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. :(

The Pile - February '11

The TBR pile - we all have one and it grows faster than we can read. Mine is no exception. I thought it might be interesting to round up and present all of my recent acquisitions once a month, so ... here we go.

I'm happy to say that February was a month when I bought less books than I read. Yay me! I'm also sorry for posting this so late. I guess 'beter late than never' is becoming my new motto.





K. J. Parker: The Folding Knife

This one was on so many Best of 2010 lists that I absolutely had to buy it. I already own the first book of The Engineer trilogy, but I think I'll start with this one. Reading priority: high.

Paolo Bacigalupi: The Windup Girl

Bacigalupi's collection of short stories, Pump Six and Other Stories, has been on my wishlist for some time, but it took so long for it to get published in paperback edition that I got tired of waiting and bought The Windup Girl (which was also praised all over the Internet) instead. Of course, after I bought it, I read some negative reviews on it and found out that the Pump Six paperback has been out since October. Just my luck, I guess. Reading priority: medium.

Dennis Lehane: Shutter Island

I bought this one because I liked the movie and because I adore unreliable narrators. The only problem is that I still remember what the twist was all about, so I either have to wait until I forget it or try to enjoy the book despite knowing what it's all about. For now, I'll try waiting a bit; reading priority is therefore low.






I also bought The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell, but since I've already read it, I'll describe it in the Monthly report for February.

The Pile Special

I bet you know the feeling when you have a book on your TBR pile that seemingly everyone has read and praised, but you still haven't gotten around to reading it. I have plenty of those, and I will select and present one every month. My goal? To read it ASAP, preferably during the next month. This month's special is:

Richard Morgan: Black Man

This one has been sitting on my shelf for at least two years now. I'd read Morgan's Steel Remains and loved it, but since he is primarily known as an SF author, I wanted to read one of his SF novels as well. I choose Black Man because of all the positive reviews it got ... and never touched it again.