shame on me

my to-do list has gotten a little out of control. Let's knock out a few.  I can do it.

The evolution man: Or, how I ate my father by Roy Lewis.  I'm not sure what this was supposed to be. I skimmed a review, which I no longer remember, that gave me high hopes. Unfortunately, the edition from my library is exclusively the story-- no preface, no notes, no commentary from anyone that could give this short story some context. The book's descriptions focus on the satire, but maybe that hasn't been carried forward very well (or maybe I just don't get the jokes). I see that this isn't meant to be historical fiction, but I was somehow under the impression that this made an important mark in early sci-fi. I guess I don't see how.

The demon duke by Margaret Locke.  I enjoyed this so much I've suggested it to some coworkers. I'm anxiously awaiting more books by this author.

The main characters are likable, although the female lead is drawn in a little less depth; I wanted from and for her. Some reviewers complained about anachronism, but nothing jumped out at me particularly. There was an overabundance of references to the author's first series, to which this is related but on which this is not dependent. The frequent references were merely annoying. And looking at the descriptions for those first three books, I can't imagine that they read anything like the same-- paranormal story lines that function like a cross between time travel and parallel universes. I'll stick with the author's new material only.

Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package by Kate DiCamillo.  I checked this in at work and got a bit excited about it. I didn't realize at the time that it was part of a separate series, but they definitely don't need to be read in order, or together at all.

Mercy and the Watsons make some appearances. It's a sweet enough story, although, to be honest, I'm not sure what the point is. I can understand book 3 being about Baby Lincoln-- she's a nice character in the Mercy Watson original series and young readers might be understandably curious about her. But Eugenia wasn't written to be endearing. The writing also feels like there is supposed to be a lesson or moral inside, but it's a little unfocused. I guess it's most appropriate for readers who love Mercy Watson and refuse all others? Although the lack of hot buttered toast was a major loss.

The fat kitchen: How to render, cure, and cook with lard, tallow, and poultry fat by Andrea Chesman.  The recipes make sense, the information seems good, and the instructions are easy to follow. However, this doesn't seem like something the average person could implement. The author talks a few times about how lard or animal fats bought ready-made are of poor quality and it's best to make it at home. While it doesn't seem particularly difficult, it would be very challenging in terms of both space and time. Plus, the amount of finished product seems pretty small compared to the original material and time investment. Most useful for people with lots of time on their hands.

A is for alibi by Sue Grafton.  I picked this up-- and finished it-- because of it's pub date; one of my challenges for the year is to read a book published the year I was born. And may I say, I've aged so much better than this novel.

I was really surprised at how clunky and coarse the writing was. When my mom got sick, she started following a few book series and this was one of them, picked up in the late '90s.

The dialogue didn't sound natural, and the eventual conclusion seemed unbelievable. I agree with other people's reviews re: pacing (slow), suspense (poor), and character (wooden, an "independent working woman" with no depth). Too bad I didn't read through those one-stars before committing.

A curious beginning by Deanna Raybourn.  The male main character has an interesting backstory and is someone I would like to read more about, but the female main character was less likable. I tend to have trouble with characters who purposefully stand out from the crowd. Being on the margins of social convention is ok, but being purposefully antagonistic is only going to get you in trouble.

Not action-y enough to be a plot-driven book, but too much running through the countryside to feel like a character-driven story. Obviously a set-up for a series, but one I'm not interested in following.

After the wedding by Courtney Milan.  I didn't notice until after finishing that this is apparently number two in a series; it didn't feel like I was missing any information, so this can certainly be read alone. I was just looking for something light to distract me on the plane a few weeks ago.

I'm not sure how historically accurate this may be, although I'm sure that's not the point. The male main character was a little annoying in his hopefulness: it felt at times like he was willfully deceiving himself. The female main character was a little bit too Pollyanna; her outlook didn't seem sustainable. But still a sweet enough story with a predictably happy ending.

Masks of the martyrs by Jack L. Chalker.  I have relived this author and now I can be done. This series was an important one in my formation as a sci-fi reader, because it was the first giant-universe, far-future story I found. It opened up the galaxy for me. But dang this guy is a sex-obsessed pig. As characters are changed into other alien races, half of them change gender and struggle with that. All of them have different bodies and body types (obviously), but few attributes are described in as much detail as the secondary sexual characteristics. I must have skipped most of that junk as a young(er) reader, because I didn't remember how pervasive it is.

The writing is clunky, switching randomly from folksy, trying-to-sound-like-"real"-people to falling back on something that sounds sometimes like formal language and sometimes like high(ish) fantasy stereotypes. Although there are dozens of characters, none, even the most crucial, have unique voices. And while I recognize that the computer in the big space ship is a sentient AI and practically a person, I refuse to believe an AI would use exclamation points, and certainly not multiples. Space ship cores can't save your life and fly through the battle if they're freaking out all over the place.

Glad I reread them, and even more glad that I'm done.

The soul of an octopus: A surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness, by Sy Montgomery.  A coworker suggested the audio version of this. The author does a great job narrating and the story is so interesting but sweet. I don't think I ever experienced the revulsion toward octopodes that the author describes in the early part of the book-- I've never seen one in the wild but they are a pretty cool thing around here along the West Coast-- but I never would have thought of them as quite so friendly. I'd heard a lot about this book over the years, and it's definitely worth the hype.