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...)

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!)

Rambling About: What Makes This Book So Great by Jo Walton

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.

Sometimes I just feel like rambling... I decided that I am going to just ramble sometimes! It will likely be about non-fiction because I normally read it slower than a novel.

• I love Jo Walton. I bought this because I love Jo Walton. I actually didn't really know what the book was even about until a couple days before my copy arrived.
• I remember the first time someone told me to read Jo Walton. That book is still sitting unread on my TBR. I wound up reading Among Others first. I can be slow.
• I used to read lots and lots of science-fiction 'back in the day', but my interests transferred to fantasy more so. Walton reads both; but we actually don't really cross over very much because it is mostly vintage science-fiction.
• Reading this book makes me want to read ALL. THE. BOOKS! Sadly, I don't own very many of them and a trip to the second-hand bookstore tonight only resulted in 3 books. That wasn't even a full list because I haven't finished this book yet.
• I think I know why my reading is so slow so far this year. I want to read everything and am having a hard time settling with one book. This book is not helping!
• In the meantime, I will just keep making a list and hoping I can get to some of the books on it as the month goes on!
• Jo Walton also tried Harry Potter and didn't love it. Yay! I am not alone... 
• I will be curious to read more of the books and see if I agree with her impressions. I think this book will reside on my bedside table this year so I can go back and read the essays when I read one of the books.
• I need to reread more! I want to... I keep books so I will... And then I don't. At least by listening to audiobooks the last couple years I am doing better with rereads, but there are so many books I want to reread every year. 
• After I finish this book I have to make sure to a.) Read the rest of her books on my TBR and b.) Read her Tor.com articles more.

Anyone else reading this? Thoughts? Do you reread as much as you would like, or do you find yourself reading the new, shiniest books because your TBR is insane? (And, do you think it would be different if you weren't blogging?)

Among Others by Jo Walton

Among Others by Jo Walton

Completion Date: May 7, 2011

Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time Challenge

Startling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.

Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds. As a child growing up in Wales, she played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions. Then her mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, and Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled—and her twin sister dead.

Fleeing to her father whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England–a place all but devoid of true magic. There, outcast and alone, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off.

Combining elements of autobiography with flights of imagination in the manner of novels like Jonathan Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude, this is potentially a breakout book for an author whose genius has already been hailed by peers like Kelly Link, Sarah Weinman, and Ursula K. Le Guin.

I have heard a lot of positive talk about this book, so I knew I was going to have to read it! Plus, I love the cover. My friend read Jo Walton years ago and told me I had to read her, too. She is on my TBR pile. This is my first time reading her and it is her newest book! Now I am particularly interested in seeing what happens in the other books I own by her.

I have been talking about doing a buddy read with Iliana for a while, but things never seem to work out. This time we both read the book, so we should post be posting our review today. I am a little late because my mouse is giving out on me and it is driving me nuts. Anyway, in order to do this we asked each other 4 questions. My answers to her questions are below and you can read her answers to mine on her blog.

1. The book has been described as a coming of age tale. What is one scene that you feel emphasizes this point?

I hate to think of this as a coming of age tale because I generally hate coming of age tales. It is only if I pretend they are otherwise I can stomach them. I can see this one being one, though. I think Morwenna really comes into her own when she joins the science-fiction book club. She has always felt like a bit of an outsider, but suddenly she finds that she belongs and her whole life changes as a result. She starts to get a bit more confident with her life and then she is able to tackle some of the larger issues hanging over her head.

2. Morwenna is a devoted reader of sci/fi books. As you were reading it did you take note of some of the titles she liked and would you like to read them?

There were so many good books mentioned throughout the pages of this one. I actually tried to find a website that lists all of the books in here. If anyone knows of one, let me know! There are several authors that have been on my TBR pile for a while that I haven't got around to reading. I now feel like I have further recommendation to finally get to them. One that comes to mind is Anne McCaffrey. I have known I had to read her for a while, but still haven't got around to her.

3. While it's Mori's mother that the reader is supposed to not like because of her actions, I thought her father was also quite unlikeable. Do you have any feelings about him and his actions (or sometimes lack of action)?

Yeah, there was one scene that turned me off him entirely. I thought I might like him a bit because after years of not being around he is finally making an effort, but then I got to know him and I was a bit appalled at the way he has acted. He has redeeming characteristics, though. As the novel progresses towards to the end I felt that he was starting to get his act together and be a parent. He still has a long way to go, but at least he was trying. He also loved reading himself and I can't entirely fault a fellow reader.

4. Would you recommend this book to any reader or only for sci-fii readers? Why?

I think this book has enough elements to attract any reader. I don't think it only works for science-fiction readers. Like the first question said, it is a coming of age story and that is a popular form of fiction. There are fantasy elements, but they are not too crazy as to turn anyone off that doesn't normally read fantasy. You could argue that they are not fantasy elements at all, but that is something you should discover with a read of your own. And, it is a book about loving books. You may not normally read science-fiction yourself, but you can appreciate the love of a reader and the enthusiasm she shows for books.