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Rated This Is How You Lose the Time War 7/10
<div>I don't know that this was exactly the book for me (which surprised me, since I do like a good time travel story), but I very much respect the unusual way this story is told. Count me among the many who picked this up after the posts about it on The Site Formerly Known As Twitter. Glad to see what the hype was about, but I think I wanted the worlds in which Red and Blue exist to be more clear, but that could be on me.</div>
Rated To Show and to Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction 8/10
I didn't always agree with Lopate (his attitude towards James Baldwin is a bit dismissive, for instance), but this book gave me a lot to think about. Worth a read if you're interested in creative nonfiction, but perhaps not at full cover price.
Wants to read Whiteout Volume 2: Melt – The Definitive Edition
Rated Torchwood: Fall to Earth 10/10
This was really great -- funny, dramatic, all the makings of a good Torchwood episode.
Rated Torchwood: The Conspiracy 8/10
John Barrowman's acting loses much of its appeal when you're not distracted by looking at him, but I enjoyed this story (or beginning of a story) quite a lot.
Wants to read The Trick is to Keep Breathing
Rated The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov 8/10
Paul Russell is a lovely, immersive writer, and while the story was such that made me carry on reading at an anticipatory clip, occasionally I would stop and marvel at the skill of his sentences. Now, I don't know enough about Vladimir Nabokov's writing to know if Russell's style pays homage at all, but he is subtle about the way he presents everything. The over-the-top characters like Cocteau or the ballet enthusiasts feel natural – By that, I mean that at no point does the writing sound like, “Look at me! Look at me writing these characters oh-so-dramatically!” And given the unassuming, shy nature of Sergey, it makes sense that his narration would be that way as well. He reports what happens and how he felt, but he is not about to call any extra attention upon himself. To be paid attention means scrutiny, and scrutiny leads to judgment, and the times he has been judged, the results are rarely in his favor. Still, Sergey has an incredible mind attuned to beauty, and Russell's fictionalized version of him makes me wonder what writing this “other” Nabokov could have accomplished, had he lived longer and been encouraged to explore it.<br><br>(My full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2012/02/unreal-life-of-sergey-nabokov-by-paul.html">Glorified Love Letters.</a>)
Rated Weetzie Bat 8/10
Bits of this don't hold up, compared to my teenage love for this book, bit it's still an unusual fairytale. I could do without Weetzie's exotizing of other cultures, and since this novella is just the beginning, there's not a lot of firm plot to speak of, but this reminds me of a certain time and place. My nostalgia is forgiving. This book is a teenage fantasy, and it's a reminder of how far we can grow.
Wants to read Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys
Interesting reading. Though not as personally satisfying as <i>Why We Need Love</i>, <i>Why We Fight</i> is still a thought-provoking counterpoint and even the words from thousands of years ago still hold their relevance in our current culture.<br><br>(Full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-we-fight-by-simon-van-booy.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Rated Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race 8/10
I recommend this to nearly every white person, even if they think they know what's what when it comes to racism, both overt and invisibly structural. Some of her past moments made me cringe, and some moments made me think more deeply, though there were a few places where I wish she had explored more deeply herself. A very good book.
Rated Whiteout Volume 1 – The Definitive Edition 8/10
Rated What Stalks Among Us: A Creepy and Atmospheric YA Thriller About Teens Trapped in a Haunted Corn Maze 10/10
<div>Absolutely LOVED this. I'm not a regular reader of YA — not for any snobby reasons; it's just not where my attention usually takes me — but I'd read and enjoyed Sarah Hollowell's previous book (A Dark And Starless Forest), so I knew I was in for a good time. Well... a tense time! <br><br>And WOW does Hollowell keep up the tension! Two high school seniors encounter a mysterious corn maze in springtime Indiana and soon find themselves trapped, unsure of the new rules for their environment, and also... is that a dead body that looks just like one of them? What a beginning! <br><br>The story also deals with the lingering effects of emotional abuse and other toxic relationships in a way that intertwines with their current circumstances, but never feels predictable or cliché. I genuinely did not know how the story would shake out until the main characters did. I also very much appreciated that the main characters are just friends. No shoehorned romance here! There's too much to deal with!<br><br>If you enjoy psychological horror with characters who feel very true to life, do pick this up.</div>
Rated Why Our Decisions Don't Matter 6/10
In essence, the book argues that, while we may be able to control our reaction to the world, we cannot control the world itself. Like the rest of the WHY series, it's thought-provoking and covers a wide range of source material. Good stuff.<br><br>(Full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-our-decisions-dont-matter-by-simon.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Wants to read What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher