Blast. I wrote a nice, thoughtful review of this book, and then it somehow got lost when I reviewed Death: The High Cost of Living. Bother bother bother. Suffice it to say – The Queen of Spells is a retelling of “Tam Lin”, which is such a great story that I have checked out or [...]
Archive for the ‘Heard about from elsewhere’ Category
The Queen of Spells, Dahlov Ipcar
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged Dahlov Ipcar, fairy tales, fantasy, Tam Lin, The Queen of Spells on April 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The Fire Fighter, Francis Cottam
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from elsewhere, Picked up randomly, tagged early efforts, Francis Cottam, read the end, The Fire Fighter, World Wars on February 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Fire Fighter is about a guy who is good at putting out fires, so good in fact that he gets taken away from the front in Africa, and has to come back to London and protect these five buildings in London, during the Blitz. He is not best pleased about this as it’s not [...]
Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates
Posted in 4 Stars, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged classics, Dorothy Parker, Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates on January 9, 2009 | 7 Comments »
I got this for Christmas. Dorothy Parker really liked it, but I didn’t think I would, due to the sadness. On the other hand, I thought, it has layers, and I like layers. On the other hand, they are layers of misery and depression and unlikeable characters; which is to say, not my favorite type [...]
Sisterland, Linda Newbery
Posted in 3 Stars, Heard about from elsewhere, Picked up randomly, tagged British schoolchildren, for young people, glbt, Linda Newbery, racism, sisterland on July 5, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Ah, Linda Newbery. I’ve been meaning to read one of her books for about a year and a half – I very vaguely remember wanting to buy it at the Foyle’s on the South Bank when I was there in January 2007 with the family. Something with clocks. Sisterland is about a girl called Hilly [...]
Jenna Starborn, Sharon Shinn
Posted in 1 Star, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged cyborgs, jane eyre, Jenna Starborn, retellings, Sharon Shinn on April 14, 2008 | 8 Comments »
So I read this for my Victorians class, basically because I want to write a paper on it for my final project – that research proposal is due in on Thursday and I’ve given it shockingly little thought in comparison to my usual intensive research schedules with these term paper things – anyway, I’m reading [...]
The Keep, Jennifer Egan
Posted in 1 Star, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged Jennifer Egan, not aimed at me, rubbish protagonists, The Keep on January 28, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I have no idea where I read about this book, but I’ve been intending to read it for ages. I went to the library yesterday, ostensibly just to return Dark Shadows (which I realized once I got there I had left at the apartment), and I got maybe eleven books, which is pretty restrained, and [...]
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
Posted in 1 Star, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged Atonement, Ian McEwan, World Wars on January 21, 2008 | 7 Comments »
Cecilia went to the kitchen to fill the vase, and carried it up to her bedroom to retrieve the flowers from the handbasin. When she dropped them in they once again refused to fall into the artful disorder she preferred, and instead swung round in the water into a willful neatness, with the taller stalks [...]
The English Governess at the Siamese Court, Anna Leonowens
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged Anna Leonowens, memoirs, racism, The English Governess at the Siamese Court, The King and I, Victorians on January 16, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Okay, the truth comes out. You won’t believe it, but Anna Leonowens did not, in fact, have a hot but platonic romance with the King of Siam; or if she did, she kept remarkably quiet about it in her book. Although I’m not ruling out the possibility that all the late-night “translating” she was doing [...]
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged circus, predictable endings, Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants on December 30, 2007 | 3 Comments »
Heard about this because it was one of those books that is always on front shelves at Bongs & Noodles. I know it is contradictory to say that I enjoyed this and then file it as an unfavorite, but it’s true. I enjoyed it in that I carried on reading it all the way to [...]
The Trick is to Keep Breathing
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged Janice Galloway, mental illness, The Trick is to Keep Breathing on December 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
by Janice Galloway I guess I wasn’t the target audience, but damn, this book just never went anywhere, for God’s sake. It’s about a Scottish woman, if I recall correctly, who sinks into a deep depression after her lover drowns. And that’s basically all I have to say about it. So-so. Nothing ever happens.
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