Eclectic Reviewer September Wrap-Up
Rarely have I seen a month wear out its welcome as thoroughly as this September did. For the record Veritas Christian Academy's track team is made up of plague rats.
I'm better now, by the way. Get vaccinated, folks, it makes covid much less worse than it could be. Still bad but not "end up in the hospital" bad.
Anyway, on to the matter at hand:
Rainbow Valley, L.M. Montgomery
The Anne book that's not an Anne book.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World, Steve Brussate
After reading this I desperately wanted to be a paleontologist. The stuff they can discover these days is SO COOL! They can find out what color the dinosaurs were! Science!
Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
Every time I read The Hours I have to read Mrs. Dalloway. This time I actually understood it. Maturity!
The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole
Bait and switch. I was promised bizarreness. I was given a lame romance.
Vathek, William Beckford
I was promised an Arabian Nights-style horror story. I was given an Arabian Nights-style horror story.
The Vampyre, John Polidori
I have been looking for this book for nigh onto 30 years and I finally found it! Victory!
Brown: Poems, Kevin Young
I have my own copy of this now. *hugs it*
DMZ Colony, Don Mee Choi
What the hell did I read?
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Now I understand why the 1960 German TV movie of Hamlet starring Maximilian Schell was the way it was.
Further Chronicles of Avonlea, L.M. Montgomery
It was good up until the final story which I can't read anymore. I have friends in Kamloops.
The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life, John le Carré
Achievement unlocked: Le Carré completist!
The Garden Party and Other Stories, Katherine Mansfield
Meh
The Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
Seriously, is it illegal to be happy in India?
Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward
This went off the rails in a spectacular manner. There was also ENTIRELY too much baby throw-up.
The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
Newland Archer is, was, and ever will be the dictionary definition of "prig."
The Last Druid, Terry Brooks
Achievement unlocked: Shannara completist!
The Councillor, E.J. Beaton
The politicking was great. The sex was DIRE.
Pudd'nhead Wilson, Mark Twain
I still can't get over how much Chambers/Tom lost gambling. I wish I had that kind of money to throw away at the roulette wheel. I bet he did, too.
Rilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery
The WWI novel Montgomery's been building up to.
The Will to Change: Poems 1968-1970, Adrienne Rich
Why is it so hard to find Rich's books? She was an excellent poet.
The Pericles Commission, Gary Corby
This book had one of the greatest first sentences of all time.
First Fig and Other Poems, Edna St. Vincent Millay
I can't review this. It's too perfect. I have no words.
Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
My annual re-read. Although I skipped last year for some reason. Oh yeah, it was 2020.
*~*~*~*~
Understand Your Emotions: In which Skinnerian conditioning continues to be the last word in cruelty.
Control Your Emotions: Jeff from Understanding Your Ideals returns to hit his little brother with a coat hanger.
Social Courtesy: Bill learns that people like him when he's nice. Revelations abound!
Shy Guy: Dick York learns that the secret to popularity is wearing a sweater and listening.
I'm better now, by the way. Get vaccinated, folks, it makes covid much less worse than it could be. Still bad but not "end up in the hospital" bad.
Anyway, on to the matter at hand:
Rainbow Valley, L.M. Montgomery
The Anne book that's not an Anne book.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World, Steve Brussate
After reading this I desperately wanted to be a paleontologist. The stuff they can discover these days is SO COOL! They can find out what color the dinosaurs were! Science!
Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
Every time I read The Hours I have to read Mrs. Dalloway. This time I actually understood it. Maturity!
The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole
Bait and switch. I was promised bizarreness. I was given a lame romance.
Vathek, William Beckford
I was promised an Arabian Nights-style horror story. I was given an Arabian Nights-style horror story.
The Vampyre, John Polidori
I have been looking for this book for nigh onto 30 years and I finally found it! Victory!
Brown: Poems, Kevin Young
I have my own copy of this now. *hugs it*
DMZ Colony, Don Mee Choi
What the hell did I read?
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Now I understand why the 1960 German TV movie of Hamlet starring Maximilian Schell was the way it was.
Further Chronicles of Avonlea, L.M. Montgomery
It was good up until the final story which I can't read anymore. I have friends in Kamloops.
The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life, John le Carré
Achievement unlocked: Le Carré completist!
The Garden Party and Other Stories, Katherine Mansfield
Meh
The Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri
Seriously, is it illegal to be happy in India?
Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward
This went off the rails in a spectacular manner. There was also ENTIRELY too much baby throw-up.
The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
Newland Archer is, was, and ever will be the dictionary definition of "prig."
The Last Druid, Terry Brooks
Achievement unlocked: Shannara completist!
The Councillor, E.J. Beaton
The politicking was great. The sex was DIRE.
Pudd'nhead Wilson, Mark Twain
I still can't get over how much Chambers/Tom lost gambling. I wish I had that kind of money to throw away at the roulette wheel. I bet he did, too.
Rilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery
The WWI novel Montgomery's been building up to.
The Will to Change: Poems 1968-1970, Adrienne Rich
Why is it so hard to find Rich's books? She was an excellent poet.
The Pericles Commission, Gary Corby
This book had one of the greatest first sentences of all time.
First Fig and Other Poems, Edna St. Vincent Millay
I can't review this. It's too perfect. I have no words.
Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
My annual re-read. Although I skipped last year for some reason. Oh yeah, it was 2020.
*~*~*~*~
Understand Your Emotions: In which Skinnerian conditioning continues to be the last word in cruelty.
Control Your Emotions: Jeff from Understanding Your Ideals returns to hit his little brother with a coat hanger.
Social Courtesy: Bill learns that people like him when he's nice. Revelations abound!
Shy Guy: Dick York learns that the secret to popularity is wearing a sweater and listening.