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stormkeeper_lovedoris) wrote2013-01-26 05:20 am
stormkeeper_lovedoris) wrote2013-01-26 05:20 am
Entry tags:
Book Report
Very nice crop this time. Probably because I didn’t get far into anything that didn’t hold my interest fully. And look - three books by dudes this time!
Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier – This is one of my favorite novelists, and I was glad to see that she’s released yet another book. Most of her work has been categorized as historical fantasy but this one was at my library in a “young adult supernatural” category. The novel contained Marillier’s trademark intriguing setting and fast-moving plot but the writing itself wasn’t that great. There were lots of clichéd phrases and it almost felt like this one was pumped out too quickly. Does getting a book categorized as “YA” mean that you can take it easy with your prose? But why would an author who can write a non-YA book with solidly good prose allow this? I don’t get that. But, despite this flaw “Shadowfell” was an excellent read; it’s first in a trilogy and I can’t wait for the rest! I loved the setting that this very creative author came up with, enjoyed reading how the protagonist dealt with her obstacles, and want to see what will happen to this mythical kingdom. Grade: B+
Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford – A terrific page-turner. The author decided to do something that no one has ever done before: walk the entire length of the Amazon. Others have traversed it via water but none have walked it. The epic took two years, and this book is up there with any great travel memoir. The experiences Stafford has and the frankness with which he records them are riveting. As an aside, I took special note of a comment he wrote. Many of the indigenous people he meets automatically hate white men. Some believe that white men steal their babies and sell their organs. He writes of his experience dealing with it, and I felt that any minority group likely feels this way: “I hated being feared and became emotionally exhausted trying to prove that I was a good person in each community before people would relax and accept me.” Grade: A-
More books behind the cut!
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Kahn Rescued His Empire by J McIver Weatherford – If every history class could be as good as this audio book! I knew nothing about Genghis Khan or the Mongols other than that they were warlike, crazy philistines. J McIver Weatherford showed me that not only I was I wrong, but that Genghis Kahn was something of a feminist. History records that at his daughters’ wedding ceremonies, he spoke about how marriage needs to be an equal partnership. He recognized that none of his sons would be capable rulers, so he left parts of his kingdom to his daughters and widows. Years earlier, one of his wives conceived a baby during a time that she was held captive by an enemy, but Genghis Kahn did what was unthinkable in most of the surrounding cultures: said that the baby’s parentage made no difference to him and he would raise the baby as his own. I love the details on very day life that the book provides; I learned a lot about the Mongols and their customs. On the downside, the audio book didn’t always hold my interest and my mind wandered a bit at times. I really would’ve preferred more of a linear narrative, but the book skips from Genghis Kahn’s mother, to a sister, to his wives, daughters, and other female descendants. I couldn’t always remember who was who. Still I enjoyed this piece of history quite a bit. Grade: B
A Year Straight by Elena Azzoni – Such trash! And yet it simultaneously didn’t feel trashy at all. In this memoir, Azzoni tells about her experience during a year she spent dating men. Although she’s a lesbian – and has even won a “Mis Lez” beauty pageant! – she starts feeling crushes on guys and decides to act on them. Her writing was breezy and she kept the memoir from ever getting near boredom. Azzoni makes one feel that life would be filled with fun and excitement for the young and beautiful living in NYC. Such well-written guilty pleasure! Grade: B-
Oddly Normal by John Schwartz – This memoir is about a father’s experience trying to help his gay son. Schwartz’s son came out at an early age, and also experienced several behavioral problems. His parents are loving and accepting, but they find that dealing with the school administration and teachers (at a well-regarded/highly ranked public school in New York) to be extremely challenging. The saga of their dealing with the teachers and trying to understand the son made for quite interesting reading. Schwartz doesn’t claim that his experience will apply to every parent of an LGBT child, but he does say that he’s always learned a lot from hearing of others’ experiences. I agree. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
A few novels and one memoir that aren’t worth mentioning.
Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier – This is one of my favorite novelists, and I was glad to see that she’s released yet another book. Most of her work has been categorized as historical fantasy but this one was at my library in a “young adult supernatural” category. The novel contained Marillier’s trademark intriguing setting and fast-moving plot but the writing itself wasn’t that great. There were lots of clichéd phrases and it almost felt like this one was pumped out too quickly. Does getting a book categorized as “YA” mean that you can take it easy with your prose? But why would an author who can write a non-YA book with solidly good prose allow this? I don’t get that. But, despite this flaw “Shadowfell” was an excellent read; it’s first in a trilogy and I can’t wait for the rest! I loved the setting that this very creative author came up with, enjoyed reading how the protagonist dealt with her obstacles, and want to see what will happen to this mythical kingdom. Grade: B+
Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford – A terrific page-turner. The author decided to do something that no one has ever done before: walk the entire length of the Amazon. Others have traversed it via water but none have walked it. The epic took two years, and this book is up there with any great travel memoir. The experiences Stafford has and the frankness with which he records them are riveting. As an aside, I took special note of a comment he wrote. Many of the indigenous people he meets automatically hate white men. Some believe that white men steal their babies and sell their organs. He writes of his experience dealing with it, and I felt that any minority group likely feels this way: “I hated being feared and became emotionally exhausted trying to prove that I was a good person in each community before people would relax and accept me.” Grade: A-
More books behind the cut!
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Kahn Rescued His Empire by J McIver Weatherford – If every history class could be as good as this audio book! I knew nothing about Genghis Khan or the Mongols other than that they were warlike, crazy philistines. J McIver Weatherford showed me that not only I was I wrong, but that Genghis Kahn was something of a feminist. History records that at his daughters’ wedding ceremonies, he spoke about how marriage needs to be an equal partnership. He recognized that none of his sons would be capable rulers, so he left parts of his kingdom to his daughters and widows. Years earlier, one of his wives conceived a baby during a time that she was held captive by an enemy, but Genghis Kahn did what was unthinkable in most of the surrounding cultures: said that the baby’s parentage made no difference to him and he would raise the baby as his own. I love the details on very day life that the book provides; I learned a lot about the Mongols and their customs. On the downside, the audio book didn’t always hold my interest and my mind wandered a bit at times. I really would’ve preferred more of a linear narrative, but the book skips from Genghis Kahn’s mother, to a sister, to his wives, daughters, and other female descendants. I couldn’t always remember who was who. Still I enjoyed this piece of history quite a bit. Grade: B
A Year Straight by Elena Azzoni – Such trash! And yet it simultaneously didn’t feel trashy at all. In this memoir, Azzoni tells about her experience during a year she spent dating men. Although she’s a lesbian – and has even won a “Mis Lez” beauty pageant! – she starts feeling crushes on guys and decides to act on them. Her writing was breezy and she kept the memoir from ever getting near boredom. Azzoni makes one feel that life would be filled with fun and excitement for the young and beautiful living in NYC. Such well-written guilty pleasure! Grade: B-
Oddly Normal by John Schwartz – This memoir is about a father’s experience trying to help his gay son. Schwartz’s son came out at an early age, and also experienced several behavioral problems. His parents are loving and accepting, but they find that dealing with the school administration and teachers (at a well-regarded/highly ranked public school in New York) to be extremely challenging. The saga of their dealing with the teachers and trying to understand the son made for quite interesting reading. Schwartz doesn’t claim that his experience will apply to every parent of an LGBT child, but he does say that he’s always learned a lot from hearing of others’ experiences. I agree. Grade: B
Books I started reading but didn’t finish:
A few novels and one memoir that aren’t worth mentioning.
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It really doesn't, but for some reason a lot of people who don't read/write YA that often assume it does. There's a different voice and tone to consider, but yeah--that's rubbish. I feel like I've passed by this book recently--I might have to check it out. I've read only two Juliet Marillier novels, one I liked and one I didn't, but I'm curious about the YA one now.
Walking the Amazon sounds intriguing--I really liked Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, which is probably the only travelogue I've ever read, but that sounds like a completely unique experience.
Although she’s a lesbian – and has even won a “Mis Lez” beauty pageant! – she starts feeling crushes on guys and decides to act on them.
*glaaaaaare* BISEXUALS EXIST, WE FUCKING EXIST!!!! Sorry, I generally don't like second-guessing someone else's orientation, but SERIOUSLY, COME ON!!!!! It's not like the "B" and "T" in LGBT don't get completely ignored everywhere ELSE in literature. I'm really, really, REALLY tired of that "I was gay, but then I was straight, and now I'm gay again" or some other reversal thereof mindset. REALLY tired of it.
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I loved A Walk in the Woods too. Ed Stafford isn't as
funny as Bryson though.
Can you remind me, which Juliet Marillier book you loved and which one you didn't?
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