What I Read: April 2015

Holy smokes, I can't believe I forgot about Literary Stylings this month!  I blame the new job; do you know I have to be to work at 7:30?  I know, right?!  Nonsense!  Anyway, my excuse is that I'm sleepy and forgetful and thank goodness for Sheila for reminding me.  And, I figure instead of the first Tuesday of the month, we could just do it next Tuesday, m'kay?  Fabulous.

Now, without further ado, here's what I read:

Midnight Riot, by Ben Aaronovitch:

I never should have read this book.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't nearly as good as it should have been either.  And I should known this because Salazar reviewed it on her blog and mentioned that it doesn't quite live up to it's potential.  She was right.  It seems to have a lot of potential what with a London policeman stumbling onto a supernatural crime (his first eye witness is a ghost!) and trying to settle disputes between river gods and goddesses.  But, honestly, it's just muddy (like the rivers!) and while I understood the plot of the crime, I'm just not sure it made any sense.  I truly believe that Aaronovitch saw an entire world in his head as he wrote this book, but, unfortunately, that world didn't make it fully onto the paper.

Another thing that should have warned me off is that it's compared to Harry Potter and that never works out.  It's not like Harry Potter.  Just like The Magicians wasn't like Harry Potter.  Because Harry Potter was beautifully written and wonderfully imagined.  This book is just written and imagined and the imagining portion is far better than the writing portion.


Scent of Triumph, by Jan Moran

As I mentioned in my review of this book, I actually really liked it.  I am not a big reader of historical romance, but this one definitely caught and kept my interest.  Probably because the historical parts were well written and there weren't too many, as Patti aptly called them, "kissy parts."


And now for a book I didn't read.

Annihilation, by Jeff Vandermeer:

Holy hell, did I hate this book.  I didn't finish and I have no desire to finish.  Ever.  Ordinarily, I wouldn't include a book I hadn't finished yet in this post, but I wanted to include it for two reasons.  One, I'm not going to finish, because I hated it because it was the most boring book I've ever read in my entire life.  It made me want to claw my own eyes out.

And two, because I wanted to warn you guys away from ever reading this book.  Because it is terrible.  And, if I didn't warn you, you might read it because it seems like it would be so interesting.  It takes place in an area of the United States (Florida?) that had some sort of unnamed calamity befall it years ago.  And now an expedition is going in to see what they can discover about that calamity and the current conditions.  But, it's not the first time the government has sent an expedition; it's actually the 12th.  And, those other expeditions?  Yeah, they didn't end well.

Sounds great, right?  A mysterious, somewhat post-apocalyptic science fiction novel fraught with danger; what's not to like?  This book.  This book is what's not to like.  And, in this book, specifically, the narration done by the character called The Biologist.  She is the most boring person ever.  Even when she talks about losing her husband (it's not a spoiler because hopefully you're not going to read this book) you're not sympathetic or empathetic, you're just bored.  I don't know why the author chose to have her narrate in this voice, but IMHO, it was a huge mistake because it made the book unreadable.


So, yeah, one book I liked, one that was only okay and one that I'd set on fire if burning books wasn't the realm of despots and idiots.

The good news is that I know exactly what I'm going to wear on Tuesday for the link party.  I hope to see you there!

Happy Friday, All!

Gracey


P.S. My giveaway closes tomorrow; don't forget to enter!  No purchase necessary!

What I Read: February

Unlike last month, I didn't love any of the books I read in February.  Most of them were pretty good, one was quite good and two I hated, but I didn't love any of them.  But, that's okay, I'll still figure out something to wear come next Tuesday.

Now, for the books.

Hidden, by Paul Jaskunas

This is the book I found to be quite good.  It's a pretty darned good mystery and well written.  The author does a very solid job of keeping the reader interested without giving too much away.  The book centers around an attack on a woman, Maggie Wilson, for which someone was been convicted and incarcerated. But, was it the right someone?  To be honest, I've read the book and even I'm not sure it was the right someone.  If you like very clear, very solid resolution at the end of your books, this is not the book for you.  But, if you like a good story, I definitely recommend this book.



The Magician King and The Magician's Land, by Lev Grossman

I actually read the first book in this series, The Magicians, in January, but apparently forgot to include it, probably because I didn't love it.  But, I didn't hate it either so I wanted to read the last two books.  Which I did this month.  They, like the first book, were only okay.  The concept behind these books is very imaginative and I liked that.  But, I didn't really like the writing that much.  For example, I hated how the author kept name-dropping Harry Potter, saying things like, but of course, Hogwarts is only imaginary and Brakebills (the school of magic in this series) is real.  Dude, you're both imaginary.  Also, the author has one way and one way only to describe breasts.  Heavy.  That's it.  That's the only descriptor he knows.  And after the second or third time, it begins to grate.  So, if you're not picky about writing, go ahead and read these.  They aren't bad and they really are pretty creative.



The Sex Lives of Cannibals, by J. Maarten Troost

This is one of the books that I read that I hated.  It's supposedly a memoir about the author's time living on a small atoll in the South Pacific called Kiribati.  There is no sex and there are no cannibals, but that's not why I didn't like it.  I mean, I understand giving books titles that will entice readers instead of a title that actually pertains to the book.  I'll be calling my memoirs "The Life and Times of the Most Fascinating Woman in the World."  Because, well, reader enticement.  No, I didn't like this book because I didn't like the author.  As I said in my Goodreads review, he strikes me as entitled and I, personally, don't care to read about the charmed life of an entitled, not funny man.



Love Monkey, by Kyle Smith

This is the other book that I hated.  I'm willing to admit that I missed the point of this book and it is, in fact, satirical genius.  But, I don't think so.  The main character is just gross.  I mean, he commends himself on not jumping on (his words) a women even though she has the audacity to be in his apartment in a tank top with her bra straps peeking out.  And that's just within the first 25 pages.  It gets even worse as the book goes on.  Just because the author introduces his main character as a man-child doesn't mean his behavior is any more palatable.  As I said in my Goodreads review, this character is effing terrible.  And so is the book.


Given what I read this month, I'm pretty sure I'll be tapping Hidden for my outfit inspiration for next Tuesday.  It really is an interesting book.


What about you, Reader Friends?  Did you read anything good this month?


Happy Thursday, All!

Gracey