So behind on book reviews
#84: Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel. 3. The central thesis is that passion and domesticity intersect so badly because you want to feel safe in a long term relationship and that the erotic thrives precisely on not feeling exactly safe. It's not a bad argument, but I didn't find it overall to be all that enlightening.
#85: Glasshouse by Charles Stross. 4. Dear god, was this a bad thing to be reading right after the 2016 election. I'd signed on for a bit of a sci fi mindfuck--I had not realized (just as the characters did not realize) I was in for enforced terrifying extremes of 1950s gender norms. It's actually a brilliant you-can't-trust-anyone game of paranoia, but the timing made it somewhat less enjoyable than it might have been some other time.
#86: The Fantasticks by Harvey Schmidt. 1.5. So I'd always hated this play unseen based on my extreme dislike of the song "Soon It's Gonna Rain." Then I decided that was irrational and unfair and that I should give it a chance. Nope! Still hate it! I dunno. Maybe if I'd read it when it came out it would have seemed innovative, but this just struck me as sophomoric bullshit.
#87: Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold. 4. Sweet novella filling in the gap of Miles' wedding in the Vorkosigan saga. Does not stand on its own in the slightest, doesn't need to.
#88: The Starry Rift by James Tiptree, Jr. 3. Interesting but extremely dated "novel" of several interconnected stories. It doesn't have the gut-punch impact of some of Tiptree's best short fiction, but they're lovely little stories. A plot point hinging on the recorder on a spaceship running out of physical tape does emphasize the period quite a bit.
#89: Ridiculous by D.L. Carter. 4.5. Utterly delightful Regency romp. She's masquerading as a man to protect her family's fortune, he's an exasperated duke, they don't so much fight crime as storm ballrooms and dance with wallflowers and pine hilariously.
#90: Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts. 5. Teenage girl with superhero parents kind of accidentally stumbles into being a supervillain. Surprisingly charming and compulsively readable. I particularly appreciated the series of terrible decisions made for entirely believable teenage reasons, especially since the main character is pretty aware of the terribleness even as she makes them.
#91: Please Don't Tell My Parents I Blew Up the Moon by Richard Roberts. 4. Not quite as strong as the first in the series. Although the "let's go to a steampunk Jupiter" is a fun premise, I rather missed the need to make decisions about how to juggle being a "good" kid with being a supervillain. Also, I found some of the action sequences a little confusing. But still overall charming, and sets up some potential answers I look forward to seeing play out in the third book.
#92: Dear Cthulhu: Have a Dark Day by Patrick Thomas. 3. Advice column by Cthulhu. Kinda what it says on the tin. Not for reading straight, but amusing in short doses.
#93: Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik. 4. Temeraire goes to Africa. Africa...not so fond of Englishmen, or dragons. Fair enough. I do really like how Novik explores how different societies might treat dragons, and how that reflects on Laurence's growing disillusionment with his own country.
#94: Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik. 4. Oh Laurence, you woobie. Can you suffer nobly? Oh yes, you can. I have to say, Temeraire's decision to form his own militia of dragons is absolutely a delight.
#95: Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik. 4. Temeraire's attempts at dragon rebellion don't quite go the way he wants them to, as we continue our world tour in Australia.
#85: Glasshouse by Charles Stross. 4. Dear god, was this a bad thing to be reading right after the 2016 election. I'd signed on for a bit of a sci fi mindfuck--I had not realized (just as the characters did not realize) I was in for enforced terrifying extremes of 1950s gender norms. It's actually a brilliant you-can't-trust-anyone game of paranoia, but the timing made it somewhat less enjoyable than it might have been some other time.
#86: The Fantasticks by Harvey Schmidt. 1.5. So I'd always hated this play unseen based on my extreme dislike of the song "Soon It's Gonna Rain." Then I decided that was irrational and unfair and that I should give it a chance. Nope! Still hate it! I dunno. Maybe if I'd read it when it came out it would have seemed innovative, but this just struck me as sophomoric bullshit.
#87: Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold. 4. Sweet novella filling in the gap of Miles' wedding in the Vorkosigan saga. Does not stand on its own in the slightest, doesn't need to.
#88: The Starry Rift by James Tiptree, Jr. 3. Interesting but extremely dated "novel" of several interconnected stories. It doesn't have the gut-punch impact of some of Tiptree's best short fiction, but they're lovely little stories. A plot point hinging on the recorder on a spaceship running out of physical tape does emphasize the period quite a bit.
#89: Ridiculous by D.L. Carter. 4.5. Utterly delightful Regency romp. She's masquerading as a man to protect her family's fortune, he's an exasperated duke, they don't so much fight crime as storm ballrooms and dance with wallflowers and pine hilariously.
#90: Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts. 5. Teenage girl with superhero parents kind of accidentally stumbles into being a supervillain. Surprisingly charming and compulsively readable. I particularly appreciated the series of terrible decisions made for entirely believable teenage reasons, especially since the main character is pretty aware of the terribleness even as she makes them.
#91: Please Don't Tell My Parents I Blew Up the Moon by Richard Roberts. 4. Not quite as strong as the first in the series. Although the "let's go to a steampunk Jupiter" is a fun premise, I rather missed the need to make decisions about how to juggle being a "good" kid with being a supervillain. Also, I found some of the action sequences a little confusing. But still overall charming, and sets up some potential answers I look forward to seeing play out in the third book.
#92: Dear Cthulhu: Have a Dark Day by Patrick Thomas. 3. Advice column by Cthulhu. Kinda what it says on the tin. Not for reading straight, but amusing in short doses.
#93: Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik. 4. Temeraire goes to Africa. Africa...not so fond of Englishmen, or dragons. Fair enough. I do really like how Novik explores how different societies might treat dragons, and how that reflects on Laurence's growing disillusionment with his own country.
#94: Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik. 4. Oh Laurence, you woobie. Can you suffer nobly? Oh yes, you can. I have to say, Temeraire's decision to form his own militia of dragons is absolutely a delight.
#95: Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik. 4. Temeraire's attempts at dragon rebellion don't quite go the way he wants them to, as we continue our world tour in Australia.