Victory is mine

Dark Places
Gillian Flynn

My absence, dear friends, hath nary an excuse to support it. I'd like to say that I've been using my time wisely, filling it with charitable deeds and random works of kindness, but instead I've just been watching every episode of True Blood (Eric!) and biding my time until the return of Jersey Shore.

(Please don't judge me.)

I have, however, done one good thing since my last post: I have -- now, brace yourselves -- VISITED THE LIBRARY.

Now, now, now: I know what you're thinking: have I fallen ill? Fear not, friends, I'm neither ill nor lying: I actually went to the library instead of buying books.

Anyway, that's where I stumbled across Dark Places, and since I'd enjoyed her previous work, Sharp Objects, and because Dark Places has been on my TBR list for awhile now, I thought, why not?

Ok, so, Libby Day's family was murdered by her older brother over twenty years ago. Since the murders, she's been in a fog of sorts, but one day she realizes she has no more money and then she encounters some people who don't believe her brother is guilty and before you know it she just up and decides to find out what REALLY happened the night her family was butchered.

Improbable? Yeah, a bit, but it works. Glad I got this from the library, though. (Take from that what you will.)

In a nutshell: Like Sharp Objects, Dark Places is a bit sensational and a bit unbelievable, but it's ultimately a fast, compelling thriller. Great summer reading.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: The library FTW!

victory is mine

Halfway to zombification

Club Dead
Charlaine Harris

My patience with Sookie is officially wearing thin.

In fact, I've decided that every time you read some Sookie, God zaps a bit of your cerebral cortex. I'm halfway to zombification by now.

So, let's see, what happens in Book 3? Sookie gets her dumb ass involved with another mystery involving supernatural creatures (this time, werewolves and other shapeshifters). Vampire Bill treats her like shit, but it's cool because Sookie's as dumb as a bag of rocks.

(Okay, okay, she's mad at him [for other reasons than the rape-y bits] by the end of the book. But ten bucks says I know how Book 4 begins: makeup sex.)

Also, I'm kinda unkay (typo, but I like it) with how rape is acceptable so long as you're raped by your significant other. Cause Bill has a tendency to do that, even though I know he's a vampire AND THEY HAVE NEEDS, woman.

Also, it's RIME of the Ancient Mariner, not "rhyme." Who edited this nonsense novel?

In a nutshell: You know I'll be reading Book 4, so who's the real fool here?

Bibliolatry Scale: 2 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: personal Kindle copy

n case you're interested: Book 1, Book 2, Book 4

The Classics Circuit: Alexander Pushkin

Eugene Onegin
Alexander Pushkin

Poor Pushkin has long suffered the fate of an impulsive buy.

A few years ago, I purchased Eugene Onegin knowing only it was Russian lit, which I needed to read more of beyond Dostoevsky. I arrived home and cracked open my purchase only to find a novel in verse!

[Insert party-stopping record scratch here]

Say what?

And so, poor Pushkin has sat unread on my shelf for many a year now. Thankfully, this latest installment of the Classics Circuit has given me the kick in the butt I needed to conquer this thing.

I'll say this: Eugene Onegin is not what you'd call a summer read. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a difficult read, but it's definitely not an easy one. The translation (by Charles Johnston) makes for smooth enough reading, but our narrator digresses, rambles, philosophizes...oh boy. But I pressed on, ever the loyal CC participant.

The story is simple enough: Onegin is rich and bored with life. He flits from party to party -- oh, the emptiness of his life. Then, his uncle dies and Onegin inherits his house in the county. Alas! The country is just as boring as the city! So, he spends his days TORTUROUSLY: reading, walking by the river, and hanging out with his new friend, Lensky. In other words, his life totally sucks. (At least he doesn't he doesn't assault a remote, though.)

Eugene Onegin: first on the emo scene

Anyway, Lensky is head over heels in love with Olga. Fast forward a bit, and Olga's older sister, Tatyana, soon falls in love with the undeserving Onegin.

Tanya's in love with Onegin, Onegin's in love with Onegin -- this won't end well. And why should it? Onegin is utterly unsympathetic. It's a bit problematic to have a condescending, pompous prick as the work's hero -- I couldn't muster up a bit of feeling for him.

Ultimately, this work left me cold due to the unlikability of the "hero" and the narrator's numerous digressions. (Tatyana's pretty badass, though.) The action was drawn out, so I found myself skimming much more than I should probably admit. That said, Pushkin's achievement is undeniable: at nearly 400 stanzas and featuring an innovative rhyme scheme (a.k.a. the Onegin stanza), Eugene Onegin is no paltry accomplishment.

In a nutshell: Onegin may be a turd, but Pushkin is okay in my book.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: Personal copy

Insert "Release the Kraken" joke here

Kraken
China Mieville

Dude.

Sometimes, when you finish a book like Kraken, that's all you can say.

Dude.

I've waited a bit to write this review in an effort to allow the effects of the novel to settle a bit. Still, "Dude" is all I can manage even now, days later.

Kraken was my first encounter with Mieville, despite The City and the City being on my TBR list for an eternity now. I had expected his work to be intelligent, weird, maybe even a little difficult to plow through, but I underestimated what was in store for me. Simply put, Kraken is awe-inspiring.

Although a simple summary is near impossible, let's see what I can manage: the novel begins as Billy Harrow leads a tour through the Darwin Center only to find the centerpiece of its exhibit, an eight-meter-long giant squid, has disappeared -- tank and all. Investigators are baffled.

Billy soon finds himself thrown into a world he never knew existed: one full of thugs, sorcerers, Londonmancers, strange cults (like the Krakenists who worship the giant squid, obviously), and more. It isn't long before Billy discovers the missing Kraken will bring about the apocalypse. Oh noes!

my bad

This fast-paced, labyrinthine novel will make you work (it's 500 pages and feels like it), but it's worth it. The large cast of characters might be unnecessary but I was so entertained and fascinated by them that I didn't care. (C'mon -- Tattoo? Hysterical. Goss and Subby? Mesmerizing. Wati? Genius.)

Besides, watching each group duke it out over a giant squid is ANYTHING but boring. And what will happen when the squid is found? Can the end of the world be avoided? Or will it all go up in flames? You'll want to find out -- and the answer will be anything but predictable.

In a nutshell: Awesome, awesome, awesome. Kraken grips readers from the onset and tears right through to the end. Once it gets its tentacles around you, escape is impossible.

Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: Personal, hardcover copy over here. woot woot

RR10: June

June: A great month for reading (especially since I spent a week sailing the high seas), but not so great for my reading resolution. Oh well.

Let's take a look at my reading, shall we?


BOOKS READ: JUNE 2010

Christie, Agatha. The A.B.C. Murders
Collins, Suzanne. Catching Fire
Cronin, Justin. The Passage
Harris, Charlaine. Dead Until Dark
Harris, Charlaine. Living Dead in Dallas
Ryan, Carrie. The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Shaffer, Mary Ann and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Thomson, Rupert. Death of a Murderer


RESOLUTION TITLES = 0 (9/80)

NON-RESOLUTION TITLES = 8

TOTAL READ IN JUNE 2010 = 8

TOTAL READ IN 2010 = 35

Spellbound by Sookie

Living Dead in Dallas
Charlaine Harris

Ok, so I SWEAR I did more than read on this cruise. But I'm sucked in and was able to read this book in an afternoon. (It's not exactly Crime and Punishment, nah'mean?)

So...let's see: Sookie and her "disability" get her involved in another mystery. Vampires are there. Sex is had. Stuff happens.

Who cares. SOOOKIEEE.

In a nutshell: Weak writing, weak characters, weak everything...and yet I can't stop reading.

Bibliolatry Scale: I'm feeling charitable. 4 out of 6 stars.

FTCBS: Personal copy purchased from Walmart - victory!

In case you're interested: Book 1, Book 3, Book 4

Good book, bad review

Death of a Murderer
Rupert Thomson

This was a bit of a serendipitous read, as I happened across it in the library of my cruise ship. The day at sea had been a stormy one, perfect for just reading. I'd read other novels by Thomson, so I felt fairly safe in giving this one a go, especially since one critic called this Thomson's "masterpiece."

The novel opens as an infamous child murderer dies, leaving a bit of a pickle for those in charge of disposing of her remains. One officer (Billy Tyler) is given a twelve-hour shift guarding the body in the morgue. During his time there, he reflects on his life and the life of the murderer.

Hm. That's it. Despite my awfully boring summary, this book was actually pretty good. Tyler is a convincing character, the prose is simple yet mesmerizing ... yadda yadda yadda. I got nothing.

In a nutshell: Please forgive me for such a shite review.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: Library copy ... for once!