A Month's Worth of Books, pt. 2

Okay, so, my thoughts on some of the books I read over the last month - we'll call this the "Foreign Mystery" edition:

S.J. Parris, Heresy - I read this one a while ago, but I got the sequel from the library, so i figured I'd re-read the first one so that I'd remember who/what was going on. I guess that was a good idea? In any case, the book was also fine, I guess? I read it either right around the time of the wedding (my best friend's wedding, yay!) or right after, so I was really just looking to relax with something mindless. And mindless it was, despite being a period mystery starring Giordano Bruno. What does it say about me that I find it more interesting to ponder if it should be "S.J." or "S. J." than the book itself?

S.J. Parris, Prophecy - I suppose this one deserves a review of it's own, since it's not a re-read, but I don't really remember it all that well at this point. More Giordano Bruno in England, working as an information-gatherer. I think it was...fine? Not so bad I stopped reading, or that I remember having a strong negative reaction, but certainly not good. I do vaguely remember thinking that I'm done with the series; even if there's another one written, I don't have any desire to read it (or them). I've stuck with plenty of other series before, even when they weren't all that well-written, but I'm not invested in the character, either, so it's just not worth the time.

Teresa Solana, A Not So Perfect Crime - I'm not sure if "Murder and Mayhem in Barcelona" is part of the title or just a snazzy teaser line they put on the cover. In any case, apparently the book won a prize for being the best crime novel written in Catalan in 2007. I'm thinking maybe there weren't a lot of competitors? I feel bad being snarky, but it really wasn't all that impressive. Not sure if maybe it was a translation issue, but I just didn't feel like the story was that good. It wasn't gripping, or compelling, or even, really, interesting, and in the case of a mystery, that's a pretty bad thing. The basic premise was interesting: a man and his brother work as fixers, more or less, but nobody knows that they're brothers, and their company is more or less literally a shell. They have an office, and there are fake doors in the wall that lead to the "offices" and when clients come they greet them in the main area, saying the other offices are being painted, and the receptionist is out - and even leave a bottle of nail polish on "her" desk to help sell the illusion. In that sense I felt like the author put a lot of thought into the book - her main characters and their setting, the world they live in and move through, is creatively and vividly imagined and fleshed out. The plot was boring though - no suspense, no surprises. Some humor, but nothing that stood out.

A Month's Worth of Books

The pile of books threatening to topple over and take out my laptop may be a sign that I haven't written about any books in a while. I've been meaning to, but I kept waiting to write something thoughtful, and now there might be a book avalanche and the library wants some of the books back, so I need to at least just list them out.
So, after the most awesome wedding of all time (YAY, my best friend is married!!!), I suddenly found myself with tons of free time for the first time in months, and as well as catching up on my coffee and adult beverages with other friends, and tv, and READING. Roughly in order:
Heresy  S.J. Parris
Prophecy  S.J. Parris
A Not So Perfect Crime  Teresa Solana, translated from the Catalan by Peter Bush
Serena  Ron Rash
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky  Heidi W. Durrow
The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove  Susan Gregg Gilmore
The Children's Book  A.S. Byatt
The Sisters Brothers  Patrick DeWitt
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead  Sara Gran
The Red Garden  Alice Hoffman

I ALSO read Ransom Riggs' fantastic Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but I'm not sure where in the order it goes...maybe between Serena and before The Girl Who Fell From the Sky? I know the Parris books came right after the wedding, if not during; I figured more-or-less brainless period mysteries would be nice and relaxing. Then I think I grabbed the Solana off my bookcase one day because I needed a paperback (something light) to carry with me some where (which is funny, because I totally took it on a trip to DC to visit E for the same reason, and never got around to reading it). And those all feel like they happened a while ago, but the Durrow seems relatively recent, so I think Ransom must have been before it...

In any case, Miss Peregrine's is going to get its own glowing review, just not now. And when did I read the even more awesome, although very different, River of Smoke (Amitav Ghosh)?

Chick-lit follow-up

So, last night I had a really wonderful time doing absolutely nothing with T, my dear, dear friend and former roommate.  We sat around on my couch and talked about serious matters and inconsequential fluff, watched the season premiere of America's Next Top Model, and had prosecco & creamcheese brownies from the Black Sheep (yes, I brought them from Amherst to Boston, and it was totally worth it!).  F***ing phenomenal.  And, of course, with a friend who knows you as well as T knows me, and who you are as open & comfortable with as I am with her, the serious things can be dealt with in a light way that makes them easier to process, and serious insights can be found in the fluffier chats.
I also finally got to give her her Christmas present, which included The Monsters of Templeton, which I have already declared my love for in this blog.  I am so excited for her to read it, and I was also really happy because she told me how much she had liked The Flamenco Academy (which, again, I originally read the same weekend as Monsters of Templeton), and even passed it on to a friend.  Some books I read and never think about again, or they're just good for a break from real life once in a while, but some books have a bigger impact, and I think the best sign of a book is if you recommend it to someone you care for and respect.  I've said it before, but these are two books I just thought were fantastic, and I am so, so excited that someone I love thought so too!
They're both novels by women, about women, and both - in some ways - about growing up and finding your (female) self, but if they're chick lit, they're chick lit in the best way.  I was thinking about them again last night, because I gave one (so now both) to T, but also because I have been really bothered by this currently chronic leg/back pain that I assume is a result of the surgery I had in December.  At first I was trying to escape the pain by reading really "light" books, thinking I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything too serious or well-written, but these were two books that I thought were very well written, and end up dealing with some quite serious emotions and situations, but they're so compelling and real that as a reader you just get dragged in, and that makes a real escape possible.  Heresy's really not cutting it for me in that sense right now (although a combo of prosecco & chocolate-coma, Heresy, tylenol pm, and CVS-brand muscle rub are somewhat helpful - minus the fact my apartment now smells minty/mentholy-fresh all day long!), but I am going to try to scope out my shelves for a weekend winner. 
Have La Salle, by John Vernon, with me today: I needed to bring a book because I am going to the doctor's to get checked out, and need waiting room reading, but I'm too close to the end of Heresy, and it's too heavy, to bring it with me and finish it in ten minutes, so La Salle was the lightest book I could grab quickly.  Don't even remember when I took it out from the library or why, but at least it will be a surprise, even if it's not great!

More weekend reading

Started Heresy: An Historical Novel, by S.J. Parris, this weekend.  Right off the bat, it took me a while to get into it because the back - and sometimes front - of my mind was arguing over if "AN historical" is grammatically correct or not.  I feel like it is not, or at least that "a historical novel" would be fine, but who knows.  I pronounce the H in "historical" but maybe other people don't?  Book itself is fine; main character is Giordano Bruno, so that's interesting, and it takes place during his visit to Elizabeth's Oxford to debate Copernican theory, while secretly holding a commission from Walsingham.  Not super grippping, but enjoyable.  Which is a d**m good thing, because, of course, I went and bought it on impulse the other day, because I had a 40% off coupon from Barnes & Noble - great, except it still ended up being like $15, so I had better enjoy it!  Especially considering I have literally shelves of books I mean to read at the apartment...