Reviews and Comments

The Year of Sanderson continues with The Frugal Wizard's Handbook but it didn't do it for me. For how short this book is (372 pages) I took quite a while to get through it.

April has been a bit more chaotic than I anticipated and if a new Sanderson book couldn't encourage me to sit and read for hours at a time then no author could.

I found the story entertaining but I wasn't fully engaged. As the backstory of the lead, John, comes to light I didn't feel compelled to keep reading and learn more. I treated this book with a casual attachment, reading here and there when I could, and the book didn't punish me for that. Thankfully this was a fairly straight forward story to read and I could take a few days off between reads without being lost when I returned.

The premise of the story is fun. The origin that this started as a "what if" story Brandon would toy with when sleeping is also appropriate; even when he's trying to fall asleep he creates a story.

It's not Sanderson's best work and that's okay. This was a change of genres and story telling for him and it's great that Sanderson felt comfortable enough to experiment and let us all follow along.

Taylor Jenkins Reid has a thing for parents. Be it absenteeism, genuine love and support or emotional abuse, Jenkins Reid doesn't let up on her characters and their relationship with parents. Malibu Rising is a story about generations of parents and the lasting effects their presence, or lack or, has on their children and their children's children.

Nina didn't hate Carrie Soto for stealing her husband because husbands can't be stolen. Carrie Soto wasn't a thief; Brandon Randall was a traitor.

The redemption arc for Soto in Carrie Soto is Back is a bit more enjoyable with her appearance in Malibu Rising. The b*tch is back rings true because Carrie is cold, ruthless and lacking emotion. Had I heard Malibu Rising first I would have found myself hating Carrie for a good portion of the book, maybe all of it.

And Nina understood, maybe for the first time, that letting people love you and care for you is part of how you love and care for them.

Overall I enjoyed Malibu Rising. The teaser was the epic conclusion to the party but the enjoyment came from learning about the Riva's, the relationships between siblings and sacrifices made to support each other.

You act like you've dedicated your life to tennis. But you came back to win, not to play.

This book grabbed my attention and didn't let go. I love a redemption story. I love an underdog tale. I love reading about athletes that are at the top of their game and how they continue to stay at the top. This book gave me everything I enjoyed and more.

Which matters more? The wins or the losses?

Carrie Soto was destined to be the best at tennis and nothing else. Her struggles with failure, reconciling what Self she wants be and overcoming adversity made this a very entertaining read.

The book I brought is an unauthorized biography of Daisy Jones and the Six. I'm only reading to see who slept with who, but I can't focus.

Insert meme of Leo sitting in a chair pointing at the TV.

As I write this review I'm on my third Taylor Jenkins Reid book (Malibu Rising) and I am appreciating the little universe that has been created. Single sentence references to characters have a whole world and story to explore. It's not required reading to understand the context but I definitely appreciate how everyone is impacted, be it big or small, but the characters Jenkins Reid has created.

As happy as you are when it starts, you always end up that same amount of sad when it's over.

I took a few days to write this review and some of my thoughts have escaped me but I highlighted a bunch of passages from the book so I'll add them here.

We live in a world where exceptional women have to sit around waiting for mediocre men.

Somethings I think being the very best is antithetical to being happy.

I wonder how it feels to be able to love tennis without it threatening to forget you with every passing match.

Maybe it's a lie that you have to keep doing what you have always done. That you have to be ale to draw a straight line from how you acted yesterday to how you'll act tomorrow. You don't have to be consistent. You can change, I think. Just because you want to.

This is difficult for me to admit but Children of Earth and Sky was a little underwhelming.

Guy Gavriel Kay is a legend at his ability to write beautifully. I love how he slowly crafts the story and weaves characters and politics together in a reimagined history. While I liked the book it failed to grab me in a way that would encourage me to read the rest of the books that follow this sequence.

I don't have a problem with a large ensemble of characters or even a story that moves at a slow pace, but this Children lacked something to keep me going.

I have crashed hard on several books now and realize it's probably time for a genre reset. I may return to this world again but I'd probably be more inclined to read a different Kay series as historical fiction is a little on the fringe of what I enjoy.

Surviving Babel did not necessarily mean survival.

What I learned from the Poppy War series is that Kuang will put characters through the emotional ringer and Babel was relentless. Kuang told a beautiful story that was reminiscent of Guy Gavriel Kay's historical fiction works, but slightly more accessible.

They were both shaken by the sudden realization that they did not belong int his place, that despite their affiliation with the Translation Institute and despite their gowns and pretentious, their bodies were not safe on the streets. They were men at Oxford; they were not Oxford men.

Among the action and magic of the Silver, what stood out for me was the heavy topic of isolation, racism and xenophobia Remy, Robin and Victoria experienced. The blinders that Letty had for what experiences her friends suffered was incredibly powerful and hit home in a real way for the current state of the world.

Language is a resource just like gold and silver. People have fought and died over those Grammaticas.

Historical fiction is a genre I don't actively seek out because I find the story can be bogged down in the history (sorry Mr. Kay, you write beautifully but it can be overwhelming). Kuang developed such a fantastic world with just enough magic to be inspiring but not bogging down the story with actual places and events. I could see this story being accessible for people of fiction and fantasy alike.

They'd chosen a good day for revolution.

The book was longer than my recent reads but I found my reading speed to be fairly fast. I was interested in where the story would go next and surprised how much was packed in here. The story never spent too long on one year of school or focusing on something irrelevant. This was a well paced and effectively edited book. There are surprising events and the stakes for the students, faculty and society is very real and present.

But it is worth noting that to be good at something is not quite the same as loving it.

This book perplexes me. It started off with a slow pace but I was engaged. I enjoyed the book but I wasn't sure where it was heading. However, I felt my reading speed was equivalent to a story with twice as many pages. I also wondered if the story was going to be a slightly less entertaining retelling of Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid but for video games.

I never considered stopping but it was as if I was treading in quicksand with the progress I made, and then something changed.

Either the character stories coalesced, the story became more enjoyable to me, or I was able to read for longer in a single session. Whatever happened it flipped my thoughts about the book around and I understand why this book was a Goodreads 2022 winner and has such a high rating.

The knowledge and experience we have - it isn't necessarily helpful, in a way.

I like video games. I haven't played as much as I did when I was younger but I recall a certain joy and nostalgia with the games that shaped my youth. The book has a heavy focus on video games, but not blatant on references like Ready Player One. Rather the story is a homage to the evolution of games, the struggles of an artist and realizing that you will have failures in your life.

Considering my many concerns about credit, it turns out that no one remembers who's responsible for anything.

Video games are a heavy focus in the beginning but then the story shifts to the characters, their friendships and complications. The relationships are complex. The characters hide their traumas and unintended slights cause a crack to appear that causes people to drift apart. Nothing is straightforward and nothing is easily repairable.

I liked how the video game development mirrored the narrative (eg: the development of Both Sides showing a compare and contrast with Sam and Sadie). I was reminded of how Fonda Lee wrote the characters in the Jade Wars and how the most unlikeable or insignificant character could have an emotional impact. What Gabrielle Zevin did for Sam, Sadie and Marx is stunning.

The way to turn an ex-lover into a friend is to never stop loving them, to know that when one phase of a relationship ends it can transform into something else. It is to acknowledge that love is both a constant and a variable at the same time.

The story is about friendships over the course of their lives, through the highs and lows. I was frustrated by the actions of Sam and Sadie in one chapter and then deeply moved in the next. Zevin did a wonderful job on developing these characters and maturing them over the course of the book and I was a little sad to see the book end when it did.

I thought it wouldn't work, but I didn't know it wouldn't work, so I didn't say anything.

I picked Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? as I needed a light, not overly complicated read that I could pick up for small bits of time while on vacation. This book didn't help. I wanted to read more. I would get through one chapter and immediately want to read the next.

Alyssa Mastromonaco has a very casual, personable and easy writing style that I felt like I was hearing someone casually talk about their personal story. The story didn't unfold in a linear progression, the jumps between time and location was perfectly fitting for someone talking about their career.

Women need to know they are right before they stand up. Men are OK objecting if they just think they might be right.

I'm not a female in a predominantly male driven workplace. I have never had to break down barriers or work to bring disposable menstrual products into my office. Alyssa did all that while being judged for her age, gender and marital status.

...turned out that not having the answers did me no harm.

This is an inspiring book for females, those who want to break into politics or the rest of us who have insecurities about speaking up and may have the slightest sense of imposter syndrome.

How did one give shape to absence? Fill a black hole with light?

I added The Book Eaters to my reading list after seeing it was nominated in the 2022 Fantasy category. I'm no stranger to fantasy and enjoy different takes on the genre. The Book Eaters is a low fantasy story with a very unique magic system.

It's a fun concept simply told. Right off the bat I was enthralled by the idea of a book eater.

There is also Victorian era/Bourgeoisie/Vampire vibe to the story where families can be comprised of different types of eaters, they are self governed but also have to work together to keep the harmony.

It is one thing to have a repository of data, and quite another to use it.

Unfortunately the story, albeit short, wore on, felt repetitive and I didn't find myself as interested in the characters.

I could see this book being excellent if it was within the larger eaters universe. Perhaps a different perspective from Harrow (right? the cousin?) or a glimpse into what the eaters society was like earlier. And then when we arrive at Devon's story there is a bit more investment in the characters.

One reviewer said this was a story "about motherhood, womanhood, and humanity, and less about the actual concept of mind & book eaters" and that may be the difference here. I wanted a story to understand the eaters universe but it's a story about a mother keeping her child nearby (sorry Salem, guess we'll get you in the sequel?).

Going by the Goodreads star rating, the story was okay but I didn't "like it". There were elements that were interesting and could appeal to others, as evident by the pretty high rating of the book. If there was more focus on the eaters, how their reproduction challenges are being faced, include some social commentary that you get from a secret society of mutants, etc. then maybe that little extra would give me something to grab on to and I could enjoy the story more.

This wasn't the same place. It looked the same, but without his mother here it was as if a fog had lifted, revealing a place he'd always hoped he'd find.

This was a light and simple read that was wrapped in layers of emotional baggage and loss. I had no expectations going into the book and with no prior experience with any of Sarah Addison Allen's books I was completely blind.

She needs help understanding the right reasons to stay. And the right reasons to go.

The residents of this complex in Mallow Island are all running, hiding and holding onto memories of loved ones. The story explores what implications there are when we maintain that connection, be it good or bad.

Zoey understood that mothering was in the details you never saw. And the lack of it was the things you always noticed.

There is an elegance in a story like this where it feels like you are relaxing on a patio on a calm summer day but there is a complex and heartbreaking under everything. You can enjoy the book on the surface but also dig down to the different characters of The Dellawisp, examine their burdens and motives that has been influenced by their relationships.

Roscoe Avenger and ghosts again...everything on this island seems related to those two things.

You're here Zoey. She'll always exist as long as you're in the world.

It would appear that utopia is an unstable state.

The Bobiverse lives on in Heaven's River and as a fan of the trilogy I enjoyed this story. However, there was something lacking from making this a four star read.

Perhaps the search for Bender was a little drawn out in the beginning? I enjoyed the anthropology aspects from the initial trilogy by exploring new worlds and biomes through the eyes of someone on the ground. Having this happen again bordered on repetitive. The topopolis and Quinlans are unique locales and occupants but this "new world being explored" narrative would be tiresome if it repeats book after book.

It felt like there was very little else going on in the story outside of searching for Bender, and maybe having some shift in story focus occur earlier would have helped. When the bubbles of civil war did appear this was a pleasant contrast to the Quinlan/find Bender story.

It was a full-on post-human civilization, and would be a utopian dream, except for the issue of replicative drift.

Taylor continues to push the boundaries of the Bobiverse by introducing theoretical technologies and reaches the hot topic of replicative drift. Taylor does a wonderful job of taking thought experiments and playing them out in the stories. With different iterations of Bob to play out the parts it offers a wonderful opportunity to settle in for topics that are theological and existential.

the wonderful thing about knowledge is that you can give it away and still have it.

In the end this is a worthy update to the Bobiverse story and Taylor continues to leave opportunities to explore this ever changing universe that the Bobs find themselves in.

If you wish to become a storyteller, here is a hint: sell your labor, but not your mind.

The Year of Sanderson starts promptly with a new book releasing on January 1 and it's told from the perspective by Hoid! We are truly spoiled.

Lem might have been poor in the kind of currency that paid taxes. But he was downright wealthy when it came to the kind of currency that mattered.

Tress of the Emerald Sea is a Cosmere novel that requires no Cosmere knowledge, but like with all things Sanderson, if you know a little the implication in this book are plenty. On the whole this is a very lighthearted, whimsical fairytale. I wasn't in a rush to read the book but I found it very easy to read a chapter or five in a sitting.

Memories are fossils, the bones left by dead version of ourselves.

The world building and magic system were creative and it involves pirates! And a dragon! The illustrations in the ebook probably didn't do the designers work justice but I appreciated having some approved artwork to supplement the story as opposed to using my head-canon.

...worries are the only thing that you can make heavier simply by thinking about them

Fun read and great way to start off 2023!