Tag Archives: book reviews

Threadbared by Kimberly Wrenn and Mary Watkins

Posted by melydia on May 26, 2011 None comments

Threadbared by Kimberly Wrenn and Mary Watkins: As a longtime fan of James Lileks’s Institute of Official Cheer, this sort of snarky commentary on vintage items looked right up my alley. And yes, it’s decently funny, but I only chuckled aloud a handful of times. The pictures range from amusing to creepy, but it just seems to be lacking something intangible. Maybe color – several of the pages made references to the (generally godawful) colors in the photos, which of course were printed in black and white, and on a few occasions made the jokes fall a little flat. It doesn’t help that the back cover copy includes quotes that don’t actually appear anywhere in the book. I suppose there may be folks who would find this uproariously funny, but to me it was just kind of meh.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

1,001 Things You Didn’t Know You Wanted to Know by Anna Mantzaris

Posted by melydia on May 25, 2011 None comments

1,001 Things You Didn’t Know You Wanted to Know by Anna Mantzaris: Most of the factoids in this book I already knew, and a fair majority of the rest were things I didn’t care if I knew, but I did indeed find a solid handful of items I didn’t know I wanted to know, so I’ll call this one a win. I like weird little trivia books. And while I was sad to learn that Crayola retired “raw umber” in 1990, I was amused to learn that both leotard and doily are named after men, and that there is no documentation of when people first started wearing hats. Sure, this isn’t the sort of book you’d want to sit down and read straight through (which, um, I guess is exactly what I did), but it’s reasonably entertaining to page through from time to time.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Relic Master #1: The Dark City by Catherine Fisher

Posted by melydia on May 19, 2011 None comments

Relic Master #1: The Dark City by Catherine Fisher: Galen is a Relicmaster and young Raffi is his apprentice, though here they are known as keeper and scholar, respectively. These two are members of The Order, an outlawed group of magic-users and collectors of Maker relics. It’s clear early on that these relics are scraps of human technology – a telescope, a wristwatch – but unlike many stories of this sort, the magic they possess is real. Galen has lost his powers and Raffi is still a novice, reminding me a bit of Aahz and Skeeve from Robert Asprin’s Myth Adventures series, though Galen is more like Dragonlance’s Raistlin Majere than Aahz. When Galen and Raffi are called to investigate a relic in a nearby compound, they embark on a grander quest than either could have imagined. Meanwhile, they are being tailed by The Watch, the military-style rulers that have taken over the land and hunt down members of The Order.

The Dark City is the first of a quartet set to be released monthly this summer – an unusual decision but I think a wise one, as the buzz for the series can hopefully be kept up in between books more easily than if they were separated by years. I don’t know that I’d describe myself as actively waiting for the next installment, but I admit to being curious about Raffi and Galen’s future adventures. Anara is a fascinating world and I would love to have another visit.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith

Posted by melydia on May 18, 2011 None comments

Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith (unabridged audiobook read by Michael Page; 3 hours on 3 discs): A sort-of retelling of the myth of Angus, Celtic god of dreams and youth and love. The chapters alternate between the story of Angus’s life and more modern vignettes that somehow incorporate Angus in various forms. Though Angus is supposedly a god of love, all the vignettes were rather sad: love lost, doubt, infidelity. I felt very disconnected from the whole thing, really. The parts about Angus’s life came across more like someone was describing the myth to me, while the other stories were so vague (and dreamy, if you’ll forgive me) that I never quite got into them. In short, this book was decent, but did not convince me to seek out other books by this same author.

A note on the audio: Page, on the other hand, was quite good. His English and Scottish accents were lovely, and his Canadian accent was even somewhat convincing. (This is high praise; I have come across very few UK actors who can speak with a convincing North American accent.)

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Borneo Tom by Tom McLaughlin

Posted by melydia on May 13, 2011 None comments

Borneo Tom by Tom McLaughlin: A former Maryland schoolteacher with an incurable neurological disease decides to live his dream and explore Southeast Asia. The story is told in a series of one-page vignettes, with cartoony sketches on the facing pages, so it goes by quickly. While I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to visit the lands Tom describes, I had a great time experiencing his adventures vicariously. His no-holds-barred description and somewhat zany sense of humor made for a fun read, and also offset the more somber passages well. I was particularly amused by his visit to the Equator, and quite moved by his optimism in the face of such poverty and ecological damage. Borneo is one of those places I haven’t read much about, so this was a real treat. I still don’t want to visit in person, but I could listen to Tom’s stories all day.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Dog Park by Ann Elwood

Posted by melydia on May 12, 2011 None comments

The Dog Park by Ann Elwood: This collection of short stories revolves around the regulars at a dog park in southern California. I will say up front that I do not own a dog and have never been to a dog park, so I cannot comment on the accuracy of the setting. However, I don’t think you really need to be a “dog person” to understand or appreciate these stories. Many of the tales are about human drama, though of course dogs play a central role in every one. One thing I noticed was how bittersweet or even downright sad most of the stories were. I even shed a few tears during “Not Just a Dog.” The plots are well-constructed and the characters believable, but don’t expect a bunch of heart-warming doggy stories. Very few have what I would consider happy endings. All, however, do have reasonably satisfying endings, and that’s all I really ask of a story. I remain interested in reading more fiction from Elwood in the future. Maybe she should release a tortoise collection next. I bet she could do that well.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

Posted by melydia on May 11, 2011 None comments

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton (unabridged audiobook read by Kimberly Alexis; 10 hours on 8 discs): This book certainly lives up to its name. Anita Blake is an animator, someone who raises folks from the dead for money (most of the time to settle posthumous court cases and inheritance disputes). As a sideline, she also assists the police with destroying vampires who murder humans. This time, however, she has been hired to figure out who is murdering vampires. I figured out who it was as soon as the killer was introduced, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. Anita is sarcastic and amusing, kick-ass but still very human. The idea of a legally recognized vampire subculture is intriguing. I don’t see myself reading the rest of the series, but this was a fun little distraction.

A note on the audio: Alexis had a good voice and cadence as Anita. I was a little puzzled by her choice of voices at times (why, for example, did Ronnie sound like she was from North Dakota?), but all in all I enjoyed her narration.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Posted by melydia on May 10, 2011 None comments

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (unabridged audiobook read by Carol Bilger; 12 hrs on 10 CDs): Most people know the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors, but do you recall that he also had a sister? Dinah is only mentioned in a single chapter of Genesis, and then only as a victim. This is her story. Though told in first person by Dinah herself, it covers the time period from her parents meeting to years after her own death. I admit I was more interested in learning about Bronze Age life than Old Testament drama, but I enjoyed the narrative as well – more or less. I never felt any sort of emotional tie to any of the characters, perhaps because Dinah herself was so fixated on motherhood as to almost be a caricature of pre-suffrage womanhood. Though I understand and accept that motherhood was the primary occupation and ambition of most women of the time, I got a little tired of the constant obsession with wombs and menstruation and pregnancy. Then again, the male characters weren’t any more developed. I was surprised by the devoted polytheism of the wives of staunchly monotheistic Jacob, though given the lack of communication between the sexes I suppose it’s not so far-fetched. I’m not sure if I’d recommend this one or not. I mean, it was okay, but not a story that will stick with me.

A note on the audio: Bilger’s pronunciation of Dinah took some getting used to: I would have said DYE-nuh, but Bilger said DEE-nuh. Her voice was so gentle that I felt like I was listening to an advertisement for prescription medication, but all in all she was fine: inoffensive and unmemorable.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Rin-Tin-Tin: The Movie Star by Ann Elwood

Posted by melydia on May 9, 2011 None comments

Rin-Tin-Tin: The Movie Star by Ann Elwood: Before reading this book, I knew basically nothing about the original Rin-Tin-Tin, a German shepherd dog who starred in a number of silent films (and few talkies) in the 1920s and 30s. This is not the Rin-Tin-Tin of the famous 1950s television series, nor the considerably less famous early 1990s television series, but rather their predecessor. From his storied (and probably false) origins in war-torn France through his death and legacy, this meticulously researched examination of the first real (canine) movie star leaves no stone unturned. I was less interested in the plots of the films than in the society in which Rin-Tin-Tin lived, this little pocket between World War I and the Great Depression. The ASPCA was just starting to gain mainstream political clout, the first talkies were released, and journalistic integrity was still evidently largely unknown. (Seriously, the number of conflicting newspaper reports cited got a bit silly after a while.) It helps that I have a weird fascination with the turn of the 20th century to begin with, but even so, I found this study of one of the most famous non-human actors in history to be surprisingly engaging. If you are a dog-lover or have an interest in early film history, consider picking this one up.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Posted by melydia on May 6, 2011 2 comments

Dune by Frank Herbert (unabridged audiobook read by Scott Brick; 26 hours on 22 discs): It took me a long time to get into this one, but that’s okay because it’s a long book. In many ways this is a political thriller that takes place on a distant planet. Paul, son of Duke Leto, is 15 when his family is transferred to the desert planet known as Arrakis. When a rival baron takes over, Paul and his mother are forced to flee into the desert, where they join with the planet natives. Politics mingle with religion, genetic engineering, prophecy, and the meticulous conservation of water to produce an intricately woven tale in a meticulously detailed world. This level of world-building is on par with Tolkien. However, the story – though unquestionably interesting – has not gripped me so thoroughly that I feel any need to read the subsequent books in the series. But I’m glad to have read this one.

A note on the audio: I’ve listened to a fair number of books narrated by Brick, and while his cadence is predictable and does pretty much no special voices for the characters, I like his performances nonetheless. I do, however, think that including the final appendix (which is basically a glossary) was not such a good idea. It would have been nice to reference while reading the rest of the book, but at the end it felt tedious, and I ended up skipping most of it. The other appendices, on the other hand, were very interesting. Herbert clearly put a lot of thought into the creation of this story’s universe.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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