Tag Archives: book

Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory

One of the many benefits of having a period of rest with a nursing baby is that there is a lot of time for reading. Some of it may be reading at two in the morning – but that’s never been something that has bothered me. In fact, this is about the only time I can be reading at two in the morning without mentally chastising myself and feeling guilty about being tired the next day. So without further adieu, here is my reading companion and book model showing off the last Phillipa Gregory book I read:

She looks fairly unimpressed but it’s Phillippa Gregory so the book was of course well written and pretty darn good (she is one of my favorite authors after all).

The book was set just post WWI and I liked that if only for the novelty of it. WWII books seem to be everywhere you look but I’ve read very few of this era, does anyone have suggestions for others?

Would I recommend it? I would except that early on I realized that the characters were all headed toward a gigantic train wreck of a catastrophe. The impeding doom of the wreck you know is coming but takes an entire book to get to could really get to a person. Fortunately for me, I had plenty of time in the middle of the night to read the book quickly and so I enjoyed it. Not a happy book, but a good book.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein

Since I am one of those with a daughter who inexplicably loves all things princess I couldn’t resist the title of this book. The author covers topics ranging from the Disney princesses, the color pink and child beauty pageants to internet use and violent fairy tales. I didn’t always completely agree with where she was coming from but the book had enough food for thought to make up for it.

Would I recommend it? If you’ve got girls, it’s an interesting, if frightening look at how our current culture affects them. But please see my Screamfree Parenting review for my full reasons on why I will not be recommending any sort of parenting books.

The Interrogative Mood a Novel? by Padgett Powell

To answer the question in the title, no it is not a novel in the I shall tell you a story sort of way.  Perhaps one could say that stringing together endless random questions and somehow managing to publish them is a novel idea… but that still doesn’t make it a good one.  It’s possible my extreme dislike of the book has something to do with the four year old I live with.

Ivy: “What do you do at book club?”

Me: “We all read the same book and then we talk about it.”

Ivy: “What book did you read?”

Me: “A book that was all questions.”

Ivy: “Why was it all questions?”

Me: “I’m not sure, that’s just what it was.”

Ivy: “What kind of questions?”

Me:  – gave some examples-

Ivy: “Why do they ask those questions?”

Are you getting the picture? I’ve got plenty of questions in my life thank you very much, and it’s not like they are all easy ones.  Just this week we’ve covered topics ranging from cremation to how trees drink water.  John has been known to come home from work, ask too many questions and then frantically back pedal and rephrase his conversation before I kill him with a spatula. Perhaps at some distance stage of my life I will no longer prickle at the thought of being asked 3,000 questions – but I’m not there yet.

Would I recommend this book? Can’t say I would.

A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin

I like epic fantasy novels and series. I like knowing what happens next… and next… and next.  The trouble with this is that authors of epic fantasy’s usually don’t crank out their books one right after another so I’m required to remember what happens in a book for long stretches of time… possibly years. Usually this is where John comes in. I screen books and give him ones I think he’ll like and he remembers everything he reads and can remind me of all the little (and sometimes gigantic) details I have forgotten. Unfortunately after he read A Game of Thrones and possibly the next one or so in this series he quit. He quit reading them because the author makes you care about his characters and then he kills them.  Sadly it’s true, the chapters switch character viewpoints among a huge cast and Martin has an uncanny ability to turn you from indifferent,  to actively rooting for them right before he offs them.

In any case I couldn’t count on John to remind me what happened in the last books, which was a problem, because this books timeline runs along side the book before (A Feast For Crows) so I actually was trying to remember what happened two books (A Storm of Swords) ago.  I read those books in 2004 and 2006 respectively.  I can’t remember a book I read last week, asking me to not only remember back to a time before children but to also recall what I read then – not happening.

For the first quarter of the book I was confused, really confused. I recognized names, some events were familiar, I had a couple of “OH YEAH he killed that king” sort of moments but it was pretty bad. By the time I reached the half way point I was mildly confused but had come to terms with the fact that I wasn’t setting this book down, re-reading the last two and coming back to it.  Mild confusion and I were getting along fine.   The third quarter of the book I was well enough in that most of my confusion was behind me and I was caught up in the story again. Then last quarter arrived and he started killing off all the characters I cared about, threw a few new old ones that I was supposed to remember into the mix and ended it with me wanting to know what happens next.

Would I recommend it? The series isn’t for anyone… the term epic should not be taken lightly… This was a 1,000 page tome and while lots of people died nothing got resolved and it’s the fifth book in the series. On the other hand it’s a pretty darn good story, from what I can remember… If you are brave enough to take them on start with A Game of Thrones.

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

I’ve read most of Chris Bohjalian’s other books so when I saw his newest on the shelf I dove right in.

Oops.

While some of his others were nightmare inducing for other reasons they didn’t involve seeing dead people, and contemplating killing your own children, not to mention and the extra chill inducing ending.

Please read something by Bohjalian… just maybe not this one.

Would I recommend it? No, well written, but just no.

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

It appears I read the first book in this series before I started writing about the books I was reading, which is annoying to me, and possibly to you to. Or maybe it’s just a bit of my need-to-have-some-part-of-my-life-in-order-so-I-choose-odd-small-things issue coming though and no one is annoyed other than me.

Regardless of who is or is not annoyed by this out of order book review I’ll attempt to put my own issues aside and carry on.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman was a recommendation from Pat Rothfuss’s blog. And since we should all have read at least The Name of The Wind by now we know he is a super author, and we should probably at least check out his recommendations right?

Right.

If you would like to do so yourself here is his link http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2009/08/things-i-like-magicians-and-faeries-of/ 

Personally I’d call The Magicians something of a Harry Potter meets Narnia in an adult sort of way.

(And by that oh best beloved I mean we’ve added, sarcasm, sex, drugs, alcohol, death and other assorted nasties)

I recall it being a fairly wonderful, if slightly startling book, so therefore I found the second in the series (see large title above) and brought it home.  I then proceeded to read this book in a much shorter time frame than I should have which resulted in a much shorter night sleep than was really prudent.

And it was worth it.

Would I recommend it? Why yes, yes I would, thanks for asking.

And on a slightly different but still sort of related subject I feel compelled to share this flow chart of NPR’s top 100 science fiction and fantasy books (also recommended by Pat Rothfuss) because it’s funny if you’ve read enough of them to be dorky enough to get the jokes and possibly helpful in finding a new book to read if you haven’t.

NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Flow Chart

Zen Ghosts by Jon J. Muth

I hate Halloween.

I’ve mentioned this before here but hate it or not it’s coming up and as with all holidays the library has kept us on track with their rack of seasonal/holiday appropriate books. Normally I love the seasonal rack, but these are Halloween books, and I hate Halloween, I also hate Clifford. I really don’t want to read about Clifford and Halloween in the same book.

Ivy does.

It’s a problem.

When I saw that Jon Muth who wrote Zen Shorts had a Halloween book out I pounced on it. I was a little apprehensive since it did involve the word “ghost” but there was no big red dog or ugly drippy monsters on the cover so I thought it was worth a try. I’d like to say it was just as wonderful as Zen Shorts but I can’t get my Halloween hating completely out of my system so I will just say that it is the only Halloween book that I have ever enjoyed.

The illustrations were again beautiful.  And the story.. I’m not even sure what to say, it was a ghost story, sort of, and it was a zen-like-make-you-think-story, and once again Ivy enjoyed it more than I ever would have guessed she would have.

Would I recommend it? Yes indeed! Please replace a certain large red dog with a giant panda named Stillwater, I promise life will get better.

The Patron Sait of Liars by Ann Patchett

This is one of those books that I’ve always heard the name but never actually read.  Since reading State of Wonder  by the same author ( I thought I wrote a review on that book but just discovered that I didn’t. But I should have because it was one of my favorite books I have read lately, definitely a recommend read that one, check it out!  – anyway-)   I thought I’d read some more of Patchett’s books.  I’ve always heard this title come up and now I can see why, it’s good!

I like when books switch character perspectives, but I like it more when they go back. I enjoyed this book, I read it quickly, it was good, but I missed the characters voices when I never got to hear them again.

Would I recommend it? Yes.