A Year of Reading: May 2012
1. Seen Reading by Julie Wilson
2 stars on GoodReads
Micro-fiction based on people the author saw reading on Toronto public transit. One story (the lit cigarette one) stuck with me, the rest flitted out as soon as I turned each page. The voyeur aspect got creepier as I kept reading. Maybe less police-profile type descriptions would have helped that?
2. Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History by Megan Smolenyak
3 stars on GoodReads
Probably more *useful* for Americans than for me - extended discussion of Ellis Island is not helpful to a Canadian researching UK-straight-to-Canada immigrant relatives - but I like the subject and like her style.
3. Moment of Truth (Rosato & Associates, #7) by Lisa Scottoline
2 stars on GoodReads
Ridiculous but good airplane/train reading. Might make a good movie with the right cast! Sandra Bullock as the lead, perhaps!
4. The Appeal by John Grisham
2 stars on GoodReads
This killed 6 or so hours on a trans-Atlantic flight. Unfortunately, the ending sucked so hard that it left a bad taste in my mouth. I had about three twists in mind that I felt were telegraphed but that did not materialize, to my immense frustration. (WTF was up with Brianna? Why did she have interesting thoughts/actions but then disappear from the story?)
5. By the Time You Read This by Giles Blunt
3 stars on GoodReads
I feel like maybe I shouldn't have started with this book since it's a couple books into a series, but nonetheless. This was good enough that I'd try others in the series. In this one, a police detective loses his wife to suicide, then insists on investigating her death as a murder. I loved the Canadian (thinly disguised North Bay) setting.
6. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
4 stars on GoodReads
I have no idea how to review this book. It was funny and sad and frustrating and fascinating all at once.
7. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
4 stars on GoodReads
I really enjoyed this! No kidding, at the climax my heart was pounding as I read! I think this could make an awesome movie if they can get the rights to all of the pop-culture stuff mentioned. A really fun read.
8. The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey
3 stars on GoodReads
Interesting and scary - I never want to go out on the water again, and it's amazing how little we know about waves and the oceans! - but it was a bit of a struggle to finish this one. I tore through the first 130 or so pages and then really had to push to finish.
9. Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt
3 stars on GoodReads
I think I stopped at the worst possible and most frightening point in this book last night, and it gave me nightmares. A decent procedural, I think the inside-the-mind view of the "villain" elevated it in quality (and scariness). I wanted to put this book in the freezer, but I think I'm probably over-reacting.
Reading Now, Up Next, or In Transit At the Library:
-Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (if the library ever gets around to getting it!)
-The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean (though I have started this and it might be too advanced for me - or rather I am not advanced enough for it!!)
-The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
What are you reading lately? What do you recommend? Are you on GoodReads? If so, please feel free to add me there!