christianreader | Kiwiria's January Jaunts

The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry - Gabrielle Zevin, 5/5, 243 pages
I love it when the first new book of the year is a clear five star book. Always makes me think it's a good omen for my reading year ;)

"The Collected Works of A. J. Fikry" (also published as "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry") is a lovely unassuming book. The plot hardly matters at all - what's important is the various characters and their interactions. It's probably much too slow-moving for some people, but it was just right for a cozy winter read, and stands a good chance of being an instant favourite.

I especially loved all the bookish details throughout, and the small descriptions A.J. wrote about some of his favourite short stories.

It is not a literary masterpiece, but it is a solid comfort read, and I have a feeling I will love it for it.

Kvinden de meldte savnet - Sara Blædel, 4/5, 315 pages
(The Woman Reported Missing)
It's always good to be back together with Louise, Camilla and the others :) This wasn't the most suspenseful book in the series, as for once the more personal aspects of the series took center stage. This might disappoint some, but I was happy to get to go "behind the scene" so to speak, and learn more about Louise and Eik's personal lives.

I guessed some of the twists relatively early on, but that in no way subtracted from my general enjoyment of the book. Plus, it made me think, which is always a good thing.

And All the Stars - Andrea K. Höst*, 4/5, 247 pages
"Tomorrow, When the War Began" (John Marsden) meets "The Host" (Stephenie Meyer) - two of my favourite novels with regards to both atmosphere and plot. What I assumed at first would be a fairly straight-forward science fiction novel, threw me with its twists and turns and managed to surprise me more than once.

Reread in 2015: Didn't blow me quite as far away on my second read-through, but I guess that stands to reason, since I now knew what would happen. Still an enjoyable read though :)

So Much To Tell You - John Marsden*, 4/5, Audiobook ~4hrs
I didn't recognize the blurb about the book, but hadn't gotten very far into it before I discovered that I'd actually read this one ages go, and had just forgotten pretty much everything about it! Never mind, it was still as satisfying a read as I had expected, even though I have the same issue with it now, as when I first read it 20'ish years ago -- it's much too short! But if I recall correctly, that's my problem with many of John Marsden's books - I want to know what happens next, after the final line.

The book itself is pretty traditional YA, but I'd gotten hold of an audio version of it (from audible.co.uk) narrated by Kate Hosking, who has the most amazing Australian accent, and made the book a delight to listen to. Very fitting to have an Australian narrator for an Australian book, but it was an extra touch I hadn't expected, and which just added to the charm for me. In fact, I ended up finishing the book in just one day, breaking up the listening to just two sittings.

I had no idea it was the first in a series though, and will have to see if I can get hold of the others.

Cupid is a Procrastinator - Kate Hurley, 4/5, 240 pages
I was surprised by how much I liked this book, and especially by how relateable I found it. As an "old married woman" one could perhaps claim that I am not the intended target audience of this book, but even so I discovered that Kate Hurley had words of wisdom for me as well, and I found myself highlighting passages all over the place.

Because in the end, Kate Hurley's book is about "hope deferred" (Proverbs 13:12). For Kate Hurley, Cupid turned out to be a procrastinator. Others may be waiting on the stork, better health, a house, a job or any other milestone event. The "hopes" are different, but the way we can chose to respond and react really isn't, in the end.

"Cupid is a Procrastinator" is a refreshingly honest take on the issue of singleness, that doesn't offer platitudes ("Just wait! It'll happen when you least expect it!") but dares broach the subject of what to do if it never happens, and how to live a fulfilling life, even with a "hope deferred".

Bird Box - John Malerman, 1.5/5, Audiobook ~8hrs
Just 1.5 stars. I didn't dislike it, but I'm not sure I would even go as far as to say it was okay.

I had a lot of problems with this book. The premise sounded fascinating - somewhat similar to M. Night Shyamalan's movie "The Happening". In retrospect that should have given me pause, as I didn't care much for that movie either. I guess the best thing I can say about the book is that at least it's not that bad.

The book jumps back and forth in time. That doesn't usually bother me, but here it seemed as if the entire book was a prologue, and that the plot itself - you know, the part where all the questions are answered? - didn't even get started until the last 10 minutes... after which it ended without answering any questions whatsoever.

It seemed as if Josh Malerman found an interesting writing prompt ("Imagine that you have to live your life blindfolded") and then just went with it, without putting too much thought into the explanation of WHY the characters had to live their lives blindfolded - not the deeper reason, anyway. I don't mind unanswered questions in books, but I do mind it when the main premise itself is left a mystery.

I 'read' this as an audiobook (narrated by Katharine Mangold - not the best narrator ever, but not the worst either), which may have swayed my opinion slightly to the negative. I might not have gotten as frustrated by it, if I hadn't wasted as much time on it.

The Martian - Andy Weir, 5+/5, 384 pages
It doesn't happen often that I find a book that leaves me speechless. But when I do, that book automatically becomes an instant favourite.

"The Martian" had me hooked from the very beginning. I couldn't put it down, and stayed up far too late last night to finish it. I was instantly drawn to Mark's plight and was fascinated to read how he solved the various obstacles and kept himself sane under the circumstances.

I don't know how scientifically accurate it is, but there were no glaring holes big enough for me to see. Besides, it kept true to its own universe, and to me that's more important.

The plot had me at the edge of my seat, and though I could almost guess the outcome from the start, the end still brought a lump to my throat - that's how emotionally attached I got. Amazing writing all around!

As I was reading the book, I kept telling my husband "This would make a GREAT movie! They have to turn it into a movie!". Lo and behold - they have. With Matt Damon as the main character, unfortunately. But you can't have everything. Either way, I am definitely going to go see it!

NOS4R2 - Joe Hill, 2/5, Audiobook ~20hrs
Not a bad book, but it took me forever to read because I just couldn't get caught up in the story. It may have been a mistake to "read" this as an audiobook (despite it having an excellent narrator! Kate Mulgrew - no complaints there). So a rating of 2 stars, because I didn't dislike it, it was just only okay. I think I might have liked it more if it had been slightly shorter, which again may show that I should have read it as a physical book instead.

I liked Vic well enough, but never really came to care about any of the other characters (except perhaps Maggie). They seemed too 2-dimensional to serve any real purpose other than being supporting characters.

And really - for a horror book, this novel was really awfully tame.

... I know this review is very critical, and doesn't really make it seem like it should even have two stars, but despite everything it did keep me nicely entertained most of the time, and while I'd procrastinate occasionally and prioritize podcasts higher, I never actually considered giving up on it. So it did have that going for it :)

The Running Man - Stephen King, 2.5/5, 239 pages
Pretty run-of-the-mill action novel. I was neither impressed nor disappointed by it. But it's not a book I expect will stay with me for very long, nor one that I think I will reread.

I am slightly curious to rewatch the movie now, because as far as I remember it, it has very little to do with the plot of the novel, other than the very basic premise and that the main character holds the same name.

I will say in its favour though, that I had not seen the end coming, but it seemed rather fitting... even if slightly futile.

172 Hours on the Moon - Johan Harstad, 3/5, 368 pages
You definitely have to suspend your disbelief in order to read this book. Three teenagers are given the opportunity to go on an expedition to the moon. Why? Simply to ensure that there's enough interest in the mission that NASA is certain of the funding.

Yeah, right.

But the reason for the mission is never fully explained - even in hindsight. And certainly not in a way that justifies bringing three kids along.

And that is just the beginning of the MANY questions that are left unanswered. Such as:
- What was in Sander's letter?
- What happened to Simone?
- Who on earth was responsible for the log?
- What is Priority DP7?

... and that's just the ones I can mention without including any spoilers!

The book was billed as horror, but while I certainly agree that parts of it were creepy as anything, as a whole it was entirely too unrealistic to be all that spooky. And due to the many unanswered questions (see above) I was left with a feeling of frustration rather than suspense. But it certainly tried really hard (too hard, perhaps?), and I have a feeling that if I was less annoyed with threads left hanging and open endings, I might have gotten more caught up in the creepiness of the novel.

Book of the Month: The Martian - without a doubt!
Biggest Disappointment Bird Box