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Recently read books
Oct. 30th, 2013 04:58 pmBlueheart by Alison Sinclair
This was great! \o/ It's a story about conflicts around terraforming a planet which is mostly covered by water, and it's got both interesting science and worldbuilding and thoughtfulness about social issues. Lots of interesting characters and political issues, and it easily passes the Bechdel test. It mostly appealed to my brain rather than my heart, which is funny since a review excerpt on the back of the book says it's a more personal/emotional take on terraforming than KSR's Mars trilogy. I think it's because something in the writing was just slightly sideways to the way I talk and think and interact? Which is not a bad thing in itself. Anyway, recommended.
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle
I didn't enjoy this as much as the other L'Engle I recently read. This is a YA book from the POV of a sixteen-year-old, and I couldn't relate to it as much as the other one. I would probably have liked it a lot more if I'd read it in my teens? Also, I usually like L'Engle's spirituality, but I dunno, the all-benevolent telepathic dolphins were a bit much for me. No doubt they aren't that much different from the cherubim and farae and such in her fantasy books, but the difference for me is that dolphins are actual animals who don't behave like that.
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
Read for the book club I recently joined; it's mainly a description of what it was like to be poor in Paris and London in the 1920's. I thought it was interesting? Lots of in-depth description of things I had no idea about, and the writing style is very readable.
Also, I was pondering reading Vonda McIntyre's Starfarers books, but the protagonist is a Canadian called Victoria Fraser MacKenzie. Being a due South fangirl, that name combination might be a little too much for me to take...
This was great! \o/ It's a story about conflicts around terraforming a planet which is mostly covered by water, and it's got both interesting science and worldbuilding and thoughtfulness about social issues. Lots of interesting characters and political issues, and it easily passes the Bechdel test. It mostly appealed to my brain rather than my heart, which is funny since a review excerpt on the back of the book says it's a more personal/emotional take on terraforming than KSR's Mars trilogy. I think it's because something in the writing was just slightly sideways to the way I talk and think and interact? Which is not a bad thing in itself. Anyway, recommended.
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle
I didn't enjoy this as much as the other L'Engle I recently read. This is a YA book from the POV of a sixteen-year-old, and I couldn't relate to it as much as the other one. I would probably have liked it a lot more if I'd read it in my teens? Also, I usually like L'Engle's spirituality, but I dunno, the all-benevolent telepathic dolphins were a bit much for me. No doubt they aren't that much different from the cherubim and farae and such in her fantasy books, but the difference for me is that dolphins are actual animals who don't behave like that.
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
Read for the book club I recently joined; it's mainly a description of what it was like to be poor in Paris and London in the 1920's. I thought it was interesting? Lots of in-depth description of things I had no idea about, and the writing style is very readable.
Also, I was pondering reading Vonda McIntyre's Starfarers books, but the protagonist is a Canadian called Victoria Fraser MacKenzie. Being a due South fangirl, that name combination might be a little too much for me to take...
