So last week, I totally skipped on using the format I discovered I like for these posts. TRYING TO DO IT RIGHT THIS TIME.
Last week, I finished:
Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
So, this book has a cool premise and an intriguing set up. The mystery is pretty well done with lots of great clues and red herrings.
The writing is so bad, though, and the world building is not as great as it could be. For example, I really didn’t know how the word bubbles worked until about 3/4 through the book. That should have been clear from the beginning. So stuff like that took away from my enjoyment.
Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls Are Born to Lead by Michelle Markel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Hillary Clinton is a badass. Whether you like her politics or not, some facts cannot be denied. Also, this is a great, age-appropriate primer to class, race, and other justice issues.
The illustrations in this book are FANTASTIC. They are gorgeous and so well-detailed and amazing. Really, they made this book. I need to seek out more of Pham’s work because I also enjoyed her art in Grace for President.
I actually reviewed Grace for President on the blog. You can read that review here.
I also abandoned two books: Come Hell or Highball and Yes, Chef. I’m going to revisit Yes, Chef in print because I am interested in Samuelsson’s story, but the audio wasn’t really grabbing me.
Last week, I posted:
[wrap-up-posts week=”1″ year=”2016″ listtype=”ul”]
Okay, and I left this out last time, so the week before that I posted:
[wrap-up-posts week=”52″ year=”2015″ listtype=”ul”]
You can see why I had to include it this time! All those posts!
As of today I’m reading:
I am making my way through The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. I wasn’t sure about this one at first because the opening is a little hard to get through. However, once the narrative got going, I was invested. Also, I assigned my creative writing students to read Wildwood last semester, and I knew more was coming for Lola than what was in the first section. (I’m on her part now, so yay for that.)
Also, the book has a candidate for my favorite quote of year (already!) because I know I won’t be forgetting it any time soon.
The next day at breakfast, he asked his mother: Am I ugly?
She sighed. Well, hijo, you certainly don’t take after me.
Dominican parents! You got to love them!
I am a little in love with the narrative style, I have to say. It’s one I want to imitate more in my own writing.
As for Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, I just downloaded it last night for my commute tomorrow, so we’ll see how I feel about it after I actually start it. I’m looking forward to it, though. It’s been checked out forEVER, and this is the first time I’ve been able to get my hands on it.
The Englishist 