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bookgazing) wrote2019-09-18 04:50 pm
bookgazing) wrote2019-09-18 04:50 pm
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Return of the Book Addict
So, it has been a loooong time since I did a books update but I finally have a free day during this set of holidays to talk about some of the books I've read.
First, the highlights:
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan Mcguire - I think this is my favourite in the Wayward Children series so far. In this novella, some of the characters from the previous books, and some new characters, take a roadtrip to a magical nonsense, candy land. Their goal - to make sure that Rini, future daughter of Sumi (the girl murdered in Every Heart a Doorway) gets born so she can save her world. This book introduces Cora, a fresh new face, and she's part of why I liked this book so much. And it briefly reunites the characters with Nancy (yay, I like Nancy). Would recommend to readers looking for more books that mix baking and fantasy. Also great for readers searching for fat, female protagonists who get to go on adventures.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins - I read this when it first came out, and loved it. Then, recently we got to sell this as a Book of the Month at work and I was SO EXCITED. I pitched it to customers as Fingersmith meets Alias Grace with hints of The Long Song, which should hopefully give you an idea of what it's about - a gothic, historical novel about a former slave accused of a crime she doesn't believe she can have committed against the woman she loved. I also think you'll love it if you enjoyed Washington Black and the film Belle. This is Sara Collins' debut, and I just want really need everyone who is able to financially support her career. (Quick CW for those hwo need it - I don't think it is exactly a spoiler to say that a lesbian character and a bisexual character eventually die in this book.)
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi - A typically weird, lyrical Oyeyemi confection that pulls you along with the force of its word choice and imagery. It's a lush, literary, really odd story within a story told to a daughter by her mother, and along the way it touches on family links, fairy tales, and baking.
An American War by Omar El-Akkad - A really in-depth character portrait of a young woman radicalised as part of a fictional civil war. I still feel like, being British, I lack the context to fully understand the political points being made in this book, but I loved the writing and the atmosphere of this book.It reminded me of the atmospheric build up in Beasts of The Southern Wild almost.
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee - Honestly, even though I have some quibbles with this series (please can we have a spin-off from Surrender-not's pov please), I still think it's consistently better than a ton of the crime novels being published right now. I feel like I have massively gone off crime writing recently, even historical crime, so maybe this comment is just about me. This installment sees Ghandi's protests bring Calcutta to a standstill while a serial killer strikes and Sam continues to battle his opium addiction.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Yep, I liked The Night Circus just like a billion other people. It creates super attractive visuals, and draws you in to its magical atmosphere really well. Much like when I read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I felt like some of the female characters got jipped. And the book just discards certain characters and leaves them at a loose end with no resolution (but manages to disguise this quite well during the initial reading experience by drawing readers ever onwards into the mystery of the circus). Still, I liked it and I'll probably read it again some day. How this isn't a film yet, I do not know.
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian - I've finally embarked on this massive naval series and first reports are good. I enjoyed this, and of course it made me want to watch the film again.
Witchmark by C. L. Polk - I didn't fall in love with this book quite as much as other readers, but I solidly enjoyed it and I absolutely want to read more about this world. For a comprehensive write-up on this book check out Susan's review.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah - Just the kind of fast, personal non-fiction I needed to read (I have only read two non-fiction books this year *gulp*). It was interesting to learn more about Noah's life, but I think I enjoyed learning about South Africa through his eyes even more than learning about the specifics of his own life.
Sonny and Me by Ross Sayers - A delightful YA mystery novel which depicts friendship, family, and growing up with humour and reality. Yes, you are interpreting the use of a rainbow slushie on the front cover correctly - one of the main characters is gay and a supporting character is bi-sexual. I wrote a little bit about this book at LB.
This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar - A gorgeously written book about time travel, conflict, and two women falling in love that pinged all my buttons. Again, I wrote a little bit about this book at LB.
America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo - Ahhhhhh, I think I am slowly dying of love for this book. Just, ahhhhhhhhh. I wrote a bit about why at LB, but basically it is perfect (and about a bisexual woman being healed by a younger lesbian). I want so many more people to read this book!
Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake - I still love this series (who is surprised) but can it have more bisexuals who are alive, already? Anyway, I wrote about this series at length over at LB. The last book in the series is out soon and I am not ready!
The "Well, it's complicated," report:
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - A pretty light, interesting take on the music industry told entirely through interviews with the fictional band. It tries super hard to be feminist, but sometimes gets kind of hung up on how much it loves it's complicated, very rock and roll male lead. And the 'dying wife' request at the end was a huge eye-roll moment which threw me a little bit tbh.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - I loved this YA novel in verse while I was breathlessly reading it, but now find I can't really remember anything about its story or substance. Maybe it's on me because I just read it too fast (I finished it in about a day) and didn't write anything about it afterwards? Or maybe it doesn't matter that I can't remember much about it because I enjoyed it so much in the moment?
Rosewater by Tade Thompson - Thompson has created such an interesting world, but this book was a huge reminder of why I don't like to read books from the pov of male characters deliberately written as realistically sexist/obsessed with sexualising the female body.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chamber - So, I really like what Chambers did with the second half of this book (and the concept for the book overall), but the first half just lacked all the emotional connection I've come to expect from a Becky Chambers book. I really want to write more about my conflicted reading experience with this book so cross your fingers that I invent a time machine sometime soon.
Frankly in Love by David Yoon - Passionate, important and smart in many ways (particularly in its head on confrontation of racism) but just a little weird about women in places for me. Also, reeeeeaaaalllly disliked the way Q's coming out is written.
Bloom by Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau - Bloom is the kind of story I should have really dug (baking, boyfriends, difficult friendship issues) but the development of the characters and the romance felt rushed. Also, the first time the two main, male characters kiss something terrible happens, which plays into long-standing literary tropes linked to gay romance. It's not quite the car crash trope, and everything works out in the end, but the inclusion of this incident at this very specific point in the story felt off. This book did remind me I need to check in and see if the second trade volume of Zodiac Starforce is available though.
That's what I've been reading - how about you?
First, the highlights:
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan Mcguire - I think this is my favourite in the Wayward Children series so far. In this novella, some of the characters from the previous books, and some new characters, take a roadtrip to a magical nonsense, candy land. Their goal - to make sure that Rini, future daughter of Sumi (the girl murdered in Every Heart a Doorway) gets born so she can save her world. This book introduces Cora, a fresh new face, and she's part of why I liked this book so much. And it briefly reunites the characters with Nancy (yay, I like Nancy). Would recommend to readers looking for more books that mix baking and fantasy. Also great for readers searching for fat, female protagonists who get to go on adventures.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins - I read this when it first came out, and loved it. Then, recently we got to sell this as a Book of the Month at work and I was SO EXCITED. I pitched it to customers as Fingersmith meets Alias Grace with hints of The Long Song, which should hopefully give you an idea of what it's about - a gothic, historical novel about a former slave accused of a crime she doesn't believe she can have committed against the woman she loved. I also think you'll love it if you enjoyed Washington Black and the film Belle. This is Sara Collins' debut, and I just want really need everyone who is able to financially support her career. (Quick CW for those hwo need it - I don't think it is exactly a spoiler to say that a lesbian character and a bisexual character eventually die in this book.)
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi - A typically weird, lyrical Oyeyemi confection that pulls you along with the force of its word choice and imagery. It's a lush, literary, really odd story within a story told to a daughter by her mother, and along the way it touches on family links, fairy tales, and baking.
An American War by Omar El-Akkad - A really in-depth character portrait of a young woman radicalised as part of a fictional civil war. I still feel like, being British, I lack the context to fully understand the political points being made in this book, but I loved the writing and the atmosphere of this book.It reminded me of the atmospheric build up in Beasts of The Southern Wild almost.
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee - Honestly, even though I have some quibbles with this series (please can we have a spin-off from Surrender-not's pov please), I still think it's consistently better than a ton of the crime novels being published right now. I feel like I have massively gone off crime writing recently, even historical crime, so maybe this comment is just about me. This installment sees Ghandi's protests bring Calcutta to a standstill while a serial killer strikes and Sam continues to battle his opium addiction.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Yep, I liked The Night Circus just like a billion other people. It creates super attractive visuals, and draws you in to its magical atmosphere really well. Much like when I read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I felt like some of the female characters got jipped. And the book just discards certain characters and leaves them at a loose end with no resolution (but manages to disguise this quite well during the initial reading experience by drawing readers ever onwards into the mystery of the circus). Still, I liked it and I'll probably read it again some day. How this isn't a film yet, I do not know.
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian - I've finally embarked on this massive naval series and first reports are good. I enjoyed this, and of course it made me want to watch the film again.
Witchmark by C. L. Polk - I didn't fall in love with this book quite as much as other readers, but I solidly enjoyed it and I absolutely want to read more about this world. For a comprehensive write-up on this book check out Susan's review.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah - Just the kind of fast, personal non-fiction I needed to read (I have only read two non-fiction books this year *gulp*). It was interesting to learn more about Noah's life, but I think I enjoyed learning about South Africa through his eyes even more than learning about the specifics of his own life.
Sonny and Me by Ross Sayers - A delightful YA mystery novel which depicts friendship, family, and growing up with humour and reality. Yes, you are interpreting the use of a rainbow slushie on the front cover correctly - one of the main characters is gay and a supporting character is bi-sexual. I wrote a little bit about this book at LB.
This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar - A gorgeously written book about time travel, conflict, and two women falling in love that pinged all my buttons. Again, I wrote a little bit about this book at LB.
America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo - Ahhhhhh, I think I am slowly dying of love for this book. Just, ahhhhhhhhh. I wrote a bit about why at LB, but basically it is perfect (and about a bisexual woman being healed by a younger lesbian). I want so many more people to read this book!
Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake - I still love this series (who is surprised) but can it have more bisexuals who are alive, already? Anyway, I wrote about this series at length over at LB. The last book in the series is out soon and I am not ready!
The "Well, it's complicated," report:
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - A pretty light, interesting take on the music industry told entirely through interviews with the fictional band. It tries super hard to be feminist, but sometimes gets kind of hung up on how much it loves it's complicated, very rock and roll male lead. And the 'dying wife' request at the end was a huge eye-roll moment which threw me a little bit tbh.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - I loved this YA novel in verse while I was breathlessly reading it, but now find I can't really remember anything about its story or substance. Maybe it's on me because I just read it too fast (I finished it in about a day) and didn't write anything about it afterwards? Or maybe it doesn't matter that I can't remember much about it because I enjoyed it so much in the moment?
Rosewater by Tade Thompson - Thompson has created such an interesting world, but this book was a huge reminder of why I don't like to read books from the pov of male characters deliberately written as realistically sexist/obsessed with sexualising the female body.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chamber - So, I really like what Chambers did with the second half of this book (and the concept for the book overall), but the first half just lacked all the emotional connection I've come to expect from a Becky Chambers book. I really want to write more about my conflicted reading experience with this book so cross your fingers that I invent a time machine sometime soon.
Frankly in Love by David Yoon - Passionate, important and smart in many ways (particularly in its head on confrontation of racism) but just a little weird about women in places for me. Also, reeeeeaaaalllly disliked the way Q's coming out is written.
Bloom by Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau - Bloom is the kind of story I should have really dug (baking, boyfriends, difficult friendship issues) but the development of the characters and the romance felt rushed. Also, the first time the two main, male characters kiss something terrible happens, which plays into long-standing literary tropes linked to gay romance. It's not quite the car crash trope, and everything works out in the end, but the inclusion of this incident at this very specific point in the story felt off. This book did remind me I need to check in and see if the second trade volume of Zodiac Starforce is available though.
That's what I've been reading - how about you?