Seriously, I mean it. I know there have been a lot of angsty posts recently about the book blogging community being clique-ish or bitchy and it will soon collapse in on itself like a dying star. And I just wanted to say that I have never ever felt that way. My experience of book bloggers has been that you are exceptionally kind, gracious, welcoming, and courteous. You are forthcoming with congratulations on good occasions and commiserations on bad. You give birthday presents like hobbits. You very sweetly email me to tell me the twists in the books you’ve just read…
52 CommentsReading the End Posts
I was enjoying Righteous well enough for the first half of the book, though I did recognize that I might be burning out on Christian culture. I feel I am ready to move on and tackle some of the zillions of recommendations y’all gave me for fantasy books (y’all rock, by the way, thanks for those). And then, oh dear, then I got to the chapter about black churches, and it ruined the rest of the book for me. The chapter is hella condescending and stereotype-y: But these days, it’s not pimps but preachers who slip into custom-made three-piece suits…
15 CommentsNote: Edwidge Danticat has the best name in all the land. I shall say it as often as possible in this review because it is a superb name. Edwidge Danticat. Breath, Eyes, Memory is a goes-off-to-live-with book. (Written by Edwidge Danticat.) I love a goes-off-to-live-with book, although now that I am a grown-up, such books are increasingly likely to involve severe trauma at the original home or the place where the character goes off to live. Sophie (the protagonist invented by Edwidge Danticat) has spent all of her twelve years with her Tante Atie, but suddenly she must leave her…
27 CommentsWhy does everyone always get raped in fantasy books? That’s what I want to know. I was all excited to read Daughter of the Blood, which Memory and Ana both said was wonderful, but see, if I had just glanced at Amazon and seen the plot synopsis that said “Sexual violence pervades [this book]”, I would have known in advance that it is not for me. As it was I was doggedly determined to finish it, and I got all through, and nothing got resolved because it’s the first in a series, and, and, and I am sad. I really…
48 CommentsThe jacket copy on the Gene Wolfe books at the library assured me that Gene Wolfe’s most famous books are a series with the word Sun in them, but failed to explain to me which book was the first of that series. Yes, I could have looked it up on the library computers, but I was only getting his books in the first place because he was right there under W, and Sexing the Cherry was not, so I couldn’t be bothered expending a lot of effort. Again I say unto you: It is not a good strategy to get…
18 Comments