Beast Friday; California Dietland; Last High Marvel
Friday Night Lights, by Buzz Bissinger (reread)
When I first read this it was only about 5 years old - now it's more than 20. The age shows, in places, but it's still a very solid and worthwhile nonfiction read about high school football in Texas. And especially about a few particular people involved, in the town of Odessa, and how football shaped their lives.
(286, O63)
Ana of California, by Andi Teran
Oh, this was positively scrumptious! A retelling of Anne of Green Gables, only with various things changed to make it a story of its own; also set in modern-day California instead of ye olden PEI. Of course, Anne was not ye olden when Montgomery was writing. Anyway, it flows marvelously and most of the writing is excellent. There are some uneven bits, but I found they added to rather than detracted from its charms. This sort of homage becames rather hollow if too perfectly executed.
(287)
The Nature of the Beast, by Louise Penny
Another of Penny's excellent Armand Gamache novels. I would've liked this one better if a) the plot had been less over-the-top and more part-of-the-village, and b) (relatedly) we'd seen more of the characters that used to be part of an ensemble and now have become decidely bit parts. But a minor Gamache novel is still cause for excitation in my books, and I tore through this one.
(288)
Dietland, by Sarai Walker
This was excellent - it started as one of those parodies that is also a solid example of the thing it mocks, and then got weirder and even more interesting - kind of Matt-Ruff-esque, I guess, though similar to his later work which I like less than the earlier stuff. But in this context it worked great! And I laughed and growled and nodded my head in various places. Hope she writes more.
(289)
Captain Marvel, vol. 1: Higher, Faster, Further, More, Captain Marvel, vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight, Captain Marvel, vol. 2: Down, and Captain Marvel, vol. 2: Stay Fly by Kelly DeConnick et al
I know the numbering is confusing on these, I found it confusing too, and read them all out of order. Anyway, someone (Reading the End podcast maybe? maybe not) mentioned how swell these are, and they are, in fact, swell! The tone varies widely as does the subgenre (frequently because of who her teammates are for any particular arc), but somehow it all comes together into a capable, amiable, bristly heroine and several pageturning adventures. Waiting eagerly for my hold on the next one to come in, though not quite at the point of buying them for myself.
(290, 298, 314, 394)
Last First Snow, by Max Gladstone
At last! At last! A Max Gladstone novel that I fell in love with before the last 80 pages. (It's quite awkward, you know, figuring out whether to recommend things that you trudge through until the end and then end up swooning over... ) I really enjoyed this one right from the start! I'm not sure why, but my working theory is that Gladstone, for all his virtues, is not very good at *introducing*. In this book many of the characters are familiar - intimately known from previous books - as is the setting. That's the only really difference I can find between this one and the others? I don't think it's that the writing has improved; it was already excellent and just hadn't mattered compared to my trudging. Hm. Is possible the rhythms are better, but I don't *think* that's it... anyway, it was so fun to read! I can't wait for another one! I still have no idea whether to recommend these to people!
(291)
From a High Tower, by Mercedes Lackey
Quick, fluffy fairy tale retelling around Rapunzel set in her Elemental Masters alternate history world. I liked how she worked this one to hook up (including an overlapping major character) with the Red Riding Hood one, while still telling a new story. Wish she would write another one with the depth that a couple of the early volumes have, but will keep enjoying this series regardless of deeper insight or lack thereof.
(292)
When I first read this it was only about 5 years old - now it's more than 20. The age shows, in places, but it's still a very solid and worthwhile nonfiction read about high school football in Texas. And especially about a few particular people involved, in the town of Odessa, and how football shaped their lives.
(286, O63)
Ana of California, by Andi Teran
Oh, this was positively scrumptious! A retelling of Anne of Green Gables, only with various things changed to make it a story of its own; also set in modern-day California instead of ye olden PEI. Of course, Anne was not ye olden when Montgomery was writing. Anyway, it flows marvelously and most of the writing is excellent. There are some uneven bits, but I found they added to rather than detracted from its charms. This sort of homage becames rather hollow if too perfectly executed.
(287)
The Nature of the Beast, by Louise Penny
Another of Penny's excellent Armand Gamache novels. I would've liked this one better if a) the plot had been less over-the-top and more part-of-the-village, and b) (relatedly) we'd seen more of the characters that used to be part of an ensemble and now have become decidely bit parts. But a minor Gamache novel is still cause for excitation in my books, and I tore through this one.
(288)
Dietland, by Sarai Walker
This was excellent - it started as one of those parodies that is also a solid example of the thing it mocks, and then got weirder and even more interesting - kind of Matt-Ruff-esque, I guess, though similar to his later work which I like less than the earlier stuff. But in this context it worked great! And I laughed and growled and nodded my head in various places. Hope she writes more.
(289)
Captain Marvel, vol. 1: Higher, Faster, Further, More, Captain Marvel, vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight, Captain Marvel, vol. 2: Down, and Captain Marvel, vol. 2: Stay Fly by Kelly DeConnick et al
I know the numbering is confusing on these, I found it confusing too, and read them all out of order. Anyway, someone (Reading the End podcast maybe? maybe not) mentioned how swell these are, and they are, in fact, swell! The tone varies widely as does the subgenre (frequently because of who her teammates are for any particular arc), but somehow it all comes together into a capable, amiable, bristly heroine and several pageturning adventures. Waiting eagerly for my hold on the next one to come in, though not quite at the point of buying them for myself.
(290, 298, 314, 394)
Last First Snow, by Max Gladstone
At last! At last! A Max Gladstone novel that I fell in love with before the last 80 pages. (It's quite awkward, you know, figuring out whether to recommend things that you trudge through until the end and then end up swooning over... ) I really enjoyed this one right from the start! I'm not sure why, but my working theory is that Gladstone, for all his virtues, is not very good at *introducing*. In this book many of the characters are familiar - intimately known from previous books - as is the setting. That's the only really difference I can find between this one and the others? I don't think it's that the writing has improved; it was already excellent and just hadn't mattered compared to my trudging. Hm. Is possible the rhythms are better, but I don't *think* that's it... anyway, it was so fun to read! I can't wait for another one! I still have no idea whether to recommend these to people!
(291)
From a High Tower, by Mercedes Lackey
Quick, fluffy fairy tale retelling around Rapunzel set in her Elemental Masters alternate history world. I liked how she worked this one to hook up (including an overlapping major character) with the Red Riding Hood one, while still telling a new story. Wish she would write another one with the depth that a couple of the early volumes have, but will keep enjoying this series regardless of deeper insight or lack thereof.
(292)