Do you remember when I said I read a lot of books in December? Well, as it turns out, I also read a lot of books in January.
I think it's because I still don't really know anyone here in Pennsylvania, so my weekends are spent reading instead of going to see 80s tribute bands or thrifting with Alex or day drinking with Jodi or watching my sweet, giant nephews play basketball. As much as I enjoy reading, I definitely miss my weekends with friends and family.
But, they're not here and books are, so without further ado, here's what I read in January.
America Pacifica, by Anna North
I hate to categorize someone's time and effort as hot garbage, but, man this book is pretty much deserving of that categorization. I read it on a whim because it should have been right up my alley. It's dystopian literature with what seemed like an interesting twist: the world ends due to a new Ice Age. The freezing of the mainland forces people to flee to tropical islands where they immediately overburden the native ecosystem with too many people and industries better suited to the old world instead of the new world.
Oh, dear, I'm afraid I'm making this book sound interesting. It's not. It's terrible. The author is not a very good writer at all and I can't help but think that this book was only published because of the popularity of
The Hunger Games and other YA dys-lit. But, unlike Katniss, Darcy is hateful and whiny and you spend most of the book hating her even when bad things happen to her. Seriously, don't read this book.
The Heart Goes Last, by Margaret Atwood
If Margaret Atwood writes a new novel, I will read it. And, in this case, as always, I am so happy I did. Oh, make no mistake, this is a weird one. And things are often hinted at rather than fully explained, but done in that Atwood-way that makes you think instead of just frustrating you.
The novel does take place in the future, like many of her novels do, but it's interesting because at first it seems like a less severe future than, say,
The Handmaid's Tale or
Oryx and Crake. (Two of my all-time favorites, btw). But, don't be fooled by the Utopian community in this dystopian future. Nothing is what it seems, even with the main characters from whose point of view the tale is told. Especially Charmaine. You're gonna wanna keep your eye on Charmaine.
Revival, by Stephen King
As I said in my Goodreads review, I used to read a lot of Stephen King. I mean, a lot. And then, after
The Dark Tower series finished, I stopped because the way that series finished was so perfect, but so frustrating, but so very right, that I couldn't stand it.
But, I found a copy of
Revival in my local Goodwill and figured I'd give King another shot. And he's still probably the best at pacing that I've ever read. And he's still smart and terrifying and I might need to read more Stephen King in the very near future.
Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
I liked this book well enough, but I didn't love it because it also frustrated me. It's about Pearl and May Chin, thoroughly modern Shanghainese women who have their lives absolutely turned upside down. I thought the author did a great job with the historical stuff, especially in how the Chinese Exclusion Act impacted Chinese immigrating to the United States. That part was fascinating.
The two sisters themselves though, were less fascinating and more frustrating. I basically didn't like either one of them, thought they acted foolish more often than not and couldn't get invested in their relationship at all. So, to recap, good historical stuff, bad relational stuff.
The House at Midnight, by Lucie Whitehouse
This book, while better than the hot mess that is
America Pacifica, is also pretty bad. The story is supposed to be a modern Gothic story, I think. I mean, I'm pretty sure that the premise is that the house that one of the characters inherited is supposed to have a malevolent nature and drive its inhabitants to violence and horniness, but it just doesn't read that way. Basically, one character is an asshole and has too much influence on another character and stuff goes awry and I can't see how the house has any impact whatsoever.
Really, the only thing that saves this book is that Whitehouse is a pretty good writer. But, she wrote a pretty terrible book.
The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins
I'm not sure how I even heard about this book, but I basically loved it. I mean really loved it; I think it might even be one of my favorite books ever. I'm not saying it's the best book ever, but damn it if I didn't love it. It's a bit hard to get into because the author forgoes any world building to just throw the reader in. And that's confusing. It is. But it's so worth sticking with.
Seriously, this book is weird and wonderful and funny and sad and wonderful again. It's also the inspiration for my LitSty look for this month, so I'll share more about it next week.
Speaking of LitSty, the link party will be live on Tuesday, February 9th and I hope to see you there!
Happy Wednesday, All!
Gracey
