christianreader | Books read in January (Reply)

Atonement - Ian McEwan, 7/10, 376p
It took me quite awhile to finish this book. A lot longer than I had expected. The book is split up into 3 parts and an epilogue. The first part was exceedingly boring and almost caused me to give up in despair. I got stubborn though, and stuck with it. And I'm glad I did, because part 2 and 3 were a lot better.

A lot of what I would have considered important plot elements got left out when the book moved from part to part, and was only alluded to later on, which made the plot somewhat disjointed, but it actually worked well. At first I felt like I was missing out on important plot points, but "what happened" is never as important as the consequences of it, and I guess this is a good way of showing that. I hated Briony at first, but came to pity her as the story moved on.

I'm not sure it's a book I'll read again, but it did end up being better than I had feared at first, even if not as good as I had expected or hoped for. I debated whether to rate it at 6 or 7, but after the first part, the story did end up grasping my attention and the ending completely through me for a loop, so I'll leave it at 7.

Ghost Girl - Torey Hayden, 7/10, 266p
I read this book in translation, which was a mistake as the translator did not do a good job. The language didn't flow properly, idioms had been directly translated and she used formal language where casual talk would have suited better. A shame, but thankfully I could see it for what it was (i.e. the fault of the translator rather than the author) and ignored it as much as possible.

Like "Beautiful Child" the story of Jadie is a haunting tale, but I wasn't quite as mesmerized by it, as I wasn't quite as certain that the conclusions Torey came to were the correct ones. The advantage of reading a non-fiction is that we get a follow-up in the epilogue... the disadvantage of reading a non-fiction is that if there is no conclusion to the story, the author can't just make one up. That was the case here, and was slightly disconcerting.

Had this been the first book I read by Torey Hayden, I wouldn't be quite as keen to read more of her work, but as it is I'm still willing to give her another chance.

Knife - R.J. Anderson, 9/10, 317p
Well, I originally bought this book because I know the author. Turned out that was a brilliant investment, because I can honestly say it's a book I would love to own no matter who had written it.

"Knife" is an alternate look on fairies from what we've seen in many recent books ("Tithe" and "Wondrous Strange" spring to mind), but - IMHO - a more 'correct' one (which makes no sense at all, I know, but bear with me). I loved being introduced to the life and society of the fairy court, and seeing the hesitant contact with humans grow into a strong friendship.

I loved it :-)

Run for Your Life - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge, 8/10, Audiobook - 7 hours
Excellent and fast-paced action book. It's read by Dallas Roberts and Bobby Cannavale with one reading the hero and the other the villian, which ends up working really well.

"Run for Your Life" is James' and Michael's second book about Mike Bennett, but can easily be read with no knowledge of the first as the plot is self-contained and any continuation must be in reoccurring characters only.

Legs - Angela Lam Turpin, 7/10, 344p
Legs is a very entertaining debut novel from Angela Lam Turpin. Authors are encouraged to "write what you know", and Angela Turpin has done just that by centring her book on the lives of two real estate agents. This is a career not often ventured into in books, making for interesting reading about a profession I knew hardly anything about. The main characters are intriguing, though I often found myself wanting to shake first one and then the other for not talking things through and not listening properly.

My only issue with the book was KK's family members, who were somewhat over-the-top, and therefore came out looking more like caricatures than real people. I hope families like that are few and far between.

That aside I greatly enjoyed the book and can highly recommend it for a day at the beach or a rainy afternoon.

Dog Whisperer: The Rescue - Nicholas Edwards, 7/10, 157p
Definitely a children's book, but quite cute. I liked the instant connection between Emily and Zack. It was as if the author couldn't quite decide on how old Emily was supposed to be though. According to the book she was still a couple of months away from turning 12, but she acted a lot older than that. Is it common for students that age to have books like "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights" on their summer reading lists?

Cute book and a quick read.

Kushiel's Dart - Jacqueline Carey, 8/10, 901p
Good book, but I'm not entirely sure that it's quite good enough to span as many pages as it did. The story could easily have been told in fewer and still be just as good.

There are many disturbing scenes in it, and people who think Wizard's First Rule went overboard in pain/torture definitely shouldn't be reading Kushiel's Dart. Most of the time it served a purpose, but not always.

I still have to give it a high rating though, because it was engagingly written, though not quite as un-put-downable as I like books of that size to be.

Though it's the first book in a trilogy, it can be read on its own. There are some threads left hanging to be picked up in the next, but the main plot is sufficiently resolved that I wasn't annoyed by being left hanging.

Marcelo in the Real World - Fransisco X. Stork, 9/10, 306p
Very beautiful story. Marcelo is the epitome of naivety and innocence that I almost hated that he had to be brought into the real world, and learn about the suffering man can bring upon man. I spent most of the book marvelling at his integrity and hoping he wouldn't sacrifice it in order to complete in "the real world."

A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass, 9/10, Audiobook, read by Danielle Ferland, 6 hours
Having no clue what to expect when I purchased this book, I was absolutely fascinated by it. I never knew that synesthesia existed in so many different forms, and that it could be so vivid for some. I have a very mild form of synesthesia myself, but A Mango-Shaped Space brought it home to me rather forcefully just how mild it is. Nothing like Mia anyway, that's for sure.

While in some ways a typical YA fiction with the friendship, family and relationship issues that entail, by far most of the book is used to describe Mia's condition and how it affects her every-day life. It's well written, and readers of all ages will find it an interesting way to learn about synesthesia.

The book was read by Danielle Ferland who did a good job of sinking into the background and letting Mia tell the story. She did voices well, even if Mia's father could sound a bit strained at times, and Mia's friend Jenna was occasionally too young-sounding. Minor details though - in general, she was a pleasure to listen to.

Jamen, bad jeg da for lidt? - Leif Andersen, 9/10, 93p
(But... Then Didn't I Pray Enough?)
Leif Andersen has a very down-to-earth way of explaining difficult topics, and this book is no exception. I do believe that God loves me personally and individually and I do believe He takes an interest in what happens to me and that prayers do make a difference - so why the apparent silence sometimes?

The answer is as straight-forward as they come - it's not that God remains silent and doesn't answer my prayers, but that He doesn't always answer them in the way I expect or would have preferred. But I can trust that they're always answered in the way that are ultimately best for me.

Interestingly and succinctly written, it's a quick read that I think will stay with me for quite awhile.

The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory, 10/10, 625p
I hardly know what to write about this book - it's absolutely fascinating and deeply disturbing at the same time. Girls were used as pawns to further the family ambition, sisters were rivals, and kings were tyrants. Anybody who's looking for a happy book should stay far away from this one where treachery, selfishness and adultery runs abundant, but for somebody interested in historical fiction it's a fascinating book and very difficult to put down.

I hated what Anne did to Mary, but even more what their parents and uncle did to both of them. No wonder their morals were so skewed with role models that could see no further than their own ambition.

An amazing book, but very uncomfortable to read - a good account of how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Farthing - Jo Walton, 7/10, 319p
I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel, with every other chapter being told by Lucy Kahn in first person and every other chapter told from the view point of Inspector Carmichael in third person. Jo Walton did an excellent job of keeping the two different styles distinct, and letting us see the plot unfold from each viewpoint.

But while I enjoyed the writing style, I'm not too sure about the plot. I've never been big on whodunit, but this had the distinct advantage of giving the reader all the same pieces of information as the inspector had, so I was able to puzzle out the clues at the same time as he was. The ending was greatly disappointing, not from a literary point of view but from a personal point of view. I didn't like that it had to end that way, but I can see how it would be necessary to keep true to the book's universe... where might makes right, and prejudices run abundant.

All in all a very interesting social realistic novel set in an alternative history. I'm glad to have read it... but not sure I'd be going out of my way to get hold of more of Walton's books.

X-posted to my own journal.