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a book post
Jan. 16th, 2010 02:05 am(Yes, am trying to keep better track of my reading this year. We'll see how it goes.)
So far this month, I've finished reading two books. The first was Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenneger, which Nicole and Sarah lent to me, despite my protests that I am apparently the only person who didn't like The Time Traveller's Wife, which they also lent me. (It wasn't so much as that I didn't like it, as it was that I hated the ending. It was an intriguing read for the most part.) They pointed out that it was about cemeteries and ghosts, morbid subjects I usually find interesting.
And those bits I actually did like. Being a history buff, I was really interested in the parts about London's Highgate cemetry. And with some of the story being from the ghost's point of view was kind of novel. It was interesting enough for me to read it pretty quickly.
However, I disliked the way the writer handled the multiple points of view. I like multiple points of view in a novel, but changing p.o.v. in the middle of a paragraph (or two or three times a paragraph) makes it confusing about who is feeling what.
And again, Niffenegger wrote an ending that really annoyed me. There's a plot twist that makes absolutely no sense, seeing as how you'd have to be an idiot to think it was a good idea to go along with. Characters who were previously sympathetic started acting like assholes and I kind of stopped caring about them.
So what I learned here is that if I ever get to visit London, Highgate cemetery would be an interesting tourist attraction and seriously, do not lend me any more Audrey Niffenegger books.
The second book I read was a mystery novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. And no, I didn't read it just because it had the word "pie" in the title. It's not really about pie. It's more about stamp collecting and murder and then pie. It's the sort of English murder mystery inhabited by generally eccentric characters. (They reminded me very much of characters you see in Edward Gorey drawings.) Anyway, the book is narrated by Flavia de Luce, an 11 year old girl obsessed with chemistry and poison, who resolves to solve a murder in which her eccentric father is implicated. I think the story would have been better served had it not been written in the first person. Although Flavia rather reminded me of Harriet the Spy, I had a hard time suspending disbelief at the idea that she's supposed to be an 11 year old girl when the narration sounds of someone much older. However, it was generally a fun read and did not especially annoy me. As it is supposed to be the first of a series, I wouldn't be opposed to reading more about Flavia either.
And now I have gone back to my favorite comfort reading, Georgette Heyer novels, and am reading The Masqueraders. It's set much earlier than her Regency stories and involves cross dressing siblings on the lam(!) after a failed Jacobite rebellion in the 18th century. So obviously, it is awesome so far.
So far this month, I've finished reading two books. The first was Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenneger, which Nicole and Sarah lent to me, despite my protests that I am apparently the only person who didn't like The Time Traveller's Wife, which they also lent me. (It wasn't so much as that I didn't like it, as it was that I hated the ending. It was an intriguing read for the most part.) They pointed out that it was about cemeteries and ghosts, morbid subjects I usually find interesting.
And those bits I actually did like. Being a history buff, I was really interested in the parts about London's Highgate cemetry. And with some of the story being from the ghost's point of view was kind of novel. It was interesting enough for me to read it pretty quickly.
However, I disliked the way the writer handled the multiple points of view. I like multiple points of view in a novel, but changing p.o.v. in the middle of a paragraph (or two or three times a paragraph) makes it confusing about who is feeling what.
And again, Niffenegger wrote an ending that really annoyed me. There's a plot twist that makes absolutely no sense, seeing as how you'd have to be an idiot to think it was a good idea to go along with. Characters who were previously sympathetic started acting like assholes and I kind of stopped caring about them.
So what I learned here is that if I ever get to visit London, Highgate cemetery would be an interesting tourist attraction and seriously, do not lend me any more Audrey Niffenegger books.
The second book I read was a mystery novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. And no, I didn't read it just because it had the word "pie" in the title. It's not really about pie. It's more about stamp collecting and murder and then pie. It's the sort of English murder mystery inhabited by generally eccentric characters. (They reminded me very much of characters you see in Edward Gorey drawings.) Anyway, the book is narrated by Flavia de Luce, an 11 year old girl obsessed with chemistry and poison, who resolves to solve a murder in which her eccentric father is implicated. I think the story would have been better served had it not been written in the first person. Although Flavia rather reminded me of Harriet the Spy, I had a hard time suspending disbelief at the idea that she's supposed to be an 11 year old girl when the narration sounds of someone much older. However, it was generally a fun read and did not especially annoy me. As it is supposed to be the first of a series, I wouldn't be opposed to reading more about Flavia either.
And now I have gone back to my favorite comfort reading, Georgette Heyer novels, and am reading The Masqueraders. It's set much earlier than her Regency stories and involves cross dressing siblings on the lam(!) after a failed Jacobite rebellion in the 18th century. So obviously, it is awesome so far.
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