All posts by Superfast Reader

Bossypants by Tina Fey

American Literature 3 Comments

Synopsis: Tina Fey’s memoir of her rise from nerdy little Philly girl to comedy superstar and member of the showbiz power elite. Review: Naturally, I opted for the audiobook version of Bossypants since Tina Fey was doing the reading herself. Yay! Bonus: it included the full version of the Katie Couric/Sarah Palin interview sketch that she and Amy Poehler did for SNL. Unbonus: it does not include the worldbeatingly awesome rap that Amy Poehler did when Sarah Palin actually visited SNL (what Fey labels a…

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Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb (The Liveship Traders, Book 1)

American Literature 2 Comments

Synopsis: Althea Vestrit always thought she’d captain her family’s liveship, the Vivacia, newly quickened by the death of her father, but her sister’s husband’s machinations strip it from her hands, delivering the ship into a situation that threatens to break her mind, which puts her crew in mortal danger. Review: I loved returning to Bingtown and my beloved Althea Vestrit in this re-read (actually a listen) of Ship of Magic. Few things have captured my imagination as Hobbs liveships, sailing vessels with figureheads who can…

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Golden Fool by Robin Hobb (The Tawny Man, Book 2)

American Literature

Synopsis: FitzChivalry, the bastard, returns to Buckkeep to train Prince Dutiful in the Skill, even as tensions rise among the various factions of people who practice the despised Wit animal magic–including Prince Dutiful. Review: Golden Fool takes the story of Fitz and the Fool into a whole new direction, reminding me why I have always praised Hobb for her willingness to take risks. Not much more I can say without offering up too many spoilers for previous books, but if you’ve made it this far…

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The Inheritance and Other Stories by Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm

American Literature

Synopsis: A set of stories by two authors sharing one body: edgy sci fi by Megan Lindholm and longer fantasy by Robin Hobb. Review: I really enjoyed almost all of the stories in The Inheritance. I liked returning to the Rain Wilds in Hobb’s stories, especially because these stories were longer. But the Lindholm stories have an edge to them that I miss in Hobb’s works, and I yearn to see more of that anger and complexity in the Six Duchies stories. This is definitely…

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Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb (The Tawny Man)

American Literature

Synopsis: Bastard assassin Fitz is brought out of hiding by King Shrewd’s fool, now living as haughty Lord Golden, in order to find missing Prince Dutiful, believed to have been seduced by a group of outlaws practicing an extreme form of beast magic. Review: Fool’s Errand picks up about 15 years after the end of the Farseer Trilogy, with the events of the Liveship Traders books happening in between. I remember thinking that this series was much weirder than the relatively straightforward Farseer epic. I’m…

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Sheepish by Catherine Friend

American Literature

Synopsis: Subtitled: “Two Women, Fifty Sheep, and Enough Wool to Save the Planet.” Review: Sheepish is simply adorable, a sweet memoir that will delight and please anyone who loves knitting, women, candor, humor, and sheep. There’s even a meditation on the environmental pros and cons of wool vs. artificial fibers. My only wish is that it came with patterns and pictures, but maybe someday she’ll feature some on her website.

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Sherry and Narcotics by Nina-Marie Gardner

American Literature 2 Comments

Synopsis: A young American woman who can’t stay sober moves to Manchester to live near the internet boyfriend who can only see her on Saturday nights. Review: I feel like I’ve read Sherry and Narcotics a million times, only with different names and in different cities. I’m not saying the book lacks literary merit, only that this particular kind of semi-autobiographical sexy self-destructiveness seems to have a perennial appeal. 10 years ago I read Morvern Callar and thought it was deep; now I just feel…

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Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 3)

American Literature

Synopsis: The bastard son of a dead king goes on a quest to find his missing uncle, gone to rouse the mythical Elderlings and save the Six Duchies from the fearsome Red Ship Raiders. Review: Assassin’s Quest reminded me why I fell in love with Robin Hobb. Despite some of the missteps in overly broad characterizations, I was swept away by the epic storytelling. I really got tired of the narrator of the audio version, and I have to say I’m a bit relieved that…

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The Panic Virus by Seth Mnookin

American Literature

Synopsis: A history of the origins and controversies in the debate over vaccine safety. Review: The Panic Virus is well-researched and provocative, and lays out a convincing case that the furor over vaccines was fueled by fear, charlatanism, ignorance, and bad science. However, I don’t think it will convince anyone who is totally opposed to vaccines. But for me, as someone who was persuaded by many of the anti-vaccine arguments even as I believed in the public health good of vaccines, I came away feeling…

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Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon (The Deed of Paksenarrion)

American Literature

Synopsis: A continuation of the story of Kieri Phelan, the newly crowned half-elven king at odds with his elven grandmother, and Dorrin, the female Duke of Verrakai, seeking to use her power to pursue vengeance against her family of evil mage lords. Review: I had trouble getting through Kings of the North. It felt like a lot of exposition and water-treading. I love these characters and have been enthralled by the series to date, but just didn’t really enjoy this installment. But will definitely give…

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