I've been meaning to read this for a while, since learning about it via xkcd. In the meantime half my friends seem to have read and loved it, and I saI've been meaning to read this for a while, since learning about it via xkcd. In the meantime half my friends seem to have read and loved it, and I saw the film adaptation, which was one of the best and honestly the most feel-good movie I saw last year. I came out of the cinema wanting to hug people in the street.
Having made a bad choice of reading for my family Christmas holiday (a krimi about bad things happening to trans prostitutes - way too depressing), I thought The Martian would be a good distraction. I started reading it. (view spoiler)[Then I quickly stopped and checked with my partner: "They didn't change the ending for the film, right? He still survives in the book version?"
Getting the answer I wanted, I carried on reading. (hide spoiler)] A good decision! The Martian is a fast-paced, funny and humanist novel about competent people thinking laterally and doing their level best in tough circumstances. I didn't double-check any of the the maths, but the science felt right enough for suspension of belief to me, an ex-materials scientist and current programmer. It's exactly the kind of fiction that cheers me up.
Extra bonus: I told my partner's grandmother I was reading this book and she gave me a copy of An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield. I can't guarantee this will happen to you, but why not try it?...more
George was so realistically painful to read that I had to break from reading in the middle and text my best friend about it. They encouraged me to finGeorge was so realistically painful to read that I had to break from reading in the middle and text my best friend about it. They encouraged me to finish it and get back to them once I had, which I would have done anyway. Without spoiling anything, I'm glad I read on and that Alex Gino gave the book the ending they did.
For an adult reader, this is a very short book. It's written with a simplicity of style that doesn't come off as childlike at all but conveys the emotions of the characters, particularly the protagonist Melissa, with overwhelming clarity. I loved Gino's worldbuilding - is that an odd thing to praise for a book set in the contemporary USA? What I mean is that the minimal description hinted at a whole social world that felt real without having to be directly shown, something I always enjoy when done well.
My friend said it would be unrealistic for a book about a trans child not to be painful, which I do agree with. I should just have been more prepared for the difficult parts of the story to be as familiar as they were, something I'd like to flag up for other LGBTQIA+ adults thinking of reading this book. Otherwise, I think and hope that George will be widely read, by cis and trans kids and by cis parents in particular....more
I read this in one gulp on an evening when I really had other things to do, and did not regret it one bit. This was one of the best books in this seriI read this in one gulp on an evening when I really had other things to do, and did not regret it one bit. This was one of the best books in this series, with a strong plot in which Emp prevailed over a gallery of villains, a swift stream of hilarious supranyms, nice incidental moments and a measured amount of tearjerking. I do hope the next volume has more Ninjette and Thugboy, and more than a cameo of Maid Man, but I'm very satisfied with this one....more
Much like Mark's trip, this journal starts well and then slows somewhat, as the team is trapped in Base Camp awaiting a weather window to attempt a suMuch like Mark's trip, this journal starts well and then slows somewhat, as the team is trapped in Base Camp awaiting a weather window to attempt a summit of Gasherbrum I or II -- a window that looks less likely to arrive with every day. As time passes and the collection of odd characters at Base Camp gets more restless, however, strange things start to happen and the pace picks up. Mark's prose captures the events and people on the moutains very economically, and the diary format gives it an enjoyable immediacy....more
A surprisingly lyrical account of a gruelling climb. Boardman captures the unspoken intricacies and power shifts of his relationship with Tasker durinA surprisingly lyrical account of a gruelling climb. Boardman captures the unspoken intricacies and power shifts of his relationship with Tasker during their months of preparation and weeks of climbing with precision, and describes the land- and skyscape around them in deceptively simple terms....more
A very varied collection of work, some of it very beautiful. I especially liked Catherine Kim's story 'Fidelity'; 'The Girl and the Apple' by Jasmine A very varied collection of work, some of it very beautiful. I especially liked Catherine Kim's story 'Fidelity'; 'The Girl and the Apple' by Jasmine Kabale Moore; and 'La Shooting Estrella' by Alma Díaz. I hope to see more work from all of these writers in the future....more
I enjoyed this book hugely, both for the mystery plotline and for the interaction of the characters. In this and the previous book, The Dracula Tape, I enjoyed this book hugely, both for the mystery plotline and for the interaction of the characters. In this and the previous book, The Dracula Tape, Dracula's characterisation felt very emotionally realistic to me. I expected there to be a twist at the end, but I really enjoyed the build up to it and Holmes's reaction to it. (view spoiler)[(The way it eventually came out reminded me of this Sherlock fanfic, which I've put behind a spoiler tag because if you read it before the book it will probably act as such.) (hide spoiler)]...more
An engaging romp through some of the strangest set-pieces I've yet seen in a noir novel. I love Chandler's descriptions, of both people and places, anAn engaging romp through some of the strangest set-pieces I've yet seen in a noir novel. I love Chandler's descriptions, of both people and places, and the knowing dialogue between characters quite aware of the hardboiled genre they're playing in. At times - a good deal of times - I worried that there was no way all the strands of the plot could come together, but of course they just about did. Like Anna (whose review is much more full than mine), I found the racist attitudes hard to stand. Still, this was an entertaining sickbed read....more
An unusual but very readable combination of evocative nature writing, procedural accounts of law enforcement in the wild, and reflections on humanity'An unusual but very readable combination of evocative nature writing, procedural accounts of law enforcement in the wild, and reflections on humanity's relationship with the planet, drawing on the author's years working in a doomed - but very much alive - environment. I enjoyed it a great deal....more
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