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Kiwiria's January Jaunts
Feb. 1st, 2021 09:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kiwiriaApple Tree Yard - Louise Doughty, 3/5, Audiobook ~14hrs
I'm having a hard time deciding what I think of this book. It was well-written, and extremely well narrated by Juliet Stevenson and while I never really got to care for the main character - I don't actually think you were supposed to...
And therein lies the rub, I guess. I WANT to be able to care for the main characters in whatever book I'm reading - otherwise what's the point? But I found it really hard to relate to Yvonne, and spent most of the time more curious about the court case, than about the flashbacks showing how she got there in the first place.
The book was never boring though, and there were a few times where I got furious on her behalf. This book should definitely come with a trigger warning for rape and the victim shaming that may come with it. Elaborating on that point would be a spoiler however, so I'll just leave it at that.
Indigo - Audrey Faye, 3.5/5, 167 pages
A 3.5 star review. Rounded up on Goodreads because of the innate charm of Audrey Faye's books. This is not her best, but it's still definitely worth reading.
I loved the characters and I loved the story. I'm a sucker for small towns where everybody gets into everybody's business, and Indigo certainly didn't disappoint in that regard. I loved the quirkiness of a mothering ghost and an artist on skateboard.
What detracted a few stars for me was the huge role astrology played in the characterization of Indigo. It seemed overdone, and turned her into somebody who would probably be more than a little "too much" in real life - actually regardless of whether or not you put any stock into it yourself. Fortunately, she redeemed herself near the end, and I loved her and Drew together.
And hopefully the focus will change in the later books, where Indigo's no longer the main character.
Blue - Audrey Faye, 4/5, 158 pages
A lot better than the first one. I loved seeing Blue and Grim together, and read most of it with a huge smile on my face. Just goes to show that I'd much rather read about carpentry and clay throwing than chart reading any day of the week ;-) And the characters are charming as always. Can't wait for the last book in the series now!
Ready Player Two - Ernest Cline, 4/5, Audiobook ~14hrs
Surprisingly enough, I think I actually preferred this one to the first one. I thought part of the first one dragged, but didn't have the same problem with this one at all! Of course, that might also have been because I listened to this as an audiobook, and as always, Wil Wheaton did a brilliant job narrating it!
I will have to agree with the people who complain that it follows the exact same formula as the first one (that's never stopped anybody before though - "Catching Fire", I'm looking at you!), but I appreciated that the High Five immediately banded together again, and listened to each others' strengths depending on the world in question. It's really difficult to review this book without spoiling it though, so will leave it at that I thought it brought some interesting ethical issues to light.
However, at the end of the day it was very obviously a sequel written to appease the fans, and I hope that Ernest Cline will let the world rest here.
The Executioner - Chris Carter, 4/5, 381 pages
Ridiculously readable. The chapters are extremely short (which can sometimes annoy me, but works okay here), which means that it's really easy to read "just one more". My main issues with the book is that the main character is quite obviously based on the author himself (and somewhat subject to wish fulfilment... but not quite bad enough for me to label him a Gary Stu) and that the violence does get VERY graphic - TOO graphic at times. I'm not squeamish when it comes to the written word, but there were more than a few sections I read with a constant wince on my face.
Both minor issues though (for me - the graphic violence could definitely be a dealbreaker for others), and I breezed through the book, and could easily see myself reading more in this series.
The 52 Week Project - Lauren Keenan, 4/5, 272 pages
Disclaimer: I know the author, and am in fact mentioned in this book on enough occasions to make me awfully chuffed :-D
With that bias clearly stated, I really enjoyed the book. It was right up my aisle along with other inspirational memoirs like "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin and "Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come" by Jessican Pan - I especially found a LOT of similarities between this and "The Happiness Project".
I love the idea of trying out 52 new things in a year, and remember the brainstorming that happened on FB when Lauren first asked the question. I was thrilled to see how many of the suggestions came to pass and that it was an awesome mix of adrenaline rushes (both of the shark and of the putting-oneself-out-there variety), self-help/self-care, relationship-building and just plain fun!
All in all I found it extremely relatable (another person who's gone from talking on the phone for hours on end, to feeling like an intruder whenever I want to call "just to chat"!!! Somebody who PUT INTO WORDS what's so amazing about an old friend!!) and extremely inspirational. Which 52 new things would I be brave enough to try?
(And for personal reasons, I loved the epilogue :-D ).
The Midnight Library - Matt Haig, 4/5, 304 pages
Interesting premise and a very quick read. Very predictable ending, but as I really enjoyed the journey to get there, that didn't bother me at all. I was occasionally worried that the book would end up taking a turn for the very depressing, but fortunately that never happened, and I rather liked the small vignettes we got to see of Nora's various lives... although it must have been exceedingly weird to enter a new life with absolutely no memory of the events it took her to get there!! Good thing google's a thing ;-)
It did get me thinking - which alternative lives would I want to 'read' myself?
Green Dust - Sara Blædel*, 4/5, 355 pages
Quite an interesting read, especially since it describes the life of a Danish police officer quite thoroughly and, according to a friend of mine who works for the police, rather accurately.
Quite amusing to read this after having gotten addicted to CSI and discovering how many things are much the same (like AFIS) and how many absolutely aren't (CSI are playing a bit fast and loose with how long it takes to get results from a DNA test).
I did think the friendship between Louise and Camilla was a bit more tell than show in this book unfortunately. It wasn't always entirely obvious why they were friends, but if I recall correctly this improves in the later books.
Books read: 10
I'm having a hard time deciding what I think of this book. It was well-written, and extremely well narrated by Juliet Stevenson and while I never really got to care for the main character - I don't actually think you were supposed to...
And therein lies the rub, I guess. I WANT to be able to care for the main characters in whatever book I'm reading - otherwise what's the point? But I found it really hard to relate to Yvonne, and spent most of the time more curious about the court case, than about the flashbacks showing how she got there in the first place.
The book was never boring though, and there were a few times where I got furious on her behalf. This book should definitely come with a trigger warning for rape and the victim shaming that may come with it. Elaborating on that point would be a spoiler however, so I'll just leave it at that.
Indigo - Audrey Faye, 3.5/5, 167 pages
A 3.5 star review. Rounded up on Goodreads because of the innate charm of Audrey Faye's books. This is not her best, but it's still definitely worth reading.
I loved the characters and I loved the story. I'm a sucker for small towns where everybody gets into everybody's business, and Indigo certainly didn't disappoint in that regard. I loved the quirkiness of a mothering ghost and an artist on skateboard.
What detracted a few stars for me was the huge role astrology played in the characterization of Indigo. It seemed overdone, and turned her into somebody who would probably be more than a little "too much" in real life - actually regardless of whether or not you put any stock into it yourself. Fortunately, she redeemed herself near the end, and I loved her and Drew together.
And hopefully the focus will change in the later books, where Indigo's no longer the main character.
Blue - Audrey Faye, 4/5, 158 pages
A lot better than the first one. I loved seeing Blue and Grim together, and read most of it with a huge smile on my face. Just goes to show that I'd much rather read about carpentry and clay throwing than chart reading any day of the week ;-) And the characters are charming as always. Can't wait for the last book in the series now!
Ready Player Two - Ernest Cline, 4/5, Audiobook ~14hrs
Surprisingly enough, I think I actually preferred this one to the first one. I thought part of the first one dragged, but didn't have the same problem with this one at all! Of course, that might also have been because I listened to this as an audiobook, and as always, Wil Wheaton did a brilliant job narrating it!
I will have to agree with the people who complain that it follows the exact same formula as the first one (that's never stopped anybody before though - "Catching Fire", I'm looking at you!), but I appreciated that the High Five immediately banded together again, and listened to each others' strengths depending on the world in question. It's really difficult to review this book without spoiling it though, so will leave it at that I thought it brought some interesting ethical issues to light.
However, at the end of the day it was very obviously a sequel written to appease the fans, and I hope that Ernest Cline will let the world rest here.
The Executioner - Chris Carter, 4/5, 381 pages
Ridiculously readable. The chapters are extremely short (which can sometimes annoy me, but works okay here), which means that it's really easy to read "just one more". My main issues with the book is that the main character is quite obviously based on the author himself (and somewhat subject to wish fulfilment... but not quite bad enough for me to label him a Gary Stu) and that the violence does get VERY graphic - TOO graphic at times. I'm not squeamish when it comes to the written word, but there were more than a few sections I read with a constant wince on my face.
Both minor issues though (for me - the graphic violence could definitely be a dealbreaker for others), and I breezed through the book, and could easily see myself reading more in this series.
The 52 Week Project - Lauren Keenan, 4/5, 272 pages
Disclaimer: I know the author, and am in fact mentioned in this book on enough occasions to make me awfully chuffed :-D
With that bias clearly stated, I really enjoyed the book. It was right up my aisle along with other inspirational memoirs like "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin and "Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come" by Jessican Pan - I especially found a LOT of similarities between this and "The Happiness Project".
I love the idea of trying out 52 new things in a year, and remember the brainstorming that happened on FB when Lauren first asked the question. I was thrilled to see how many of the suggestions came to pass and that it was an awesome mix of adrenaline rushes (both of the shark and of the putting-oneself-out-there variety), self-help/self-care, relationship-building and just plain fun!
All in all I found it extremely relatable (another person who's gone from talking on the phone for hours on end, to feeling like an intruder whenever I want to call "just to chat"!!! Somebody who PUT INTO WORDS what's so amazing about an old friend!!) and extremely inspirational. Which 52 new things would I be brave enough to try?
(And for personal reasons, I loved the epilogue :-D ).
The Midnight Library - Matt Haig, 4/5, 304 pages
Interesting premise and a very quick read. Very predictable ending, but as I really enjoyed the journey to get there, that didn't bother me at all. I was occasionally worried that the book would end up taking a turn for the very depressing, but fortunately that never happened, and I rather liked the small vignettes we got to see of Nora's various lives... although it must have been exceedingly weird to enter a new life with absolutely no memory of the events it took her to get there!! Good thing google's a thing ;-)
It did get me thinking - which alternative lives would I want to 'read' myself?
Green Dust - Sara Blædel*, 4/5, 355 pages
Quite an interesting read, especially since it describes the life of a Danish police officer quite thoroughly and, according to a friend of mine who works for the police, rather accurately.
Quite amusing to read this after having gotten addicted to CSI and discovering how many things are much the same (like AFIS) and how many absolutely aren't (CSI are playing a bit fast and loose with how long it takes to get results from a DNA test).
I did think the friendship between Louise and Camilla was a bit more tell than show in this book unfortunately. It wasn't always entirely obvious why they were friends, but if I recall correctly this improves in the later books.
Books read: 10
