Review: The Girl in the Tower

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

And to think that all the trouble in this book could have been avoided by a simple haircut... But then there wouldn't be a book, right?

To be honest, I am very, very tired of all those stereotypes about Russia. Well, of course, it's the land of eternal winter! A 7-months winter, mentioned several times in the book, is a normal there for sure. Let's leave a couple months for both spring and autumn, which gets us one month for summer. How did they managed to grow any food at all? And knowing that the author had actually been to Russia only adds to my annoyance. She really needs some geography lessons. Besides, in all my years spent in north-western Russia (and my experience includes surviving a few polar nights in Murmansk), I have never seen a winter as brutal as in the middle of Iowa.

I'm also find myself surprisingly annoyed at liberties the author took with history. Or maybe it's more about geography again. The book takes place sometime in the middle of 14th century. Vasya is from a remote village, surrounded by wild forests, some two weeks from Moscow. Travelling by horses it puts us somewhere between Vologda (first mentioned as a city around 1147) and Veliky Novgorod (859). And that if we are traveling north or north-east, towards the wilder lands (the real Aleksandr Peresvet was likely from Byansk, which is a week's travel south). So the wild forests disappear and instead we have a nicely and for a long time populated area. Where, by the way, witches were not burned at the time. Anyway, I know quite well that each man in Russia starts his day giving some vodka to his bear, putting on his shapka-ushanka, and riding the said bear to kremlin to play his balalaika. Women do not exist outside in this universe. I wonder how English native speakers take this random sprinkling of transliterated words in the book.

On top of all this, it fails as a winter book if only because the idea of gods surviving depending on the allotted to them belief is much funnier in another winter story. Go Hogfather!

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Review: Oathbringer

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally, reading the third book in the series, I see the relevance to the world around me. In Oathbringer I found a lot of metaphors, opinions, and satire on the current events. I didn't see this in the first two books, either because the events they talked about are too far in the past (how long do those monsters take to write?), or because it wasn't there before. That makes the book so much more enjoyable. But to find that enjoyment I had to make my way through 1200+ pages (which is even longer then the second book, which was longer than the first one), where the second to last 10% were a long-winded description of a single battle, and the last 10% - jumping from scene to scene, from character to character, in a not entirely successful attempt to tie off some dozen different storylines. At least I'mm all set to comfortable wait for 3-5 years for the next book. If the first one felt like a 1000-page introduction, the second as a beginning of a plot, this one was kind of a development of the conflict. Is the author sure he has enough time for all ten planned books?

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Review: Oathbringer

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally, reading the third book in the series, I see the relevance to the world around me. In Oathbringer I found a lot of metaphors, opinions, and satire on the current events. I didn't see this in the first two books, either because the events they talked about are too far in the past (how long do those monsters take to write?), or because it wasn't there before. That makes the book so much more enjoyable. But to find that enjoyment I had to make my way through 1200+ pages (which is even longer then the second book, which was longer than the first one), where the second to last 10% were a long-winded description of a single battle, and the last 10% - jumping from scene to scene, from character to character, in a not entirely successful attempt to tie off some dozen different storylines.

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Review: The Secret Subway

The Secret Subway by Shana Corey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Create, think of new ideas, take action, work hard and... see all your dreams crashed. I know it's a nonfiction, those are the facts and there is nothing to be done about it. But. It's a picture book! Which means written for kids 7 and under. And what is the take home message they are supposed to get from it?

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Review: Words of Radiance

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another volume, another 1000+ pages. This one is even longer than the first. And I still don't see the point of the story. Yes, the story is elaborate, detailed and interesting, but what am I supposed to take with me after reading it? This new version of theology he's building? Besides, this fantastic world is becoming too detailed to hold in one's mind, apparently: contradictions are appearing like rain spren in pools on the road. How, say, a Plate is powered when all spheres in the world, safe for the largest ones, had gone dun during a Weeping?
I also had a misfortune to listen to the audio book, instead of reading the text. It's read by two narrators. Kate Reading is surprisingly good. This is the first time I was listening to her and I'm impressed. Michael Kramer, on the other hand, is quite another matter. He somehow manages to read every sentence as a question, with a raising intonation. His first chapter starts like this: "Breath? A man's breath was his life?" He sounds very surprised at a lot of things: "They went into the palace?" Granted, he does get better, after merely the first 500 pages, but it did spoiled the impression.
Anyway, I'm off to read the third volume.

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Review: Ecology Crafts For Kids: 50 Great Ways To Make Friends With Planet Earth

Ecology Crafts For Kids: 50 Great Ways To Make Friends With Planet Earth by Bobbe Needham
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The idea is good, the realization is... as always. I find it ironic that most of the "eco-friendly crafts" in this book generate more waste than the materials for them otherwise would. Out of 50 or so projects, only 4 sparked sufficient interest to maybe, some day, try them: a birch bark canoe (as an interesting variation of a traditional spring toy ship), a kissy fish pinata (which a simple paper mache project, but I liked it anyway), a paper mache bird (another paper mache project... I'm fond of them, apparently), and a green bottle garden (looks cute, but I doubt I'd do it: seems like to much work to maintain). And sadly, that's it from a whole book of "eco" projects for kids.

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Review: Moomin and the Sea

Moomin and the Sea by Tove Jansson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As much as I love Tuve Jansson and everything about Moomins, those comics looked much better in black and white and in bigger books, but that's only my opinion. Though as a way to spread this cultural phenomena this might work (I asked around and the vast majority of Americans I talked with never heard of Moomins!) My public library in Iowa bought two of those little books.

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Review: La Belle Sauvage

La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's hard to believe, but I've been waiting for this book for almost 15 (!!!) years. This is how long ago Philip Pullman announced he'll be writing it. I happened to be reading His Dark Materials at the time and was sooo excited by the news. When a few months ago I noticed that it's almost here, I almost stopped reading altogether - I just couldn't read anything else! Did it deliver? Yes and no.

First of all, yes, it's expertly written. Better than anything I read lately. Every sentence is packed with several layers of meaning, there are no redundancies, nothing to spare. The language is crisp, clear (and made me look into a dictionary a few times). And whatever the description might say, this is NOT a fantasy book. If it's read like a fantasy book only, it doesn't make any sense. The plot alone is not enough support this construct. It's much better read as a philosophical work.

Still, one of my huge problems with the book was about the plot more or less, or specifically, Lyra herself. The book starts when she's about 6 months old and ends two months later. And all this time the only thing she does is lay on her back like a sack and smile. Yeah. Really? How long it's been since Philip Pullman actually saw an 8-months-old?! They absolutely would not be swaddled day in and day out, doing only eating, shitting, and sleeping with some breaks for baby talk. Maybe a teenage reader would notice, maybe not, but for me it was a big drawback.

And as always, I find myself disagreeing with Pullman's philosophy (theology?), but it certainly doesn't prevent me from enjoying La Belle Sauvage.

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Review: Fortunately, the Milk

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

That is brilliant! I think it's the best of Neil Gaiman's books with the best possible for it illustrations.

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Review: The Way of Kings

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Just an idle comment, nothing more. My comments are often idle. I never can get them to do any solid work." That was intense reading. And by intense I mean having to race against the deadline and trying to finish the first two books in the series before the third one is published. Well, I haven't failed yet, but considering I have one week left and the whole second book, it's safe to assume I won't make it. In any case, 2.5 weeks for a 1000+ pages "monstrosity" (author's definition, not mine) is a new record for me. However, I'm not sure it had to be that long. The pace is acceptable, the reading is interesting, but why exactly it had to be that wordy, I don't understand. Was it something particular we needed to see there? There were also quite a few instances of using a technique I don't appreciate. Some event is mentioned over and over, without any details. The readers are given bits and hints, while the characters know exactly what happened. By the end of the book, we still don't know where Shallan comes from. We are hinted at what happened to Kaladin's brother at the very beginning, but frankly, when I reached the detailed account on page 920 I no longer cared. Though I have to admit that the last 100 pages I couldn't resist and read only the dialogs, I became so excited. And then had to start them over and read carefully. And then came a massive blow - a huge cliffhanger. Turns out those 1000+ pages were just an introduction!! I suspect we won't see even the culmination any time soon. All in all, interesting, entertaining, expertly written, but not quite epic yet.

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Review: I Want My Hat Back

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I saw We Found A Hat coming up as one of the best children's books of 2016, so naturally, we went to the library and checked out all Jon Klassen's books they had. Maybe we shouldn't. I'm not quite sure why those book, including I Want My Hat Back, got all those awards for best illustrations. What they reminded me of more than anything were the books and cartoons of my Soviet Union childhood, where brown was the only color. These illustrations are just like that, the author either ran out of all other colors or is in a deep depression, so the pictures resemble brown smudges of different hues. The text is questionable, but my son liked it, and it's the only reason this book gets three stars from me.

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Review: Pete the Cat: Scuba-Cat

Pete the Cat: Scuba-Cat by James Dean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just another book you have to suffer through while the kid is learning to read.

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Review: East of the West: A Country in Stories

East of the West: A Country in Stories by Miroslav Penkov
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a small, but very tiresome book. It's not even that it's poorly written, on the contrary. But there is something wrong with this "perspective" of Bulgaria. Remember Stanislavski? So, I don't believe the author. There are interesting characters, but they are as far from real people I can relate to as possible. And the author doesn't make any effort to explain them.

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Review: Today I Will Fly!

Today I Will Fly! by Mo Willems
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good way to talk about persistence and imagination. And easy enough so a first grader can read it. And interesting enough so the parent wouldn't fall asleep by the end :)

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Review: The Writer's Guide to Fantasy Literature: From Dragon's Lair to Hero's Quest

The Writer's Guide to Fantasy Literature: From Dragon's Lair to Hero's Quest by Philip Martin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book consists of the "main" body of text written by Philip Martin and a bunch of interviews. The interviews with different authors are all different, some bad, some worse, some ok, but the overall idea is irrelevant. The book is a sketch of the history of fantasy literature through the prism of Christianity. For some periods and places it's of course proper, but in most cases those analogies cause stupor and/or mild surprise.

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Review: Owls of the World

Owls of the World by James Duncan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For some reason I expected from a book named "Owls of the World" not just a check list of all the owls, but some information on every species. Yes, I know, the book would be enormous. But maybe just a few words?.. The chapters that are there are good, but there is still a good deal of info I would like to see missing. Like more on distributions, habitats, life cycles, phylogeny... But maybe I just want too much.

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Review: Practical Projects for Self-Sufficiency: DIY Projects to Get Your Self-Reliant Lifestyle Started

Practical Projects for Self-Sufficiency: DIY Projects to Get Your Self-Reliant Lifestyle Started by Chris Peterson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Whoever wrote this book obviously never had to be truly self-sufficient, in any way. As a game for sub-urban families with way too much time on their hands, it would work. As anything more than that, absolutely not. Most project require more energy and effort than any gain there could be. So, projects... A cider press: a crude version, will work, but why bother. A herb-drying rack: a simple string under the ceiling suddenly doesn't work? There must be some contraption taking up space (and a lot of materials)? A solar cooker: make sure to get some sun. A solar food dryer: I always wondered how people keep pests out of it. A backyard firepit: yes, that's a very complicated project that requires a recipe. A firewood shelter: I was rolling under the table with laughter. Why would anyone need a place for firewood that can hold about two nights worth of wood? A frame loom: that's a useful, but easy thing to make. A solar still: yeah, the efficiency would be awesome. A manual laundry washer: really? A pet door: isn't it safer to buy an automated one? I don't get this desire to live in a house with dog-sized holes anyone can get through. A metal kit shed: much cheaper to buy one, but if you have time and don't care about the cost... A post-and-board fence: it's just a fence. A clothesline trellis: if you already have a clothesline, it's cool to use it as a trellis, but why make one only to turn it into a trellis? It's not all that elegant. A two-bin composter: can be made much easier. A basement vermiculture bin: just boxes with screens put on top one another. Is there any particular reason to make a box from scratch? A potato-growing box: another "just a box". A soil sifter: a frame with a screen. Besides, they propose to sift the soil from the whole garden for the purpose of "removing large ORGANIC objects such as ROCKS and debris like broken GLASS".An octagon strawberry planter and cover: a raised bed for strawberries, octagon for some reason, covered by a net. A teepee trellis: put three sticks together. A jumbo cold frame: seems very modest-sized to me. Did they try to feed a family out of it? If it doesn't produce enough to bother building it, then why? A raised bed with removable trellis: put a frame with strings on your raised bed. A pallet planter: that's an interesting, if not very new, idea. A chicken coop: I'm not an expert in chickens, probably will work. A brooder box: another "just a box" with a screen and a lamp.A beehive: ok, a beehive.
As a summary: not a lot to learn here.

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Review: One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree

One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree by Daniel Bernstrom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A very old tale told in an almost new way, almost rhyming, with an almost good rhythm. I only the author didn't put all those animals from different continents on one poor tree.

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Review: The Essex Serpent

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of The Essex Serpent via a Goodreads giveaway. My copy arrived with two tea bags to go with it, which was lovely. As I finished the book, I can testify it takes about 15 cups of tea though :)
I must confess I didn't find the reading particularly entertaining. The last two thirds of the book (yes, 2/3) I had to actively restrain myself from giving up and starting something else. Or just starting something else with the intention to finish later... only I would have never finished it. The blurb says the book is mostly about love, which means nothing really happens there. Well, that is totally true, nothing happens. Love there is also quite mundane. I didn't find any of the characters interesting. Yes, they are well written and I can easily imagine half the humanity thinking these same thoughts, but does it make it interesting? We are live our little lives and think our little thoughts, and I'm surely can do it without reminders. Reading it was living two uneventful lives at once :)
Besides, as much as the author knows the history, she doesn't know the color of walnuts' stains on the skin.

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Review: Dizzy Dinosaurs: Silly Dino Poems

Dizzy Dinosaurs: Silly Dino Poems by Lee Bennett Hopkins
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

That was a typical 3-star children's book right up till the last "poem", which happens to be super-moralistic and plainly disgusting.

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Review: Stick Man

Stick Man by Julia Donaldson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Any other author would have gotten 5 stars from me for this book. I guess it's unfair, but I can't do anything with myself. The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child are so much better, everything else pales in comparison. And yes, we found the Gruffalo in this book too :)

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Review: Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers by Connie Colwell Miller
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

That was terrible: It's a book about locusts that doesn't have the word locust in it, they are called grasshoppers. But all the pictures and facts are of locusts... Try to explain the difference to the kid after that.

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Review: Maelstrom

Maelstrom by Jordan L. Hawk
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was full of action and entertaining, I give it that. But (view spoiler)[why bother with the elaborate plot around a body switch, if it takes only 30 seconds for Griffin to recognize his husband? This "shadowsight" turned out to be a little too convenient. And poor car... (hide spoiler)]

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Review: Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders

Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After reading this (very heavy) book, I'm under the impression it should have stayed in on-line form. There is no reason to spend paper on a collection of facts not united in any special way and chosen from a bigger collections for no apparent reason. Plus, some factual mistakes make the book even less appealing. Unsurprisingly also, this atlas makes the reader think that USA is the weirdest country in the world. Every state has more noteworthy "obscure" places most other countries! Including the whole of Russia, which is mostly just an uninteresting place-holder apparently between its European part and the Far East. Most of the places in the atlas are not enticing in the least, anyway. I would not visit most of them even going by, not to mention traveling specifically to them.

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Review: Hoarfrost

Hoarfrost by Jordan L. Hawk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Those books are obviously addictive. I was in the middle of another interesting enough book, when I received this one and just couldn't resist starting it immediately. As usual, a complete nonsense plot-wise, but there is a few interesting character developments. I can't say though I appreciated this new feature of switching perspectives. Everything from Whyborne's perspective was sweet and comfortable. I guess it's hard to write a book from one perspective when your two main characters are separated for prolonged and action-filled periods of time, but I would expect them to sound much more differently than they do. Whyborne and Griffin are not married long enough to think as twins.

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Review: The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds

The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds by Richard Crossley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As far as bird ID guides go, this one is still very American, despite possibly "belonging to England tradition", which means quite poor. There is still a wealth of critical information missing from this book, especially considering its formidable size. But at least there are field marks, distribution maps, and even some mention of the habitat, which is more than I came to expect from American bird guides. I personally prefer drawings by a biologist to photos to drawings by an artist. So photographic illustrations in a more or less natural habitat are ok, though I'm not thrilled about them. But this is a matter of taste, I'm sure a lot of people prefers photos. All in all, this is not a field guide (way too heavy), but maybe a good reference for sorting out bird pics taken on a birdwatching trip.

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Review: The Big Book of Little Amigurumi: 72 Seriously Cute Patterns to Crochet

The Big Book of Little Amigurumi: 72 Seriously Cute Patterns to Crochet by Ana Paula Rimoli
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Aside from my general dislike of line-by-line instructions, especially when so obviously not necessary, I was (unpleasantly) surprised at how big those "little" amigurumi are. I guess I didn't read the introduction carefully, but went straight for a pattern I wanted to try. So the size issue came up unexpectedly. I used thread three time thinner than in the instructions, but the toy still turned up almost too big. It's more like a small book of huge kid-sized amigurumi.

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Review: The Winter Garden: Create a Garden That Shines Through the Forgotten Season

The Winter Garden: Create a Garden That Shines Through the Forgotten Season by Val Bourne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found only a few tips that I think attractive, but my, I do wish I could grow Clematis cirrhosa!! I didn't even know there are winter flowering Clematis. But, I'm like two zones too far north :(

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Review: Birds, Nests, And Eggs

Birds, Nests, And Eggs by Mel Boring
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The idea is fabulous: a little simple guide to birds almost every (American) kid can see. The realization, not so much. I get it, birds are of different sizes, the ruler at the end can help with visualization, but my, why not draw eggs to scale?! Their shape is ok, their color is ok, but even the largest eggs in this book can easily fit in the space reserved for them. Instead they are all the same size, about a quarter in diameter. Very helpful. The text says how big they are, but actually comparing a real egg to a life-sized picture can go a long way in identification. Besides, the book is full of tiny little... inaccuracies, let's call them that. What do you mean, the cardinal is "our only all-red bird"? It's not all red, it has a black mask! Summer Tanager is the only all-red bird in the US. There is no such thing as Northern Oriole, and the picture shows a Baltimore Oriole. "Hummingbirds make tiny sounds" you can only hear when it "hovers near your ear"? Have the author ever saw a hummingbird? They sound like tiny helicopters. Or a huge bumblebee. I can continue this list. It's one of the things I never forgive a children's book - factual mistakes that then get stuck in the kid's head and are very hard to chase away.

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Review: The Worst Breakfast

The Worst Breakfast by China Miéville
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

That was a lot of strange words! And some of them I didn't know. Actually, some of those I still don't know. In summary, it's a good idea for a children's book, with a simple take away message, which is not spelled out and chewed, and a bunch of interesting words to learn, which kids probably will not see in a book anytime soon. But there are two big buts. The illustrations are terrible. And it's not just me, my sob didn't like them as well, and the average rating of 3.1 indicates that a lot of other people share our opinion. A bunch of words without any context, other than probably being food items, will stay just a bunch of words and won't make their way into vocabulary. So 3 stars seems like a fair rating.

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Review: Ball

Ball by Mary Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My uncontrollable laughter aside, this book with only one word offers a great opportunity for beginning readers to focus on punctuation and the meaning and emotions it carries. Because, you know, there is always more to a book than just words :)

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Review: The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship

The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship by Philip Pullman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think it's more like 3.5 stars, but I'll round up. The book feels like it should be at least three books. Or maybe a three times longer book. There is a lot packed into this one adventure. And as usual I have some ideological disagreements with Philip Pullman. For starters, the science fiction here feels too much like magic. And a lot is left unsaid (The captain was injured at the end! And then what?). And the book certainly calls for a sequel or two (read, a dozen). Waiting...

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Review: Bloodline

Bloodline by Jordan L. Hawk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I must admit, Bloodline was much more entertaining than the previous couple of books in the series. And much better written too, with an interesting plot and some romantic developments. I think I need a new shelf for my books - "nonsense". I also need a shelf called "moresense", but it will be sadly almost empty :)

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Review: The Summer Book

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an exceptional novel. I don't what people who have never seen a cold northern sea make of it. For me the book is so special. It makes me very sad and impossibly nostalgic. It makes me light and curious. It fills me with the need to come back to the world of granite, water, midnight sunlight, and life. It makes me restless, filled with desire to travel, to see, to touch. It makes me wiser.

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Review: Dinosaur Tree

Dinosaur Tree by Douglas Henderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I heard about this book in reference to its wonderful illustrations. And the illustrations are indeed fabulous! However, there are at least two things that prevent it from being a perfect book for kids. First, too many words. Yes, I know, it's often easier to say what you mean and to carry the emotions with a lot of words, rather than a few, but in a children's book that won't do. Second, from a book about a tree, I would expect more of a "tree perspective" probably. It's easy to slip into that notion that everything is born, killed and then fossilized. And as someone who has seen the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forrest, I understand the sentiment. What we see now seems so extraordinary, it's easy to forget it's a coincidence and chance, rather than something that had to happen. A bit of more focus on the tree's life cycle would remedy the situation. For example, why was such a crucial moment in the tree's life as starting producing seeds completely left out of the narrative?

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Review: The Fantastic Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The Fantastic Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Heinz Janisch
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I suppose it is a very ungrateful job to write old tales in a new way. The adventures of Baron Munchausen came to my life thirty years ago and are here to stay, incorporated into my perception of the world. This book... I am not quite sure what to think of it. "When I am cut, I endure, but when supplemented, it becomes intolerable." It was the only book about Munchausen in the library though, so I picked it up to read to my son. And he enjoyed it. But as it happens, tomorrow we'll have an older book, written by Rudolf Erich Raspe and illustrated by Gustave Doré. We'll see which one he likes more. Though this will also be in English and the English spelling of Baron Münchhausen's name jars me.

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Review: A Very Hairy Scary Story

A Very Hairy Scary Story by Rick Walton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well written and we'll rhymed (despite some people's claim that English is hard to rhyme :) ). The illustrations are pretty awesome, showing scary creatures with not too obvious, but kid-friendly, clues to what they might really be. There are also not one, but several moral messages to discuss, which are subtle enough to not sound annoying. I wonder why it's not very popular. My library refused to buy it and the record from the library they borrowed it from for me shows it's been read 2 or 3 times a year... I'd be reading it at least once a month!

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Review: Necropolis

Necropolis by Jordan L. Hawk
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It was supposed to be nonsensical romance, no? Well, that "romance" part isn't there much in this installment for some reason. Though the book is still completely nonsensical. There is too much plot, but plot is not one of author's forte. Too much of it just means more loose ends and discrepancies. I wonder what American papers would make of a half-jackal murderer shot in a museum...

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Review: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh my! 54,000 ratings averaging at more than 4! While in reality it's just 200 pages of common sense and well-known ideas. With too many f*cks per unit area to my taste. The author seems well read and versed in literature and more or less in history, but his understanding of biology is quite superficial. All in all, my impression is that, after reaching a respectable age of thirty something, he suddenly realized that his hormonal status has changed he doesn't want to seek adventures on his ass anymore and became quite happy settling down. Also, he considers his previous experiences (including a lot of exciting travel) as devoid of true happiness, as some sort of temporally high. And of course he wishes happiness at once, for free, and for everyone.

I was stunned by his interpretation of Russians after he spent a month in St. Petersburg. This rant about turbulent history making Russians honest and trusting? Oh sweetheart, you are so wrong, Russians don't trust anyone. Besides this remark, for dramatic effect apparently, about snow in May... There are a lot of places in the world north of 60N and south of 60S or high up the mountains, where you can get snow in May or even in July, and sometimes it's snowing in May in St. Petersburg. However, I remember quite well Spring 2011 in St. Petersburg. There wasn't any May snow that year. If the author lies about that, what else does he lie about?

The latest chapters make even less sense. What was that with "victims" and "savers" being in unhealthy relationships? As long as all involved are consenting adults, why would they even want to change? To find some "unconditional love" someone told them they have to have? Besides, If "we need some sort of existential crisis to take an objective look at how we've been deriving meaning in life, and to consider changing course", meaning we don't change without some sort of inflicted pain, then what's the point of this book? It doesn't inflict any pain...

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Review: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We've been holding on to this one for quite a while now. I lost count how many times I had to read it! Today my 6.5-year-old managed to read it to me, so it's time to move on. It is a very good and fun book, and it's been one of the favorites for more than a year!

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Review: Hell & High Water

Hell & High Water by Charlie Cochet
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It's a romance, so the plot is probably not the point here. However, the romance part is also pretty lame, and there is nothing to focus on instead. All the characters demonstrate complete incompetence and lack of professionalism all the time in this book, which probably means the author didn't do her homework. I can't imagine that everyone in a state agency can react and behave like teenagers. And why the "training" only includes gym? Anyway, it all seems pretty improbable even for a naive civilian like me. The confrontation in the society also isn't worked through as it may be, left pretty superficial. All in all, even though I'm a total series addict, I won't be reading the next THIRDS book.

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Review: The Hole Story of the Doughnut

The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm not sure for what age the book was intended, but lacks rapport and rhythm to attract toddlers, has too many details fro pre-K, and is just not very interesting for older kids. Besides, as much as Americans are fond of doughnuts, I don't share the hype. What do you even mean, those fried cakes weren't cooked in the center? Did that cook need to have his hands transplanted into the shoulders? It's really not that hard to fry blobs of dough through. My grandma managed it just fine. But it must have been really hard to come up with dough quite as tasteless.


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Review: Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit

Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit by Margie Palatini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

That is hilarious! Well over the head of a 6-year-old, but still hilarious.

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Review: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was a bit torn between 3 and 4 stars, but after reading the last chapter, firmly decided on 3. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is full of adventure, and I like adventure and there is not a lot of it in books now. Still, the way the author chose to start the adventure for the heroes is more than a bit presumptuous. Suppose you stole a trinket and some stranger tells you it must be returned to its original owner, in another country. What would you do? I can't really think of a real person, who would actually attempt such a heroic. The rest of action is more or less sensible (to an extent acceptable in fiction), but this beginning wasn't very encouraging. The ending is also perplexing. Our heroes (view spoiler)[are absolutely happy and go together into a sunset, without any money, without a profession (they literally cannot do anything useful), and without much chance to go unnoticed. (hide spoiler)]

That last bit that helped me decide about the rating happened in the last chapter and ruined the atmosphere for me. The author, who seemed to do her homework quite well actually, just had to show her American ignorance at the end. Is there any possibility a young and poorly educated English gentleman of the 18th century would compare the color of the sea with American Robin's eggs? No? How about the good old European Robin? I can't get rid of the picture of a speckled yellowish-brown Aegean Sea.

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Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

That was an interesting experience of reading a movie. I'm not sure what I expected, maybe some revelations, something that didn't make it to the screen, some hidden answers. Instead, the only thing the book did for me was to confirm again that the movie is great and the actors did a really good job showing emotions and meaning beyond words. I hoped to get some clues to answer some of my questions though, and I didn't. Aside from the parting words from Mr Grindelwald, which perplex a lot of people, not only me, I also would like to know what happened to the real Mr Graves :)

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Review: Stormhaven

Stormhaven by Jordan L. Hawk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This installment is far more amusing than the previous one :) At least the author refrained from inviting any aliens. I only wish the characters wouldn't so stubbornly refuse to think and look at facts.

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Review: The Oracle's Queen

The Oracle's Queen by Lynn Flewelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As much as I tried to stretch the pleasure of reading the last book by Flewelling I haven't read before, I raced through the last quarter of the Oracle's Queen in one night (and then had troubles getting up the next day). It is certainly a worthy completion of the trilogy. Most of the book reads as an epic fantasy with adventures and battles, but the end is both so sad and hopeful, it's heart wrenching. For every one lucky enough to find love and happiness, there are dozens lonely and broken hearts even in the general happily ever after. And even that doesn't matter much, because everything and everyone will be forgotten.

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Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm so delighted to have read this! A (really) illustrated edition of the series has been long due and is finally executed beautifully. I'm so looking forward to the third volume filled with Jim Kay's drawings, even though it'll be a while from now. And even though, living where I am now, I will be forced to read the "translated" American edition.

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Review: Threshold

Threshold by Jordan L. Hawk
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hmm. The plot in this installment is limping on all four legs. Really? Aliens? Can we stick with something less vulgar? Anyway, there are exactly two full-size erotic scenes again, well written, just as in Widdershins, and a scatter of "little moments", but that's about all that goes for this book. This book also finally made me to do some historical context query, due to continuing references to bathhouses solely as gay brothels or something to that effect. Educate me! Somebody! According to Wikipedia, the bathhouses brought to Europe by Crusaders quickly turned into brothels, but it was some 300-400 years before the time the book is set in. I didn't find such a reference about American bathhouses. Moreover, it appears that first public bathhouses in the US were build around 1890 (!!?), which means not long before the action in the book took place. Were they build with a questionable reputation to begin with? Sounds weird.


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Review: Chemistry

Chemistry by Weike Wang
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book has so many positive reviews, I feel kinda guilty I'm really glad it's over. There are not so many pages, but every now and then I couldn't help but count how many of them are left. Those short, chopped phrases were making it very hard for me to relate - I can't imagine anyone leaving and breathing thinking in that way. Even witty and funny moments weren't enough to dispel my feeling that I'm reading a transcript. I also can't quite get the idea that a person might need to find themselves that late in life. I had some friends whose parents chose schools for them, or even a university program, but I never actually saw anyone pursuing a PhD on account of parents' wishes. It's a bit too far in terms of child's obedience. But I guess it's ok. People do need to figure out what they actually want, whenever the need strikes them.

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