This was a fun and quick read. I love a good revenge build up, but I thought the end, where certain people get their comeuppance was lackluster and noThis was a fun and quick read. I love a good revenge build up, but I thought the end, where certain people get their comeuppance was lackluster and not satisfying at all. With how much the characters were put through in the book, I was craving some better rewards in the end other than what I got.
There were some disappointing parts to it that surfaced when I thought too hard about it. I came into this book thinking it was somewhat historical fiction, but it definitely has a healthy dose of fantasy. Not in the magic and dragons sort of way, but more like the whimsical elements and the magical anachronisms sort of way. Elizabeth, even with her progressive ideas comes off as way too modern for the times, like someone from now time travelled back into the 1950s. In this fantasy world, it's also all on the individual to buck societal norms and lean in to their full potential.
So yes, some of the messaging in the book comes off as patronizing with a side of privilege. It doesn't address any of the problems that happen when people of color rock the boat, but if I put all those things aside, it was a fun little romp after I got over some of the hard parts in the beginning.
Six-thirty was the best character in here and I'm glad he finally got the recognition he deserved....more
Wow, what a ride that was! Part Groundhog Day and part Neon Genesis Evangelion, All You Need Is Kill is one heck of a sci-fi action novel. If it were Wow, what a ride that was! Part Groundhog Day and part Neon Genesis Evangelion, All You Need Is Kill is one heck of a sci-fi action novel. If it were all action and mech fights, I would only rate it a 2.5 stars, but because it contains one heck of a brain twister, I upped my rating to 4 stars. I already gave too much way by mentioning Groundhog Day (and I wish I hadn't read that about the book prior to reading it), but it really is hard to describe the book without saying that.
At first, I was a little offended by how sexist the book was in treatment of the handful of the women characters. But then the more I thought about it, the more okay I was about it. One of the bad-ass characters in here is a woman *and* the awesome battle engineer is also a woman, so that's a step forward, right? Ok sure, some of them are still described as the typical male fantasy of well-endowed, but I'll let it slide.
The writing in the translation isn't going to win any prizes, but it does what it was designed to do, which is to deliver fast-paced action. There was one section in the middle that breaks out of the voice used in the rest of the book to deliver lengthy explanation about the Mimics. That seemed unnecessary or at least clunky. I would have liked that information blended more into the meat of the book. I had originally thought the book was over explaining things, but at the end, I was thankful of that.
I read the last half of this right before bed and kept dreaming about it over and over again. It was pretty trippy and a little strange.
Spoiler about the Groundhog Day thing: (view spoiler)[It took me a while to wrap my head around the whole time travel thing and you know what? I'm okay with it. I usually hate time travel thing in books, but this one wasn't too bad and it kind of made sense. Sort of. I still don't understand who was looping and who was just living inside the loop at the end. At first, I thought it was Rita's loop since she had all the answers. If it was really Keiji's loop, then did the Rita in it already have the battle experience at the start of the loop? And if two people loop at the same time, are they just running in parallel? Breaking out of the loop is weird too. I'd think that both people would have to die to break out of the loop because if one still survived, that's still one antenna, right? (hide spoiler)]
Edit: I guess there's going to be a movie about this starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt? While I love Blunt and think she's a great choice for Rita, I'm not so sure about Cruise. Can't they at least find someone Japanese? I know Tom Cruise was in Last Samurai and all, but that hardly counts as Japanese....more
This was an average summer, beach-side reading. It's not very exciting or page-turney other than the parallel timeline gimmick. And it really2.5 stars
This was an average summer, beach-side reading. It's not very exciting or page-turney other than the parallel timeline gimmick. And it really was a gimmick because there was no need for it. It's obvious what happened or what is going to happen. Even the supposed twist at the end was predictable. I also had a hard time with the one-dimensional, boring characters. I didn't believe the Nick/Lily romance at all because it just happened so suddenly and Nick was so boring and Mr. Perfect, of course. ...more
This is probably not the best book to read when you're nine months pregnant, but luckily I have a very strong bubble of peace from all the practice I'This is probably not the best book to read when you're nine months pregnant, but luckily I have a very strong bubble of peace from all the practice I've had to keep people's negativity out.
This fictionalized account of one family's struggles living with China's one-child policy contains no happiness. Terrible things happen and when you think things can't get any worse, they do. Reading this is like watching Chinese drama: nothing good happens and there are no happy endings. There are forced abortions, miscarriages, rapes, and all sorts of awful things.
When I first started reading this book, I thought it took place further in the past, but it's actually pretty recent. Even though I'm a product of the one-child policy, I never really thought about how much it effected people in China -- especially people like poor peasants who can't pay the fine. On the one hand, I'm glad that someone is telling their story, but on the other, I found the writing to be very heavy handed and awkward at times.
I would have liked it if the book had a more consistent style. Most of the time, it reads like a novel, but there are times where the writing becomes very dry and didactic while still trying to make it sound as if the words are coming from the minds of the characters. It just brings me out of the experience of the book and makes people sound stilted. I guess I was annoyed at how self-aware the characters are sometimes because it's a jarring contrast with some stupid decisions they make.
The depiction of Meili's relationship with Kongzi felt so real that half the time, I wished that she would just leave him. Kongzi's attitude toward women, work, and his own talents reminded me of some people I know back in China who were also probably brought up the same way. In that respect, the novel felt very real to me.
One big thing that annoyed me was how each chapter started with the "keywords:" part. It was too post-modern ha-ha clever, but I don't think it served anything other than to spoil the chapter for me.
A small thing that probably annoys only me is the way baby-talk is written in the book. I know Ma Jian can speak Mandarin or some dialect of Chinese, so I don't know why he chose to write his baby-talk in such a wrong way. He would write Nannan's dialogue as "Me want Coca-Cola" as a for of baby-talk, but in most Chinese dialogues, the word for "me" and the word for "I" are exactly the same, so a child wouldn't be wrong in saying either. It just made me think of Nannan as a caveman or a very un-PC Native American, which totally tore me out of the world of the book.
Recommending this book is like recommending someone watch Schindler's List. It's not a subject matter that's easy to read about, but it does make you think about things. ...more
What did I just read and what happened in the end? ?
This book certainly catches you right away. I found myself questioning what part of the narrator'sWhat did I just read and what happened in the end? ?
This book certainly catches you right away. I found myself questioning what part of the narrator's reality was reality in several parts of the book. The latter half was a little too "Let's explain what these things you've probably already figured out means" and long, but I couldn't help but finish reading it. The book is like an onion where you keep peeling away layer after layer, thinking, "Ah hah, THAT is what happened" until you meet another layer. It definitely conveys the sense of disorientation our protagonist had to go through.
I didn't find it as scary or disturbing as some readers did, but I think it was mostly because I was too engrossed with what part of the story was the truth....more
This is blasphemy to say, but I dont enjoy Jane Austen's books. Her writing is wonderful and all, but just the content and plot of her books bore me. This is blasphemy to say, but I dont enjoy Jane Austen's books. Her writing is wonderful and all, but just the content and plot of her books bore me. A bunch of rich people and their rich people problems! Shades of Milk and Honey certainly is about rich people, but it has MAGIC! This was exactly what was missing when I was reading Pride and Prejudice.
I've read in a lot of places that this is like a Jane Austen novel with a touch of fantasy and it's completely true. There's enough magic to make it interesting, but the magic doesn't actually *do* anything. There's no fighting wizards or casting crazy spells. All the magic is used for decorative purposes and plays a supporting role in most scenes.
There's a lot of people talking with each other about inconsequential things and not a whole lot going on, but I enjoyed the banter between people. There was a very late-in-the-story (for me at least) twist that I didn't expect. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending, but otherwise, Shades of Milk and Honey was an enjoyable piece of fluff....more
Wow, I was expecting this to be really bad, but it surpassed those expectations and turned out to be not *that* bad. It was certainly better than TwilWow, I was expecting this to be really bad, but it surpassed those expectations and turned out to be not *that* bad. It was certainly better than Twilight. I'm wary to label this as science fiction even though it's about an alien occupation on Earth because it was lacking in the science part, but there was plenty of fiction.
First, the good parts: I enjoyed the truly foreign aliens and the description of their philosophy, their other worlds, and history. I also enjoyed the whole rebel forces thing. I even liked Wanda for most of the story. I liked that the sappy romance didn't come till much later in the book, but man, when it came, it came in full force.
Now the parts I didn't like: it was too obvious who characters were at first glance. Of course the tall dark and handsome guy will be one love interest and of course the other good looking unattached guy will be the other pivot in the love triangle. Speaking of love triangle, it was more like a bizzarre love quadrangle. I guess that was something different, which made it entertaining. The part I really disliked was Meyer's obsession with the super young barely legal girl paring with the older man. That was a little too wish-fulfillment fantasy for me.
The end kind of resolved itself a little too well in the, "Really, that's all you need to do to complete your plan?" Sure it wasn't a complicated heist adventure or anything, but without the love quadrangle, there really wasn't much of a story. I was hoping there was gonna be some sort of mass overthrow.
Despite these complaints, I still found The Host an enjoyable and fast-paced read if only to figure out how Wanda and Melanie were going to resolve their issues....more
I got inspired to read this after watching the movie. Now that I've read it, I'm sorry to see that the movie didn't take place during the time the booI got inspired to read this after watching the movie. Now that I've read it, I'm sorry to see that the movie didn't take place during the time the book did. It would have made it more thrilling, with all that cold-war-spy stuff going on.
The Bond of the book is less heroic than the Bond of the movie, which I appreciated. He bordered on super-human in the movies. What I didn't like was the portrayal of his femme fetale in the book. She seemed more weak and reacted to situations instead of taking control, like I wanted her to.
After finishing the book, I had a craving for an ice-cold martini. Stirred, not shaken. And maybe a delicious green olive floating in it. And keep your vodka out of my martini!...more
A fun little diversion for when I wanted some light reading. This is like The Passage + The Walking Dead, Book One with a kick-ass female character. IA fun little diversion for when I wanted some light reading. This is like The Passage + The Walking Dead, Book One with a kick-ass female character. I also liked that she was Asian. My peoples! Nothing really new to the genre is brought up here but that's okay. My only gripe is that there's no tension in the book. Even in fights where she's vastly outnumbered, it's obvious that Allie will pull through.
It's highly likely I'll read the next book when it comes out because I'm curious where it goes....more
Finally! A story set in New York that doesn't annoy me. Set in the late 1930s to early 1940s, Rules of Civility follows a young woman struggling to brFinally! A story set in New York that doesn't annoy me. Set in the late 1930s to early 1940s, Rules of Civility follows a young woman struggling to break out of her working-class world and into the world of the filthy rich and fabulous. Normally, this type of story would annoy me, but it was just written so well, and the main character, Kate, was so level-headed, smart, and witty, that I couldn't help but enjoy the book.
Some passages that spoke to me:
First, he filled my glass to the brim. The liquor was so cold and pure it gave the impression of being more translucent than water. Next he filled Eve's glass. When he began filling Tinker's, the flow of alcohol from the shaker slowed noticeably. And then trickled. For a moment it seemed as if there wasn't going to be enough. But the gin kept trickling and the surface kept rising until with the very last drop Tinker's martini reached the brim. It was the sort of precision that gave one confidence.
How can one not fall in love with such an artful description of martinis being poured?
Because when some incident sheds a favorable light on an old and absent friend, that's about as good a gift as chance intends to offer.
The one thing that I really liked about Rules of Civility is that while I was secretly hoping that Tinker and Kate would get together because he was just so smooth and urbane, I was also rooting for Kate to break out of that mold of having to marry a man to get anywhere in society. Not knowing where those two would end up, I couldn't help but ride the same waves Kate did regarding her relationship with Tinker.
I read this while picturing the cast of Mad Men in my mind and it turned out pretty well. The actress who plays Peggy was my Kate. ...more
If Eugenides wrote this book as a modern version of a Victorian marriage plot, he certainly succeeded. The female protagonist over-analyzed things andIf Eugenides wrote this book as a modern version of a Victorian marriage plot, he certainly succeeded. The female protagonist over-analyzed things and men seemed to take the highest priority in her mind.
I found the female character pathetic. She was in one unhealthy relationship after another. And no, I didn't mean unhealthy because of Bankhead's mental health problems. Unhealthy as in she definitely did not have the brain of an adult when she got into these relationships. I really think people should deal with their own problems and live the world as an adult before latching on to someone else. I guess I don't find co-dependent love stories that compelling. The only character I sort of liked was Mitchell, but his whole India side-plot grew long and tiresome and he didn't really grow out of that experience.
Gripping, intense, and terrifying, and heartfelt are all words that describe this book. I was wary about reading this book because just the fact the bGripping, intense, and terrifying, and heartfelt are all words that describe this book. I was wary about reading this book because just the fact the book existed seemed opportunistic, but I'm glad I got over that and read it. Reading Columbine brought to light a lot of my misconceptions of what happened at that school.
This was probably one of the scariest books I've read just because of how hateful and manipulative the two boys were and how ineffectual the local police were.
I have one complaint about it and it's more about how some of the chapters were organized. The jump back and forth in chronology seemed unnecessarily complicated and the chapter probably could have been organized better. There was also a lot of repeat with certain events....more
A talented artist can paint a picture that evokes an emotion. The viewer looks at the painting and feels nothing but what the artist strives to communA talented artist can paint a picture that evokes an emotion. The viewer looks at the painting and feels nothing but what the artist strives to communicate. The viewer doesn't notice the brushstrokes, the colors, or any of the physical aspects of the painting -- only the essense of the painting. Jennifer Egan is the artist and A Visit From the Goon Squad is the painting.
You know how sometimes you'll notice something, like the shoes a stranger is wearing, or a purse across the room and it'll remind you of something and you'll end up staring into space, lost in that memory? A Visit From the Goon Squad is kind of like that. The funny thing is, I've never worn safety pins in my clothes, I've never had some 40 year old guy do coke off my bare butt, and I've never dived into a polluted river, but A Visit From the Goon Squad made me nostalgic for those events.
A Visit From the Goon Squad is hard to describe as a book. It's narrative fiction, but it's not just one story and it's not only a collection of short stories. It's a collection of short stories connected through some shared characters and a strong central theme that I didn't really understand until halfway through the book. It's not preachy, it's not too-hip-for-thou, and it's not difficult to read. It's wonderfuly written with amazingly seemless transitions between the past and the present.
I can see it as a book that won't appeal to everyone. I had doubts about liking it because of its title and cover (I know, I know), but even I have to admit that it's one of the best written books I've read....more
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