Category: books & reading

Hey look, mostly adult books last month!

In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

It’s about: A coming-of-age story told from the point of view of a nameless 14-year-old girl who considers herself a sidekick, flying under the radar. She’s got a well-meaning but drunk father, a burnt out mother, an annoying older sister, and a sweet younger brother. More importantly, she has a best friend named Felicia. Although there isn’t really a PLOT, tension does come when the relationship with Felicia is tested because of normal adolescent things – boys, popular girls taking an interest in one but not the other, and family stuff.

I thought: It was completely up my alley and I had a really good feeling the whole time I was reading. Parts were kind of sad or heartbreaking, but somehow not depressing at all. I thought the end was perfect even though nothing really resolved. Solid.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

It’s about: A refugee from Nigeria meets a wealthy journalist couple on vacation and their worlds collide in a terrible way.

I thought: I couldn’t finish it. I read over half of it and it was giving me a terrible feeling. It’s dark and depressing without any hint of hope or redemption. I don’t need that in my life right now.

Rating: 1 of 5 stars.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

It’s about: This is the sequel to Eragon, and I listened to both on audio. Eragon is a dragon rider, and he and his dragon Saphira have just saved the world in a big battle against the evil emperor, and now they travel to the land of the elves for further training. Meanwhile in his hometown his cousin Roran is leading the village in a fight against the empire’s soldiers.

I thought: Although I like the characters and I care about what happens to them, there was waaay too little action in this. I almost gave up in the middle because the descriptions of the training sessions got so boring and repetitive. The only upside is that when the action comes at the end there is a bigger payoff because of all you’ve invested. I don’t know if I’ll read the next one or not though.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

It’s about: Billy Pilgrim is a survivor of the bombing of Dresden in WW2, a victim of alien abduction to the planet Tralfamadore, and a time traveler. It may sound crazy but it’s really not – it works. Mainly it’s the story of Billy’s life.

I thought: Depressing but not in an over-the-top way, sci-fi without being sci-fi, subtly anti-war by showing you its destructiveness, clever and kind of genius. I liked it even more after thinking about it and analyzing it.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bossypants by Tina Fey

It’s about: Not a deep exploration into Tina Fey’s past or anything, but it gives insight into her family, her pursuit of comedy writing, her time on SNL, 30 Rock, and takes a good look at the role of women in comedy.

I thought: I was already a fan of Tina Fey and this reinforced my fanship. It was amusing all the way through and as a bonus I got to listen to her narrate on the audio version and they threw in a couple SNL sketches. I only chuckled out loud a couple times, but I’m not a big LOL-er in general.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

It’s about: A random memoir with a little bit of her childhood, to how she got her start in comedy writing, to her experience on The Office, to her thoughts on marriage and lots of things in between.

I thought: This started really slow for me – it just felt straightforward and not overly clever at first, but it got better and better all the time, and by the end I wanted it to keep going. Not very deep, but funny and worth the read. Note that there are a lot of lists in the book and they don’t translate to audio very well.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars.

You guys, I was in a total reading slump in April. One nonfiction book on marriage and three children’s books, two of them audio. Sorry. I promise I picked it up in May (so far)!

The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage by Dr. Laura Schlessinger

It’s about: The title kind of says it all, doesn’t it? But I just want to add, in case you don’t know who Dr. Laura is, that she is a trained family counselor with many years of experience who now has a radio show. Her fans are rabidly devoted and my husband is among them. I read this on his recommendation.

I thought: I find that I agree very much with almost everything she says, even though I don’t always think her tone is helpful. One big thing to take away from it is that the only thing you have control over is you – if your spouse is treating you badly, you might have something to do with it. If you want to bring about a change in your spouse, you probably need to change first. Anyway, this was a huge encouragement and made me want to do everything possible to ensure our marriage stays strong.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud

It’s about: This is the second in the trilogy, and a mysterious force is destroying important parts of London. Nathaniel (our young upstart magician) and his demon Bartimaeus must travel to Prague to determine the cause behind the attacks. In the meantime, we get to know the commoner Kitty and her work with the resistance.

I thought: It wasn’t as good as the first book because Bartimaeus wasn’t in it as much. He’s the best. At first I didn’t know Kitty and thus didn’t care as much about her, but by the end I did. The deeper plot develops, and there is one seriously haunting scene. Overall a good setup for a (hopefully) strong finish.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars.

The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket

It’s about: Okay, this is the twelfth book out of thirteen, so the plot is a little convoluted by this point and I’m not going to get into it. But it seemed like there was less action in this one than usual.

I thought: All of these books are similar, which is why it’s taking me forever to finish the series. I need a break in between them. However, they are also incredibly witty, informative, clever, etc., and at this point I am quite invested in the lives of the Baudelaire orphans. It was good.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud

It’s about: Bartimaeus has been trapped on earth for years by Nathaniel and he has become weak and worn out. Nathaniel is an arrogant jerk, and Kitty is awesome, and she figures out some magical stuff and learns about Bartimaeus’s past, and there is war and some creepy demons, and lots of other good stuff.

I thought: Getting through the second book was totally worth it for this huge payoff. The end was especially perfect, and I’m a sucker for a good ending.

Rating: 5 of 5 stars.

On to some adult fiction now!

Click the titles below to see my review on Goodreads.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

It’s about: The story is set in the same realm as Graceling, yet it is in a separate kingdom and takes place beforehand. There is only one overlapping character and he is minor in this book. In this story “monsters” are animals or people who have a wildly attractive appearance, and in the case of humans, have a talent for mind reading. Fire is the last human monster, but she tries not to abuse her power. But as civil war seems imminent she is drawn into using it to uncover a plot against the king. There are secrets. And romance. And action, and stuff.

I thought: It was another unique concept from Cashore, loved how the the mind reading was handled, and although it was a slow start it was interesting enough to keep my attention. But again, there is so much stuff in it that I don’t find appropriate for young adults. Casual sex, adultery & teen pregnancy that isn’t portrayed in a bad light, hints at rape and incest even. There were even some infertility-type themes that I liked, but I don’t see how the intended audience (young adults) could appreciate them.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Bee Season by Myla Goldberg

It’s about: Eliza is just your average little girl in a gifted family, or so everyone (including her) thinks until she makes it to the national spelling bee. At this point her father Saul

I thought: This book is soooo much different than I expected. I thought it would be a heartwarming coming-of-age tale having to do with the spelling bee. Instead I got some weird mystical, schizophrenic stuff. It was the opposite of heartwarming, I was weirded out the entire time, and every time I picked it up I felt like I was stepping into a dirty, cluttered house.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

It’s about: Orphans or unwanted children are trained as apprentices to magicians and they learn magic like a trade. Magicians have no power in themselves but they derive it from learning how to control demons from the “other place.” Nathaniel is a precocious apprentice to an ignorant master. After he is publicly humiliated by another magician, Simon Lovelace, he makes it his mission to avenge himself. He summons the demon Bartimaeus to steal a powerful amulet from Lovelace, unknowingly getting the two of them involved in a dark scheme.

I thought: There is no clear “good guy” in this book: Simon Lovelace is obviously slimy and bad, Nathaniel is pitiful and you want him to turn out good but he’s also arrogant and ambitious, and Bartimaeus is, of course, a demon: completely selfish, but also awesome. His chapters are incredibly interesting, funny, and amusing. He is the reason for the success of the story. Nothing very deep going on here (at all), just a lot of fun.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

The Professor by Charlotte Brontë

It’s about: This is the story of a regular guy. Really, that’s it. Think there must be more to it? Well, this regular guy (Crimsworth is his name) breaks from his rich uncles, tries to get a job for his snobby brother in trade, is treated badly, moves to Brussels, starts working as a professor, and eventually falls in love. So, not much more.

I thought: It’s really quite boring. I finished it because it’s short and I still have an appreciation for Bronte’s writing style. But the whole time I just couldn’t make myself care about this guy. I think he’s the author’s ideal of a man or something (hardworking, honorable, Protestant) but he was kind of arrogant. Thank goodness for the character of Hunsden, Crimsworth’s friend, who was at least interesting.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

It appears that over half of the books I read most months are juvenile fantasy that I listen to on audio. That’s because I have an hour-long drive to and from work, so I go through them fast. But if you’re looking for literary fiction or classics, don’t worry! I’m working through all the books I own but haven’t read as well.

Here’s what I read in February.

Click the titles below for full reviews on Goodreads.

Fablehaven book 5 by Brandon Mull

It’s about: This was the last book in the series, so once again I’m not really going to get into it.

I thought: The strength of this series continued through to the end, and I loved every minute of it. Not incredibly deep, but a whole lot of fun.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

It’s about: a pair of siblings – the older sister Gwendolyn, who is a witch, and her brother Eric, who idolizes her. They are orphaned and sent to live in Chrestomanci castle with a distant cousin and his family, where nothing is as it seems. Gwendolyn doesn’t feel that her talents as a witch are being appreciated, and she begins causing all kinds of trouble.

I thought: It was kind of slow and annoying. Gwendolyn got on my nerves so badly that I almost couldn’t stand it. For awhile the plot seemed too simple and nothing much was happening, but there were glimpses here and there that more would come out later, and the story got so much better at the end that I’m inclined to give the next book a try. Undecided about the series, but this one wasn’t great.

Rating: 2 of 5 stars.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

It’s about: Centers around a young governess sent to a remote house to care for a perfectly charming little girl and boy, but she begins to question everything when she starts seeing ghosts.

I thought: It took me awhile to get into the groove of this book because the writing is a bit convoluted, but once I fell into the rhythm of it I found it engaging. The narrator is unreliable and there is definitely a sense of mystery and urgency that builds. But at the end of it I still don’t know what actually happened, even after much Wikipedia-ing. Apparently I’m not alone.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

It’s about: In the Seven Kingdoms some children are born as gracelings with a gift of a special skill, and they are immediately put into the service of the king. Katsa is born a king’s niece with a grace of killing, and she becomes his thug despite her conscience. After she meets prince Po, who is trying to find the kidnapper of his grandfather, Katsa finds the courage to defy the king and the two of them leave on an adventure to discover the source of the mysterious kidnapping.

I thought: I really liked it, especially the full cast audio version. I thought the world and the concept of “graces” was interesting and unique. The characters were, for the most part, well-developed. I just have some picky concerns about Katsa not acting like a girl, and the direction that her relationship with Po led, which I didn’t think was young-adult appropriate. But it didn’t diminish my enjoyment.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

It’s about: It revolves around an event during the second World War where French police rounded up Jewish families, including children, kept them in abysmal surroundings for days, then shipped them off to camps and eventually to Auschwitz. Part of the story is told from Sarah’s point of view, one of the children, and most of it from Julia’s perspective, an American ex-pat journalist whose in-laws moved into Sarah’s old apartment right after it was vacated.

I thought: It was a tough subject, and Sarah’s story was extremely hard for me to read as a new mom (hormones, etc.). It was a good introduction to an event I had no idea happened. I liked the descriptions of France. But overall it was too predictable for me, too planned out. I didn’t understand why Julia was so obsessed with the subject, at the expense of her marriage. The story just didn’t flow naturally.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars.