Posted on July 28, 2024 in Books
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
Read by Richard Armitage. This was a nice novel. I liked all the eight main characters. The writing was fine and the historical aspect felt accurate. I am a Jane Austen fan too so the premise and Austen discussions worked for me. There were times when I thought I could really like this book more, but there was something that held me back. As a character reader, I think I wanted more from the characters. Jenner did a good job with eight leads though. A lot of people I know liked this more than me so I recommend if you enjoy a light historical fiction novel.
1.25-1.5x. July 1-8, 2024.
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
There was some interesting writing in this sci-fi short novel. One of the authors is local and there were a couple of references to my hometown. I like a short book and confident world building when done right. I could did not connect to some aspects of the story. I liked Red and Blue from what we saw of them but the war and the amorphous sci-fi setting felt garbled and cold. It was like recalling a very blurry dream. I couldn’t be fully invested. Not bad though and I appreciated the language and the character work.
July 8-15, 2024 over two sittings.
The Nineties by Chuck Kosterman
Read by the author Chuck Klosterman and Dion Graham. This was fun. Klosterman did research but does not claim it is a history book. It is more essays about various topics from 1990s including pop culture, politics, and technology. It’s similar to John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed. It was enjoyable to reflect on the decade that I grew up in. I like thinking about recent history even though the 90s were 30 years ago now! Recommended for those looking to revisit that time.
1.25x. July 10-18, 2024.