Reading Contest - March Report
Books finished:
The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross (2) - An unholy cross between cyberpunk and Cthulhu Mythos that shouldn't work, but does. This is the story of an IT man for a secret English government organization called The Laundry whose job it is to, basically, prevent people from misusing math and accidentally summoning the Great Old Ones.
The New Kid by Temple Mathews (1) - A YA story that pretends to be a novella, but is actually a thinly disguised treatment for a screenplay, complete with cues for staging and lighting. The story is chock full of every kind of cliche associated with the occult and paranormal, and features the most egregious male Mary Sue to ever grace the pages of a story.
A Self-Made Man: One Woman's Year Disguised as a Man by Norah Vincent (2) - Vincent goes undercover as a man to try to crack the mystery of who they are and how they got that way. While spending time on a all-male bowling league, in strip clubs, at a monastery, and in a male-empowerment group, she challenges her own assumptions about men and masculinity and discovers that men have problems, too.
Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives (2) by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser - Written by two members of Generation X, this book seeks to outline the problems and potentials of those born after 1985 who make up the increasingly large population of people raised with one foot in cyberspace.
Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin (2) - The discoverer of the tiktaalik roseae undertakes to show how the human body can be traced through our various ancestors, and how knowing where our systems arose can help us understand their strengths and limitations. This is the book for anyone who has ever wondered how evolution qualifies as science.
Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander (2) - Based on the blog of the same name, this book provides entries highlighting the stereotypes (many of them earned) of American white urban professionals, including Coffee, Religions Their Parents Don't Belong To, and Netflix.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley (2) - In a world where creatures of the darkness are commonplace, Sunshine, the main character, gets kidnapped by bad guy vampires. This unwittingly places her on the path to learn far more about her own reality and herself than she ever knew there was to learn. The first 50 pages are cause for much eye-rolling. After that, the story settles in and won't let go.
The Woman Who Watches Over the World by Linda Hogan (2) - A memoir from a Chickasaw native about the pain and losses in her life.
Total points for the month: 15
Total points for the year: 40
Currently reading: Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology by Nick Gevers, ed., Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, The Short History of a Prince by Jane Hamilton, Amazonia by James Rollins, and others.
ETA: Sunshine, which somehow didn't make it in either my database or the list, despite having been sitting next to me at the time I compiled both.
The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross (2) - An unholy cross between cyberpunk and Cthulhu Mythos that shouldn't work, but does. This is the story of an IT man for a secret English government organization called The Laundry whose job it is to, basically, prevent people from misusing math and accidentally summoning the Great Old Ones.
The New Kid by Temple Mathews (1) - A YA story that pretends to be a novella, but is actually a thinly disguised treatment for a screenplay, complete with cues for staging and lighting. The story is chock full of every kind of cliche associated with the occult and paranormal, and features the most egregious male Mary Sue to ever grace the pages of a story.
A Self-Made Man: One Woman's Year Disguised as a Man by Norah Vincent (2) - Vincent goes undercover as a man to try to crack the mystery of who they are and how they got that way. While spending time on a all-male bowling league, in strip clubs, at a monastery, and in a male-empowerment group, she challenges her own assumptions about men and masculinity and discovers that men have problems, too.
Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives (2) by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser - Written by two members of Generation X, this book seeks to outline the problems and potentials of those born after 1985 who make up the increasingly large population of people raised with one foot in cyberspace.
Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin (2) - The discoverer of the tiktaalik roseae undertakes to show how the human body can be traced through our various ancestors, and how knowing where our systems arose can help us understand their strengths and limitations. This is the book for anyone who has ever wondered how evolution qualifies as science.
Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander (2) - Based on the blog of the same name, this book provides entries highlighting the stereotypes (many of them earned) of American white urban professionals, including Coffee, Religions Their Parents Don't Belong To, and Netflix.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley (2) - In a world where creatures of the darkness are commonplace, Sunshine, the main character, gets kidnapped by bad guy vampires. This unwittingly places her on the path to learn far more about her own reality and herself than she ever knew there was to learn. The first 50 pages are cause for much eye-rolling. After that, the story settles in and won't let go.
The Woman Who Watches Over the World by Linda Hogan (2) - A memoir from a Chickasaw native about the pain and losses in her life.
Total points for the month: 15
Total points for the year: 40
Currently reading: Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology by Nick Gevers, ed., Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, The Short History of a Prince by Jane Hamilton, Amazonia by James Rollins, and others.
ETA: Sunshine, which somehow didn't make it in either my database or the list, despite having been sitting next to me at the time I compiled both.