![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maribouSalt, by Adam Roberts
Enh. It's very intelligent and interesting but the character/dialogue aspect sucked. There were no real conversations worth mentioning until something like page 67. This is a serious flaw. Too much worldbuilding, not enough story. (It didn't help that both of the main pov characters were obnoxious, though I've liked books with obnoxious characters before.)
(120/200)
Queer and Pleasant Danger, by Louise Rafkin
A comfortable mix of short stories and essays, quite worth reading and I'll keep an eye out for other things she has written.
(121/200)
Evening's Empire, by David Herter
This was a lovely, quiet book, charming and good at the slow increase of creepy ominosity. The blurb compared it to Gene Wolfe and Charles de Lint, but that really doesn't resonate with me. It felt like M. R. James, aesthetically, though it's a flavour similarity rather than a direct likeness. Very smart and never put a noticeable foot wrong, as far as I was concerned.
(122/200)
Where God Begins to Be: A Woman's Journey into Solitude, by Karen Karper
Enh. It is a good example of what it is, but I've read rather better in the genre, so it didn't do much for me. I was very charmed by the stories about her cat, and about the wild roses, but mostly it felt like an outline that could've been a better book. Fine, but not outstanding.
(123/200)
Broca's Brain, by Carl Sagan
I do love me some Carl Sagan. That said, I wouldn't recommend starting with this book as it is quite dated. I think The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is more succinct and has better stood the test of time. However, there are some great bits in this one, and it's kind of cool to read speculations/recommendations about stuff that did, in fact, happen. Like Mars rovers! Whee.
(124/200)
Pages Passed from Hand to Hand: The Hidden Tradition of Homosexual Literature, edited by David Leavitt and Mark Mitchell
Unduly many of the pieces in this anthology were either a) not terribly homosexual or b) kind of unpleasant to modern sensibilities. But taken as a whole, there was some very good stuff, some historically-interesting stuff, and the introductory blurbs were keen. Also, I have now actually read something by Melville. Perhaps someday I will read something by Melville that I enjoy rather than just finding acceptably diverting.
(125/200)
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Truly sparkling. I can see why chick lit and Jane Austen often go hand in hand in people's preferences; absolutely undemanding and hard to put down. Very nuanced and intelligent, also. Not much to say about Austen that people haven't previously written volumes covering, but I shall be reading more of her.
(126/200)
Enh. It's very intelligent and interesting but the character/dialogue aspect sucked. There were no real conversations worth mentioning until something like page 67. This is a serious flaw. Too much worldbuilding, not enough story. (It didn't help that both of the main pov characters were obnoxious, though I've liked books with obnoxious characters before.)
(120/200)
Queer and Pleasant Danger, by Louise Rafkin
A comfortable mix of short stories and essays, quite worth reading and I'll keep an eye out for other things she has written.
(121/200)
Evening's Empire, by David Herter
This was a lovely, quiet book, charming and good at the slow increase of creepy ominosity. The blurb compared it to Gene Wolfe and Charles de Lint, but that really doesn't resonate with me. It felt like M. R. James, aesthetically, though it's a flavour similarity rather than a direct likeness. Very smart and never put a noticeable foot wrong, as far as I was concerned.
(122/200)
Where God Begins to Be: A Woman's Journey into Solitude, by Karen Karper
Enh. It is a good example of what it is, but I've read rather better in the genre, so it didn't do much for me. I was very charmed by the stories about her cat, and about the wild roses, but mostly it felt like an outline that could've been a better book. Fine, but not outstanding.
(123/200)
Broca's Brain, by Carl Sagan
I do love me some Carl Sagan. That said, I wouldn't recommend starting with this book as it is quite dated. I think The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is more succinct and has better stood the test of time. However, there are some great bits in this one, and it's kind of cool to read speculations/recommendations about stuff that did, in fact, happen. Like Mars rovers! Whee.
(124/200)
Pages Passed from Hand to Hand: The Hidden Tradition of Homosexual Literature, edited by David Leavitt and Mark Mitchell
Unduly many of the pieces in this anthology were either a) not terribly homosexual or b) kind of unpleasant to modern sensibilities. But taken as a whole, there was some very good stuff, some historically-interesting stuff, and the introductory blurbs were keen. Also, I have now actually read something by Melville. Perhaps someday I will read something by Melville that I enjoy rather than just finding acceptably diverting.
(125/200)
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Truly sparkling. I can see why chick lit and Jane Austen often go hand in hand in people's preferences; absolutely undemanding and hard to put down. Very nuanced and intelligent, also. Not much to say about Austen that people haven't previously written volumes covering, but I shall be reading more of her.
(126/200)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-06-18 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-19 03:29 pm (UTC)