Books Read in June, 2017
As is my standard usage of my blog space at or near the beginning of the month, I present the listing of my June, 2017 reads.
*****
Books Read in June, 2017
Fire Watch by Connie Willis (r)
Broadchurch: The Official Novel by Erin Kelly
June, 2017 Reader's Digest
Echo by Jack McDevitt
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
Creating Life: The Art of World Building 1 by Randy Ellefson
Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan
Shadowbahn by Steve Erickson
*****
And those were my reads in the month of June. Given everything that was going on in June (primarily health-wise), I'm a little surprised at the sheer amount of stuff that I read in the month. More surprising than anything else, I didn't read any roleplaying games or rpg supplements at all, other than the stuff I was editing (and that doesn't count). The books I enjoyed the most were:
Broadchurch: The Official Novel by Erin Kelly - This book is the official novel of the 1st series of the Broadchurch tv series, and is well-written and well-told. What surprised me about this was some of the background scenes and "in the head of the character" scenes that shed a lot of light on some of the goings on in. A really nice book, with relatively short chapters. Entertaining. And worth the read if you're a Broadchurch fan.
Echo by Jack McDevitt - The fifth book in the Alex Benedict series by the author, this tale about the antiquities dealer and his assistant/point-of-view character is somewhat darker than the previous works. When Alex is called by a local woman to pick up a tablet she's had in front of her house for years, the mystery begins as Alex believes it has unknown, alien writing. However, when the item is taken before Alex's people can get to it, the real story begins. Who took it? Why did they take it? Does it contain alien writing? If so, whose? All of these questions are answered by the end of the novel quite satisfyingly, but the book causes both Alex and Chase Kolpath to question their business and several moral issues surrounding the events of the novel. Highly enjoyable book in the series, and I recommend these books to everyone.
Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan - This YA novel is one that shows that one should never underestimate the power of language and the importance of the written word. This first novel is the story of a brave girl named Raisa, a descendant of the Learned Ones, and the recollection of Sotia, Goddess of Wisdom, who was wrongfully imprisoned by her brethren who feared her steadfastness to always do the right thing. Without going into the plot, I will say that this novel has a lot of things going for it, from the very clean writing to the fact that the author's protagonist, Raisa, doesn't talk down too much to the reader. While a few of the relationships between characters felt a little forced, Raisa's romance with Prince Mati doesn't, and the bond that forms between them carries much of the novel. Coupled with the rebellion in the Kingdom that creates most of the conflict in this novel, and some of the secrets revealed about various characters, this novel was highly enjoyable. I adored the unique amount of research and the depth of exploration in verbal and written language, and the story/history of the Goddess Sotia at the beginning of every chapter. This is definitely a "must read" book in my opinion, and was one of the highlights of the year so far.
These were the highlight book reads of June for me, though I did enjoy the other books that I read this past month as well.
Overall, I managed to read 10 novels, 0 RPGs and RPG products, 1 magazine, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in June. This brings the year total for 2017 to a set of numbers that look like this: 56 books, 8 RPGs and RPG products, 11 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)
*****
Books Read in June, 2017
Fire Watch by Connie Willis (r)
Broadchurch: The Official Novel by Erin Kelly
June, 2017 Reader's Digest
Echo by Jack McDevitt
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
Creating Life: The Art of World Building 1 by Randy Ellefson
Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan
Shadowbahn by Steve Erickson
*****
And those were my reads in the month of June. Given everything that was going on in June (primarily health-wise), I'm a little surprised at the sheer amount of stuff that I read in the month. More surprising than anything else, I didn't read any roleplaying games or rpg supplements at all, other than the stuff I was editing (and that doesn't count). The books I enjoyed the most were:
Broadchurch: The Official Novel by Erin Kelly - This book is the official novel of the 1st series of the Broadchurch tv series, and is well-written and well-told. What surprised me about this was some of the background scenes and "in the head of the character" scenes that shed a lot of light on some of the goings on in. A really nice book, with relatively short chapters. Entertaining. And worth the read if you're a Broadchurch fan.
Echo by Jack McDevitt - The fifth book in the Alex Benedict series by the author, this tale about the antiquities dealer and his assistant/point-of-view character is somewhat darker than the previous works. When Alex is called by a local woman to pick up a tablet she's had in front of her house for years, the mystery begins as Alex believes it has unknown, alien writing. However, when the item is taken before Alex's people can get to it, the real story begins. Who took it? Why did they take it? Does it contain alien writing? If so, whose? All of these questions are answered by the end of the novel quite satisfyingly, but the book causes both Alex and Chase Kolpath to question their business and several moral issues surrounding the events of the novel. Highly enjoyable book in the series, and I recommend these books to everyone.
Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan - This YA novel is one that shows that one should never underestimate the power of language and the importance of the written word. This first novel is the story of a brave girl named Raisa, a descendant of the Learned Ones, and the recollection of Sotia, Goddess of Wisdom, who was wrongfully imprisoned by her brethren who feared her steadfastness to always do the right thing. Without going into the plot, I will say that this novel has a lot of things going for it, from the very clean writing to the fact that the author's protagonist, Raisa, doesn't talk down too much to the reader. While a few of the relationships between characters felt a little forced, Raisa's romance with Prince Mati doesn't, and the bond that forms between them carries much of the novel. Coupled with the rebellion in the Kingdom that creates most of the conflict in this novel, and some of the secrets revealed about various characters, this novel was highly enjoyable. I adored the unique amount of research and the depth of exploration in verbal and written language, and the story/history of the Goddess Sotia at the beginning of every chapter. This is definitely a "must read" book in my opinion, and was one of the highlights of the year so far.
These were the highlight book reads of June for me, though I did enjoy the other books that I read this past month as well.
Overall, I managed to read 10 novels, 0 RPGs and RPG products, 1 magazine, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in June. This brings the year total for 2017 to a set of numbers that look like this: 56 books, 8 RPGs and RPG products, 11 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)