News/Misc. - The Irresponsible Reader

From the Mailbag: Whither Pratchett?

On October 11, 2013

Received this e-mail today from someone submitting a comment to the “Suggest a Book” form:

Do have reviews on ANY Terry Pratchett book. Would love to “hear” your thoughts…

Thanks for the question! Not just because I like getting suggestions/e-mails, but also because I had nothing else to post today, having opted for sleep and time with my family over finishing a book.*

Pratchett’s a legend — almost universally praised and adored. I read the first two Discworld novels back in 2011, and didn’t care for ’em. Which I assume is an indictment of me, my taste, and very likely my morality, patriotism and love for my wife. So, readers, is it just these first couple of books? Should I start with a different Pratchett book? I’d like to bask in his particular brand of genius, just need a hand.

Anyway, I wasn’t going to bother dusting these off as they’re so short, but since you asked, here are my 2-star reviews for the first two Discworld novels.

The Colour of Magic

by Terry Pratchett
Hardcover, 183 pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 1983

It was amusing enough–chuckle-inducing in more than one place–but I never connected with it, not the story, not the characters, not the world. Left me pretty durn blah.

Probably just me, eh?

The Light Fantastic

by Terry Pratchett
Hardcover, 189 pg
Colin Smythe, 1987

I liked this one better than The Colour of Magic — it was better constructed, the characters were a touch more believable as characters, and I certainly laughed more. But, I had the same issues with this as I had with the previous.

I just didn’t care about anything or anyone, and saw no reason why I should.

Funny, clever stuff, and I couldn’t wait to be done with it.

—–

* Not that I didn’t try for all three

In Medias Res: The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

By HCNewton

On October 10, 2013

In Authors, Currently Reading, Fantasy, Fiction, In Medias Res, P-U, Rick Riordan, YA/MG/Children's Books

as the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so this is not a review, just some thoughts mid-way through

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The House of Hades

by Rick Riordan

Okay, we’re in the home stretch of the third mythology-based series from Riordan, and by this time it’s pretty easy to what he’s up to, it’s like clockwork, the way he builds these things.

But just because his books have become formulaic doesn’t mean they’re bad. It’s not the formula, it’s the execution. There’s a reason that NCIS and Law & Order reruns are almost constantly on the air somewhere, they do it right. As does Rick Riordan. Fun, engaging, educational — bah, enough of this, I’m getting back to Percy, Jason, Annabeth, Leo and the rest.

In Medias Res: Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway

By HCNewton

On October 10, 2013

In Currently Reading, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, In Medias Res

as the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so this is not a review, just some thoughts mid-way through

—–

Islands in the Stream

by Ernest Hemingway

Part 1 of this had some of the most enjoyable passages (for me) in Hemingway’s works, some things I just didn’t see the point of, but overall I really liked this.

Part 2? Now, that I’m only getting through because I’m stubbornly persisting, that’s all.

I hope Part 3 turns this around.

Saturday Miscellany – 10/5

By HCNewton

On October 5, 2013

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:

Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With ‘Netflix for Books’ — Oh goody, another literary Netflix. Wonder if one of these will take off.
British Students Ban “Blurred Lines” From Their Own Universities — I thought in the shadow of Banned Book Week this was a provocative — and disturbing — piece
The Inevitability of Formulaic Writing in Literary Fiction: A Case Study — a fun read

Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman — The more I learn about Offerman, the more I admire him — beyond his acting, he seems to be a heckuva guy.
Entangled by Amy Rose Capetta — This YA SF book has a heckuva concept.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie — Another book with a killer concept.
The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente — My daughter loves these books, keeps telling me I need to read them. Sure looks like a good idea.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion — I like the sound of this one

Anton Strout-Apalooza 2013

By HCNewton

On October 2, 2013

In Anton Strout, Books, Fiction, News/Misc., Urban Fantasy, Writing

I want this blog to be about more than just my reviews, like many readers, I’m interested in the process of writing and the people who do it. So I thought I’d try to look at what various authors are up to. One of the best side-effects of one of your favorite authors coming out with a new book in this social media-heavy age, is them being interviewed and/or writing guest posts for various and sundry blogs.

To promote his new book, Stonecast (which I’ll be reviewing here tomorrow), Anton Strout‘s been just about everywhere over the last couple of weeks, talking about Stonecast as well as sharing his thoughts about Urban Fantasy and writing in general. Thought I’d share a sample, there’s a lot to chew on and enjoy here:

Ten Questions About Stonecast — Chuck Wendig fires 10 questions at Strout
New Release Interview — from Suvudu.com
The Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe — this one is more about Anton Strout than Stonecast
Interrogate the Author — Amber Benson does a quick intereview with Strout.
Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together: You’ve Got Your Nerds in My Urban Fantasy! — Strout talks about the tone for his current series, how he mixes in nerddom with his UF
Getting Stoned: Gargoyles, Golems, and Why Petrification Magic Is Awesome — Strout talks about some of the inspirations for his current series
Para-urban Rom-antasy — Strout talks about the differences and similarities in Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasty, and why he writes the kind he does
Blank is the New Vampire — Strout talks about attempting to write “The Next Big Thing” in a genre
Kasey Kasem Is My Spirit Animal — behind that odd title (and odder thought, Kasem? Really??) is some good advice for aspiring writers
Got Writer’s Block? No, You Don’t — very valuable writing advice
Life as a Serial Murderer — Strout talks about his struggles with learning how to write not just a book, but a series

Hopefully that gives you a decent flavor of both the author and the book/series. Check out both The Spellmason Chronicles as well as his Simon Canderous books.

Saturday Miscellany – 9/28

By HCNewton

On September 28, 2013

In Books, News/Misc., Saturday Miscellany

Before we get to the regular subjects: I’m starting to play with the typical format my reviews come in, as you’ll see in a couple hours. Links should take you to more official sites for the author/book, I’ll try to offer a little more information about the particular book I read, and it’ll look a tad different, too. I’d appreciate any feedback you’d care to share.

Only one entry in the ol’ Odds ‘n Ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye and seemed worth sharing. You may have seen this already, but just in case:

We are the people of the book…. — not sure what to call this Cory Doctorow quotation, but I like it. I like it a lot.

Stonecast by Anton Strout — book 2 of the Stonemason Chronicles, been looking forward to this for a while. Expect to see a lot about this one soon
Charming by Elliott James — Know nothing about this author, read nothing about it other than the description, but seems like the kind of thing worth a read.
The Plague Force by Jason M. Hough — The Dire Earth Cycle concludes
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson — go read The Big Idea entry for this one

Categories: Books, News/Misc.
Tags: Miscellany

Saturday Miscellany – 9/21

By HCNewton

On September 21, 2013

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:

Don’t Ban Books Like Eleanor and Park, Teens Need Them — While I’m anti-book banning on principle, I can understand the reasoning* some institutions have for some books. But Eleanor and Park? Really? No. Not a chance. Reprehensible with a capital R-E-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-B-L-E.
Writing in Your Books: An Act of Engagement or Blasphemy? — A decent survey of the question. But ultimately, Goldberg’s position is wrong.
The 20 stages of reading — Lynda Barry does a pretty good job of capturing the life cycle of the reader, thankfully, I’m ahead of the curve
Hemingway estate’s Vanity Fair grudge — I can only imagine that Hemingway would endorse his heirs’ actions regarding Vanity Fair
5 Ways to Make Football More Appealing to Book Nerds — B&N’s Paul Goat Allen gives some snicker-worthy suggestions

Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff — Book 2 of The Lotus War. I loved Book 1 of this Japanese Steampunk series and have been eagerly awaiting this. Such a rich world, realized and depicted so skillfully and wonderfully.

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* Please note, I said understand, didn’t say agree with

The Great Way Kickstarter

By HCNewton

On September 19, 2013

In Authors, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, News/Misc.

Harry Connolly, writer of the criminally underselling UF series The Twenty Palaces, has moved on to Epic Fantasy. This project sounds great — watch the video, read the Kickstarter page, toss some money at the guy.

Saturday Miscellany 9/14

By HCNewton

On September 14, 2013

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:

Books for Boys and Books for Girls: Problems with Gendered Reading — I can’t agree with everything here, but it’s worth the time.
Tumblr chooses Rainbow Rowell’s ‘Fangirl’ as first official book club selection — Not sure I care that Tumblr has themselves a book club (other than my general pro-book club stance), but really like the idea that Rowell’s getting this kind of exposure
Author Terri Bruce stops publisher selling error-strewn books — Good for her!! Also, good that she didn’t get physically violent over this 🙂
Ten Things That Drive Books Crazy — good for a laugh or two

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell — Rowell’s taken a firm hold on my “read ASAP” list with her first two books, really looking forward to this one
Robert B. Parker’s Damned if You Do by Michael Brandman — 5 years ago, if you’d told me I’d be apprehensive about opening a new Jesse Stone, I’d have looked at you like you were crazy. Yet here we are. Still, Paradise, MA calls, and I answer.
The Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn — I litterally hopped in my chair a little bit when I realized this book was released this week. This is going to be fun!

Saturday Miscellany – 9/7

By HCNewton

On September 7, 2013

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:

Kindle Matchbook announced — I’ve heard a lotta pros and cons about this since the announcement. Not so sure it’s good for the author.
Harper Lee settles ‘Mockingbird’ copyright suit — not a lot of details on this, but I’ll take any excuse to think about Lee and her novel
Oyster: The Netflix Of Books — not sure what I think of this, what about you?
Chevy Chase in Booked — from Funny or Die, perhaps it’d be a good idea for Chase to switch to audio books?

Never Go Back by Lee Child — whoops! listed this a week early.
Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire — new Toby Daye! new Toby Daye!

Category: News/Misc. Page 222 of 229

Islands in the Stream