My Boyfriend's Recommendations

Got a few to go through, here.

Last night, I finished The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. It was yes. It was super silly and fun and imaginitive, exactly my sort of humor. I'm willing to overlook a couple of plot holes (like, why did the Grafters even want to take over Britain or destroy the Checquy in the first place way back when? we need to have the Ultimate Motivation here- power or wealth or whatever) because of the ridiculously entertaining antics that ensue.
I was also a little thrown because the novel seems to changes voices slowly, but I chalk it up to Myfanwy discovering her own personality as the story progresses.
One real problem I had was that in the end, when you find out whodunit, well, you really couldn't have come to that conclusion definitively on your own. There are a number of suspects that have an array of possible motives. While it turns out the one responsible does make the most sense, there wasn't really anything that was like OH DUH WHY DIDN'T I SEE IT  BEFORE, or even OH WOW THE PROTAGONIST IS SO BRILLIANT FOR FIGURING IT OUT, I WOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN IT. We end up somewhere in the tepid middle of those.
That said, I overall enjoyed the read!

I read Divergent by Veronica Roth somewhere in the middle of the United States in the span of about two days. I love that they're making it a movie- it's packed with action and potential spectacle, and it's a simple story with simple characters that could appeal to lowest-common-denominator audiences while retaining a greater sense of purpose. Post-apocalyptic stories tend to do that- instill a sense of dread or even fear in us. How did we let it come to this?
It's teenage fiction at its finest, really. Several deep points about human nature are raised under the veneer of high school drama and romance. I can't really get any more specific than that 'cause it's been a while since I read it, but I do remember that wearing black and getting tattoos is symbolic of recklessness and edginess. So don't argue there's no high-school-esque vibes in there with me.

I've also downed The Warrior Heir and  The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. I found the first one so-so, but it provided great context for the second, which was overall a better story. It's rumored these books each get more intense as you go through the series.
I just get a little sick of protagonists being important people, and everything being so, so personal. We're all lovers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters, not just random people brought together from the vast population that actually exists. I know, the important people are the interesting ones that have interesting stories, right, fine, but the ever-present power struggle becomes overdone and trite.
Again, it's a good teen fantasy series with solid themes of loyalty and bravery, but nothing very revolutionary. At least, not in books 1 and 2.

The Eye of the World

I finished the first Wheel of Time book, fucking finally.
Seriously, why is this such a popular series? I don't get it. Like, at all. The pacing sucks ass, the descriptions suck ass, the characters are mostly really irritating, I felt like page and pages and pages were devoted to shit that didn't matter at all, whereas the things that maybe I could have given a rat's ass about were hastily scribbled in vague language. I can respect this if you're going for pure realism in pacing; generally when you read a fantasy epic, you skip over the long boring parts where the travel from place to place. So fine, more 'realistic' pacing here.
My other real pet peeve is treatment of female characters. There are only three in this book that matter, and two of them are bratty and simple-minded peasants while the third is, as someone else put it, the all-knowing ice queen. I feel like Moiraine is supposed to be a complex character but my god is she not, not at all, at least not yet. There are four other bit female characters that come to mind, and they're either determinedly and rebelliously enigmatic, cold angry bitches, or perfectly heart-melting in every way (that would be the princess, of course, of all people).
And then there are the male characters, which are all so very similar even though Jordan writes about how they are different; they all act the same. There is one singular character in the entire book that has any sort of personality and depth, and that is Lan, who is constantly described as stone-faced. Something is wrong when your most interesting charatcer is also the most stoic.
That's seriously about all I have to say about this hot mess. Maybe one day when I'm in a more patient and understanding phase of my life, I'll try again.

Life of Pi and Agyar

I wonder who the heck reads this blog ever. I don't update it, and yet it gets page views. My Blogger stats say so.

I've read Agyar by Stephen Brust, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, and probably a couple other books this past year or so, I can't remember. Currently reading The Incrementalists, a collaboration between Stephen Brust and Skyler White.

So Life of Pi... so much to be said. This was one of those books we had the option of reading for school, though I never did. So obviously you could write whole essays on it. The overall message hit me only when I went through the questions in the back of the book, and went back to re-read chapters 22 and 23 on part one. Then I got it. Click.

I read Agyar because Brust has said it's his favorite book that he's written, and I understand why- it must have been really fun to write. Something I like about his books (that I've read, anyway) is that there's usually a reason why you're reading the story- a logical place the words have come from. In Agyar, the protagonist is typing it all out on a typewriter, because he feels like it. It's not just a story-from-nowhere deal.

And I do so love the way that you have to figure out what in the hell is going on. I dislike when books spell it all out for you- which is why I'm a little surprised at The Incrementalists. There's a lot that's being explained right up front... but I'm less than halfway through with it, so I'd better reserve judgment 'til the end, I suppose!