Saturday, March 28, 2015

Spinster by Kate Bolick

Spinster: Making a Life of One's OwnSpinster: Making a Life of One's Own by Kate Bolick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I must not have been paying very close attention when I first grabbed this book, as I thought it was a novel. I am very glad I got a copy of it though. This book really spoke to me. I've never really known if I wanted to get married or not. The idea always seemed very romantic and lovely but when you are actually in a relationship with someone, the reality of wants and needs is a stark contrast to the ideal. I've always been such an introvert and value my alone time to such a degree that I'm pretty sure that I won't ever meet anyone that I enjoy spending the majority of my time with more than being alone. This is something that most people, and society in general, don't understand could possibly be desirable for a woman. This book is a ray of hope that it might someday be not so strange and a reminder that many women have been quite happy on their own for many, many years. Women do not need to "consider the love of a man the most supreme of all social validations" and society doesn't need to believe that she should.

Spin on, sister!


This honest review is in exchange for a free ARE received from the publisher.



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Thursday, March 26, 2015

Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

Magic for Beginners: StoriesMagic for Beginners: Stories by Kelly Link

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


People are creative all the time, that doesn't necessarily make them imaginative. This little book is a mosaic of imaginativity. I can't say I enjoyed reading all these stories, sometimes they wore me out trying to keep up with them, but I admire the mind that brought them to life. I've never read anything quite like this. Neil Gaiman is a close comparison but doesn't really cover it. The irregular word pairing to describe the ordinary is worth the read on their own (my favorite: "Chihuahua coffins" to describe large, square shoes). The cover of the book creeped me out the more I had to look at it but I was happy it was finally explained in the last story.

I received a free copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads.



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As White as Snow by Salla Simukka

As White as Snow (Lumikki Andersson #2)As White as Snow by Salla Simukka

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Some characters are just shit magnets. :)
This doesn't really follow the Snow White story the way I imagined it would. The fairy tale aspect is a bit more tangential. I do really love the main character in these stories, Lumikki. She's very empowered and it's her life experiences that have made her this strong. The plot of this story is very different from the first, the location is even different, Lumikki is the only thing that ties them together. Seems like this series might have been thought out as Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for a YA audience (but it's really appropriate for YA and adults). I hope I can find a copy of book 3 somewhere but it doesn't look like it's been translated yet. These are a fast read and very enjoyable.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from Netgalley.com



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Monday, March 23, 2015

As Red as Blood (Lumikki Andersson #) by Salla Simukka

As Red as Blood (Lumikki Andersson #1)As Red as Blood by Salla Simukka

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was different from what I was expecting, in a good way. I was thinking it was going to be just another Snow White story but that was really just the hook, and it would still have been a good book without that hook. There was definitely a little Girl With the Dragon Tattoo vibe to it (that may have just struck me because of the location and the character Lisbeth was mentioned). There was a nice little mystery but it wasn't too over the top or ham-handed, it was simple and well managed. The back-story was an interesting surprise. I was imagining all kinds of different scenarios and the real one never occurred to me but made a lot of sense. This book would be good for both a YA audience and adults alike. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from Netgalley.com.



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Saturday, March 21, 2015

The Miss Mirren Mission by Jenny Holiday

The Miss Mirren MissionThe Miss Mirren Mission by Jenny Holiday

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This started out feeling a little bit like Pride & Prejudice, with two very focused characters passing judgement on one another. But as the action of the story progressed, the action progressed, and I'm fairly certain that Miss Austen would have been appalled at the thought of a peer of the realm talking about "cocks" to a young woman he was seriously courting, spy or not. Sorry, I probably should have advised you of that spoiler but you probably would have seen it coming anyway (pun alert!!). But seriously, this was a fun read. The writing is excellent and it wasn't overly smutty. I would definitely read more of this author's work.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from Netgalley.com.



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Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth

The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy TalesThe Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Most of these stories are reminiscent of fairy tales that most people will have already heard. If you are looking for something entirely new and different, this is not it. These stories are also a little blunt in the telling. It made them seem a little random. Most do not have a traditional tale followed by a moral format that I am used to. They are primarily strange stories that just end. This makes them interesting to read as an adult but I think they would be very confusing for children, if you are looking for more stories to read to kids.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from Netgalley.com.



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Sunday, March 15, 2015

Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer

Acceptance (Southern Reach, #3)Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Indulgent amount of exposition for a metaphor about the environment. (At least that's what I gathered this was supposed to be.) Lines like: "journals had piled up in the lighthouse because on some level most came, in time, to recognize the futility of language....words were such a sorrowful disappointment,so inadequate an expression of both the finite and the infinite" seem out of place in a story that takes three books to tell its tale.

I just can't believe I spend so much time reading these stories for such a conclusion. I know a lot of people really loved them but they were not for me. I did not enjoy a single moment of it. I kept waiting for it to get better but all that I was left with was a lingering sense of disappointment.

One thing that bothered me quite a bit was that the choice of character names could have been a little more subtle: Saul, Gloria, Cynthia, Severance, Control, Grace...

"Don't you get tired after a while?...Of always moving forward but never reaching the end?" Yes. Yes, I do.



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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous in Plaid by Suzanne Enoch

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous in Plaid (Scandalous Highlanders, #3)Mad, Bad, and Dangerous in Plaid by Suzanne Enoch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have to admit, I wanted to read this one because the title cracked me up. I had pretty low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. The writing was not bad at all. It follows the series formula where there is really only one plot but the other characters are fleshed out enough that you know they will all eventually get their own stories. I really would like to read the previous and following books in this series. If nothing else, I do love a good Scottish brogue. Sometimes, that's enough for a lass.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from Netgalley.com.



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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Bob's Burgers Volume 1 by Chad Brewster

Bob's Burgers Volume 1Bob's Burgers Volume 1 by Chad Brewster

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I love this show. This was a nice little fix until the next season is available streaming on netflix. The artwork is really great and the stories are funny. I really enjoyed the Letters from Linda, they were my favorite. The only problem I have with reading graphic novels on my kindle is a lot of time, the text is unreadable. I think it's a cross between the font and the size of the font that creates the problem. I tried zooming in but it was the same but just blurry. The thing I missed most in having this show in book format is the great voices. I couldn't really imagine them in my head, Gene was the most difficult to imagine.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from Netgalley.com.



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Monday, March 9, 2015

Wide-Open World by John Marshall

Wide-Open World: How Volunteering Around the Globe Changed One Family's Lives ForeverWide-Open World: How Volunteering Around the Globe Changed One Family's Lives Forever by John Marshall

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I wish I had the courage to do something like this. I've always wanted to travel the world but it always feels like there is something getting in the way. No money, no time, some other excuse. I've always wanted to travel and learn about different cultures and meet new people and see all the things you can't see without making an effort to get out the door. This book is a very good resource for people looking to travel and volunteer while doing so. The end of the book even provides an epilogue of how his family paid for their trip (I did skip reading that part). This also a nice book if you're looking for stories of personal growth and appreciation of interesting experiences (I never knew how to deal with a monkey clan before). If you like stories like Eat, Pray, Love you will enjoy this.

This review is in exchange for a free e-galley from Netgalley.com.



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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Shame and the Captives by Thomas Keneally

Shame and the Captives: A NovelShame and the Captives: A Novel by Thomas Keneally

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I think it would have been more interesting to read a non-fiction account of the events this book was based on. As a novel, this book had too many characters. There was no main character to the story, it was an ensemble. In a way this makes sense, since that's how it would have happened. But it felt like as soon as you were getting interested in one person's story, you leave them for (pretty much) the rest of the book and you meet a bunch of minor characters that are filler and don't have much bearing on the events. The storytelling was good, so it wasn't a complete loss, but it felt like the technique of relaying it was flawed. The prologue in the advanced edition (I'm not sure if it ended up in the final edition) was a bit strange as it was not about any of the characters you meet in the actual story, it was a parallel character with a different outcome from all the others. I really wanted to like this book but I was not blown away by it.


This review is in exchange for a free advance e-edition from NetGalley.com.



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