PimaLib_ChristineR's Completed Shelf
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The City & the CityThe City & the City, eBookA Novel
by Miéville, ChinaeBook - 2009eBook, 2009
All copies in use
Holds: 1 on 1 copy
Holds: 1 on 1 copy
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Jun 27, 2023
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Jun 05, 2023
Comment:
This is a lighter T Kingfisher, a la A Wizard's Guide to Defense Baking, rather than the creepy horror that she's been doing lately. Thornhedge is a new take on the Sleeping Beauty tale. A fairy (kind of) has put the beautiful princess into an eternal slumber, but is that always a bad thing? Kingfisher asks, what if there's a good reason? A quick read that's interesting and expansive without being too deep.This is a lighter T Kingfisher, a la A Wizard's Guide to Defense Baking, rather than the creepy horror that she's been doing lately. Thornhedge is a new take on the Sleeping Beauty tale. A fairy (kind of) has put the beautiful princess into an…
Gideon the NinthGideon the Ninth, Book
by Muir, TamsynBook - 2019 | First editionBook, 2019. First edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Apr 07, 2023
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Apr 07, 2023
The CartographersThe Cartographers, eBookA Novel
by Shepherd, PengeBook - 2022eBook, 2022
All copies in use
Holds: 16 on 2 copies
Holds: 16 on 2 copies
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Apr 07, 2023
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Apr 07, 2023
The Other Side of NightThe Other Side of Night, BookA Novel
by Hamdy, AdamBook - 2022 | First Atria Books hardcover editionBook, 2022. First Atria Books hardcover edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Apr 07, 2023
Comment:
Let me begin by saying that this book isn't getting the praise it deserves because it has been marketed as a thriller or a police procedural. In fact, people who received advance reader copies were asked not to give away the "twist." The problem is, the twist is the heart of the novel, the reason for its existence, and puts this book firmly in the sci-fi category (okay, maybe not "firmly" but I'd put money on psychological sci-fi at the very least). If you like genre-bending novels that aren't afraid to enter realms of speculations, I think you'll enjoy this one.
Hamdy develops strong characters. I got mad at the characters for making bad decisions, but they felt like real bad decisions. There's an intricate plot that maintains a good clip. It's one of those books that you almost have to read twice, because once you know what's happening, you want to go back and enjoy the story again.Let me begin by saying that this book isn't getting the praise it deserves because it has been marketed as a thriller or a police procedural. In fact, people who received advance reader copies were asked not to give away the "twist." The problem is,…
The Last BeekeeperThe Last Beekeeper, Book
by Dalton, Julie CarrickBook - 2023 | First editionBook, 2023. First edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Mar 14, 2023
Comment:
The Last Beekeeper left me wondering, is it really dystopian fiction if you can imagine this very scenario happening within your lifetime? Dalton explores a world in which pollinators have disappeared and food stability has collapsed for the majority. Besides digging into the question of how the government would react to such a collapse (imagine PWA-style work farms where the food still goes to the richest), Dalton has created characters full of depth.
Sasha is the daughter of the last beekeeper; as an adult she returns to her childhood home, hoping for some sort of closure. Is she the cause of the bees' disappearance? Why did her father demand her silence and a prison sentence over staying with her? Finally, are the bees really gone? She is smart, yet blinded by her own biases. And it isn't just Sasha. From her new roommates to her Uncle Chuck, everyone feels like a study in chiaroscuro, blending blinding moments of goodness with the depths of human frailty.
Between the characters and the mysteries at the center of The Last Beekeeper, I couldn't put the book down, finishing it in a single day.The Last Beekeeper left me wondering, is it really dystopian fiction if you can imagine this very scenario happening within your lifetime? Dalton explores a world in which pollinators have disappeared and food stability has collapsed for the…
The Ballad of Perilous GravesThe Ballad of Perilous Graves, Book
by Jennings, AlexBook - 2022 | First editionBook, 2022. First edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Feb 09, 2023
Comment:
If you love music, if you love New Orleans, or if you just love magical realism that sometimes crosses the line into fantasy, The Ballad of Perilous Graves is for you. While I was reading this I had to have a Dr. John and Trombone Shorty mix going, but whatever sets the mood for you. Ballad is set in a New Orleans where music is literally magic and that magic has protected parts of the city from the Storm for hundreds of years. Now the Storm has help in its plan of destruction but Perilous, Brendy, Peaches and Casey discover the magic within themselves to protect the city.
Ballad transported me to NOLA and Nola. I loved that there was a racial diverse cast and a trans man as one of the leads, but those things were there without being the plot of the story and without feeling artificial or pandering. Despite some slander against Paul Weller, this was a 4.5 star read for me.If you love music, if you love New Orleans, or if you just love magical realism that sometimes crosses the line into fantasy, The Ballad of Perilous Graves is for you. While I was reading this I had to have a Dr. John and Trombone Shorty mix going,…
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Dec 12, 2022
Comment:
If you were like me and were disappointed with the end of The Raven Cycle, The Raven King, after being entranced by the early books in the series, let me reassure you here and now that Stiefvater did not make that mistake again! The early chapters of Greywaren, the conclusion of The Dreamer Trilogy, took a little bit to get all of the characters in place. It was right at the start of Chapter 12 that that old Maggie Magic kicked in. I could just feel it. The combination of characterization, her setting and then the true magic in the relationships between her characters all came together and sucked me right in. From there, the ride never let up, right up to the absolute last sentence. The epilogue actually made me "squee!" It was sweet, painful and ultimately satisfying.If you were like me and were disappointed with the end of The Raven Cycle, The Raven King, after being entranced by the early books in the series, let me reassure you here and now that Stiefvater did not make that mistake again! The early chapters…
This Is Not A Book About Benedict CumberbatchThis Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch, BookThe Joy of Loving Something--anything--like your Life Depends on It
by Carvan, TabithaBook - 2022Book, 2022
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Nov 21, 2022
Comment:
This is a review of the book This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch. I am generally not a non-fiction reader, so when this book had me hooked from page one, laughing out loud and reading late into the night, I was shocked. Carvan has a delightfully wry sense of humor backed up by scads of research and plenty of Sherlock references. Yes, she'll tell you what her husband thinks of her love for Cumberbatch, but she also looks at the societal forces that assume something women/girls love is automatically "less than." From One Direction fans to "chick flicks," she digs into why loving something "too much" buys into a patriarchy built on keeping a tight reign on your emotions (unless it's about sports, of course). She comes at her love of Cumberbatch from every angle, so there's something for everyone. This is such a good book, I may have to write my own, titled This Is Not a Book About This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch.This is a review of the book This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch. I am generally not a non-fiction reader, so when this book had me hooked from page one, laughing out loud and reading late into the night, I was shocked. Carvan has a…
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Nov 14, 2022
Vita NostraVita Nostra, Book
by Di︠a︡chenko, MarinaBook - 2018 | First Harper Voyager hardcover editionBook, 2018. First Harper Voyager hardcover edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Nov 08, 2022
Comment:
Gaudeamus igitur,
Juvenes dum sumus;
Post icundum iuventutem,
Post molestam senectutem
Nos habebit humus.
Vita nostra brevis est,
Brevi finietur;
Venit mors velociter,
Rapit nos atrociter;
Nemini parcetur.
Let us therefore rejoice,
While we are young;
After our youth,
After a troublesome old age
The ground will hold us.
Our life is brief,
It will shortly end;
Death comes quickly,
Cruelly snatches us;
No-one is spared.
My mind is bent, blown and flown. This Russian language series is being translated into English and the second installment of the four book series is due in 2023. I can't wait!
Sasha has a simple life with her mother. She's a straight-A student and she has plans for college and career, until a strange man shows up at her seaside vacation and convinces her to undertake an uncomfortable task. He uses fear for her family's safety to motivate her and it becomes his method as he increasingly pushes her life off the path she had set. She finds herself attending an Institute of Special Technologies. No one can explain what the "special technologies" are. The older students all seem to have been mentally or physically damaged by their time at the school, but no one will tell her why. She is forced to study books that make no sense and memorize passages that defy memorization. The reader experiences everything with her, from the confusion to the dawning realization of something much bigger happening. The school song, shown above, lingers like a threat over every page.
The translator, Julia Meitov Hersey, has kept the distinctly Eastern European rhythm to the language. That, along with the dark, atmospheric writing and convoluted themes create a novel that you won't be able to put down.Gaudeamus igitur,
Juvenes dum sumus;
Post icundum iuventutem,
Post molestam senectutem
Nos habebit humus.
Vita nostra brevis est,
Brevi finietur;
Venit mors velociter,
Rapit nos atrociter;
Nemini parcetur.
Let us therefore rejoice,
While we are…
What Moves the DeadWhat Moves the Dead, Book
by Kingfisher, T.Book - 2022 | First editionBook, 2022. First edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Oct 24, 2022
Comment:
"They were men. They crept upon their hands and knees. They used their hands only, dragging their legs. They used their knees only, their arms hanging idle at their sides. They strove to rise to their feet, but fell prone in the attempt. They did nothing naturally, and nothing alike, save only to advance foot by foot in the same direction. Singly, in pairs and in little groups, they came on through the gloom, some halting now and again while others crept slowly past them, then resuming their movement. " -Chickamagua, Ambrose Bierce
Kingfisher, in the afterword of What Moves the Dead, a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher, noted that when rereading the short story, she wanted *more*. More details on what has happened to the Ushers, why the house is collapsing, and backstory. We're lucky to have an author who can make that happen.
This retelling doubles-down on the creepy gothic tone of the original, taking the reader into a world of broken animals pulling themselves across the landscape like broken soldiers in an Ambrose Bierce story, stars that glint in the water on a cloudy night, and a woman walking like Lady Macbeth through the decaying halls of the manor.
Alex is a non-binary soldier come to visit their old friends the Ushers after receiving word that Madeline is near death. What they find at the manor is more grim than they could have ever imagined.
This kind of gothic body horror has been done before but perhaps never so well. Look at the cover! It perfectly captures what you'll find inside. Plus Kingfisher can throw in moments of levity that feel natural and don't break the overall tone of the story. Check it out to find out What Moves the Dead."They were men. They crept upon their hands and knees. They used their hands only, dragging their legs. They used their knees only, their arms hanging idle at their sides. They strove to rise to their feet, but fell prone in the attempt. They did…
Mothering SundayMothering Sunday, Book
by Swift, GrahamBook - 2016 | First editionBook, 2016. First edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Aug 17, 2022
Comment:
Have you ever read a book that caused you so much emotional turmoil you had to put it down and breathe for a moment before continuing? Mothering Sunday did that for me. On the surface, it's the simple story of Jane Fairchild, a girl in service immediately following WWI. She has been sleeping with the rich neighbor boy, Paul, for years but now he's getting married. They have a final day together. After that first half, we learn more about Jane's future life as a wife and a professional writer, but the meat of the story is the time that Jane and Paul have together and Jane's time wandering the house.
The immediate comparison that came to mind was Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. Swift uses the single incident and its aftermath as a kind of meditation on language. He approaches the moment over and over from different oblique angles, wringing the truth from it, considering how fiction is sometimes truer than the truth. Yet, it becomes clear that none of the characters can truly know each other. Mothering Sunday has a muffled, isolated feeling, yet the pain of the story built quietly but insistently.
This was my first Graham Swift novel but it won't be the last. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in one sitting. If you love books that meditate on language and connection, if you're a fan of the quiet tone of an Ishiguro novel, you'll sink into this one.Have you ever read a book that caused you so much emotional turmoil you had to put it down and breathe for a moment before continuing? Mothering Sunday did that for me. On the surface, it's the simple story of Jane Fairchild, a girl in service…
The Daughter of Doctor MoreauThe Daughter of Doctor Moreau, BookA Novel
by Moreno-Garcia, SilviaBook - 2022 | First editionBook, 2022. First edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Jul 26, 2022
Comment:
Moreno-Garcia is a master of world building. It's what made Mexican Gothic such a standout and infused Velvet Was the Night with quiet menace. Unfortunately, that world building here leans into the lushness of the jungle setting without providing the building unease that could have overcome the slow pacing of the first 2/3rds of the novel.
It's a premise that should work, the mad scientist and his house of pain, but Moreau is either absent or distant for the majority of the novel. Possibly the most interesting character is Montgomery, the drunken English majordomo of Moreau's fiefdom. Carlota, as the daughter, is more catalyst for the action than deeply developed.
For all these complaints, it's not a bad book. Instead it feels like a rough draft of something that could have been great.Moreno-Garcia is a master of world building. It's what made Mexican Gothic such a standout and infused Velvet Was the Night with quiet menace. Unfortunately, that world building here leans into the lushness of the jungle setting without providing…
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added May 14, 2022
Comment:
I'm embarrassed to say I've never heard of this author even though he's an Arizona local, but I'll definitely be going back to read The Iron Druid Chronicles after the fun that is Ink & Sigil. There is nothing serious or deep about this book. It is pure adventurous fun with plenty of off-color jokes, double entendres and drunken brawls. It's part of a growing body of work that blends noir mystery with fantasy and a fair dose of humor à la Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett.
Al MacBharrais is a sigil agent, one of a handful of humans tasked with acting as a type of border agent between the worlds of the fae and human. He has also just lost his seventh apprentice to a freak accident with a raisin scone. When he learns that that apprentice was also involved in trafficking of magical folk, Al has to clean up the mess that's left behind. Hearne leaves some big questions unanswered, so I hope the next book gets us closer to resolving some of the longer story arcs. Oh, and let me revise my previous statement, Hearne actually does provide some background on sex work and human trafficking in the real world. It's important and valuable information and in this format is less likely to leave you traumatized compared to, say, the Livia Lone series (which I highly recommend).
If you're looking for complete escapism in a book that you can easily finish in a weekend, Ink & Sigil fits the bill.
Added as response to another review: This is not a period piece and I'm not sure to what the reviewer is referring when talking about insults to women. It's set in modern-day Glasgow and the women here rock. Especially MacBharrais' business manager.I'm embarrassed to say I've never heard of this author even though he's an Arizona local, but I'll definitely be going back to read The Iron Druid Chronicles after the fun that is Ink & Sigil. There is nothing serious or deep about this book. It is…
The Owls Have Come to Take Us AwayThe Owls Have Come to Take Us Away, Book
by Smith, Ronald L.Book - 2019Book, 2019
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added May 14, 2022
Comment:
Spoiler Alert! This review includes spoilers.
As a librarian I'm all about freedom of information, but I feel like I have to give a warning on this book. I picked it up because the cover is cool and the title grabbed me. The blurbs indicated this is an award-winning author. "What could go wrong?" I thought. The answer is: a lot.
Simon is a geeky 12-year-old who is obsessed with aliens and stories of aliens. He doesn't get along with his sporty father and brother. He'd rather hang out playing video games. He's also got asthma and is wetting the bed later than many kids. So when they go on a camping trip and Simon believes he has been abducted by aliens his parents take him to see the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist and the parents don't listen to Simon, instead putting him on several psychiatric medications, leaving him detached and lethargic. It turns out Simon is right, there are aliens. The end. Seriously. That is the plot of the book. So what's the message here? That parents and doctors just want to medicate kids instead of listening to them? That if you are a kid and having obsessive thoughts that you should avoid taking anything you are prescribed for it?
This story could have had a lot of nuance. The dad could have been more than a jerk and a jock. Simon's mixed-race background could have been explored. There could have been a greater understanding of the difference between medication for obsessive behavior and parents not believing in aliens. Smith could have even dug deeper into the mystery behind what the government already knew, but instead we get a painfully flat and painfully mismanaged storyline. I'm not a fan.Spoiler Alert! This review includes spoilers.
As a librarian I'm all about freedom of information, but I feel like I have to give a warning on this book. I picked it up because the cover is cool and the title grabbed me. The blurbs indicated this…
As A WomanAs A Woman, BookWhat I Learned About Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned
by Williams, Paula StoneBook - 2021 | First Atria Books hardcover editionBook, 2021. First Atria Books hardcover edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added May 07, 2022
Comment:
I read As a Woman as part of the Read Harder 2022 challenge and I'm glad I did. Williams is a gifted writer and as a trans woman is in a unique position to talk about life from both sides of the gender divide. That said, this is, first and foremost, a biography. Williams didn't transition until late in life, so much of the book is dedicated to her strict evangelical Christian upbringing and strained relationship with her emotionally stunted mother. The most interesting parts are Williams description of her innate desire to live as a woman from a very young age, along with the toll her transition took on her family relationships.
The only note that struck me oddly was her assertion that she wished there were a way to "fix" her transgender-ness. It's likely this was because of the heavy burden it placed on her and her family, but the word choice buys into the idea that something is "wrong" with transgender people. I wouldn't say you should avoid a book based on one sentence though. Williams has a great deal of insight to offer on both the evangelical Christian movement and gender itself.I read As a Woman as part of the Read Harder 2022 challenge and I'm glad I did. Williams is a gifted writer and as a trans woman is in a unique position to talk about life from both sides of the gender divide. That said, this is, first and foremost,…
Sea of TranquilitySea of Tranquility, BookA Novel
by Mandel, Emily St. JohnBook - 2022 | First editionBook, 2022. First edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added May 07, 2022
Comment:
If you're just coming off of Station Eleven, you may find Sea of Tranquility something of a slow burn, but believe me when I say it is worth the wait. Like Station Eleven, Mandel jumps around in time, but this time by decades and centuries, following the stories of several different characters. At first, it's unclear how these stories tie together, but when the twist comes, it's one of those things that has you rereading the book from the beginning to pick up on every nuance. It's not necessarily a new idea, but it's presented in such a way that the twist is only a vehicle for an exploration of humanity instead of being the raison d'etre.
There's also a sharply funny section about one of the characters who is on book tour after writing a book about a pandemic that seems likely to be pulled from Mandel's experiences. It's worth the read for that section alone.If you're just coming off of Station Eleven, you may find Sea of Tranquility something of a slow burn, but believe me when I say it is worth the wait. Like Station Eleven, Mandel jumps around in time, but this time by decades and centuries,…
A Monster CallsA Monster Calls, eBookInspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd
by Ness, Patrick • Dowd, SiobhaneBook - 2013eBook, 2013
Available
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Jan 25, 2022
The Paris LibraryThe Paris Library, Book
by Skeslien Charles, JanetBook - 2021 | First Atria Books hardcover editionBook, 2021. First Atria Books hardcover edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Jan 25, 2022
The Box in the WoodsThe Box in the Woods, Book
by Johnson, MaureenBook - 2021 | First editionBook, 2021. First edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Jan 25, 2022
On Earth We're Briefly GorgeousOn Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, BookA Novel
by Vuong, OceanBook - 2019Book, 2019
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Jan 25, 2022
Comment:
I started this book many times over several years in various formats before this completed read. I had to be in the right headspace and I will say upfront, I couldn't do the audio version read by the author. Vuong's poetic roots come through in this vaguely fictionalized story of his life from birth in Vietnam to life in an opiate-riddled New England town. Rhythmic and mesmerizing, the language carries the reader above a world of abuse, abuse of self, others, various substances, a couple of vehicles and a nation.
Vuong ranges from flashbacks of his grandmother and mother living in Vietnam through the war and its aftermath until they land in America and the mother becomes a nail technician, continuously apologizing to demanding clients while inhaling toxic fumes. He exposes his burgeoning sexuality and its ties to his own trauma. He describes being a part of, while also separate from the drug epidemic taking so many of his friends. If I had to point to one critique, it's that he tries to cover so much territory in this book. It's all important, and it's all part of his story, but I found myself growing numb to trauma unleavened with a bright moment.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is an important book, a beautiful book, and a book that transcends its pain if you're willing to read to the end.I started this book many times over several years in various formats before this completed read. I had to be in the right headspace and I will say upfront, I couldn't do the audio version read by the author. Vuong's poetic roots come through in this…
Radio SilenceRadio Silence, Book
by Oseman, AliceBook - 2017 | First U.S. editionBook, 2017. First U.S. edition
PimaLib_ChristineR's rating:
Added Jan 25, 2022
Comment: