2011 August » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

REVIEW: Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

Posted by Anastasia on August 31, 2011 2 Responses »

Aug 312011

88. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
Publication: Amulet Books (August 1, 2011), egalley, 436pp / ISBN 1419700251
Genre: Children’s/MG Fantasy

Read: July 29, 2011
Source: NetGalley

Summary from Amazon:

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is the utterly beguiling tale of a ten-year-old blind orphan who has been schooled in a life of thievery. One fateful afternoon, he steals a box from a mysterious traveling haberdasher—a box that contains three pairs of magical eyes. When he tries the first pair, he is instantly transported to a hidden island where he is presented with a special quest: to travel to the dangerous Vanished Kingdom and rescue a people in need. Along with his loyal sidekick—a knight who has been turned into an unfortunate combination of horse and cat—and the magic eyes, he embarks on an unforgettable, swashbuckling adventure to discover his true destiny.

Review

When I requested this book for review, I was under the assumption that (based on the title and the cover) it was a lighthearted MG fantasy with whimsical whatevers stuck in. And, yeah, it’s an MG fantasy with whimsical whatevers, but it’s not exactly lighthearted.

Not that it’s dark, exactly. It’s just that it’s a lot less slap-happy than most MG fantasy books I’ve read. In fact, in certain places it’s even gory and horrible and depressing. Continue reading »

GIVEAWAY: Win a copy of The Postmortal by Drew Magary

Posted by Anastasia on August 30, 2011 2 Responses »

Aug 302011

I wasn’t all that satisfied when I finished reading The Postmortal, but I also didn’t want to throw it against the wall. It didn’t make me happy, and in fact it pissed me off a few times, but neither did it make me miserable. By that I’m assuming that literary sci-fi just isn’t my thing, but that if it’s your thing you might like The Postmortal more than I did. [From my review earlier today.]

I have the feeling that more than a few of my readers might be fond of cynical pre-apocalyptic literary sci-fi novels, which is why I’ve decided to go ahead and give away one copy of The Postmortal to someone from the US/Canada. Or, really, it’s the publisher giving away a copy; thank you, publisher!

Rules
1. One (1) winner will win one (1) paperback copy of The Postmortal by Drew Magary.
2. US/Canada only.
3. The giveaway will run from now, August 30th, to midnight EST on September 6th. In other words: TODAY to NEXT TUESDAY.
4. The winner will be chosen using Random.org. The winner will be announced here at the blog on September 11th, unless I forget.
5. You can get two extra entries by 1) being a subscriber and 2) sharing the contest link somewhere. Yay!

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATS TO THE WINNER!

Info will be deleted after the contest ends. I’m not a creep!

REVIEW: The Postmortal by Drew Magary

Posted by Anastasia on August 30, 2011 6 Responses »

Aug 302011

104. The Postmortal by Drew Magary
Publication: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 30, 2011), Paperback, 384pp / ISBN 0143119826
Genre: Fiction (Sci-fi, sort of)

Read: August 27-28, 2011
Source: Publisher (thank you!)

Summary from B&N:

John Farrell is about to get “The Cure.”
Old age can never kill him now.
The only problem is, everything else still can . . .

Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors. Witty, eerie, and full of humanity, The Postmortal is an unforgettable thriller that envisions a pre-apocalyptic world so real that it is completely terrifying.

Review

You know how The Magicians is basically like a “literary fantasy” novel? Well, The Postmortal is basically like a “literary sci-fi” novel, and it knows it. I mostly enjoyed reading The Postmortal– it was scary and kind of exciting and also really disgusting, in a way– but it had this self-awareness to it that I didn’t like. Continue reading »

REVIEW: Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis

Posted by Anastasia on August 29, 2011 6 Responses »

Aug 292011

82. Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis
Publication: Angry Robot (July 7, 2011), ebook, 400pp / ISBN 0857661159
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery

Read: July 18-25, 2011
Source: Author (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

Stan Markowski is a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD’s Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit.

Like the rest of America, Scranton’s got an uneasy ‘live and let unlive’ relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that’s when they call Markowski. He carries a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.

Review

I don’t know why, but I basically compare every urban fantasy mystery with The Dresden Files, which can be detrimental to how much I like a book when it’s really not like The Dresden Files at all. Hard Spell is sort of like TDF in that it’s got urban fantasy stuff and a dude who walks around wearing a trench coat, but TDF is fantasy noir and Hard Spell is more like a police procedural (with vampires). TDF has snarky, pun-y humor; Hard Spell has bantering police officers and really dark humor. TDF has more twisty, interconnecting plots; Hard Spell is more straightforward.

Okay, so: did I enjoy Hard Spell? Yes, even though I kept wondering why it wasn’t The Dresden Files. Continue reading »

The Sunday Salon (August 28): I’m back!

Posted by Anastasia on August 28, 2011 8 Responses »

Aug 282011

So I’m back from California and I’m already missing it like woah. The sooner we can move out there, the better! Not only is it beautiful but there’s tons more bookish events and people and just general bookish awesomeness that I want to bask in like a cat with a mountain of catnip.

So, y’know, I’ve got to keep packing. I’m still at only four boxes packed, all of them books, so I have a ways to go.

Meanwhile, I’m feeling rejuvenated after a week mostly not-blogging. I’ve decided to start working more on my non-book blog (which I’ll link to once it’s less empty/crappy/etc) and I have vague plans for improvement/new stuff to Birdbrain(ed), although they aren’t really implementable until after I move to California. Right now all I’ve done is add a Google +1 button to my posts, though I don’t know how useful it’ll be (it’ll be more useful if y’all click it, of course).

This week is when I do my judging for BBAW, so I might not have as much time to be on Twitter and whatnot– though I AM going to try to write some posts in advance, just in case I don’t feel up to doing it later. I only have to judge 25 blogs (or less?) but I’m guessing it’ll still take me a good while to do.

Also, in completely different news, I’m now at the point where I have to pay taxes on my internet job. So…that’s exciting?

Anyway, what’s been going on this past week? Have I missed anything big? Anything amazing? Scary? Cool? Yeah?

Weekly Book Stats

Books read this week:
101. Bliss – Lauren Myracle [rating: TBD]
102. Feed – Mira Grant [rating: TBD] e
103. Storm Glass – Maria V. Snyder [rating: TBD] e

Books reviewed this week:
Nada.

Books acquired this week:

Bliss by Lauren Myracle (bought).
The Postmortal by (publisher).
Irma Voth by Miriam Toews (publisher).

Currently reading:
I’m reading two books right now: The Postmortal (paper) and Act of Will (ebook). I’m enjoying both so far; The Postmortal is kind of a creepy sci-fi/futuristic novel and Act of Will is a lighthearted humorous fantasy novel with an unheroic lead.

Out Soon (September 2011)

Posted by Anastasia on August 27, 2011 No Responses »

Aug 272011

I, like many other people, have an intense need to know what’s being released soon in the book world. Otherwise I might miss something, and that would be disastrous! So here’s a list of some interesting-looking books that are coming out next month. I hope y’all find it useful! And if I’ve missed something? Let me know in the comments!

(Partially inspired by The Story Siren’s New Reads feature, except I’m not ambitious enough to do it weekly.)

Sept. 6th:

Irma Voth by Miriam Toews (fiction).

Sept. 13th:

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (YA fiction). I’ve reviewed this!
First Descent by Pam Withers (YA fiction). I’ve reviewed this!

Sept. 20th:

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer (YA fiction). I’ve reviewed this!

Sept. 27th:

Debris by Jo Anderton (sci-fi).
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (YA fantasy).
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (YA horror).
Starfields by Carolyn Marsden (YA fiction).
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (YA romance).

What book coming out in September are you most looking forward to?

For a bigger list of books coming out in the following months, check out the Out Soon page!

Thursday Tea (August 25): Feed

Posted by Anastasia on August 25, 2011 10 Responses »

Aug 252011

The book: Like last week’s tea post, I’m writing this in advance as I’ll be on the road for most of Thursday and probably won’t get internet until late in the day. So! I’m currently about 25% into Feed by Mira Grant, of which I have heard many a positive thing.

So far? Yeah, I agree with those positive things. Maybe there’s a bit too much “explain things to the reader that everyone in the world already knows” (I’m sure that’s a trope somewhere) but I love the sci-fi/horror-ness of it all, and I love George, and I love how bloggers are so important to this new, zombie-fied world. It makes me feel sort of cool!

The tea: The hotel I’m at now, where I’m writing this, only has one kind of tea available: generic Lipton stuff that I really hate. So I’m not drinking it. Instead, I’m drinking water because I suppose I’m kind of dehydrated? And water is good for you. But I do want some Early Grey or something, for real.

Do they go together? Feed isn’t really a post-apocalyptic world; I mean, there’s internet and powerful women and besides the zombies and low population it’s basically your standard near-futuristic world. Still, I’m sure something like gunpowder tea would go better with a zombiefied world, as– well, how do you kill zombies? Exactly.