This book took me awhile to read. It was a recommendation from Pop Culture Happy Hour and I did like reading the beginning. I have a background in public health. I love history. I am one of those people who get bitten frequently to the point where I don't like camping or being in the woods too long. The bites tend to be big and very itchy too. It's a real nuisance and inconvenience. With…
Tag: 2020 books
This was so wholesome. It's a bit cheesy and silly since there are some contrived plot devices like in a teen romcom. Still, I enjoyed reading it. When I was a teenager, I was skipping contemporary young adult fiction in favour of adult fiction or the classics. YA as a genre has come a long way in 20 years. There is a lot more choice and diversity. When I was growing up, there weren't a…
In the old days when I use to have more time and read more literary books, I would read a number of Pulitizer Prize winners. It's been awhile since I read one and I do think they can be hit or miss. At least I remember Pulitizers being a little less mysterious and experimental than some Booker prize winners. This novel was overall okay. The protagonist Arthur Less goes on an around the world journey.…
As with last year, I have made more of an effort to read children's literature. Recently, I went through a little streak from July into August. The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White This was nice. I do not really remember much from Charlotte's Webb and had not heard or read anything else by White. I enjoyed that the titular character has adventures all over North America. Danny, the Champion of the World by…
This is the first in the Peter Grant / Rivers of London series. I had read some hype for this series over the years. It's right up my alley as it's a series set in London and it's urban fantasy. I realized while reading this that I've read a lot of urban fantasy set in London including Neverwhere, The Rook series, and Harry Potter counts too. Speaking of Harry Potter, this book had many references…
This is one of the most dense books I've read in awhile. It's not actually that long compared to some other nonfiction history books, but it has a lot of history, ideas, and thoughts. Probably too many ideas. I really liked the start of the book. After reading the Jean M Auel series, I have been more interested in human kind's life pre-Agricultural Revolution. This book presents what life could have been like for early…
The sequel to Clan of the Cave Bear. With the current situation in the world and after some nonfiction, I needed escapism far removed from the present day. I like that this series offers some actual history and anthropology. As mentioned in a previous post, I have been busy with work and have not had time to read as much. This book took a couple of weeks to finish. The first half was not that…
This took me awhile to read because this is non fiction and even in this "Stay at home" life, I have been busy with work and general life. I love this topic as I consider sleep is closest thing to a universal panacea. It's delicious and wonderful. I love having a long night of uninterrupted sleep. Always have and always will. I'm also an avid dreamer and can lucid dream which makes my dream life…
This was an okay Christie novel. I brought all my Christie novels to my current home from storage and this was the last one I believe. It took me awhile to really get into it. I have not actually had much time to read during isolation. I already worked from home and I am thankful to still have a job. As a result, work has been steady. I cook and bake a bit more, but…
This is the final instalment to the Arc of the Scythe trilogy. I quite enjoyed this Young Adult trilogy. I feel like in some aspects it's not that objectively good, but it was entertaining. I do not think I would recommend it to most people though given how dense these books got at times. It's hard to describe why I liked them so much in some ways. I think there are some interesting and entertaining…
What a lovely graphic novel. It has beautiful art which is fantastical and perfectly fits the mood of night time adventures. I already liked the style from the cover. It vaguely reminds me of a close artist friend's style. The book uses really nice paper as well. This is the second young adult graphic novel that I've read recently which I find amazing. I think this is an area of young adult fiction that does…
I have mixed feelings on this series. Like the first volume, I found this one disjointed. There were at least four separate storylines and over a dozen characters for most of the novel. Keeping track of the plotlines is one thing and I don't mind it as much in Monstress (which is more confusing and complex than this series). I don't find many of the characters that compelling especially when they are apart. While the…