cabin in the middle of the woods by myself in a snowstorm without telling anyone” moment, which actually had me sending keyboard-mashing IMs to Siria, there aren’t too many bad mystery clichés or examples of terminal character stupidity. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and look forward to reading the next book in the series when my mood rolls around that way again.
]]> 25161848 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:24:02 -0700 The End of Mr. Y and PopCo. I found both fascinating, if ultimately frustrating. Dead Clever, Thomas’ first novel and first of a trio of mysteries, is much the same. Thomas’ prose is compelling and exudes intelligent; her heroine, Lily Pascale, is, like her other heroines, complex and interesting. However, the central premise of Dead Clever is, perhaps, too clever, involving academic cults (shades of The Secret History) and clandestine medical research when I think a simple murder would have served her better. The intense complexity of the crime makes it even more unbelievable when everything ties up so neatly at the end; she really lost me in the last few chapters—which actually kind of happened in Mr. Y and PopCo, too. At least there aren’t any lengthy proselytizations about vegetarianism in this one.

It’s weird: I wouldn’t hesitate to read another Scarlett Thomas novel if I came across one—her writing is that good—but every one I’ve read has exasperated me in one way or another. This is no exception.]]>
author: Scarlett Thomas
name: Trin
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1998
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/02/08
shelves: mystery
review:
Up till now, I’ve only read Thomas’ “literary” novels, The End of Mr. Y and PopCo. I found both fascinating, if ultimately frustrating. Dead Clever, Thomas’ first novel and first of a trio of mysteries, is much the same. Thomas’ prose is compelling and exudes intelligent; her heroine, Lily Pascale, is, like her other heroines, complex and interesting. However, the central premise of Dead Clever is, perhaps, too clever, involving academic cults (shades of The Secret History) and clandestine medical research when I think a simple murder would have served her better. The intense complexity of the crime makes it even more unbelievable when everything ties up so neatly at the end; she really lost me in the last few chapters—which actually kind of happened in Mr. Y and PopCo, too. At least there aren’t any lengthy proselytizations about vegetarianism in this one.

It’s weird: I wouldn’t hesitate to read another Scarlett Thomas novel if I came across one—her writing is that good—but every one I’ve read has exasperated me in one way or another. This is no exception.
]]> 25968503 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:00:10 -0700
author: Steve Martin
name: Trin
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1982
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 07/02/08
shelves: humor
review:
Very strange, short pieces that are less humorous and more…Daliesque. I admired them more than I was amused by them, which is an odd reaction to have to a book by a comic. All in all, not quite my thing, but certainly unique!
]]> 25980272 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:23:59 -0700
author: Jan Harold Brunvand
name: Trin
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 06/30/08
shelves: folklore
review:

]]> 25581725 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:08:00 -0700