Author: HCNewton Page 546 of 629

Saturday Miscellany – 12/5/15

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On December 5, 2015

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

    Only one New Releases this week that I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • The Revolution was Televised by Alan Sepinwall — an updated/revised version of one of my favorite books of recent years — written after the finale’s of Mad Men and Breaking Bad. If you like good TV drama, you’ll find something in this book that’ll resonate with you. Sepinwall’s reviews are lurking in the background of what I post here (not that anyone but me can tell), can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on this.


Unseemly Science by Rod Duncan

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On December 4, 2015

In Fiction, Steampunk

Unseemly ScienceUnseemly Science

by Rod Duncan
Series: Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #2

Mass Market Paperback, 368 pg.
Angry Robot Books, 2015
Read: November 28 – 30, 2015


So in The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter, Duncan created this nice little world and set up what could’ve been a pretty long running series of adventures for Elizabeth Barnabus and her alter-ego/brother Edwin. Naturally, in the sequel, he pretty much destroys all of that. Sure, it would be possible to get back to something akin to the status quo, but it’d be tricky, and he’s clearly not going for that.

As clever and skillful as Elizabeth demonstrated herself to be, there’s always someone better. And when a few of those people are working together? It’s not going to go easy for you. She’s got quite the powers arrayed against her — she’s about to be deported back to the Kingdom, along with dozens of other refugees. When she’s safely back on the other side of the border, there are sure to be representatives of the Duke that’s been hunting for her waiting.

Elizabeth’s mentee, Julia, continues her education — emboldened and possibly more headstrong thanks to her recent adventures, yet still naive and idealistic. it’s her support for a charity that drives Elizabeth in this novel (well, other than the above). John Tinker, naturally, shows up and is just as simultaneously inconvenient and perfectly helpful as he was before. I’d like to learn a little more about the America he comes from.

On the run for her life, chased by the government, bounty hunters, and investigating an odd crime (ice shortages — no, really) — things start to get strange. Strange followed by disturbing. This culminated in an action sequence I (literally) could not turn pages fast enough through. Which was followed by a denouement that in retrospect I think I should’ve expected, but took me by surprise.

I’m not ready to leave this world, and am so glad to see that The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire duology has been upgraded to a trilogy, although I haven’t the foggiest idea how Duncan is going to achieve any kind of closure in one more book. But I’m looking forward to finding out how he pulls it off.

—–

3.5 Stars

Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart

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On December 3, 2015

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Girl Waits with GunGirl Waits with Gun

by Amy Stewart
Series: The Kopp Sisters, #1

Hardcover, 404 pg.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015
Read: November 27 – 28, 2015

He looked up and said, in a loud, plain voice, “She’s not a regular lady.”

That line is uttered in the final few pages of this novel, but it does a pretty good job of summing up Constance Kopp (and her two sisters, too). Fitting, really, for “of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs.”

It’s 1914. Constance, her older sister Norma, and much younger sister, Fleurette, live on a farm in Northern New Jersey. They’re out for a drive into town in a carriage when an automobile slams into the side. Everyone escapes fairly unscathed, but rattled. Well, the ladies are rattled, the driver of the car, Henry Kaufman, and his companions are annoyed that the Kopps had the temerity to be on the road, much less be struck by a car. Constance demands payment for repairs, but Kaufman brushes her off.

But Constance is persistent and begins to annoy Kaufman, who’s notorious for busting a strike the year before (and should be notorious for worse). And when Kaufman gets annoyed bad things happen — a campaign for intimidation begins against the sisters. Soon it becomes a battle of wills — Kaufman’s arrogance and pride vs. Constance’s gumption, stubbornness, and sense of right.

Constance soon learns of more of Kaufman’s crimes and abuses, meeting other victims — who warn her just how bad things can be. While she tries to withstand Kaufman’s assaults, she begins to try to help other victims. At the same time, she befriends the local sheriff, one of the rare lawmen in the area who aren’t beholden to Kaufman and his peers.

There’s a lightness to the writing, but the subject matter is grim — and frequently uncomfortable. Whether it’s the persecution of the sisters, Constance’s investigation into Kaufman’s misdeeds, or Stewart exploring the events that brought the Kopps to their present circumstances, this is a hard world and it takes a certain kind of person to make it. But you wouldn’t know that from the narration, really — just as Constance maintains a proper disposition (or tries to) and manners, so does Stewart.

It would’ve been very easy to turn this into something it’s not. Probably very tempting, too. It could’ve been all about the gender disparity of the time, and a feminist crusade. Or about the economics and labor conditions of the area and time — the strikes and the way they were dealt with by the owners and police. Or any number of other things, really. And it was about those things, but primarily it was a story. A decently told story with well-constructed characters. You give me one of those, and you can throw whatever politics, economic theory, etc. you want into the mix and I’ll read it. I may not buy everything you’re selling, but I’ll listen, and if your story and characters are good enough, I’ll come back. Too many people — particularly with historical fiction, it seems — will do okay with the story, mess up the characters, but nail the agenda. Stewart avoided those pitfalls, and thereby served her audience and any possible point she wanted to better.

Now, while this is a novel, it appears that Stewart has done as much research as she could to make this as non-fiction as possible. I’ve wondered a bit about that approach, does that limit what parts of the story she tells? Which would account for some odd gaps. And if it does limit it — is that a good or a bad thing? Or does that depend on the writer? That’s probably it, for some writers, such a limit would be freeing, while others would find the restriction too much. Stewart, it seems, turns this into a strength — matching with her previous non-fiction publications.

A fun little ride, full of historical nuggets, and a family you’d like to spend some time with. A little action, a little danger, but not a lot of violence. A pleasant mix of historical fiction and mystery. It’ll work for the cozy reader, the historical fiction reader, and people who just like good stories.

—–

3 Stars

Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke

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On December 2, 2015

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, YA/MG/Children's Books

Rules for a KnightRules for a Knight

by Ethan Hawke

Hardcover, 169 pg.
Knopf, 2015

Read: November 30, 2015


So the story goes, Ethan Hawke is a descendant of a knight who died at the Battle of Slaughter Bridge in 1483. The night before the battle, this knight, Sir Thomas Lemuel Hawke penned a lengthy letter to his young children so that they’d have something to remember him by, and hopefully learn something from him. Ethan Hawke came into possession of this letter, and after a scholar translated it for him, modernized the language so that he could pass these lessons on to his kids. Given the fact that the “Hawke” surname was once “Hawker”, there’s an ornithological flavor to all of this.

The letter, or manifesto, consists of short lessons on a variety of virtues or characteristics that Sir Thomas wanted to pass along to his son and daughters (which are awfully feminist for the 15th Century): justice, solitude, generosity, discipline, love, humility, and so on. Virtues and ideals that are shared by many Western and Eastern cultures — something akin to what C. S. Lewis would call the Tao. The lessons combine personal vignettes from Sir Thomas’ life and training with fable-like stories (many of which are old and common — like the two dogs/wolves inside each of us fighting for control, you ought to feed the one you want to win).

Hawke’s wife, Ryan, provided the illustrations for this book. I wouldn’t say they’re dazzling, but they’re nice — and fit the material well.

This is a nice book, one that serves its purposes well. Short chapters, well (if somewhat heavy-handed) written. It’s not a must-read, but it’d be a good use of anyone’s time — particularly something for dads to read to young children.

—–

3 Stars

Indexing: Reflections, Episode Nine: Feline Cobbling by Seanan McGuire

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On December 2, 2015

In Authors, Fiction, Indexing, K-O, Seanan McGuire, Urban Fantasy

Indexing: ReflectionsIndexing: Reflections, Episode Nine: Feline Cobbling

by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #2.9

Kindle
47North, 2015
Read: December 2, 2015

Just what I needed after “Holly Tree,” Sloane puts the pieces together, and the bad guys show their hand. But wait, there’s more — a fascinating narrative incursion, and some real tension — both physical danger and a heart and soul in jeopardy.

The incursion was a “Puss in Boots,” which just gets our characters out of the office and into a situation where things can happen. Which isn’t that uncommon this second series, but is frustrating. I’d have loved to see more with this Marquis of Carabas tussling with the Sloane and the team. Still, what McGuire did instead? So much better.

I really can’t say more about this one (like the last couple) without ruining the whole thing, so I’ll just leave it as: exciting, intriguing, and what we learn about what Birdie and Elise makes this series all the more interesting. As for what Sloane learns about herself? Fuhgeddaboudit.

I expect that Episode Ten will be all about Henry and that we’ll have to wait until Eleven to see what happens as the result of this one, and that’s going to drive me crazy. Even if I like Episode Ten a whole lot more than I have the last couple of Henry-centric episodes. And maybe people who aren’t Henry or Sloane will have something to do.

—–

4 Stars

Dear Mr. You by Mary-Louise Parker

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On December 1, 2015

In (Auto)Biography, Non-Fiction

Dear Mr. YouDear Mr. You

by Mary-Louise Parker
Hardcover, 225 pg.

Scribner, 2015

Read: December 1, 2015


I’m not sure what I expected from this, but this wasn’t it. But whatever this was? It was a real treat to read.

I guess it’s basically, Alanis Morissette’s “Unsent” in book form. The book is a compilation of letters to a wide assortment of men in her life — or adjacent to it — some named, some nicknamed (“Blue”), some described (“Cab Driver”).

The style varies from letter to letter, a little bit, but on the whole the voice is consistent, it’s the content and audience that drives the mood. Seemingly very honest and candid, this carries all sorts of situation — the doctor who saved her life, the uncle of the girl she adopted, her grandfather, her daughter’s future significant other, a few former paramours, a few total strangers. The strongest material involves her immediate family — her father, her son, her daughter, especially her father.

Given Parker’s acting ability and the personal nature of this material, if she does the audiobook for this, I think it’d be more effective than the dead-tree version. But that’s just a guess.

Sure, not every letter is gold — a few bored me. But the majority kept me reading, entertaining me, making me chuckle, giving the occasional “aww” moment, and even jerking a few tears. Anyway you slice it, this lady can write.

—–

3 Stars

November 2015 Report

By

On December 1, 2015

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

So, here’s what happened here in November.

Books Read:

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) Suspect Career of Evil
4 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
The Sword of Summer Satan’s Awful Idea Never Tell
4 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
The Promise Blameless Any Other Name
4 Stars 3 Stars 3 Stars
The Burning Room The Shootout Solution Hit
3 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 3 1/2 Stars
Living into Community Owen on the Christian Life My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
The Fate of Ten Where it Hurts Girl Waits with Gun
4 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home Unseemly Science Rules for a Knight
3 Stars 3 1/2 Stars 3 Stars

Still Reading:

The Christian In Complete Armour Indexing: Reflections Given for You

Reviews Posted:

How was your month?

Tracking Reading/Reading Goals, etc.

By

On November 30, 2015

In Books, News/Misc.

Back in 2009, I started tracking my reading — it’s something I’d meant to do for awhile, but I was spending enough time reading then that it seemed like a good idea, if only to help me keep track of some series.

With most series, I can remember what I’ve read, but there are some that the titles are so generic, or so esoteric, or whatever that it’s hard to keep track. Seriously, A Stained White Radiance or The Neon Rain are great titles, and exactly the kind of thing that you expect James Lee Burke to call a book. But there’s just no way that you can look at one of those and say, “Oh yeah, that’s the one where Robicheaux does something.” Unless it’s get angrier than he should at something and/or fall off the wagon. Because it’s a decent bet he does both of those. I should note here, that I haven’t read a Robicheaux novel since 2011, and it was the one after b>A Stained White Radiance, so maybe he’s stopped doing those things quite so predictably. Maybe. It’s not just Burke — I’ve read all 9 of the Jane Yellowrock novels and I think I can only tell you what happened in one of them from the title (if I look at a plot description, most of the titles make sense, though).

It’s also a good way to remember the obscure author name, maybe to help plan your reading, and so on.

Mid-2010, I joined Goodreads, which took care of a lot of those problems, but by then it was too late, I was tracking.

Inevitably, you start comparing — huh, I’ve only read X books so far this year. Last year, by this time, I’d already read X+5! Wonder why that is? And then (if you’re wired like me), you start competing with yourself — because why not turn reading into a competition? If cooking can be competitive, so can reading. (Actually, I remember some of my elementary school teachers doing that, too — and I crushed those wimps foolish enough to be assigned to the same classroom as me). So if I read Y books in 2009, I’ll read Y+70 in 2010. (not an actual goal — but it happened. I think ’09 was an off year).

Speaking of Goodreads, their oft-maligned annual Reading Challenges didn’t help much. And that little note, “You’re ___ books behind schedule”? It’s the bane of my existence. Because I know it’s foolish to tie any sort of self-worth to that Challenge Number, and that I shouldn’t turn this into a numbers game, I do. And the fact that for most of this year, I’ve been 11 books behind schedule has driven me crazy (only 7 behind, at the moment however). I did a little math over the weekend, and it’s still possible for me to hit my goal for the year. It’s not inconceivable that I could top it.* Now, I’m steadfastly refusing to choose books based on their size — but I’m probably not going to grab an epic fantasy in the next month. And when I picked up the books waiting for me at the library today, I was happier than I should’ve been to see that Ethan Hawke’s Rules for a Knight is tiny — 4.4″ x 6.3″ — but I was also disappointed (c’mon, Hawke, I thought you were an artist!)

What about you? Are you governed by the count? Pages or books? (yeah, this year I started tracking pages, too. Going to hate myself for that eventually).

More importantly: how’s your BookLikes/Goodreads/whatever challenge going?
—
* Fine, I’ll admit it, it’d be easy to fall a couple short, too.

Saturday Miscellany – 11/28/15

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On November 28, 2015

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

    This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • Luke Skywalker Can’t Read by Ryan Britt — A combination of geekery, humor and cultural commentary. I’m seriously stoked about this one, having heard Britt on a couple of episodes of The Once & Future Podcast — notably this one about the book.
  • Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe — the brain behind xkcd has a new book, where using only the most common “ten-hundred” English words and line drawings, he explains complicated things like: food-heating radio boxes (microwaves); tall roads (bridges); the shared space house (the International Space Station), the pieces everything is made of (the periodic table), boxes that make clothes smell better (washers and dryers).
  • Santa 365 by Spencer Quinn — a Chet & Bernie short, seemingly holiday related. If nothing else, should ally fears some fans had at the end of Scents and Sensibility

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and welcome to Ana Spoke and affyyia for following the blog this week.

Review Catch Up: The Rosie Project; Where’d You Go, Bernadette; The Rosie Effect; Funny Girl

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On November 27, 2015

In Authors, F-J, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Nick Hornby

I’m hitting another block when trying to talk about the last few books I’ve read, because here’s another batch of very overdue takes on some good books (and one not).
—

The Rosie ProjectThe Rosie Project

by Graeme Simsion
Series: Don Tillman, #1
Hardcover, 304 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2013
Read: November 6, 2013


This was charming, witty, and had plenty of heart — even without the romance, which just took it all to another level. It was just plain fun to read.

Don Tillman is just a great character — he’s likely someone with Asperger’s, if not fully Autistic. Which is mentioned once or twice, and then not brought up again. He’s then treated as a stubborn, curious, character with behavior patterns no one can seem to understand, but most people in his life figure out hot to cope with. Sometimes they laugh at him, sometimes they get frustrated or angry. What he’s not treated as is someone with anything. He’s not treated by his symptoms, he’s just treated as this guy. Simsion’s treatment of Don reminds me of Abed Nadir, from Community (which is high praise from me).

The only complaint I had was that the last chapter wasn’t really needed, and maybe would’ve been best left to the imagination. But, setting that aside, it felt rushed, while the rest of the book was so well done, it just stuck out like a sore thumb.

Still, whatever — one of my favorite books of 2013, and still one of the best RomComs I can remember.
5 Stars

Where'd You Go, BernadetteWhere’d You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple

Hardcover, 330 pg.
Little, Brown and Company, 2012
Read: January 01 – 02, 2014

Do you get seasick? People who don’t get seasick have no idea what it’s like. It’s not just nausea. It’s nausea plus losing the will to live.

I should get that embroidered on something.

This starts light and breezy, a little strange, a little typical “these crazy (white) suburbanites with too much money”; but you know it’s going to get dark eventually — probably nasty dark, but first it’s going to lull you into a false sense of fun. I don’t think it gets as dark as it felt like it could’ve, it didn’t need to, and I’m glad it didn’t — but there was a whole lot going on that the whacky beginning didn’t indicate.

You don’t have care about the story because these characters are strength enough to carry your attention for quite awhile with nothing happening — and Semple’s style is just as strong. But there is a story here, a story of a daughter discovering just who her mother was — as is — a story about a talented woman who ended up loving a life she’d never have expected or picked for herself or her family. So you do care about the story — especially the way it’s told, in bits and pieces, jumping back and forth through time, from multiple perspectives — particularly when you get two or three perspectives painting a picture of an event — as Bee digs into her investigation.

Fun story, quirky characters, well-told story, with plenty of heart — and too many quotable lines. I jotted down a few that I can’t resist sharing, even in this abbreviated post.

You probably think, U.S./Canada, they’re interchangeable because they’re both filled with English-speaking, morbidly obese white people. Well, Manjula, you couldn’t be more mistaken.

Americans are pushy obnoxious, neurotic, crass — anything and everything — the full catastrophe as our friend Zorba might say. Canadians are one of that. . . To Canadians, everyone is equal. Joni Mitchell is interchangeable with a secretary at open-mic night. Frank Gehry is no greater than a hack pumping out McMansions on AutoCAD, John Candy is no funnier than Uncle Lou when he gets a couple of beers in him. No wonder the only Canadians anyone’s ever heard of are the ones who have gotten the hell out. Anyone with talent who stayed would be flattened under an avalanche of equality.

Really, who wants to admit to her daughter that she was once considered the most promising architect in the country, but now devotes her celebrated genius to maligning the driver in front of her for having Idaho plates?”

4 Stars

The Rosie EffectThe Rosie Effect

by Graeme Simsion
Series: Don Tillman, #2

Hardcover, 352 pg.
Simon & Schuster, 2014
Read: January 12 – 13, 2015

“To the world’s most perfect woman.” It was lucky my father was not present. Perfect is an absolute that cannot be modified, like unique or pregnant. My love for Rosie was so powerful that it had caused my brain to make a grammatical error.

Don and Rosie are living in New York, getting used to married life, and expecting a kid. None of which goes well — so, of course, Don tries to tackle things the same way he did in the last book. Instant sequel, just add water.

This sequel was written with the same wit and skill as The Rosie Project, but the story wasn’t there — and more importantly, neither was the heart.

Mostly, I think, because Rosie wasn’t around for a lot — and when she was there, she wasn’t a character, she was an obstacle.

Other than really liking the occasional line (maybe more than occasional), I just didn’t like how Rosie or Don were written, the plot was shoddy and contrived, and I was just glad to be done with it so I could move on.
2 Stars

Funny GirlFunny Girl

by Nick Hornby

Hardcover, 452 pg.
Riverhead Books, 2015
Read: February 7, 2015

How on earth could he love her? But he did, Or, at least, she made him feel sick, sad, and distracted. Perhaps there was another way of describing that unique and useless combination of feelings, but “love” would have to do for now.

Everything I know about this era of British culture and TV comes from The Hour and An Adventure in Space and Time, so I just have to trust that Hornby did his homework on this. I thought the behind-the-scenes stuff was great, it felt real — it felt like the kinds of conversations that writers and actors should be having anyway.

The love story turned out a lot different than I was sure it would – thankfully. Actually, most of the book did. This wasn’t the rags-to-riches-to-wreck story that it seemed like it was going to be, but a story of some people with dreams and talent doing what they could to get going in a cutthroat business. Dreams were chased, many were caught, others changed/grew — as did the dreamers.

In the midst of the discussions about the nature of their show and the stories they told — both during the making of the show Barbara (and Jim) and in later chapters where it was being looked back at, I kept wondering if tucked away in all that was an apologia for light fiction like Hornby writes? If so, I appreciated it. (it also reminded me of some similar comments John Cleese has made lately, after coming to terms with being someone who makes people laugh, and not saving the world or something grander)

Thoughtful, heartfelt, charming — this is Hornby at his most confident and mature. I can see why some aren’t liking it, but it really clicked for me.

4 1/2 Stars

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