Rated The Omega Factor: Immaculate Possessions 8/10
<div>A solid, spooky tale. Now having finished this, I've listened to all the Omega Factor content from Big Finish, so I hope they make more. Here's hoping.</div>
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Rated Doctor Who: Luna Romana 9/10
<div>I'm probably ranking this highly because I'm fond of Romana stories, and this one has 2 Romanas (3, in a roundabout way), so why not? It's a very good Companion Chronicles story.</div>
Rated Doctor Who: Old Soldiers 8/10
Always nice to spend some time with the Brig.
Rated The Story of a New Name 10/10
<div>I wish I'd started on Ferrante when these books came out! I was even on the list for review copies!! AND YET.<br><br>Better late than never!<br><br>Anyway, this book was even better than MY BRILLIANT FRIEND, which I also loved.</div>
Wants to read Unf*ck Your Habitat: You're Better Than Your Mess
Rated The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid (26-Mar-2015) Paperback 8/10
<div>Even when I figured out whodunit, I didn't know the WHY until near the end, which is a great sign of McDermid's skill as a mystery writer. That said, I wish some of the dialogue was less expository, and I wish she didn't have such internalized fatphobia. Still, I am enjoying the Karen Pirie series.</div>
Rated The Sirens of Titan 6/10
This was the first Vonnegut book I've read (I know, I'm under-read in certain areas), and it was fine for me, but I suspect that there are others of his I'd like better.
Rated Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe 10/10
Rated The Yiddish Policemen's Union 6/10
Rated The Glass Hotel 10/10
Loved it. A great exploration of the things we tells ourselves to feel okay with our lives, the boundaries we create, and a particular sort of time in the 00s.
Rated The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay 10/10
Rated The Story of Mary Maclane 6/10
<div>RIP Mary MacLane, you would've loved livejournal, tumblr, and AO3. We would have lost you to Poster's Madness years ago.<br><br>Mary MacLane, if you didn't know, was Winnipeg-born, but it was in Butte, Montana, where she gained notoriety as a "wild woman" who was going to write about herself and whatever else she wanted, and if that includes fanfiction about the Devil and shading Charlotte Brontë, then so be it!! <br><br>She was bisexual, feminist, angry, lonely, one child of many, breathing in mining fumes, confident, funny, complex, and unfortunately, a big Byron and Napoleon fan. You're not reading her for great literature, but I love that a Butte gal got everyone up in arms, circa 1902. #ButteAmerica<br><br></div>
Rated The War Master: Future Phantoms 8/10
Rated There There 10/10
Easily one of my favorite books I've read this year.
Rated The Night Circus 8/10
One criticism I have read about The Night Circus is that it relies too much on set description at the expense of action, and I suppose I can see that point, but I rather enjoyed all the scene-laying. If we are to believe in the fantastic beauty of this place, then we need to be able to see it. The plot, especially the challenge, is a slow-burner, but I didn't mind.<br><br>Part of what makes the book so effective is that it taps into our desires for something greater than ourselves, and our yearning for moments of magic. The circus provides an escape for all who visit it, a place where they have no responsibilities other than to enjoy the experience. Because there are different tents instead of one big tent with different scheduled events, the guests are invited to choose their own path. The circus does not dictate what one should find pleasurable, or when one should see it. A person can spend all night in one tent, or they can try to visit as many as they can before sunrise. It's a lovely idea.<br><br>(My full review can be found at <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-night-circus-by-erin-morgenstern.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)
Rated Birnam Wood 9/10
<div>In some ways, this book is the spiritual successor to Catton's previous novel, The Luminaries — nefarious businessmen, money to be made off elements in the ground, and the consequences of entangling yourself with the sort of person who sees you as a means to an end. However, Birnam Wood is definitely not the same book, moving us to the modern day fictional area of Thorndike, New Zealand. There are young idealists, gardeners who just want to save the world a little a time, and the willful ignorance of the always upwardly-grasping rich (and the ultra-rich taking advantage of them all). Everyone is compromised in their own way, despite their posturing and efforts to appear otherwise. You definitely won't like everyone here, but that's not the point.<br><br>If I had any complaints, the semi-abrupt ending left me with a few questions, but I also see what Catton was doing with it. When pressed against the wall, when you only have what is in front of you to work with, all your speeches and myth-making no longer matter. With the time remaining, what are you able to DO?<br><br></div>
Rated Doctor Who: The Revenants 8/10
<div>A really solid Companion Chronicles story, where the Doctor doesn't even have to be there until the second half.</div>
Wants to read The Principles of Uncertainty