#ComicsFebruary - Post the First

So, February is #ComicsFebruary. I was really excited about it, but then I kind of didn't get into it at first. Mood reading, you know... Debi and Chris have had it the last few years and I try to join in. So, I had to read something. I have mentioned before that I joined Scribd. They now have lots of comics, but the first day I was on there I found Hyperbole and a Half. I had heard lots about it, but I have to admit that upon reading it... I had no idea what it was even about!

 Hyperbole and a Half: unfortunate situations, flawed coping mechanisms, mayhem and other things that happened by Allie Brosh

Completion Date: February 8, 2015
Length: 369 Pages

This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative--like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it--but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness*

*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

So, I basically didn't read the back cover or the subtitle. It was just kind of around (Walmart even had it) and I wanted to give it a try. Imagine my delight when I can read it for free unexpectedly! (I like free.) And, then I discovered that it is a memoir and there are dogs... (The cover should have gave away the dog part). In any case it was an enjoyable book that I am glad I took a chance and read. The art is very simplistic, but it is effective! And, I enjoyed her stories. It is one of those books where you are going to laugh, but also feel sad. It was a great way to start off #ComicsFebruary!

Then, Scribd added comic books for real! Lots of them! It is not like I don't have a very nice TBR of physical comic books, but I had a new toy and I had to explore... Next up was March: Book 1. Andi mentioned it and it was pure chance that I had the chance to read it the very next day!

March: Book 1 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

Completion Date: February 10, 2015
Length: 128 Pages

Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper’s farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to the 1963 March on Washington, and from receiving beatings from state troopers to receiving the Medal of Freedom from the first African-American president.

Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis presents March, a graphic novel trilogy, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell (winner of the Eisner Award and LA Times Book Prize finalist for Swallow Me Whole).

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

Book One spans John Lewis’ youth in rural Alabama, his life-changing meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr., the birth of the Nashville Student Movement, and their battle to tear down segregation through nonviolent lunch counter sit-ins, building to a stunning climax on the steps of City Hall.

Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1950s comic book "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story." Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.

Well, I have to admit that when I heard of this comic I had no idea what it was even about. Now that I have read, what a wonderful idea! It is one thing to tell your story first hand, but I love that John Lewis chose a comic book as his medium. (Or, well, someone did, anyway!) It really makes the story come alive to have the pictures. It makes the history more real, I think. Not that I have a problem with regular non-fiction, of course. I just think this was a way to impact and I am so happy that I read it. It covers a very important part of history and I cannot wait until I read the sequels.

Then, I really shook things up and went from historical non-fiction about the Civil Rights Movement to a spin-off from X-Men.

X-23: The Killing Dream by Marjorie M. Liu & Alina Urusov

Completion Date: February 10, 2015
Length: 152 Pages

X-23 has spent her short life being used by those in power, from the military to the X-Men. But when she is forced to confront a being who can control her life with nothing but a thought, will X-23 finally learn how to fight -- not for others, but herself? Guest-starring NYX! COLLECTING: X-23 #1-6

I mainly went with this comic because it is always nice to read a comic about a girl that is written by a girl. I have no prior knowledge of the character; but I found that this was a pretty good mixture of a new story and a look back at who she is with a bit of back-story. And a bit different than the other female-driven comics I have read so far this year. The art was really good, too! I am glad I got a chance to read this one and recommend it!

Then, I got a chance to read a comic that has been on my wish list for a while because Fiona Staples is the artist!

The Mystery Society by Steve Niles & Fiona Staples

Completion Date: February 11, 2015
Length: 132 Pages

Nick Hammond and Anastasia Collins are the Mystery Society - and bring new meaning to "underground cult" status! Stealthily avoiding the authorities, this skulduggery duo spend their time and money righting wrongs committed in the world's underbellies.

I had no idea what this comic was about, to be honest. It just came on my radar one day because Fiona Staples, of Saga fame, is the artist and I was curious about it. Then, it just sort of got lost in the long list of books that I want to read... But, thanks to Scribd, it came up on a search and I knew I had to finally try it. And, it was good. The Mystery Society is essentially a group that investigates the world's mysteries. It's a little bit superhero, a little bit fantasy, and then there is some science-fiction and I would like to say steam-punk thrown in the mix. Sadly it looks like a standalone, though, which makes me sad. (But also, yay, I didn't start a new series!)


I think four comics are enough for today. I have read a bunch more that I will hopefully get to another day!

Book Review: The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer:

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 1) by Marissa Meyer

Originally Read: February 9, 2012 (Not Reviewed)
Completion Date: January 30, 2015
Length: 390 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

I remember buying this book when it first came out. We were at Walmart and it caught my eye. I read it almost immediately and promptly added her to my auto-buy list. Fairest, a novella in the series, was recently released and I knew it was time to revisit Cinder and finally read the rest of the series. I really enjoyed this reread. Cinder is young, so she bugs me sometimes, but it is nice to see a series of books essentially centred around strong women and rewriting the damsel in distress stereotype. And, Marissa does it so well. She makes Cinder 'different' and looked down on by society so that it tackles prejudice and discrimination without coming right out with how it can relate to our own society. She just makes Cinder's story that much better because she has further to rise. Obviously there is more to Cinder than meets the eye, but I was very happy that I decided to go back and reread this one before moving on to the rest.

Strongly recommended!

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 2) by Marissa Meyer

Completion Date: February 1, 2015
Length: 452 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Moving on to Scarlet. I started this book when it first came out, but it just didn't call to me at the time and I put it aside until now apparently. I read it very quickly this time around, so I am glad it clicked with me finally. Frankly, Scarlet tries too hard to be a 'tough' girl and she annoys me. She got better as the book got going, but she is older than Cinder and does things that I find myself rolling my eyes about. She just didn't click with me at first. In the end I felt that the series grew in this book and I enjoyed seeing how all the stories were going to come together. It definitely turned into a page-turner of a book. I am glad I decided to undertake this journey through the series. This book made me even more excited about the series as a whole and I couldn't wait to see what happened next in Cress.

Strongly Recommended!

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 3) by Marissa Meyer

Completion Date: February 8, 2015
Length: 550 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

Then I moved on to Cress. It took me a lot longer to get through this one than the first two books. It wasn't because I liked it less, it was more time constraints and the fact that I am not good at reading books by the same author in a row. So, I slowed down... I still really enjoyed the book, though, and I was so proud of myself for finishing it and catching up on a series. Cress is exactly what you would expect from a girl that has been isolated and locked up. She is a bit naive and innocent, but there is a backbone there. I enjoyed getting to know her better because she only sort of lurked in the first two books. This was her time to shine and come together with the other characters. I will enjoy seeing how things play out in the next book and how she grows as a character. In Scarlet, the characters were in a group for most of the book, but circumstances pushed them apart in this one so we got a chance to spend time with them individually before they started coming back together again. I am really enjoying them all individually and as a group. I am really excited to see how it all plays out in the final volume later this year!

Strongly Recommended!

Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 3.5) by Marissa Meyer

Completion Date: February 8, 2015
Length: 222 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told.

Mirror, mirror on the wall 

Who is the fairest of them all?

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now.

Marissa Meyer spins yet another unforgettable tale about love and war, deceit and death. This extraordinary book includes full-color art and an excerpt from Winter, the next book in the Lunar Chronicles series.

Okay, if I had been paying attention I probably wouldn't have bought this... I was behind on the series and the new book always comes out at the beginning of the year, so I just grabbed this and didn't pay attention to the fact it was a novella and the last book wasn't out until later this year. When it arrived I couldn't be bothered to send it back, so I read it instead. And, I am glad that it exists. It is the story of Levana. She is the Lunar Queen that has played a role in all of the other books, but we never really got a chance to know her. Now that I do... All I can say is 'Wow!'. Marissa has definitely come up with a very interesting back-story for the Queen. And, let's face it... Sometimes I feel bad for her, but other times she got what she deserved. I will be interested to see how this will influence my reading of Winter when everything will come to a head.

Strongly Recommended!

And that concludes my rambling post about this series...

Book Review: The Time Traveler's Boyfriend by Annabelle Costa

The Time Traveler's Boyfriend by Annabelle Costa

Completed: April 14, 2014
Length: 183 Pages

Claudia’s geeky boyfriend Adam has just invented a time machine.

No, really—he has. She doesn't believe it either until Adam provides her with definitive proof that he does, in fact, have a functioning time travel device sitting in the living room of his Manhattan brownstone.

But instead of getting ready to accept the Nobel Prize, Adam has very different plans for his groundbreaking invention. He wants Claudia to use the machine to travel back in time and stop the accident that landed him in a wheelchair over a decade ago, and prevent the trajectory of events that he believes ruined his life.

When Claudia reluctantly agrees to become the first human time traveler, she knows she’s making a big gamble. If she succeeds, she could have the happy ending with commitment-phobic Adam that she’s always dreamed of. But if she fails, it could mean the end of the universe as she knows it.

Fiction or Non-Fiction? Genre?: I guess this is almost science-fiction... And romance... Definitely fiction.

What Lead You to Pick Up This Book?: I read it as part of a TLC Book Tour.

Summarize the Plot: Well, there is a girl and a guy. Claudia is a school teacher and Adam is a computer programmer and inventor. He is in a wheelchair because of an accident that leaves him paralysed from the waist down. They are in their 30's and Claudia is feeling her time slipping away. She is ready to settle down and have a baby. Adam keeps putting on the brakes and blaming it on a relationship from his past. Then, Adam invents a time machine and asks Claudia to go back in time to try and stop the cab that hit him from succeeding. That's when Claudia takes the risk of being the first time traveler. You will have to read the book to see what happens!

What Did You Like Most About This Book?: First of all... I was worried I wouldn't like it at all. It is just another book in my attempt to branch out with my reading. And, you know what, while I wouldn't call it my favourite read of the year, I did find it a fun read. I liked Claudia most of the time. I thought the time-travelling angle was different. I liked that I didn't find myself groaning at the silliness. And, it was a book with real people. Claudia was just an average person and Adam was average other than being in a wheelchair... And inventing a time machine... I mentioned the other day that I get tired of everything being so perfect...

What Did You Like The Least?: Let's see... I sometimes didn't like the dialogue. It didn't flow or something. It was just in the beginning of the book, so I must have got used to it as I read it. I also found things were unnecessarily repeated over and over again. I wish those moments were used to add more to the story than to reiterate something we know all ready. I am sure if I didn't go into this book expecting a fun read, I would dislike a lot more.

What Did You Think of the Writing Style?: Not perfect, but not terrible either. It is just something that will get better with practice. I finished the book, so it couldn't have bothered me that much.

What Did You Think of the Main Character?: I mentioned above that I mostly liked Claudia, but there were times where I didn't. I think the only reason I reached the end of the book and liked her is because she goes back in time and encounters her younger self. Her younger self is much, much worse. I think a lot of it was that all Claudia seemed to be thinking about is her size, getting married, and having kids. It's really what the whole book is focused around. I couldn't help wishing she had some deeper thoughts.

What Did You Think of the Ending?: A bit predictable, but satisfactory. I don't think I would have liked it if the book ended any other way. I wouldn't expect the book to end any other way.

Bottom line, if you are looking for a cutesy, science-fiction-like, romance story... Give this a try! It won't knock your socks off, but you will have fun reading it!

Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir

Completed: February 19, 2014
Length: 384 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Apollo 13 meets Cast Away in this grippingly detailed, brilliantly ingenious man-vs-nature survival thriller, set on the surface of Mars.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first men to walk on the surface of Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first man to die there.

It started with the dust storm that holed his suit and nearly killed him, and that forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was already dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his food would be gone years before a rescue mission could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to get him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills--and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit--he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Fiction or Non-Fiction? Genre?: Science-Fiction.

What Lead You To Pick Up This Book?: Blogging reviews. I love stuff like this and everyone seems to love it so far. I had to see what the buzz was all about. Plus, Michelle told me I would love it.

Summarize the Plot: It's the future and we have got to Mars. The book starts off circulating around Mark Watney. We read his log entries after he winds up being stranded on a planet he just stepped foot on. He is thought to be dead, but fate had a different story in mind. Now he is struggling to survive and assuming death is in his immediate future. It's a real struggle! Then the people still on Earth start circulating into the story. If it was just Mark, it might be a bit boring, but all the different viewpoints add to the story. Us readers, and all the people still on Earth, are basically waiting to see what happens to Mark and doing everything they can to help him survive.

What Did You Like Most About This Book?: Man... Where does one start? Firstly, I have always been a bit fascinated with Mars. I think it is pretty exciting if we wind up there. And, this book is so believable! You can tell Weir did his research. We may not have actually got to Mars yet, but he has it very believably plotted out. The entire time we visited with Mark on Mars, I believed it. The science, the characters, etc all worked so well. I also liked the mixture log entries, for Mark, and other media for the other characters. And, the pop culture references. One of Mark's crew members was a big fan of Disco and old TV shows. It added even more facts to the story.

What Did You Like the Least?: There were a couple moments when the action slowed down, but not really struck me as bad with this book.

What Did You Think of the Writing Style?: I really liked it! It was a page-turner almost the entire time. And, like I said above, I really liked the mixture of different methods of telling the story. Weir definitely knows how to make a very readable story!

What Did You Think of the Main Character?: Mark is quite the character! For starters, he is really witty, sarcastic, and funny. I loved him and I think that is a lot of reason why I enjoyed this book so much. He made a bad situation entertaining!

What Did You Think of the Ending?: Holy page-turner! I actually got this book on audio because I HAD to know what happened and turned the pages REALLY fast as the book got going. I am not even entirely sure if I retained everything. I kind of want to hug the book and I really really hope Andy Weir can keep the momentum going and follow up with an awesome book.

Strongly recommended! You will finish it and want to read it again!

Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack

Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack

Completed: February 9, 2014
Length: 256 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

With his vivid, stylized prose, cyberpunk intensity, and seemingly limitless imagination, Jack Womack has been compared to both William Gibson and Kurt Vonnegut - though Gibson admits, "If you dropped the characters from Neuromancer into Womack's Manhattan, they'd fall down screaming and have nervous breakdowns". Random Acts of Senseless Violence, Womack's fifth novel, is a thrilling, hysterical, and eerily disturbing piece of work.

Lola Hart is an ordinary twelve-year-old girl. She comes from a comfortable family, attends an exclusive private school, loves her friends Lori and Katherine, teases her sister Boob. But in the increasingly troubled city where she lives (a near-future Manhattan) she is a dying breed. Riots, fire, TB outbreaks, roaming gangs, increasing inflation, political and civil unrest all threaten her way of life, as well as the very fabric of New York City.

In her diary, Lola chronicles the changes she and her family make as they attempt to adjust to a city, and a country, that is spinning out of control. Her mother is a teacher, but no one is hiring. Her father is a writer, but no one is buying his scripts. Hounded by creditors and forced to vacate their apartment and move to Harlem, her family, and her life, begins to dissolve. Increasingly estranged from her privileged school friends, Lola soon makes new ones: Iz, Jude, and Weezie - wise veterans of the street who know what must be done in order to survive and are more than willing to do it. And the metamorphosis of Lola Hart, who is surrounded by the new language and violence of the streets, begins.

Simultaneously chilling and darkly hilarious, Random Acts of Senseless Violence takes the jittery urban fears we suppress, both in fiction and in daily life, and makes them explicit - and explicitly terrifying.

Fiction or Non-Fiction? Genre? Fiction. Science-fiction.

What lead you to pick up this book? Jo Walton. She talks about it in What Makes this Book so Great, you can read the essay on Tor.com here, and she ponders why this book is not better known. It is one of her favourite books and many people have never even heard of it. I had never heard of it before, so it was the first book I wanted to read because of her.

Summarize the Plot: Well, it's kind of random... There is violence on the street, the presidents keep dying, and there are dust clouds... We have no idea why. Instead we follow Lola Hart and her family through the difficult times. Her parents both can't get work in the current economy which forces Lola to go from an upper-middle class lifestyle to just getting by. The experiences and friendships change Lola and we watch the transformation.

What did you like most about this book? It's different. How have I never heard of it before? It definitely should be better known and wider read. It addresses issues that are illuminating to current circumstances. It also shows everything from the viewpoint of a child forced to grow-up quickly. She is still trying to have her 'childhood' moments, though. I liked that even with her being young it was still believable for her to write older and not be the scribbles of a young person with no details.

What did you the least? It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but as Lola lives longer and longer in a 'rougher' area... She starts talking like them. It made what is actually a rather short book take a bit longer to get through. Like I said, no necessarily a good thing, and I understand why he did it, but it is worth mentioning.

What did you think of the writing style? The book is told through diary entries. Sometimes this can be really good for me, and sometimes it is terrible. Thankfully, this worked well. As I said above Lola had to grow up fast in many ways, so it made the writing style believable in providing details. It was a very personal way to tell about what was a horrible, and unhappy, life.

What did you think of the main character? For the most part, I really liked Lola. There were times where I didn't, but you could understand where she was coming from. I find that by the time I got to the end of the book I really knew who she was, what she has gone through, and where she was headed. It made for some unpleasant reading at times!

What did you think of the ending? I actually really wanted more... The ending was pretty clear on what was going to happen after she finished the last page of her diary, but I still wanted to watch it all unfold. I am pretty sure this is a standalone book, so I guess I will never find out for sure. I find myself thinking about Lola and her future and the difficult things she had to face, though, so it was a good ending.

I am so happy I read this book! It was really good, will make you think, and I need to see what else Jack Womack wrote!! (It is also one of those books I am not sure I effectively reviewed...)

Living in a Fantasy World

You know what I look for in books? Comfort.

For some people that means a reread of an old favourite... For me? That means a favourite genre.

I started out 2014 awesome and then I started to fizzle with my reading. And, I stupidly didn't get my act together and resort to the comfort for about two weeks. When it gets right down to it fantasy and science-fiction are where I am meant to read. I have been reading them my entire life and they are just 'my thing'. When this world gets too stressful; why would I want to read more about 'this world'. I want to visit worlds that are imaginary or events that, while may happen someday, haven't happened yet. When I admit that I will never be a 'contemporary' reader than reading clicks for me and I am off and running.

And, that's what happened this year. I gave up on books that were good, don't get me wrong, but they were just not clicking with me at that moment. I picked up Shadowplay by Laura Lam, I flew through it, and I haven't looked back since.

I remember discovering my ideal books. I read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and I loved it. Before that I watched a bit of science-fiction on television; but I hadn't admitted to myself that I liked it. If you look at my reading now it has moved more into fantasy, but science-fiction came first. If I trace fantasy back it was probably The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley that launched that.

In 2014, my launching pad was definitely reading What Makes This Book so Great by Jo Walton. It got me excited about reading! It came at a perfect time in my reading. It inspired me to get back to science-fiction, something I tell myself every year that I will do; but it also got me back into a groove. (My reading has been struggling since 2012, folks. It would get back on track for a while, but then it would derail...) Will my momentum of February keep me going for the rest of the year? I hope so! I have What Makes This Book so Great hovering nearby for when I need a reminder...

And, I have this post to remind me to put aside a book that isn't working for me and pick up a book in 'my genre'. I have to face the fact that I read a certain way and not stress about the rest. And, if 2014 is mostly a science-fiction and fantasy year... Who cares! I know that I will have fun reading.

What do you consider YOUR genre(s)?

This post is part of a fun event hosted by Doing Dewey, Estella's Revenge, From Isi, and Love at First Book. Head over to these blogs to see other posts and link up your own!

Book Review: What Makes This Book so Great by Jo Walton

What Makes This Book so Great by Jo Walton

Completed: February 2, 2014
Length: 448 Pages

Synopsis from Goodreads.com

As any reader of Jo Walton's Among Others might guess, Walton is both an inveterate reader of SF and fantasy, and a chronic re-reader of books. In 2008, then-new science-fiction mega-site Tor.com asked Walton to blog regularly about her re-reading—about all kinds of older fantasy and SF, ranging from acknowledged classics, to guilty pleasures, to forgotten oddities and gems. These posts have consistently been among the most popular features of Tor.com. Now this volumes presents a selection of the best of them, ranging from short essays to long reassessments of some of the field's most ambitious series.

Among Walton's many subjects here are the Zones of Thought novels of Vernor Vinge; the question of what genre readers mean by "mainstream"; the underappreciated SF adventures of C. J. Cherryh; the field's many approaches to time travel; the masterful science fiction of Samuel R. Delany; Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children; the early Hainish novels of Ursula K. Le Guin; and a Robert A. Heinlein novel you have most certainly never read.

Over 130 essays in all, What Makes This Book So Great is an immensely readable, engaging collection of provocative, opinionated thoughts about past and present-day fantasy and science fiction, from one of our best writers.

I all ready mentioned this book in some rambling. You can find my post here. Instead of my usual post on the book, I am going to talk about some of the general stuff that Walton wrote essays on in the book. I am hoping others will add their two cents.

Essay 2: 'Why I Re-read'.

My response: First of all, with all the ridiculous words in the dictionary... Reread should be correct. I never hyphenate it. My computer never tells me it is wrong; but that might be because I use it so much the computer gave up! I wish I reread more. I actually did a bit better with that last year because I started listening to books I had read before on audio. I have a few more plans to do that this year. When it comes to rereading, though, I do terrible. So far this month I did reread the first Volume of Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Boxers by Gene Luen Yang. And, I am slowly rereading Fables. Otherwise, I tell myself to reread and then new books call to me instead. I just feel guilty because my reading died, for me, the second half of 2012 and my TBR is probably the most unmanageable it has ever been. I need to get over the guilt because I keep books to reread them and then it takes me forever to do so.

What are your thoughts on rereading?

Essay 8: 'Re-reading long series'. 

My response: Jo Walton is one of those rereaders (I guess that is not a word, oh, well!) that rereads all the previous books before a new book comes out. This is something else I would love to do and don't. Face it, the world is consumed by series. I start new ones regularly just because standalone books are getting so rare. Especially in fantasy and science-fiction where my reading normally focuses. And there are series that I have all the books, but haven't finished because I have to back and reread the books I have read. As a result they just sit on my shelves because I am atrocious at just reading one series or one author one right after another. So, last year I reread The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley to finish this the series... I still haven't finished the series. Or Jim Butcher? I have read book 1 twice and still never read on in the series. Not to mention, I have never read beyond Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and I have read Outlander at least twice.

Am I alone on this problem? Are most people more like Walton?

Essay 33: 'Better to have loved and lost? Series that go downhill'

My response: First of all, the person that Walton is responding to is evil. The series he used as examples are some I am in the midst of, so that will really help me get through them quicker! What are some series that you feel this has happened with? I mostly just find 'bad books' in series. For example, I love Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, but I didn't love all of the books. (*cough* Dime Store Magic *cough*). I find that even when there are bad books I still keep trying to give the series a chance. The only series I can think of giving up on entirely after reading a bunch of the books was The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine. And, personally, I don't think that was her fault. I think I just outgrew the story.

Any series you have read that have gone downhill?

Essay 119: Gulp or sip: How do you read?

My response: Both. I think my reading suffered last year because I forgot to sip and never had time to gulp. I kept waiting for dedicated time to read that never seemed to happen and my books sat around waiting for me. In the past, I just read whenever the chance presented itself. If I read a paragraph, that was still one step further in the book. You know what, though? You have to retrain yourself to do that. I started last week reminding myself that while I wait for such and such a thing, I should read. It's like a lost skill! I am doing better with it, though.

Do you gulp or sip? (If you are wondering, gulp means sit and read for extended periods of time and sip basically means sneak a page while waiting for the light to change, for example.)

Essay 121: Do you skim?

My response: Nope! Actually, I did once with this chunkster of a book because I wasn't liking it and I had to read it. I can't remember the book at all any more... I just remember that I skimmed! I agree with Walton that even if the part of the book isn't interesting me that much, there might be something important in there that I will need to know later in the book. So, I read the book in its entirety. Just like even though Walton talks about books I have never read in this book, I still read all of them and the entire things. When I finish a book, I want to actually finish a book.

So, do you skim?

Essay 124: The Suck Fairy

My response: You can read the essay for a more detailed explanation, but basically this is about how you go back to read a book that you loved and now you can't remember why. She is essentially saying a fairy made it suck, only she doesn't make it so simplistic. Anyway, as soon as I looked at this essay I thought about Madeleine L'Engle. I loved her when I was younger, but now some of her books don't seem to work for me any more. It is devastating. And you know why? Probably for the same reason The Chronicles of Narnia don't work for me any more... There is stuff in those books I missed entirely when I was younger. Now that I know the truth of what things mean, it loses the attraction. I do still really like A Wrinkle in Time, though. I just used to reread the whole series every couple years and now I wait longer because I don't want to destroy my happy memories of the series.

Anything stand out for you that you feel a 'Suck Fairy' invaded?

So, hopefully you enjoy this different sort of 'review'. I really enjoyed this book and hope that more of you will get a chance to read it. I am reading a book right now that I had never heard of before I read Walton's book. It might have came up somewhere else down the line, but I am excited to explore the books in this collection. They might not all work for me, but it will be fun to see.

Strongly recommended! (Although, with the warning that you should probably have a slight interest in fantasy and science-fiction first!)

Audiobook Review: Redshirts by John Scalzi (Read by Wil Wheaton)

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Read by Wil Wheaton

Completion Date: March 13, 2013

Reason for Reading: Fun!

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. 

Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. 

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

I constantly make a goal to listen to more audiobooks... And then I fail... In 2013 I decided I would try one more time and it has actually been successful so far! I decided to start with Redshirts because I have wanted to read it since it came out, Scalzi is a fun author, and Wil Wheaton narrated it. It was just a test. I joined Audible just to see how it went. I could cancel if it was a disaster. So far no disaster... I listen while I am on the treadmill and it seems to be working well so far. I think Redshirts was a nice, uncomplicated start to the experience. I got used to paying attention to what was being said and figured out the correct volume to hear over the treadmill. If I missed a line here or there it wasn't earth-shattering for the overall experience. Plus, I was right, Redshirts was a lot of fun!

John Scalzi is an author that I collect but then fail to read... I have only read Old Man's War so far. I enjoyed it, bought more books by him, and then never read him again. Redshirts has been on my list since it came out because I love science-fiction and enjoyed a book that essentially makes fun of the original Star Trek. While I was not a huge fan of that particular show, I am well aware of the 'formula' each episode followed and have to agree the writing was atrocious at times. Scalzi is not a bad writer, though, and created a fun addition to science-fiction. 

The novel centres around Andrew and his co-workers/friends. They are those that were recently assigned to the Intrepid. It doesn't take them long to discover that things go a bit strangely on this ship. There is that formula that I mention above... Quite simply, away missions always have crazy encounters, someone always dies, and it is always a low-ranking crew member while the main cast gets away fine. As a result people go to great extents to avoid joining away missions. It doesn't take Andrew and his friends long to follow suit. They just actually search for the truth behind their story and make startling discoveries. This leads to more adventures than they signed up for, some very bad science, and a bit of implausible over-acting. In other words, lots of fun for us the reader! If you haven't had a chance to read Scalzi this is an excellent start. He has a lot of fun with his books and I really need to read more...

Strongly recommended!

On the audio production: I had actually tried Wil Wheaton before with Ready Player One, but sadly didn't get to finish the audio and wound up switching to paper. I really enjoyed him, though, and knew I was going to have to try him again. I considered rereading Ready Player One, and likely will in the future, but in the meantime I decided to try something new. I really enjoy Wheaton's narration and actually picked up Fuzzy Nation, Agent to the Stars, and The Android's Dream which are all by Scalzi and all narrated by Wheaton. If you have a chance to listen to a book her narrates I strongly recommend it! 

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

The Long Earth by Terry Pratchet and Stephen Baxter

Completion Date: May 13, 2012
Reason for Reading: Received review copy/New Terry Pratchett/Buddy read with Ana.

1916: the Western Front, France. Private Percy Blakeney wakes up. He is lying on fresh spring grass. He can hear birdsong, and the wind in the leaves in the trees. Where has the mud, blood and blasted landscape of No man's Land gone?

2015: Madison, Wisconsin. Cop Monica Jansson has returned to the burned-out home of one Willis Linsay, a reclusive and some said mad, others dangerous, scientist. It was arson but, as is often the way, the firemen seem to have caused more damage than the fire itself. Stepping through the wreck of a house, there's no sign of any human remains but on the mantelpiece Monica finds a curious gadget - a box, containing some wiring, a three-way switch and a...potato. It is the prototype of an invention that Linsay called a 'stepper'. An invention he put up on the web for all the world to see, and use, an invention that would to change the way mankind viewed his world Earth for ever. And that's an understatement if ever there was one...

...because the stepper allowed the person using it to step sideways into another America, another Earth, and if you kept on stepping, you kept on entering even more Earths...this is the Long Earth. It's not our Earth but one of chain of parallel worlds, lying side by side each differing from its neighbour by really very little (or actually quite a lot). It's an infinite chain, offering 'steppers' an infinite landscape of infinite possibilities. And the further away you travel, the stranger - and sometimes more dangerous - the Earths get. The sun and moon always shine, the basic laws of physics are the same. However, the chance events which have shaped our particular Earth, such as the dinosaur-killer asteroid impact, might not have happened and things may well have turned out rather differently.

But, until Willis Linsay invented his stepper, only our Earth hosted mankind...or so we thought. Because it turns out there are some people who are natural 'steppers', who don't need his invention and now the great migration has begun..

Ana, from things mean a lot, and I were both lucky to get ARC of The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. This lead to us deciding to read the book together and then answer questions. This book is being marketed as Terry Pratchett's first science-fiction novel in 30 years. I was intrigued by the concept and think that overall this is a promising start to a new series. Ana and I each came up with 4 questions and then answered all 8 of them. My answers are below and you can read hers at her blog.

Ana: I'll start with a slightly unimaginative question - how do you think this book compares to the rest of Terry Pratchett's work? (I won't ask about Stephen Baxter, because I think that like me you hadn't read him before. Do you want to now, though?)
Compared to you, I have hardly read Pratchett. I am so far behind in Discworld that it seems like an overwhelming task to catch-up. This is actually why I jumped at the chance to read this book. I really enjoy Pratchett and this is the start of something new. It seemed a better way to read something by him without worrying about reading order. And, from what I have read of him, you could see Pratchett in this book. The humour was there like always. It was different, but at the same time it was the same. You could tell that he had his hand in it. As for Stephen Baxter, no, I have not read him before but he has always been on my list to get to one day. I guess now I sort of have, but I still want to read something else by him.

Did you think this book worked as a standalone, or did you finish wanting more?
I actually thought this book was a standalone until I got to the ending. Then I wondered if it was just a bad ending, but people are saying it is a series... I would have been happy if the ending was not so abrupt to have this be a standalone. I think standalones once in a while are a good thing. I get tired of keeping track of trilogies and series and stressing about how many I have on the go. Sometimes I just want to read a book and then move on. Sadly, that doesn't happen very often. I will interested to see how this series progresses, though. Don't get me wrong! If I had to start another series, I am glad it is a Pratchett one.

Ana: What was your favourite thing about the concept of The Long Earth? Was there anything about all those possible worlds that you found particularly exciting?
From the very beginning I liked how this book was a 'what if' book. Each time a new place was discovered, it would be a different level of evolution. There would be different plant life or animal life. Something minor would have happened and set this place off on an entirely different path than the one the people were coming from. I thought this was a great idea because it gave them a chance to invent new creatures, climates, and experiences without being implausible. And, I find that exciting. I like the idea of being able to explore the earth in an entirely different way than thought possible and find something entirely new.

If you had never read Pratchett before, would you consider this a good starting point?
Good question. My very first Pratchett was Good Omens. He wrote it with Neil Gaiman and it was a standalone. Discworld just seemed so big because it had been going for years and I was late getting around to wanting to read them. If anyone pays attention, though, I went about Discworld in manageable small doses. I read the Tiffany Aching books. Technically part of the overall series, but can be read just as a small quartet. Then, I read The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Again, part of the overall series, but can be read alone. Now I have started to dip into the bigger series, but it still seems huge. This is all to say that while this is not the best book by Pratchett, it is a good introduction to what to expect and might be more manageable for people not sure if they want to tackle a big series.

Ana: Did the consequences of the discovery of the "stepper" ring true to you? Do you think that's how human beings would react if they were given the opportunity to explore other worlds?
Yes, I believe that everything was handled in a way that wasn't far-fetched. For example, the ability to 'step' is discovered and the population of the earth is almost too high, so people start leaving for better chances and opportunities. As our population predictions from the future hint at too many people for our resources, it was a believable idea. It is also believable that too many people leave for new opportunities and then the 'real' earth starts suffering. I can imagine all that actually happening. And, yes, I do think people would leave if given the chance. At this point there are many people looking out at the stars and hoping for a chance to inhabit another planet. This is just something that is closer to home.

What did you think of the characters? Did any stand out for you? Did any bother you?
I think the characters have potential. There are just too many of them to be able to say with any certainty which ones. I guess I should have known this was a series in the very beginning because there are way too many people to explore to just have one book. I think this book was basically about introducing the characters and setting up the world. I am hopeful the later books will deal with the specifics.

Ana: What did you think about the ties Pratchett and Baxter established between scientific concepts and world mythologies? I'm not alone in finding that kind of thing incredibly cool, right?No, you are not alone! It was a very cool idea. I love mythology and folklore and science fiction. Making all three of those work together was an excellent idea! I think it was my favourite part of the book, actually. And, they make things their own. I like when authors take what could be an old idea and add something to make it even slightly different.

Do you think the ‘real’ world and the ‘stepper’ world combined well? What did you think of the mention of things like WWI? Did it make it seem more or less legitimate?
I really liked the addition of 'read' world history like WWI. I was not sure what to think when the book starts with WWI, but once the story gets going and you get more context I thought it was a great idea. They also remember to include the rest of his story later. I don't like loose ends and would have been left wondering.

Out of the Silent Planet (The Cosmic Trilogy, Book 1) by C.S. Lewis

Out of the Silent Planet (The Cosmic Trilogy, Book 1) by C.S. Lewis

Completion Date: April 2, 2012
Reason for Reading: Participate in the TLC Blog Tour.

Just as readers have been transfixed by the stories, characters, and deeper meanings of Lewis’s timeless tales in The Chronicles of Narnia, most find this same allure in his classic Space Trilogy. In these fantasy stories for adults, we encounter, once again, magical creatures, a world of wonders, epic battles, and revelations of transcendent truths. 

Out of the Silent Planet is the first novel in C. S. Lewis’s classic science fiction trilogy. It tells the adventure of Dr. Ransom, a Cambridge academic, who is abducted and taken on a spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra, which he knows as Mars. His captors are plotting to plunder the planet’s treasures and plan to offer Ransom as a sacrifice to the creatures who live there. Ransom discovers he has come from the “silent planet”—Earth—whose tragic story is known throughout the universe!

When I was younger I was transfixed by C.S. Lewis and all that his books represented. I still remember my grandmother giving me a gift card for the book store and me rushing out to get a collected edition of the Chronicles of Narnia. It has given me great excitement to see him regain popularity for newer generations through movie versions and re-releases of his books. The thing is that as much as I have enjoyed him over the years, I have never read any of his adult novels. When I read Laura Miller's The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia she mentioned The Cosmic Trilogy and I was determined to read it, but it took me this long to actually start it.

One genre I am always slacking in is science-fiction, so I was very happy when I was offered this book for a TLC Blog Tour. I have been doing a lot better with the genre this year, but sometimes I need a push. And actually, a reminder that this trilogy even existed. When I hear Lewis I think of Narnia and Mere Christianity (because I own it and haven't read it...). I have to admit that I have so ignored Lewis' adult books that I didn't even know what this trilogy was about. For me, it is a grown-up Narnia set in space. Mars to be exact. Dr. Ransom is the main character who has been abducted and taken in a space ship by two other men to aid in their plans for the planet. The book still deals with the unexpected, good vs. evil, magical creatures, and then a large part of it is about class structure. As I have been reading a lot of books set in the early part of the 20th-century I couldn't help being intrigued by how Lewis manages to tackle it in space of all places. It is basically a matter of Dr. Ransom attempting to make sense of this strange new world.

I found myself very intrigued by this book. There is no question that Lewis is a great author, but I have found myself reading Narnia differently now that I am older and not enjoying the experience quite as much as I did when I was younger. With this trilogy, I am experiencing it for the first time as an adult, and I know Lewis; so I know what to expect and where my expectations should lie. Was I a bit worried I wouldn't like the religious aspects that were sure to appear? Of course. As a child I read Narnia as a children's fantasy series, but as an adult I noticed all sorts of religious aspects I never paid attention to before. My point is that I was worried how it would affect my reading seeing all these things with my first reading. I am not sure if I am making any sense, but anyway, I need not have worried. I am very interested to see the direction in which the other two books in the trilogy go. I am also happy that I have taken a chance and have another way to experience Lewis.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for thinking of me!

The Cosmic Trilogy:
Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength

Other Tour Stops:

Friday, April 6th: Just One More Paragraph

Wednesday, April 11th: Reflections of a Bookaholic

Monday, April 16th: The Written World

Tuesday, April 17th: GeekMom

Wednesday, April 18th: Hooked on Books

Thursday, April 19th: Melody & Words

Monday, April 23rd: The Road to Here

Wednesday, April 25th: Wyoming Girl *turned* Coastie Wife

Thursday, April 26th: Creative Madness Mama

Friday, April 27th: Calico Critic

Monday, April 30th: Working for the Mandroid

TBD: Unabridged Chick

Tuning in on Thursday, The 11 Questions Meme, Around the Blogosphere, and The Science-Fiction Experience

Tuning in on Thursday

My movie watching has been rather quiet lately. It is not that we don't have a lot to watch, but the guy tends to turn the TV on and watch random things on there. I am a bit picky. I hate watching shows/movies that have all ready started. I prefer not watching shows that are in like season 5 when I haven't seen anything before. He just watches whatever. We might as well have only 2 channels because we both only really watch The History Channel and The Space Channel. For me this means watching American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Canadian Pickers, and Star Trek. For him it means half the time he has no idea what he is even watching. So, the point is it was another quiet movie watching period.

Contagion: I wanted to see this in theatres, but it never happened. We finally watched it last week and it was good. It had a huge cast of famous people. Movies like this are always a bit unnerving, but that seems to be what is popular. I am glad we watched it. Good, but no need to keep.

Midnight in Paris: This movie has been making the blogging rounds, so when Suey and I were trying to decide on our next viewing experience I suggested this one. We even managed to be on Twitter to discuss it as we watched it. I think we are going to talk about it in a bit more depth, but I enjoyed it. The guy came home after it had been on for a bit and even he ended up watching it. I was very surprised! A keeper.

Any suggestions on what we should watch next?

The 11 Questions Meme

Kat @ No Page Left Behind tagged me. Her questions:

1. Do you have other hobbies besides reading? If so, what are they?
I used to think yes, but lately I am not so sure. I was trying to branch out this year and even all those goals are reading related. I think if we move some of my old hobbies would come back. I would love to have a garden, for example. I have all these cook books that I would love to try, but my kitchen is so small it sort of zaps my creativity. And, really, there are days where I don't get a chance to read at all, so when I have a chance to do something fun picking up a book is my go-to choice.

2. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Dinner.

3. What is a trip that you are dying to go on?
Well, I would like to go to New York, New Orleans, North Carolina, Texas, Australia, Portugal, and a few other places.

4. What book do you want EVERYONE to read?
um, I think more people should read Robin Hobb's books.

5. What is (or what would be) your favorite karaoke song?
Well, considering I go to karaoke all the time, this should be an easy question. I don't actually sing, though. The guy does. I actually took videos the other night with my new phone and they turned out REALLY good! I am not so sure how posting them on here would go over, but there is one on my Facebook should you follow me there. If I actually sang I always say it would be 'You're So Vain' by Carly Simon. I have no idea why.

6. Have you ever had any nicknames? If so, what are/were they?
My grandfather was huge into nicknames. He had one for everyone. As I have two siblings he typically came up with famous groups of three. My father and his two siblings all have nicknames, though. Other than my grandfather I was never really all that big into nicknames.

7. What's your most favorite epigraph?
I have no idea.

8. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Inconsiderate people.

9. What is your favorite game (board games, cards, etc.)?
Monopoly or Clue.

10. Christmas or Halloween?
hm. I was never big on Halloween because I don't really eat candy. I like the whole dressing up thing, but I have yet to live anywhere that actually gets all that many trick-or-treaters. So, probably Christmas.

11. What does your dream home library look like?

Geeky Daddy also tagged me. His questions:

1.What is your dream vacation?
See above.

2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead?
It really depends. We do spontaneous things all the time, but then there are also times where I like to have a plan. It very rarely happens, though.

3. Tell us one thing you want to do but don't dare do it.
Sky-dive.

4. What's your biggest phobia?
I don't like bees. I found a nest in the basement two summers ago and it was bad. There were dead bees all over the floor. Even though it was not a success for them, they tried again last year. If the guy doesn't do something to prevent it this year he is going to walk around in dirty clothes.

5. If you were stranded on a desert island-what three things would you want with you? (Not including your laptop or family)
Well, if this was things other than necessities like food, shelter, etc. I would say books, electricity, and running water.

6. Name three blessings in your life.
Family/friends, health, having the fluff ball around to keep things entertaining.

7. What was your nickname in High School?.
Didn't have one.

8. If you could meet the President of the United States, what would you say to him?
Canada has its own problems...

9. If you could be any literary character, who would you be?
Man, I don't know. I really like Mercy from Briggs' series. Let's go with that.

10. What is your favo(u)rite quote?
Not sure.

Around the Blogosphere

We Be Reading is hosting a Diana Wynne Jones Reading Month. 

If I were to join in I have the following books by Jones:

Deep Secret

Howl's Moving Castle (would be a reread)

Witch Week

Mixed Magics

The Magicians of Caprona

Castle in the Air

Charmed Life (would be a reread)

House of Many Ways (would be a reread)

The Merlin Conspiracy

Reviews: Howl's Moving Castle. House of Many Ways.

Charmed Life. Enchanted Glass.

Science-Fiction Experience

My List:

1. Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (Completed January 6, 2012) (review)

2. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (Completed January 8, 2012)
3. Foundation by Isaac Asimov (Foundation Series, Book 1) (Completed January 12, 2012) (review - Part 1) (review - Part 2)
4. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Completed January 21, 2012) (review)
5. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, Book 1) by Marissa Mayer (Completed February 9, 2012)
6. Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Time to Be Born (A Time to Series, Book 1) by John Vornholt (Completed February 19, 2012)
7. Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Time to Die (A Time to... Series, Book 2) by John Vornholt (Completed February 20, 2012)
8. Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Time to Sow (A Time to... Series, Book 3) by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore (Completed February 22, 2012)

Thoughts: As usual I did rather bad in the reviewing department. I am hoping to read more in the Star Trek series, so I will probably just review them all together later into the year. I forgot I hadn't reviewed Cinder. I will have to do that and think of something to say about The Time Machine, too. I actually read a decent amount of books this year. Some years I am lucky to read one!

Last night I rearranged my bookshelves to have all my fantasy in one spot in preparation for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I always look forward to it because fantasy is my favourite.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Completion Date: January 21, 2012

Reason for Reading: Fun!

At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed. 

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. 

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. 

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

I started the year out listening to this book on audio, but then the guy walked off with my mp3 player and lost my spot. This lead to me switching to reading it. When I was in the midst of this I was discussing possible buddy read with Melissa from Book Nut and we decided we would review this one together. We just asked each other questions. Here are my answers:

1. First off, what did you think?
I was very impressed. This book is like the nerds answer to literature. Plus, it is a love affair with the 80's which is a bit entertaining. I had been enjoying the book immensely for quite some time, but I think the moment I decided I was going to love it was when he dedicated an entire chapter to the band rush and their album 2112.

2. I'm going to ask a personal question: are you old enough to have gotten the 80s pop culture references in the book? Did it work for you as a plot device/gimmick?
I did get many of the 80s pop culture references. Not all of them, though. The funny part of the whole experience is I have never been much of a gamer and here I am reading a novel that centres around games from the 80's. I was very happy when there was lots of explanation because I had never heard of most of those before. The music, the movies, and the culture, though, I think I got most of it. And, I loved that aspect of the book. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if it was just a dystopian novel with a game as its main feature.

3. So, what did you think of the whole contest -- did the book work as a dystopian adventure story?
I liked the book because it was a bit different from the 'typical' books out there. It was still a dystopian novel, though, and they are very popular right now. I enjoyed the contest. I think it worked rather well overall. I enjoyed watching things play out and the thrill of moving on to the next level. I also enjoy how he didn't make things too simple and there were epic battles with the enemies. It was a book about a lot of things and I think that made it all the more special.

4. Did you like any of the characters? What did you think of the whole real vs. virtual life aspect of the story?
Well, who hasn't dreamed of escaping? The Oasis offers the perfect way to do that, right? I am not so sure I could imagine vanishing entirely, but they didn't have a great world to live in at the best of times. The world now is getting more about having a 'real life' identity and an 'online' identity. Just look at the world of blogging, online dating, etc. I think he picked a topic that most people can easily relate to.

As to the characters, I think they all worked well together. If the book was just about Wade it might have got a bit boring. It makes it more human when he has friends, enemies, and even a love interest. I even enjoyed James Halliday as we learned more and more about him as the book progressed.

5. So, I thought he got a little moralistic at the end... what did you think of the ending?
Yeah, the ending was just... weird... I didn't really feel it had the same tone as the rest of the book. It was almost like Cline had this ending in mind for the entire writing process and didn't much care if it didn't fit the book as well as it could have. I have all ready started forgetting the parts of the ending I didn't care for and just remembering the overall experience in a positive light.

You can read Melissa's answers to the questions I asked her by clicking here.

Falling Free (Vorkosigan Series) by Lois McMaster Bujold

Falling Free (Vorkosigan Series) by Lois McMaster Bujold

Completion Date: January 6, 2012
Reason for Reading: Science-Fiction Experience.

Leo Graf was an effective engineer...Safety Regs weren't just the rule book he swore by; he'd helped write them. All that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat. Leo was profoundly uneasy with the corporate exploitation of his bright new students till that exploitation turned to something much worse. He hadn't anticipated a situation where the right thing to do was neither save, nor in the rules...

Leo Graf adopted 1000 quaddies now all he had to do was teach them to be free.

I have been hearing about this series from people like Meghan and Fyrefly, and probably other people that I am not thinking about right now, so I knew I was going to have to get around to reading it. In 2011 there was a chance to download the entire series for your e-reader, so I of course jumped on that. (I am not sure if it is still available because I no longer have the link where I found them.) Anyway, I was excited about a new science-fiction series because I used to read lots of science-fiction and have largely moved away from it. I still really enjoy science-fiction, though, and always want to read more each year. I am hoping that this year will be the year.

Falling Free was a good introduction to Bujold's writing. I have never read her before despite her being on my list for ages. If her other books are anything like this one than I am in for some great reading in my, hopefully, not-so-distant future. I all ready am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. It seems like it will be enjoyable based on what other people have been saying. This book is based around Leo Graf who is an engineer for a society that has developed other worlds and is quite comfortable in space. He had been working for a while and was a bit set in his ways, but what he found on this particular job changed his life for the better. In this book we are introduced to the quaddies and witness just what it is like when genetic engineering has gone a bit far.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and think it is a great reading experience.

Vorkosigan Saga:
Dreamweaver’s Dilemma (short story)
Falling Free
Shards of Honor
Barrayar
The Warrior's Apprentice
Mountains of Mourning (novella)
The Vor Game
Cetaganda
Ethan of Athos
Labyrinth (novella)
Borders of Infinity (novella)
Brothers in Arms
Borders of Infinity
Mirror Dance
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
Winterfair Gifts (novella)
Diplomatic Immunity
Cryoburn