The Zen Leaf

Wheat Belly, by William Davis

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Thistle

I thought the premise of this book was really interesting, but I’m not sure I bought into the science behind it. There were a lot of case-studies where the removal of symptoms could be related to wheat-removal, but also could be related the weight loss that accompanied the wheat-removal, for the most part. Also, there have been many foods in our lives that have been altered by scientists, and I find it hard to believe that wheat would be the only one that affects us in so many different ways.

I was initially interested in the weight loss aspect of this diet, but by the end of the book, I was disappointed with what was presented, because this book is NOT about wheat-removal and weight loss. The diet proposed by Davis essentially boils down to a low carb diet, a late-stage Adkins sort of diet, where you’re allowed to eat as many veggies, meats, cheeses, and nuts as you want, but must limit fruits and non-wheat carbs like rice and beans to very small daily portions. Several non-wheat carbs, like barley and rye, were put on the “never or rarely” list along with wheat, as well as processed foods. I can completely get behind a lower-carb, real-food diet – but I want it to be presented that way. Wheat Belly is not presented that way, and yet, that is what is actually proposing.

This book seemed to cater to too many groups, trying to come up with the perfect diet for people with celiac disease, diabetes, pre-diabetes, and those with no conditions at all. Because it tried to cater to all these different groups, it seemed to lose sight of the original premise: that modern wheat is causing damage to our bodies. This is what I was interested in hearing about, but by the time I was a few chapters in, I felt like I’d been mislead. In the end, we were asked to remove all processed foods, all high GI foods, and most carbs in order to be healthy, which is NOT what this book said it was going to be about going in. I would have much preferred a book that focused solely on wheat removal, but instead, the book was scattered and disorganized, as well as misleading.

There were also a few other things that bothered me. First, for some reason the author kept referring to bulgar as a grain apart from wheat, when really, it’s just cracked wheat. There was never any explanation for this. Second, there were these few very condescending sentences from the “eat more veggies” section which I’m going to quote:

Anyone who says “I don’t like vegetables” is guilty of not having tried them all, the same people who think that the world of vegetables ends at creamed corn and canned green beans. You can’t “not like it” if you haven’t tried it.

Begin rant: Well, Mr. Davis…F*** you. Let me just give you an example. I am one of those people who, for most of my life, said “I don’t like vegetables.” It was not, however, because I hadn’t tried them, or because I thought of canned vegetables as the end of my choices. In reality, I had tried many vegetables – and pretty much stayed away from the canned variety – but I could not find any I liked, and rarely found one that I could swallow, under very specific conditions, without triggering an automatic gag reflex/vomiting. See, I have extremely sensitive tastebuds, so I can taste things to a degree that most people can’t. I can taste how many days it will be before milk expires. There are some tastes – like coffee – that are actually so strong I cannot taste them at all, like my tastebuds shut down because they’ve gone too far into overdrive. Vegetables have very strong flavors and scents, and those are difficult for me to handle. To give an example: I can taste iceberg lettuce if it has ever touched my food, even if it was immediately removed from that food. Now, having said that, I’ve spent the last two years forcing myself to learn how to eat vegetables. It took six months before I could eat two servings a day. It took eleven months before a (single) vegetable actually tasted good to me. It took 18 months before I could eat 3 servings a day. Today, I can eat/tolerate more vegetables than I can’t eat, but I still have problems with most raw veggies. Even with cooked veggies, they have to be in peak condition and only cooked certain ways. There are people in this world who really do struggle with vegetables despite real efforts made to eat them, Mr. Davis, and you shouldn’t treat them as if they’re ignorant fools. End rant.

So in the end, this book was a big waste of my time. Interesting premise, but the premise is not at all what the book is about. Sad.

Posted in 2013, Adult, Prose, Wellness | Tagged food, health, nonfiction | Leave a comment

Level 2, by Lenore Appelhans

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Thistle

Necessary disclaimer: Lenore and I have met and hung out at several book functions, and know each other on Twitter, Facebook, through blogging, etc.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me explain why knowing Lenore doesn’t at all influence my feelings about this book. I have several friends who are authors, and it is incredibly daunting to read their books. What if I don’t like them?? I am terrified of reading a friend’s book and having to give them a negative rating or review. I would rather not read the book than to have that happen. So while I was anticipating this novel, I was also dreading the read. I decided that I would start to read it, and if it wasn’t working for me, I would quietly put it aside and just not say anything, rather than to power through simply because I know Lenore and then have to give it negative words.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to put the book aside. I was so hooked by the story that I read Level 2 in a single afternoon. There were, of course, flaws – all books have them – and I won’t pretend that the book was 100% perfect. But other than those few things (a couple rough transitions, and I personally would have liked a bit more character development), Level 2 was really well-plotted, -paced, and -written.

I think my favorite thing about the book were the ties to Our Town. There are themes in Our Town that have resonated with me for years, particularly the themes of people being unable to fully experience life every moment of every day, that Lenore was able to bring out in her afterlife world, which is built on a continuous experience of memories (one’s own and other people’s). I’ve seen other reviews where people have complained about Felicia’s memories being interjected into the plot, but I didn’t see this as a flaw at all. I saw this as building along that same theme of memories and re-experiencing life. Felicia’s life could have been expanded and made known to the reader through other methods, sure, but by doing it through these memory interjections, we experience short, sharp moments, rather than a cohesive whole. We experience memory the way the Level 2 network is forced to be, rather than how it was designed. I liked that.

Lastly, I get really annoyed at YA series that have books cut off in the middle of a scene or on a cliffhanger. Level 2 is not like that, thank goodness! Sure, there are still questions to be answered, but there is a definite end and some closure here. Always a plus in my opinion.

Posted in 2013, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged divinity, speculative | 1 Comment

The Fortune of the Rougons, by Émile Zola

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Thistle

While I’ve loved almost every Zola I’ve read in the past, I was not sold on this book. At least three-quarters of it is backstory, and it felt very clumsily put together. I appreciate the Rougon-Macquart history laid out in all that backstory, which is why I kept reading, but there was a lot of info-dump here, and that got really tedious. Some of it might have been the translation – this is the first translation I’ve read by Brian Nelson – but some of it was just the structure of the book. I appreciate what Zola was trying to do in setting up the family history for many books to come, but the story lacked the intricate interweaving delicacy that I’ve been used to in other Zola.

On a more positive note, some of the climax scenes were very moving, there were some really good lines (in translation, at least), and I loved the way the book ended. Some of the non-backstory plot was difficult for me to follow because military/political history tends to go over my head, but when Zola came back to focus on the characters, I was intrigued. I can’t say I enjoyed reading about them, as they were for the most part pretty horrible people, but they were intriguing. Of all the Zola I’ve read, this has been by far the bleakest, even bleaker than Germinal or Thérèse Racquin. I can’t say I have any desire to revisit it, but I’m glad I’ve now read the first of the Rougon-Macquart books, and have a grounding in the family history.

Favorite (translated) line of the book: “It often happens that guns go off of their own accord when they are in the hands of cowards.“

Posted in 2013, Adult, Prose | Tagged classics, translation | Leave a comment

The Emperor’s Soul, by Brandon Sanderson

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Thistle

This is my first Brandon Sanderson of 2013, and it was great! As usual. I’ve come to expect greatness from Sanderson, and he delivers it most of the time. This story was fascinating: a conflict of magical beliefs, and a forger caught and facing death until she is given the ultimate challenge in forgery – the forgery of another person’s soul. The story was fascinating and wonderfully executed. My only qualm is very minor – I wanted MORE. The book is short, only 167 pages, and I wanted more time in this world and with these characters. In Sanderson’s longer books, there are multiple story threads, multiple narrators, and for the most part, that was missing from The Emperor’s Soul. The novel didn’t suffer because this aspect was absent, but I think it would have been even better with it. Still, it was a beautiful book, and I enjoyed it a lot! I hope there will be more books set in this world (same world as Elantris). It is one of my favorites of Sanderson’s worlds.

Posted in 2013, Adult, Prose | Tagged Cosmere, mini-review, speculative | 1 Comment

The Chopin Manuscript, by Multiple Authors (audio)

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Thistle

I picked up this audiobook on a whim. The mystery sounded complicated and perhaps a bit convoluted, but very intriguing. The audio was read by Alfred Molina, and I thought he’d make a good narrator. Lastly, the book was written in a way that fascinated me, like a real life round robin story with each new author building on what the last author wrote, not knowing the plot ahead of time.

I very rarely read thrillers, so when I do, they really have to capture my attention. This one did so right away, despite being a bit convoluted and focused on settings/historical events that I’m not very familiar with. (And despite all the musical interludes on the audio, which were not my favorite.) The book was not too gory or violent, which is another thing that turns me off in thrillers, and there was a lot of focus on character development, a huge plus. I was a bit dubious about how the round robin aspect of the book would work, but each chapter fit together almost seamlessly. Each author focused on a different aspect of the plot, or on a different character, and every few chapters, the plot would center back on the main character. There were a lot of twists and turns, and until towards the end, they all felt plausible and like they had been planned in advance, despite the fact that they weren’t.

Towards the end, the story fell apart a little. Some of the last few chapters felt rushed, and a bit contrived as the starting/finishing author (Jeffery Deaver) had to pull together all the elements that other authors had brought in. I felt like it would have gone smoother with a few more chapters, or with fewer twists in the last little bit. Twists are good and necessary in a thriller, but a few at the end felt forced, contrived, and/or not as plausible.

Other than the last little bit, though, the book was fantastic, and it makes me want to go out and read novels by each of the contributing authors. I’ve never read anything by any of them in the past, and they all did a really good job, especially in keeping a fairly consistent style up through the chapters. I know that Deaver edited the whole thing, which I’m sure helped with the consistency, but I think a lot of credit goes to each of the authors. I was very impressed by that aspect.

The audio production was pretty good, except – as I said above – all the sound effect or musical interludes. There were interludes at the beginning and end of each disk, between each chapter, and between each section within a chapter. While I actually appreciated the last of these – a short note played to signal a section change – the rest I could have done without. Otherwise, Alfred Molina did a fantastic job narrating, with all the different characters’ accents and keeping the story clear and at an even pace.

Posted in 2013, 2016, Adult, Prose | Tagged audio, reread | 3 Comments

The Silence of Murder, by Dandi Daley Mackall (audio)

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Thistle

Hope’s older brother – a selective mute with several mental handicaps – has been accused of murder. Hope knows he couldn’t have done it, but has no proof. This story is both about Hope’s struggle to uncover the truth of what happened the morning of the murder, and to deal with the emotional impact of her brother’s murder trial.

The negative first: I enjoyed this story, though I felt like it could have gone a bit more in depth with several issues. Sometimes the novel would skim over deeper issues, with one-liners about identity and that sort of thing, but for the most part, it stayed away from deeper issues altogether. Also, the mystery aspect with a bit predictable. Every character was shown in a way where they could have been the real killer. Each was given a moment for extreme bursts of anger and violence. It was a bit silly.

But that’s the end of the negatives. I really liked reading about Hope’s relationship with her brother, and about her brother in general. I liked her friends and all the characters. I liked seeing a less-than-perfect family dynamic, and some characters who didn’t have to be supportive, but were. It was an enjoyable story, and by the second half, I didn’t want to put the audiobook down, and found excuses to listen to it a lot faster than I would have normally.

Posted in 2013, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged audio, psychology | Leave a comment

2012 in Books

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Thistle

It’s been a good year for me in books this year. I spent most of the year on a much slower reading schedule pace, and read far fewer books than I have since I began blogging in 2008. I also didn’t let any obligations get in my way. If I started a book that wasn’t working for me, I quit reading it, and if I wanted to read the same book six times in a row, I did. I only read when I wanted and what I wanted. Consequently, my year was far less balanced, but I also enjoyed so much more of what I read. I literally marked only two books as “I hated this one” books (Divergent by Veronica Roth and Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence – definitely my worst books of the year), and only six books as “disliked.” Over 2/3rds of my books this year were good-to-great books, and that’s really fantastic! I really enjoyed what I read this year, and I know that’s because I read with my moods rather than for any expectations or obligations.

I know it will make this post long, but I want to participate in The Perpetual Page-Turner’s 2012 End of Year Book Survey, as well as list out my favorite books of the year and some book stats. So here goes!

1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want)
I have several, but I won’t say what they are yet. More on this after the survey! 😀

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
There weren’t really any books that I was excited about going into 2012, so there were none to be disappointed by. Most everything else ended up exceeding my expectations this year.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?
The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling took me by surprise. From the description and reviews, I expected it to be horrible, but I think Rowling’s writing has much improved, her characterization was as usual phenomenal, and I ended up really liking the book!

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?
Probably either Howl’s Moving Castle or the Mistborn trilogy.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?
Definitely the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson! Love it to pieces!

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?
Brandon Sanderson and Diana Wynne Jones, hands down.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
I read a LOT of books out of my comfort zone this year, and much of what I read was really good, so I will go with the book that was MOST out of my comfort zone, and say The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. It wasn’t my favorite of his books this year, but it’s the highest high fantasy I’ve ever read, and he pulled it off in a way I enjoyed even while I struggled a bit with the genre.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?
Definitely one of the last books I read this year – Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. I was completely riveted to every word!

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:
Harry Potter, as I reread the series every year. 😀 But also probably the Mistborn trilogy, Howl’s Moving Castle, and books that have further volumes in a series coming out in 2013 (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, The Way of Kings, Seraphina, Shadow and Bone), as I like to revisit earlier volumes before reading later books.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

11. Most memorable character in 2012?
Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer from Howl’s Moving Castle, and the entire cast of Mistborn, but especially Vin, Elend, Breeze, and Ham.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?
I believe I said The Night Circus last year, and that’s probably the same this year as I reread it. But if I don’t count rereads, then it would be The Dream by Emile Zola.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?
Between my first Sanderson book (Mistborn: The Final Empire) and my first Diana Wynne Jones book (Howl’s Moving Castle), an entire new genre was opened up to me! Over half of my books this year were fantasy!

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
My friend Karen has been trying to get me to read Howl’s Moving Castle for YEARS now. I wish I’d read it ages ago!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012?
Can’t think of any offhand… I’m terrible at remembering quotes.

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012?
Longest book was definitely The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, coming in at 1001 pages. Shortest book would be Euripides’ Medea, coming in at 45 pages.

On audio, the longest book I listened to was The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson, clocking in at 29 hours – yikes! Glad I listen to these on double speed! Shortest was Legion by Brandon Sanderson, at just over 2 hours.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
The moment of revelation in Gentlemen and Players. Totally blown away. I had to get the book in print to reread afterwards! So glad that one was a book club book and I had people to talk to about it! Also, that scene in the sitting room in Shadow and Bone, followed so closely by Baghra’s declaration – !!!

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
I hate to sound like a broken record, but my favorites were Howl and Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle, and the friendship in the crew of the Mistborn series.

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously
Not including authors that I read for the first time this year (and then read multiple books by them), I’d have to go with either Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris, or The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling. I liked Gentleman and Players better than The Casual Vacancy, but I didn’t expect to like the latter at all, so I think both deserve recognition in this category!

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
Howl’s Moving Castle, Seraphina, and Shadow and Bone. None of those sounded like books I would normally read, but I’m glad I did as all of them were absolutely fantastic!

Favorite Books of 2012

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Wasn’t that obvious from how often it appeared in the survey? Howl’s Moving Castle was my second book and first audiobook of 2012. I had literally tried to read this book four or five times over the past few years, and never got further than a few pages. The writing just didn’t appeal to me. I couldn’t understand what my friend Karen was raving over. But I kept coming back to it, and trying it again. I got it on audio near the end of 2011. In early January, I tried several audiobooks in a row, each of them more of a dud than the last. In desperation, I put on Howl, and was immediately captivated. What hadn’t worked for me in print was an audio hit! I listened, and just loved the story and characters (and, I admit, fell a little bit in love with Howl). I became obsessed, listening to it multiple times, following Howl and Sophie’s journeys through the two semi-sequels, mourning over the loss of further Howl stories. I read tons of Diana Wynne Jones over the next few months, but none of the books quite lived up to Howl. I recently relistened to the audiobook, and it was great to revisit almost a year later. I loved it just as much! Of all my favorite books this year, I would rate this one as one of the top two.

the Mistborn trilogy (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages) by Brandon Sanderson

This trilogy came as a complete surprise to me. I had read a NaNoWriMo pep talk by Brandon Sanderson in November 2011. It was my favorite pep talk of all the talks I’d read over the previous years, and I was struck by how Sanderson approached the writing process, particularly because many of the things he said reminded me of my own processes. I decided I needed to read something by him, but then saw he wrote epic high fantasy, and was discouraged. I’ve never made it through an epic high fantasy book before! But I still wanted to give him a chance, so I decided to try the first Mistborn book, as it seemed the least high fantasy of the lot. I listened on audio, because I’m more forgiving of unfamiliar genres in audio, and to my surprise, I fell completely in love with the book. I adore the way Sanderson writes, particularly how he develops characters and friendship between those characters. I won’t remember most of the characters from the books I read this year, but I will remember every single one from this trilogy. This is the sort of trilogy I wish I could persuade everyone to read!! Tied with Howl’s Moving Castle, I would rate this series as in my top two of my favorites. (PS. I am so very happy that I received the British-cover versions of these for Christmas this year! I love them so much more than the American versions!)

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

I read a lot of Brandon Sanderson this year after loving the Mistborn trilogy. I liked some more than others, and Elantris ended up in my top books for the year. This book, a standalone, had all the things in it that I loved from other Sanderson books: intricate plot that revealed itself slowly; multiple narrators; well developed characters; teams to root for; relationships that felt real; large groups of people who came together in friendship; a fantastic magic system; realistic conflicts. These are the things I love so much about Sanderson’s books, and Elantris had every single one of them. It’s a book I know I definitely want to revisit in the future. Also, I’ve heard that Sanderson may write future books set in this world, though not necessarily with the same characters, and this makes me very happy! This was also one of my favorites of his worlds, as well as his books.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

I didn’t write down any review or reaction to this book when I read it, and yet, it’s one of my favorites of the year. I never expected to love a book about dragons. That’s just not my thing. But when I learned about the whole logic vs emotion portion of Seraphina, I decided to take a look. I got it from the library right before I went on vacation this summer. I read a little of it, not expecting to continue, but I liked it so much I had to bring it on vacation with me, and then I couldn’t stop reading it! I loved Hartman’s characterization and world-building. I like the realistic way she developed Seraphina’s friendships and relationship interest. I loved the interactions with the dragons. I loved the conflict, and how things were revealed slowly, but without ever feeling slow. In the end, I loved it, but had no idea what I could coherently say in a reaction or review. Even this little wrap-up feels forced. But I did love it, and can’t wait to read the next book, and had a blast reading the online prequel and revisiting all those characters again.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

What a fabulous book! This was one of the last books I read this year and yet it still makes the favorites list. The setting was superb, the characters were brilliant, and I loved the concepts and magic systems. I have a lot to think about the Darkling!! Stuff I couldn’t reveal for fear of spoilers. Stuff that I hope gets answered, revealed, or in some way touched on in the sequel. This is the sort of book that makes you want to discuss it with others. I am so glad that I took Trish’s advice and decided to nab this one from the library. I liked it so much that I had to get my own copy of it afterwards!! I can’t wait to read the sequel.

Honorable mention: Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris, the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor, and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

Gentlemen and Players is probably the best mystery I’ve ever read. I listened to it on audio, and I never saw the twist coming. I had to go back and read it in print, and it was just as good the second time through, knowing what was going to happen. I really like Joanne Harris’ writing. The Daughter of Smoke and Bone books were a complete surprise to me. I didn’t expect to like them at all – not at all my sort of book – but I got a free audio download of the first book, and gave it a chance. It had everything: great world-building and plotting, realistic characters, literary depth. Couldn’t wait to read the sequel, which was even better than the first book, and now I’m stuck waiting for the third!! Then there’s The Night Circus, which I listened to on audio this year. It was one of my favorites last year, and the second visit was just as wonderful as the first! I was worried I wouldn’t like it as much the second time, but I needn’t have worried. It was definitely one of my favorites of the year, and it’s only on the honorable mentions because it was a reread and already listed as a favorite last year!

Now – book stats:

Total books: 84
New reads: 71
Rereads: 13

I am very happy about my total number of books this year! The goal was to get under 100, and I did it! Yay! As for new reads versus rereads, this is about average for me, and doesn’t include books reread during the same year (ie, I read Howl’s Moving Castle seven or eight times, but it’s only counted once in my book count, and not at all in my reread count).

Novels/Novellas: 75
–Speculative: 54
–Realistic: 21
Nonfiction: 5
Collections/Anthologies: 2
Plays: 1
Poetry: 1

Again, about average for me, though the nonfiction counts are a lot lower this year because I didn’t push myself into reading anything that wasn’t speaking to me at that moment, and I’ve never been a big nonfiction person.

Text/E-text: 62
Graphic/Photo/Art: 3
Audio: 19

I’m happy with my audio percentage this year! My text/e-text numbers went way down, but I listened to about the same number of audios as in previous years, so it’s a much higher percentage. I did a lot of walking/running this year. 😀

Classics: 8
Contemporary: 76

This is a huge change for me. I just wasn’t in a classics mood this year, I guess. Fantasy novels really just took over my mood right at the beginning of the year, and lasted all the way until the end.

Adult: 43
YA: 24
Children’s: 17

About average for me, with the majority of the children’s books being either Harry Potter or Chrestomanci books…

By men: 25
By women: 56
By both: 3

Very unbalanced this year, but as I said at the beginning of this post, I’m okay with that!

Chunksters (450+ pages): 20
In translation: 5
Languages: French (2), Japanese (2), Ancient Greek (1)

My books in translation are WAY down this year, but my chunkster percentage is up – yay for epic fantasy!

Most read authors: Diana Wynne Jones (13), Brandon Sanderson (8), JK Rowling (8) – This is the first time since 2006 that I’ve read any author more than JK Rowling in a year…

Best Book-related Discovery: If it wasn’t already obvious from everything else I’ve said above, my best discovery this year came in the authors of Brandon Sanderson and Diana Wynne Jones, and also in their jointly introducing me to the world of fantasy. I am still a newbie, but I am no longer scared to try new things in that genre, and I have found books I love, characters I love, and authors I love this year. That is a wonderful thing!

Posted in Book Talk | Tagged end of year | 1 Comment

The Evolution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Thistle

I read the first of these books (The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer) last year, and was very conflicted about it. The writing drove me crazy and the plot seemed to go in a million different directions, but I loved the characters and the book was so much fun to read! I was definitely looking forward to this book despite the flaws in the first one.

The second book is just about the same as the first, for me. The writing still drove me crazy, and the plotting felt like a bizarre “RL Stine meets Harlequin Romance, for Teens” mashup, but I couldn’t stop reading! Loved every minute of it, and I can’t wait for the third book to come out.

Posted in 2012, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged mini-review, psychology, speculative | Leave a comment

Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Thistle

From Goodreads:

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

I was not expecting to read any more books this year. I generally take December off of reading, or I revisit old favorites. There’s just so much going on this month, and I’m too distracted to read. Then Trish just had to mention how good this was on Facebook. I remembered seeing it go through the library’s system here, but I wasn’t sure if it sounded interesting or too silly/paranormal/out there for me, so I hadn’t put it on hold. Trish convinced me to do otherwise, and the book arrived a few days ago. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.

The book is not at all silly. Nor is it terribly paranormal, or inaccessible. It was really a fantastic book! Great characters, great world-building, great magic system, great relationships, great twists, perfect pacing, and an end that felt closed enough for the first book of a trilogy. I loved Alina and Mal both, and learning about their friendship from childhood on up. The Grisha were fascinating. The magic system made sense and had reasonable boundaries. And I loved the Darkling, even if maybe I wasn’t supposed to love him. I didn’t trust him, but I loved him all the same, and I hope that in further volumes of the series, we get to know him better, because I think there’s more to him than is revealed here. He seems a much more complex person than what’s presented on the surface. I have lots of theories and ideas, but I won’t say anything more, to avoid going into spoiler territory.

Shadow and Bone made a great last-book-of-2012 for me. I am so glad I listened to Trish and grabbed it from my library. I have a feeling it’s one I’ll reread several times before returning it, and I can tell my brain is going to be grappling with all the twists and turns and possible theories about this one for quite a while.

Revisited in May 2013: Loved this book so much the first time that I had to read it again, soon! Plus, I was anticipating the release of Siege and Storm. Absolutely adored it the second time around as well! Not much else to add. My opinions and theories only solidified with the reread.

Review of the audiobook, 2/9/14: While I still love this story, I didn’t like the audio performance at all. The accents didn’t sound right (too stereotypical, maybe?), and it was never clear to me which accent belonged to which person. I couldn’t keep the voices straight. If they changed partway through the book, I’d never have noticed. Also, the narrator pronounced “fete” like “fate,” which drove me crazy. I definitely will continue to read this series in print.

Note: When I originally added the audio review to the end of this post, I didn’t make note of the narrator’s name, so I do not know who the performer is. Amazon lists Lauren Fortgang as the narrator, so that’s probably her, but I cannot say for sure.

Posted in 2012, 2013, 2014, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged audio, favorite, memorable, multi-read, reread, speculative | 5 Comments

The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway (audio)

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Thistle

I have no idea what to say about this book. On the one hand, it is about an old fisherman from Havana who has spent many months unable to hook a fish, and then when he finally does, the fish is so big that it takes days to conquer. On the other, the book isn’t really about the fish, or the struggle, or the losses that come afterwards. It’s about persistence, and friendship, and communion with the things around us.

The first time I heard of this book was in high school, when my cousin told me she’d read this based on her father’s recommendation. She did not like the book at all, thought it was very boring, and advised that I never try it. In 2001, I decided to give it a chance, and to my surprise, I loved it! The style is simple and repetitive, but never in a way I found boring. I was riveted to the old man’s story, and felt like I was reading two different books – a literal story of a fishing adventure, and a metaphorical spiritual journey.

Since that first read, I’ve read this book multiple times, once every few years. I’ve read other Hemingway, and while I’ve liked some, this remains my favorite. It’s a book that I get something new out of every time I read it, especially as I age.

It has been quite awhile since I last read it, and I’ve felt the urge to reread several times in the last two years, but hadn’t gotten around to it (too many books!). A few weeks ago, a sample of the audiobook popped up on my social media radar. Now, I love audiobooks, but I generally don’t listen to audiobooks of those novels I’ve read multiple times. Those books already have a soundtrack in my head. The characters speak with certain inflections in my head, and with a certain rhythm, and I don’t want to listen to anyone else’s interpretation of the book. But the narrator of this audiobook is Donald Sutherland, and I knew right away that he would be the perfect narrator. I listened to the audio sample, which confirmed my thoughts, and then checked out the audiobook from my library.

It was everything I’d hoped for. Sutherland was indeed perfect for the audiobook, and the novel was just as beautiful and profound as I remembered. I wish I could say more on the beautiful and profound bits, but I’ve read the book so many times that it’s very difficult to capture all my hundreds of thoughts on it, and from what I can tell, it seems to be one of those books that some people love and some just don’t get. I’ve read other Hemingway that I just don’t get, so I can understand that, but it makes reviewing this book even more difficult.

So I won’t, not really. I love this book. It’s great. The audiobook was just as great. There. Reviewed. 😀

Note: Originally read in 2001.

Posted in 2012, Adult, Prose | Tagged audio, classics, comfort, favorite, Latin America, memorable, POC, reread | Leave a comment