Bookish Thoughts

Miles Errant  opens with this novella about Miles breaking out of a POW camp. It's one of the shorter stories set in this universe, but it still manages to pack a punch. Bujold takes Vonngeut's advice to start as close to the ending as possible, so we open with Miles getting tossed into prison. There's no background about how he got there, which means that he knows a lot more than the reader. But it doesn't feel that way. Miles sets about trying to organize the prisoners, and it isn't until 2/3 of the way through the story that the why falls into place, revealed right as the action starts. It's always fun to watch Miles puzzle his way through problems. He has a fantastic brain and a silver tongue, and those are literally his only assets in the prison. Even his clothes are stolen in the first few pages. But he's as resourceful and manipulative as ever, and it doesn't take him long to organize the prisoners. Placing himself in charge, of course. The re...

The seventh book of the  Wheel of Time  series is where many people agree that the series takes a dive in quality. Although I think it's less that anything changes significantly and more that people get tired of how stagnant the books are becoming. Nearly nothing happens in this book. Jordan still has serious issues writing female characters and romantic relationships. The world is continuing to be expanded on, and the rules of the magic system are slowly (so slowly) becoming more clear. But this is also a step down in terms of length. We go from a few 1000 page books in a row to one that's only 850 pages (and the next is less than 700!). Combine that with my brilliant idea to read  A Tale of Two Cities  right before this book, and I positively flew through it. I think you have to reach a sort of zen state to get through this series. There are a lot of side plots, a lot of world building, a lot of descriptions of clothing. Rather than just hating certain characte...

The third volume of Hawkeye backs up a bit to redo the last few pages of the last issue, which was largely free of dialogue, as it was shown from the point of view of Hawkeye's dog, Lucky. In the opening pages we get to see the argument between the two Hawkeyes, which ends with Kate Bishop storming out and continuing to storm all the way to LA, where he life promptly disintegrates. This volume collects the issues that chronicle Kate's time in LA, looking for a place to live and a job, battling her nemesis Madame Masque, and uncovering some truly horrific secrets. Watching her find her feet as she has to work for money for the first time in her life is a lot of fun. She makes some cool friends along the way, acquires a cat, and continually pisses off a detective. In the end, she heads back to New York to pull Clint Barton out of a tangle he likely doesn't know he's in. She's smarter and faster and more determined. The next volume is the conclusion to this comic r...

I read this book in high school, and unlike so many other people I actually did all of my assigned reading in school. I decided to re-read it because I didn't remember a thing about it. What's weird is that I definitely remember reading this book. It was the first time I was allowed to read one of my grandfather's fancy books, so I took great care of it. I distinctly remember sitting in an auto shop, reading this for hours, while my first car got its first oil change (the first one I gave it anyway). I remember talking about the symbolism and taking quizzes. But aside from the knitting lady and the opening and closing lines, I couldn't tell you a thing about the plot or characters or anything. Having re-read it, I think it's mostly because Dickens uses so many words. He repeats himself, goes off on tangents and comes back to the point within a single sentence. His descriptions are flowery. And while he sometimes sets the scene in an incredibly powerful way, more...

Moving Pictures  has never been my favorite  Discworld  book. Far from it really. I tend to file this with the earlier books that never seem to live up to the later ones. This isn't fair.  Moving Pictures  is actually a really solid book. There's an intricate plot that brings together a wealth of characters, an incredible critique of Hollywood, tons of thematic meat, an excellent twist ending and final fight that both plays into and subverts a bunch of action movie tropes, and the beginnings of some threads and characters that will soon become part of the fabric of this world. It's just that I'm not terribly interested in the subject matter. I'm not sure why. I'm an avid consumer of pop culture, and I like everything this book has to say about exploitation and obsession. It just wasn't written for me. It was written for people who live and work in Hollywood. Who are interested in the whole business of making movies, as well as the history of cinematography...

In the fourth volume, Saga finally jumps forward a little. Which is good. If this is going to be the story of Hazel's entire life, then we need some time to pass. Otherwise it will last forever. Hazel has gone from newborn to toddler. Her parents have found a safe haven of sorts, and her mom is working while her dad takes care of her. He's chafing at having to stay hidden. Ilana is chafing at her job. And everything begins to fall apart all over again. There's a lot of plot threads in this story, which means there's a lot to keep track of. But Vaughan handles it well, keeping most of the focus on the central family. I barely even realized that the bounty hunters and Lying Cat were missing until they showed up in the final issue. And in the meantime, the plot threads are starting to intersect in new and interesting ways. I'm really excited for Prince Robot IV to be basically switching sides in his quest for his kidnapped son. It's hard to really talk about ...

I feel like I've been hearing about this book for my entire life, so I was surprised to discover that it was published in 2004, after I'd graduated high school. It, and Jodi Picoult, are things I've always written off as something I clearly wouldn't be interested in. Chick lit, tear jerkers, books that I (foolishly) turned my nose up at. Then I found out what this book was about, and I knew that I had to read it as soon as possible. When two-year-old Kate is diagnosed with Leukemia, her parents opt to have another child, one who has been genetically engineered to be the perfect donor match for their sick daughter. Fast forward and 13-year-old Anna, having spent her entire life in and out of hospitals with her sister providing blood and bone marrow and whatever else she needs, has reached her limit. Kate needs a kidney that may or may not save her life and Anna doesn't want to undergo the risky and invasive procedure. So she sues her parents for medical emancipat...