Book Report

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

 My rating system:

10 – life-changing, an all-time favorite

5 - average for what I read

1 – terrible; why did I finish it?

 

Release by Patrick Ness – A young adult novel about a gay teenager who is having a terrible day. His fundamentalist parents don’t accept him, he still pines for his ex boyfriend, his best friend is moving away, and his boss is a jerk. I enjoyed the plot, and I tried to enjoy the characters but they were all cardboard cut-outs. I was blown away by how horrible the writing was. Whether it was dialog or narration, both were dreadful; I even caught at least one grammatical error.  I’ve written fanfics that were better-written and more subtle than this! I kept reading mostly, I guess, because I wanted to see if the main character’s parents would kick him out or if he’d be ok. Grade: 2

 

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K LeGuin – A collection of essays by the renowned – and recently passed away – writer. I liked the essays; they were thoughtful, reflective, and often offered some insights. She writes about many topics – her cat, politics, women, writing, etc. I can’t say that the book was a page-turner or that it left me hungry for more, but it was solid. Grade: 6

 

Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail by Suzanne Roberts – Someday I will have to try to figure out why I love reading books by people who go on long hikes. In this case, the author and two female friends spent 28 days on the John Muir Trail, which is part of the Pacific Coast Trail. I just was glued to the page. I loved the descriptions of the nature, the people they encounter, and the way the author openly shares her own flaws and insecurities as well as the occasional struggles with her two compadres. It made me want to re-watch (and maybe re-read someday) “Wild”. Grade: 8

 

Radical Hope: Letters of Love and Dissent in Dangerous Times edited by Carolina De Robertis – This is a collection of letters written by activists, artists, and writers in the Trump-era. The editor recommends that you find what you are looking for in these pages whether it’s a balm, a rallying cry, a hand to hold, or more. The letters were excellent. I definitely gleaned a few insights and found a bit of comfort. Grade: 8


Boy Erased by Garrard Conley - Similar in theme to the first book on this report, this is a memoir by a man who was forced by his parents into "ex-gay" therapy. Conley's writing is beautiful. His story starts out very compelling; I had wondered what it's like actually going through one of those places. But the focus drifts after a while and his narrative loses cohesion, shifting from time and place; it gets confusing and tedious after a while. Grade: 5

Comments

[nytshd3]

Oh geez, what a bummer about the Patrick Ness book. I read another book of his and enjoyed it. I wonder what happened.

I've often thought about reading Ursula LeGuin books, but I think most of her books fall into the type of sci fi that I don't enjoy (sword and sorcery). This sounds like a nice way to read some of her work.

I would say I'd rather read about people hiking for 28 days than actually hiking for 28 days ;) Did I tell you my coworker's daughter was hiking the same trail that Cheryl Strayed did in Wild? I think she finished up in Sept. She did say at some point that her daughter seemed to think she was going to have some big revelations about herself while she did it, and she wasn't experiencing any of that. I was thinking about that too, I'd probably be so focused on 'omg, everything hurts, i'm tired, i'm hungry, why the fuck did i think this was a good idea??' that I probably wouldn't manage anything else. ;)

Radical hope sounds like a good thing to be reading right now.

I wonder what happened with Boy Erased? Maybe changed editors partway through? Maybe it wasn't long enough and they asked him to add more?

Thanks for sharing as always :D

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

Really, Patrick Ness has good books?? I swear this one was sloppy and poorly-written. Maybe with the books you liked he had more time to work on them?

I'm with you re: hiking one of those trails. The author of this book even said that it's really not what it's cracked up to be. That when it rains, it's beyond miserable.

Thanks for reading!

PS

[stormkeeper_lovedoris]

PS - About that Ursula K Le Guin book....I was hanging out the other day with Kris (of Kris and Donna), and we went to a local bookstore (near where she lives). We spotted the book on the shelf and she picked it up, said she wanted to read it, and said how much she loved the author's "A Wrinkle in Time". I kinda smiled because Wrinkle in Time is by Madeleine L'Engle....but I too have gotten those two authors mixed up in my head before. Not wanting to sound like a know-it-all, I didn't correct her. :)