Tag: july 2018

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Book Review

Siobhan

July 7th – 12th 2018
★★★★☆

I like books that are told in abstract formats. Text chats, news articles, interviews, letters, emails, this book had it all. Coming off the tails of the Themis Files, I was still craving science fiction, still craving alternative formats, and I’d had this book since I was in college. It seemed to fit the bill.

This book was easy to get into. The format made the 500 pages fly by, and I finished most of it over one night (staying up probably way too late). It suffered from some common young adult novel tropes, but it’s a young adult novel, so that’s to be expected.

We start with an interview about the destruction of a small mining planet. It’s immediately evident that there is a lot happening here. We’re introduced to our two main characters, Ezra and Kady, who had just broken up on the day that their planet is being invaded. The majority of the book takes place on the rescue ships that they leave on, in an attempt to escape from one of the ships that had caused this destruction, the Lincoln.

On top of trying to escape, there are airborne pathogens which are causing people to mutate into killers, the artificial intelligence on the ship can’t be trusted, and Kady just isn’t quite over Ezra. Their relationship blossoms over the emails and text communication that we see them have, right up until the explosive finale.

I found the story compelling. Though Kady was sometimes frustrating as a main character, and the circumstances lended towards being more convenient than they should have in my opinion, I was still excited to turn every page. The formatting definitely contributed to that. I would not have enjoyed the book nearly as much as I did if it had been told in a more standard way. I’m excited to get into the sequel, and plan on finishing this series this year.

Top 5 Favorite Books

Siobhan

Recently, I did the Mid-Year Freakout tag, which was a lot of fun! The very first question had me look at what my favorite book that I had read for that year was, and it was so hard to pick, even just among the 17 that I had read up to that point.

So, I figured I’d make this even harder for myself, and try and choose my top 5 favorite books of all time. This should be painful!

Firstly, I want to start out with a book that I read in high school. In 2011, I walked into an indie bookstore above a coffee shop two towns over from where I live. The cover art intrigued me. I didn’t bother reading the back of it, I just decided to pick it up on a whim. I couldn’t have read this book at any better time in my life. It felt familiar, interesting, and fun. That book is:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Full disclosure, I haven’t read this book since I read it in high school. Sometimes a book comes to you at exactly the right time. I was young, I hated high school, and I wanted nothing more than to leave it and escape into the world of books, movies, and video games. That’s exactly what this book did for me then, and I loved it so much. I haven’t seen the movie yet, mostly because I’m afraid it’ll change my opinion of the book. Eventually I’ll go back and re-read it. I’m sure it won’t live up to the hype that I’ve created for it in my mind, but I’m willing to try and see how my opinions of it have changed.

This book wasn’t the only one that I picked up on a whim and ended up loving. This exact same thing actually happened with a second book, and that book I have re-read, and I still love. That book is:

John Dies at the End by David Wong
I love this book. David Wong’s writing is funny, witty and sometimes downright cruel. This book had me laughing and grossed out at the same time. It’s the type of horror/comedy I wish that I could write. I’m planning on re-reading this (again) and finally continuing on with the series this October for some fun spookiness.

Next, we have a new addition to this list. I read this book earlier this year, and it really resonated with me. I found the main character extremely relatable, and it earned a very rare 5/5 stars from me. That book is:

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
I did a full review on this book. I read the whole thing in about a day. I cried for most of that day. The portrayal of Eliza’s struggle with perfection, her desire to create, and her anxiety about pretty much everything resonated with me so much. I loved the relationships between Eliza and her family, and I think about this book all the time. I’ve read Zappia’s other book (Made You Up) and while I really enjoyed that one, this one is definitely the better of the two.

I didn’t want to put any series on this list, but I read series all the time so that seemed pretty impossible. I did try and pick my favorite from each of the series though. The first one that I wanted to talk about is:

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
The writing in this book is amazing. This is the last book in a trilogy, and everything comes down to this. I read this book in only a few days, because it had me gripped to the pages. I found myself unwilling to put it down (and do the dishes) because of how good this book was. Of all of Laini Taylor’s books, this one is definitely my favorite. We’ll see if that changes in September when her new book comes out though!

Finally, I would be lying to myself if I didn’t include at least one book from this next series. It’s not going to come as any kind of surprise for anyone who knows me. The real challenge came from choosing which book was my favorite. After much deliberation, that book is:

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Come on, you knew it had to be coming. The question you’re probably asking yourself though, is “Siobhan, why the second book?” Well, I’m glad you asked. The second book and the fifth book are probably tied for my favorites in the series. I love this whole world, but the second book is where we start to get interesting. The introductions are out of the way. We know the characters, we know the backstory, and it’s time to get into some interesting stuff. Spoilers for Harry Potter, if you haven’t read it, but this is where we get the first Horcrux. This is where we have foreshadowing with the vanishing cabinet, and this is where we really start to unpack the potential that this world has. In the third book, things start to get darker. This book still has more of a middle-school, fun feel. It’s light, it’s quick, and it still packs all of the knowledge that the rest of the series does. This one is my favorite.

Maybe at some point I’ll choose another five books, or I’ll come through and list my top 5 favorite series, but for now, I should get back to reading!

-Siobhan

The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel | Book Series Review

Siobhan

 

January 1st – 12th 2017 | May 19th – 25th 2017 | June 26th – July 3rd 2018
★★★★☆

This is a weird moment.

I started the first book in this series, Sleeping Giants, at the beginning of last year. I got a free digital version of the book from some promotion, and it sounded really interesting. Giant robots? Science? Aliens? Sign me up! I read it in just under two weeks, coming off of a massive re-read of Harry Potter that I had started at the beginning of December 2016. This was the first “new” book that I had read in a few years. I felt rusty, learning new stories instead of depending on old ones that felt nostalgic to me. There’s something amazing about re-reading a series you love, but there’s something even more amazing about discovering a new one.

The Themis Files are that series for me. I’ve read a few series the past two years, but this one stands out as one of my favorites. Finishing the first book in January of last year, I had to wait until March for the second book to come out. The real eternity came with the over year-long wait for the third and final book. Though this book came in the mail in the midst of my reading slump, I’m glad that I finally picked it up and was able to get back into this world.

Sylvain Neuvel started writing this book on his iPhone, sitting on his couch at the end of the night. He’s a busy dad, he didn’t have time to write

And he did. Three times. He’s a huge inspiration for me. I’ve read his interviews, I’ve talked to him briefly on Twitter and Goodreads. Besides being a great author, he’s a kind and amazing human being who loves his fanbase and is just excited to have someone to talk to about the stories that he’s telling. If I’m ever published, I hope to some day be the type of author that Sylvain Neuvel is.

Spoilers ahead.

These books tell a complex story. They weave characters in from other planets, and they do so with such care. The entirety of the trilogy is told through interviews, recorded conversations, news broadcasts, letters, and journal entries from a sea of different characters. He killed off and brought back one of my favorite characters, then killed two other favorites. But they’re all favorites. Neuvel’s characters are beautifully flawed and real. They react as humans would react.

The main premise of the books are this: mankind finds giant robot parts buried at different points in the Earth. They uncover them, build the robot, and try and find ways to pilot it. They find that the robot was put here by an alien race who visited a long time ago, and that alien race comes to Earth to finish what they started.

Things get more complicated from there. There are politics, science, and giant robot fights. It’s a wild ride from start to finish. Countries are at war, people are detained, different languages are spoken in the book, not all of them from Earth.

The third book in particular feels extremely relevant to everything going on in today’s world, and makes me wish that an alien race would just come down and tell us to stop everything happening politically.

I found myself lost in these books. They’re quick, fun, enjoyable, and I can’t wait to see what else Sylvain Neuvel writes, because I know I’ll get just as lost there.

The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel | Series Review

Siobhan

January 1st – 12th 2017
★★★★☆

May 19th – 25th 2017
★★★★☆

June 26th – July 3rd 2018
★★★★☆

This is a weird moment.

I started the first book in this series, Sleeping Giants, at the beginning of last year. I got a free digital version of the book from some promotion, and it sounded really interesting. Giant robots? Science? Aliens? Sign me up! I read it in just under two weeks, coming off of a massive re-read of Harry Potter that I had started at the beginning of December 2016. This was the first “new” book that I had read in a few years. I felt rusty, learning new stories instead of depending on old ones that felt nostalgic to me. There’s something amazing about re-reading a series you love, but there’s something even more amazing about discovering a new one.

The Themis Files are that series for me. I’ve read a few series the past two years, but this one stands out as one of my favorites. Finishing the first book in January of last year, I had to wait until March for the second book to come out. The real eternity came with the over year-long wait for the third and final book. Though this book came in the mail in the midst of my reading slump, I’m glad that I finally picked it up and was able to get back into this world.

Sylvain Neuvel started writing this book on his iPhone, sitting on his couch at the end of the night. He’s a busy dad, he didn’t have time to write 

And he did. Three times. He’s a huge inspiration for me. I’ve read his interviews, I’ve talked to him briefly on Twitter and Goodreads. Besides being a great author, he’s a kind and amazing human being who loves his fanbase and is just excited to have someone to talk to about the stories that he’s telling. If I’m ever published, I hope to some day be the type of author that Sylvain Neuvel is.

Spoilers ahead.

These books tell a complex story. They weave characters in from other planets, and they do so with such care. The entirety of the trilogy is told through interviews, recorded conversations, news broadcasts, letters, and journal entries from a sea of different characters. He killed off and brought back one of my favorite characters, then killed two other favorites. But they’re all favorites. Neuvel’s characters are beautifully flawed and real. They react as humans would react.

The main premise of the books are this: mankind finds giant robot parts buried at different points in the Earth. They uncover them, build the robot, and try and find ways to pilot it. They find that the robot was put here by an alien race who visited a long time ago, and that alien race comes to Earth to finish what they started.

Things get more complicated from there. There are politics, science, and giant robot fights. It’s a wild ride from start to finish. Countries are at war, people are detained, different languages are spoken in the book, not all of them from Earth.

The third book in particular feels extremely relevant to everything going on in today’s world, and makes me wish that an alien race would just come down and tell us to stop everything happening politically. 

I found myself lost in these books. They’re quick, fun, enjoyable, and I can’t wait to see what else Sylvain Neuvel writes, because I know I’ll get just as lost there.

Unhauling

Siobhan

It’s not a sad day, I promise you. 

This past month, I’ve been working pretty hard to clean out my apartment. I have way too much stuff, and I needed to get rid of some of it. I went through every nook and cranny, through bins and boxes and back closets with too many spiders. I realized during this tirade of cleaning that most of the things taking up my space were books.

This isn’t a problem. I love my books. I have literally hundreds that I’ve read and loved. But the main problem was that I had hundreds more which I hadn’t read, hadn’t loved, and didn’t have any plans to continue with. To add to that, I also didn’t have the space for all of my books.

My living room has four bookcases in it. All four were stacked completely full, and most of them had two rows of books to accommodate the large volume that I had. It was time to get rid of them.

So, I sorted. I spent two full days going through and individually deciding on which books I was going to get rid of. Did I read the book? Did I have any plans to read the book if not? Did I enjoy the book when I did read it? Would I re-read the book? If the answer was no to most of these questions, the book was destined to find a new home.

Total, I donated over 180 books. 180! That’s bananas! These books all found a good home at a local donation center, and now I have less clutter in my house as a result. Two car-loads later and my house feels better, my bookshelves have slightly more room (though still not a ton, let’s be honest) and I can actually see the spines of most of them.

I will need to get more shelves eventually, because I know this isn’t going to curb my appetite for new books, but it’s a start, and those books will all find better homes.

-Siobhan