Rated The House of Eliott 8/10
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Rated The Diary of River Song, Series 5 10/10
"I'm almost hoping we crash so I can regenerate and wake up next to your body!"<br><br>This Master-filled Diary of River Song set has some very funny moments. Really loved this.
Rated The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred 8/10
<div>Though I admit to glazing over a bit at the beginning —what with its particle diagrams, etc. —I still really liked this book. Chandra Prescod-Weinstein talks about how Black Feminism has a place in science, and how her upbringing and values have affected her position as both a physicist and professor. The last chapter, written for her mother, is perfect.</div>
Rated The Enigma of Dorian Gray 8/10
I don't play close attention to the Dorian Gray series that Big Finish does, but I always enjoy the bits and pieces I acquire during sales. This is quite good.
Rated The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 8/10
<div>I turned 42 recently, and I'd never read this book (though I have seen the movie). If it is indeed my Life, The Universe, and Everything Year, then I'd better have some context for that saying.<br><br>Anyway, it is very British Silly, and that's not for everyone, but it made me laugh.</div>
Rated The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms 7/10
<div>I don't know that this was wholly for me, but NK Jemisin is a great enough writer (and I've enjoyed many of her other books) that I may still read the next book in the series at some point.</div>
Rated Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew 8/10
This is a long novel, and because I'm not overly familiar with Sri Lanka or cricket, I would sometimes think, <i>I'm not sure what he's talking about or what exactly is going on</i>, yet I was enjoying myself. It takes a special sort of outstanding writer to make a non-sport person love reading 400 pages filled with it. Karunatilaka imbues W.G.'s voice with a subtle humor throughout, even as the man's health deteriorates.<br><br>(My full review can be found at <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-legend-of-pradeep-mathew-by-shehan.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Rated The Literature Book 8/10
A nearly well rounded look at the history of literature. Coverage of Australia is a little light, and Africa is hardly mentioned until 3/4ths into the book, but this is definitely not only focused on Western lit. Good reference book, or good for those of us who are under read in the classics.<br><br>Could have used some talk about David Mitchell though.
Rated The Manhattan Projects Volume 2 TP by Jonathan Hickman (2-May-2013) Paperback 8/10
Fucked up, but interesting.
Rated The Mermaids Singing 6/10
<div>Not bad, but definitely not as enjoyable as some of her other books I've read. At least, even though it's from the early '90s, the homophobia and transphobia regarding the subject matter remains somewhat minimal (I mean, I guess. I expected worse), but not everything holds up. I may read others in this series still.</div>
Rated The Naming of the Dead 8/10
<div>Not sure if I should've jumped in with the 16th Rebus book instead of the first, but I picked this up for a couple bucks used, after hearing that the books were good. Though there are some mild copaganda issues that aren't necessarily to my taste, the book still shows the flaws of all sides, and I was definitely interested in seeing how the story shook out. It'll be interesting now to go back and see how younger Rebus compares.</div>
Rated The Quaker 8/10
<div>I really liked this noir. The ending risks being overcomplicated, but McIlvanney pulls off having so many moving parts. It feels somewhat unfair to compare him to his father's writing, but having so recently read LAIDLAW — and the fact that my edition of the book said 'Winner 2018 McIlvanney Prize' on the cover — I suppose it's inevitable. I will say I did not have the same "Damn, now that's a sentence" feelings here, but the writing is enjoyably direct, moody, and full of great details. I'll have to track down the next one in the series.</div>
Rated The Shelter Within: A True Story 8/10
<div>I feel for her because writing about your struggles cannot be easy. Even after you make yourself excavate everything, afterwards, you feel like everyone is going to judge you and your choices. And looking at some of the reviews here, it happens! It's also gotta be frustrating to be in a better place financially NOW, writing about the struggles from BEFORE because every time someone sees you now, if they've read your writing, they might come to all sorts of weird conclusions. (I imagine this is what her book <em>Class</em> deals with, but I haven't read it yet.)<br><br>Still, at the stage in her life Land writes about here, you do get the sense that she's the friend who is ALWAYS going through some shit. Some of it might be "choices," sure, that happens, but it's also what you deal with you're broke AF. Shit just piles up! It compounds! And I do not begrudge her getting a coffee at City Brew because poor people need the occasional pick-me-up too. So I hope that in her real life, she has more people that extend kindness than not.</div><div><br></div>
Rated The Mercy of Gods 7/10
<div>This new series from the authors behind The Expanse has promise, though it was not immediate love. I think maybe with this many characters, the audiobook was not quite the ideal way for me to read this, but I'm looking forward to starting the novella that's next.</div>
Wants to read The Necessity of Certain Behaviors