Wants to read A Skeptic's Guide to Writers' Houses
book
Rated This Close 10/10
Not many short story collections are entirely wonderful. One or two stories, while not necessarily UNenjoyable, usually feel like filler. And yet, Jessica Francis Kane's new collection is quite near perfect. It left me wishing for one more story, which likely means that the length of the book is exactly right. Twelve stories, some related and some standalone, navigate the yearning for connection and the complex interior lives that we all have. <br><br>(My full review appears on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2013/06/this-close-stories-by-jessica-francis.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Rated The Many Daughters of Afong Moy 3/10
<div>Too many similes, too many words lifted from other people. The overall concept is interesting and understandable, but I didn't care for the the execution. In short, not for me.</div>
Rated Tempo. Il sogno di uccidere Chrónos 6/10
Edited 86d ago
Rated Byzantine and Renaissance Philosophy 10/10
Edited 83d ago
Rated Walden by Henry David Thoreau 8/10
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Rated This Inevitable Ruin 8/10
Edited 86d ago
Rated Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight 10/10
What an audio classic. I really had to listen to so much more of the Eighth Doctor and realize the connections and references to other things to really appreciate it. A proper British Spooky Christmas Mystery that also manages to be quite funny. The story also goes back to that recurring theme in Doctor Who of, "I've never met anybody who wasn't important."
Rated Judging a Book by Its Lover: A Field Guide to the Hearts and Minds of Readers Everywhere 4/10
This started out better than it ended. The title is very misleading, and I'm also not very interested in faking my way through my reading life or pretending like I've read things I haven't.
Rated Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Sun 6/10
Rated The Race for Paris 8/10
It feels weird to say I think I'd LOVE this as a mini series, but as a book I just really liked it. I like that the three main characters are more or less in a romantic relationship with another, though it all manifests in different ways. Would recommend.
Rated Midnight Picnic 8/10
How our living selves affect the afterlife has been, and will continue to be, a matter of debate. In literature alone, countless stories have explored the stages of death, of grieving, and that of otherworldly retribution. In <i>Midnight Picnic</i>, Nick Antosca leaves religion out of the discussion and instead explores feelings of abandonment, anger and regret.<br><br>This is no great story of redemption, nor is it one of God and ghosts. If anything, it’s about making peace with the living self before everything is gone. With Autumn and Halloween approaching, it might just be the essential book to usher in the season. It’s certainly worth a look.<br><br>(Full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2010/09/midnight-picnic-by-nick-antosca.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Rated The Transit of Venus 8/10
<div>4 stars is honestly more than my level of enjoyment while reading, but the actual writing was so good, I do not want to rank it any lower. Sometimes you're just not in the mood for a certain type of book, and that's fine. No shade to Shirley Hazzard — her ability to craft an image or sharply define a complicated feeling is great. Another time, I would have very much loved a sumptuous immersion in the lives of these two sisters, but instead I finished with mere respect. ymmv!</div>
Rated Doctor Who: Trail of the White Worm 6/10
Not a bad Part 1! It also reminded me of that bonkers Peter Capaldi movie, The Lair of the White Worm, which deals with the same creature. I'm not wild about the Doctor referring to Leela as "Savage" as a nickname, however "primitive" her origins. It's unnecessary.