Skip to main content

What I read: July 2015



“The Private Patient” by PD James. There’s a shelf of paperbacks at my office, which I assume are for the taking because they come and go.  When PD James died last year I put her on my list of things to read, and this was on the shelf, so I took it (I put three books in its place, just in case, and it had been there a long time, so…) I’m familiar with Adam Dalgliesh, having watched lots of Mystery! On PBS. Nevertheless, the first chapter was a bit confusing, and then I was good to go. I loved how she described the same things from different characters’ perspectives. Description really is POV and character in her hands, so different from the omniscient in those Katherine Kurtz books. She was like 88 when this was published! 

“The Whispering Muse” by Sjon. We were in the Kevlavik airport getting ready to go back to Toronto and trying to get rid of the last of our Icelandic currency, and this book used up every last krona. So obviously I was meant to have it. I read it on the plane home. It was fabulous! It totally charmed me!

“Razorhurst” by Justine Larbalestier. I would have read this back when I met her at a Chapters in Etobicoke, if it had been out yet. I was misunderstanding that at the time. The action took place over a single day, but there were these short chapters that explained background and stuff like that. I wouldn’t have thought it worked, but it did. The glossary at the back was totally unnecessary.

“Three parts Dead” by Max Gladstone. This one has been on my list for a while. I could tell it was going to be fabulous when I finished the first page. All that blah-blah-blah about the priest and the sacred flame, and then he takes out a cigarette. Fantastic. I can see what the hype was about -- a cool blend of different genres and subgenres.

Popular posts from this blog

Best TW feedback ever

Over at the dayjob, SMEs are feverishly trying to get documents back to me all marked up, in preparation for the release that's supposed to happen the week I'm back from VP. Today's best comment: Unfortunately not true. SMEs, they're so cute.

What I read: August 2023

"The Absolute Book" by Elizabeth Knox. I got it for Christmas. It was delightful, even if maybe some stuff wasn't explained completely. Or maybe that's part of why it was delightful.  "Crucial conversations" By Joseph Grenny and three other old white men. Another office book club selection. The word "candor" comes up a lot. I really resented this book.  LHC #220: "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt. There was a girl at my previous company who wanted to have an office book club, and she had this book on her desk for months and months. I can totally understand this. I found portions crazy stressful to read. Like, I would be skipping ahead to see how much more in the section, could I get through it, pacing around, etc. I wanted to know how it ended, sure, but I was having weird stress dreams and stuff. If it wasn't a library book I might not have finished it at all. It was such a relief when Boris showed up again and something happened. I di

What I read: March, 2010

"The Man from St. Petersburg" Ken Follett. Oh. My. God. I read it because we had two copies lying around. Ick. This book made me feel dirty. I made some negative comment about this book to my sister, who repled "I've read every book he's ever written." I think she's mad at me now. This book was all tell, no show. There was no tension. The sex was funny. It reminded me of my dad's novel. It seemed well-researched, from what I can tell. When my friend said that of my karate-zombie novel, I took it as damning with faint praise, so there you go. There was no female character with whom I could identify. Or male character, for that matter. I don't need a woman to be a role model. I really strongly disliked this book. "Wanderlust" Rebecca Solnit. I'd come across her name in a discussion of the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, and came across this when I was looking for her other book on the TPL website. As walking is an integral part o