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Gaiman, Neil. Stardust. Another fine Gaiman fantasy, but compelling in its simple and literal nature. I really enjoyed it, laughed out loud several times, and find it quotable. It's a very quick read but a lot of fun. |
paperback
200601 |
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Hawking, Stephen. The Illustrated a Brief History of Time. This book is a whole lot easier to read the second time through because I was unencumbered by the math. Hawking is arrogant and occasionally borders on rude, but hey, he's Stephen Hawking. He's successfully able to express complex and controversial thoughts to amateurs, and he's able to throw in a few anecdotes along the way (some at the expense of his rivals). It doesn't matter if string theory isn't your cuppa, this book makes understanding the cosmos a little easier. |
hardcover
200602 |
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Cohn, Meryl. "Do What I Say": Ms. Behavior's Guide to Gay and Lesbian Etiquette. Laugh out loud funny from beginning to end. It should also be on the required reading list at all post-secondary institutions. Brilliant relationship insights presented in a straight-forward how-to fashion, with many pop culture references and personal anecdotes. Read it. |
paperback
200603 |
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BBC Cult website. Cult Vampire Magazine. It was great fun! Six tales from various authors and it includes a Doctor Who fic, a Ghosts of Albion story, and, my personal favourite, a play. There's nothing terrifying or untoward, just six vampiric shorts brought to you by the BBC. Enjoy! |
online
200603 |
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Proux, Annie. Brokeback Mountain. Tightly written. There is so much story packed into each sentence that I had to reread each paragraph just to keep up. A great story and tremendously well done. Recommended. |
PDF
200604 |
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Frost, Scott. The Autobiography of F.B.I. Special Agent Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes. It brings Twin Peaks rushing back so well you can almost hear the jazz in the background. It's funny, it's odd, and it's got that murky eerie feeling to it just enough. I liked it. |
paperback
200605 |
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Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn. A YA book of adventure with all of the standard elements including friendship, love, discovery, and an underprivileged boy saving the day. All with far too much detailed description. Probably a very exciting adventure on the high seas tale for youth but I found it somewhat tired and definitely verbose. |
paperback
200606 |
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Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game. I liked the detailed setup, I liked the lack of introduction to many of the characters, I enjoyed figuring things out along the way. It took me a couple of chapters, but I grew to enjoy the style. |
paperback
200606 |
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Reichs, Kathy. Deja Dead. Very graphic but in such a matter-of-fact way that I was far less shocked by the gory details than I normally would have been. I am particularly fond of the fun and charming quips, the relaxed style, and the pace. I originally read this book because I'd seen the television program Bones and wanted to know how closely the story and character were followed. It turns out to be not very close at all. It was a good read, clever, well-paced, frequently fun, and extremely graphic. |
paperback
200607 |
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Marcs, Lizbeth. Living History. Living History picks up four months after "Chosen" in the Buffyverse. It's a good story, well thought out, and far-reaching. It's episodic and is wordy because of it, and could use a beta. If it were ever to make it to book format it would benefit from a good editor unafraid of hacking and slashing. Did I mention there is time travel? Lizbeth Marcs easily deals with the paradoxes and even casually creates alternate and parallel universes. Each time I thought I spotted a gotcha she came back with a smooth explanation. I really liked that. There are a few rough patches but the ideas are all excellent and it is a bunch of fun. |
paperback
200607 |
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Marcs, Lizbeth. Whisper. A quick read and very much like a Xander-centric episode of BtVS. I liked the story, thoroughly enjoyed the charaterizations, and thought the fleshing-out of Xander's past was pretty impressive. All the Scoobies make an appearance and everyone is in true form. Check it out if you like a good gen fic. |
paperback
200607 |
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Reichs, Kathy. Death du Jour. Reichs has a matter-of-fact, unique narrative style that really appeals to me (except for the twelve page forensic entomology discussion). This book is better crafted than Deja Dead and the tale is more smoothly told. The details of murder, exhumation, and autopsy are all laid out so plainly they all but read like a grocery list. It's a good story with fun writing and some good character development. Enjoy it. |
paperback
200607 |
