book
Reading Love in the Time of Cholera
Rated Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow 8/10
Rated Dark Gallifrey: Missy, Part 1 8/10
Rated Devil Sent the Rain: Music and Writing in Desperate America 10/10
<i>Devil Sent the Rain</i> is an excellent book. One does not have to be a big fan of the blues or “rural” music to find value within its pages, for Piazza writes in an informative way that's moving and honest.<br><br>(My full review can be found on <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2012/06/devil-sent-rain-by-tom-piazza.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Finished reading Family Lexicon
Rated Dead Beat 4/10
<div>I know this was not her first novel ever, but it sure reads like it. The casual racism and internalized misogyny I can almost explain away by the year in which it was published (1992), but there's not a lot I liked otherwise. The whole book needed a lot more developmental editing, but I will say I cared enough to know how it all shook out in the end. (The ending was... fine.) I've read and enjoyed plenty of other McDermid novels, and though they may have some elements I don't care for, the story is usually well done and makes me want to read the next one in the series. I won't be reading the next Kate Brannigan book.</div>
Rated David Bowie: A Life 6/10
Though I learned a fair amount about Bowie by reading this, I felt like I had to take some of the tales with a grain of salt. This biography is done in an oral history style with very little analysis of the interviewee's words done by the author. Everyone has an agenda, and there's not much here that makes note of that. Also, some of the quotes could have done with some editing to get more to the point — there's a lot of "But <i>I</i> was the most special and important, and only <i>I</i> knew him, and here, let me plug what I'm doing" going on. (Not everyone is like that, thankfully.) And <i>wow</i> do the interviewees hate Angie, his first wife. What is said about her implies that they were all just put off by her having ambitions of her own, as though she were somehow not allowed this. <br><br>That said, there were still enough interesting bits to keep me reading, and I liked hearing about his later career (though less time is spent on it), as I had fallen off paying attention after <i>Hours</i> until <i>The Next Day</i> came out. <br><br>It wasn't love for me, but the book is worth a read for the Bowie die-hards out there who can read between the lines and already know a lot of the context.
Rated Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious - He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not 8/10
I very much enjoyed this, though it almost felt too short. (I know, it's part of a larger story and I do have the next installment.) Brian the Ood was perfectly unnerving.<br><br>Also, can I say how good it is to see more women writing these Doctor Who audios? Continue that, please. No slight on the gentlemen writers, but for almost 20 years, BF was a bit of a boy's club.
Rated Doctor Who Series III, Vol. 3: Sky Jacks! 8/10
Rated Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout 10/10
This is a gorgeous graphic novel about Marie Curie, her work, and her relationship with Pierre Curie. Lauren Redniss' artwork mimics Curie's journals, and although this might be a bit basic for someone who has a lot of previous Curie knowledge, it's still a lovely a book. Though I received it awhile back, it got misplaced in the madness that is my bedroom, and rediscovering it was its own revelation. <i>Ah, this. Yes, this is what I need right now.</i> I'd love to read more biographies that merge art and facts in this way.<br><br>(See the rest of my Top 10 Favorites read in 2015 at <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2015/12/glorified-love-letters-top-10-favorite.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Finished reading Human Acts
Wants to read Directions to the Beach of the Dead
Rated Room to Dream 10/10
<div>An in-depth and fair look at one of our most interesting artists. I admit that I once had a review ebook of this, way back when, and somehow it got lost in the shuffle. But to paraphrase a recurring theme in this biography/memoir: Things happen when they are meant to happen.<br><br>Prior to 2020 or so, I was only loosely familiar with David Lynch's work. That said, one of the (in retrospect) best experiences I've ever had in a theater was when I saw a small showing of Mulholland Drive in the back of an Italian restaurant in Missoula, MT, the city where Lynch was born. I didn't fully appreciate it at the time, but now I'm glad I was there. Though I am fascinated by a lot across his career, I'm mainly a Twin Peaks fan, a late convert. After his recent death, I decided it was time to know more about the man behind all this determinedly strange art, and reading this book now, instead of in 2017, I have a much better appreciation for what his work is meant to do.<br><br>The format of having journalist Kristine McKenna handle the biography gives room for everyone to offer their perspective during each stage of Lynch's career. Lynch, now given decades of perspective (but also some convenient opportunities to "not remember"), has a chance to offer his own memories and respond to the journalistic part of the chapter we've just read. It works. One can read between the lines where some of his shortcomings are not explicitly spelled out, but he's held accountable in other ways. Mostly though, everyone liked him. He respected people, was interested in their stories and saw their potential. That's a pretty good legacy for an artist to leave.</div>
Rated Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures - Back to Earth 9/10
<div>I was maybe a little less interested in the middle story — you can see where it's all heading before anything "unusual" is identified — but it's not a bad a story. Honestly, I'm just always glad to have more Ninth Doctor stories</div>
Rated Doctor Who: Doom Coalition 1 10/10
This is easily one of the best Doctor Who audio adventures I've heard so far. Divided into four different sections, each has a different set of challenges that all relate to the overarching chaos caused by a criminal Time Lord called The Eleven. McGann's Doctor is both serious and Romantic-with-a-capital-R, and this and the forthcoming Doom Coalition sequels will inch him closer to the changes the Time War will bring.<br><br>What makes Big Finish stories different from regular audiobooks is that you also get music, background noise, and lot more context clues that aren't necessarily reliant on traditional narration. They're like throwbacks to radio dramas of old, but acted much like they would be on screen. While I still think it's a shame that one of my favorite Doctors has had very little screen time, I always enjoy hearing Paul McGann's voice. It's as handsome as he is, really, so if you needed one more thing to motivate you finally diving into these stories, I hope that helps.<br><br>(See the rest of my Top 10 Favorites from 2015 at <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2015/12/glorified-love-letters-top-10-favorite.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Rated Doctor Who: Harvest of the Sycorax 7/10