Georgette
Part of what makes me squee in delight is that this takes place in Singapore, which is close enough to Malaysia geographically and culturally for me to relate and not have to keep checking the glossary. It is a cute mystery story with a smart but perpetually hungry kid and his wisecracking robot sidekick. In this first book, Sam invents Watson the robot, who immediately embarks with him to solve the mystery of a missing cookbook while traipsing all over Singapore's food heritage.
I found that there's actually a lot of books in this series already, so congratulations to the authors AJ Low getting picked up by Andrews McMeel!
This digital copy was courtesy of NetGalley.
I've not read a ‘Pearls before Swine' compilation prior to this one although I've chuckled at the ones a friend regularly shares on Facebook. This book was a delight, combining the slapstick of the Crocs with their long suffering zeeba neighba, and the comedy of Rat, Goat and Pig. Puns are fun!
My ARC was courtesy of NetGalley.
This is a gorgeous graphic novel, emphasis on the graphic part because there are no words here. The story unfolds in images and each is picture perfect. I found the solitary lion mentioned in the description a little hard to follow because I can't tell one lion from another. Usually a second read will clear things up somewhat, but my app kept freezing when I tried opening this book again. So I can't say much here cept that I'm excited to learn that there's a first and second book before this one and will be looking out for them. Worth it for the artwork alone.
This digital copy was courtesy of NetGalley.
The description of this graphic novel is interesting, particularly when gender dysphoria is gaining recognition, technology is close to perfecting full body transplants, and society is grappling with the ethics of it. Here's the official blurb:
A dystopian tale that analyzes the conflict between perception and identity through the struggle of three people who consider a ‘body transplant' as a solution to their lives.
This and the cover design was enough to perk some interest on some rather heavy topics. I appreciate where Rios was trying to go with this but a couple of things didn't really work for me, particularly with the red-pink monochrome that the comic uses throughout (feels unfinished somehow) and the skinny text that had me frequently pinching and zooming the page on my iPad. It read better at second try, but there were parts where the panels and action was chaotic and hard to follow.
There were three main characters - Noa, Mike and Charlotte. Noa identifies as a man but feels trapped in a petite female body that will never turn into the hulking lumberjack type like Mike. Mike claims to be an ex-convict seeking a new life. Charlotte claims to be bored. On Noa's request, they sit down after their body transplant briefing for a chat because Noa is the youngest (17) among the three and needed some hand-holding.
In the end, Noa was the only one with a fully developed story line. I won't give away what became of Mike and Charlotte, but it does leave you wondering, especially with Charlotte.
Rios partnered with neurologist Miguel Alberte Woodward, MD for the science-y parts, including an essay at the end of the volume entitled ‘Stitching (an) I.D. Together', which I skimmed and ultimately skipped over. Perhaps the more medical or scientific minded reader would find this more interesting.
This ARC was courtesy of NetGalley.
How could I have NOT heard of this webcomic before??
I don't live with cats, but I'm somewhat familiar with them because I have many friends who are cat slaves, and I used to work at the local animal shelter.
Georgia Dunn's cast of three cats - Lupin, Puck and Elvis - report on the hard-hitting issues such as “The People bought some stupid-looking thing for the dining room”, and “The house is under attack from a mysterious red dot”, or “The Woman is trying to use a laptop”. Cue some extremely predictable cat behaviours with deadpan commentary and the seriousness of getting a job done.
Bonus points: I'm a journalist... a newspaper one, but a journalist nonetheless and I can relate to the importance of being on top of current issues such as being at the scene where bacon is being cooked or entertaining great suspicion when you are told you're not allowed to be somewhere.
I love this book so hard. I read it at least two more times and bookmarked the website so I can catch up with the latest news, which is further along than where the book ended. I showed this galley and gave the URL to a couple of colleagues who have cats AND a Human Pupa. This is probably my best discovery this month.
If you are an animal rescuer or support your animal shelter, the reporter cats have a wonderful Special Report on shelter cats here which is worth passing along: http://www.breakingcatnews.com/breaking-cat-news-special-report-shelter-cats
This ARC is courtesy of NetGalley.
I acquired this digital copy of Dirty Pretty Things by Michael Faudet via NetGalley.
Stars: 2/5
tl;dr: Read this book if you “don't like, don't read” poetry.
Full Review (with photos, bonus commentary and a surprise appearance by the author):
http://www.georgettetan.com/2016/06/review-dirty-pretty-things-michael-faudet/
For some reason, I was disproportionately excited about finally getting a copy of Faudet's poetry book. Perhaps it's because I've read and liked Lang Leav's Love & Misadventure, and because the nature of their relationship resulted in the expected cross-promotion on my newsfeed. You probably encountered the hype for both, even if you're not the poetry-reading type. The promotional work was extremely well done and quite likely contributed to its great success.
According to his blurb everywhere, this book is a “#1 Best Seller”. It was also a Goodreads Readers Choice Award Nominee for Poetry last year, but everyone (including Leav's Memories) lost out to Trista Mateer and her second poetry collection The Dogs I Have Kissed.
Leav wrote the introduction to the book, which was not unexpected. She shed some light on how they met, and that they already share a similar aesthetic, which you'd notice if you've read both their work. She talked about how their writing brought them together. What writer won't find that terribly romantic and who won't want a match who's also their creative soulmate?
A bunch of pages in and I was already getting this uncomfortable feeling like I have overextended my expectations of the book.
Nonetheless, I soldiered on but I was making updates on both my Litsy and Goodreads account as I went along. But the sinking feeling continued. One of the big problems I had with Dirty Pretty Things is that the poems appear on one page, followed by a blank page. I grabbed my copy of Love & Misadventure (it's from the same publisher) and found the same thing, cept that I didn't really notice it with physical book. On an iPad, it's an extra swipe.
There were many of these one-liners, and some were good but the others seemed like an awful waste of a page. I mean, I've shot off a repartee or two on Facebook every now and then and gotten a lot of likes for it. I wouldn't have thought to compile them all in a book for prosperity, but maybe that's why I'm toiling in obscurity instead of being a best-selling author.
Okay, I don't hate it all. There's a few in there that I liked, including a couple of one-liners. And you gotta admit that the pithy stuff fits nicely in a social media graphic, doesn't leave things hanging the way an excerpt from a novel does, and can be enjoyed whether or not you go looking for the rest of it.
Other reviewers mentioned this: you'll probably notice the phrases “dusky pink nipples” and “white cotton panties”, among others, jumping out at you. If you're the drinking type, go get sloshed.
There's a few longer pieces - short stories or flash fiction. I felt that those were more substantial. Faudet is capable of writing some engaging prose; I enjoyed those more and wonder how he'd fare writing a novel.
Dirty Pretty Things was the first ARC I downloaded from NetGalley and I was ready to give it all the stars. I wanted to sigh dreamily at every page. Instead I made a Twilight/50 Shades comparison.
The first and last time I read Kathy Reichs was a very long time ago, and I don't even remember which Tempe title it was. I normally won't pick a book in the middle of a series but it sounded the most interesting in the very limited selection of audiobooks at the National Library of Malaysia via Overdrive, which I was keen to test drive.
Fortunately it didn't matter that I was starting in the middle. Dr Brennan's professional and private life were meticulously outlined and described so that a newcomer is all caught up. I imagine that if I were to read this in print, I would have skimmed over chunks of text describing scientific methods that only vaguely made sense to me. That was the most slow-moving parts.
I usually don't do audiobooks because I prefer print, but I've been looking for something to fill my time when I'm not engaging my brain in a passive task like walking to dog or doing chores.
Having said that, I've come to appreciate Lorelei King's voice acting through the 8-10 hours we spent together. Her range of voices and accents was impressive.
I needed a couple of days to recover from this novel. By the end of it, I was drained yet enthralled. My reader-self was in pieces on the floor, but my inner psychopath was as delighted as the day I discovered [b:The Silence of the Lambs 23807 The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2) Thomas Harris https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390426249s/23807.jpg 22533] and Hannibal Lecter. Hey, if a certain Ms Steele can have an inner goddess, I can have an inner psychopath. The premise is as it says on the tin - boy is tired of living, brutally murders a pretty and popular classmate, and goes on the run. Eventually he is caught, or rather, he turned himself in because he figured the cops are too slow and dumb to actually catch him. While the drama played out around him, he clinically toys with the China justice system and everyone swarming around his case - his mother, his aunt, his victim's mother, the investigating officers, the journalists. He spends a lot of time alone and contemplates suicide to end the boredom of endless waiting. We sit with him inside his head for the entire ride and sometimes there's nothing interesting going on in there, which I suspect is rather different from how traditional crime novels work. I also suspect this contributed to the number of reviews saying that the second half of the story was slow. Usually the action and frenzy builds towards the end of the novel when the heroes are closing in on the criminal before he gets away. In this case, Su (which is the boy's name, mentioned perhaps just once in the entire novel) wasn't interested in getting away. He just wanted them to solve the puzzle of why he did it and execute him already, and holy shit they're taking bloody forever.While his act was completely premeditated, we don't get a full grasp of why he did it until he explained it in the end. I admit that I'm not a fan of confessional monologues that run several pages, but I was pretty invested at this point and didn't mind that much. I found myself nodding along to his explanation (again with that inner psychopath thing).This is the first time I've read a novel from China that I enjoyed. I've decided not to name names that made me stop, and call it a day here.
This book is the Muggle equivalent of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them'. An overly-thick tome with gorgeous photographs of fairy-like creatures in their pristine habitats, detailing what they eat and giving a glimpse of how they live. I didn't finish reading this book. The date indicates when I gave up. Encyclopedias are only fun if you are very interested in the subject or if you're looking for something, which I'm neither. Stars for the photography and layout though.
Interesting juxtapose between western decluttering conventions and the KonMari method. She recommends throwing out things that “doesn't spark joy”. I can't throw away a perfectly good item when it can be donated or sold. Slows down the process but reduces landfill. Having said that, I can't disagree with being conscious of what you own and keeping items that make you happy. She also assigns personalities to her items, treating them as though they had feelings. It's weird when you read it in a book teaching you how to do stuff, but I think most of us do it already.
Ex Libris is a book about being a reader, an exploration that goes beyond books that were being read/reviewed and into the greater surroundings. If looking at someone's library tells you what kind of person they are, Ex Libris admits the reader into the Fadiman household, detailing ordeals such as combining libraries, and how the greatest romantic thing a husband can do is locate a used bookstore she'd never been to before, containing all her favourite types of reading material. This book is hugely relate-able as a reader.
I've not come across a novel with an omniscient narrator in years! Or maybe that hyperbole on my part... the POV jumped out at me because it switched from character to character every few paragraphs rather than alternate chapters. I remember this style from older books, something nobody does anymore because where's the tension and mystery if we know what everyone is up to?
But this describes ‘Ghostly Embrace', a story with three distinctive timelines linked by Louis the 18th century carpenter who was murdered in a bed that he handcrafted, and whose spirit was subsequently stuck there. Are there bad erotica horror stories out there with this very premise? Sure are, don't ask me how I know. As the bed change hands and were quickly returned, Louis found home twice: First with Marina in the early 20th century, and again with Katie in the 1970's. Even as a ghost, Louis managed to reach out to the women and integrate into their lives. Both timelines were enjoyable, although Marina's was my favourite.
Despite the lack of mystery, ‘Ghostly Embrace' was still a decent read as you end up caring what happens to Louis and the lives he quietly watches over. Took me about two days to read because I had to find out how it ends.
ARC courtesy of NetGalley.
Guy Gavriel Kay s fantasy trilogy about a land called Fionavar is a little over 20 years old. I ve never heard of this Canadian author before, but an online friend was so adamant that I should read it that he ordered the books from Amazon and had them delivered to me as a gift.
The trilogy is made up of Book One: The Summer Tree, Book Two: The Wandering Fire and Book Three: The Darkest Road. Since it s essentially one huge story, I ll be talking about all three books in one review.
In The Summer Tree, five Canadian university students Kevin Laine, Kimberly Ford, Jennifer Lowell, Dave Martyniuk and Paul Schafer - were spirited to Fionavar by a mage named Loren Silvercloak of Brennin. They were invited at attend the anniversary of the king s ascension to the throne, but not long after their arrival, it became clear that there was more to it than what they were originally told.
We learn that Fionavar is the first of all worlds. All that happen there will reflect in other worlds, including our own.
A thousand years ago, Fionavar survived a war against the evil god Rakoth Maugrim the Unraveller. Rakoth breaks free from his prison and is bent on finishing what he started - destroying the land.
Loren and Brennin Seer Ysanne would readily confess that Loren came into our world for Kim Ford, whom Ysanne dreamt will succeed her as Seer. What they didn t foresee is that the other four also had specific roles to play in the Tapestry.
The Wandering Fire, which is the middle book that will make little sense without the other two, is where Kay moves all his characters into attack position for the next book. It sees the Arthurian mythos joining the tale, along with deities and symbols from various Northern and Celtic myths.
The Darkest Road is where it all comes together and makes sense. This is where we get to appreciate how intricately woven the tale is as a whole. Light triumphs over Dark, of course, but the journey there is ultimately fulfilling to follow.
I m not a big fan of High Fantasy. Most fantasy literature is either Tolkienesque in depth and length, or just sorry imitations of it. I must confess that by the time I got to The Two Towers, I ve forgotten what Fellowship if the Rings is about and summarily gave up trying to read it.
Another friend commented that The Fionavar Tapestry is too much like Lord of the Rings and it's true. You have the big bad guy, a group of people unwittingly caught in a fight against the villain, a good wizard who help the good guys, another wizard who ends up batting for the other team, the return of exiled royalty, a nation of horse riders, dwarves, a race that will no doubt bring Tolkien s elves to mind, and a lonely journey made by a short guy to the very heart of evil.
Kay, who helped Christopher Tolkien edit The Silmarillion, deliberately set his novels in Tolkien s tradition of High Fantasy to show that there is still room to come up with something that follows a formula, yet throw many surprises of its own at the same time.
The prose is beautiful without being overbearing, and despite the many characters running all over the place, Kay still manages to make you care deeply for them. Often times, you don t realize it until the characters go off and sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
There aren t that many books out there that make me cry so much reading. The last one that comes close is Anita Diamant s The Red Tent, but that is just one book and this is three.
Every time I re-read The Fionavar Tapestry, I am reminded that there is hope for High Fantasy yet.
For more on Guy Gavriel Kay, visit his website at www.brightweavings.com.
(2006)
I've been waiting get my hands on an English translation this novel, since it's the one that launched Japan's Ringu and pretty much the entire 2005 onslaught of Asian horror movies. As expected, the book and movie is quite different, but this book is different enough for me not to know what to make if it yet.
In the movie, a female reporter investigates the mysterious death of her niece, which leads her to a killer video tape and seven days to unravel the mystery, which cumulated in this long-haired spook climbing out of the TV.
In the book, the protagonist is a man names Asakawa, also a reporter, who noticed that three other teens died around the same time as his niece. He tracks down the tape and watches it. There was nothing coherent in it, just some abstract images, and a message:
“Those who have viewed these images are fated to die at this exact hour one week from now. If you do not wish to die, you must follow this instructions exactly...“
The tape then cuts to static.
The race throughout the book is to find out what it said, which sends him on a long chase over Japan trying to discover its origins.
Joining in the hunt is his professor friend Ryuji Takayama, who provokes even less sympathy by being both male and a sexual predator. Ryuji thinks it's a virus, and he's not too far from wrong.
What they both find is references to the beautiful Sadako Yamamura, daughter of a famous Japanese psychic who became a laughing stock. Sadako had something to do with creation the tape and could possibly holds the answer to their salvation.
The structure of the story is similar to the movie but the plot is different. It's like two people writing their own take using the same characters and back story. One might say that the movie version was vastly over-dramatised for cinema audiences. That classic moment when Sadako climbs out of the TV is not even part of the original novel.
Ring the novel reads more like paranormal detective fiction rather than a horror story. It's creepy, but neither horrific nor nightmare-inducing. If you're looking to relive the movie, you'll be disappointed, but if you want to see where it came from, this is for you.
Ring is the first of the hugely successful thriller trilogy. The other two books are Spiral and Loop, both also filmed as cult movies.
(2006)
