Kate's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 19 Apr 2025 04:46:29 -0700 60 Kate's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg About the Night 29981282
Tragically, they come from two different worlds. Elias is a Christian Arab living on the eastern side of the newly divided city, and Lila is a Jew living on the western side. A growing conflict between their cultures casts a heavy shadow over the region and their burgeoning relationship. Between them lie not only a wall of stone and barbed wire but also the bitter enmity of two nations at war.

Told in the voice of Elias as he looks back upon the long years of his life, About the Night is a timely story of how hope can nourish us, loss can devastate us, and love can carry us beyond the boundaries that hold human beings apart.]]> 394 Anat Talshir 1503991032 Kate 3 3.85 2014 About the Night
author: Anat Talshir
name: Kate
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/04/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wrong Bridesmaid (Cold Springs #1)]]> 60853137 Opposites don¡¯t just attract¡ªthey ignite¡ªin a flirty against-all-odds romance by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Lauren Landish.

Wyatt Ford hightailed it out of Cold Springs to get away from his influential family and the unwanted privilege that came with it. Returning for his brother¡¯s wedding dredges up every reason he left. One unexpected bright spot: a curvy knockout who slings burgers, hustles pool¡­and hates the last name Ford.

Hazel Sullivan is fiercely independent and happy to be maid of honor for her best friend¡¯s wedding, but she isn¡¯t looking for romance. Especially not with a man whose family is dividing her town into a battleground with their development plans. Fighting the family is easy. Fighting Wyatt? Not so much. Why does the enemy have to be so drop-dead gorgeous?

The sparks that fly between Hazel and Wyatt might start out as combat, but one kiss and it¡¯s total surrender. How is a happy ever after even possible for two people with so little in common? Except, of course, for an overwhelming attraction and that growing temptation to say ¡°I do¡± themselves.]]> 296 Lauren Landish 1662507402 Kate 1 fiction, dnf I DNFed at about 30%. The main characters and their impending romance were utter cringe. I have no other words for it all, just absolute cringe. I only got as far as I did because the small-town political conflict between the town council and the real estate developer seemed mildly interesting. I was curious to see how it would turn out and that kept me reading for a bit. But after an hour of constant wincing in second-hand embarrassment at the characters' dumb antics and trite dialogue, I couldn't stand it anymore and gave up. ]]> 3.90 2022 The Wrong Bridesmaid (Cold Springs #1)
author: Lauren Landish
name: Kate
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: fiction, dnf
review:
Got this for free from Amazon. I guess you get what you pay for. Sigh.
I DNFed at about 30%. The main characters and their impending romance were utter cringe. I have no other words for it all, just absolute cringe. I only got as far as I did because the small-town political conflict between the town council and the real estate developer seemed mildly interesting. I was curious to see how it would turn out and that kept me reading for a bit. But after an hour of constant wincing in second-hand embarrassment at the characters' dumb antics and trite dialogue, I couldn't stand it anymore and gave up.
]]> <![CDATA[The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles, #1)]]> 16043804 TWO MEN WHO HATE EACH OTHER. ONE IMPOSSIBLE MISSION. A LEGEND IN THE MAKING.

A warrior with nothing to fight for is paired with a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Together they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm¡¯s most valuable possessions. But it isn¡¯t gold or jewels the old wizard is after, and this prize can only be obtained by the combined talents of two remarkable men. Now if Arcadius can just keep Hadrian and Royce from killing each other, they just might succeed.

The Riyria Revelations and The Riyria Chronicles are two separate, but related series, and you can start reading with either Theft of Swords (publication order) or The Crown Tower (chronological order).]]> 384 Michael J. Sullivan 031624371X Kate 3 fiction 4.33 2013 The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles, #1)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rose and the Thorn (The Riyria Chronicles, #2)]]> 17163514 TWO THIEVES WANT ANSWERS. RIYRIA IS BORN.

For more than a year Royce Melborn has tried to forget Gwen DeLancy, the woman who saved him and his partner Hadrian Blackwater from certain death. Unable to get her out of his mind, the two thieves return to Medford but receive a very different reception --- Gwen refuses to see them. The victim of abuse by a powerful noble, she suspects that Royce will ignore any danger in his desire for revenge. By turning the thieves away, Gwen hopes to once more protect them. What she doesn't realize is what the two are capable of --- but she's about to find out.]]> 347 Michael J. Sullivan 0356502287 Kate 3 fiction 4.40 2013 The Rose and the Thorn (The Riyria Chronicles, #2)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nyphron Rising (The Riyria Revelations, #3)]]> 6527941 A PUPPET IS CROWNED. THE TRUE HEIR REMAINS HIDDEN. A ROGUE'S SECRET COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.

War has come to Melengar and Princess Arista runs a desperate gamble when she defies her brother and hires Royce and Hadrian for a dangerous mission. As the power of the Nyphron Empire grows, so does Royce's suspicion that the wizard Esrahaddon is using the thieves as pawns in his own game. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian's past.]]> 350 Michael J. Sullivan Kate 3 fiction 4.35 2009 Nyphron Rising (The Riyria Revelations, #3)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Emerald Storm (The Riyria Revelations, #4)]]> 7815817 A MESSAGE IS INTERCEPTED. A SINISTER PLAN LAUNCHED. TWO THIEVES STAND IN THE WAY.

Ex-mercenary Hadrian Blackwater sets course on a high seas adventure to find the lost Heir of Novron. His only hope lies in confronting the ruthless and cunning Merrick Marius. Fearing Hadrian is not up to the challenge, Royce Melborn joins his ex-partner for one last mission. Their journey finds them adrift amid treachery and betrayals forcing Hadrian to face a past he had hoped to never see again.]]> 375 Michael J. Sullivan 0982514530 Kate 2 fiction 4.30 2010 The Emerald Storm (The Riyria Revelations, #4)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms, #1)]]> 50523477 Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri's The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess's traitor brother.

Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters ¡ª but is now little more than a decaying ruin.

Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini¡¯s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.

But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya¡¯s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.]]> 533 Tasha Suri 0356515648 Kate 3 fiction 4.12 2021 The Jasmine Throne (The Burning Kingdoms, #1)
author: Tasha Suri
name: Kate
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century]]> 1768980
The 14th century gives us back two contradictory a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and a dark time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world plunged into a chaos of war, fear and the Plague. Barbara Tuchman anatomizes the century, revealing both the great rhythms of history and the grain and texture of domestic life as it was lived.]]> 679 Barbara W. Tuchman 0345283945 Kate 3 nonfiction 4.13 1978 A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century
author: Barbara W. Tuchman
name: Kate
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1978
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/09
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: nonfiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion]]> 7090193
How do you fight despair and learn to meet the world with a loving heart? How do you overcome shame? Stay faithful in spite of failure? No matter where people live or what their circumstances may be, everyone needs boundless, restorative love. Gorgeous and uplifting, Tattoos on the Heart amply demonstrates the impact unconditional love can have on your life.

As a pastor working in a neighborhood with the highest concentration of murderous gang activity in Los Angeles, Gregory Boyle created an organization to provide jobs, job training, and encouragement so that young people could work together and learn the mutual respect that comes from collaboration. Tattoos on the Heart is a breathtaking series of parables distilled from his twenty years in the barrio. Arranged by theme and filled with sparkling humor and glowing generosity, these essays offer a stirring look at how full our lives could be if we could find the joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally. From giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JCPenney fresh out of prison, we learn how to feel worthy of God¡¯s love. From ten-year-old Lula we learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Pedro we understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the darkness. In each chapter we benefit from Boyle¡¯s wonderful, hard-earned wisdom. Inspired by faith but applicable to anyone trying to be good, these personal, unflinching stories are full of surprising revelations and observations of the community in which Boyle works and of the many lives he has helped save.

Erudite, down-to-earth, and utterly heartening, these essays about universal kinship and redemption are moving examples of the power of unconditional love in difficult times and the importance of fighting despair. With Gregory Boyle¡¯s guidance, we can recognize our own wounds in the broken lives and daunting struggles of the men and women in these parables and learn to find joy in all of the people around us. Tattoos on the Heart reminds us that no life is less valuable than another.]]> 240 Gregory Boyle 1439153027 Kate 3 nonfiction 4.48 2009 Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion
author: Gregory Boyle
name: Kate
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2025/04/11
date added: 2025/04/14
shelves: nonfiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Someone You Can Build a Nest In]]> 182506390 Discover this creepy, charming monster-slaying fantasy romance¡ªfrom the perspective of the monster¡ªby Nebula Award-winning debut author John Wiswell

Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love.

Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth.

However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she¡¯s found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen¡¯s eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don¡¯t think about love that way.

Shesheshen hates keeping her identity secret from Homily, but just as she¡¯s about to confess, Homily reveals why she¡¯s in the area: she¡¯s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?

Eating her girlfriend isn¡¯t an option. Shesheshen didn¡¯t curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she has to figure out why Homily¡¯s twisted family thinks she did. As the hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, Shesheshen must unearth the truth quickly, or soon both of their lives will be at risk.

And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.]]> 310 John Wiswell 0756418852 Kate 0 to-read 3.97 2024 Someone You Can Build a Nest In
author: John Wiswell
name: Kate
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Professional Integrity 27429760 0 Michael J. Sullivan 1511372680 Kate 5 fiction 3.75 2015 Professional Integrity
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: fiction
review:
5 stars for the short story itself, 2 stars for the narration in the audio version. The pompous narrator voice really ruins this fun, fast-paced, unpretentious story. I'm so sad that it's not available in any other format except audible or in an anthology.
]]> <![CDATA[The Death of Dulgath (The Riyria Chronicles, #3)]]> 24683898 Three times they tried to kill her. Then a professional was hired. So was Riyria.

When the last member of the oldest noble family in Avryn is targeted for assassination, Riyria is hired to foil the plot. Three years have passed since the war-weary mercenary Hadrian and the cynical ex-assassin Royce joined forces to start life as rogues-for-hire. Things have gone well enough until they're asked to help prevent a murder. Now they must venture into an ancient corner of the world to save a mysterious woman who knows more about Royce than is safe and cares less about herself than is sane.

From the best-selling author of The Riyria Revelations comes the third installment of The Riyria Chronicles. Although part of a series, it's designed to thrill both new readers looking for fun, fast-paced fantasy and Riyria veterans wishing to reunite with old friends.]]> 448 Michael J. Sullivan 1943363005 Kate 4 fiction 4.38 2015 The Death of Dulgath (The Riyria Chronicles, #3)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Percepliquis (The Riyria Revelations, #6)]]> 12174312 NOTE: This book is also found as the second book in the Heir of Novron Omnibus. It is released separately for those who have already read Wintertide and don't want to buy that book again as part of the bundle.

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS...THE ELVES HAVE CROSSED THE NIDWALDEN. TWO THIEVES WILL DECIDE THE FUTURE.

"I saw a great journey. Ten upon the road, she who wears the light will lead the way. The road goes deep into the earth, and into despair. The voices of the dead guide your steps. You walk back in time. The three-thousand-year battle begins again. Cold grips the world, death comes to all, and a choice is before you." -- Fan Irlanu, Tenkin Seerer of Oudorro Village

Percepliquis is the final installment of the epic fantasy, The Riyria Revelations. In this saga that began with The Crown Conspiracy, two thieves caught in the wrong place at the right time were launched on a series of ever escalating adventures that have all lead to this moment. Three thousand years have passed and the time for Novron's heir to act has arrived.]]> 606 Michael J. Sullivan 1937475018 Kate 3 fiction 4.57 2012 Percepliquis (The Riyria Revelations, #6)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wintertide (The Riyria Revelations, #5)]]> 8697584 A FORCED WEDDING. A DOUBLE EXECUTION. TWO THIEVES HAVE OTHER PLANS.

The New Empire intends to celebrate its victory over the Nationalists with a day that will never be forgotten. On the high holiday of Wintertide, they plan to execute two traitors (Degan Gaunt and the Witch of Melengar) as well as force the Empress into a marriage of their own design. But they didn¡¯t account for Royce and Hadrian finally locating the Heir of Novron¡ªor the pair¡¯s desire to wreak havoc on the New Empire¡¯s carefully crafted scheme.]]> 317 Michael J. Sullivan 0982514581 Kate 3 fiction 4.47 2010 Wintertide (The Riyria Revelations, #5)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/02/09
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Avempartha (The Riyria Revelations, #2)]]> 6342483 THE SECRET IS IN THE TOWER. THE PROBLEM IS THE BEAST. THE ANSWER IS TWO THIEVES.

When a destitute young woman hires two thieves to help save her remote village from nocturnal attacks, they are drawn into the schemes of the wizard Esrahaddon. While Royce struggles to breech the secrets of an ancient elven tower, Hadrian attempts to rally the villagers to defend themselves against the unseen killer. What begins with the simple theft of a sword places the two thieves at the center of a firestorm ¡ª that could change the future of Elan.]]> 331 Michael J. Sullivan 0979621119 Kate 4 fiction 4.32 2009 Avempartha (The Riyria Revelations, #2)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves: fiction
review:
A huge improvement on the first book of the series. I'm happy I decided to stick with the series for a little longer. This second book is an engrossing adventure, barely has any awkward exposition at all, and no plot inconsistencies. Without the awkwardness, the charm of the series' straightforward mystery-adventure really shines through. And on a meta level, it's really inspiring to see how the author pushed himself to improve. Now I can't wait to see if the next book will be even better.
]]> <![CDATA[The Crown Conspiracy (The Riyria Revelations, #1)]]> 4345290 They killed the king. They pinned it on two men. They chose poorly.

There is no ancient evil to defeat, no orphan destined for greatness, just two guys in the wrong place at the wrong time. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater make a profitable living carrying out dangerous assignments for conspiring nobles until they become the unwitting scapegoats in a plot to murder the king. Sentenced to death, they have only one way out...and so begins this tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.]]> 296 Michael J. Sullivan 0980003431 Kate 2 fiction
Why do the MCs not know basic things about the culture they live in, like who the main gods of the country's only religion are? If they're just playing dumb to get more info about the church, why do they leave the conversation at that and don't ask any questions that would give them any actual insights? Their weird selective amnesia doesn't even serve as an infodump for the readers, because the gods are already listed in the very beginning of the book. It's right next to the map and everything, so why regurgitate it for us again, and in such an awkward manner?

Other characters also suffer occasional bouts of confusion about basic facts. Like prince Alric, for example, who states that his uncle Percy was married to his mother's sister, while everyone else (and the glossary at the back) seem to think it was his father's sister. Yes, Alric is supposed to be a stupid little manchild, but not stupid to such an extent that he doesn't remember who his relatives are.

Maybe if I keep reading the series, all this selective stupidity will be revealed as the machinations of some overarching supernatural force? That would be cool, but I'm not sure I have the patience to find out...]]> 4.21 2008 The Crown Conspiracy (The Riyria Revelations, #1)
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: fiction
review:
The obvious whodunit is obvious. So obvious, in fact, that I don't understand why the main characters, who are supposedly genius master criminals, can't figure it out until a person who wasn't even there points out that the obvious murderer is, in fact, obvious. And that was not the only instance of inexplicable stupidity from the MCs. For example, why do they not know basic info about the realm's nobility, when their entire job consists of fleecing these nobles? And how were they able to be so successful at their job thus far, if they don't know and can't be bothered to verify basic info like whether a delegation of foreign nobles is in town or not?

Why do the MCs not know basic things about the culture they live in, like who the main gods of the country's only religion are? If they're just playing dumb to get more info about the church, why do they leave the conversation at that and don't ask any questions that would give them any actual insights? Their weird selective amnesia doesn't even serve as an infodump for the readers, because the gods are already listed in the very beginning of the book. It's right next to the map and everything, so why regurgitate it for us again, and in such an awkward manner?

Other characters also suffer occasional bouts of confusion about basic facts. Like prince Alric, for example, who states that his uncle Percy was married to his mother's sister, while everyone else (and the glossary at the back) seem to think it was his father's sister. Yes, Alric is supposed to be a stupid little manchild, but not stupid to such an extent that he doesn't remember who his relatives are.

Maybe if I keep reading the series, all this selective stupidity will be revealed as the machinations of some overarching supernatural force? That would be cool, but I'm not sure I have the patience to find out...
]]> §¬§Ñ§á§Ú§ä§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Õ§à§é§Ü§Ñ 20516537 §£ §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô§å §Ó§à§ê§Ý§Ú §á§à§Ó§Ö§ã§ä§Ú "§¬§Ñ§á§Ú§ä§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Õ§à§é§Ü§Ñ" §Ú "§±§Ú§Ü§à§Ó§Ñ§ñ §Õ§Ñ§Þ§Ñ", §â§à§Þ§Ñ§ß "§¥§å§Ò§â§à§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§Û", "§±§à§Ó§Ö§ã§ä§Ú §á§à§Ü§à§Û§ß§à§Ô§à §ª§Ó§Ñ§ß§Ñ §±§Ö§ä§â§à§Ó§Ú§é§Ñ §¢§Ö§Ý§Ü§Ú§ß§Ñ", "§ª§ã§ä§à§â§Ú§ñ §±§å§Ô§Ñ§é§Ö§Ó§Ñ" §Ú §Õ§â§å§Ô§Ú§Ö §á§â§à§Ù§Ñ§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ú§Ö §á§â§à§Ú§Ù§Ó§Ö§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ §±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß§Ñ.]]> 560 Alexander Pushkin 569930505X Kate 4 fiction (This applies only to "K§Ñ§á§Ú§ä§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Õ§à§é§Ü§Ñ". I did read some of the other novellas in the compilation, but a long time ago. And I didn't like them.)]]> 4.10 1834 §¬§Ñ§á§Ú§ä§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Õ§à§é§Ü§Ñ
author: Alexander Pushkin
name: Kate
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1834
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/01
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: fiction
review:
A hilarious comedic dissection of Russian imperialist cringe and the phenomenon of the over-privileged manchild failing upward. Except it was written about 200 years ago. I guess some social critiques remain eternally relevant.
(This applies only to "K§Ñ§á§Ú§ä§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Õ§à§é§Ü§Ñ". I did read some of the other novellas in the compilation, but a long time ago. And I didn't like them.)
]]> <![CDATA[Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)]]> 68428 What if the whole world were a dead, blasted wasteland?

Mistborn
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Then Kelsier reveals his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets. She will have to learn trust if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale-spinner and author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the prophesied hero failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins with the book in your hands. Fantasy will never be the same again.]]> 541 Brandon Sanderson Kate 2 fiction
One really big problem for me was that until the last fifth of the book, almost everything of importance seems to happen behind the scenes. Important events occur, but always elsewhere, with the main characters kind of puttering around on the periphery or arriving too late to see the main event. Important information is learned and realizations are arrived at, but we don't witness the process, only learn about the outcome when characters are informed of it days later through an infodump. It's a narrative approach that would make sense in some modernist exercise in literary nihilism, but feels really aggressively bad in a fantasy-adventure novel. This isn't "Waiting for Godot", for cripes sakes.

Another problem is that the book is horribly repetitive. For example, it would have some aspect of the world's magic system explained once, in detailed narration, as a character uses the magic, and then again, in identical detail, as an infodump dialogue with another character who is just learning the magic. If that explanatory dialogue is already there, why regurgitate all the same info in narration that breaks up the pace of an action scene? It feels like both the writer and the editor were suffering from memory loss while working on this book.

With these two issues combined, most of the novel becomes an exercise in frustration, where you have to suffer through very drawn-out, repetitive setups to events, and then immediately skip time and get told that stuff happened and now the characters will all discuss the aftermath ad nauseum.

And the worst part? Sanderson is clearly doing this on purpose. As demonstrated by the last fifth of the book, he is perfectly capable of describing all developments--action, information, and emotional--directly, if/when he feels like it. He just chooses not to for most of the book, for some obnoxious reason known only to himself. It seems like most readers don't mind this, since he's a highly rated and recommended author, but I personally can't stand this almost passive-aggressive style of narration. I don't think I'll be reading any of his other stuff.]]> 4.48 2006 Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Kate
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/13
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: fiction
review:
I really wanted to like this book. It had a great concept, interesting characters, interesting world... but the execution was just so bad. And not just bad, but... bad in very unexpected and frustrating ways. The writing style was no-nonsense and workmanlike, but the way the book was paced and organized was just a very weird and unnecessary slog that might have worked for some highly experimental or artsy-fartsy writing, but definitely did not work here.

One really big problem for me was that until the last fifth of the book, almost everything of importance seems to happen behind the scenes. Important events occur, but always elsewhere, with the main characters kind of puttering around on the periphery or arriving too late to see the main event. Important information is learned and realizations are arrived at, but we don't witness the process, only learn about the outcome when characters are informed of it days later through an infodump. It's a narrative approach that would make sense in some modernist exercise in literary nihilism, but feels really aggressively bad in a fantasy-adventure novel. This isn't "Waiting for Godot", for cripes sakes.

Another problem is that the book is horribly repetitive. For example, it would have some aspect of the world's magic system explained once, in detailed narration, as a character uses the magic, and then again, in identical detail, as an infodump dialogue with another character who is just learning the magic. If that explanatory dialogue is already there, why regurgitate all the same info in narration that breaks up the pace of an action scene? It feels like both the writer and the editor were suffering from memory loss while working on this book.

With these two issues combined, most of the novel becomes an exercise in frustration, where you have to suffer through very drawn-out, repetitive setups to events, and then immediately skip time and get told that stuff happened and now the characters will all discuss the aftermath ad nauseum.

And the worst part? Sanderson is clearly doing this on purpose. As demonstrated by the last fifth of the book, he is perfectly capable of describing all developments--action, information, and emotional--directly, if/when he feels like it. He just chooses not to for most of the book, for some obnoxious reason known only to himself. It seems like most readers don't mind this, since he's a highly rated and recommended author, but I personally can't stand this almost passive-aggressive style of narration. I don't think I'll be reading any of his other stuff.
]]> <![CDATA[To Green Angel Tower (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3)]]> 28691
But whether or not they are successful, the call of battle will lead the valiant followers of Josua Lackhand on a memorable trek to the haunted halls of Asu'a itself - the Sithi's greatest stronghold.]]> 1083 Tad Williams 0756402980 Kate 3 re-read, fiction 4.19 1993 To Green Angel Tower (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3)
author: Tad Williams
name: Kate
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/26
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: re-read, fiction
review:

]]> On Liberty 385228 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780140432077

Published in 1859, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty presented one of the most eloquent defenses of individual freedom in nineteenth-century social and political philosophy and is today perhaps the most widely-read liberal argument in support of the value of liberty. Mill's passionate advocacy of spontaneity, individuality, and diversity, along with his contempt for compulsory uniformity and the despotism of popular opinion, has attracted both admiration and condemnation.]]> 187 John Stuart Mill Kate 3 nonfiction 3.95 1859 On Liberty
author: John Stuart Mill
name: Kate
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1859
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: nonfiction
review:

]]> The Subjection of Women 677591 136 John Stuart Mill 1594625328 Kate 4 3.92 1869 The Subjection of Women
author: John Stuart Mill
name: Kate
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1869
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1)]]> 15839976 "I live for the dream that my children will be born free," she says. "That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them."

"I live for you," I say sadly.

Eo kisses my cheek. "Then you must live for more."

Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.

Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.

But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow¡ªand Reds like him¡ªare nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.

Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity's overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society's ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies... even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.]]> 382 Pierce Brown 0345539788 Kate 4 fiction, re-read 4.26 2014 Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Kate
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction, re-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Golden Son (Red Rising Saga, #2)]]> 18966819
A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love¡ªbut also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind¡¯s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution¡ªand strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo¡¯s principles of love and justice to free his people.

He must live for more.]]> 466 Pierce Brown 0345539826 Kate 4 fiction, re-read 4.48 2015 Golden Son (Red Rising Saga, #2)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Kate
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction, re-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Morning Star (Red Rising Saga, #3)]]> 18966806
Finally, the time has come.

But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied¡ªand too glorious to surrender.]]> 525 Pierce Brown 0345539842 Kate 4 fiction, re-read 4.52 2016 Morning Star (Red Rising Saga, #3)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Kate
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2016
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction, re-read
review:

]]> The Garden: A Parable 159161 208 Michael Roach 038549789X Kate 2 fiction, nonfiction 4.18 2000 The Garden: A Parable
author: Michael Roach
name: Kate
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at: 2023/05/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction, nonfiction
review:

]]> Kingdoms of Elfin 970443
The Kingdoms of Elfin are more diverse and widely scattered than is often thought; from the Welsh Elfins who, though constitutionally incapable of faith, remove mountains, and the elegant and witty French Court of Broc¨¦liande where castration almost becomes a vogue, to the Kingdom of Zuy in the Low Countries, trafficking suppositories and religious pictures.

Sylvia Townsend Warner's richly exuberant imagination combined with the calm precision of her language conjures up a sublunary realm that is entirely convincing.]]> 222 Sylvia Townsend Warner 0385285248 Kate 3 3.99 1977 Kingdoms of Elfin
author: Sylvia Townsend Warner
name: Kate
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1977
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)]]> 58267955 The first novel in Robert Jordan's #1 New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time?.

The Wheel of Time turns and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth returns again. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.

When The Two Rivers is attacked by Trollocs--a savage tribe of half-men, half-beasts--five villagers flee that night into a world they barely imagined, with new dangers waiting in the shadows and in the light.

Since its debut in 1990, The Wheel of Time? has captivated millions of readers around the globe with its scope, originality, and compelling characters. The last six books in series were all instant #1 New York Times bestsellers, and The Eye of the World was named one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read.]]> 753 Robert Jordan Kate 2 dnf 4.39 1990 The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1)
author: Robert Jordan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.39
book published: 1990
rating: 2
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: dnf
review:
Unreadable. Literally 70% of it is either cringy banalities, ridiculous nonsense, or simple filler that doesn't need to be there at all. This is the book that in the space of a single paragraph will inform you that trees which shed their leaves for winter don't yet have their leaves before winter ends (shocker), that plants on the floor of a forest are actually weeds (you don't say), and that "the pale sun sat above the trees to the east, but its light was crisply dark" (well, at least its shape wasn't a pale crisp square circle, so there's that). All this presumably for the purpose of setting up a gloomy, portentous atmosphere... but the result is like watching Captain Obvious and Call-the-Manager Karen taking turns at beating a random word generator with a bat. And every annoyance that the writing style achieves on a micro level the plot and characters mimic on a macro level. Villagers will do some boring farmer chore for 18 pages. But just as you've convinced yourself to be patient because it must be important to them, they immediately demonstrate that it's not important to them at all by dropping it and randomly deciding to do a children's storytime in the middle of the workday, as if these villagers are slumming aristocrats who don't actually have to work for a living. Women actively hone their Karen skills (the medieval edition) since early childhood. A tragic hero is tragically mad over the body of his tragically dead wife. The tragically dead wife is--it goes without saying--a "golden-haired beauty". Some pop psychology version of Buddhism is occasionally trotted out with the prerequisite amount of pompous vagueness. I got to about page 50 before I gave up. I can't stand the thought of twelve 800-page books with more of this.
]]> Empress of Forever 40380954
A wildly successful innovator to rival Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, Vivian Liao is prone to radical thinking, quick decision-making, and reckless action. On the eve of her greatest achievement, she's trying to outrun those who are trying to steal her success.

In the chilly darkness of a Boston server farm, Viv sets her ultimate plan into motion. A terrifying instant later, Vivian Liao is catapulted through space and time to a far future where she confronts a destiny stranger and more deadly than she could ever imagine.

The end of time is ruled by an ancient, powerful Empress who blesses or blasts entire planets with a single thought. Rebellion is literally impossible to consider--until Vivian arrives. Trapped between the Pride, a ravening horde of sentient machines, and a fanatical sect of warrior monks who call themselves the Mirrorfaith, Viv must rally a strange group of allies to confront the Empress and find a way back to the world and life she left behind.

A magnificent work of vivid imagination and universe-spanning action, Empress of Forever is a feminist Guardians of the Galaxy crossed with Star Wars and spiced with the sensibility and spirit of Iain M. Banks and William Gibson.]]> 480 Max Gladstone 0765395819 Kate 3 fiction 3.68 2019 Empress of Forever
author: Max Gladstone
name: Kate
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction
review:
Cute and fun. Atmosphere and plot reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy movie #2.
]]> Written on the Body 15054 Written on the Body is a secret code only visible in certain lights: the accumulation of a lifetime gather there. In places the palimpsest is so heavily worked that the letters feel like braille. I like to keep my body rolled away from prying eyes, never unfold too much, tell the whole story. I didn't know that Louise would have reading hands. She has translated me into her own book.]]> 190 Jeanette Winterson 0679744479 Kate 3 fiction 4.11 1992 Written on the Body
author: Jeanette Winterson
name: Kate
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Bhagavad Gita 99945 Mahabharata incorporates Bhagavad-Gita, a sacred Hindu text that takes the form of a philosophical dialogue in which Krishna instructs Arjuna, the prince, in ethical matters and the nature of God.

Krishna expounds the nature and the way that humans can come to know God to Arjuna, the warrior prince in the Bhagavad-Gita.

Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic, contains the text of the Bhagavad-Gita.

This early epic poem recounts the conversation between the warrior and his charioteer, the divine manifestation. It sets out the important lessons to learn to change the outcome of the war in the moments before a great battle that the warrior fights, and culminates in revealing the true cosmic warrior and counselling him to search for the universal perfection of life. This most important work ranges from yoga postures to dense moral discussion and serves as a practical guide to living well.]]> 224 Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa 0609810340 Kate 5 re-read 4.27 -400 Bhagavad Gita
author: Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
name: Kate
average rating: 4.27
book published: -400
rating: 5
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: re-read
review:

]]> The Starless Sea 43575115 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world¡ªa place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues¡ªa bee, a key, and a sword¡ªthat lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians¡ªit is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose¡ªin both the mysterious book and in his own life.]]> 498 Erin Morgenstern 038554121X Kate 3 fiction 3.82 2019 The Starless Sea
author: Erin Morgenstern
name: Kate
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction
review:
Atmospheric, but ultimately shallow. Characters, their relationships, the plot... all were very superficial. Even the worldbuilding, which at first seems fascinating, eventually starts to feel limited and claustrophobic, with all of the vastness of the human imagination confined to dark caverns filled with sticky goo. The memorable atmosphere and interesting narrative structure were impressive, but would have worked better as a horror novel. Sadly, the book wimped out and didn't go there, while also not managing to create the kind of immersive, disbelief-suspending characters, plot and setting that are needed for a good fantasy novel.
]]> Where'd You Go, Bernadette 13526165
When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces--which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. Where'd You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.]]> 330 Maria Semple 0316204277 Kate 4 3.87 2012 Where'd You Go, Bernadette
author: Maria Semple
name: Kate
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Light Bringer (Red Rising Saga, #6)]]> 29227774 Darrow returns as Pierce Brown¡¯s New York Times bestselling Red Rising series continues in the thrilling sequel to Dark Age.

¡°The measure of a man is not the fear he sows in his enemies. It is the hope he gives his friends.¡±¡ªVirginia au Augustus

The Reaper is a legend, more myth than man: the savior of worlds, the leader of the Rising, the breaker of chains.

But the Reaper is also Darrow, born of the red soil of Mars: a husband, a father, a friend.

The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow. Because after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope.]]> 682 Pierce Brown 1473646804 Kate 4 fiction 4.74 2023 Light Bringer (Red Rising Saga, #6)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Kate
average rating: 4.74
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Violin 333714 Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice's new novel moves across time and the continents, from nineteenth-century Vienna to a St. Charles Greek Revival mansion in present-day New Orleans to the dazzling capitals of the modern-day world, telling a story of two charismatic figures bound to each other by a passionate commitment to music as a means of rapture, seduction, and liberation.

At the novel's center: a uniquely fascinating woman, Triana--who once dreamed of becoming a great musician--and the demonic fiddler Stefan, tormented ghost of a Russian aristocrat, who begins to prey upon her, using his magic violin first to enchant, then to dominate and draw her into a state of madness through the music she loves.

But Triana understands the power of the music perhaps even more than does Stefan--and she sets out to resist Stefan and to fight not only for her sanity but for her life. The struggle draws them both into a terrifying supernatural realm where they find themselves surrounded by memories, by horrors, and by overwhelming truths. Battling desperately, they are at last propelled towards the novel's astonishing and unforgettable climax.

Violin is crowded with the history, the drama, the invention, and the romantic intensity that have become synonymous with Anne Rice at her incomparable best.]]> 289 Anne Rice Kate 2 3.06 1997 Violin
author: Anne Rice
name: Kate
average rating: 3.06
book published: 1997
rating: 2
read at: 2012/07/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:
I felt that an explanation was needed for my bad review--normally I'm a fan of Anne Rice's work, but this novel seemed uncharacteristically bad. The story is uninteresting and the emotions and character descriptions are told, not shown. However, I would recommend any of her other novels, they are all so much better than this one.
]]> The Dive from Clausen's Pier 16059
THE DIVE FROM CLAUSEN'S PIER will speak to all those who have ever thought about leaving when they knew they should stay, anyone who has ever felt trapped, not only by circumstance, but by the strength of their own love, Carrie Bell has lived in Wisconsin all her life. She's had the same best friend, the same good relationship with her mother, the same boyfriend, for as long as anyone can remember. But when her fiance, Mike is paralyzed by a tragic accident, Carrie has to question everything she thought she knew about herself and about the meaning of home.

Ann Packer has written a morally complex, deeply satisfying novel about the desire to live fully and the conflict between who we want to be to others and who we must be for ourselves. A magnificent debut from a remarkable new talent.]]> 432 Ann Packer 0375727132 Kate 2 3.44 2002 The Dive from Clausen's Pier
author: Ann Packer
name: Kate
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2002
rating: 2
read at: 2012/07/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:
I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the author's style is very smooth and readable, and her character portrayals are very true to life. But on the other hand, the story and characters are unoriginal. The main characters, Carie, Kilroy and Mike, in particular come off as complete non-entities, with nothing unique about them whatsoever, other than the fact that they suffered a personal tragedy. They may embody different ¡°types¡±--for example, the naive midwesterner vs the ¡°urban snob¡±--but these are types we've all seen before both in life and in fiction, and nothing new or insightful is being said about them here. It might be unfair to the author to say this, because after all she portrayed the characters brilliantly. But the fact remains that what is being portrayed is a group of people who are completely mediocre and have no depths of character. In a novel like this one, which relies on people rather than plot, character development is critical, and you might even say that this book technically has it. But it all boils down to this: the characters make some half-hearted attempts to transcend their situation, but quickly give up and embrace their moral, mental, and artistic mediocrity. Once again, this might be true to life, but this is a novel, not a sociology textbook. In the end, I was left with a big, bored ¡°so what?¡±
]]> <![CDATA[Thinking about Mathematics: The Philosophy of Mathematics]]> 1102226
This sweeping introductory guide to the philosophy of mathematics makes these fascinating concepts accessible to those with little background in either mathematics or philosophy.]]> 328 Stewart Shapiro 0192893068 Kate 4 4.03 2000 Thinking about Mathematics: The Philosophy of Mathematics
author: Stewart Shapiro
name: Kate
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2012/05/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Sleep, Pale Sister 15100 Chocolat, before the heady concoction that is Blackberry Wine, and before the tart pleasures of Five Quarters of the Orange, bestselling author Joanne Harris wrote Sleep, Pale Sister -- a gothic tour-de-force that recalls the powerfully dark sensibility of her novel Holy Fools.

Originally published in 1994 -- and never before available in the United States -- Sleep, Pale Sister is a hypnotically atmospheric story set in nineteenth century London. When puritanical artist Henry Chester sees delicate child beauty Effie, he makes her his favorite model and, before long, his bride. But Henry, volatile and repressed, is in love with an ideal. Passive, docile, and asexual, the woman he projects onto Effie is far from the woman she really is. And when Effie begins to discover the murderous depths of Henry's hypocrisy, her latent passion will rise to the surface.

Sleep, Pale Sister combines the ethereal beauty of a Pre-Raphaelite painting with a chilling high gothic tale and is a testament to Harris's brimming cornucopia of talents.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.]]> 396 Joanne Harris 0060787112 Kate 3 3.29 1994 Sleep, Pale Sister
author: Joanne Harris
name: Kate
average rating: 3.29
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at: 2010/05/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Luck in the Shadows (Nightrunner, #1)]]> 74270 479 Lynn Flewelling 0553575422 Kate 3 4.09 1996 Luck in the Shadows (Nightrunner, #1)
author: Lynn Flewelling
name: Kate
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at: 2011/12/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> Galilee 52639 When Galilee, prodigal prince of the Barbarossa clan, meets Rachel, the young bride of the Gearys' own scion Mitchell, they fall in love, consumed by a passion that unleashes long-simmering hatred. Old insanities arise, old adulteries are uncovered, and a seemingly invincible family will begin to wither, exposing its unholy roots...]]> 637 Clive Barker 0061092002 Kate 4 re-read 3.80 1998 Galilee
author: Clive Barker
name: Kate
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1998
rating: 4
read at: 2011/12/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: re-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga, #4)]]> 33257757 They call him father, liberator, warlord, Reaper. But he feels a boy as he falls toward the pale blue planet, his armor red, his army vast, his heart heavy. It is the tenth year of war and the thirty-second of his life.

A decade ago, Darrow was the hero of the revolution he believed would break the chains of the Society. But the Rising has shattered everything: Instead of peace and freedom, it has brought endless war. Now he must risk everything he has fought for on one last desperate mission. Darrow still believes he can save everyone, but can he save himself?

And throughout the worlds, other destinies entwine with Darrow¡¯s to change his fate forever:

A young Red girl flees tragedy in her refugee camp and achieves for herself a new life she could never have imagined.

An ex-soldier broken by grief is forced to steal the most valuable thing in the galaxy¡ªor pay with his life.

And Lysander au Lune, the heir in exile to the sovereign, wanders the stars with his mentor, Cassius, haunted by the loss of the world that Darrow transformed, and dreaming of what will rise from its ashes.

Red Rising was the story of the end of one universe, and Iron Gold is the story of the creation of a new one. Witness the beginning of a stunning new saga of tragedy and triumph from masterly New York Times bestselling author Pierce Brown.]]> 602 Pierce Brown 042528591X Kate 3 fiction 4.19 2018 Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga, #4)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Kate
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dark Age (Red Rising Saga, #5)]]> 29226553
For a decade Darrow led a revolution against the corrupt color-coded Society. Now, outlawed by the very Republic he founded, he wages a rogue war on Mercury in hopes that he can still salvage the dream of Eo. But as he leaves death and destruction in his wake, is he still the hero who broke the chains? Or will another legend rise to take his place?

Lysander au Lune, the heir in exile, has returned to the Core. Determined to bring peace back to mankind at the edge of his sword, he must overcome or unite the treacherous Gold families of the Core and face down Darrow over the skies of war-torn Mercury.

But theirs are not the only fates hanging in the balance.

On Luna, Mustang, Sovereign of the Republic, campaigns to unite the Republic behind her husband. Beset by political and criminal enemies, can she outwit her opponents in time to save him?

Once a Red refugee, young Lyria now stands accused of treason, and her only hope is a desperate escape with unlikely new allies.

Abducted by a new threat to the Republic, Pax and Electra, the children of Darrow and Sevro, must trust in Ephraim, a thief, for their salvation¡ªand Ephraim must look to them for his chance at redemption.

As alliances shift, break, and re-form¡ªand power is seized, lost, and reclaimed¡ªevery player is at risk in a game of conquest that could turn the Rising into a new Dark Age.]]> 704 Pierce Brown 0425285952 Kate 5 fiction 4.49 2019 Dark Age (Red Rising Saga, #5)
author: Pierce Brown
name: Kate
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Definitely Maybe 650777 144 Arkady Strugatsky 002025590X Kate 3 fiction, re-read 3.93 1974 Definitely Maybe
author: Arkady Strugatsky
name: Kate
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1974
rating: 3
read at: 2024/05/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: fiction, re-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stone of Farewell (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #2)]]> 28689
It is a time of darkness, dread, and ultimate testing for the realm of Osten Ard, for the wild magic and terrifying minions of the undead Sithi ruler, Ineluki the Storm King, are spreading their seemingly undefeatable evil across the kingdom.

With the very land blighted by the power of Ineluki¡¯s wrath, the tattered remnants of a once-proud human army flee in search of a last sanctuary and rallying point¡ªthe Stone of Farewell, a place shrouded in mystery and ancient sorrow.

And even as Prince Josua seeks to rally his scattered forces, Simon and the surviving members of the League of the Scroll are desperately struggling to discover the truth behind an almost-forgotten legend, which will take them from the fallen citadels of humans to the secret heartland of the Sithi¡ªwhere near-immortals must at last decide whether to ally with the race of men in a final war against those of their own blood.]]> 608 Tad Williams 0756402972 Kate 3 re-read, fiction 4.09 1990 Stone of Farewell (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #2)
author: Tad Williams
name: Kate
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: re-read, fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams]]> 60468246 ?
Stacy Schiff returns Adams to his seat of glory, introducing us to the shrewd and eloquent man who supplied the moral backbone of the American Revolution. A singular figure at a singular moment, Adams amplified the Boston Massacre. He helped to mastermind the Boston Tea Party. He employed every tool available to rally a town, a colony, and eventually a band of colonies behind him, creating the cause that created a country. For his efforts he became the most wanted man in America: When Paul Revere rode to Lexington in 1775, it was to warn Samuel Adams that he was about to be arrested for treason.

In The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, Schiff brings her masterful skills to Adams¡¯s improbable life, illuminating his transformation from aimless son of a well-off family to tireless, beguiling radical who mobilized the colonies. Arresting, original, and deliriously dramatic, this is a long-overdue chapter in the history of our nation.]]> 422 Stacy Schiff 0316441112 Kate 4 3.64 2022 The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams
author: Stacy Schiff
name: Kate
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)]]> 91981
Simon, a kitchen boy from the royal castle unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League, will be sent on a quest that offers the only hope of salvation, a deadly riddle concerning long-lost swords of power. Compelled by fate and perilous magics, he must leave the only home he¡¯s ever known and face enemies more terrifying than Osten Ard has ever seen, even as the land itself begins to die.

After the landmark Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, the epic saga of Osten Ard continues with the brand-new novel, The Heart of What Was Lost. Then don¡¯t miss the upcoming trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, beginning with The Witchwood Crown!]]> 672 Tad Williams 0756402697 Kate 4 re-read 3.96 1988 The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1)
author: Tad Williams
name: Kate
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/01
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: re-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sense and Goodness Without God]]> 11724597 444 Richard C. Carrier 1452059268 Kate 0 currently-reading 4.10 2005 Sense and Goodness Without God
author: Richard C. Carrier
name: Kate
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 12983100 Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?]]> 438 Susan Ee Kate 4 4.24 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Kate
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> §¨§Ö§ß§Ñ §¹§å§Õ§à§Ó§Ú§ë§Ñ 214672985 690 §¯§Ñ§ä§Ñ§Ý§î§ñ §³§Ñ§á§å§ß§Ü§à§Ó§Ñ 5044125792 Kate 2 dnf, fiction 2.00 2017 §¨§Ö§ß§Ñ §¹§å§Õ§à§Ó§Ú§ë§Ñ
author: §¯§Ñ§ä§Ñ§Ý§î§ñ §³§Ñ§á§å§ß§Ü§à§Ó§Ñ
name: Kate
average rating: 2.00
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2023/06/01
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves: dnf, fiction
review:

]]> The Dreamers 34409176
Mei, an outsider in the cliquish hierarchy of dorm life, finds herself thrust together with an eccentric, idealistic classmate. Two visiting professors try to protect their newborn baby as the once-quiet streets descend into chaos. A father succumbs to the illness, leaving his daughters to fend for themselves. And at the hospital, a new life grows within a college girl, unbeknownst to her¡ªeven as she sleeps. A psychiatrist, summoned from Los Angeles, attempts to make sense of the illness as it spreads through the town. Those infected are displaying unusual levels of brain activity, more than has ever been recorded. They are dreaming heightened dreams¡ªbut of what?]]> 303 Karen Thompson Walker 0812994167 Kate 4 fiction 3.61 2019 The Dreamers
author: Karen Thompson Walker
name: Kate
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/29
date added: 2024/02/29
shelves: fiction
review:
This book is more of a contemplation or meditation rather than a narrative. This, to me, is one of the things that make it stand out in a positive way, but it also makes me think that different people will get very different things out of it, by design. What I personally got out of it: an exploration of how our inner worlds, the worlds of our dreams and fantasies, can influence our real-world human connections (both for better and worse) but also how the dreamworld can drown out what is real and pull us away from it.
]]> <![CDATA[A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (The Tithenai Chronicles, #1)]]> 58724793
Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he¡¯s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different plans: for Vel to marry his former intended¡¯s brother instead.

Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.

With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love¨Das both will learn¨Dis quite another.

Byzantine politics, lush sexual energy, and a queer love story that is by turns sweet and sultry, Foz Meadows' A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is an exploration of gender, identity, and self-worth. It is a book that will live in your heart long after you turn the last page.]]> 544 Foz Meadows 1250829135 Kate 3 fiction 4.02 2022 A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (The Tithenai Chronicles, #1)
author: Foz Meadows
name: Kate
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/10
date added: 2024/02/11
shelves: fiction
review:
2.5 stars. A page turner for the first half, but then the plot begins to drag until the main mystery gets resolved abruptly and entirely by accident, in a very boring way. None of the potentially convoluted intrigues and plots hinted at in the first half of the book come to anything. Worldbuilding is awkward as well-- arbitrary mundanities like food and clothing are described in such detail that you could probably cook and sew the stuff for yourself should you be so inclined, whereas things that actually influence the plot and characters (like politics, economics, and history) barely get a mention, or if they do, not at all in a way that has any explanatory power. For example, we have two seemingly similar nations--Ralia and Tithena. Both are pre-industrial, their sizes and populations seem to be similar, both are run by monarchies and an overprivileged nobility, both seem to have a state religion based on their planet's three moons... And yet Ralia seems to be universally awful: the religion is bigoted, the culture intolerant, the nobility snooty to the lower classes, the family dynamics stiff and unloving. Even the food is bad and the clothing uncomfortable. And then there is Tithena... a paradise of tolerance, patience, good will, comfy clothing, and delicious food, where the nobility seems to have just magically arrived at the idea of being polite and considerate to the lower classes, even though they don't have to be. Which begs the question--what went wrong with Ralia, and why isn't half of its population trying to flee to Tithena? I guess I will never know, because this book can't be bothered to make the larger world in any way believable. There was a lot of potential in this novel, but sadly, it ultimately ran out of imagination halfway through and didn't go anywhere. It just shoehorned a half-assed reveal for the main mystery, killed off all nuisances, slapped a happy end on the character arcs, and threw in the towel
]]> A Crown for Elizabeth 1302322 573 Mary M. Luke 0698100875 Kate 3 nonfiction, fiction 4.20 1970 A Crown for Elizabeth
author: Mary M. Luke
name: Kate
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1970
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/05
date added: 2024/01/05
shelves: nonfiction, fiction
review:

]]> The Legend of Sigurd & Gudr¨²n 6352248 The New Lay of the V?lsungs and The New Lay of Gudr¨²n.

In the "Lay of the V?lsungs" is told the ancestry of the great hero Sigurd, the slayer of F¨¢fnir most celebrated of dragons, whose treasure he took for his own; of his awakening of the Valkyrie Brynhild, who slept surrounded by a wall of fire, and of their betrothal; and of his coming to the court of the great princes who were named the Niflungs (or Nibelungs), with whom he entered into blood-brotherhood. In that court there sprang great love but also great hate, brought about by the power of the enchantress of the Niflungs, skilled in the arts of magic, of shape-changing and potions of forgetfulness.

In scenes of dramatic intensity, of confusion of identity, thwarted passion, jealousy, and bitter strife, the tragedy of Sigurd and Brynhild, of Gunnar the Niflung and Gudr¨²n his sister, mounts to its end in the murder of Sigurd at the hands of his blood-brothers, the suicide of Brynhild, and the despair of Gudr¨²n. In the "Lay of Gudr¨²n" her fate after the death of Sigurd is told, her marriage against her will to the mighty Atli, ruler of the Huns (the Attila of history), his murder of her brothers the Niflung lords, and her hideous revenge.

Deriving his version primarily from his close study of the ancient poetry of Norway and Iceland known as the Poetic Edda (and where no old poetry exists, from the later prose work V?lsunga Saga), J.R.R. Tolkien employed a verse-form of short stanzas whose lines embody in English the exacting alliterative rhythms and the concentrated energy of the poems of the Edda.]]> 384 J.R.R. Tolkien 0007317255 Kate 5 nonfiction 3.88 2009 The Legend of Sigurd & Gudr¨²n
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Kate
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/10
date added: 2023/08/12
shelves: nonfiction
review:
A perfect blend of scholarship and creativity. Truly brilliant. And the mix of informative essays, translations, and original poetry is also perfectly done, so kudos to both the original writer and the editor. Honestly, after reading Tolkien's much more famous (and overrated) fiction prose, I would say this book actually contains his best work.
]]> <![CDATA[Theoretical Philosophy, 1755¨C1770 (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant)]]> 1138936 625 Immanuel Kant 0521392144 Kate 0 dnf, nonfiction 4.25 1992 Theoretical Philosophy, 1755¨C1770 (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant)
author: Immanuel Kant
name: Kate
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at: 2023/08/05
date added: 2023/08/04
shelves: dnf, nonfiction
review:
I read the essay "The Only Possible Argument in Support of a Demonstration of the Existence of God". It turned out to be very low quality and incoherent, so I don't think I'll be reading the rest of his earlier works. To summarize: First he "disproves" Anselm's ontological argument by debunking an assertion that Anselm never actually made. Then he makes his own argument which he seems to think is new, but is actually only a less coherent rehash of Aquinas. Then he moves on to the argument from design--but not arguing that organisms seem functional, therefore they're designed. Oh no, he argues that things like air--since some of their physical properties occasionally (but not always) allow some organisms (but not all) to survive in them--exhibit a tendency to order/harmony and thus a posteriori demonstrate the need for some ultimate grounds for said order/harmony. This is so obviously ridiculous that I just gave up on him and this point.
]]> Savages (Savages #2) 8008928
When they refuse to back down, the cartel escalates its threat, kidnapping Ophelia, the boys' playmate and confidante. O's abduction sets off a dizzying array of ingenious negotiations and gripping plot twists that will captivate readers eager to learn the costs of freedom and the price of one amazing high.]]> 302 Don Winslow 1439183368 Kate 4 fiction 3.84 2010 Savages (Savages #2)
author: Don Winslow
name: Kate
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/07/28
shelves: fiction
review:
Pretty much a Pulp Fiction wannabe... but I'm just one of those wannabes who thinks you can't have too much of that kind of thing. So it was derivative, so what. I still liked it. Sue me.
]]> <![CDATA[§¤§Ú§Ò§Ö§Ý§î §Ú§Þ§á§Ö§â§Ú§Ú: §µ§â§à§Ü§Ú §Õ§Ý§ñ §ã§à§Ó§â§Ö§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§à§Û §²§à§ã§ã§Ú§Ú]]> 5996050 440 Yegor Gaidar Kate 5 nonfiction 4.31 2006 §¤§Ú§Ò§Ö§Ý§î §Ú§Þ§á§Ö§â§Ú§Ú: §µ§â§à§Ü§Ú §Õ§Ý§ñ §ã§à§Ó§â§Ö§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§à§Û §²§à§ã§ã§Ú§Ú
author: Yegor Gaidar
name: Kate
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2023/07/25
date added: 2023/07/25
shelves: nonfiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Psychology of Dexter (Psychology of Popular Culture)]]> 9309687
Aimed at Dexter devotees and armchair psychologists, The Psychology of Dexter takes on the psychological complexities of the popular series with an eye towards insight and accessibility. It analyzes not just the title character, but his family, coworkers, and even his viewers. What makes Dexter tick? And what makes a show about a serial killer so appealing to those of us at home?

From the implications of faking normalcy (could it be behind Dexter¡¯s still-in-progress emotional growth?) to where the show weighs in on the psychological debate between nature and nurture, The Psychology of Dexter gives fans a peek inside Dexter¡¯s?and Dexter¡¯s?psyche.]]> 224 Bella DePaulo 193525197X Kate 4 nonfiction 3.86 2006 The Psychology of Dexter (Psychology of Popular Culture)
author: Bella DePaulo
name: Kate
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/07/23
shelves: nonfiction
review:

]]> Who Fears Death 7767021 An award-winning literary author presents her first foray into supernatural fantasy with a novel of post-apocalyptic Africa.

In a far future, post-nuclear-holocaust Africa, genocide plagues one region. The aggressors, the Nuru, have decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke. But when the only surviving member of a slain Okeke village is brutally raped, she manages to escape, wandering farther into the desert. She gives birth to a baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand and instinctively knows that her daughter is different. She names her daughter Onyesonwu, which means "Who Fears Death?" in an ancient African tongue.

Reared under the tutelage of a mysterious and traditional shaman, Onyesonwu discovers her magical destiny ¨C to end the genocide of her people. The journey to fulfill her destiny will force her to grapple with nature, tradition, history, true love, the spiritual mysteries of her culture ¨C and eventually death itself.]]> 386 Nnedi Okorafor 075640617X Kate 0 currently-reading 3.92 2010 Who Fears Death
author: Nnedi Okorafor
name: Kate
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Long Way from Chicago (A Long Way from Chicago, #1)]]> 39963 148 Richard Peck 0142401102 Kate 0 to-read 3.96 1998 A Long Way from Chicago (A Long Way from Chicago, #1)
author: Richard Peck
name: Kate
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Iron King (The Iron Fey, #1)]]> 6644117 Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.]]> 363 Julie Kagawa 0373210086 Kate 0 to-read 3.88 2010 The Iron King (The Iron Fey, #1)
author: Julie Kagawa
name: Kate
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1)]]> 68494 710 China Mi¨¦ville 0345459407 Kate 2 fiction 3.98 2000 Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1)
author: China Mi¨¦ville
name: Kate
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at: 2023/03/07
date added: 2023/03/07
shelves: fiction
review:
I really couldn't get into this book. It feels like the author thought being imaginative means throwing a crapload of random things into a blender and throwing the resulting hodgepodge into a text file. The problem with this is actually not the randomness itself, but the fact that every detail of this fantasy world feels like it has no internal logic and begs for an explanation. Which in turn makes me feel like any explanation of any throwaway background detail would be much more curious and fascinating than anything actually happening in the story. And this makes for a frustrating and boring read. After a while, I realized there will never be any depth to any of the details, that they're all just thrown in, not because there is an interesting story there, but because the author thinks namedropping a bunch of random mythological concepts and Final Fantasy creatures is how you do original worldbuilding. Reading this was just an exercise in frustration, and made me very sad, because this author's other novels were actually really good. I'll just assume this was early Mieville and that he got better with practice.
]]> Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2) 60652997 Wealth. Power. Murder. Magic. Alex Stern is back and the Ivy League is going straight to hell.

Find a gateway to the underworld. Steal a soul out of hell. A simple plan, except people who make this particular journey rarely come back. But Galaxy ¡°Alex¡± Stern is determined to break Darlington out of purgatory¨Deven if it costs her a future at Lethe and at Yale.

Forbidden from attempting a rescue, Alex and Dawes can¡¯t call on the Ninth House for help, so they assemble a team of dubious allies to save the gentleman of Lethe. Together, they will have to navigate a maze of arcane texts and bizarre artifacts to uncover the societies¡¯ most closely guarded secrets, and break every rule doing it. But when faculty members begin to die off, Alex knows these aren¡¯t just accidents. Something deadly is at work in New Haven, and if she is going to survive, she¡¯ll have to reckon with the monsters of her past and a darkness built into the university¡¯s very walls.

Thick with history and packed with Bardugo¡¯s signature twists, Hell Bent brings to life an intricate world full of magic, violence, and all too real monsters.]]> 481 Leigh Bardugo 1250313104 Kate 0 to-read 4.09 2023 Hell Bent (Alex Stern, #2)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Kate
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> §° §é§×§Þ §Þ§à§Ý§é§Ú§ä §Ý§Ñ§ã§ä§à§é§Ü§Ñ 62215011 §¯§à §ã§á§å§ã§ä§ñ §Õ§Ó§Ñ§Õ§è§Ñ§ä§î §Ý§Ö§ä §£§à§Ý§à§Õ§ñ §Ú §À§â§Ñ §Ó§ã§ä§â§Ö§ä§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§î §ã§ß§à§Ó§Ñ. §£§à§Ù§Þ§à§Ø§ß§à §Ý§Ú §á§à§ã§ä§â§à§Ú§ä§î §Ò§å§Õ§å§ë§Ö§Ö §ß§Ñ §â§å§Ú§ß§Ñ§ç §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§à §Ù§Ñ§Ò§í§ä§à§Ô§à §á§â§à§ê§Ý§à§Ô§à? §ª§Ý§Ú §Ý§å§é§ê§Ö §á§à§Ù§Ó§à§Ý§Ú§ä§î §Ö§Þ§å §å§Þ§Ö§â§Ö§ä§î, §ã§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§Ó §á§à-§ß§Ñ§ã§ä§à§ñ§ë§Ö§Þ§å §è§Ö§ß§ß§í§Þ?..
?§° §é§Ö§Þ §Þ§à§Ý§é§Ú§ä §­§Ñ§ã§ä§à§é§Ü§Ñ? ¡ª §Õ§à§Ý§Ô§à§Ø§Õ§Ñ§ß§ß§à§Ö §á§â§à§Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §Ò§Ö§ã§ä§ã§Ö§Ý§Ý§Ö§â§Ñ ?§­§Ö§ä§à §Ó §á§Ú§à§ß§Ö§â§ã§Ü§à§Þ §Ô§Ñ§Ý§ã§ä§å§Ü§Ö?.]]> 688 Elena Malisova 5604653012 Kate 3 fiction 3.83 2021 §° §é§×§Þ §Þ§à§Ý§é§Ú§ä §Ý§Ñ§ã§ä§à§é§Ü§Ñ
author: Elena Malisova
name: Kate
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/12/14
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[§­§Ö§ä§à §Ó §á§Ú§à§ß§Ö§â§ã§Ü§à§Þ §Ô§Ñ§Ý§ã§ä§å§Ü§Ö (§­§Ö§ä§à §Ó §á§Ú§à§ß§Ö§â§ã§Ü§à§Þ §Ô§Ñ§Ý§ã§ä§å§Ü§Ö, #1)]]> 58870322 544 Katerina Silvanova 5604653004 Kate 3 fiction 4.23 2021 §­§Ö§ä§à §Ó §á§Ú§à§ß§Ö§â§ã§Ü§à§Þ §Ô§Ñ§Ý§ã§ä§å§Ü§Ö (§­§Ö§ä§à §Ó §á§Ú§à§ß§Ö§â§ã§Ü§à§Þ §Ô§Ñ§Ý§ã§ä§å§Ü§Ö, #1)
author: Katerina Silvanova
name: Kate
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/12/05
shelves: fiction
review:
§Ü§ß§Ú§Ô§Ñ §ß§Ñ§á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ß§Ñ §ä§Ñ§Ü-§ã§Ö§Ò§Ö... §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ§Þ§Ú §Ü§Ñ§â§ä§à§ß§ß§à, §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ§Þ§Ú §ê§Ñ§Ò§Ý§à§ß§ß§à... §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Ö §Ó§á§Ö§é§Ñ§ä§Ý§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §é§ä§à §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô§Ñ §á§à§á§å§Ý§ñ§â§ß§Ñ §á§à §ä§à§Û §Ø§Ö §á§â§Ú§é§Ú§ß§Ö, §á§à §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Û §Ó §³§³§³§² §Ò§í§Ý§Ú §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ê§ß§à §á§à§á§å§Ý§ñ§â§ß§í §ã§ä§Ú§ê§Ü§Ú §ä§Ú§á§Ñ "§Þ§Ñ§Ý§Ö§ß§î§Ü§à§Ô§à §Þ§Ñ§Ý§î§é§Ú§Ü§Ñ" §Ú (§á§â§à§Þ§Ö§Ý§î§Ü§ß§å§Ó§ê§Ú§Ö §Ó §ï§ä§à§Û-§Ø§Ö §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô§Ö) §á§â§à §ä§â§Ñ§Þ§Ó§Ñ§Û, §á§Ö§â§Ö§Ö§ç§Ñ§Ó§ê§Ú§Û §à§Ü§ä§ñ§Ò§â§ñ§ä. §°§Ò§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§à §Ó §²§¶ §ä§Ö§á§Ö§â§î §ä§à§é§ß§à §ä§Ñ§Ü¨C§Ø§Ö §ã§Ö§Û§é§Ñ§ã §Ù§Ñ§Þ§à§â§à§é§Ö§ß§à "§ã§Ü§â§Ö§á§Ñ§Þ§Ú" §Ú §Ó§ã§ñ§Ü§Ú§Þ§Ú "§Ò§Ö§ã§à§Ô§à§ß§Ñ§Þ§Ú", §Ü§Ñ§Ü §â§Ñ§ß§î§ê§Ö §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ù§Ñ§Þ§å§é§Ö§ß§ß§à §ã§à§Ó§Ü§à§Þ §Ú §Ü§à§Þ§Þ§å§ß§Ú§Ù§Þ§à§Þ. §±§à§Õ§â§à§ã§ä§Ü§Ú §Ú §Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§Ö§Ø§î §ß§Ö §á§à§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§ð§ä, §é§Ö§Ô§à §Ú§Þ §Ó §Ô§Ý§à§ä§Ü§å §á§í§ä§Ñ§ð§ä§ã§ñ §á§â§à§ä§à§Ý§Ü§ß§å§ä§î §Ó§ã§Ö §ï§ä§Ú §Ù§Ñ§Ô§ß§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§Ö §ã§Ü§â§Ö§á§í §Ú §Þ§Ö§â§Ù§Ü§å§ð §ß§Ö§ä§à§Ý§Ö§â§Ñ§ß§ä§ß§à§ã§ä§î, §à§ß§Ú §ç§à§ä§ñ§ä §ã§Ó§Ö§ä§Ý§í§ç §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó, §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ö§Ø§Õ§í, §Ü§â§Ñ§ã§à§ä§í, §Õ§à§Ò§â§à§ä§í... §Ú §Ó§à§ä §ï§ä§Ñ §Ü§ß§Ú§Ô§Ñ, §ã §á§â§à§ã§ä§Ö§ß§î§Ü§à§Û §á§â§à§Ù§à§Û §Ú §ã§Ý§Ñ§ë§Ñ§Ó§à§Û §Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§î§ð¡ª§ä§à §é§ä§à §ã§Ö§Û§é§Ñ§ã §ß§å§Ø§ß§à §à§Ò§ë§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§å. 5 §Ù§Ó§Ö§Ù§Õ§à§é§Ö§Ü §Ñ§Ó§ä§à§â§Ü§Ñ§Þ §Ù§Ñ §ç§â§Ñ§Ò§â§à§ã§ä§î §Ú §Ñ§Ü§ä§å§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§à§ã§ä§î, §ß§à §Ü§Ñ§é§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§à §Ù§Õ§Ö§ã§î¡ª§ª§®§·§°¡ª§à§ä §ã§Ú§Ý§í 2.5 §Ù§Ó§Ö§Ù§Õ§í
]]> <![CDATA[Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune]]> 58786859 Discover the ¡°fascinating and outrageously readable¡± account of the roguish acts of the first pirates to raid the Pacific in a crusade that ended in a sensational trial back in England¡ªperfect for readers of Nathaniel Philbrick and David McCullough (Douglas Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God)

The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than three hundred daring, hardened pirates¡ªa potent mix of low-life scallywags and a rare breed of gentlemen buccaneers¡ªgather on a remote Caribbean island. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Pacific coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become legends. So begins one of the greatest piratical adventures of the era¡ªa story not given its full due until now.

Inspired by the intrepid forays of pirate turned Jamaican governor Captain Henry Morgan¡ªyes, that Captain Morgan¡ªthe company crosses Panama on foot, slashing its way through the Darien Isthmus, one of the thickest jungles on the planet, and liberating a native princess along the way. After reaching the South Sea, the buccaneers, primarily Englishmen, plunder the Spanish Main in a series of historic assaults, often prevailing against staggering odds and superior firepower. A collective shudder racks the western coastline of South America as the English pirates, waging a kind of proxy war against the Spaniards, gleefully undertake a brief reign over Pacific waters, marauding up and down the continent.

With novelistic prose and a rip-roaring sense of adventure, Keith Thomson guides us through the pirates¡¯ legendary two-year odyssey. We witness the buccaneers evading Indigenous tribes, Spanish conquistadors, and sometimes even their own English countrymen, all with the ever-present threat of the gallows for anyone captured. By fusing contemporaneous accounts with intensive research and previously unknown primary sources, Born to Be Hanged offers a rollicking account of one of the most astonishing pirate expeditions of all time.]]> 384 Keith Thomson 0316703613 Kate 5 3.75 2022 Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune
author: Keith Thomson
name: Kate
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/11/17
shelves:
review:

]]> Cuba: An American History 55710558 Winner of The L. A. Times Book Prize (2021) in History

?¡°Full of¡­lively insights and lucid prose¡± (The Wall Street Journal) an epic, sweeping history of Cuba and its complex ties to the United States¡ªfrom before the arrival of Columbus to the present day¡ªwritten by one of the world¡¯s leading historians of Cuba.

In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba, where a momentous revolution had taken power three years earlier. For more than half a century, the stand-off continued¡ªthrough the tenure of ten American presidents and the fifty-year rule of Fidel Castro. His death in 2016, and the retirement of his brother and successor Ra¨²l Castro in 2021, have spurred questions about the country¡¯s future. Meanwhile, politics in Washington¡ªBarack Obama¡¯s opening to the island, Donald Trump¡¯s reversal of that policy, and the election of Joe Biden¡ªhave made the relationship between the two nations a subject of debate once more.

Now, award-winning historian Ada Ferrer delivers an ¡°important¡± (The Guardian) and moving chronicle that demands a new reckoning with both the island¡¯s past and its relationship with the United States. Spanning more than five centuries, Cuba: An American History provides us with a front-row seat as we witness the evolution of the modern nation, with its dramatic record of conquest and colonization, of slavery and freedom, of independence and revolutions made and unmade.

Along the way, Ferrer explores the sometimes surprising, often troubled intimacy between the two countries, documenting not only the influence of the United States on Cuba but also the many ways the island has been a recurring presence in US affairs. This is a story that will give Americans unexpected insights into the history of their own nation and, in so doing, help them imagine a new relationship with Cuba; ¡°readers will close [this] fascinating book with a sense of hope¡± (The Economist).

Filled with rousing stories and characters, and drawing on more than thirty years of research in Cuba, Spain, and the United States¡ªas well as the author¡¯s own extensive travel to the island over the same period¡ªthis is a stunning and monumental account like no other.]]> 560 Ada Ferrer 1501154559 Kate 2 nonfiction
For example, when the book mentioned that there were non-Taino native people on the island before the Spanish invaded, but then said absolutely nothing about them, I assumed there just wasn't enough history to even name those people. But then it turned out that there was in fact enough history for at least a whole wikipedia article on the Guanahatabey people, so why do they not even merit a mention by Ferrer? Not sure if it's because they, unlike the Taino, failed to one-up the Spanish colonizers by any of their technology, or because they didn't survive long enough to be victimized by the all-important United States. Either way, their whole distinct culture is reduced to "Tainos were not the only Indigenous group, but they were by far the most numerous." As for the Tainos, again, only those things that they happened to be better at than the Spanish merit a mention. Barely any mention of Taino spiritual beliefs or social structures... After that, I was almost expecting the Spanish genocide of the Indigenous people to be reduced to "'Americans' were not the only gringos to mess with Cuba, but they were by far the most numerous", but no, the enslavement of the native people and its genocidal effects merited, like, a whole paragraph, before the book moved on to talk about Cuba's feral pigs. Yes, that's right, the rise and fall of the feral pig population merits a mention, but the Guanahatabey people do not. But then, the pigs managed to vex the Spanish by eating their crops and then became victims of statesiders in the form of pulled pork sandwiches, so I guess pigs are part of "American History". The Guanahatabey failed to do either of those things, and thus apparently proved unworthy of being 'history' to Ada Ferrer. I'm sensing a pattern here: upstage the Spanish and fall victim to the US, and you're Cuban history. Otherwise, you're less interesting than a porker.

Anyway, if the book had been called something like "Cuba: an anti-gringo polemic" I wouldn't have developed all these silly expectations of it being Cuba-centric, connected to all of America, or fully historical. Titles are important, and the title of this book misled me completely. I DNFed at about 1/5 of the way through, will have to read about early Cuban history elsewhere.]]> 4.45 2021 Cuba: An American History
author: Ada Ferrer
name: Kate
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2022/09/23
shelves: nonfiction
review:
An excellent, well researched, insightful book on... a small facet of the history of the United States. This would be a 5-star review if I had been interested in yet another book on US history. But, stupid me, seeing the words "Cuba", "American", and "History" in the title, I for some reason thought this would be Cuba-centric, place it in the context of the entire continent of America, and treat all its history as worthy of interest. My mistake. I should have known that by America we of course only and always mean the United States of America, and the history of any country on the American continent only properly starts when the US starts paying attention to it, for better or worse. I was really puzzled at first as to why so much of Cuba's early history is hurried through or swept aside, but then I realized, silly me, by "America" we can't mean America, we can only mean the America the least educated US residents care about, that is, the US. :/

For example, when the book mentioned that there were non-Taino native people on the island before the Spanish invaded, but then said absolutely nothing about them, I assumed there just wasn't enough history to even name those people. But then it turned out that there was in fact enough history for at least a whole wikipedia article on the Guanahatabey people, so why do they not even merit a mention by Ferrer? Not sure if it's because they, unlike the Taino, failed to one-up the Spanish colonizers by any of their technology, or because they didn't survive long enough to be victimized by the all-important United States. Either way, their whole distinct culture is reduced to "Tainos were not the only Indigenous group, but they were by far the most numerous." As for the Tainos, again, only those things that they happened to be better at than the Spanish merit a mention. Barely any mention of Taino spiritual beliefs or social structures... After that, I was almost expecting the Spanish genocide of the Indigenous people to be reduced to "'Americans' were not the only gringos to mess with Cuba, but they were by far the most numerous", but no, the enslavement of the native people and its genocidal effects merited, like, a whole paragraph, before the book moved on to talk about Cuba's feral pigs. Yes, that's right, the rise and fall of the feral pig population merits a mention, but the Guanahatabey people do not. But then, the pigs managed to vex the Spanish by eating their crops and then became victims of statesiders in the form of pulled pork sandwiches, so I guess pigs are part of "American History". The Guanahatabey failed to do either of those things, and thus apparently proved unworthy of being 'history' to Ada Ferrer. I'm sensing a pattern here: upstage the Spanish and fall victim to the US, and you're Cuban history. Otherwise, you're less interesting than a porker.

Anyway, if the book had been called something like "Cuba: an anti-gringo polemic" I wouldn't have developed all these silly expectations of it being Cuba-centric, connected to all of America, or fully historical. Titles are important, and the title of this book misled me completely. I DNFed at about 1/5 of the way through, will have to read about early Cuban history elsewhere.
]]> The Sea-Hawk 236888 386 Rafael Sabatini 0393323315 Kate 2 fiction 4.05 1915 The Sea-Hawk
author: Rafael Sabatini
name: Kate
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1915
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2022/09/22
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Brothers of the Wind (The Last King of Osten Ard, #0.75)]]> 57282621 Set in the New York Times bestselling world of Osten Ard, this short novel continues the saga that inspired a generation of fantasists

Pride often goes before a fall, but sometimes that prideful fall is so catastrophic that it changes history itself.

Among the immortal Sithi of Osten Ard, none are more beloved and admired than the two sons of the ruling family, steady Hakatri and his proud and fiery younger brother Ineluki -- Ineluki, who will one day become the undead Storm King. The younger brother makes a bold, terrible oath that he will destroy deadly Hidohebhi, a terrifying monster, but instead drags his brother with him into a disaster that threatens not just their family but all the Sithi -- and perhaps all of humankind as well.

Set a thousand years before the events of Williams's The Dragonbone Chair, the tale of Ineluki's tragic boast and what it brings is told by Pamon Kes, Hakatri's faithful servant. Kes is not one of the Sithi but a member of the enslaved Changeling race, and his loyalty has never before been tested. Now he must face the terrible black dragon at his master's side, then see his own life changed forever in a mere instant by Ineluki's rash, selfish promise.]]> 258 Tad Williams 0756412684 Kate 2 fiction
The narrator Pamon Kes is not just an idiot, his idiocy is of the worst kind--self-induced. He is not stupid, but he is basically a house elf. Not only in the potterverse sense of elf servant brainwashed into enjoying his enslavement, but also in the sense of house slave as opposed to field slave, because he is so slavishly grateful to his masters for elevating him above his laborer fellows that he will take the side of the oppressors every time. Sure, as the story goes on people try to gently point him in the right direction, and he shows signs of beginning to think for himself, but he never quite gets there. Despite (or possibly even because of) Kes' excessive and nonstop bootlicking his 'masters' all come off as not just unrelatable, but also snooty, stupid, indolent, useless, apathetic, and/or corrupt (read the book to find out which character is which ;7 ) And sure, it's kind of amusing to watch him try so hard to make his 'masters' look so wonderful only to have it backfire and make them look like even bigger assholes. But it also makes for a book almost devoid of any interesting characters and makes the story really hard to get into or care about.

The 'sound and fury'--the awesome Tad Williams' brand of evocative, atmospheric descriptions--are here, but take some time to get started. The beginning of the book is kind of stilted, but that wears off eventually and the book becomes very readable. But that's not enough to make it a satisfying read, because these places and events, as beautifully described as they are, are all pointless. Epic-sounding adventures begin but then culminate in (literally) stick-in-the-mud underwhelming action. People go searching for miracle cures, find something that works partially, and then instead of investigating further why it works and why it doesn't, just wander off like moody toddlers. Urgent visions from the future appear and then turn out to be messages so generic and pointless that hallmark would consider them too dumb to put on their cards. It's very puzzling why anyone would waste the effort of sending such a vision across time and space. And ultimately no one learns much of anything and no character growth or change happens. I mean, we are told that so-and-so was changed after such-and-such, but actually everyone is the same asshole they were before, it's just that their dysfunctional lives, families, and societies are catching up to them.

TLDR: Nowhere near the quality of Tad William's other novels. No epic action, no wonder or mystery, no heartwarming moments, no interesting characters. Nor does it add anything significant or new to the lore of the world of Osten Ard. ]]> 4.08 2021 Brothers of the Wind (The Last King of Osten Ard, #0.75)
author: Tad Williams
name: Kate
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2022/09/22
shelves: fiction
review:
'A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing'... they made me memorize that Shakespeare quote in 8th grade, and what do you know, it finally became handy, as a perfectly apt description of this story.

The narrator Pamon Kes is not just an idiot, his idiocy is of the worst kind--self-induced. He is not stupid, but he is basically a house elf. Not only in the potterverse sense of elf servant brainwashed into enjoying his enslavement, but also in the sense of house slave as opposed to field slave, because he is so slavishly grateful to his masters for elevating him above his laborer fellows that he will take the side of the oppressors every time. Sure, as the story goes on people try to gently point him in the right direction, and he shows signs of beginning to think for himself, but he never quite gets there. Despite (or possibly even because of) Kes' excessive and nonstop bootlicking his 'masters' all come off as not just unrelatable, but also snooty, stupid, indolent, useless, apathetic, and/or corrupt (read the book to find out which character is which ;7 ) And sure, it's kind of amusing to watch him try so hard to make his 'masters' look so wonderful only to have it backfire and make them look like even bigger assholes. But it also makes for a book almost devoid of any interesting characters and makes the story really hard to get into or care about.

The 'sound and fury'--the awesome Tad Williams' brand of evocative, atmospheric descriptions--are here, but take some time to get started. The beginning of the book is kind of stilted, but that wears off eventually and the book becomes very readable. But that's not enough to make it a satisfying read, because these places and events, as beautifully described as they are, are all pointless. Epic-sounding adventures begin but then culminate in (literally) stick-in-the-mud underwhelming action. People go searching for miracle cures, find something that works partially, and then instead of investigating further why it works and why it doesn't, just wander off like moody toddlers. Urgent visions from the future appear and then turn out to be messages so generic and pointless that hallmark would consider them too dumb to put on their cards. It's very puzzling why anyone would waste the effort of sending such a vision across time and space. And ultimately no one learns much of anything and no character growth or change happens. I mean, we are told that so-and-so was changed after such-and-such, but actually everyone is the same asshole they were before, it's just that their dysfunctional lives, families, and societies are catching up to them.

TLDR: Nowhere near the quality of Tad William's other novels. No epic action, no wonder or mystery, no heartwarming moments, no interesting characters. Nor does it add anything significant or new to the lore of the world of Osten Ard.
]]> §¯§Ö§Ó§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ §Ò§Ö§Ù §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ 35291382 352 §¯§Ñ§ä§Ñ§Ý§î§ñ §³§Ñ§á§å§ß§Ü§à§Ó§Ñ Kate 0 to-read 3.80 §¯§Ö§Ó§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ §Ò§Ö§Ù §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ
author: §¯§Ñ§ä§Ñ§Ý§î§ñ §³§Ñ§á§å§ß§Ü§à§Ó§Ñ
name: Kate
average rating: 3.80
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mortallone and Aunt Trinidad: Tales of the Spanish Main (Classic Reprint)]]> 27006949 My father, Roger Handfast, was a Bristol man born, and kept a pewterer's shop on the old Bridge, now pulled down with the houses that lined it on either side of the causeway. He had married (somewhat late in life) Deborah Clipseby, a currier's daughter of the parish of St. Mary Redcliff; and I, Philip Handfast, was their only child.
My parents set great store by me, and I dare say supposed - being passably well-to-do - that beyond their agreement nothing was needed to set me going on a fair path of life. My mother, whose family had once been gentle, and married in its time with the great houses of Courtenay and Crewe, procured that I should be taught at the best Grammar School in the City, and dreamed of my rising through Holy Orders to end as a Bishop.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.]]> 332 Arthur Quiller-Couch 1331371341 Kate 4 fiction
"Mortallone", unfortunately, was too stupid to even rate it. It's an utterly dumb, unironic "the talking parrot knows where the pirate treasure is buried" gimmick, which I guess could've been fun, except the story has no coherent plot, and the (human) characters are either devoid of personality, complete idiots, nasty slave traders, or (usually) all three. ]]> 4.00 2009 Mortallone and Aunt Trinidad: Tales of the Spanish Main (Classic Reprint)
author: Arthur Quiller-Couch
name: Kate
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/07/03
shelves: fiction
review:
The 4 stars are for the lovely, adorable novella "Aunt Trinidad". It's a series of interlinked pirate stories, all of them kind of cute but also bittersweet, and with a bit of an interesting twist (at least by the standards of those times). The type of adventure stories that make you feel like the most unrealistic ones actually might be the closest to historical fact.

"Mortallone", unfortunately, was too stupid to even rate it. It's an utterly dumb, unironic "the talking parrot knows where the pirate treasure is buried" gimmick, which I guess could've been fun, except the story has no coherent plot, and the (human) characters are either devoid of personality, complete idiots, nasty slave traders, or (usually) all three.
]]> <![CDATA[The Lady of Secrets (The Dark Queen Saga, #6)]]> 13572810
Meg's infamous lineage makes her a target from both those who want to use her extraordinary talents for good and those who want to use them for evil.

One man in particular needs her special skills: to execute his revenge on a king. History and a kingdom hang in the balance as Meg tries to navigate the delicate line between right and wrong. And what she discovers is that she can no longer trust anyone or anything...not even her own heart.]]> 430 Susan Carroll 0345502957 Kate 2 fiction 3.77 2012 The Lady of Secrets (The Dark Queen Saga, #6)
author: Susan Carroll
name: Kate
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2022/06/29
shelves: fiction
review:
Just as the 2-star review label suggests, "it was ok." There was nothing about this book that stood out, either for the better or for the worse. Plot, characters, writing style, world-building, etc., etc., all of it was ok. Nothing about this book piqued my interest, but also nothing made me want to stop reading. It moved along well enough and wasn't boring, but it's also not at all memorable.
]]> <![CDATA[Western Echoes of the Harlem Renaissance: The Life and Writings of Anita Scott Coleman]]> 4070835 240 Anita Scott Coleman 0806139560 Kate 4 4.00 2008 Western Echoes of the Harlem Renaissance: The Life and Writings of Anita Scott Coleman
author: Anita Scott Coleman
name: Kate
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Black Swan 236893 311 Rafael Sabatini 0891907416 Kate 3 fiction 4.06 1931 The Black Swan
author: Rafael Sabatini
name: Kate
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1931
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/06/28
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Scaramouche (Scaramouche, #1) 938105 ¡°Last Wednesday he had been engaged in moving an audience of Rennes to anger; on this Wednesday he was to move an audience of Guichen to mirth...¡±

Once he was Andr¨¦-Louis Moreau, a lawyer raised by nobility, unconcerned with the growing discontent among France¡¯s lower class¡ªuntil his friend was mercilessly struck down by a member of the aristocracy.

Now he is Scaramouche. Speaking out against the unjust French government, he takes refuge with a nomadic band of actors and assumes the role of the clown Scaramouche¡ªa comic figure with a very serious message...

Set during the French Revolution, this novel of swashbuckling romance is also a thought-provoking commentary on class, inequality, and the individual¡¯s role in society¡ªa story that has become Rafael Sabatini¡¯s enduring legacy.

With an Introduction by Gary Hoppenstand]]> 359 Rafael Sabatini 0451527976 Kate 4 fiction 4.09 1921 Scaramouche (Scaramouche, #1)
author: Rafael Sabatini
name: Kate
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1921
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/06/23
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Captain Blood 158446 Short Description: Peter Blood, an Irish physician and soldier in England in the 1680's, is wrongly convicted of treason and sentenced to indentured slavery in the Caribbean. He escapes and becomes the most feared pirate captain on the Spanish Main, but all the glory of his adventures cannot help him, for the woman he loves cannot love a thief and pirate. Even when he destroys England's enemies, even at his most triumphant...but wait! What's that...

Long Description: Peter Blood, an Irish physician and former soldier is happily settled, in the 1680's, as the doctor in an English town, when the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth catches him by accident. He saves a man's life, as a doctor must try to do, but the man is a rebel and the hanging Judge Jeffreys sentences him to ten years as an indentured slave in the Caribbean colonies. Once there, his knowledge as a physician is recognized, and thus he meets and falls in love with the daughter of the man who own his servitude; not likely to be a successful love story! A Spanish ship attacks the town, and while the Spaniards celebrate their victory he boldly steals their ship, and he and his fellow convicts sail off to become the boldest and most fearless of pirates among the islands and on the Spanish Main. But all the glory of his adventures cannot help him, for the woman he loves cannot love a thief and pirate. Even when he destroys England's enemies, even at his most triumphant...but wait! Is that... The classic novel of adventure and romance, and one of Sabatini's best.]]> 236 Rafael Sabatini 1406800163 Kate 4 re-read, fiction 4.17 1922 Captain Blood
author: Rafael Sabatini
name: Kate
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1922
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/06/23
shelves: re-read, fiction
review:

]]> Great Circle 54976986 An alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780525656975 can be found here.

Spanning Prohibition-era Montana, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New Zealand, wartime London, and modern-day Los Angeles, Great Circle tells the unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost.

After being rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914, Marian and Jamie Graves are raised by their dissolute uncle in Missoula, Montana. There¡ªafter encountering a pair of barnstorming pilots passing through town in beat-up biplanes¡ªMarian commences her lifelong love affair with flight. At fourteen she drops out of school and finds an unexpected and dangerous patron in a wealthy bootlegger who provides a plane and subsidizes her lessons, an arrangement that will haunt her for the rest of her life, even as it allows her to fulfill her destiny: circumnavigating the globe by flying over the North and South Poles.

A century later, Hadley Baxter is cast to play Marian in a film that centers on Marian's disappearance in Antarctica. Vibrant, canny, disgusted with the claustrophobia of Hollywood, Hadley is eager to redefine herself after a romantic film franchise has imprisoned her in the grip of cult celebrity. Her immersion into the character of Marian unfolds, thrillingly, alongside Marian's own story, as the two women's fates¡ªand their hunger for self-determination in vastly different geographies and times¡ªcollide. Epic and emotional, meticulously researched and gloriously told, Great Circle is a monumental work of art, and a tremendous leap forward for the prodigiously gifted Maggie Shipstead.]]> 608 Maggie Shipstead Kate 4 4.06 2021 Great Circle
author: Maggie Shipstead
name: Kate
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> Klara and the Sun 54120408
In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?]]> 340 Kazuo Ishiguro 059331817X Kate 3 3.71 2021 Klara and the Sun
author: Kazuo Ishiguro
name: Kate
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/05/31
shelves:
review:

]]> The Guineveres 28220847
They come to The Sisters of the Supreme Adoration convent by different paths, delivered by their families, each with her own complicated, heartbreaking story that she safeguards. Gwen is all Hollywood glamour and swagger; Ginny is a budding artiste with a sentiment to match; Win's tough bravado isn't even skin deep; and Vere is the only one who seems to be a believer, trying to hold onto her faith that her mother will one day return for her. However, the girls are more than the sum of their parts and together they form the all powerful and confident The Guineveres, bound by the extraordinary coincidence of their names and girded against the indignities of their plain, sequestered lives.

The nuns who raise them teach the Guineveres that faith is about waiting: waiting for the mail, for weekly wash day, for a miracle, or for the day they turn eighteen and are allowed to leave the convent. But the Guineveres grow tired of waiting. And so when four comatose soldiers from the War looming outside arrive at the convent, the girls realize that these men may hold their ticket out.

In prose shot through with beauty, Sarah Domet weaves together the Guineveres' past, present, and future, as well as the stories of the female saints they were raised on, to capture the wonder and tumult of girlhood and the magical thinking of young women as they cross over to adulthood.]]> 352 Sarah Domet 1250086612 Kate 3 3.24 2016 The Guineveres
author: Sarah Domet
name: Kate
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/04/19
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption]]> 8664353
The lieutenant¡¯s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.]]> 475 Laura Hillenbrand 1400064163 Kate 4 4.38 2010 Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
author: Laura Hillenbrand
name: Kate
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/04/10
shelves:
review:

]]> The Tea Planter's Wife 24875334 #1 International bestselling novel set in 1920s Ceylon, about a young Englishwoman who marries a charming tea plantation owner and widower, only to discover he's keeping terrible secrets about his past, including what happened to his first wife, that lead to devastating consequences

Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich and charming widower, eager to join him on his tea plantation, determined to be the perfect wife and mother. But life in Ceylon is not what Gwen expected.

The plantation workers are resentful, the neighbours treacherous, and there are clues to the past - a dusty trunk of dresses, an overgrown gravestone in the grounds - that her husband refuses to discuss.

Just as Gwen finds her feet, disaster strikes. She faces a terrible choice, hiding the truth from almost everyone, but a secret this big can't stay buried forever....]]> 435 Dinah Jefferies 0241969557 Kate 2 3.71 2015 The Tea Planter's Wife
author: Dinah Jefferies
name: Kate
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2022/03/02
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life]]> 25644973 Let¡¯s face it, we all know people who are irrational. No matter how hard you try to reason with them, it never works. So what¡¯s the solution? How do you talk to someone who¡¯s out of control? What can you do with a boss who bullies, a spouse who yells, or a friend who frequently bursts into tears?

In his book, Just Listen, Mark Goulston shared his bestselling formula for getting through to the resistant people in your life. Now, in his breakthrough new book Talking to Crazy, he brings his communication magic to the most difficult group of all¡ªthe downright irrational.

As a psychiatrist, Goulston has seen his share of crazy and he knows from experience that you can¡¯t simply argue it away. The key to handling irrational people is to learn to lean into the crazy¡ªto empathize with it. That radically changes the dynamic and transforms you from a threat into an ally. Talking to Crazy explains this counterintuitive Sanity Cycle and reveals:

? Why people act the way they do
? How instinctive responses can exacerbate the situation¡ªand what to do instead
? When to confront a problem and when to walk away
? How to use a range of proven techniques including Time Travel, the Fish-bowl, and the Belly Roll
? And much more

You can¡¯t reason with unreasonable people¡ªbut you can reach them. This powerful and practical book shows you how.

]]> 272 Mark Goulston 0814436366 Kate 0 to-read 3.84 2015 Talking to Crazy: How to Deal with the Irrational and Impossible People in Your Life
author: Mark Goulston
name: Kate
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library, #1)]]> 21416690 Irene must be at the top of her game or she'll be off the case - permanently...

Irene is a professional spy for the mysterious Library, which harvests fiction from different realities. And along with her enigmatic assistant Kai, she's posted to an alternative London. Their mission - to retrieve a dangerous book. But when they arrive, it's already been stolen. London's underground factions seem prepared to fight to the very death to find her book.

Adding to the jeopardy, this world is chaos-infested - the laws of nature bent to allow supernatural creatures and unpredictable magic. Irene's new assistant is also hiding secrets of his own.

Soon, she's up to her eyebrows in a heady mix of danger, clues and secret societies. Yet failure is not an option - the nature of reality itself is at stake.]]> 329 Genevieve Cogman 1447256239 Kate 0 to-read 3.71 2014 The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library, #1)
author: Genevieve Cogman
name: Kate
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Wanderers (Wanderers, #1) 32603079
For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them--and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them--the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart--or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.]]> 845 Chuck Wendig 039918211X Kate 2 3.94 2019 Wanderers (Wanderers, #1)
author: Chuck Wendig
name: Kate
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2021/08/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Utopia Avenue 57179234 Top of the Pops, the cusp of chart success, glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome, and a fateful American sojourn in the Chelsea Hotel, Laurel Canyon, and San Francisco during the autumn of ¡¯68.

David Mitchell¡¯s kaleidoscopic novel tells the unexpurgated story of Utopia Avenue¡¯s turbulent life and times; of fame¡¯s Faustian pact and stardom¡¯s wobbly ladder; of the families we choose and the ones we don¡¯t; of voices in the head, and the truths and lies they whisper; of music, madness, and idealism. Can we really change the world, or does the world change us?]]> 577 David Mitchell 0812987217 Kate 2 fiction 3.99 2020 Utopia Avenue
author: David Mitchell
name: Kate
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2021/07/17
date added: 2021/07/18
shelves: fiction
review:
So this was basically a 570-page Rolling Stone Magazine article about a band that never existed and their imaginary music which no one can ever hear. It's a very good puff piece. Like, really good. And I'm like "ok, ok, you convinced me, fine, I want to listen to this band and buy their shit." Except obviously there is nothing to listen to, and nothing to buy, and it just leaves me very puzzled as to why Mitchell is trying so hard to sell me this nonexistent band...
]]> <![CDATA[Switched On Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters]]> 44244893 Switched on Pop is the book based on the eponymous podcast that has been hailed by NPR, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly for its witty and accessible analysis of Top 40 hits. Through close studies of sixteen modern classics, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding shift pop from the background to the foreground, illuminating the essential musical concepts behind two decades of chart-topping songs.

In 1939, Aaron Copland published What to Listen for in Music, the bestseller that made classical music approachable for generations of listeners. Eighty years later, Nate and Charlie update Copland's idea for a new audience and repertoire: 21st century pop, from Britney to Beyonc?, Outkast to Kendrick Lamar. Despite the importance of pop music in contemporary culture, most discourse only revolves around lyrics and celebrity. Switched on Pop gives readers the tools they need to interpret our modern soundtrack. Each chapter investigates a different song and artist, revealing musical insights such as how a single melodic motif follows Taylor Swift through every genre that she samples, Andr? 3000 uses metric manipulation to get listeners to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," or Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee create harmonic ambiguity in "Despacito" that mirrors the patterns of global migration.

Replete with engaging discussions and eye-catching illustrations, Switched on Pop brings to life the musical qualities that catapult songs into the pop pantheon. Readers will find themselves listening to familiar tracks in new waysand not just those from the Top 40. The timeless concepts that Nate and Charlie define can be applied to any musical style. From fanatics to skeptics, teenagers to octogenarians, non-musicians to professional composers, every music lover will discover something ear-opening in Switched on Pop.
]]> 224 Nate Sloan 0190056657 Kate 4 4.03 2019 Switched On Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters
author: Nate Sloan
name: Kate
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/06/16
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Why Fish Don¡¯t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life]]> 50887097 A wondrous debut from an extraordinary new voice in nonfiction, Why Fish Don¡¯t Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and¡ªpossibly¡ªeven murder.

David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a man possessed with bringing order to the natural world. In time, he would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of life he uncovered, the harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him. His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake¡ªwhich sent more than a thousand of his discoveries, housed in fragile glass jars, plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life¡¯s work was shattered.

Many might have given up, given in to despair. But Jordan? He surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the world.

When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in passing, she took Jordan for a fool¡ªa cautionary tale in hubris, or denial. But as her own life slowly unraveled, she began to wonder about him. Perhaps instead he was a model for how to go on when all seemed lost. What she would unearth about his life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet.

Part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, Why Fish Don¡¯t Exist reads like a fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.]]> 225 Lulu Miller Kate 0 to-read 4.15 2020 Why Fish Don¡¯t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life
author: Lulu Miller
name: Kate
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth¡¯s Past, #1)]]> 20518872 472 Liu Cixin Kate 3 fiction 4.08 2006 The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth¡¯s Past, #1)
author: Liu Cixin
name: Kate
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/05/17
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Anna Karenina 155
Set against this tragic affair is the story of Konstantin Levin, a melancholy landowner whom Tolstoy based largely on himself. While Anna looks for happiness through love, Levin embarks on his own search for spiritual fulfillment through marriage, family, and hard work. Surrounding these two central plot threads are dozens of characters whom Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together, creating a breathtaking tapestry of nineteenth-century Russian society.

From its famous opening sentence ¡ª "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way¡±¡ªto its stunningly tragic conclusion, this enduring tale of marriage and adultery plumbs the very depths of the human soul.]]> 803 Leo Tolstoy 1593080271 Kate 3 4.00 1878 Anna Karenina
author: Leo Tolstoy
name: Kate
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1878
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/05/05
shelves:
review:

]]> Do This For Me 35820584 From the acclaimed author of I Take You a high-powered attorney and mother of two delves into the mysteries of sex, the perils of desire, and why men and women treat each other the way they do.

Raney Moore is a ruthlessly ambitious, successful lead attorney who is the envy of all in her firm. That is until all hell breaks loose. When Raney finds out that her beloved husband, Aaron, has slept with another woman, she wastes no time downshifting to hating the man, while unraveling in quite the spectacular fashion. But as time marches on, Raney realizes that she still loves Aaron and might want to find a way to repair the damage done, redefining in the process what she thinks of as a "happy marriage."

A wonderfully fresh take on a marriage in trouble, Do This for Me is a bighearted, warm, and funny novel driven by Eliza Kennedy's signature wit and humor.]]> 329 Eliza Kennedy 1101907207 Kate 3 fiction 3.54 2018 Do This For Me
author: Eliza Kennedy
name: Kate
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2020/02/01
date added: 2021/05/02
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lesser Evils (Brimstone Angels, #2)]]> 15792550
Determined to protect her sister, Farideh searches for a ritual that could call Lorcan out of the Hells. But in the midst of her hunt, she¡¯s drawn into an assignment for the secret society the Harpers, an assignment which leads her and a ragtag group of allies to an ancient Netherese library deep underground. While the group combs the site, dodging ghosts and magical traps, Farideh discovers a magical book whose pronouncements throw into question everything she thought she knew about herself and her sister.

The more the Book gives up its macabre secrets, the more one thing becomes clear¡ªa traitor lurks among them.]]> 388 Erin M. Evans 078696376X Kate 3 fiction 4.14 2012 Lesser Evils (Brimstone Angels, #2)
author: Erin M. Evans
name: Kate
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2016/07/01
date added: 2021/05/02
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Starless 34357122 Starless introduces us to an epic world where exiled gods live among us, and a hero whose journey will resonate long after the last page is turned.

Let your mind be like the eye of the hawk¡­Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert; yet there is one profound truth that has been withheld from him.

In the court of the Sun-Blessed, Khai must learn to navigate deadly intrigue and his own conflicted identity¡­but in the far reaches of the western seas, the dark god Miasmus is rising, intent on nothing less than wholesale destruction.

If Khai is to keep his soul¡¯s twin Zariya alive, their only hope lies with an unlikely crew of prophecy-seekers on a journey that will take them farther beneath the starless skies than anyone can imagine.]]> 587 Jacqueline Carey 0765386828 Kate 2 fiction 4.03 2018 Starless
author: Jacqueline Carey
name: Kate
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2018
rating: 2
read at: 2020/03/01
date added: 2021/05/02
shelves: fiction
review:
Everything in this novel, from plot to character development, happens because it's been predestined and prophesied. Chance meeting on the seas that changes the course of the story? Nope, actually it was destiny. Character makes a decision to bravely sacrifice their own benefit for the greater good? Fully predicted by prophesy. Characters fall in love? Gods made them do it. And the story has such a GORGEOUS and NUMEROUS pantheon. The gods here are so interesting and compelling, whereas their human sock puppets are just... not. The entire time I was reading this, I was thinking, "if all these people's actions are predestined and controlled by the gods, screw these peons. Put me through to the people in charge. I want to hear from them!" Yes, the constant frustration of this novel finally made me snap and go full Karen. I want to speak to the manager, dammit. But no, we never find out what the people in charge are up to or what they want or what they're thinking. Too bad--it would have been an awesome story.
]]> Less (Arthur Less, #1) 39927096 You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years now engaged to someone else. You can¡¯t say yes--it would all be too awkward--and you can¡¯t say no--it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of half-baked literary invitations you¡¯ve received from around the world.

QUESTION: How do you arrange to skip town?

ANSWER: You accept them all.

If you are Arthur Less.

Thus begins an around-the-world-in-eighty-days fantasia that will take Arthur Less to Mexico, Italy, Germany, Morocco, India and Japan and put thousands of miles between him and the problems he refuses to face. What could possibly go wrong?

Well: Arthur will almost fall in love in Paris, almost fall to his death in Berlin, barely escape to a Moroccan ski chalet from a Sahara sandstorm, accidentally book himself as the (only) writer-in-residence at a Christian Retreat Center in Southern India, and arrive in Japan too late for the cherry blossoms. In between: science fiction fans, crazed academics, emergency rooms, starlets, doctors, exes and, on a desert island in the Arabian Sea, the last person on Earth he wants to see. Somewhere in there: he will turn fifty. The second phase of life, as he thinks of it, falling behind him like the second phase of a rocket. There will be his first love. And there will be his last.

A love story, a satire of the American abroad, a rumination on time and the human heart, by an author The New York Times has hailed as ¡°inspired, lyrical,¡± ¡°elegiac,¡± ¡°ingenious,¡± as well as ¡°too sappy by half,¡± Less shows a writer at the peak of his talents raising the curtain on our shared human comedy.]]> 273 Andrew Sean Greer Kate 3 fiction 3.61 2017 Less (Arthur Less, #1)
author: Andrew Sean Greer
name: Kate
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2020/02/01
date added: 2021/05/02
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Cry to Heaven 1291984 534 Anne Rice 0345373707 Kate 4 fiction, re-read 3.81 1982 Cry to Heaven
author: Anne Rice
name: Kate
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2020/04/10
date added: 2021/04/21
shelves: fiction, re-read
review:

]]> We Were the Lucky Ones 30267929
As one sibling is forced into exile, another attempts to flee the continent, while others struggle to escape certain death, either by working grueling hours on empty stomachs in the factories of the ghetto or by hiding as gentiles in plain sight. Driven by an unwavering will to survive and by the fear that they may never see one another again, the Kurcs must rely on hope, ingenuity, and inner strength to persevere.

An extraordinary, propulsive novel, We Were the Lucky Ones demonstrates how in the face of the twentieth century¡¯s darkest moment, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.]]> 403 Georgia Hunter 0399563083 Kate 2 4.39 2017 We Were the Lucky Ones
author: Georgia Hunter
name: Kate
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2021/01/27
date added: 2021/04/21
shelves:
review:
Very touching story based on real life, but the writing style is boring and kind of plodding, so unfortunately the whole thing reads like a junior high book report of another, much more interesting, book.
]]> Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) 43263680
Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale¡¯s secret societies. These eight windowless ¡°tombs¡± are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood¡¯s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.]]> 461 Leigh Bardugo 1250313074 Kate 4 4.00 2019 Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1)
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Kate
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2021/02/28
date added: 2021/04/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism]]> 43209293
Today's extremist violence surges into our lives from what seems like every direction -- vehicles hurtling down city sidewalks; cyber-threats levied against political leaders and backed up with violence; automatic weapons unleashed on mall shoppers, students, and the faithful in houses of worship. As varied as the violent acts are the attackers themselves -- neo-Nazis, white nationalists, the alt-right, InCels, and Islamist jihadists, to name just a few. In a world where hate has united communities that traffic in radical doctrines and rationalize their use of violence to rally the disaffected, the fear of losing a loved one to extremism or falling victim to terrorism has become almost universal.

Told with startling honesty and intimacy, Breaking Hate is both the inside story of how extremists lure the unwitting to their causes and a guide for how everyday Americans can win them-and our civil democracy-back. Former extremist Christian Picciolini unravels this sobering narrative from the frontlines, where he has worked for two decades as a peace advocate and "hate breaker." He draws from the firsthand experiences of extremists he has helped to disengage, revealing how violent movements target the vulnerable and exploit their essential human desires, and how the right interventions can save lives.

Along the way, Picciolini solves the puzzle of why extremism has come to define our era, laying bare the ways in which modern society-from "fake news" and social media propaganda to coded language and a White House that inflames rather than heals-has polarized and radicalized an entire generation.

Piercing, empathetic, and unrestrained, Breaking Hate tells the sweeping story of the challenge of our time and provides a roadmap to overcoming it.]]> 272 Christian Picciolini 0316522937 Kate 4 nonfiction 4.16 Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism
author: Christian Picciolini
name: Kate
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/01
date added: 2021/04/21
shelves: nonfiction
review:

]]> Mamasafari 39109913 ¡°Mamasafari,¡± the second section of the book, continues in the vein of observation and political commentary (particularly the problematic history of the poet¡¯s native Balkans), yet this time in a more lyrical manner, and this time with the poet¡¯s eye lovingly scrutinizing and exploring family life. The speaker braids the experiences of being a mother, a lover, and a child, at times playing the three roles at once. This is a journey into what it means to be a woman.
The third section, ¡°Soundtrack for Blind Passengers,¡± contains more poeticized and metaphorically-complex work. These poems are thematically varied, and they solidify a sense that Mamasafari represents an expedition, as seen from female experience¡ªfirst an expedition abroad, then among the speaker¡¯s identities, and finally to some truly distant, fictional destinations.

Praise for Olja Savi?evi? and Mamasafari


Olja Savi?evi?¡¯s writing is savage; whether she is sharpening truths against ¡°35 Years of Lies¡± or simply recalling a domestic scene where she suddenly unleashes: ¡°Motherhood is self explanatory and useless like fireworks,¡± her poetry drives the familiar into a state of uncanny. ¡°Why would I eat paper, when I could write on it? So much about that kind of love.¡± That ¡°kind of love¡± in Mamasafari is a hunger that cuts just deep enough to astound.
¡ªMegan Burns, author of Basic Programming

Olja Savi?evi?¡¯s poems and prose-poems tackle everything from the Devil to Pasolini, blue shoes to bicycles, the Bossa Nova to family portraits, and a precisely rendered sequence on Istanbul. Savi?evi? is like the love-child of Carolyn Forche and Caesar Pavese: she possesses Pavese¡¯s eye for street-life and grit in the cities she travels (both inside and out), and yet she imbues that portraiture with Forche-like notions of the poet as witness. Andrea Jurjevi?¡¯s fine translations wrought in American-inflected-English present a Savi?evi? who captures the rhythm of life that bends beneath the weight of history and isms to find the tiniest details that sing and resist. For, as she tells us: ¡°The butchers will be behind bars, the ground that trembles will grow calm, but the deep satisfaction we call justice won¡¯t come. Still: there¡¯re many pleasures, that¡¯s what¡¯s worth focusing on.¡±
¨CSean Thomas Dougherty, author of The Second O of Sorrow

These sensual and at times surreal poems are filled with Middle Eastern and Balkan images of minarets, hookah bars, brothels, baklavas and kebobs, so that one would wish to fly to this ¡°mystical land¡± on a kilim but for the terror and war that haunt the region¡¯s past and seep into the present.
¡ªBiljana D. Obradovi?, editor of Cat Painters: An Anthology of Contemporary Serbian Poetry

Olja doesn¡¯t write for the critics. After you read the collection¡¯s first section, in which the speaker spends a month in Istanbul, you will quickly understand why she writes. By observing the colors, scents and sounds, the crowds in this foreign land, the chairs, windows and rooms, inside which she observes herself, observes the process of observation, Olja follows the primal need for writing, gains an understanding, and captures that which is elusive. In her poem ¡°Listanbon,¡± which is a city that sometimes appears in Olja¡¯s dreams, a fusion of Lisbon and Istanbul that flickers between reality and dream, between life and death, Olja captures the chorus of the street singer under the window: ¡°Dying before death isn¡¯t the hardest thing, it¡¯s wanting to live after that, that¡¯s the hardest, wanting to live after that.¡± Olja¡¯s poems invoke a conjured city you won¡¯t find in travel books. You might think that as such, this city might mean little to you, except these poems carry impressive descriptions of the physical world, and they brilliantly capture the spirit of a place.
¡ª Ivana Bodro?i?

Olja Savi?evi? again brilliantly integrates prose fragments and reflexive lyric poetry. Let¡¯s cut to the chase: the author has long ago masterfully created her own subgenre, yet this time she has written an unusually strong, touching, beautiful and passionate book, the best one so far. Regardless of how we try to classify these texts¡ªtravel-bits, prose poems, lyric panoramas, micro essays, song-stories, or something else¡ªthe fact is there are more lyrical, pure-blooded, no-holds-barred poetic and poetically courageous choices than in ninety-nine percent of the Croatian verse production.
¡ª Marko Poga?ar

Mamasafari by the acclaimed writer Olja Savi?evi? is a fantastic poetry collection, devoid of empty ramblings and banality, a book which should not be read because we¡¯d simply like to stay current with contemporary poetry but, simply, because of its pleasures.
¡ª Robert Peri?i?]]> 160 Olja Savicevic 1944884386 Kate 5 4.36 Mamasafari
author: Olja Savicevic
name: Kate
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/06
date added: 2021/04/21
shelves:
review:

]]> Flights 36885304 Flights interweaves reflections on travel with an in-depth exploration of the human body, broaching life, death, motion, and migration. Chopin¡¯s heart is carried back to Warsaw in secret by his adoring sister. A woman must return to her native Poland in order to poison her terminally ill high school sweetheart, and a young man slowly descends into madness when his wife and child mysteriously vanish during a vacation and just as suddenly reappear. Through these brilliantly imagined characters and stories, interwoven with haunting, playful, and revelatory meditations, Flights explores what it means to be a traveler, a wanderer, a body in motion not only through space but through time. Where are you from? Where are you coming in from? Where are you going? we call to the traveler. Enchanting, unsettling, and wholly original, Flights is a master storyteller¡¯s answer.

Here I am --
World in your head --
Your head in the world --
Syndrome --
Cabinet of curiosities --
Seeing is knowing --
Seven years of trips --
Guidance from Cioran --
Kunicki: water (I) --
Benedictus, quivenit]]> 416 Olga Tokarczuk 0525534199 Kate 5 fiction
It's not a novel, more like a collection of drabbles, prose poems, blog entries, and short stories. And even the short stories are broken up and interspersed throughout the book. These fragments sort of have some topics in common: travel, death, the preservation of anatomical specimens... and there are some tenuous connections between them, like places and objects (and body parts) that feature in several stories. But nothing forms a coherent narrative or plot, and there is no obvious moral to these stories. I realize this would sound a bit like a criticism to some people, but in this particular case, these are positive qualities. It's not quite like anything I've ever read before.

This book is amazing, bizarre, poetic, unique, and shamelessly macabre. It's also perfect for readers who get bored or don't have a lot of time, because it allows you to skip around, to read it a la carte, and still get the full effect of it. But paradoxically, after I'd skipped around and read so many boring books out of order, now that this book actually gave me full permission, I was never bored enough to actually do it. Though I still appreciated the fact that I COULD HAVE. Usually I read a book and feel like I got it, like I know what the author was trying to say. This is the rare book that made me feel like it got ME, like it understood me more than I understood it. And I love that.]]> 3.73 2007 Flights
author: Olga Tokarczuk
name: Kate
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/19
date added: 2021/04/20
shelves: fiction
review:
I thought that after Moby Dick, I would never again find anything as weirdly wonderful... and then Flights happened. I'm so happy I found this book! So good in and of itself, and also so well translated. The imitation of Moby Dick's eclectic strangeness is deliberate, with several homages to it. And Tokarczuk even takes it up another notch and makes Flights MORE weird and even MORE random.

It's not a novel, more like a collection of drabbles, prose poems, blog entries, and short stories. And even the short stories are broken up and interspersed throughout the book. These fragments sort of have some topics in common: travel, death, the preservation of anatomical specimens... and there are some tenuous connections between them, like places and objects (and body parts) that feature in several stories. But nothing forms a coherent narrative or plot, and there is no obvious moral to these stories. I realize this would sound a bit like a criticism to some people, but in this particular case, these are positive qualities. It's not quite like anything I've ever read before.

This book is amazing, bizarre, poetic, unique, and shamelessly macabre. It's also perfect for readers who get bored or don't have a lot of time, because it allows you to skip around, to read it a la carte, and still get the full effect of it. But paradoxically, after I'd skipped around and read so many boring books out of order, now that this book actually gave me full permission, I was never bored enough to actually do it. Though I still appreciated the fact that I COULD HAVE. Usually I read a book and feel like I got it, like I know what the author was trying to say. This is the rare book that made me feel like it got ME, like it understood me more than I understood it. And I love that.
]]> <![CDATA[The Tower of Fools (Hussite Trilogy, #1)]]> 48717387
But once he passes beyond the city borders, he finds that there are dangers ahead as well as behind. Strange mystical forces are gathering in the shadows. And pursued not only by the affronted Stercza brothers, bent on vengeance, but also by the Holy Inquisition, Reynevan finds himself in the Narrenturm, the Tower of Fools.

The Tower is an asylum for the mad, or for those who dare to think differently and challenge the prevailing order. And escaping the Tower, avoiding the conflict around him, and keeping his own sanity might prove a greater challenge than Reynevan ever imagined.]]> 549 Andrzej Sapkowski 0316423696 Kate 0 to-read 3.57 2002 The Tower of Fools (Hussite Trilogy, #1)
author: Andrzej Sapkowski
name: Kate
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/03/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Ĭ¶Á [Mo Du] The Light in the Night]]> 54661282
We keep reviewing and seeking out the motives of criminals, exploring the subtlest emotions driving them. It¡¯s not to put ourselves in their shoes and sympathize, or even forgive them; it¡¯s not to find some reasons to exculpate their crimes; it¡¯s not to kneel down before the so-called ¡°complexity of human nature¡±; nor to introspect social conflicts, much less to alienate ourselves into monsters.

We just want to have a fair trial ¨C for ourselves and for those who still have hope for the world.]]> 1530 Priest Kate 5 fiction 4.55 Ĭ¶Á [Mo Du] The Light in the Night
author: Priest
name: Kate
average rating: 4.55
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/11
date added: 2021/01/27
shelves: fiction
review:
So tightly plotted, well-paced, and consistently well-written that I'm honestly stunned that this was a serial web novel. Finding amazing books like this one is why I make an effort to find unusual things to read. I was also lucky to find a brilliant translation, by someone with the screen name E. Danglars. She did an awesome job translating such a long book, and the quality of the translation was consistently top-notch throughout.
]]> The Angel of the Crows 52378874 This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.

In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings under a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.

Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.]]> 448 Katherine Addison 0765387395 Kate 2 fiction 3.70 2020 The Angel of the Crows
author: Katherine Addison
name: Kate
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2021/01/21
date added: 2021/01/21
shelves: fiction
review:

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