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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.

Wants to read The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities from History

Rated The Manhattan Projects Volume 2 TP by Jonathan Hickman (2-May-2013) Paperback 8/10

Fucked up, but interesting.

Rated The Manhattan Projects Volume 1: Science Bad TP by Jonathan Hickman 8/10

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>

Wants to read The Necessity of Certain Behaviors

Wants to read The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood

Rated The Recipe Project: A Delectable Extravaganza of Food and Music by One Ring Zero 8/10

It's good fun, with a bit of seriousness thrown in. The book is more like elaborate liner notes for the CD, rather than the CD being bonus material for the book.<br><br>(My full review appears at <a href="http://persephonemagazine.com/2012/05/the-recipe-project-by-one-ring-zero-more">Persephone Magazine</a>.)

Rated Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures, Volume 1 7/10

<div>I was into the second story more than the first, but still a fun listen.</div>

Rated The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make So You Don't Die 8/10

<div>This book accomplishes what it set out to do — remind people who have a hard time feeding themselves while depressed that there are very basic things you can eat. The intended audience might skew towards those in college/new adults in general, people who have not spent a lot of time cooking for themselves, even when they feel capable.<br><br>The recipes within are less about measurements and more about adequate ideas, with variations depending on how much effort you might want to put into a dish. Even though I have been (to toot my own horn) a really good cook for almost 20 years now, and even though certain prep methods contained within made me go "I CANNOT imagine doing it like that," I know I'm not exactly the intended audience! People who like cooking for themselves and love new recipes are going to be like "Peanut butter on a spoon? Seriously???" But that's not the point here! The point is, when you're knee-deep in some sort of awful circumstance, sometimes you really need someone to say, "Hey, it's fine if all you manage is some instant oatmeal right now."<br><br>BTW, the ebook version of this is free online, so if you need a little extra help, that's one less hurdle to deal with.</div>

Rated The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid (26-Mar-2015) Paperback 8/10

<div>Even when I figured out whodunit, I didn't know the WHY until near the end, which is a great sign of McDermid's skill as a mystery writer. That said, I wish some of the dialogue was less expository, and I wish she didn't have such internalized fatphobia. Still, I am enjoying the Karen Pirie series.</div>

Rated The Story of a New Name 10/10

<div>I wish I'd started on Ferrante when these books came out! I was even on the list for review copies!! AND YET.<br><br>Better late than never!<br><br>Anyway, this book was even better than MY BRILLIANT FRIEND, which I also loved.</div>

Rated The Triggering Town: Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing 10/10

<div>Somehow this book had escaped my attention before now, but I'd read a quote from it on some site or another that I liked so much, I almost immediately ordered a copy from Thriftbooks. Now this is some great art about art.</div><div><br></div>

Wants to read The Sexiest Man Alive

Rated The Unseen 8/10

Rated The War Master: Future Phantoms 8/10

Rated Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe 10/10

Wants to read The Silver Music Box

Rated Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures, Volume 5 8/10

<div>Pretty solid set! I don't know if I'm 100% on Tim Treloar as the Third Doctor, though he's fine enough, but Jon Culshaw as the Brig is great.</div>

Wants to read The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band

Rated The Talented Mr. Ripley/Ripley Under Ground/Ripley's Game (Everyman's Library Classics & Contemporary Classics) Highsmith, Patricia ( Author ) Oct-12-1999 Hardcover 10/10