The hype on Legendborn is real. It's excellent YA fantasy. Arthurian twists are definitely my jam. I do find that a 16-year-old main character, howeveThe hype on Legendborn is real. It's excellent YA fantasy. Arthurian twists are definitely my jam. I do find that a 16-year-old main character, however badass is tough for me to read. But this has excellent queer normativity, addresses race, and is compassionate towards a range of grief.
4.5 stars. What a wild ride with the crankiest SecUnit.
Murderbot returns for a full-length adventure in Network Effect. It has signed its first contra4.5 stars. What a wild ride with the crankiest SecUnit.
Murderbot returns for a full-length adventure in Network Effect. It has signed its first contract under its own power to protect members of Dr. Mensah’s family on a scientific mission. Something goes terribly wrong, and Murderbot ends up back on familiar transport ART (Asshole Research Transport), except that ART’s personality seems to have been wiped from the system and its crew is missing. But in the meantime, Murderbot still has to contend with Dr Mensah’s daughter, who with it was separated from the rest of the original crew. Daring space missions and cranky AIs with soft spots for trashy human TV comprise the backbone of this delightful space opera. . I asked folks months ago if I needed to read the novellas first before the novel, and I can now personally answer: unequivocally yes. While Wells does a fine job of introducing everyone, the bulk of the worldbuilding and introduction process does happen during the novellas. Plus, if you start reading Murderbot, you’ll want to read more! I listened to audiobooks of novellas 2-4 (novella is a length I struggle with, and I didn’t love novella 1 when I first read it over a year ago and regret not having listened to it as a part of this adventure), so it made sense to listen to the full length novel as well. Kevin R Free delivers an excellent narration, breathing appropriately subtle life and lots of personality into Murderbot, ART, and all of the other characters. If you haven’t read this series yet - even if you aren’t generally a fan of science fiction - go pick it up. It’s amazing what an author can write about The Human Condition, when the main character is a construct with only some organic parts. ...more
Jean McConville, widowed mother of 10, was dragged from the family apartment one night in 1972, never to be seen again. Disappearances, unsolved murdeJean McConville, widowed mother of 10, was dragged from the family apartment one night in 1972, never to be seen again. Disappearances, unsolved murders, and cold cases that date back to the Troubles in Northern Ireland come to light in this brilliant narrative nonfiction book by Patrick Radden Keefe. Keefe, Boston-born-Irish, had no particular interest in the Troubles until he stumbled upon a NYTimes obituary for Dolores Price, an infamous member of the Provisional IRA and became aware of the Boston College tapes in which former IRA paramilitary members told their stories to another former IRA member. He builds his narration through the story of the Price sisters, Dolores and Marian, and other members of the provos, through their involvement in the London bombing and their time in prison. The letters and confessions of the hunger strikers, the rise of the Sinn Fein political party, and the ultimate brokering of peace between Northern Ireland and Great Britain in 1998 paint a vivid picture of the Troubles. Keefe has chosen to illustrate one side of the story and does so with powerful language and chilling facts.
This was the third or fourth time I had this book checked out of the library, and I’m so glad I actually read it this time! I listened to the audiobook. @whatellaread recommended it to me over a year ago when she read it, and while I enjoy a good nonfiction book from time to time, it’s not my usual genre, so she’s very choosy about which ones she recommends to me to actually pick up. It’s simply stunning. I was transported back to 2000, when I traveled to the Republic of Ireland as a young teenager, and recalled hearing my parents talk about the Good Friday Agreement because it was so fresh. And learning about the Boston College tapes and the campus’s involvement with safeguarding a part of Irish history all while walking through/living nearby the BC campus was moving as well. This book is increasingly important with new border issues between Northern Ireland (UK) and Republic of Ireland (EU) as a result of Brexit.
Say Nothing is an excellent book of history, but would also be really interesting to anyone who likes true crime or political thrillers. I will definitely be picking up Keefe’s new book now, too. ...more
An absolutely amazing story. I listened to the audiobook because I saw that Kwame narrated it himself. It inspired me to cook more elaborate meals whiAn absolutely amazing story. I listened to the audiobook because I saw that Kwame narrated it himself. It inspired me to cook more elaborate meals while listening to it, and when I wasn't listening, I was itching to get my hands on a good onion to dice or leek to chop. If you like good food, memoirs, or just good stories, I cannot recommend this book enough.
Completed for the Book Riot Read Harder 2020 Challenge Read a food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before. I fudged it a little, because I couldn't really think of a cuisine I hadn't tried. I was looking for some seriously good storytelling about some seriously good food...and this was it. I also have to say - I don't get to eat plates of food for $185 ever, so this sort of fits the category. ...more
What an amazing collection of poetry. I listened to it as an audiobook, read by the poet. Smith's variett of rhythm and range of life experiences captWhat an amazing collection of poetry. I listened to it as an audiobook, read by the poet. Smith's variett of rhythm and range of life experiences captured in his poetry are lyrical. I both laughed and cried out loud while listening.
Compeleted for the Book Riot 2020 Read Harder Challenge read an audiobook of poetry....more
The day the plane fell out of the sky, Camino lost her Papi. The day the plane fell out of the sky, Yahaira lost her Papi. Papi is the same man. Two dThe day the plane fell out of the sky, Camino lost her Papi. The day the plane fell out of the sky, Yahaira lost her Papi. Papi is the same man. Two daughters. Two Families. One in New York, one in the Dominican Republic. Two very different lives.
This beautiful novel tells parallel stories of Camino and Yahaira, two months apart in age. It tells the story of the father who lives with one over summers and one the rest of the year, and his death that shatters their worlds and eventually brings them together.
I buddy read this with @samturnspages and when we each finished, our response was “wow.”
Clap When Land transforms Camino and Yahaira’s story through verse, weaving their lives, their struggles, their dreams, and their hopes together, even though neither girl knows of the other's existence. I had previously read Poet X, and my biggest regret with that was not listening to the audiobook. The rhythm of the narration in verse performed by Elizabeth Acevedo and Melania-Luisa Marte breathes life into Camino and Yahaira. Magically, neither character is stronger than the other - both girls’ stories are equally important to the progression of the novel.
I cannot recommend this enough on audiobook. ...more
Audiobook version was great. Good rhythm to the story. I really like how Leckie unfolds plots and characters, and the changing POV for the different pAudiobook version was great. Good rhythm to the story. I really like how Leckie unfolds plots and characters, and the changing POV for the different parts of the story works very well....more
Somewhere between 3.5 and 5 stars.... This felt both overly long and rushed in parts. I loved the physics and the theories that Liu Cixin introduces tSomewhere between 3.5 and 5 stars.... This felt both overly long and rushed in parts. I loved the physics and the theories that Liu Cixin introduces throughout, especially that of our "constant" of c, but I though the plot and the characters lacked in the third novel. The hibernation and time skipping feels a little convenient to preserve a character throughout the centuries, and while I felt it worked in the first two novels, it does so a little less. Cheng Xin feels a little too stereotypically female -- the emphasis on her inability to make powerful decisions and her general hesitancy made me more uncomfortable all throughout Death's End.
The whole trilogy certainly took me on a journey. I'm very glad I listened to this, because I liked the pacing, but I'm not sure I always liked the narrator....more
I’m honestly not sure it’s possible to summarize this book. It’s like fragmented snapshots into different parts of our characters lives. It’s glimpsesI’m honestly not sure it’s possible to summarize this book. It’s like fragmented snapshots into different parts of our characters lives. It’s glimpses of motherhood, childhood, teenage pregnancy, love, grief, death, loss, life. It’s about decision making and consequences, and about grasping what path in life you’re given and running with it. It’s about wealth and class and race, in a way that’s both background and central to development. It’s a character study and a journey.
Red at the Bone had been on my TBR since its publication in 2019, and @thankstomylocallibrary and I said “hey, let’s just read this.” We both listened to the audiobook, which is full cast and only 4 hours long. I cannot recommend the narration enough. Honestly, I’d consider listening to it again all over before my library copy goes back. Even though the book was short, we both felt really satisfied with its length
Find yourself the time to listen to this one. It’s worth it. ...more
2023 Reread: Alex Stern has earned a second chance at life. Her talent of seeing ghosts, called Grays, has earned her a full scholarship to Yale, spon2023 Reread: Alex Stern has earned a second chance at life. Her talent of seeing ghosts, called Grays, has earned her a full scholarship to Yale, sponsored by Lethe House (the Ninth House) who monitor the Eight Houses of the Yale Secret Societies, ensuring they play within the rules during their rituals which tamper in dark magics. She becomes Dante, learning under Virgil, a senior named Darlington, the Golden Boy of Lethe. But it’s clear from the outset that something has gone wrong, because Alex is on her own and Darlington isn’t in Spain like they’ve been telling everyone.
This is a review of a reread. Ninth House was a top 10 book for me in 2020 (and in fact was an overlap with @whatellaread - appropriate since many years ago she introduced me to Bardugo’s work). I obviously loved Ninth House the first time I read it. I was stunned to discover how much more I loved it a second time. It’s darker than I normally prefer, but in contemporary fantasy that can sometimes work well for me.
I’ve talked to a number of readers who have expressed confusion at the setup. With a fractured timeline, it can be hard to keep track, but Bardugo is thrusting you into the middle of the action, quite literally with Alex overseeing a Ritual that includes an on-page vivisection. The visceral experience for Alex floods the reader’s senses at the outset, and you are caught up in her sleep-deprived struggles to comprehend both the aftermath of a prognostication and ritual of extreme privilege and then the murder of a girl from town. The book then seesaws between the present timeline of spring (at the murder) to the previous fall of her freshman year and the winter between her freshman semesters.
Bargudo’s Grishaverse worldbuilding is strong - she’s created a vibrant fantasy world with a complex magic system - but Ninth House (and Hell Bent, as you’ll see in tomorrow’s review) is sublime. To take a well-known institution like Yale and its secret societies and transform it into a system of magic inseparable from the geography and traditions of the campus and of New Haven demonstrates her writing strengths and creativity.
Ninth House is undeniably a love letter to the battered city of New Haven, from its brutalist architecture (I cannot get enough of the architecture jokes in here!) to the strain between the well-respected Ivy League and the very blue-collar town. It’s a perfect New England ghost story as well, with an air of spookiness you can feel in our crisp air and weighted with legacy.
I don’t read much horror, and yet there’s something that draws me to a story like Ninth House. There’s an intensity to the plot, but there’s also intricate character development and cleverly crafted worldbuilding that break the intensity and let you breathe before you plunge into the depths of Hell.
2020 review: What a book. I listened to this one, which I think allowed me to dive into the story faster than others who say it has a "slow start." An amazing unpacking of gender, race, class, misogyny, rape, and power on the Yale campus. This is a creepy, perfectly New England ghost story. It's terrifying and gruesome. A number of times I was listening to this while eating or cooking and I had to stop (either eating or listening) because there was too much gore or graphic depictions. But I am so glad I listened to this; I'm not sure if I thought it was gothic horror fantasy I would have picked it up. It's so different from Bardugo's other writing (i.e. not YA), so i can see why fans of the Grishaverse might not like this, but it's a bit like Neil Gaiman's writing, or a little like a very dark Harry Potter. I cannot wait to read the next one!...more
An alternate history that starts with the premise: what would have happened if 99% of the population of Europe was wiped out during the Black Death inAn alternate history that starts with the premise: what would have happened if 99% of the population of Europe was wiped out during the Black Death instead of one-third? How would history change? That question sets the backdrop for an immense tale spanning nearly 700 years of human history, revised and rewritten with new powers driving the narrative of science, theology, philosophy, exploration. Each book within The Years of Rice and Salt captures a sliver of the world through the eyes of characters reincarnated across the chapters, dipping into moments of the world that are recognizable, even when the players are not. As is typical of belief systems embracing reincarnation, our characters do not recognize their former selves until they reach Bardo, the intermediate state between life and death where the soul goes to be judged. Each cycle they get closer to release, and yet each cycle something prevents their attainment of enlightenment.
Ok friends. This book is dense (if you see @unsuccessfulbookclub highlights, you’ll know that the physical library copy is literally heavier than it should be), and my paperback comes in at 763 pages of very small print that make me wish for reading glasses. But if you have the patience for a book that meanders, I highly recommend picking this one up. It touches in and out of our common knowledge of history combined with newly invented historical moments. With Christianity all but dying out with the Plague, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism dominate the religious landscape, with the theologies staying true to their real-world forms. And yet somehow the book gracefully denounces the horrors of war, supports the evolution of religious beliefs, and instills a bizarre hope in humanity.
This wasn’t the book any of us expected. There was less plague than we anticipated (and in comparison to Doomsday Book), and yet the missing threads of history that reference the plague years are firmly woven throughout.
If you choose to read this, I highly recommend the audiobook. Content warnings: plague, death, on-page castration, war. ...more
It took me a long while to get through this one, but in the end it was absolutely worth it. Initially, library loan ran out, and then I put it down inIt took me a long while to get through this one, but in the end it was absolutely worth it. Initially, library loan ran out, and then I put it down in favor of a few others in the meantime. I ended up primarily listening to this, and the narration was wonderful. Similar to Night Circus, this feels like a magical, intoxicating dream-dance, where you can get swept up in Morgenstern's words.
Very strongly recommend savoring this read. ...more
Genre: magical realism, historical fiction Mexico City, 1988 & 2009
2009 - Meche is back in Mexico City for her father’s funeral, even though she hadn’Genre: magical realism, historical fiction Mexico City, 1988 & 2009
2009 - Meche is back in Mexico City for her father’s funeral, even though she hadn’t spoken to him in twenty years. Her mother and stepfather can’t go through his things, so Meche needs to sort his records herself, which digs up more memories of the past than she’s comfortable remembering. 1988 - Meche and her best friends Sebastián and Daniela discover the roots of power in music; real magic that can cast revenge spells and grant wishes. As Meche grasps for more, though, she drives away the friendships that were dearest to her.
I originally read this book five years ago, and I was nervous to pick it up again, because I remembered loving it so much. I shouldn’t have been nervous because Kyla Garcia’s narration still brought me to tears. I was glad to revisit it as an audiobook this time around. It’s not my favorite SMG at this point, but the whole book is tinted with nostalgia in such a beautiful way that I loved to reconnect with it, like meeting an old friend.
As always, with a Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel, it features an intensely unlikeable female main character, absorbed by the selfishness of youth and the allure of power (and in this case, magic). Meche, Sebastián, and Daniela are high schoolers in 1988, and they make the hurtful mistakes that young high schoolers do. And while the 1988 storyline verges on immature at times, because Signal to Noise is an adult novel, it’s palatable to those who don’t pick up YA, because the passion of youth is balanced by the measured view of adulthood twenty years later.
Part of the magic in Signal to Noise is Mexican witches, legends and magic that Meche learns from her grandmother. The other part of the magic is the music itself, and the way Meche connects to her world through vinyl. She has a song for everything. This book is perfect for anyone who is deeply into music. But it’s also a great read for anyone looking for friendship, grief, redemption, and just a touch of magic.
Thank you to Spotify Audiobooks for an ALC for review. Signal to Noise is available in print and ebook, and is out on audiobook on 8/20/24.
Original review (2019): Beautiful and haunting. I love the swirling timelines and the way Moreno-Garcia builds her characters. A fine balance between YA and adult urban fantasy.
Completed for the 2019 Book Root Read Harder Challenge category an #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America...more
This is book one of the Expanse series, and makes up part of season one of the TV show by the same name. I originally picked this up to fulfill the BoThis is book one of the Expanse series, and makes up part of season one of the TV show by the same name. I originally picked this up to fulfill the Book Riot Read Harder challenge for the category read a book whose movie or TV adaptation you’ve seen (but haven’t read the book)... except when I started it, I realized that in the six years since I watched season one and nothing in between, I’d entirely forgotten any of the plot. So I’m not counting it.
Regardless of whether it fits my challenge, I was excited to have finally picked this up. To anyone who talked to me in January, I apologize for talking about the vomit-zombies so much… but the evolution of the protomolecule that Holden and Miller discovered fascinated me throughout the novel. One reason I love science fiction is the ability to take something familiar, stretch it just slightly outside of the bounds of our current technology and understanding, and watch how it plays out and affects the characters.
This is clearly the setup for the beginning of what I’m told is an epic series. And I’m ready! I plan to listen to the whole thing over the course of the year, fulfilling my desire for more outer space and more science fiction this year. This was also the perfect audiobook for me - at just under 21 hours, I love an audiobook that takes me on a journey over the course of a month. ...more
4.5 Stars. Jemisin is a master storyteller. This was an amazing first book of a duology (and could be read as a standalone, too).
The first book of the4.5 Stars. Jemisin is a master storyteller. This was an amazing first book of a duology (and could be read as a standalone, too).
The first book of the Dreamblood Duology sets up a fantasy world in a setting loosely based on ancient Egypt - cities built along a river with a flood season and palaces reminiscent of Pharaoh's palace. A Prince reigns over the land - as the servant of the goddess he cannot take the title of king. But the city-state of Gujaareh has a second governing body - that of the Hetawa - the Preists of Hananja, and their servants the Gatherers who “gather” Dreamblood of the dying and of the sinful to use as healing powers for the Gujaareen people. Peace is the rule of law, and the Prince and the Hetawa govern even-handedly and fair-mindedly. But corruption lurks beneath the surface. Gatherer Ehiru is sent to Gather Sunandi, a diplomat from neighboring rivals Kisua, and finds himself facing another demon entirely. This novel is thick with politics, religion, corruption and war, peace and beauty, and everything else we deserve in a fantasy novel. . I also listened to this as an audiobook, so had to scour the internet for reviews/summaries that included the spelling of characters. I loved getting swept away in this beautiful epic, but when it comes to review time it is so hard to spell the names of such a marvelously built world. . NK Jemisin is an astounding worldbuilder. Some writers are character driven, some are plot driven. Jemisin somehow drives a story forward with her worldbuilding, which makes her easily one of my favorite authors. I’ve been pondering this review for weeks since finishing the book, so it’s no wonder one of the other summaries I ran across called it “thought-provoking.” The best selling point for NK Jemisin’s writing is that you will still think about days, weeks, years later. ...more
2022 reread review: The world runs between Seasons, with comms growing and increasing prosperity, but only in an effort to prepare for the next time th2022 reread review: The world runs between Seasons, with comms growing and increasing prosperity, but only in an effort to prepare for the next time the world ends. A Season is approaching, and Essen can feel it. A Season is approaching and Syenite is doing what she can to prevent it. A Season is coming and Damaya has no idea what her place in the world can be, only that her life is no longer her own. They are orogenes, who can feel and control the land. And this is their story at the end of the world.
I first read this when it was published in 2015, and I’ve been thinking about it since. When @booksonadventures announced a readalong for the Broken Earth trilogy, I jumped at the chance to revisit it. I think this is one of the best books ever written. When I first picked it up, the SFF landscape had nothing similar. Jemisin’s writing has such strength, and her worldbuilding is unparalleled. She unveils her world slowly and methodically, showing and not telling us. For those who have read this already, you’ll appreciate that on the reread, knowing the ending in advance did lend to a different level of foreshadowing and development.
This is a book about power politics, climate change, and social upheaval. It’s an unfamiliar journey for a lot of fantasy readers, but one well-worth taking. I listened to the audiobook this time around, and strongly recommend the narration by Robin Miles, who reads with a strength to match Jemisin’s writing.
2015 review: Wow. What a book. I'm not sure how much I can review without spoilers, but Fifth Season has my favorite elements for a good story: intricate worldbuilding, compelling characters, eschatological elements, and fascinating storyline....more
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