An odd month at Reading is my Superpower. I feel like I was all over the place with my reading, and I had a high percentage of books that made me go “meh.” However, August was also the month of the Best. Comments. Ever. on Reading is my Superpower! If you don’t know what’s going on over at George RR Martin Defends Genre, you really ought to check out the comments thread for a thoughtful dissection of whether or not genre fiction can hold its…
This week’s question: There was a widely bruited-about statistic reported last week, stating that 1 in 4 Americans did not read a single book last year. Clearly, we don’t fall into that category, but . . . how many of our friends do? Do you have friends/family who read as much as you do? Or are you the only person you know who has a serious reading habit? I’ve always been the biggest reader in any of the groups of friends I’ve been in throughout…
Synopsis: After learning of the death of her abusive ex-boyfriend, a woman returns to the home by the lake she once loved to build a new life and exorcise old ghosts. Review: I am a very big fan of T. Greenwood’s second novel, Nearer than the Sky, and I have no excuse for why it took me so long to read Breathing Water, her debut. Simply put, Greenwood is a beautiful prose stylist who isn’t afraid to explore dark and scary places with characters who…
The George RR Martin quote I posted yesterday has struck a nerve and garnered some very, very thoughtful and intelligent comments on both sides of the debate. Please check it out. Additionally, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist (where that Martin quote came from) points to this article in the online edition of a North Carolina newspaper, which expounds upon a point that some in the comments thread on my Martin post were making:
Synopsis: The sole survivor of humankind’s first trip to space is a ruined, broken Jesuit priest, for whom the encounter with alien life brought him both divinely inspired rapture and despair. Review: When humanity finally hears a voice from space, it’s music, and thanks to a bold young scientist the first mission to the source of the transmission is financed by the Jesuits, completely under the radar of the rest of the world. However, something has gone horribly wrong, and no one has survived the…
I had to call attention to this quote from the interview on Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist with George RR Martin, Garner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham, whose collaboration Hunter’s Run is about to come out. For those who are not familiar with George RR Martin, he is the author of the 7-book epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. He’s currently working on book #5, and the whole thing was optioned by HBO to become a 7-season TV series. Now that’s worth getting cable for.
Synopsis: When her magazine is taken over by a bullheaded celebrity, editor-in-chief Magnolia Gold tries to go along to get along–until she gets handed a pink slip. Review: I am not ashamed to admit that I love a good ‘n’ dishy roman a clef. But Little Pink Slips was a HUGE disappointment. I felt like author Sally Koslow was simply recycling material from other, better books, and none of her satire was particularly fresh. Her worse sin of all? Squandering her source material.
I’m a few days late with this but I loved the question, and decided to use it after finishing a work read about a rather lonely little girl. When growing up did your family share your love of books? If so, did one person get you into reading? And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)
Synopsis: On the eve of the sale of the family’s multimillion dollar business, black sheep Alban makes his way home where he will have to confront the truth about his mother’s death and the love that lingers for his cousin Sophie. Review: I was intrigued by the plot of The Steep Approach to Garbadale, hinging as it does around a family that built its fortune on a successful Risk-type game. That kind of staggering wealth and the ramifications on relationships sounds fascinating to me, particularly…
About 200 pages into Second Glance by Jodi Picoult, I decided to give up–not just on the book, but on her altogether. I thought she was just hit-and-miss, but now I’m convinced that if I read anything more by her I’ll stop liking the one book of hers I did like, Sister’s Keeper, which I just recommended to my friend Karen. I thought I’d really enjoy Second Glance, which promised to delve into eugenics in the first part of the 20th Century in America, a…