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imperfectletter7. My Man Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (audio book)
First totally legitimate audio book. I'd actually wanted to read this, but after listening to it, I'm glad I didn't. I'm not sure I would have liked it, because it is all rather hilariously silly. But listening to it, and especially with the reader the Overdrive mp3 version of the book had, it was one great story after another. There were a couple I liked especially well -- the ones with Jeeves and Wooster were the best, but there was another that took place on a beach that was fun as well. I am eagerly looking forward to more Jeeves and Wooster audio books.
8. Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
I've put enough space between reading the books in this series, that it keeps things fresh. I like Laurence and Temeraire quite a bit, so reading of their adventures is always fun. This book is probably the slowest of the three, but that didn't deter me. In fact, I enjoyed the battle scenes, though sometimes they verged on confusion. But what I really liked was both the way Laurence interacts with Temeraire, but also how they both interact with the different types of dragons. This book was good, a nice middle section of the story. I will eventually keep reading the series, but for now, I like what Novik's done integrating dragons with the Napoleonic era.
9. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
I did not really like this novel, and I think it's for a number of reasons. One of them is that I spoiled myself by reading Looking for Alaska first. John Green's book is a brilliant look at boarding school life and it's both elegantly written and profoundly heartbreaking. Prep is none of those things, and for that reason alone it was a disappointment. But I think, even more than that, it was Sittenfeld's writing style that turned me off. I did not like how the book was written in such a way that you knew things would turn out all right (maybe not immediately, but eventually) because the story was being told from the point of view of an adult. Often, this is well done and I've read several books over the past year that handle this quite well. I think Sittenfeld tried too hard to get us to care about his characters, but I didn't feel anything buy annoyed. I think that if he'd written it differently, with a different tone, I might have liked it, but the only reason I finished it is because I was curious about what big event charged so much of the narrator's telling of the story. And, again, it was just another letdown. Perhaps I shouldn't use John Green's writing (and writing style) as a comparison to Sittenfeld's, but I can't seem to help it. Prep was a mildly entertaining way to spend a few days of reading, but I have no desire to read it again -- or anything else by Sittenfeld.
9 / 100 books read. 9% done!
First totally legitimate audio book. I'd actually wanted to read this, but after listening to it, I'm glad I didn't. I'm not sure I would have liked it, because it is all rather hilariously silly. But listening to it, and especially with the reader the Overdrive mp3 version of the book had, it was one great story after another. There were a couple I liked especially well -- the ones with Jeeves and Wooster were the best, but there was another that took place on a beach that was fun as well. I am eagerly looking forward to more Jeeves and Wooster audio books.
8. Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
I've put enough space between reading the books in this series, that it keeps things fresh. I like Laurence and Temeraire quite a bit, so reading of their adventures is always fun. This book is probably the slowest of the three, but that didn't deter me. In fact, I enjoyed the battle scenes, though sometimes they verged on confusion. But what I really liked was both the way Laurence interacts with Temeraire, but also how they both interact with the different types of dragons. This book was good, a nice middle section of the story. I will eventually keep reading the series, but for now, I like what Novik's done integrating dragons with the Napoleonic era.
9. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
I did not really like this novel, and I think it's for a number of reasons. One of them is that I spoiled myself by reading Looking for Alaska first. John Green's book is a brilliant look at boarding school life and it's both elegantly written and profoundly heartbreaking. Prep is none of those things, and for that reason alone it was a disappointment. But I think, even more than that, it was Sittenfeld's writing style that turned me off. I did not like how the book was written in such a way that you knew things would turn out all right (maybe not immediately, but eventually) because the story was being told from the point of view of an adult. Often, this is well done and I've read several books over the past year that handle this quite well. I think Sittenfeld tried too hard to get us to care about his characters, but I didn't feel anything buy annoyed. I think that if he'd written it differently, with a different tone, I might have liked it, but the only reason I finished it is because I was curious about what big event charged so much of the narrator's telling of the story. And, again, it was just another letdown. Perhaps I shouldn't use John Green's writing (and writing style) as a comparison to Sittenfeld's, but I can't seem to help it. Prep was a mildly entertaining way to spend a few days of reading, but I have no desire to read it again -- or anything else by Sittenfeld.
