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Mike
Mike is on page 30 of 332 of Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity, #1)
This seems pretty interesting so far. This is definitely a good conceit for a book, even if it doesn't totally make sense (yet?), and Verity's voice is very well-executed. I'm optimistic for what's to come.
Jan 30, 2018 09:25AM Add a comment
Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity, #1)

Mike
Mike is on page 270 of 624 of The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten
Dancy vs. the Pterosaur by Caitlin R. Kiernan: 3/5 I like the premise, but the prose and characterization have room for improvement.

Calved by Sam J. Miller: 5/5 A very well-written story with an excellent twist at the end. Easily the best short story I've read in a while.
Jan 28, 2018 09:29AM Add a comment
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten

Mike
Mike is on page 240 of 624 of The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten
Capitalism in the 22nd Century by Geoff Ryman: 2/5 There were some good ideas here, but the execution was too exaggerated and unfocused to work.

Emergence by Gwyneth Jones: 2/5 Again, there were good ideas, but the whole thing was just confusing.

The Deepwater Bride by Tasmyn Muir: 3/5 This was well-written, and with a good protagonist, but the story just went nowhere.
Jan 26, 2018 10:23PM Add a comment
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten

Mike
Mike is on page 292 of 370 of Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction
The Chosen One by Saundra Mitchell: 2/5 (DNF) Doesn't capture a medieval tone very well, and it's just boring.

Improbable Futures by Kami Garcia: 3/5 Very well-written, but story fails to deliver.

Death for the Deathless by Margaret Stohl: 4/5 Only moderately well-written, but the killer twist at the end makes up for it.

Fate by Simone Elkeles: 1/5 Very badly-written, very limp and generic romance.
Jan 23, 2018 07:42AM Add a comment
Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction

Mike
Mike is on page 232 of 370 of Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction
Misery by Heather Brewer: 2/5 The premise went totally unexplored, leaving the story limp and forgettable.

The Mind is a Powerful Thing by Matt de la Pena: 5/5 Exceptionally well-written, and very realistic.

The Chosen One by Saundra Mitchell: 2/5 (DNF) This doesn't do a very good job of capturing the kind of fairy tale atmosphere it's going for, so it just feels boring and meandering.
Jan 21, 2018 11:58AM Add a comment
Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction

Mike
Mike is on page 150 of 370 of Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction
One True Love by Malinda Lo: 4/5 It goes on a bit too long, but this is a very well-written pastiche of 19th-century fairy tales, and it's lots of fun to read.

This Is a Mortal Wound by Michael Grant: 1/5 This is one of the worst short stories I've ever read, and it makes me sad to see it come from a childhood favorite. This is badly-written, preachy, badly-structured, and just plain unfunny.
Jan 20, 2018 08:18AM Add a comment
Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction

Mike
Mike is on page 120 of 370 of Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction
The Angriest Man by Lisa McMann: 3/5 This is well-written, and I suppose the premise is pretty good, but it's way too short to do anything with its ideas, and it ends up being really forgettable.

Out of the Blue by Meg Cabot: 1/5 This is incredibly cheesy and unrealistic, and not well-written at all. It mostly fails to be funny, and the story isn't even a little engaging in its own right.
Jan 19, 2018 04:47AM Add a comment
Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction

Mike
Mike is 65% done with Champion of the Rose (Darest, #1)
I'm really thinking that fantasy just isn't my genre, apart from magical realism. This isn't bad or anything, it's just really, really boring to me.
Jan 18, 2018 06:54PM Add a comment
Champion of the Rose (Darest, #1)

Mike
Mike is on page 60 of 370 of Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction
Gentlemen Send Phantoms by Laini Taylor: 3/5 The writing is just as good as I remember it, but alas, the story is not.

Burned Bright by Diana Peterfreund: 4/5 Perhaps a bit cliched, but that twist at the end makes up for everything. Significantly better than I remember it.
Jan 18, 2018 02:20PM Add a comment
Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction

Mike
Mike is on page 180 of 624 of The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten
A Murmuration by Alastair Reynolds: 1/5 This story was incredibly dull, and very hard to follow.

Kaiju Maximus: So Various, So Beautiful, So New by Kai Ashante Wilson: 3/5 There were some interesting ideas, it was just hard to see how everything fit together.

Water of Versailles by Kelly Robson: 4/5 Not outright funny, but quite creative, and a fun read.
Jan 15, 2018 09:32AM Add a comment
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten

Mike
Mike is 30% done with I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
There are definitely a lot of cool facts to share with friends in this book. Any obnoxious nerds like me should definitely read this book.
Jan 13, 2018 04:36PM Add a comment
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Mike
Mike is on page 90 of 624 of The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten
Jamaica Ginger by Nalo Hopinkson and Nisi Shawl: 4/5. Perhaps a bit predictable and cliched, but the story is very well-written, and I liked the main character a lot.
Jan 13, 2018 11:37AM Add a comment
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten

Mike
Mike is on page 60 of 624 of The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten
Night Dog by Neil Gaiman: 3/5 I normally love Gaiman, but this was disappointing - the first half is boring, and the second half is weird, and not in a good way. Decent writing and dialogue, but that's about it.

City of Ash by Paolo Bacigalupi: 3/5 Lots of potential, and some very good prose, but there's just not enough of a story here.
Jan 11, 2018 06:43PM Add a comment
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year, Volume Ten

Mike
Mike is 24% done with I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
This is definitely not very well-written - the transitions are pretty choppy, and Yong's attempts at humor are pretty cringe-worthy. But the book is otherwise pretty interesting and well-researched.
Jan 11, 2018 02:41PM Add a comment
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Mike
Mike is 5% done with I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
This could be better-written, but the information is quite good. There are worse things I could be reading for this biology class I have to take.
Jan 11, 2018 07:20AM Add a comment
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Mike
Mike is 60% done with Champion of the Rose (Darest, #1)
My impatience for royal court drama probably means that I just shouldn't be reading high fantasy. This isn't bad, but I'm very bored by the plot.
Jan 07, 2018 09:42AM Add a comment
Champion of the Rose (Darest, #1)

Mike
Mike is 50% done with Champion of the Rose (Darest, #1)
Probably the best thing about Host's writing is how creative her worldbuilding always is. I find the mythos here a lot easier to follow than it normally is, and I'm really enjoying this book for that, if not much else.
Jan 06, 2018 04:08PM Add a comment
Champion of the Rose (Darest, #1)

Mike
Mike is on page 150 of 208 of The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)
This book is pretty good, I'm just not enthralled with it like I was with The Boyfriend List.
Jan 05, 2018 05:38AM Add a comment
The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)

Mike
Mike is 64% done with The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy
I guess I just wish this were a bit more specific, about the precise techniques of logotherapy. I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on it, but it could be more solid.
Jan 04, 2018 11:58AM Add a comment
The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy

Mike
Mike is on page 120 of 208 of The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)
I feel like it's actually a pretty big spoiler for the book's summary to tell you that the field trip doesn't go well. I mean, I guess I could've guessed that it wouldn't go great, but knowing that it's "disastrous" is making me anxious for what follows.
Jan 04, 2018 09:31AM Add a comment
The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)

Mike
Mike is on page 120 of 208 of The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)
I feel like it's actually a pretty big spoiler for the book's summary to tell you that the field trip doesn't go well. I mean, I guess I could've guessed that it wouldn't go great, but knowing that it's "disastrous" is making me anxious for what follows.
Jan 04, 2018 09:31AM Add a comment
The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)

Mike
Mike is 40% done with The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy
This book is very insightful and important, but there's only so much of it I can take at a time. This is very, very complex.
Jan 03, 2018 04:22PM Add a comment
The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy

Mike
Mike is on page 90 of 208 of The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)
Yeah, this isn't as good as The Boyfriend List - the plot doesn't have as much direction, and it's not as funny. But man, it will never not be entertaining to read about Ruby Oliver.
Jan 03, 2018 09:00AM Add a comment
The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)

Mike
Mike is 24% done with The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy
This honestly feels like philosophy just as much as it does like psychology. And while this is exhausting to read, in the same way that I find most philosophy exhausting, it's also very fascinating and on-point.
Jan 02, 2018 07:55PM Add a comment
The Will to Meaning: Foundations and Applications of Logotherapy

Mike
Mike is on page 60 of 208 of The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)
This is quite the accomplishment - Lockhart has managed to write a protagonist so engaging that I'm actually invested in high school drama. This isn't as funny as The Boyfriend List, but it's still so much better than I would expect it to be based on the premise.
Jan 02, 2018 05:22PM Add a comment
The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them (Ruby Oliver, #2)

Mike
Mike is 85% done with Selected Political Writings
This is not a particularly well-selected sample of Gandhi's writing. It's too repetitive, and not chronological enough.
Dec 31, 2017 03:19PM Add a comment
Selected Political Writings

Mike
Mike is 72% done with Selected Political Writings
Gandhi doesn't completely avoid going into detail about how exactly his philosophies will shake off British colonial rule, but I'd need more detail in this to really get behind them as a maxim.
Dec 30, 2017 09:12PM Add a comment
Selected Political Writings

Mike
Mike is 40% done with By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead
This book is, I think it's safe to say, pretty likely to be read by people with strong suicidal thoughts. To fill this book with instructions on how to kill yourself, complete with ratings on how painful and effective the methods are, is perhaps the most absurdly irresponsible thing I have ever seen in a novel. This book is literally dangerous to support or publicize.
Dec 30, 2017 02:38PM Add a comment
By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead

Mike
Mike is on page 90 of 200 of 四月は君の嘘 3 [Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso 3]
I like this way better than the last volume. This handles its tone extremely well (considering the potential for mood whiplash that's there), and it's a powerful testament to the power of music.
Dec 30, 2017 07:24AM Add a comment
四月は君の嘘 3 [Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso 3]

Mike
Mike is on page 300 of 352 of Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances
A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green: 3/5 This story was definitely funny, but aspects of it were also pretty ridiculous, and watching Green try to do gender politics was kind of cringe-inducing. Still, I liked the prose and the characters overall - it could've been a lot worse.
Dec 28, 2017 06:58PM Add a comment
Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances

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