Gripping Books

Speaking from Among the Bones

2013-05-24T10:21:00.002-07:00

Title: Speaking from Among the Bones
Author: Alan Bradley
Series: Flavia de Luce, book 5
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2013
Rating: 7.5/10

Review: I am continuing to follow the adventures of Flavia de Luce in a small English town in 1950's where she solves crimes using her wit and her chemical lab. Yet again there is a murder that Flavia stumbles upon and then continues her investigation.

In this case, an organist from the church is found murdered inside Saint Tancred's tomb in the process of uncovering the saint's remains for a 500-year celebration of his death. Flavia is of course ever present and discovers a number of details that the police managed to miss. The mystery takes its course and the plot altogether is quite enjoyable.

I actually liked this book more than the previous installments because there are a number of developments in the family plot line. Flavia discovers someone whom her mother used to visit, Flavia's father has something resembling a conversation with Flavia, there are developments in the sisters' relationships. All-in-all, those are very satisfying after four books of everyone keeping silent and giving a cold shoulder to Flavia.

I thought the ending was quite interesting and is good hook for the next book, which I will undoubtedly be picking up as soon as it's released in 2014.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

2013-05-21T21:10:00.001-07:00

Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2009
Rating: 7.5/10

Review: I saw this book reviewed quite a bit when it first came out and then every so often until the end of last year at which point I added it to my 'read' queue. It sounded fun and quirky and had this amazingly strange title, which attracted notice.

The novel is written entirely in letters sent by and to a published columnist, Juliet, a year after World War II is over. By a sheer coincidence she begins corresponding with a man from Guernsey who tells her stories of life on the island and its occupation during the war.

I had to look up on the map where Guernsey is -- it's a small island off the shore of France that nevertheless belongs to Britain. At some point the book fills us in on the story and the geography of the island, but I was curious long before that point. It's a pretty neat setting for the book.

The book starts out really well, with everyone telling just enough of the story to kindle the reader's interest. I think the biggest potential issue the authors avoided was making this into a depressing book. Not particularly difficult with WWII as the topic. However, this novel was a really good balance of terrifying things people had to live through and jokes, fun, and light they created to deal with their reality. The stories were heartfelt and told matter-of-factly and often in a funny manner despite being horrifying underneath and I really enjoyed that style of story-telling.

The best part about the book are the characters. They are quirky, imperfect, gregarious, simple and sophisticated at the same time. I just fell in love with the whole crew and they were the ones who kept me in the story throughout. The biggest flaw in the novel is probably the lack of plot tension and a very obvious ending. The author tried to get some plot going, but the outcome just seemed so entirely obvious the whole way through that the tension just failed to build up and I thought the second part of the book was a bit of a let down.

Nevertheless, I would wholeheartedly recommend this as a warm and funny book dealing with experiences of German occupation during WWII. This war seems to be an unintentionally recurring subject for me this year and this book turned out to be yet another really good read.

Killing Floor

2013-05-12T20:03:00.002-07:00

Title: Killing Floor
Author: Lee Child
Series: Jack Reacher, book 1
Genre: Mystery
Published: 1997
Rating: 7/10

Review: I picked up this novel on a whim from a local bookstore. Sometimes when an author's series takes up two shelves worth, I get awfully curious about it and buy the first book in the series. I've never heard of the author before that day, nor had I seen the movie alluded to on the book jacket.

The book starts out really well and sucks you in almost immediately. We get introduced to Jack Reacher, who's a tough guy, an ex-military cop, and who is wrongfully arrested for a murder in a town that he's just passing through.

There are a number of idiomatic elements in the book. There's a black police detective, a hot female cop who takes a liking to Reacher, and an asshole chief who always gets in the way. The elements work pretty well together and I definitely enjoyed the fast ride that begins the first half of the story.

The part that I didn't enjoy is all the killing that happens in the second half of the book. Things seem to get gruesome just for the sake of being so and the fact that Reacher has no compulsion about killing first and asking questions later made me rather uncomfortable with him as a protagonist. At the end, Reacher's body count is no smaller than that of the bad guys and to me that's a bit of a turn off.

Otherwise, the book is quite well-written, with strong pacing and lots of good "aha" moments in the investigation. There are a few plot points that I thought somewhat shaky, but overall, that's a solid mystery novel that kept me reading well into the night to finish the story.

Timeless

2013-05-07T00:42:00.003-07:00

Title: Timeless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Alexia Tarrabotti, book 5
Genre: Steampunk
Published: 2012
Rating: 7/10

Review: After two months of non-fiction, I decided that the next installment in Gail Carriger's series would be the perfect book to read. And indeed, I've got what I was looking for. There is off-the-wall humour, adventure, sassy dialog, and plenty of intrigue. It's an easy and enjoyable read.

Timeless takes Alexia, Conall, and their daughter Prudence to Egypt where they are to meet an old vampire queen Matakara and discover the source of God-Breaker Plague. Ivy and her theatre troupe travels with them and of course lots of antics and fainting ensues.

This is the last book in the 5-book series featuring Alexia hence some of the conflicts previously left unresolved got brought over and taken care of. At the same time, the author seems to have left plenty of story for herself to write and a few loose ends still open. Unsurprisingly, there are more books planned in the same universe, though I wonder if they are going to feature Prudence instead of Alexia.

All in all, it's a nice segue back into reading. Hopefully, I can get back on track and finish a few things waiting on my shelves this month.

Effective C++

2013-04-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

Title: Effective C++ Third Edition
Author: Scott Meyers
Genre: Non-fiction
Published: 2005
Rating: 9/10

Review: It's been a couple month since I last posted here. I am sad to admit that in all this time, I have read exactly one book -- Effective C++. I generally tend to be a slow reader when it comes to non-fiction, but apparently programming books go even slower for me.

I knew that if I let myself read other books simultaneously, this one would just never get finished, so I concentrated all my reading time on this. However, reading something to learn just requires much more dedication than reading a novel for fun, therefore there were fewer occasions before bedtime when I felt up to picking up the book and turning my brain back on to read this.

Getting back to the actual book, notwithstanding my slowness in reading it, I did find it quite interesting. I am new to C++ as a whole, having only done C in college but this book worked really well for me. I found the writing and explanations really engaging and accessible. There's a wide variety of topics covered and many important ideas introduced. I would recommend it both to novice and intermediate C++ users looking for some basic overview of techniques and syntax.

The book is split up into 9 chapters covering topics from good coding practices to good design choices to basics of template programming and various miscellany. Some things I learned about C++ just blew my mind. For example, function call parameters are not guaranteed to be evaluated in any particular order! Coming from languages like Java and Python that just amazes me. Or the fact that creating a new polymorphic method in a subclass hides all the superclass variants. Shocking! But really good to know.

All-in-all, a book well worth reading for those not already up on their C++ use. Well chosen topics and well-explained. I really liked it!

Code Name Verity

2013-03-08T00:45:00.002-08:00

Title: Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Genre: YA Fiction
Published: 2012
Rating: 7/10

This is the second book set during WWII that I read in February. This congruence of themes wasn't at all planned -- both are books from the "Best of" lists from last year and they turned out to be quite different despite that both could be very roughly described as "young women doing brave things during the war".

Code Name Verity begins in the form of a report by a captured English spy. Chapter by chapter, we learn about her training in England, her best friend who is a mechanic and a pilot. And about her interrogation at the hands of Gestapo in the town of Ormaie.

My initial feelings towards the book mostly revolved around how unlikely I thought the premise was. There you have a woman broken down during interrogation and instead of asking her some direct questions, they spend valuable paper (that they are short of) to let her ramble on for hundreds of pages about her best friend with occasional mentions of something that may be considered useful. Even if you allow for the possibility of her questioning officer being a bit soft on her, her treatment is still a far cry from anything you'd expect.

I decided to set that qualm aside though and tried to immerse myself into Verity's story telling. The story itself flows quite well with the characters and friendships being developed. I didn't get the same sort of feel for the atmosphere in England during the war that Mr. Churchill's Secretary created, but there are different bits and pieces that are quite interesting.

The second half of the book is told from Maddie's point of view. Once again there are things she does that I have trouble believing anyone could possibly get away with and I had to try hard to suspend my disbelief at certain events that she narrates. On the other hand, the narrative is cleverly woven together with the story Verity has told in the first part to expose events in a different light and often turn them around in clever ways. I rather enjoyed that aspect of the plot and the second part of the book was a faster reading than the first.

Altogether I was a bit disappointed in Code Name Verity, but perhaps I just had unrealistically high expectations for the novel to start with. It's a very well written book with likable characters and an exciting plot. I just couldn't get past the bits that seemed unrealistic to me and that tarnished the experience somewhat. I'd still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys strong female protagonists.

P.S. Chad read Code Name Verity at the same time -- take a look at his review.

February Wrap-Up

2013-03-02T11:49:00.001-08:00

The shortest month of the year is over, the sun is shining and it's very clearly spring outside my window. Good weather doesn't bode well for my reading counts, but February was quite successful with five books completed:

I started this month by finishing off all the published books in the Inspector Gamache series. Bury Your Dead was particularly my favorite out of those I read this month. Then I switched gears and read a couple of fictional novels set in WWII which was quite a change of pace. I enjoyed both books, but wasn't particularly strongly affected by either.

The reason I suspect the next month will be slow beside the really nice sunny weather is because the next book I am reading is Effective C++ by Scott Meyers and that might take me quite a bit of time to get through. Nonfiction is always a drag on my total book count, but since I've made some goals for myself to read non-fiction this year and the book is actually interesting, I am investing time into it.

There are still several books on my to-read list that came from Best Of lists from last year and that I may pick up. Or I can catch up with Flavia since the latest book in the series came out in January. Time will tell. Happy March to you all!

Mr. Churchill's Secretary

2013-02-16T22:05:00.001-08:00

Title: Mr. Churchill's Secretary
Author: Susan Elia MacNeal
Series: Maggie Hope, book 1
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2012
Rating: 7/10

I've seen Mr. Churchill's Secretary make the top 10 list of 2012 quite a few times and decided to give it a try. The book starts by introducing the reader to Maggie Hope, a rather progressive young woman for her time about to start her post-graduate degree in mathematics at M.I.T. Her plans are derailed by her grandmother's death and Maggie comes to London to sell the old house and becomes involved in WWII effort by becoming Winston Churchill's personal secretary.

I liked Maggie's character. She is no-nonsense, smart, straightforward and a bit naive. She grinds her teeth at having to take a position below her ability, but she is capable and able to stand up for herself which makes her a rather sympathetic character.

My biggest issue with the book is the way it flows. The first half moves pretty slowly, we are introduced to all the characters, attend the parties, listen to the conversations. Maggie bumbles around learning her way around the new job. Then all of a sudden the book completely switches pace in the second half with crypto-puzzles, hostages, intrigues, bombings, and plenty more all packed into a rather small space.

Some of the things Maggie accomplishes seem a bit beyond belief and while I enjoyed the story and cheered her on, the thought of how unlikely some of the events were stayed with me in the second half of the novel. And even though I was satisfied with the resolution of the book in the sense that all plot lines neatly got tied off, I felt that the success turned out to be a little over the top.

I also didn't particularly care for the romantic story line of the book. It was clear from the beginning who Maggie would end up with, but it felt somewhat unmotivated and, for me, un-moving. In fact, none of the romances in the novel felt particularly natural to me. Something just didn't click there.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the atmosphere that MacNeal created in the book. London during WWII seems well-presented and well-research. There are lots of neat details about the bombings, rations, St. Paul Cathedral watches, and other war-related trivia. I liked the descriptions of the Churchill's office and excerpts from his speeches. The details made the novel a whole lot more interesting than it would have been otherwise.

Altogether, it was an enjoyable read with some flaws, but I would definitely recommend it to someone who wants a quick adventure in a historical setting with a variety of memorable characters.

A Trick of the Light and The Beautiful Mystery

2013-02-14T00:18:00.001-08:00

Title: A Trick of the Light and The Beautiful Mystery
Author: Louise Penny
Series: A Chief Inspector Gamache, book 7 and 8
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2011 and 2012
Rating: 7/10

A Trick of the Light is the next book in Gamache series that is predominantly focused on Clara, who has her debut solo show and then discovers a dead body in her garden the day after. Of course Gamache and his team come down to investigate the murder and the usual inquiries begin.

In addition to the part of the plot dealing with current investigation of the book, there are also quite a few plot advancements in the larger story arch here. There is a subplot dealing with Jean-Guy's painkiller addiction as well as changes to Clara and Peter's relationship.

A common theme in the book is the issue of forgiveness. There are multiple characters looking for forgiveness or trying to forgive and a number of different contrasting situations where the outcome is very different. A few relationships are restored this way and others are ruined, but the stories are nicely woven together and compared.

The Beautiful Mystery is a bit different in that it's not set in Three Pines and actually doesn't involve anyone from the village. Instead Gamache and Beauvoir fly off to a remote monastery to solve the murder of a monk.

I thought the setting of the book made it pretty interesting and I liked the character set and descriptions of the monastery life the Louise Penny integrates into the narrative. There is some religious lore, but also neat hidden rooms, mysterious hidden treasure, and chocolate blueberries.

One might think this book is a break from the larger story arch, but we manage to get some developments there in the relationship between Beauvoir and Gamache. I was somewhat dismayed at the direction their relationship took in this book and felt some of the changes were too fast and too forced. I hope this won't drag on past the next book in the series.

All-in-all, I enjoyed the last few books a bit less than some of the earlier books in the series, but the mysteries are still fun and surprising to me and the characters still draw me in enough to keep reading the series. Now I have to wait for the next book to be published.

Bury Your Dead

2013-02-06T01:17:00.000-08:00

Title: Bury Your Dead
Author: Louise Penny
Series: A Chief Inspector Gamache, book 6
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2010
Rating: 7.5/10

As anticipated, I picked up the next installment in Louise Penny's Gamache series. Bury Your Dead is written in a different format than the preceding books. Instead of one murder that the team investigates there are actually two mysteries in this book investigated separately by Gamache and his second in command, Jean-Guy. In addition to that, Gamache's last case is slowly revealed to the reader through conversations and flashbacks.

I liked the change in mystery style, it worked pretty well, though there were some details that didn't feel very believable (e.g. the amount of independence in Gamache's case solving). I also enjoyed the historical mystery in the book dealing with the location of the body of Samuel de Champlain who is a founding father of Quebec. The mix of historical facts (which actually seemed quite authentic) and the current-day investigation worked well together and I've learned a few interesting things. For example, turns out that all the modern portraits we have of Champlain are actually portraits of a different man and no one really knows what Champlain looked like in reality. There's definitely a lot of research work that went into the book.

The other investigation, lead by Jean-Guy also had some flaws to it. I thought it was a stretch for Jean-Guy to uncover quite so many new facts that Gamache didn't figure out in the previous investigation of the case. I was also surprised at how the case was resolved, and I wasn't greatly satisfied by that conclusion.

Despite all these things, the reading went by quickly and the book was both entertaining and fascinating, so definitely recommended to anyone who has enjoyed previous books in the series.

January Wrap-Up

2013-02-01T10:12:00.002-08:00

January tends to be my favorite reading month because I pick up all the books from Best of 2012 lists and enjoy them. I haven't quite gotten to all of them this month, but only because I met Inspector Gamache and decided to stick with him for awhile. Hopefully this will make sure my February is a good reading month as well.

Altogether I finished 6 books in January.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Still Life by Louise Penny
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

Yes, I know that's a lot of Louise Penny up there. I think I have 2 or 3 more to go and then I promise you a bit more variety after that! My favorite book this month was The Fault in Our Stars for being sad and funny and pretty amazingly heartfelt for a piece of YA fiction.

A Rule Against Murder and The Brutal Telling

2013-01-30T23:13:00.000-08:00

Title: A Rule Against Murder and The Brutal Telling
Author: Louise Penny
Series: A Chief Inspector Gamache, book 4 and 5
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2009
Rating: 7.5/10

I have continued reading Louise Penny's mystery series featuring Inspector Gamache. Sometimes I find a new series and want to read more and more about the characters. This series is one such. Five books in the same series within a month is quite a bit for me, but I am enjoying it.

A Rule Against Murder is a bit of an interlude in the story; for the first time the action takes place not at Three Pines, but at a resort in Quebec where Gamache and his wife are vacationing. The set of suspects is obviously limited to those present at the Manor, but to keep in touch with the previous books, some of the familiar characters from before make an appearance there as well. I enjoyed the book and the large ensemble of new characters introduced there and some reversal of roles present in this book.

The next installment, The Brutal Telling, brings us back to Three Pines again. People sure get murdered a lot there! Unlike the previous tome, this is clearly the first book of a larger story arch and for the very first time in the series, the ending is more of a beginning than a wrap-up.

The book has all the signature Penny moves: lots of references to books, arts, sculpture, poetry. There is tension and the ending is actually rather unexpected. There are also unrelated-to-murder story line developments dealing with Clara's career and Ruth with her duck. I rather liked these interludes. The ending as I mentioned leaves on a bit of a cliffhanger, I am very likely to pick up the next book in the series.

The Fault in Our Stars

2013-01-14T19:00:00.000-08:00

Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Genre: Young Adult
Published: 2012
Rating: 8.5/10

The Fault in Our Stars was suggested to me by Chad for our group read. I haven't read any John Green before, but have seen this book in a number of best of the year lists and hence readily agreed to try it out.

The story follows 16 years old Hazel who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer at 13 and survived to this day via experimental treatments that keep her tumors from growing. Her mother forces her to join in a support group for teens with cancer where she meets Augustus, with whom she becomes friends and shares her favorite book.

It seems like a simple straightforward story, but I can see why this book will undoubtedly score some awards in the near future. First and foremost I loved the portrayals of both characters. They seemed very authentic. Their actions and characters are clearly shaped by their disease as they necessarily would have been, but at the same time they are unique and teen-like. The dialog is crisp and funny and ridiculous and I enjoyed all of it.

In high school, I had a phase where I read a bunch of books by Lurlene McDaniel which generally feature a young adult with some terrible disease. So I knew what to expect of a book in this particular genre (lots of heartstrings tugging for one) and some of those expectations held up, but the prose surprised me in a good way and several plot elements in the book broke the cliche.

The biggest problem I see with the book is its ending -- I felt at least one aspect of it seemed nonsensical and really out of character which made me a bit frustrated. But otherwise the book had a fairly conclusive ending, though not quite the one you might expect at the beginning.

All in all it was a quick and heartfelt book that is enjoyable, quirky and fun. Recommended.

A Fatal Grace and The Cruelest Month

2013-01-13T19:40:00.003-08:00

Title: A Fatal Grace and The Cruelest Month
Author: Louise Penny
Series: A Chief Inspector Gamache, books 2 & 3
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2007 and 2008
Rating: 8/10

I have gotten into the Gamache series in the past week. After Still Life, I wanted to learn more about Gamache and hence picked up A Fatal Grace. It was an enjoyable read, set in the same little town of Three Pines and featuring many of the same characters who were in Still Life.

The book also introduces some new members of the cast. There is a new investigator working with Gamache and we also meet some of the other residents of the Three Pines. I enjoyed the additions, but I was also very happy to see that the characters who made the first book memorable were present as well.

We also get to learn more about the Arnot case in book 2, which is a mystery in itself, independent of the murders Gamache investigates. I rather like how there's this other thread between all these books dealing with Surete politics. In fact, the reason I picked up The Cruelest Month immediately upon finishing A Fatal Grace is because I wanted to know what would happen in this larger over-arching mystery.

The plots of the two books are reasonably distinct and interesting as mysteries. In A Fatal Grace I did figure out who the murderer is before it is revealed, but in The Cruelest Month my guess turned out to be incorrect. Still, the fast paced narrative kept me reading through the books really fast.

Altogether, I enjoyed these two books even more than the first one. I think having gotten used to Louise Penny's narrative style, I found it much more enjoyable to read about these characters whom I already knew, their personal growths, and their sense of the world. There's a surprising amount of personal philosophy discussed by the characters and I really liked that as well. Definitely recommended for anyone who likes cozy mysteries.

Still Life

2013-01-08T00:19:00.000-08:00

Title: Still Life
Author: Louise Penny
Series: Chief Inspector Gamache, book 1
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2005
Rating: 8/10

I've read a glowing review of Still Life by Carl awhile back and have been meaning to pick up the book and give it a try. I stopped by a book store on Saturday, noticed the book on the shelf, and decided it was fate. Then I read the whole book on Sunday -- staying up late to find out who's done it.

At the beginning of the book I was actually taken aback a bit by the writing style. Some of the prose is very literary for the lack of better word and felt a little pretentious to me. Here's a quote from the book to explain what I mean:

"It was a look of studied nonchalance which suited his toned body but was easily contradicted by the cord-tight tension of his stance. Jean Guy Beauvoir was loosely wrapped but tightly wound."

The descriptions are just too snappy and cheek in tongue and at first it just kept snagging on my brain. However, a few chapters in I got used to the style and just enjoyed the story.

Armand Gamache and his team are called to a small Quebec village of Three Pines to investigate the death of
Jane Neal. I really liked the portrayal of the team and the village residents. Everyone seemed very real, multidimensional, good and flawed at the same time. We get to meet and observe together with Gamache and slowly piece the puzzle together.

I thought it was a bit strange how the investigative team entrenched themselves in the village from the very beginning. The pacing of investigation felt very different from the detective-type TV shows like Castle where everyone is running around and gunning down the suspects. Gamache's team settled down in the village, observed, had literary discussions, and by-and-by figured out who's who and what happened to Jane Neal. At the same time the pacing didn't feel slow -- things were happening and I really didn't want to put the book down.

Altogether it was a very enjoyable novel with a surprising twist at the end as a mystery ought to have. I enjoyed the setting and I really liked Gamache himself. There were also a bunch of small subplots mentioned that are likely to be key for further books in the series and I am certainly looking forward to picking up further books in this series.

New books in 2013

2013-01-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

There are a few scheduled releases in 2013 that I will be looking forward to:

1. Speaking from Among the Bones: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley.

I've been following this series all last year and I am looking forward to the next novel in the series coming out on January 29th.

2. Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

This is the next book in the Outlander series scheduled to come out sometime in the fall of this year. And while the last few books were a bit weaker than the beginning of the series, I am still looking forward to this installment.

3. The Human Division by John Scalzi

This is a serialized novel set in the Old Man's War world. I am looking forward to more Scalzi humor. I've also been enjoying his blog lately.

Altogether I have been reading more standalone novels lately, so there aren't that many series installments for me to read -- yet I am sure I will find a way to pass the time. What 2013 releases are you looking forward to?

New Year Goals

2013-01-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

It's January 2013 and as the gyms fill up with everyone who's made a resolution to lose weight this year, it's time for me to take stock of my goals for the year.

Read 40 books
Read 3 non-fiction books
Enjoy goals 1 & 2 :)

I decided that I am not going to try for anything too ambitious, mostly because I really want to do goal 3 rather than pick up books based on some arbitrary criteria.

Here are 3 of the books that I would like to read in 2013:

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein - this is a YA novel that appeared on so many 2012 best lists that I am really curious to try it

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel by Mary Ann Shaffer - this also got a whole lot of rave reviews and sounds like a fun read.

Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny - I first read a review of this book on Carl's blog and it caught my interest. I am definitely expanding into mystery novels these days.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading. Best of 2012 lists definitely bolstered my to-read list and I am looking forward to some awesome books in the months to come.

2012 Wrap-Up

2012-12-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

The hours are counting down to the end of the year and I am taking stock of what I've read this year. There were plenty of really good books and a few that I enjoyed less.

Here are some of my favorites from this year. I would recommend you each and every one of these books. They are very different books spanning from hard sci-fi to fantasy to fiction, but they are all awesome and totally worth reading!

Among Others by Jo Walton
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht

Next I crunched some number on the books I read this year. The total number is 32. This fell 10 short of my goal for the year mostly due to the reading hiatus I took in the fall. I also had a rather even distribution of the genres I've read this year. The two top genres were fantasy and mystery ties for the first spot with 6 books each. Next were science fiction and urban fantasy with 5 books each. Next followed fiction with 4 books, non-fiction with 3 books, short story anthologies with 2 books and one steampunk novel. I am pretty happy with this distribution, and especially with the fact that I've read 3 non-fiction books.

On the gender divide, it was an almost even split of 17:15 male to female authors of the books that I've read. I actually managed to meet my goal of reading 15 new-to-me authors this year, which I am excited about. I hope I will get to meet even more new authors in 2013. Finally, I also met the resolution of reading on book from before 1900 with Three Men in a Boat.

I've also made two other, non-book resolutions in 2012. The first one was to climb a 5.11b cleanly. I blew this one out of the water, no only climbing a 5.11b, but flashing a 5.11c and cleaning several others. This goal was a success and I hope to improve more in 2013. My second goal was to do 20 pull-ups and that was a failure -- I could finally manage a pull-up this year, but I can do 3 at most. Sigh. Pull-ups are tough!

For me, 2012 was a year full of ups and downs. On one hand I was sick a lot this year, with a bunch of unpleasant trips to the doctors and specialists. On the other hand my work has been going well, I've moved to a new nicer place, and I've got two adorable kittens. I hope 2013 holds all sorts of new and exciting books and life events both for me and you. Happy New Year!

Bone Dance

2012-12-31T10:54:00.001-08:00

Title: Bone Dance
Author: Emma Bull
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published: 1991
Rating: 8/10

This is one of the earlier-published urban fantasies from before the era of long stilettos and werewolves that overfills the urban fantasy genre now. Instead it's a novel set in an urban, post-apocalyptic world, full of dying technology that also contains a magical aspect to it, or hoodoo, as it's referred to in the novel.

The main protagonist is Sparrow, whose story is told in first POV. Despite not being an unreliable narrator in a traditional sense, he does hold quite a few surprises. Sparrow keeps his friends at bay and doesn't let anyone in -- if he can help it.

However, strange things are happening. Sparrow is losing his memory for days at a time, he ends up in a number of dangerous situations, and everything is connected in ways he doesn't understand quite yet. The book's pace moves quite swiftly from one chapter to the next and I found this to be a relatively fast read. The plot structure is a bit surprising with two climax points -- but it works reasonably well, though perhaps it's a tad rushed in the end.

Each chapter name is a card from Tarot deck with the interpretation of the card according to different sources, e.g. Crowley, Gray, Waite. I was not familiar at all with these names, but a quick search online told me they were different inventors/interpreters of various Tarot decks. Of course the chapter cards tie into the action that happens in the book and in a way foretell the story.

Overall, it's an unusual and interesting story. There are lots of revelations about Sparrow and his friend, there's the growth of the main character, there are mystic aspects. Altogether, I felt like I didn't quite get all the references to both myths and general popular culture, but I enjoyed the novel.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2012-12-24T16:06:00.001-08:00

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Genre: Science fiction / Romance
Published: 2003
Rating: 8/10

I picked up The Time Traveler's Wife at a second-hand book sale for a couple dollars as an after-thought. I've heard of the book before, but didn't know much about it -- I just wanted to avoid getting change from my five dollar bill.

It sat on my bookshelf until the day before yesterday when I decided I needed to read something by an author whom I haven't yet read to help along my 2012 resolution of reading new authors.

This is a rather hefty tome, though mostly due to the thick paper and large print. About 500 pages later, I am done I have to say I enjoyed every page of it. The story is told in first person POV by the two main characters Henry DeTamble and Clare Abshire. He is born with a genetic disorder that causes him to involuntarily time travel backwards and forwards in time. She meets him at first as a little girl during his travels to the past and then again once she is grown.

The entire book tells the story of their relationship and time together. It's not an action-packed affair, but rather a slow revelation of their time together. At times it's too melodramatic and at times it seems unrealistically perfect, but most of the time I felt drawn into the book and feeling the story flow, enjoying the character expositions and just wanting more.

The genetic explanation for Henry's travel in the book was interesting -- however, I am not sure I like the deterministic outlook of the author on time travel. The book tries to convince that nothing you do in the past would change the future, but I felt that in character's shoes I would try a little harder to disprove that theory. Attempt to make a difference. The deterministic aspect of the book just felt a bit too fatalistic to me -- though I am guessing it made keeping internal consistency of the world much easier for the author.

Altogether, it was a really fast read that I absolutely enjoyed despite the fact that this is probably not the book that'll change your life. Merry Christmas!

The Dog Said Bow-Wow

2012-12-22T12:30:00.004-08:00

Title: The Dog Said Bow-Wow
Author: Michael Swanwick
Genre: Science Fiction stories
Published: 2007
Rating: 6/10

This book took me a long time to finish. I started reading it in the summer and slowly made my way through about half the stories before I stopped reading for a few months. Recently I picked it up again and finally finished off the rest of the book. I really don't like leaving books unread even if they are going slowly.

Turns out I am just not a huge fan of Swanwick's style of writing. The stories he writes are very clever. They are layered, they often reference mythology or make fun of established fantasy and science fiction tropes. I thought I would enjoy this book a whole lot more than I actually did. The reason I didn't is that I generally failed to connect emotionally with the characters and the story being told. At the end of the story I might think "Ha, that was cleverly played!", but there was no feeling of wonder and satisfaction accomplishing the thought and that failure to really connect with the reading is really the reason for my low rating.

I imagine if Swanwick's writing speaks to you and you like clever twists in your stories, you will enjoy this book a whole lot more than I did. But for myself, I think Swanwick is just not the author for me.

My favorite stories among the bunch was The Skysailor's Tale and A Small Room in Koboldtown. There were also a number of other stories where some parts of them or twists I found really cool, but I didn't like the ending or didn't connect with the story as a whole -- for example in The Bordello in Faerie the main character ends up serving as the "man for hire" in the bordello and becomes addicted to the life, which is a rather neat reversal of roles that one might expect. However, the details of how that addiction is resolved just felt a bit like a let-down at the end of the story.

I also didn't particularly enjoy the stories about Darger and Surplus though on the face of it both of them are very unique and interesting characters. There are three stories in the book about them: The Dog Said Bow-Wow; The Little Cat Laughed to See Such Sport; Girls and Boys, Come out to Play. The last is probably the best of the bunch -- particularly because they both get played more than they make out themselves.

All-in-all, an interesting collection of stories that I didn't enjoy as much as I hoped to.

Naughty in Nice

2012-12-12T00:17:00.003-08:00

Title: Naughty in Nice
Author: Rhys Bowen
Series: Royal Spyness, book 5
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2011
Rating: 7.5/10

Review: To help ease my way back into reading after a long hiatus, I decided to pick up the latest book in the Royal Spyness series. The book continues with adventures of Lady Georgiana Rannoch (Georgie) who is sent to Nice by the queen to retrieve her stolen snuffbox. On the way to Nice, Georgie meets Coco Chanel and once there gets tangled in crime, schemes, and parties.

The book kept my attention really well and while it was following the same formula the rest of the books in the series do, I nevertheless found it a rather enjoyable read. There was a good dose of romance, British-isms, and quirky humor to keep me coming back for more. All-in-all a great way to spend a few hours -- comfort reading all the way.

The Hammer & Hello, I am Back

2012-12-01T00:38:00.002-08:00

I haven't posted since September for one simple reason -- I haven't read anything. But I have some new cute excuses for my wanton abandonment of books:

Yes, kittens can apparently be entertaining enough to replace books for a few months. But old friends (like books) always end up coming back and so I did end up finishing one book this month.

Title: The Hammer
Author: K.J. Parker
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2011
Rating: 8/10

The Hammer is a standalone fantasy novel whose main character is a nobleman's child growing up in exile. What could be more cliche, right? But there's something about the narrative as well as the story itself that sets it aside from countless other fantasy books. For one, the dark tone of the novel immediately makes it clear that the story is not going to be fluffy. There are the continuous incongruencies between the supposed noble state of Gignomai's family and their actual livelihood and behaviour. It's a study of characters who adapt and grow and I ended up enjoying the novel very much. The direction that the novel takes is very different from the typical epic fantasy and I love it when the author can make their point within one tome. There's a grim satisfaction to the ending in this book.

This is the second book I've read by K.J. Parker and I liked it better than The Company. Both share this dark tone and character-oriented plot, but I felt this one was closed out better and had fewer annoying characters. Will definitely be on the lookout for more books by Parker.

I am Half-Sick of Shadows

2012-09-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

Title: I am Half-Sick of Shadows
Author: Alan Bradley
Series: Flavia de Luce, book 4
Genre: Mystery Fiction
Published: 2012

Recommendation: If you liked previous books, you will enjoy this one as well, but don't start the series here.
Rating: 7.5/10

Summary: It's Christmas in Buckshaw and Flavia's ancestral home is flooded by the film crew who will be creating a movie there -- with famous actress Phyllis Wyvern starring in the main role. After half the village comes to see Phyllis perform and gets snowed in, a murder occurs and as usual it's up to Flavia to find the murderer.

Reactions: I picked up the next Flavia book because I expected it to be a quick and enjoyable read and I wasn't disappointed. I read most of the book in one sitting (at 35,000 ft altitude) and enjoyed it thoroughly.

The book is a quick mystery read with Flavia's typical flair and many of the favorite characters making an appearance in the book. The biggest issue with the story is probably the frequency with which murders occur around Flavia -- solving 4 murders in one year without leaving a backwaters English town is a bit over the top in my books. Nevertheless, I suspended both my judgement and my impatience with the Harriet's story not advancing as fast as I would like and enjoyed some of the relationship moments between the sisters present in this book as well as Flavia's antics. Overall, I am very glad I picked this up for the flight -- a perfect book for the job.

The Selfish Gene

2012-09-19T23:36:00.000-07:00

Title: The Selfish Gene
Author: Richard Dawkins
Genre: Non-fiction
Published: 2006 (1976 original edition)

Recommendation: If you have any inclination for the topic, this is a good introductory book.
Rating: 8/10

Summary: An overview of the theory of evolution from gene-centric point of view. This book expounds on the idea of evolution selecting not the fittest individual organism or group, but rather takes a gene as a unit of selection that's propagated between generations.

Reactions: Biology was one of the subjects I almost completely ignored in high school. The memorization component made it less attractive than chemistry or physics and my background in biology thus pretty limited. Nevertheless, after reading A Short History of Nearly Everything, I thought the genetics was a particularly intriguing topic and so when I came across The Selfish Gene on sale, I didn't hesitate to buy it.

It turned out to be a very interesting book indeed, presenting the theory of evolution in a light that I haven't heard of before. Given this was first published in 1976, I may be pretty late to find out about this, but better late than never, right? In any case the book is well-written and easy to understand without any particular background necessary to understand the arguments.

Dawkins does a good job explaining his theory and the competing theories as well as showing the evidence for his ideas. Often the evidence is based on the studies of a particular species and I thought the case studies made for particularly interesting parts of the book. All in all, The Selfish Gene was a good introduction into the subject and I would certainly recommend it to anyone interested in the details of the theory of evolution.