Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: A Slow Reading Week
Well this has been an embarrassing week for a book reviewer! I've listened to one -- yes ONE -- book all week. That's it.
I
have an excuse of sorts: I'm trying to work ahead so I can take a trip
with my girlfriends. Thus my life has been all about editing, freelance
writing, packing, and otherwise losing my mind.
Oh and
did I mention the poison ivy I got while weeding the other day? Oh yes.
What a great airplane trip I'm going to have (scratch, scratch).
Fortunately, the rash doesn't seem to be too bad, and I've been able to
contain the itch with calamine lotion. STILL!
More about my upcoming trip in a later post. . . . In the meantime, here's what I listened to.
Age of War by Michael J. Sullivan
(Del Rey, July 3), the third book in the Legends of the First Empire
series, continues the story of the deep history of the universe
introduced in the Riyria Revelations. Lost? Don't be. Sullivan has
written three epic fantasy series, all set in the same world but not in
the same time period. The first two series focused on the adventures of
two thieves and how their seemingly insignificant lives in fact had an
impact on far-reaching events. This third series goes back in time to
reveal the pivotal events that changed a world and provided the
foundation for the other books. I can't really say much about Age of War
to those of you who haven't read any of Sullivan's books without giving
away major spoilers. What I can say is this: Sullivan knows how to
create believable characters that are easy to root for or to hate. Not
everyone lives. Relationships don't always go the way you want them to.
People grow and change. People make mistakes. There are dwarfs and elves
and magic, but this isn't a children's story with wands and pointy
hats. Age of War, as the title suggests, involves bloody battles
and politics. Sacrifices are made, people are injured and killed, and
few choices are black or white. I love, love, love these books and this
entry did not disappoint. I also can't say enough good things about Tim Gerard Reynolds's
performance of the audiobook (Recorded Books, 15 hr, 47 min). He gets
the emotions, the pacing, the humor, and the personalities down
perfectly. (personal collection).
Bad Man by Dathan Auerbach
(Doubleday, August 7): This novel, about the disappearance of a young
boy from a grocery store, was pitched as being spooky. I don't do scary,
but Mr. BFR does, so I accepted the ARC with the understanding that if
anyone read the book in my house, it would be him. He did in fact read
it, and here are some of his brief thoughts. First, he didn't think it
was all that scary, though he liked the setup: Teenage Ben loses track
of his three-year-old brother in a grocery store, and the toddler is
never seen again. As his family falls apart, Ben, now twenty, is forced
to work at the very store where his brother disappeared. There is a cast
of creepy characters who all seem to be hiding something, and Ben has
never stopped looking for his brother or feeling guilty. Mr. BFR was
invested for most of the book, coming up with theories for the identity
of the "bad man." Unfortunately, the Southern Gothic story didn't hold
up at the end. He didn't buy some of the reveals and was frustrated by
some unresolved issues. The book ends with an author's note that talks
about the inspiration for this story. Mr. BFR says he wishes he had read
the note before reading the book; it might have positively
affected his reactions. Other reviewers had better luck, so you might
want to give it a try.
18 comments:
Haha - it takes me at least 2 weeks to get through 1 audiobook normally (because I also listen to podcasts)! So, it's all relative...
Hey, one book read is still one book more than most folks. It's all good.
I hope your trip is wonderful!
if the itching persists try taking an OTC antihistamine like Xyzal ..
Should Age of War be read before the other 2? Would it matter?
I got a terrible case of poison ivy this summer when we moved to a new place - I thought it was chiggers at first and was treating it all wrong so it spread! A friend recommended Technu Extreme and it was the best thing to get rid of the oils so that I stopped spreading it to myself:
http://www.teclabsinc.com/products/poison-oak-ivy/tecnu
Don't stress about it, everyone has slow weeks! A book is a book.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your upcoming trip. I love traveling vicariously through others!
Sometimes life gets in the way of reading and that's okay. I'm excited about your trip!
I hope you have a great trip and the poison ivy heals quickly. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Enjoy your trip with your girlfriends!
My goodness! How many girlfriends? Twenty?? Enjoy your trip. Maybe the excitement is causing different feelings. The boy who loses his baby brother in the store is a sad story. Can't imagine working in the same store. Thinking about it, being in the same store might lead to seeing the kidnapper come back again.
I don't do scary either, at least not intentionally!
The upcoming trip sounds like a good excuse for not reading much. Enjoy! Sorry about the Poison Ivy.
Bad Man looks good, but sorry it fell apart at the end.
Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.
Your books look good. Sorry to hear about the poison ivy.
Have a great week!
Sorry about the rash. I hardly do any reading when I travel and audiobooks can take time. One book is still one book. Have a good week. My weekly updates
I read your description of Michael Sullivan's series and quickly clicked over to my Excel spreadsheet of books to put it on my list for my son...and found I already did, the last time you mentioned it! Perfect & right up his alley - Christmas gift, I am thinking...
Set-up for Bad Man sounds intriguing - sorry it didn't quite live up to that for your husband.
Enjoy your books this week - maybe the distraction will keep you from scratching!
Sue
2018 Big Book Summer Challenge
Good luck with getting ahead. Hopefully the itchiness clears up soon. I hope you enjoy your upcoming reads.
Aj @ Read All The Things!
Gardening can be risky sometimes. Hope you are over the ivy.
Oh no not poison ivy! Yikes. Thank goodness for calamine lotion huh? Hope you have a great trip though!
Age of War (and Sullivan in general) sounds pretty good.
I hope you have a great trip Beth and that rash calms down quick-smart!
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