I don't believe I've read much at all, modern or historic, about New Zealand. I'm interested to see how this one plays out, given elements of protest and political upheaval at an age where your personal life can already be a bit complicated. This promises to be a quick listen, so join me again soon for a review.
Violet and Daisy by Sarah Miller
I was fairly new to the story of Violet and Daisy but I do have an interest in the history of sideshows and Vaudeville, so I was invested in this story pretty early on. Miller makes it easy, presenting their story in a largely narrative structure. The book mostly proceeds in chronological order, backtracking on a few occasions to explain some context. It's not strictly factual, as Miller occasionally editorializes about motivations though she is clear on the difference between recorded fact and her own opinion or when a source is unreliable. While Violet and Daisy are largely presented as victims, manipulated and controlled for most of their lives, Miller is not afraid to point out the negative aspects of their personalities: their tendency to lie and extreme self-importance. The tone is fairly conversational, a style familiar to frequent podcast listeners. While this is something of a niche topic, it's a fairly compelling read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Author: Jessica Miller
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
The Cartographer's Daughter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
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Summary (provided by publisher): In the land of Tsaretsvo, civil war has divided the human kingdom from the Republic of Birds. Magic is outlawed, and young witches are sent to a mysterious boarding school, from which no one has returned. Olga and her family live a life of dull privilege in the capital until her father displeases the tyrannical tsarina. The family is sent off into exile at the Imperial Center for Avian Observation, an isolated shack near the Republic of Birds. Unlike the rest of her family, Olga doesn’t particularly mind their strange new life. She never fit into aristocratic society as well as her perfect younger sister, Mira. What does worry Olga is her blossoming magical abilities. If anyone found out, they’d send her away. But then Mira is kidnapped by the birds, and Olga has no choice but to enter the forbidden Republic, a dangerous world full of iagas, talking birds, and living dreams. To navigate the Republic and save her sister, she’ll need her wits, her cunning—and even her magic.
My opinion: We've got a unique set-up here. Sure, we see books with magical kingdoms at war. It's the quasi-tsarist Russia setting that stands out. Especially since it begins with the central characters being sent into exile. It is that exile that allows Olga to experience life, magic, and her family in new ways. She's learing that her father and her step-mother are not exactly what she's always assumed. On the whole, though, I feel like I wanted a little more. It's already a lot, all the elements at play here. But we don't go into depth on anything. I wanted to understand the interplay between the humans, birds, and yagas, their motivations and resentments. Their history and culture is simply never addressed. There's some hints of the careful tightrope of the politics in this kingdom, but it doesn't get much landscape. It might benefit from a second volume, to allow more exploration of those ideas.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
I made myself a Kindle cover years ago. It's held up pretty well but the duct tape occasionally wears thin. Here's how it's looked lately. You can see the tape curling, especially along the spine.
After a fruitless search for a patterned tank top, I figured I'd make some of my own out of ill-fitting t-shirts. I had planned a whole tutorial for you using this t-shirt.
Author: Rhett C Bruno
Genre: sci-fi
Similar books: Landscape With an Invisible Hand by MT Anderson
The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M O'Brien
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Summary (provided by publisher): The real world is only where you breathe…
In High Earth, digital entertainment is everything. Shows. Virtual Worlds. Simulations—there’s something for everybody in a city where working for a living has been rendered obsolete by technological advancements. Even a short walk outside to visit with others is no longer necessary. Just load into the network and you can be with anyone, anywhere.
For Asher Reinhart, nothing compares to Ignis: Live, a reality show that pushes human beings to their very extremes. As a volunteer director, Asher closely monitors the lives of those living on an interstellar ark, believing they're the last of humanity.
But when it's determined that the life of the show’s brightest star, Mission, must be put in danger to boost declining ratings, Asher is forced to choose: the show he loves, or the woman whose existence has been the focus of his attention since the day he was born.
My opinion: I was intrigued by the premise here - combining the predatory nature of reality television with a dystopian reality. My feelings for the book on the whole are a bit mixed. At turns it was utterly charming; other times it was obvious and tiresome. Bruno explains just enough of the world's structure for us to accept most of the plot developments without going into excessive detail. Over-explaining can destroy a novel. So too, though, can indulging in too many side plots. And that's the failing here. There are too many complications, too many side obsessions. As the book wore on I became more interested in speculating on what drove odd character behavior than in where the plot was actually headed.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Ever since the emergence of colony collapse disorder, we've seen a big push to educate people about the importance of bees. We can be inclined to think of them as simple creatures that serve a single function or as an annoyance. Books like Hosler's show us the complexity of bee society. We follow a bee from it's metamorphosis through a series of jobs within the colony. The book's structure is something of a mix between "A Bug's Life" and an entry in the Science Comics series. There is a narrative structure, following Nyuki as she grows and learns more about her colony. It's these lessons about the jobs she will hold that teach the reader. We get a fair amount of detail without being overwhelmed by technical language and there's enough plot to keep the reader engaged.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
