2011 August » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

REVIEW: Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

Posted by Anastasia on August 5, 2011 2 Responses »

Aug 052011

72. Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris
Publication: Harper Voyager (April 26, 2011), Paperback, 416pp / ISBN 0062049763
Genre: Mystery, Action/Adventure, Sci-fi (Steampunk), Romance (sort of)

Read: July 4-14, 2011
Source: Publisher (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.

These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.

For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!

Review

Finding a good steampunk book is a mite trickier than you would think. Myself, I prefer an emphasis on the people and the world they live on than on the tech– though I still think the tech is a big part of it. If you’ve got a book set in a steampunk world, then not only does the steampunk tech have to interesting, it has to be integral. Otherwise what’s the point? The really good steampunk books, the ones I enjoy the most, have a good balance between the people and their tech, and I think Phoenix Rising has that balance. Continue reading »

Thursday Tea (August 4): Elliot and the Goblin War

Posted by Anastasia on August 4, 2011 7 Responses »

Aug 042011

The book: It’s so fucking hot in my apartment, y’all. My back is sticking to my computer chair (through the SHIRT, even!) and all the energy has gone out of me. So let’s make this quick.

I’m reading Elliot and the Goblin War, a freebie book I picked up from Amazon the other day (it’s still free, btw). It’s cute, it’s funny, I’m enjoying it. It’s got that near-surrealism I like in children’s books, and if I can muster up the strength to do more than stare at the ceiling, I’ll probably finish it today.

The tea: I’m drinking iced tea. Did any of you really think I was going to be drinking a hot beverage when it feels like all the good parts of myself have been sweated out?

Do they go together? No. I’m pretty sure goblin and brownies and pixies and whatever don’t drink iced tea, although maybe Elliot would if he was desperate enough. I don’t really know any 11-year-olds who liked iced tea, though. Do you?

Other tea drinkers

The Book Gatherer is drinking “good old gumboot tea” and reading The Rhinestone Button!

(Leave a link to your TT post in the comments and I’ll add you to the tea drinkers list!)

Also there’s a new reader poll up in the left sidebar. If you could take the time to vote I’d appreciate it.

MINI-REVIEWS: Jack’s New Power, Villain School, Decline & Fall

Posted by Anastasia on August 2, 2011 4 Responses »

Aug 022011

Click on a book’s cover to go to its page on Amazon.

50. Jack’s New Power by Jack Gantos
Publication: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (September 30, 1997), Paperback, 214pp / ISBN 0374437157
Genre: MG Fiction

Read: May 30-31, 2011
Source: Library Book sale

Review

This is less like a novel and more like a short story collection of vaguely related events, and unfortunately it’s kind of boring. After the greatness that was Dead End in Norvelt I wanted to really like this one, too, but for the most part I was, well…bored. Oh, it’s got some funny bits in it, and some sad bits and some “oh that was clever” bits, but on the whole, when I think back on it, I remember a sort of bland gray color. I wouldn’t recommend starting with this book if you’ve never read a Jack Gantos book before, although you might like it if you like JG’s other books.

Rating

Just okay.

58. Villain School: Good Curses Evil by Stephanie S. Saunders
Publication: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (August 30, 2011), ARC Paperback, ? pp / ISBN 1599908484
Genre: Children’s/MG Fantasy, Adventure

Read: June ?-25, 2011
Source: BEA 2011

This title will be released on August 30, 2011.

Review

I think if I was younger I’d like this book more. It’s got a magical school where vampires and werewolves and monsters from Scooby-doo movies learn about being “villains,” and there’s a quest and a princess (who is actually pretty wonderful) and it’s kind of funny, but in a way that comes off as trying too hard. It’s not a bad book, it’s just one that severely tests my powers of ignoring things that don’t make sense (why must vampires/werewolves/etc. be villains? Because they just are, apparently). I’m sure if I was younger– more in the range of readers it’s targeted for– I wouldn’t have a problem just going along for the ride. But as an adult reader, I was disappointed.

Rating

It’s not bad for what it is, but I wanted it to be something more.

61. Decline & Fall by Evelyn Waugh
Publication: Dell (1972), originally published 1928, Paperback, ~270pp
Genre: Fiction, Satire

Read: July 1, 2011
Source: Free book box

Review

The bad thing about reading so many books in one month is that one tends to forget things about the books you read at the beginning. Decline & Fall was the first book I finished during my July book-a-day plan, and I’ve almost forgotten everything about it. That’s not a good thing! I can’t remember anyone’s name, I barely remember the plot, and all that’s left is a vague impression that I enjoyed reading it. I had to read the summary on its Wikipedia page to refresh my memory, and even then I was like “oh, did that really happen?” I feel really bad about this, as I do like Waugh’s books and considering that I rated this one 4.5 birds I must have really liked this one. Unfortunately I keep getting bits of it mixed up with A Handful of Dust; I guess it’s a good thing this is a mini-review instead of a full one.

Anyway, despite my memory problems, I did really like Decline & Fall. It’s got that same sort of hard-edged satire that AHOD has, only without the downer ending (although I did like AHOD’s ending). It’s also kind of more surreal than AHOD, which was a lot of fun, and though I don’t think I laughed out loud I did smile widely for a large portion of it. After reading three of Waugh’s books I think I’m getting a feel for his type of humor, which is good, and I think also I’m starting to see a pattern with the characters, which is less good. I prefer it when authors mix up their tropes and whatnot, and Waugh doesn’t seem to be doing that. Then again, I’ve only read three of his books– maybe the fourth one will have more variety.

Rating

An excellent book, despite my having almost entirely forgotten it.

Monthly Review (July 2011)

Posted by Anastasia on August 1, 2011 14 Responses »

Aug 012011

Thinking Back

I did it! I read one book a day in July! Well, it was more like the equivalent of one book a day, as normally I ended up reading two books most days to make up for not finishing a book all in one day. But the important thing is that I did it! Yay!

So, what did I learn? I learned that a) I can pry myself away from the computer quicker if I have a goal to meet, b) it’s a lot of fun spending the whole afternoon reading, and c) my TBR books are a lot more fun to read than I think they are.

I don’t know what it is, but whenever I look at my TBR shelves I keep thinking “I have nothing to read. I don’t want to read those books. I want new books!” even though presumably I put those books on my TBR shelves because I thought they would be good to read. Before when that happened I’d just go out and buy new (but used) books. Now that I’ve cut out buying books I’m basically forced to read my TBR books, so I’m trying not to be silly about it. I have gotten rid of the ones that truly did look boring, and the ones that remain look a bit more enticing than they did before. I suppose it also helps that I found a stack of TBR books hiding behind some non-TBR books (I’m reading one now). Continue reading »