Month: August 2021

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

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Started: 8/21/21
Finished: 8/29/21

There are a lot of people out there who raved about this one, about how it’s a superhero novel turned on its head, it’s about the people supporting the villain, and that’s so new and so different! It’s not THAT new, and it’s not THAT different, and I spent a lot of this book feeling like I had read it before, which isn’t really fair. We were deep within this character’s head, and I enjoyed it, and it was good. I suppose I was just (and still am, apparently) annoyed that it felt over-hyped.

All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

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Started: 8/19/21
Gave up: 8/21/21

I loved her Raven Cycle series, and I was totally hooked by the beginning of this one. It’s her writing – I can’t put my finger on it, but I like her writing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the plot of this one. Magical realism isn’t always my thing, and this book reminded me of One Hundred Years of Solitude and all the ways I could not read it. So I gave this one up.

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

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Started: 8/14/21
Finished: 8/18/2021

I think this is magical realism, which usually doesn’t do it for me, but it’s also mythology and it’s also a dark book about a kidnapping and it’s also a book about a teenager with problems. I’m not sure if that’s one element too many, but I really enjoyed it.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

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Started: 8/9/21
Finished: 8/14/2021

I saw this while browsing in Powell’s over four years ago, so I think I can be forgiven for not remembering anything about it by the time I actually read it. I went in thinking it would be like Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, a book I loved when I read it, although I’m afraid I won’t like that one if I read it again.

It was not like Where’d You Go, Bernadette. I did like it immediately, particularly after giving up on two books in a row the day before. The first few pages were funny, and then it took a dark turn but was still funny, and then it was less funny and I started wondering if I had been supposed to think it was funny – was I laughing at a mentally ill person?

I was unsure the whole middle of the book, and I was afraid it was going to be predictable and have an unearned ending, and then it kicked me and I cried and I liked the ending very much.

I don’t know if you should read it.

Can You Keep A Secret by Sophie Kinsella

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Started: 8/8/21
Gave up: 8/8/2021

Light read, supposed to be a fun romance, and OH MY GOD I DON’T CARE. The main character is not relatable, the situations are not funny, and I gave it up the same day I started it. Jo Walton, an author whose books I like and whose recommendations I often enjoy, is WRONG about this one (she thought it was terrific and funny).

The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey

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Started: 7/28/21
Finished: 8/6/2021

I know it’s hard to believe, but there are books by Anne McCaffrey I haven’t read. Not many, but still. And maybe there was a reason I hadn’t read this one. I’ve come across the brain/brawn ship thing in the Crystal Singer series, so I was familiar with the premise, but this was clearly a novel that had been put together from multiple short stories, and I just (I feel like I’m betraying Anne McCaffrey!) didn’t love it. The relationships feel dated in a way that makes me afraid to go back and re-read the early Pern books.