Tag: book review

A Re-Read Review: Malagash

August 16, 2018 Uncategorized 10 ★★★★★

A Re-Read Review: MalagashTitle: Malagash
Author: Joey Comeau
Source: Bought
|Goodreads
Rating:five-stars

Summary: The perfect blend of heartwarming and poignant, beautifully crafted.

I don’t typically re-read books, but it’s something I’ve been considering doing in an attempt to engage more deeply with the books I read. Malagash, which is one of my favorite books ever, was a great choice to start with. It’s short, so it was easy to commit the time to a re-read. It was also easy to go back over sections multiple times during my re-read. It packs a real emotional punch too. It’s the story of a young girl, Sunday, whose father is dying. It’s about grief and family and how her family in particular is coping with grief. Sunday is currently recording as much of her dying father as she can, with plans to encode his words into a computer virus so he can live forever. So, despite being short, there’s a lot here! There were universal themes to think about and delightful particulars that made me laugh and cry. If anything, I loved this book even more a second time around. Read more »

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Season of Storms

September 8, 2014 Fiction, Gothic, Magical Realism, Review, Romance, Women's Fiction 8 ★★★★★

Season of StormsTitle: Season of Storms
Author: Susanna Kearsley
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:five-stars

Summary: A beautiful, atmospheric book with great characters, full of exciting romance and adventure.

Galeazzo D’Ascanio last play is known as his most brilliant, but it’s never been performed. Each attempt has been plagued by disaster, starting in the early 1900’s with the first performance when D’Ascanio’s muse and lover, Celia Sands, disappeared the night before she was to play the leading role. Decades later, a young actress named after Celia Sands is asked to take on the same role in the play being stated by D’Ascanio’s grandson. Both the mystery of the play and D’Ascanio’s handsome grandson intrigue Celia, but the relics of the play’s history may prove more dangerous than they first appear.
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Tacolicious

September 3, 2014 non-fiction, Review 12 ★★★★★

TacoliciousTitle: Tacolicious
Author: Sara Deseran
Source: NetGalley
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:five-stars

Summary: Very usable, great pictures, and tasty recipes!

This cookbook includes fare from the San Francisco restaurant Tacolicious. The recipes include a wide variety of tacos which seem more traditionally Mexican than what I usually make or get at restaurants. There are also large sections devoted to salsa, snacks, and drinks. In addition to the recipes, there are some beautiful pictures of food and interesting tidbits about the history of the restaurant. Read more »

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Beyond the Pale

September 1, 2014 Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Magical Realism, Urban Fantasy 4 ★★★★

Beyond the PaleTitle: Beyond the Pale: A Fantasy Anthology
Author: Gillian Philip, Heather Brewer, Jane Yolen, Jim Butcher, Kami Garcia, Nancy Holder, Peter Beagle, Saladin Ahmed
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: I liked almost all of the stories included in the collection and loved the diversity of the mythologies on which the stories were based.

This collection of short stories includes those I would categorize as paranormal, urban fantasy, magical realism, and a few bordering on horror. All stick relatively close to reality but step “beyond the pale”, including some mythical element. Several previously published authors contribute short stories related to their published series, but all of the stories can easily be read on their own.
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The Story Hour

August 19, 2014 Contemporary, Fiction, Literary, Review, Women's Fiction 8 ★★★★

The Story HourTitle: The Story Hour
Author: Thrity Umrigar
Source: from publisher for review
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: The author’s beautiful writing made me experience the character’s emotions very deeply, but the emotional impact of the ending was weak compared to the rest of the book.

Psychologist Maggie has always been willing to try unorthodox methods and has become known for her ability to help in tough cases. When she is asked to help Lakshmi, an isolated Indian immigrant who tried to commit suicide, it is clear that unorthodox methods are called for. Lakshmi understand therapy to mean making friends with Maggie and Maggie relates to Lakshmi too much to maintain her usual distance. As these two very different women learn each other’s biggest mistakes, their differing backgrounds and expectations of their relationship will threaten their friendship, making it hard for them to forgive one another.
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Soundbite Sunday – Mistborn: The Final Empire

August 17, 2014 Audiobook 4 ★★★★

Soundbite Sunday – Mistborn: The Final EmpireTitle: Mistborn
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

 

As with Words of Radiance, I’m probably rating this book less highly because I read The Way of Kings first. Compared to The Way of Kings, Mistborn seemed like a younger sibling, a scaled down version perhaps intended for a younger audience. There are a lot of similarities between the two books: a world with a tyrannical ruling class; a male and a female narrator; chapters beginning with quotes from books; and similar magical combat. This is a good thing because these were strengths of The Way of Kings, but it’s also a bad thing because Mistborn felt much less novel. Mistborn also had a similarly consistent magic system and great character growth. Unfortunately, the epic scale and impressive world building of The Way of Kings were missing, but hopefully that will come as I read the next two books in the trilogy. Michael Kramer’s narration was spot on as always.

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Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki

August 16, 2014 Fiction, Literary, Review, Translated Fiction 20 ★★★★

Colorless Tsukuru TazakiTitle: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Author: Haruki Murakami
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

Summary: This book was written in the same beautiful, dreamy style I loved in 1Q84, but the ending felt a bit less climactic and a bit less resolved.

In high school, Tsukuru Tazaki was part of an inseparable group of friends. Coincidentally, the other four students all had colors in their name and Tsukuru didn’t, a fact that he found significant because he also believed himself to be the most average of the group. About a year after Tsukuru moved away, his four friends cut off all contact with him and refused to explain why. When, many years later, Tsukuru meets a woman he cares for deeply, he realizes that he needs to understand what happened with his friends before he can move on and believe he might be loved by someone else.
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

August 6, 2014 Contemporary, Fiction, Literary 23

228044Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Author: Mark Haddon
Source: library
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: The writing style of this book was unique and fascinating, but the plot felt incomplete.

Although Christopher has an incredible memory for factual information, he has a hard time understanding human emotions. He’s smart and logical, but also very sheltered. When he discovers that his neighbor’s dog has been killed, he decides to emulate his favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes, and try to find out who is responsible. In order to investigate, Christopher will have to do things outside his comfort zone and what he learns may be even more frightening. Read more »

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This Is the Water

August 5, 2014 Fiction, Literary, Thriller, Women's Fiction 19

18781340Title: This Is the Water
Author: Yannick Murphy
Source: from publisher for TLC book tour
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: Although I found the second person narration a bit distancing, I thought the author used this perspective very creatively for a writing style that was both beautiful and unlike anything else I’ve ever read.

Swim team mom Annie worries about her marriage and enjoys that one of the fathers on the team flirts with her, even though she feels old and even though he’s married to her friend. She worries about her brother’s suicide and whether or not such things run in her family. She worries that her girls aren’t confident enough and whether or not she’s done enough for them. But when one of the girls on the swim team is murdered and Annie discovers a secret which could help catch the man who did it, all her other worries seem trivial by comparison.
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Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered

August 4, 2014 Biography, History, Narrative Non-Fiction, non-fiction 14

18775443Title: Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered
Author: Dianne Hales
Source: from publisher via NetGalley
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review Summary: This wasn’t the most organized nonfiction I’ve read, but the author did an amazing job bringing the people and time period to life.

Although the Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world, little is known about the real woman represented in the painting. There is even some speculation about which woman was Da Vinci’s model. Lisa Gherardini is the most likely candidate and in this book, Dianne Hales brings together what is known about Lisa’s life. She also uses this “quintessential woman of her times” to explore what life was like for women in Florence during the Renaissance.
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