All posts by Superfast Reader

Come Along With Me by Shirley Jackson

American Literature 7 Comments

Synopsis: Short stories, essays, and an unfinished novel by Shirley Jackson, queen of American Gothic and author of “The Lottery.” Review: My love for Shirley Jackson has been well documented in this blog, so I was delighted when my husband got me Come Along With Me for my birthday. The collection opens with “Come Along With Me,” the novel that Jackson was working on when she died at the untimely age of 44. At about 33 pages, there isn’t much of a narrative, just a…

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Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

American Literature 6 Comments

Synopsis: After finally returning to her homeland, having been kidnapped as a child, Yelena must tame the magic she never knew she had even as she’s suspected of being a spy and embroiled in the hunt to catch a nefarious serial killer. Review: It’s been a little exciting up in here lately, with new baby being WAY more interesting than any book in the world. Strangely enough I was between books when she made her arrival, having just finished Red Seas Under Red Skies. I…

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Usborne Books for Kids

On Reading 6 Comments

My best friend Mandy set up an Usborne e-store for me that’s running through December 1st. Any books bought through this e-store earn points for me towards free books… and we all want Superfast Baby to be well-read, right? There are internet specials, sale items, and a raffle, plus information on how you can host your own Usborne e-show. Mandy has a master’s in children’s literature, teaching credentials, and is the mother of 2 of the best kids in the world. And I’m not prejudiced…

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Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

American Literature 1 Comment

Synopsis: Master thief and con artist Locke Lamora is back with his steadfast sidekick Jean Tannen, both set to pull off the scheme of a lifetime when they are coerced into becoming–pirates? Review: Red Seas Under Red Skies is the follow up to Scott Lynch’s debut The Lies of Locke Lamora, a smash hit which placed a Sopranos-esque crime drama within a fresh, imaginatively realized fantasy world. The sequel throws swashbuckling in the mix, and the overall result of this melange is one of the…

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Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury

American Literature

Synopsis: Two novellas by Ray Bradbury. “Somewhere a Band is Playing” is a portrait of an unusually idyllic town, and “Leviathan ’99” is a retelling of Moby-Dick set in outer space. Review: Now and Forever contains two gorgeous gems in one slim volume. I have loved Ray Bradbury since childhood, with The Illustrated Man being my all-time favorite of his. I remember watching the old “Bradbury Tales” TV show in the 80s, which closed with a tag of Bradbury at his typewriter ripping off a…

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Gunnar’s Daughter by Sigrid Undset (Translated by Arthur G. Chater)

Norwegian Literature 5 Comments

Synopsis: Callously ravished by the man she hoped to love, an 11th Century Norwegian woman shapes her life around dreams of vengeance. Review: Gunnar’s Daughter is an early novel from the Sigrid Undset, author of the Nobel Prize-winning Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, and it is no less of a powerful, shocking work not just for a book set in medieval Norway, but for a book written at the beginning of the 20th Century.

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The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay (The Fionavar Tapestry, Book 3)

Canadian Literature 4 Comments

Synopsis: The conclusion of the epic battle against the darkness. Review: I’m sorry to announce to everyone who has been excited I’m reading Kay that I found The Darkest Road to be a slog… around page 275 I realized that I had nothing invested emotionally in any of the characters or their journeys. I just never really engaged with the story. That said, Kay is a beautiful writer and I will certainly be checking out Tigana and Last Light of the Sun, though not for…

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