The Library of Lost Dollhouses is one of those books that goes back and forth in time, with two narrators slowly spinning out their stories. Tildy is The Library of Lost Dollhouses is one of those books that goes back and forth in time, with two narrators slowly spinning out their stories. Tildy is a young librarian who discovers hidden dollhouses in a secret room in the library where she works. Her chapters are told in third person. Cora is the creator of the dollhouses. Her chapters are told in first person.
Tildy has a mysterious connection to the dollhouses that I found hard to accept. Cora has a deep dark secret, about a Bad Thing that she did under pressure, that I really found hard to believe. This is one of those books that very earnestly wants to show different people with different sexual interests in the past, and while inclusion is great, I found the way the author handled it got in the way of my immersion in the story at times. For example, this passage reads to me like an author note, not something a teenaged girl sexually involved with a female friend would say:
“If such a Sapphic relationship sounds rather advanced, you might be surprised to learn our sudden intimacy didn’t raise any eyebrows. For two young single women of our era, chumminess easily entailed holding hands, even exchanging a few kisses on the cheek.” (p. 191 of the ARC)
There is also a lot of telling, telling, telling of things.
The book seemed well researched, and it was an easy read. I enjoyed the dollhouses and miniatures. But I had a hard time suspending my disbelief for some of the plot twists.
This book seemed like it should have been perfect for me, but we just didn’t click. However, I think it will find many readers who love it. It reminded me of The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis and books by Kate Morton. I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley. ...more
I’m sorry to say I found this boring and slow moving. The love happened quickly and without being earned. I didn’t sense any chemistry, and the hero wI’m sorry to say I found this boring and slow moving. The love happened quickly and without being earned. I didn’t sense any chemistry, and the hero was very forward with the heroine. There was a lot of travelling, via increasingly uncomfortable methods of conveyance, and a fair amount of vomiting.
I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley....more
This was an easy summer read, featuring a cute couple who have been married for 30 years but are as much in love as ever. Part travel guide, the authoThis was an easy summer read, featuring a cute couple who have been married for 30 years but are as much in love as ever. Part travel guide, the author did a good job of including information about the places the cruise ship (based on a real cruise in 1939) visited. I was pretty sure I knew who the bad guy was before Mamie and Bert Revealed All but I enjoyed the cruise, the characters, and the mystery. Book discussion coming up. ...more
I tried to listen to the audiobook and failed. Will Patton may be a fine actor but he is not a good audiobook narrator. His high, lispy voice irritateI tried to listen to the audiobook and failed. Will Patton may be a fine actor but he is not a good audiobook narrator. His high, lispy voice irritated me and did not keep my attention. This is a long book, so I bailed. Maybe I'll read the print book at some point.
I've read some Scalzi I enjoyed. The Android's Dream does not join the list.
It's too long, it's boring, it's juvenile, and it's not funny. It does geI've read some Scalzi I enjoyed. The Android's Dream does not join the list.
It's too long, it's boring, it's juvenile, and it's not funny. It does get some points for making fun of L Ron Hubbard and Scientology. (E.g., "it takes a certain sort of person to want to join a church based on the desperate maneuvers of a second-rate science fiction writer" (pp. 110-112)) The last 100 pages are better than the first 300 pages.
However, a dog is killed. I only finished it because it is for book club. ...more
When I was working on my master’s degree in Computer Systems Communication (circa 1994), I took a fascinating class on computer ethics. We read Cliff When I was working on my master’s degree in Computer Systems Communication (circa 1994), I took a fascinating class on computer ethics. We read Cliff Stoll’s The Cuckoo’s Egg, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and I thought we’d read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. I think now we were just required to watch the movie. I just finished the book and I don’t think I ever read it before. It was also pretty fascinating.
So bleak. I love The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, which deals with a lot of the same issues only from the cyborg’s point of view. And it’s a lot snarkier and more fun.
I haven’t seen Blade Runner in a million years but I don’t remember anything about the absolute obsession with live animals, which is all over the book. Critically important to the book. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep feels really dated although set in the future. It was written in 1968 so I guess what’s surprising is that it doesn’t feel even more dated.
I can’t really say I enjoyed reading this book but I’m glad I read it, and it is very thought provoking. It’s interesting that I’ve heard people discuss whether the film Deckard is a replicant or a human, but in the book he is clearly a human. The scene in which an android tortures a spider is the worst and most memorable. The religious stuff was the least interesting to me.
This book was pretty good up until the end, when it became truly truly terrible. The Bletchley Park background was interesting, and the author didn't This book was pretty good up until the end, when it became truly truly terrible. The Bletchley Park background was interesting, and the author didn't try to cover up the realities of being a woman in England during World War II.
But the ending was terrible. Her editor should have sent the book back and told her to come up with something better.
Also, the book blurb mentions that the main character's brother is murdered, but the book is HALF OVER when that happens. That should NOT have been in the blurb.
Rounded up from 2.5 stars. It probably deserves 2 stars....more
My father was in the Solomons in 1943, so I was inspired to pick up this book. The tone is very much in the "yay rah, go us" vein. Very matter of factMy father was in the Solomons in 1943, so I was inspired to pick up this book. The tone is very much in the "yay rah, go us" vein. Very matter of fact when telling, for example, of deciding whether or not to avoid the small Japanese troop or kill them all. As the title suggests, it is focused on the coastwatchers and not on the Marines. Still, it gave me some insight on what it must have been like.
I wasn't riveted but do admire what the coastwatchers risked. Hindsight is all 20/20, and since this was published in 1977 there is a weird, out-of-place chapter on JFK and his PT boat. Not being particularly enthralled with the Kennedys, I didn't feel like the chapter belonged in this book.
This Is How You Lose the Time War won the BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction, the Nebula Award for Best Novella of 2019, and the 2020 Hugo Award for This Is How You Lose the Time War won the BSFA Award for Best Shorter Fiction, the Nebula Award for Best Novella of 2019, and the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
How. HOW. This book is in the running for the most pretentious book I've ever read. Despite multiple references to birds, which normally soften me toward even the worst books, I found this book unbearable. It's like spending time with your high school best friend who is obsessed with their new boyfriend/girlfriend/romantic partner, with a little Romeo and Juliet drama thrown in. Gag me with a spoon. Ugh ugh ugh. ...more
Del Rey donated a bunch of copies of this book to my library for a Comicfest (thank you!) and I finally got around to reading it.
It's fine. It would pDel Rey donated a bunch of copies of this book to my library for a Comicfest (thank you!) and I finally got around to reading it.
It's fine. It would probably be enjoyed more by someone who is a Star Wars fan who has watched and read everything. (Which I haven't.) I didn't know anyone in this book already except Hera Syndulla, and there are so so so many characters, some of whom we meet only for a chapter or two. It was very slow starting. Once the Alphabet Squadron came together as a team, it got better, but it was a bit of a slow road to get them there.
I would read another book by Alexander Freed, although probably not about the Alphabet Squadron. Let's get those Mandalorian and Bad Batch novels going....more
A Song to Drown Rivers might have made a fine short story, or even a novella. As a novel, I found it boring and repetitive. She’s beautiful; he’s beauA Song to Drown Rivers might have made a fine short story, or even a novella. As a novel, I found it boring and repetitive. She’s beautiful; he’s beautiful. She is so beautiful; he is so beautiful. I was not familiar with the story of Xishi and Fanli, but there is just not enough there there for a whole book.
There is some lovely writing in the book. But Xishi, Fanli, and Fuchai feel like characters in a fairy tale – not real people I can root for, or against.
I read an advance reader copy of A Song to Drown Rivers from Netgalley. ...more
A friend who also loves Alice in Wonderland loved and recommended this to me. So I read it.
The original Alice contains fun nonsense. This book containA friend who also loves Alice in Wonderland loved and recommended this to me. So I read it.
The original Alice contains fun nonsense. This book contains violent nonsense (what is it with people losing eyes?). Can't Alice have a visit to Wonderland as an adult? Why must it always be grave peril? The author did a good job throwing in references to the original Alice ("aw, slithy toves"), but her own nonsense was not particularly clever. I get it, Alice is using Wonderland to work through her teenaged Victorian real world issues.
It wasn't terrible, and there were occasional passages I enjoyed, but for me it was way too long. Also, why does she live in "Kexford" instead of Oxford....?
If you love the Twisted Tales series, or know of Alice but don't actually know the book, you might enjoy Unbirthday more than I did. ...more
I thought since this book takes place 500 years after the first book set in the Forever Desert, it wouldn’t be a big deal if I read it first. Now I wiI thought since this book takes place 500 years after the first book set in the Forever Desert, it wouldn’t be a big deal if I read it first. Now I wish I had read The Lies of the Ajungo first. This entry is what the story from the first book becomes after 500 years of retelling.
The Truth of the Aleke is a stylized fable, repeating certain phrases like one does when telling a fairy tale. I found some of the writing quite entrancing, but the story itself is as simple in the telling as a fairy tale. He did this, this happened; he did this, this happened.
I’m not sure what the moral of this fable is. The main character (view spoiler)[is betrayed by people he trusts, then he betrays them. (hide spoiler)] The author acknowledges this book’s connection to what happened on 9/11. “It was a cruel and chaotic time when the dichotomy of allies and enemies, of good and evil, ceased to make sense.” I guess that’s as good a way to describe The Truth of the Aleke as any. It’s depressing and puzzling. I keep puzzling over what it means, which I suppose is a victory for the author.
I’m not sure whether I will go back and read the The Lies of the Ajungo, or if I will read the third book. The Forever Desert is not a happy place to spend time.
I read an advance reader copy of The Truth of the Aleke. ...more
This came up in a "you read that book, try this book" list and I thought, why not? It's been a long time since I read a young adult fantasy romance.
NoThis came up in a "you read that book, try this book" list and I thought, why not? It's been a long time since I read a young adult fantasy romance.
Now I remember why it's been a long time. Whoo boy. Every cliche in the book (except the romantic triangle, one small blessing). I think my favorite part was the hurricane followed by the earthquake while our romantic pair were sheltering in a cave in the middle of a battle. Where was the tsunami following the earthquake?
They both are undervalued by terrible parents, he is a bad boy who is really a good boy at heart, she is a plucky fighting princess better able to lead her people than her older brother. This is *fine* as a YA romance so I gave it three stars but I had so many issues with it.
This was mostly fine. (Until it wasn't.) The dual timeline worked well, and I didn’t come close to guessing what happened to Flora. The cover is beautThis was mostly fine. (Until it wasn't.) The dual timeline worked well, and I didn’t come close to guessing what happened to Flora. The cover is beautiful. It involves valuable books and a bookshop.
However, the story is way too long, and it reads like a book set in England but written by an American. Hazel was fairly annoying, and I HATED the ending. Hated. Knocked a full star off my review. Not the mystery of Flora, but Hazel's romantic decisions. (view spoiler)[Hazel and Harry were children, OMG. I could not believe the author had Hazel choose Harry over Barnaby and I did not for one minute believe they would live happily ever after. I could hardly finish the book after that. The choice of a child, not a healthy adult woman. (hide spoiler)] I seriously would not recommend this book to anyone based on that alone.
I love Oxford and found the Oxford location of interest. Points for mentioning Tolkien and Alice. ...more
I loved Mickey7 and the sequel. Mal Goes to War is not Mickey7.
If I didn’t know and love the Murderbot diaries by Martha Wells, I might have liked MalI loved Mickey7 and the sequel. Mal Goes to War is not Mickey7.
If I didn’t know and love the Murderbot diaries by Martha Wells, I might have liked Mal Goes to War more? Maybe? Mal is an AI who can jump from technologically enhanced person to drone and back again. SecUnit is a cloned human/technology hybrid, and I had a much harder time accepting Mal’s need to acquire friends and desire to rescue people.
Lines like these seem taken directly from the Murderbot diaries (emphases mine):
“My understanding, which admittedly is gleaned primarily from review of serial dramas, is that talking through our emotional issues is the most common and effective way to correct these sorts of problems.” (p. 162 of the ARC)
“A quick survey when the blast wave has passed shows his body to be mostly functional, although he is leaking fluids from a number of places and his hearing appears to be offline." (p. 171 of the ARC)
There were parts that I enjoyed, but that was mostly the last 100 pages. Before that the book was slow and meandering and full mostly of Mal’s experiments with jumping around hosts. I never understood the war (which I guess, is true of all wars, so, fair) and the extreme brutality that shows up occasionally (like the burn pits) didn’t seem to fit with the overall tone of the book.
This book feels like an experiment, and I admire experimentation. While I won’t say it was a failure, it wasn’t wholly a success for this reader. Not sure I’ll read another Mal book by Ashton; I will read another Mickey7 book if one is published.
I did enjoy this in the author’s acknowledgements: My sincere thanks also go out to (in no particular order): … Mickey, for understanding that I can’t keep writing about him exclusively for the rest of my life.
I read an advance reader copy of Mal Goes to War from Netgalley. ...more
A long, slow-moving, character-driven, exhaustively researched look at life in Oxford, England, during the Great War, focusing on the people who workeA long, slow-moving, character-driven, exhaustively researched look at life in Oxford, England, during the Great War, focusing on the people who worked in the Oxford Press bindery. I love Oxford and the Oxford English Dictionary, so I enjoyed the setting.
I found main character Peggy fairly annoying, and the ending was rushed. ...more
Charlotte Sloane is a widowed lady of quality with a secret. She is a satirical cartoonist under a pen name. She uses her pen to cast light on injustiCharlotte Sloane is a widowed lady of quality with a secret. She is a satirical cartoonist under a pen name. She uses her pen to cast light on injustices and misbehavior. Circumstances bring her together with two orphaned guttersnipes who she comes to love as her own, and with the intimidating Earl of Wrexford. This series has a nice mix of mystery, historical details, and found family. The relationships feature romantic love, parental love, family love, and deep friendships.
The book that introduces these characters and other series regulars is Murder on Black Swan Lane, and book seven in the series is due out in September. This is a great time to start reading, because if you like the first book, you can move right on to the next, but the number of books already published is not intimidating. Set in Regency London, the author likes to spotlight legitimate scientific innovation of the time period. Real scientists make occasional appearances in her stories.
Book seven, Murder at the Merton Library, starts with the murder of an Oxford librarian. It deals with fallout from the Napoleonic wars and intrigue around competition to create a marine propulsion system utilizing steam engines. (If that sounds boring, don’t worry – the author makes it interesting.) The Regency details seem perfect, and the author believably makes her female characters as important to the action as the male characters. I’ve found some of the other books in the series a bit draggy at times, but this one moved along briskly for me.
This series is a lot of fun for the serious historical mystery reader. I read an advance reader copy of Murder at Merton Library from Netgalley. It is scheduled to be published on September 26. ...more
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