reading
I tend to go through reading phases these days. I'll read multiple books in a weekend and then not read a book for months. Last week N was out of town and I decided I wanted to read some fiction to distract myself from him not being around. It sure messed up my sleep schedule though. Ha!
I normally read a lot of SF in the coming-of-age + dystopian genre (my favorite), but when I am feeling a little unwell, I like to read stuff that involves any sort of decent dialogue and character development. So a lot of these are not SF.
What I read (all on my kindle app on my phone):
The Weird Sisters, Eleanor Brown: siblings at different places in their lives and their relationship. Well written.
Girl in Translation, Jean Kwok: coming of age + immigrant (HK to Brooklyn) story. Also well written, I liked this one a lot until the end.
A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan: jumps around chronologically, I liked some of the characters but then they would disappear for a while, which was a little frustrating. Still an interesting read. There's a powerpoint chapter that was fun.
The Invisible Circus, Jennifer Egan: coming of age, sister goes back to revisit where her older sister travelled in Europe before she committed suicide. There's a twist in here I didn't really like but I did like other parts of it.
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins: I've been meaning to read this series for a while since it's right up my alley. I liked this book a lot. Don't think the movie will be able to come close to the book.
Catching Fire, Suzanne COllins: the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy -- it was short and fluffy and I didn't think it did much for the series. Not impressed, but I went onto the third.
Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins: the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I liked this one a lot more than the second, I felt it progressed and was interesting, lots of good character development... except maybe not enough development for the main character. Still, I enjoyed the book and the trilogy (I think I finished all three books within 36 hours).
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford: set in Seattle, a Chinese-American (first gen American) man revisits his childhood during WWII as a friend of a Japanese-American (also first gen American) girl during the internment. Some cliches abound but it was sort of a cute story. I liked the Seattle references, one dim sum place I went to earlier that week was mentioned. :)
And right now I'm finishing up Soul Enchilada, Davic Macinnis Gill: another coming of age story of a girl in El Paso. Story is amusing and entertainin.
I also just started reading The Double Bind, Chris Bohjalian on my Nook Color (my phone was charging in the bedroom and it was 3am or I would have finished Soul Enchilada first). Not sure how this one will go yet. Not SF, I think it is sort of a thriller/mystery.
Other books in the queue: China Mieville's Embassytown (nook), Connie Willis's Blackout (paper), and a SF short stories anthology (paper).
I normally read a lot of SF in the coming-of-age + dystopian genre (my favorite), but when I am feeling a little unwell, I like to read stuff that involves any sort of decent dialogue and character development. So a lot of these are not SF.
What I read (all on my kindle app on my phone):
The Weird Sisters, Eleanor Brown: siblings at different places in their lives and their relationship. Well written.
Girl in Translation, Jean Kwok: coming of age + immigrant (HK to Brooklyn) story. Also well written, I liked this one a lot until the end.
A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan: jumps around chronologically, I liked some of the characters but then they would disappear for a while, which was a little frustrating. Still an interesting read. There's a powerpoint chapter that was fun.
The Invisible Circus, Jennifer Egan: coming of age, sister goes back to revisit where her older sister travelled in Europe before she committed suicide. There's a twist in here I didn't really like but I did like other parts of it.
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins: I've been meaning to read this series for a while since it's right up my alley. I liked this book a lot. Don't think the movie will be able to come close to the book.
Catching Fire, Suzanne COllins: the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy -- it was short and fluffy and I didn't think it did much for the series. Not impressed, but I went onto the third.
Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins: the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I liked this one a lot more than the second, I felt it progressed and was interesting, lots of good character development... except maybe not enough development for the main character. Still, I enjoyed the book and the trilogy (I think I finished all three books within 36 hours).
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford: set in Seattle, a Chinese-American (first gen American) man revisits his childhood during WWII as a friend of a Japanese-American (also first gen American) girl during the internment. Some cliches abound but it was sort of a cute story. I liked the Seattle references, one dim sum place I went to earlier that week was mentioned. :)
And right now I'm finishing up Soul Enchilada, Davic Macinnis Gill: another coming of age story of a girl in El Paso. Story is amusing and entertainin.
I also just started reading The Double Bind, Chris Bohjalian on my Nook Color (my phone was charging in the bedroom and it was 3am or I would have finished Soul Enchilada first). Not sure how this one will go yet. Not SF, I think it is sort of a thriller/mystery.
Other books in the queue: China Mieville's Embassytown (nook), Connie Willis's Blackout (paper), and a SF short stories anthology (paper).