Bookish Thoughts

Thief of Time  is a lot sillier than I remember it being. It's not exactly a bad thing. But I remember loving this book, and this time around I only liked it. It was fun and funny. But the past few books have had a depth that this one lacked. So I ended up feeling a bit let down. The thing this book is missing is the biting social commentary that I remember as such a hallmark of the Discworld  series. Of course, it took years for the books to evolve from the silly adventures of Rincewind to the much more hard-hitting advancement in Ankh-Morpork. They're all satire, but some of them are a whole lot lighter than others. The past few books have been heavy, though. Pratchett was tackling more complicated issues, holding that distorted mirror back up to our world and demanding that readers take a good look around. And so Thief of Time  feels like a bit of a regression. It's a good, solid book. But by Discworld standards, it is merely okay. There's a lot to like here. Su...

Jasper Fforde's The Last Dragonslayer  is a lot more accessible than his other books. I liked The Eyre Affair , though I get the feeling that that series requires a PhD in English to be truly appreciated. And Shades of Grey  is one of the most difficult books I've ever succeeded in reading. By comparison  The Last Dragonslayer  is positively straightforward. Which makes sense, as it was written for children. The world he creates is still absurd, a mishmash of high fantasy and modern technology that is a little too unrecognizable to really qualify as urban fantasy. But I felt like I understood most of the references this time around. It's not that his plot require that much brainpower. This is a pretty simple chosen one story about an orphan who finds out that she's the last in a long line of dragon slayers and it's been prophesied that she will slay the final living dragon. There are twists and turns, but nothing too outlandish. No, the absurdity is in the details...

This was a fun and moving satire about the ridiculous feuds rich people find time for and the lengths to which mothers will go for their children. It was funny and poignant and I really enjoyed reading it. The amazing thing is that there aren't that many likable people in this book. The titular Bernadette is petty and selfish. Her husband is entirely too wrapped up in his work, running away from his problems rather than dealing with them. Their neighbor, Audrey, creates drama everywhere she goes and is sure that nothing is her fault. Her friend is completely delusional. The book works because it is functionally told from the point of view of Bernadette's daughter, Bee, who is innocent in all this. She loves her mother and wants nothing more than to find her after she goes missing. She does this by reconstructing her last few days. The book is mostly told through emails and notes and other artifacts that paint a picture of a life worth fleeing. Ultimately Bernadette and he...