Monthly report: June 2011

Because it often happens that I read a book but don't review it (or I take a long time writing a review), I've decided to start posting brief monthly reports on what I read, including a sentence or two about the book if it was not reviewed.

Flood (Stephen Baxter)

I have mixed feelings about Flood. The idea behind it is interesting enough, but the problem is that the author didn't quite manage to get the best out of it and wrote a kind of a family drama instead. (Review upcoming.)

Inverted World (Christopher Priest)

Christopher Priest is one of my favourite authors and when I found out that this book is post-apocalyptic, there was not really a chance of me not buying and reading it ASAP. I was not disappointed; Inverted World is a captivating story with a protagonist who's just as unreliable as the protagonists of Priest's other books.

Bitter Seeds (Ian Tregillis)

Another book that was sitting on my to-buy list for years simply because it was published in hardback only. I finally had enough and ordered the damn hardcover, and I was actually really glad I did. Bitter Seeds was not quite what I expected, but it got me hooked nevertheless. I
can't wait for the sequel to come out.

Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)

Yeah, I know I said I probably wouldn't read this one very soon, but I happened to be in the mood for something familiar. What I found out was that the movie script was very strictly following the book; although it was a really pleasant read, Shutter Island is one of those rare books that are not significantly better than their movie adaptations.

The Shrinking Man (Richard Matheson)

I adored Matheson's I Am Legend, so I naturally grabbed The Shrinking Man off the shelf as soon as I saw it in a bookstore in Belgrade. Time has not been so kind to this one, however - the idea of a tiny man was probably new back in 1956, but the novelty of it has long since worn off. Without it, the plot is not as engaging as I had hoped it would be.

Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

I probably should've read Lord of the Flies because it is, after all, a classic, but in fact I mostly read it because the back cover blurb sounded a lot like Battle Royale. :D I honestly can't say whether I liked it or not, though. I'm no good when it comes to judging such books, I'm afraid.

A Feast for Crows (George R. R. Martin)

This was just a quick re-read to catch up on everything before ADWD came out. I found out that I've forgotten quite a lot of what takes place in AFFC; even after this re-read, a lot of the details still elude me. I think it'll be time for another re-read soon. :)






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Due to vacations and me moving apartments again, August's content will be posted a bit erratically, if at all. Sorry. :(

Monthly report: May '11

Because it often happens that I read a book but don't review it (or I take a long time writing a review), I've decided to start posting brief monthly reports on what I read, including a sentence or two about the book if it was not reviewed.


May was a month of good books. Sure, I read good books every month, but it rarely happens that I read four or five excellent books in a row.

The Gone-Away World (Nick Harkaway)
This is probably going to be one of my favourite books of 2011. The Gone-Away world is not so much about a world that has suffered a major (and incredibly weird) catastrophe but about a life of a man who met a lot of strange people and seen a lot of strange things. The plot is so full of fantastic elements that it functions almost like a fairy tale, despite the very sombre themes of war, destruction and loss, and the ending kicks ass. Very much recommended.

Palimpsest (Catherynne M. Valente)
This is another book that might find its way to my Best of 2011 list. I loved Valente's The Orphan's Tales duology, but it wasn't until I read Palimpsest that Valente definitely became one of my favourite authors. Her style is simply incredible and the stories she tells are magical, no matter whether they are fairy tales written on the eyelids of an orphan girl or stories of a magical city that can ruin lives as well as make them wonderful.

On The Beach (Nevil Shute)
This is the book that started my fascination with everything eschatological. It all began when I saw its TV adaptation at age 11 and had nightmares for a week (fun times!). So when I found out that there was a book behind it all, I simply had to read it. I knew what to expect, so I didn't find the book as depressing as some might have, but it was still an interesting and melancholic read. (Review upcoming.)

Let The Right One In (John Ajvide Lindqvist)

Vampires! Every time I enter the local bookshop I see vampire books everywhere. The shelf that used to hold mostly SF/FF and a few horror titles is now full of paranormal romance. I'm very happy when I find books like Let The Right One In that show vampires as something other than sexy bloodsuckers. While not exactly horror, this book was an intriguing and very unusual read.

Under Heaven (Guy Gavriel Kay)
Everyone loved this book and I finally know why. At first glance, Under Heaven reminded me of Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet, but the similarities lie mostly in the setting and the great writing style. I especially appreciated the characters and the way the plot resolved - one would expect a way more 'traditional' ending, but Under Heaven ends in a way that adds some extra feeling of realism and leaves you wishing there was a sequel. I definitely need to read some other works by Guy Gavriel Kay.




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DO YOU SEE WHAT EXAMS DO TO MY SCHEDULE?? argh. I'm afraid there will be no reviews this month, but I'll try to at least put The Pile post together.

Monthly report: January & February 2011

Because it often happens that I read a book but don't review it (or I take a long time writing a review), I've decided to start posting brief monthly reports on what I read, including a sentence or two about the book if it was not reviewed.
Since I didn't do a Monthly report for January yet, I'll bundle it together with the February report. :)

I've read a lot - considering that I had exams and everything - in both January and February. March has been slow going in comparison, but I still have a week left. I can read a lot in a week. :P



The Passage (Justin Cronin): Thrinidir found this one for me I didn't need a lot of convincing to buy it - a post-apocalyptic book that's being compared to The Stand? I'm sold.
The Passage didn't disappoint - it was more than decent, even though it's not terribly innovative or incredibly well written. It's a very enjoyable read despite that, and even though the last third of the book made me suspect that the ending will be corny as hell, I was proven wrong (and liked it).

Mr. Shivers (Robert Jackson Bennett): I've expected much, much more from this book. This was yet another title from someone's best of 2010 list, so naturally, I expected the book to be at least decent, but it left me completely cold. Not that it was horrible, but it was incredibly predictable and gave me the feeling that the author wrote it in a hurry. (Review upcoming)

Neuromancer (William Gibson): Usually, my uni obligations do nothing to help me with my TBR pile, but this time around, they actually did ... I had to read Neuromancer for a paper I was writing, and I enjoyed it a lot. I can see why it is a classic, and I can also understand why so many people dislike it. As a read, it was a bit confusing at first, but I got hooked in the last third of the book and was glad that I didn't give up on it. (Review upcoming)

Horns (Joe Hill): I actually don't have much to say about this one. I enjoyed it, but it was not as good as I'd expect (I saw it on numerous Best of 2010 lists). I also hoped that the author would focus on the whole 'horns that make you speak exactly what's on your mind' thing, but the book ended up being very similar to the wonderful Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrarri - only with Ig being more like Joby in reverse. (Review upcoming)

Kraken (Chine Miéville): Ah, Kraken. How can such a disappointing novel hide behind such a great cover art? I loved The City and The City, I loved Un Lun Dun and I really wanted to love Kraken, too. I mean, it's a book about a giant squid, what is there not to like? Sadly, I found plenty of things I didn't like about Kraken, and by the time I got near the end of it, I had long stopped caring about the characters. I can't help but think that I somehow got the wrong novel, that there must be another Kraken, the one that everyone loved. (Review upcoming)

The Half-Made World (Felix Gilman): This was one of the novels that actually lived up to its reputation. The Half-Made World is exactly what I was looking for - well-written steampunk with vivid imagery. The protagonists were a tad archetypal, but my journey through Gilman's half-made world was still enjoyable. (Review upcoming)

The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins): This novel was a huge surprise for me - I really didn't expect much from it, but I ended up completely enamored with it. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed it immensely. (Review upcoming)

The Road (Cormac McCarthy): A long overdue re-read, again for uni-related stuff. What can I say? I'm still convinced that The Road deserves to be called a post-apocalyptic literature classic.
(You can read Thrinidir's review of The Road here).

The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin): Another re-read for the same paper I had to read Neuromancer for - what can I say, I've had some interesting papers to write this year. In Monthly report for December, I wrote that I found The Left Hand of Darkness somewhat odd when I first read it; I guess that was because I was still a more or less inexperienced reader at the time. I liked it much more this time around, but I can't possibly review it - not after reading so many different analyses of it.

The Reapers are the Angels (Alden Bell): I hate it when I buy a book despite my initial skepticism only to find that I was actually right about it. The Reapers are the Angels (or, as I much less eloquently dubbed it, 'The Crappy Title Book') is one of such cases - there are so many positive reviews on it that I ordered it despite my initial suspicions. While it was not terribly bad, it was still far from being good, and I was left wondering how the hell it managed to get all those positive reviews. (Review upcoming)

Monthly report: December '10

Because it often happens that I read a book but don't review it (or I take a long time writing a review), I've decided to start posting brief monthly reports on what I read, including a sentence or two about the book if it was not reviewed. I hope you like it :)

December 2010 was a busy month for me. After I took a short break from reading in November, I had plenty of time (and books :) to read, so I didn't waste any. Books I've read in December were:

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First three books of ASOIAF (George R. R. Martin): a long overdue re-read. I was really scared that I might not enjoy these anymore - after all, it's been at least five years since I read them first (and last) - and I was thrilled to see that my worries were unnecessary. ASOIAF is still the best series out there.





Empire in Black and Gold (Adrian Tchaikovsky): didn't expect much, didn't get much. It wasn't a disappointment for me as it was for some other bloggers, but I think that was mostly so because I missed all the hype. Still, it's a decent fantasy book. (Review upcoming.)

Room (Emma Donoghue): this could be a great book if the protagonist were someone else. As it is, it's merely ok-ish, but definitely not what I expected from a Man Booker Prize finalist. (Review upcoming.)

Midsummer Night (Freda Warrington): one of the best urban fantasy books I've read lately. It's not extraordinarily good or anything, but it was a pleasant enough read that didn't get too boring or predictable.

Lavinia (Ursula Le Guin): I honestly didn't expect anything from this book, especially since I found Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness somewhat odd when I read it three years ago. Lavinia swept me off my feet. (Review upcoming.)