Bassability books: June 2012

I love to read.  I thought that it would be fun to try and review the books I read.  I don't do reading challenges because I read at least 10 books a month.  I like to read every night before bed, and instead of watching movies or TV.  I'm not sure why I like reading as much as I do, it wasn't something my parents did.  In fact, I don't remember books anywhere in the house except my room when I was younger.  I think my mom reads some now, but we have such different taste in books. 

I also don't do the e-reader thing.  There's something about holding onto a book, and turning the pages.  I love the way the books sounds as you turn the page, sounds like progress.  I've tried the e-reader route, but I couldn't stick with it.  I don't know if I will ever be able to give up my paper books.   The picture above are some of  the books that I read this month.  These were my favorites of them all.  Here's what I thought from bottom to top.

Ratings:

*** 3/3 - Couldn't put it down.  I may have taken a day off work to finish it.

** 2/3 - Glad I read it.  Passed the time, probably won't read it again.

* 1/3 - Finished it.  Still don't know why I bothered

0/3 - Didn't finish it.  Life's too short for bad books.

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (which is actually 2 dudes who were writer's assistants sharing the writing in this novel) This story was a combination between Sci-Fi (love it) and Mystery (love it too.)  It wasn't a tough read, for the most part the book was really fun.  Like a Soap Opera in space, but the fun kind like Passions, not the serious kind like General Hospital. The story was about a detective on a space station, who joins forces with a ship captain to solve the mystery of what was killing the station inhabitants.  It was cool how the story flipped back and forth between characters and styles with each chapter.  I guess that was done to combine the two writing styles, and it worked.  If you like Sci-Fi, I think you will like this book.  The only down side, there is no sequel... yet. (***)

Fool by Christopher Moore: This book was an irreverent retelling of King Lear from the point of view of Lear's fool, Pocket.  I think this was a great idea; and even though Shakespeare fans would hate that the bard's work was co-opted, I think the way that Moore wrote this is a great homage to what Billy Shakes did.  There is a lot of inappropriateness in the book; lots of sex and referencing boobs.  Shakespeare's work was for the common people, and the themes and scenes would have been considered tawdry (as the whole acting profession was seen) and so Moore's retelling fits with this tradition.  It would be hard to follow though if you didn't know the story of King Lear, so that would be a must read first. (***)

Bite Me by Christopher Moore: Funny.  And vampires.  And rats.  Moore is good at writing from different point of views.  This story's narrator was a teenage girl obsessed with vampires.  So much that she works for two.  This story has less sex and more crazy vampire animal hybrids.  I really enjoyed it, this was the book that made me pick up Fool. (***)

Mars Life by Ben Bova:  Another Sci Fi, this time by one of my favorite authors ever.  Bova wrote my favorite Sci Fi novel Saturn.  The great thing about Bova is that he is upfront with what he wants his stories to do, the stories are supposed to teach us about ourselves.  It is cool how he references current events like history in his novels.  Its a really interesting idea: what will future people think of our current events?  There will be more evidence and record of what happening now then at any point in history.   My mind is blown. (***)

She's Come Undone by Walter Lamb: In a way, I did like this book, but I had a couple of problems with some of the plot points.  Mainly, the heroine (Dolores) of the book is miserable for most of the book, and often notes that her unhappiness was caused by her fatness.  Now, I think that this is a surface reading of how the author attempted to work thought some complex feelings of guilt and grief with the main character, but I couldn't help but feel attacked (is that the word I'm thinking of?) Everytime some character would reference Dolores' weight, I would pause.  I'm fat, and I'm happy.  Should I be unhappy?  A huge deal was made about the main character's weight, and that is my weight.  They kept referring to her as a "whale," that she found solidarity with the whales... And on and on.  I'm sure that there is some significance to this theme, however I can't get past the negativity of fatness in this book.  Fat girls, proceed with caution on this one. (**)