write at least one book review per month, til I reach 100!

Okay, so it wasn’t a book – but what better thing to have as my ‘ton’ than… 43 Things! :)

I swithered about writing a review for ages – after all, it’s combing two different bits of my ‘online persona’, but really, I don’t put anything I consider too controversial here!

After that, it took me a dozen attempts to write a review that was short enough – and it’s still almost 2k words! Really, there is a LOT going on in this little corner of the ‘net :)

I’m surprised at myself – it’s been an age since I reviewed a book! But I had a Lush review binge before Christmas, a couple of movies, a couple of non-product waffles… and looky! I’m up to 98!

So… I’m going to hit part of this goal – the (just not book) review writing, and yes, at least once a month. Perhaps I’ll make the effort to make number 100 more literary :)

I enjoyed the Thursday Next series quite a lot, but I did wonder if I was missing some of the jokes through lack of familiarity with some of the classic fiction used as source material. Here, that ‘problem’ is solved by using nursery rhymes as a base instead.

I did think it was all going to be rather obvious – you see a beanstalk, you kinda know where that’s going! But Ffffforde is pretty good at developing a mystery from not revealing the questions, rather than making you guess the answers. Plus, it kind of goes off on tangents I wasn’t expecting!

(ps the (minor) character, Inspector Moose, did make me chuckle for more than one reason…! ;))

I actually started reviewing this book almost 2 years ago, when I first read it. It went the way of about 80% of my reviews: I ran out of inspiration and it was never finished. However, I proved that it’s good to hold on to those original notes, as there are often bits I can lift into the new version :)

Anyway. This is fairly imaginative sci-fi, thankfully low on techno-babble. The story is split into three, following different characters in 3 different centuries. The alternating chapter style is done well, as it can often be annoying.

Self-replicating machines, AIs running the world, life in virtual reality, and a nanny-state to the nth degree… Worth reading, especially as an introduction to the sequels.

_{(It doesn’t really fit here, but I don’t have a goal where it does, so… bleh)}

Apparently, the ‘average’ person will read just 300 books in their lifetime. I find that sad. And worrying – I have almost 300 books on my shelf I want to read already! I feel I can’t find enough time to read, but 300 books represents about 6 years on my current rate, and I can still think of so many more I want to pick up. How sad to limit yourself to just 300 out of all those volumes out there.

And just to keep on topic… I wonder if I could ever review 300 books? ;)

Actually, I’m a bit p*ssed off, ‘cos some bimbette just (peer) rated me down on a perfectly well-written review without leaving a reason, and I can’t help but suspect it’s because I poke fun at people who deny evolution is real :P

Ahem, that’s not the point, of course!

Not a great book, but interesting in some bits (ie not the bits about General Relativity Theory), mostly because I found it challenged the simplistic way human beings tend to view cause and effect. Mostly through disinterest, laziness, or just lack of time to know about every subject rather than stupidity (at least in some cases!) but slightly mind-expanding anyway.

It’s been some six months since I posted in this goal, but before I make a proper entry again I’d like to point out that I haven’t been slacking – I’ve posted seven reviews/opinions in that time, just not on books!

However, the next review is written and awaiting a category and it IS about a book :)

Wrote the bulk of this a while back, after reading the book, but only just got round to polishing it off. It was a book that inspired me to throw adjectives at it – baroque, sprawling, dark, dangerous, wonderful, filthy, exciting, horrible, lovely.

Mieville truly paints with words – I saw a lot of New Crobuzon in dark purples; here, though, Armada’s shadows are black, but the rest is rusty red and washed-out wood tones, surrounded by the blue-green sea and rimmed in white salt. The words create a city-scale with ease, but a city built on odd levels between and within ships, with masts and smoke stacks and rigging punctuating the skyline.

From one I didn’t like much, to one I really did. I’ve read less sci-fi so far than fantasy, but the stuff I have read has mostly grabbed my attention – and this was no different. I’m not too keen on hard sci-fi, all ‘facts’ and figures, much preferring stories like this one, where the technology is a part of the tale but not everything.

Altered Carbon is an old-style ‘film’ noir detective tale, pushed several centuries into the future. Here, mankind has every thought and memory digitally stored in a ‘stack’ implant, meaning that the digital ‘soul’ can be transmitted across space at light speed… or transplanted into a whole fresh new body!!

August’s offering is done and posted, and has earned me 12p in 20 minutes, LOL!

So wasn’t impressed with this book – it spent a long time setting the scene and vividly describing Alais’ 12thC home… then kept on going with that level of detail. The story was dragged out over about 300 pages too many, totally killing any suspense and a great deal of my interest. And I hated the sudden slew of revelations at the end, even more than the gormless ‘heroine’, Alice.

Glad to have finished this review. It was sitting in note form for ages, to the point where I usually decide I can’t remember enough and abandon it. But I sat for an hour doing redrafts, and got it out! :)