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Took her for a drink on Tuesday; Book Post 26-29
AHHH MUST READ MORE, 20 TO GO BEFORE JULY D:
Book: Guards! Guards!
Author: Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy, humor
Pages: 384
Plot in ten words or less: Bumbling guards try not to do their job. They fail.
Why I Picked It: Because I have recently been inducted to the club of Pratchett Believers.Review: LOVED IT even more than the Witches books I read, actually. I love love love the city and the attitude of the citizens and VIMES and CARROT and I have to wonder if this book is where Pratchett started to hit his stride in constructing Discworld, cause this is frickin' tight, man. I have Men At Arms on loan from Kol and I can't WAIT to read that - I hope I can get through all of the City Watch books at this rate cause I love them so. My only nitpick was that I thought the identity of the antagonist was a bit of a durr, but then again, this wasn't meant to be an uber-mystery.
THROW THE BOOK AT HIM!
Book: A Briefer History of Time
Author: Stephen Hawking, with Leonard Mlodinow
Genre: Non-fiction, science
Pages: Audiobook
Plot in ten words or less: WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHY MAN (on the macro scale)
Why I Picked It: K gave it to me, and I've been in a physics mood lately.
Review: I will not lie - I fell asleep four times listening to this book. However, I do not blame the book for this. I am notoriously terrible at getting through non-fiction books. Unless there are brains exploding or guns firing (or uh, the presence of a Darcy), I have some trouble getting through books, and generally non-fiction doesn't go through topics like that. The book was so rivetting that every time I did fall asleep, I made the effort to go back and relisten to everything until I got my fill of all of it, and then some. For the Time Travel chapter, I went back twice to make sure I understood it all correctly.
I really really enjoyed this book though. I think it will take another read for me to feel confident in the material, but I would happily do that for the enjoyment of the humor of the book, and the simplicity of the explanations. I don't feel talked-down to in this book, but it is about high topics, so that is an impressive line for the authors to have tightwalked.
Also this book is a hotbed of fic ideas :D
Book: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: Romance, classical
Pages: 272
Plot in ten words or less: Magnificent bastard and contrary awesome lady, and their confusing courtship.
Why I Picked It: Because my mother threatened to disown me if I didn't :<
Review: WHY DIDN'T I READ THIS BOOK YEARS AGO.
I MEAN GODDAMN.
THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING I LOVE. ELIZABETH. DARCY!!! DARCY!!!!
Though I loved Elizabeth hardcore insanely. My favorite scenes include her first refusal of Darcy, and when Lady Cathrine got TOLD.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME AND IS NOW MY INSPIRATION FOR EVERYTHING FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. Refusing to talk to my male jerkass chars until they learn to take a page from Darcy's book (though Warren thoroughly believes he already is superior to Darcy not only in handsomeness and wealth, but also intelligence and rudeness).
Book: Odd Thomas
Author: Dean Koontz
Genre: Supernatural, thriller, horror.
Pages: Audiobook
Plot in ten words or less: Guy sees dead people, but dammit, does something about it.
Why I Picked It: Because I read the manga Odd Thomas book and really enjoyed that, and expected the books to be better.
Review: PRO TIP - DO NOT FINISH THIS AUDIOBOOK WHILE YOU ARE ON THE LAST LEG OF A 9 HOUR DRIVING SESSION. IT IS HARD TO DRIVE AND SHOVE YOUR HEART BACK INTO YOUR CHEST AT THE SAME TIME.
This book was killer though. If you are a fan of nice-guy protagonist characters, Odd Thomas is probably the most interesting and likeable I've ever encountered. Odd Thomas, like most other Koontz books, is pretty cut-and-dry good vs. evil, so you can't expect to find too many flaws with the main cast, but dammit they are all so quirky that you learn to forgive it. I don't think there is a single 'good' aligned character that a person should dislike, really, most of all Odd and his girlfriend Stormy.
The book is also surprising in its horror element. It seems to work almost in contradiction to the lazy, easy tone of the narrator (Odd), but then sneaks up on you and hits you with a bat in the alley. As I mentioned before, I love non-stop action, and this book barely goes a chapter without some insane shock around the corner. CLIFFHANGERS GALORE. Koontz really is Stephen King on a high dosage of crack washed down with Red Bulls.
Again though, the ending is so fucking heartbreaking that I really don't know if I can continue reading the series. I will let this marinate and decide later.
Also the ghost of Elvis is a reoccurring character. Badass.
Next up: Fire and Hemlock, Good Omens, and Men At Arms.
WILL TALK ABOUT MY AWESOMESAUCE KOL ADVENTURE IN MY NEXT POST PROMISE.
Book: Guards! Guards!
Author: Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy, humor
Pages: 384
Plot in ten words or less: Bumbling guards try not to do their job. They fail.
Why I Picked It: Because I have recently been inducted to the club of Pratchett Believers.Review: LOVED IT even more than the Witches books I read, actually. I love love love the city and the attitude of the citizens and VIMES and CARROT and I have to wonder if this book is where Pratchett started to hit his stride in constructing Discworld, cause this is frickin' tight, man. I have Men At Arms on loan from Kol and I can't WAIT to read that - I hope I can get through all of the City Watch books at this rate cause I love them so. My only nitpick was that I thought the identity of the antagonist was a bit of a durr, but then again, this wasn't meant to be an uber-mystery.
THROW THE BOOK AT HIM!
Book: A Briefer History of Time
Author: Stephen Hawking, with Leonard Mlodinow
Genre: Non-fiction, science
Pages: Audiobook
Plot in ten words or less: WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHY MAN (on the macro scale)
Why I Picked It: K gave it to me, and I've been in a physics mood lately.
Review: I will not lie - I fell asleep four times listening to this book. However, I do not blame the book for this. I am notoriously terrible at getting through non-fiction books. Unless there are brains exploding or guns firing (or uh, the presence of a Darcy), I have some trouble getting through books, and generally non-fiction doesn't go through topics like that. The book was so rivetting that every time I did fall asleep, I made the effort to go back and relisten to everything until I got my fill of all of it, and then some. For the Time Travel chapter, I went back twice to make sure I understood it all correctly.
I really really enjoyed this book though. I think it will take another read for me to feel confident in the material, but I would happily do that for the enjoyment of the humor of the book, and the simplicity of the explanations. I don't feel talked-down to in this book, but it is about high topics, so that is an impressive line for the authors to have tightwalked.
Also this book is a hotbed of fic ideas :D
Book: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: Romance, classical
Pages: 272
Plot in ten words or less: Magnificent bastard and contrary awesome lady, and their confusing courtship.
Why I Picked It: Because my mother threatened to disown me if I didn't :<
Review: WHY DIDN'T I READ THIS BOOK YEARS AGO.
I MEAN GODDAMN.
THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING I LOVE. ELIZABETH. DARCY!!! DARCY!!!!
Though I loved Elizabeth hardcore insanely. My favorite scenes include her first refusal of Darcy, and when Lady Cathrine got TOLD.
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME AND IS NOW MY INSPIRATION FOR EVERYTHING FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. Refusing to talk to my male jerkass chars until they learn to take a page from Darcy's book (though Warren thoroughly believes he already is superior to Darcy not only in handsomeness and wealth, but also intelligence and rudeness).
Book: Odd Thomas
Author: Dean Koontz
Genre: Supernatural, thriller, horror.
Pages: Audiobook
Plot in ten words or less: Guy sees dead people, but dammit, does something about it.
Why I Picked It: Because I read the manga Odd Thomas book and really enjoyed that, and expected the books to be better.
Review: PRO TIP - DO NOT FINISH THIS AUDIOBOOK WHILE YOU ARE ON THE LAST LEG OF A 9 HOUR DRIVING SESSION. IT IS HARD TO DRIVE AND SHOVE YOUR HEART BACK INTO YOUR CHEST AT THE SAME TIME.
This book was killer though. If you are a fan of nice-guy protagonist characters, Odd Thomas is probably the most interesting and likeable I've ever encountered. Odd Thomas, like most other Koontz books, is pretty cut-and-dry good vs. evil, so you can't expect to find too many flaws with the main cast, but dammit they are all so quirky that you learn to forgive it. I don't think there is a single 'good' aligned character that a person should dislike, really, most of all Odd and his girlfriend Stormy.
The book is also surprising in its horror element. It seems to work almost in contradiction to the lazy, easy tone of the narrator (Odd), but then sneaks up on you and hits you with a bat in the alley. As I mentioned before, I love non-stop action, and this book barely goes a chapter without some insane shock around the corner. CLIFFHANGERS GALORE. Koontz really is Stephen King on a high dosage of crack washed down with Red Bulls.
Again though, the ending is so fucking heartbreaking that I really don't know if I can continue reading the series. I will let this marinate and decide later.
Also the ghost of Elvis is a reoccurring character. Badass.
Next up: Fire and Hemlock, Good Omens, and Men At Arms.
WILL TALK ABOUT MY AWESOMESAUCE KOL ADVENTURE IN MY NEXT POST PROMISE.