books

Hurrah for YA speculative/dystopian fiction. There’s nothing like remembering you are no longer full of teenage angst, nor is the world disintegrating as a result of natural disaster, antibiotic resistance, or runaway time travel to improve your day.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was surprisingly good. It’s not often that you run across a YA novel that is both provocative introspective literature and fascinating speculative fiction. If you must have things happen in your books, then this might not be for you, but I loved the slow, pensive unfolding of Jenna’s awareness of herself.… Read more

What do you think about the proclivity of YA authors lately for choosing one-word titles? Did it start with or predate the Twilight craze? I think it’s kind of fun, but will probably have a fairly short shelf life (sort of like how clever one-word URL’s are pretty much unobtainable nowadays).

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book even more than Divergent, I think. It was a little action-packed for me, but there were some introspective moments too. Roth portrayed the effects of trauma on Tris very well. Although the idea that imprisonment, torture, and serving as the subject of experiments with hallucination-inducing drugs was effective therapy for said trauma is a little strange.… Read more

Here’s a tip for you: if you’re stressed out and reading to unwind, try to avoid apocalyptic dystopias. Because yeah, things could be worse, but wallowing in just how much worse might not actually make you feel better. Case in point below:

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I hate to give this book a bad rating, since from a literary standpoint it’s likely a masterpiece. But it was so terrifyingly depressing that I could not finish it. Rampant genetic engineering resulting in disaster of the highest order? Check. Society rotted to the core by soulless consumerism?… Read more

The only thing worse than not updating your blog for two months is not updating your blog for two months and then just posting a bunch of book reviews. Lame, I know. Have I said this before? Because it sounds kind of familiar. You’ll notice that all the new books (as well as the three I’m in the middle of reading right now) are fantasy novels, and we all know what that means. It means that while my body and even my mind are busy efficiently accomplishing numerous tasks, my secret consciousness is vacationing and binging on escapist fiction. Yes, life has been a little hectic and crazy lately.… Read more

Oscar Wilde: Plays: The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, Salome’ by Oscar Wilde

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have been an admirer of Oscar Wilde since adolescence, and I still find his mixture of social edginess, wit, and sophisticated (but ever so slightly wicked) wisdom irresistible. I actually listened to a delightful BBC production of these plays, plus a dramatized version of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and fell in love with Wilde all over again.

This time around, what I noticed was that his social and political commentary was right on, and as relevant today as when he wrote it 100 years ago.… Read more

So it’s been one of those weeks (actually, no, more like one of those fortnights) where I end up with all sci fi and fantasy fiction to review for you. I had jaw surgery last Monday, so this is what I read as I was lounging around recovering and trying to imbibe enough liquids through jaws that were banded together to keep myself from getting dehydrated.

Ironskin by Tina Connolly
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Fortunately, I didn’t have extremely high expectations for this fantasy/steampunk retelling of Jane Eyre. Consciously imitating the plot of a famous novel can be a good literary device like any other, but in this case it seems to be a substitution for the author’s ability to plot her own novel.… Read more

You were probably just lamenting to yourself the fact that I have not yet gotten around to initiating you into the rest of the secrets of my den of books. (How do I know these things?) When last we entered the book cave of wonders, I showed you what is probably the prettiest bookcase in my house. Today we’ll move on to its companion bookcase, which I think of as my collection of books about traveling the world. Here it is in full:

As before, that top shelf is the only one able to accommodate taller books, so it’s a bit of a mish-mash.… Read more