This is a lovely memoirs with a perspective that is not often featured in the mainstream media or in stories. It is written by a shepherd who is well educated and uses modern technology, but farms in a traditional way.

I do like sheep. As a knitter, I know more about wool and sheep than the average westerner. By my desk at my parents’ home, I have a poster of Ontario sheep breeds. I got it at a sheep festival where I also saw sheepdog show. Sheepdogs are amazing when well trained. So I am a bit of a sheep nerd. I have utmost respect for shepherds as a result.

This whole book was fascinating and I found it relatable to me since my parents grew up in rural areas. I do romanticize it a bit and I don’t know if I could fully commit to rural life the way the author does. However, I can understand his connection the land. I found his prose simple, but powerful. I understood his background and perspective. The writing felt honest and not that judgmental. It felt beautifully raw. I hope to read more books from Rebanks in the future.

Read February 8-10, 2016.

This was a really amusing adaptation of the Star Wars: A New Hope in Shakespearean form. The author admits to finding iambic pentameter a natural. I wish I did, but this was enjoyable.

I think he did a good job of adapting the style and tone of both Shakespeare’s works and George Lucas’s movie. I did find there was a bit too much of the Chorus, but otherwise, it was a very cute and fun work.

While reading this book, I went to see a production of Twelfth Night and it made me wonder even more how Star Wars would be on the stage. I hope someone tries it one day and screens it for the world.

Read January 27-February 7, 2016.

This has been on my TBR list for a little while. It is highly rated on GoodReads and by one of my good reading friends too. I am only recently getting back into reading book series. I find the good ones really help with my reading motivation. I am more picky as an adult on the book series I continue though, but I will continue with this one.

While not exactly high fantasy, the uniqueness and strangeness of this world took me awhile to get into. While intelligent and talented I thought Locke’s personality was not easy to grasp at first. He is a con man so it does seem he keeps who he truly is close to his heart. However, it becomes clear how fiercely loyal he is. That helped. I liked his gang and I began to really enjoy him as well.

The book employs non-linear storytelling. I did critique this technique in a recent book review, but it does work if the author is good. In this case, Lynch is a really good writer. Even when I was not yet fully immersed in this world, I could tell Lynch is a good writer. There’s a certain speed and confidence to his prose that is found in many other thrillers and successful fantasy writers. The world building was on point, but so were the dialogue and characters.

The book is very violent and there is a lot of good time swearing. That actually reminded me of the Song of Fire & Ice series, but with a smaller cast and a smaller yet intense universe. It’s the adventure and many twists that you keep you engaged.

I do not find myself addicted to it the way some other reviewers are so I’m going to wait awhile before I read the next book in the series. I have them all on Kindle, but I put the next one on request at my library. There is a lot of stuff I’d like to know that has not been explained in this book, but Lynch has satisfied me enough for this adventure and held out to entice a reader further. Good stuff.

Read January 17-19, 2016 on Kindle

This book is based on the authors work with hoarders and hoarding. I was actually hoping the work was more about the general relationship humans have with things and stuff. This one had more case studies about hoarders and hoarding behaviour.

I did find it interesting because it is true that everyone knows at least one person with hoarding tendencies or variations of excessive materialism. The book educates you on how hoarding itself is different from OCD and how it does not necessarily come from deprivation. It also seems to be a result of traumas and genetic or hereditary conditions. Hoarders can be very intelligent and experience world in a different way.

The book presents more extreme cases of hoarding and it did make me uncomfortable reading about people keeping and owning so much. In the last couple of years, I’ve been trying harder to be more minimalist. This is not easy for me because like most people, I do enjoy stuff and things. When I was growing up, I did not have a lot so since working regularly, I would buy and spend more. However, I realize how society is materialistic and wasteful.

Over the years, I also like to collect and amass things which I am not able to consume fast enough such as: Books, Yarn, Liquor, Handbags, Clothes, Pens & Stationery
Digital Media, Food (pantry goods), Money (probably), and Cookbooks. While I have been able to curb the collecting and buying of the aforementioned, I still annually buy cookbooks. Last year, I bought at least 5.

Currently, I’ve stopped myself buying and tried to sell or give away more things. I felt pity and also some vexation knowing how hoarders amass all these goods in their homes and subsequently, affect the lives of those around them.

It is not to say that hoarding is unique to our culture. Ownership and clutter are normal and perhaps essential parts to being human. I do agree that in the end, having experiences and being engaged with people are more meaningful than objects. I recommend this book as a way of learning about hoarding in general but also as a reminder how consumer society can be detrimental.

The antidote to this book would be The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Read Janary 11-16, 2016.

This was what I think most people call a beach read. It even featured the ocean. It had some decent prose, an interesting premise, characters with pasts they want to forget, lots of drama, and an overall, neat ending. I have read a couple of other Australian novels like this, and I suspect these kind of novels are what they are good at.

This novel started off with a great hook, but then the narrative went backwards in time. I have become aware that I’m not a big fan of non-linear story telling like this. In many cases such as this, it changes the pacing. I really want to get back to the actual hook rather than the long background that happens. I would not call it a literary pet peeve, but I do not find it that effective as a narrative device. It makes me want to skim through so the book can go back to the original “hook”. At least this book’s pacing meant that things moved quickly to the drama.

The middle and end had a lot of drama and angst to the point. It was a bit too melodramatic for me at times because I struggled to feel sorry for Isabel at times. They have adapated this into a movie with three actors I adore: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Rachel Weisz. However, reading the middle of the book made me anxious not to read it since it is very difficult on the all the characters involved. I’ll probably still watch it because I did like that the ending was neat. It had to be otherwise it would leave the reader very dissatisfied with the tumultuous middle.

All in all, a decent and quick read. I did not love it, but I can see why it is popular.

Read January 10, 2016.

This was my fifth book of 2016. It was January 10th which means I finished one book for every two days of the new year. Go me! I don’t think I’ll be keeping this up, but I think my reading mojo is back at least a bit.

The latest installment and book #8 of the Temeraire series. I’ve had some ups and downs with this series, but I think this one was one of the better ones.

It was long though and I ended up staying late trying to read some of it as well. It’s separated in three parts with the first one being rather annoying as I tried to rush through it. An amnesia plot is used which is boring. The second part takes place in China which is good. Throne of Jade was a nice book and Temeraire’s lover returns. The third part was basically War and Peace in setting and tone, but thankfully not length. More brutal and grim war settings.

I think Novik is improving. Laurence continues to develop and this novel had more of the characters I liked. The ending was a cliffhanger, but a darker one. In any case, I only need to wait five months until the release of book #9 which is apparently the last book in this series. I am finally glad we are coming to an end, but not sure how Novik will end it since there are so many threads and plots to tidy up.

Read January 2-3, 2016.

This book was better than the last and much more to the speed of the earlier books. It had Temeraire and friends go to South America. That was particularly fascinating actually. There was a lot of action and a lot of death. The world building was fascinating. I have given up almost all hope of any romance in this series, but at least there were far less annoying characters. Need more dragons. Can’t ever have enough dragons in this series.

Onwards to the most recent installment of the series which mans I can reluctantly move on from this series. I’m actually not looking forward to the break. I have had a nice month with Temeraire and Laurence.

Read December 31, 2015 – January 1, 2016 on Kindle.