Harrison Squared, by Daryl Gregory

Ok, I'll admit that I got sucked into this because the review on NPR was titled "Ia, Ia, YA!" and I wanted to see what that was all about.  That rabbit hole lead to this lovely piece of Lovcraftian Young Adult literature which, I'm going to say straight up, I really enjoyed.  It is very good at being both of ( Read more... )

Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury.The man at the book store said that this was a wonderful book, but that many of his friends hated it because it was “not like Bradbury’s other stuff.”  And it is, and it isn’t.  I am very glad I read this book, because it has made me think about Bradbury to a degree I have not done in a long time.  From thinking, I ( Read more... )

Hey, we're up to real time now.  I have no idea if anyone reads these besides me but here goes another ( Read more... )

The last of the 2014 book reviews, in which we learn that I am a cultureless oaf and don't care.

Picked up “The Turn of the Screw and Other Short Fiction by Henry James” at a used book store because I’ve never read anything by James before and felt I ought to.

The first story is, of course, the famous The Turn of the Screw.  It is interesting how ( Read more... )

Disappearing Act, by Dayle Campbell Gaetz

A mystery novel about an amateur P.I. Got this as an advanced reading copy from Librarything.  It is apparently a "rapid reads" book, which means it is under 150 pages in large font.  However, you can get good character development and a good mystery in a novella, so that doesn't actually justify any of the ( Read more... )

The Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare

Holy CRAP this is written for heterosexual early teen and pre-teen girls.   Um… not that there’s anything wrong with that.  Victorian England Fantasy Steam-Punk (I think the Foglios would call it Gaslamp Fantasy).  Unique among girl’s books I have read in being halfway between the traditional, Bronte-esqe “I ( Read more... )

An odd turn of affairs: While in San Diego, having run out of books to read, I asked a friend if she had one she would be willing to give me.  The next thing I know, I have a nook with over 400 books on it.  The books were chosen by other people, but they are in my hands.  So I expect there will be a lot of reading of things I wouldn’t necessarily ( Read more... )

Midnight Riot (Rivers of London in the U.K.) by Ben Aaronovitch

Fun little piece of urban fantasy crossed with police procedural.  Nothing world-altering or mind-blowing, but enjoyable.  There were points where I wanted to yell at the book, there were points where I laughed out loud.  Debating whether I like it enough to hunt down the sequel.

The ( Read more... )

Interesting Times, by Terry Pratchett

Boo.  Not a good book.  Made even less good by the fact that I get kinda twitchy when you combine Japan and China into one fantasy culture.  I know little enough about Europe that if Pratchett is squishing up all sorts of stuff there I just go along with it, but _this_ I notice.

Does have the interesting idea of ( Read more... )

Stonewall: the riots that sparked the gay revolution, by David Carter

Project: 'read a book I actually like' is a success!  This is an in-depth, meticulously researched account of the Stonewall Riots.  What were the Stonewall Riots?  In 1969 a police raid on a gay bar in the Village, in New York, led to three nights of vehemently pro-gay rioting.   ( Read more... )