This book, by Brandon Sanderson, (who, incidentally has been chosen to finish up Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time series) is superb. It is a well-imagined, well-crafted world. He pulls us into it very artfully, explaining some of the basic concepts we need to understand the natural laws of that world). Unfortunately, there is a little spoiler on the back cover, which, fortunately, I didn't read until afterwards.
It has not one, but two heroines, who start to blossom at the beginning of the book, and really grow into their characters and become really strong women. Its refreshing to see such well-written women who are strong, not vapid, but who are trying to find their footings in strange circumstances. There are gods, men, evil men, plots within plots, and Sanderson gently leads us down the garden path...
I found it a truly enjoyable novel, in the best tradition of a fantasy novel, as it has all the elements of a traditional one, but combined in unexpected ways.... he even includes a magic sword!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Bitter and the Sweet.
Its Not That I'm Bitter by Gina Barreca.
This was interesting and humorous. I'm not usually a person who laughs out loud at books, but I did at this one at various points. In some ways, it really does describe the life of a modern woman, of the pitfalls and inconsistencies of modern life. She had me nodding in agreement when she asked where Carrie Fisher is... where are the spunky female movie heroines? Its true... Leia gave as good as she got, and more so, in the Star Wars movies... her mother? Got pregnant and died. (disclaimer here, I have never seen the 'prequels', never wanted to, but even I know that Anakin's mom was a wimp in the movie, let alone Padme Amidala...) You are preaching to the choir here, Gina... we haven't really had a good, spunky female heroine since Star Wars. Even in TV land. She also addresses the myth of Prince Charming, who "marries Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and for all we know he's also knocked up Mother Goose." (30) And, hey, we all have a little 'crazy astronaut lady' in us...
Its a book that rings true, about the "I'm not bitter, but COME ON..." pitfalls of daily life as a modern feminist woman...
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz.
Some parts of this book ring so true... you do get dressed, in Paris, to take out the recycling/trash. Some things ring less true for me, but that may be because I'm a French speaker, so hadn't run into that particular issue, ever. I'm also not a gay man (surprise!), but on the whole, it was a tres amusant petit livre. With some wonderful looking recipes... Its a funny little memoir of an American in Paris, and his culture shock.
This was interesting and humorous. I'm not usually a person who laughs out loud at books, but I did at this one at various points. In some ways, it really does describe the life of a modern woman, of the pitfalls and inconsistencies of modern life. She had me nodding in agreement when she asked where Carrie Fisher is... where are the spunky female movie heroines? Its true... Leia gave as good as she got, and more so, in the Star Wars movies... her mother? Got pregnant and died. (disclaimer here, I have never seen the 'prequels', never wanted to, but even I know that Anakin's mom was a wimp in the movie, let alone Padme Amidala...) You are preaching to the choir here, Gina... we haven't really had a good, spunky female heroine since Star Wars. Even in TV land. She also addresses the myth of Prince Charming, who "marries Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and for all we know he's also knocked up Mother Goose." (30) And, hey, we all have a little 'crazy astronaut lady' in us...
Its a book that rings true, about the "I'm not bitter, but COME ON..." pitfalls of daily life as a modern feminist woman...
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz.
Some parts of this book ring so true... you do get dressed, in Paris, to take out the recycling/trash. Some things ring less true for me, but that may be because I'm a French speaker, so hadn't run into that particular issue, ever. I'm also not a gay man (surprise!), but on the whole, it was a tres amusant petit livre. With some wonderful looking recipes... Its a funny little memoir of an American in Paris, and his culture shock.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
