The Secret History of the Mongol Queens by Jack Weatherford. I downloaded this to my phone, and I tried really hard to listen to the whole thing. I have no idea how far through it I am, but my checkout expired. :( Unsurprisingly for a work of history, there a whole bunch of people and, unsurprisingly for me, I'm having trouble keeping track of them. Instead of taking away specific facts, I think I'm getting a good idea for the feel of the period.
Justinian's Flea by William Rosen. I downloaded this onto my phone ages ago and didn't get very far. It appears that, despite good intentions and in spite of the awesomeness of the book, I am not a finishing-audiobooks sort of person.
Codex Born by Jim C. Hines. This was not as good as the first one, but still good. I have nothing further to elaborate on at this time.
Albert Nobbs, with Glenn Close. I recently had a long weekend where the boys were out of the house and I read books all days long until it got dark, whereupon I switched to knitting and watching movies. Netflix suggested this movie for me, and I enjoyed it well enough.
I always thought of Glenn Close as being really tall, but I guess not. I've also not seen her in very many things.
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. This sounds good, but I can't handle the writing: no quotation marks, fragments everywhere, improper punctuation left and right. I spend too much time trying to decipher what's going on that I can't enjoy the story.
I always thought of Glenn Close as being really tall, but I guess not. I've also not seen her in very many things.
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. This sounds good, but I can't handle the writing: no quotation marks, fragments everywhere, improper punctuation left and right. I spend too much time trying to decipher what's going on that I can't enjoy the story.
Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies by Sloane Miller. I made it to page 47. I was hoping for something a little bit more memoir-ish, less "don't let peer pressure make you make bad food-allergy choices."
The Husband List by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly. This book was very surprising. Unlike Love in a Nutshell, I didn't really feel the Evanovich flavor so much in the story. I wonder how much she contributed on this one.
This is a historical romance, and really has the feel of what you'd find in a mass market paperback: spunky heroine, two people who won't communicate or admit their feelings... The only reason it's been released in hardback is because of the author(s).
This is a historical romance, and really has the feel of what you'd find in a mass market paperback: spunky heroine, two people who won't communicate or admit their feelings... The only reason it's been released in hardback is because of the author(s).
Crashers by Dana Haynes. This book is a fried egg chili chutney sandwich: all the ingredients are wrong. At least a dozen characters: wrong. Physical descriptions of each character upon introduction: wrong. (Further physical description if a character has changed their clothes: wrong.) Entirely plot-drive: wrong. Not getting to really know the characters: wrong. Everything about this book was wrong, and also I couldn't put it down.
Plain Language by Barbara Wright. I keep trying to read this and never getting more than a few pages in. I feel like it's a good book for another time, but apparently all my times have been wrong. However, I never feel like this is the book's fault.
The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai by Barbara Lazar. The day-to-day part of this story was excellent. I really enjoyed the main (and main-ish) characters, and the level of historical detail in the story. The only not-as-well-done part of the book is the part about the Genpei War; there was not nearly enough information, and it wasn't conveyed very well. This left me pretty lost, which is a shame, since this was the last third of the book. The two- and three-starred reviews on Amazon are very accurate.
Also, some excitement: I have won a VIP pass to BEA this coming year from the awesome people at Unshelved. I have never been to BEA, or to New York at all, so it's kind of a big deal. (Too bad we're not still in Indiana where New York was rather convenient driving distance!)
The Pillow Book of the Flower Samurai by Barbara Lazar. The day-to-day part of this story was excellent. I really enjoyed the main (and main-ish) characters, and the level of historical detail in the story. The only not-as-well-done part of the book is the part about the Genpei War; there was not nearly enough information, and it wasn't conveyed very well. This left me pretty lost, which is a shame, since this was the last third of the book. The two- and three-starred reviews on Amazon are very accurate.
Also, some excitement: I have won a VIP pass to BEA this coming year from the awesome people at Unshelved. I have never been to BEA, or to New York at all, so it's kind of a big deal. (Too bad we're not still in Indiana where New York was rather convenient driving distance!)
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