For lacklustre romances, I prefer to use my fill-in-the-blank review template; unfortunately my cleverclever formatting didn’t paste properly here and wrestling with HTML to restore it would be an exercise in frustration; instead, the full review can be found here: When the Duke Was Wicked. Links to my other reviews can be found on my list of books by author or The (Shameful) Tally 2014 which includes suggestions and author commentary.
Did one of my favorite authors recently comment on one of my reviews and send me into a fangirl tizzy? Yes. Yes, he did.
A few weeks ago, I read and enjoyed The Vacationers by Emma Straub. And upon finishing my review, promised myself two things. One, that I would seek out more of Emma’s work, and two, that I would solve the mystery of whether or not Emma was related to Peter Straub, one of my favorites. (Have you read Lost Boy, Lost Girl? No? Stop reading this right now and go read that, I’ll wait. It was awesome, right?) And now, here we are, two weeks later. I’ve read […]
Lady Oracle
“I…dipped my finger into the saucer and wrote my initials in sugar-water on the windowsill. I waited to see my name spelled out for me in ants: a living legend.” Lady Oracle opens with the narrator Joan in Italy, after faking her own death back in Canada. The story then flashes back to the events leading up to this, including a difficult relationship with her mother, and relationships with three influential men: Paul, Arthur, and the self-fashioned Royal Porcupine. Joan has been writing historical romance […]
Life Imitates Art
This graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, perhaps knowns to some as the creator of the Bechdel test, to others as the creator of the comic Dykes to Watch Out For, has won critical acclaim and is currently featured as The Atlantic’s 1book140 selection for LGBTQ month. I found to to be a truly engaging read both for its art and for its written content. The art is done in black, white and blue tones. Bechdel mixes up her own comic illustrations of her family with […]
So awesome, so awesome
So this was an intriguing one. The two biggest YA superstars collaborate on a book, each writing alternate chapters, about two high school boys both named Will Grayson. John Green takes the straight Will, best friend to the biggest, gayest teen (ironically nicknamed Tiny, of course) while Levithan gives us the gay will, who is too cool to use capital letters at any point ever, but otherwise leads a tortured existence, prone to black moods and on medication to stabilise his moods. A freak turn […]
Nearly but not quite
Every year, there’s another attempt at writing The Great American Novel. And the latest instalment in that neverending series is David Gilbert’s latest novel, & Sons. Very early on, Gilbert sets out his stall with “Fathers start as gods and end as myths and in between whatever human form they take can be calamitous for their sons”. So we know what we’re dealing with. This is the story of A.N. Dyer, a Salinger-esque novelist, as reclusive as he is revered, and his three sons. The eldest is […]
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