February book picks

THE VAN HELSING PARADOX, Evelyn Chartres (ebook)

I found the story quite intriguing and interesting but there were many instances when the style of narration was so confusing that I had to reread the same sentence or passage more than once in order to figure out what the author meant. In fact, as I kept reading, more and more ‘buts’ began to pile up. I found the main character, Clara, too distant and mechanical – rather like an automaton than a real person, but that could be explained by her calling and things that she saw and had to do. I suppose she had to be detached and cold-hearted but it stood in the way of my liking her. Additionally, I found Clara’s isolation daunting and I keenly felt the lack of interaction between her and the other characters. There was a lot of telling and little showing in this respect, with the exception of occasional back-and-forth between her and her tutors. I thought that once Edith appeared on the scene we would get to see Clara interact more with someone other than herself – the author’s description of Clara’s thoughts on the subject was quite promising – but their relationship never amounted to anything in the end. There really were very few actual conversations as though the author is allergic to dialogue. I kind of felt that the story wasn’t really moving forward. Clara didn’t seem to learn anything, even though we were often told about her training and learning. However, every single time she would leave the Tower, she would blunder her way into trouble and blunder her way out through sheer dumb luck. Miraculously, she always managed to accomplish things that apparently no one else ever could before her, even though her knowledge and experience were often lacking. Honestly, I felt more sorry for the creatures that she killed than glad that she did it. I guess it was the ease with which Clara dealt with all those creatures that made me feel that it wasn’t a fair fight at all. She might have ended up the best hunter out there, because that was the author’s intent, but because she failed to form any meaningful and lasting relationships, she failed to develop as a person. I felt disconnected from her throughout the book and struggled to understand her.

A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA, Ursula Le Guin (paperback)

A masterfully woven, perfectly crafted, beautifully written old-school fantasy tale that just wasn’t my cup of tea. I enjoyed reading it as a linguist but as a lover of the fantasy genre it failed to entertain me, even while its language kept me completely spell-bound. Just like in the previous book, I was ultimately put off by the main character’s isolation and didn’t feel any connection to him. However, I understand that back in the day the representatives of what I term ‘classic fantasy’ (just like in classic literature, I suppose) treated their characters as tools that moved the plot along, whereas nowadays many authors tend to write character-driven stories. I definitely prefer the latter approach. I like to fall in love with characters I’m reading about. If I’m not invested in the characters, I don’t care about the story, no matter how well-written it is. I know that there are three more books in the series and if I ever come across them I’m sure I’ll buy them and read them but for now I will be moving on.

January book picks

This year I’ve decided to go through as many books as I can, both standing on my bookshelves and gathered on my Kindle. So each month I’ll try to read one ebook and one physical book.

January book picks:

WAYWARD SON, Rainbow Rowell (hardback)

I really don’t know what to say. I feel like this is the silliest and the most ridiculous book I’ve ever read. There were some sweet and touching moments, I grant you, but most of the time it reminded me of complete descent into madness. As a writer myself I’m sometimes genuinely concerned about the books that actually get published and that people apparently enjoy reading. The only thing that kept me going was my fondness for Baz. I know that there is another part but I’ll probably need at least a year before I’m ready to tackle it.

WIDDERSHINS, Jordan L. Hawk (ebook)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I suppose I could call it a comfort read for me. It had just the right amount of history and pace and a perfect balance between good and bad, sweet and gory, romance and adventure. I got really attached to the main characters that I found very easy to like and to understand and I feel like I would really love to go back and reread it. I enjoyed following the development of their relationship during their investigation, learning more about their backgrounds and backstories, and exploring their characters. I know that there are many more books in the series and I’m looking forward to getting into them at a later date.

I want a new Harry Potter book!

I will probably be crucified if I so much as mention her name, but I miss the times when J.K. Rowling was writing and releasing new Harry Potter books. No other book or series of books have such a claim upon my heart as the Harry Potter books. I wish there was a new Harry Potter book coming out. I always wanted J.K. Rowling to write a novel about Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s first few years of their work at the Ministry of Magic. Though, honestly, I would read anything at this point as long as it was Harry Potter-related. "Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore" by Rita Skeeter would be an excellent read, I bet! I would absolutely love to read an Albus Dumbledore-centered story.