Baby
it's cold outside! Winter is here, even if the calendar says not quite
yet. We have snow and the promise of a white Christmas, though there's
hardly enough white stuff on the ground to shovel.
We also made enormous progress on our holiday shopping, and I think we're done. Phew. We haven't wrapped anything, but, hey, that's what Christmas Eve is for, right?
All
that running around plus two holiday parties meant very little time for
reading, though I did manage to finish one book, reread another, ditch
one, and start two more.
This Week's Highlight: On Wednesday over on the AudioFile Blog,
I will be recommending five good audiobooks for winter solstice
listening. Because the kids are likely on school holidays, two of the
titles are appropriate for family listening. I hope you take a look.
What I Read Last Week
The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
(Harper Voyager, Nov.): Like many of you, I often shy away from the
big-buzz books because they so often fall short of the hype. Not so with
The City of Brass. The setting is the Mideast and the time
period is likely the turn of the 19th century. The action starts in the
streets of Cairo and ends at the magical city of Daevabad, the city of
brass where only those with djinn blood may enter. Our protagonist is
Nahri, a 20-year-old orphan who has no knowledge of her family or
background and who supports herself by attempting to heal the sick and
by reading fortunes, with a little swindling and thieving on the side.
During a ceremony in which she is pretending to perform a kind of
exorcism, she inadvertently conjures up a dangerous djinn warrior, and
her life is completely flipped.
Based on Mideast
folklore and traditions, Nahri's story is full of adventure, magic,
politics, danger, friendship, and intrigue. I loved the setting and the
beings Nahri meets on her journey. Secretive Dara, is a djinn of many
talents whose legendary reputation is either hero or uber-villain,
depending on one's family's history. Ali, the second son of Daevabad's
ruler, is both a trained warrior and a devout Islam. Muntadhir, brother
to Ali, is the heir to the throne and lives for all the pleasures his
money and status can buy. Nahri is streetwise in the human world, but
how will she fare in the city of brass, where the king takes a special
interest in her and claims she is the half-blood daughter of the djinn's
most famous healer?
Complex, different, non-Western, adult and the promise of more books to come. Don't hesitate to give The City of Brass a try.
Audiobook notes: I read most of this novel in print, but I listened to the middle third when cooking last week. I enjoyed Soneela Nankani's
performance of the unabridged audiobook (Harper Audio; 19 hr, 35 min). I
noted good pacing and and distinct voices for the characters. I
especially liked hearing the correct pronunciation of the names, beings,
and places. Overall, however, Nankani didn't capture my attention
enough to prevent my returning to print.
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
(Roc, 2016): I love this alternate history, time-bending series in
which the librarians of an extra-world library engage in espionage and theft, um, preservation of books that are emblematic or important to each of the different versions of the world. When I received The Lost Plot,
the newest installment, which is coming out next month, I thought I'd
reread the entire series--this time in audio instead of print (Audible
Studios; 10 hr, 31 min). It was fun to start over with the first book in
the series and see librarian Irene and her assistant, Kai, at the
beginning of their working relationship. I had forgotten some of the
details of their adventure in an alternative steampunk London, and the
overall story held up well to a second reading. I like both the world
building and the characters, and the story is light enough for holiday
season reading. Book lovers and librarians should give the series a try.
Audiobook notes: Susan Duerden's
performance is enthusiastic but almost too dramatic for my tastes. She
creates distinct voices and has good pacing, but I felt as if she were
reading to children. The protagonists of the series are absolutely
adults and there is some mention of sex, so the juxtaposition of the
theatrical reading with some of the text was jarring. I noticed that she
narrates all the books in the series, and I'm not quite sure if I'm
going to finish my reread in print or audio. Stay tuned.
The Shores of Tripoli: Lieutenant Putnam and the Barbary Pirates by James L. Haley (Putnam, 2016). I loved the Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series (you may have seen the movie Master and Commander
based on the books), so thought I'd like Haley's new series, which
explores the early days of the U.S. Navy. Set in 1801 in the
Mediterranean, the book is full of fascinating details of life aboard a
naval vessel and introduces us to pirates, privateers, and European and
North African politics. Although I have a paperback, I decided to try
the audiobook. Sadly, Paul Boehmer's performance (Penguin Audio;
15 hr, 43 min) didn't work at all for me. I could hear breath noises,
and there was something about Boehmer's cadence and earnest delivery
that bothered me. I listened for almost 2 hours before returning it to
Audible. The story definitely has promise, so I'll continue the book in
print, but probably not until after the holidays. There is quite a lot
of information dumping at the beginning--basically to set up the complex
foundation of the series--which may have been some of the problem with
the audio. I'll let you know if I carry on.
What I'm Reading Now
I started listening to
Felicity Hayes-McCoy's The Library at the Edge of the World,
read by Emma Lowe (Dreamscape; 9 hr, 42 min). The story is set in
modern times in a remote area of Ireland and is about a woman of a
certain age who is taking a chance on new beginnings. I'm enjoying the
story and the narration. I also started reading
Laura Thompson's The Six
(Picador, 2017, paperback). I'm one of those people who's totally
fascinated with the Mitford sisters and can't seem to read enough about
them (and by them). This new biography is terrific so far.
Click for more
Argh! This is pretty much my slowest reading week ever. I didn't have a lot of time for pleasure reading because my editing work ramped up as my clients returned to their offices after the holiday break.
I finished my reread (via audiobook) of The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman. I've come to appreciate Susan Duerden's performance of this series. I think because I read the books first, I needed to get used to Duerden's style and characterizations, which didn't match what was in my head. Now, however, I'm thinking that I'll go ahead and listen to the newest entry, The Lost Plot, instead of reading it in print. In case you missed any of my earlier reviews, this is an adult speculative fiction series that includes a fresh take on fae and dragons and involves a powerful library, alternate worlds, time bending, a little steampunk, lots of action, and mystery. The books are published by Roc (an imprint of Penguin Random House) and the audiobooks are from Audible Studios.
On television, we watched the Netflix original Godless. I highly recommend this dark miniseries set mostly in the mining town of La Belle, New Mexico in the 1880s. The town is run by a group of bad-ass women who took charge after the men died in a major mine accident. The story revolves around Frank Griffin (played by Jeff Daniels), the ultimate bad guy in a generally lawless land, and mystery man Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell), who shows up one night on a ranch outside of town, wounded and alone. The plot eventually connects the townswomen, Griffin, Goode, and a few lawmen. The series includes quite a bit of violence, a little romance, a twist or two, good character development and a satisfying ending. It's a complete story in seven episodes and feels almost like a novel. The acting and filming are great, and you'll recognize many of the actors (Michelle Dockery, Tantoo Cardinal, Sam Waterston). Don't miss this one (if you can handle the blood and guts). Here's the trailer (warning--adult language):
