November/December events

This November I'm participating in some great events!

First up is the Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop sponsored by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and All-Consuming Books. It took me awhile to figure out what I'm going to give away, and I think I've come up with something good. At first I thought I would only be able to have the giveaway for people living in the US, but it turns out it will be International, so good for all. This Giveaway starts this Thursday.

Overlapping the giveaway is the Thankfully Reading Weekend by the fabulous Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelves. I'm still in withdrawal after having so much fun with Jenn's Muder, Monsters and Mayhem October. I'm looking forward to digesting some great reads and seeing what everyone else is reading. Much more fun than braving the stores.

This year I signed up for two holiday gift swaps. The Book Blogger Holiday Swap sign-up has already closed, and I hope to get my secret someone's name soon. I've already starting thinking about what to get him/her and have started collecting a little pile of things I might send.

In the Winter Holiday Gift Exchange put on by Rants N Scribbles, the US is considered international since Gwenyth lives in Canada. I feel exotic. Love the button! This sign up is open until November 30. And there's a twist. Participants will get to know each other and their blogs. I can't wait to interview someone about their blog. I'm going to go after all the juicy back story. I was the first person to sign up, so it might be just me and Gwenyth. But that's ok. She has a great blog and can fill me in on the insider scoop.

It's Monday, what are you reading! - 8

It's almost Monday again. Thanks go out to Sheila from Book Journey for hosing It's Monday!

I had a great week. I listened to a lot of new books and got some reviews in that had been on the shelf.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi - Living on the edge in a dystopian future
Immortality, Inc by Robert Sheckley - a view of 2110 from 1958
Zoo City by Lauren Bleukes - South African fantasy noir mystery
Timesplash by Graham Storrs - a new kind of time travel
Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston - a great graphic novel about being your own star
Mini reviews of Snuff by Terry Pratchett, Crossed by Ally Condie, and September Society by Charles Finch - I liked the Victorian mystery September Society the best out of these three

I'm almost caught up on my reviews. I only have to post for:
Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett - his time travel children's story
Amulet series 1-3 by Kazu Kibuishi - the Star Wars references are not my imagination
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami - this one's scarred me, but hopefully I can get over it soon. I used to like the moon

This week I'm determined to finish
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - I've tried this one twice so far, but third time's the charm!

I'm also going to participate in I am a Reader, Not a Writer's Gratitude Giveaway Hop starting on Thursday. My last hop went really well, so I hope to find a bunch of new blogs from this one, too.

What are you reading?

Timesplash by Graham Storrs

Timesplash by Graham Storrs
Genre: Time travel science fiction
Length: 9h 11m
Read by: Emma Newman
Audio publisher: Iambik Audio, 2011
From: Purchased

Story: In 2050, time travel is possible but illegal. That doesn't stop the extreme thrill-seekers who risk their lives for excitement and fame. If these "bricks" create a large enough paradox back in history, then when time self-corrects, it will be magnified through to the present, creating a "splash." The timesplashers are now taking things too far, creating bigger and bigger splashes. They're starting to kill people, even destroy cities, and must be stopped.

Thoughts: I find many time travel stories are overly concerned with paradoxes. I tune out whenever there are long explanations of things that might go wrong. I prefer characters to test their theories or just say "I don't know" get to their task in the past. In Timesplash, the time travelers have no idea how time travel works, and they don't care. That's what the techs worry about. Luckily, paradoxes are not possible. Time self-corrects, so it doesn't matter what timesplashers do in the past. They can't affect history. All they can affect is the present, and that's when problems arise.

Timesplash is a great near-future adventure story with two young protagonists who have to overcome their earlier traumatic experiences with timesplashing to try and stop widespread destruction. Sandra especially is an excellent character who starts off as a child in over her head and grows into a fiercely intelligent young woman who gets things done regardless of her fears or others' objections. Of course, I loved the shout outs to Star Wars and Doctor Who, even if the idea that teenagers will still be quoting these (or know who Patty Hearst is) in 2050 stretched my credulity a little. Unfortunately, it seems that all bad guys in the books I read lately are insane, so my one quibble is a personal preference for a more sane and functional bad guy. But then maybe he would have gotten away with it.

Reading: Emma Newman has a breathy, young-sounding voice that fits perfectly with the first female point-of-view character. Instead of acting out the story with different voices for the characters, Ms. Newman reads the book in her strong, clear accent. This worked quite well for most of the story. However, some of the passages with dialogue were difficult for me to follow since it was unclear who was saying each line.

Final thoughts: If you like cream crackers and sardines for breakfast (I remember eating this) or, more likely, if you like edgy time travel stories with a new view of time and lots of adventure, then try this one out.

Grade: 4 out of 5

Audiobook Review Roundup: Snuff, Crossed, September Society

In between the great science fiction I've been listening to lately, I've had to clean by aural passages with some quick listens. These are all sequels or later in series by authors I know and love. They don't really need full reviews, but I wanted to share my two cents.

Snuff is the latest by Sir Terry Pratchett
39th in the Diskworld series
Genre: Fantasy
Audio publisher: Harper Audio, 2011; Length: 11h 29m
Read by: Stephen Briggs

If you've read Diskworld then you know Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch. In this outing, Sam and his wife, Lady Sybil, visit her country house with their young son. Now, I've read maybe ten Diskworld books. I knew Sam and Sybil were together, but didn't remember a son. Vimes is one of my favorite characters, so it's great to have another story with him. Snuff is marketed as a book for adults (as opposed to Wee Free Men), but there's an awful lot of scatological humor. My favorite part was when Sam and Sybil visited a family with six daughters, much like the Bennets. Sam tells the girls to quit sitting around waiting  for some unemployed layabout to marry them and instead find something productive to do like open a shop. He could give them a year's free rent. Priceless!

Stephen Briggs is an exceptionally good reader. I love his accents, and he really sounds like he's having fun with the reading.

Crossed by Ally Condie
Genre: YA dystopian SF
Audio publisher: Penguin Audio; Length: 9h 50m
Read by: Kate Simses & Jack Riccobono

I picked up Matched not knowing anything about the story, and it was such a pleasant surprise. I loved the YA retelling of 1984 and Brave New World. It was great learning about the Society, all of their rules, and the small ways that Cassia subverted those rules. Crossed takes us away from the Society as Cassia and Ky are each sent to the Outer Provinces. There's a lot of pining and some wandering in the desert. I have a very low tolerance for book love and prefer stories where the couple hates each other and calls each other names until they suddenly figure out at the very end that they're Meant to Be. Since Cassia and Ky found out they were Meant to Be in the last book, this one was all downhill. Even worse was hearing both Ky and Cassia's viewpoints. I didn't even have the "maybe he's not that interested in me" suspense. I will fess up that I have a huge crush on the radio announcer Kai Ryssdal from American Public Media's Marketplace, so I'm prewired to love anyone named Kai or Ky, but I'm still not at all excited for the next book in this series.

Crossed is very well read by Kate Simses and Jack Riccobono.

The September Society (2008) by Charles Finch
2nd in the Charles Lenox Mysteries
Genre: Historical mystery
Audio publisher: Tantor Audio; Length: 8h 46m
Read by: James Langton

I picked up the first Charles Lenox novel, A Beautiful Blue Death because I liked the cover. I also liked the story, and Lenox, the Victorian gentleman detective, won me over. The audiobooks just came out this year, so when I saw an ad for the 5th book, A Burial At Sea, I decided had to catch up. In this installment, Charles returns to his alma mater Oxford to solve a missing persons case. All his old quirky friends are here, neighbor Lady Jane Grey, manservant Graham, and eccentric physician friend Dr. McConnell. Lenox is a great detective. He's tenacious, has unlimited free time, and has People to do all the boring bits.

James Langton pulled out 20 or more different British accents for this book. The writing was very specific about which part of England each character was from, and even though I can't tell a Yorkshire from a Lancashire, but they all sounded spot-on to me. I also liked his female voices, which were equally distinct. I kept rewinding so I could listen longer.

Audiobook review: Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

A fast-paced neo-noir journey through present-day alternate reality South Africa. With animal familiars!

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
Genre: Modern fantasy mystery
Length: 9h 25m
Audio publisher: Angry Robot on Brilliance Audio, 2011
Read by: Justine Eyre
Awards: 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award,
2010 Kitschies Red Tentacle
From: Purchased from Audible

Story: Zinzi December lives among criminals and ex-criminals in the tough Johannesburg neighborhood of Zoo City with the other Animalled. Zinzi's animal is a sloth, and her talent is finding things. But don't ask her to find missing people.

Thoughts: My dream superpower is the ability to find lost things, so Zinzi December was a kindred spirit from the start. I loved her sloth, her tenacity, and her dress sense of "Grace Kelly meets Sailor Moon." Zoo City starts by following Zinzi as she goes about her piecemeal jobs. The beginning was a little rocky for me. It took a while to get a feel for the unusual setting and characters, but as soon as the main mystery plot came around, I was hooked. I'm a huge Raymond Chandler fan, and a noir detective story with magic is right up my alley.

The story is peppered with newspaper articles, website pages, and other media excerpts that describe the  recent appearance of animal familiars. The articles provide theories on where the animals might come from and why. They provide great back story and explain some of the differences between the Zoo City world and ours. Zoo City is also a travel log, showing Johannesburg from its slums and condemned buildings to multi-million Rand mansions. My one quibble is that the villain wasn't quite as unique and interesting as the rest of the cast. Luckily, Zoo City has more than enough characters to make up for it.

Reading: I'd heard Justine Eyre from her work on A Spy in the House by YS Lee, so I was a little surprised she was reading Zoo City. Zinzi is black African living in the inner city, but she's voiced with a very posh British accent. This choice is better explained as the story goes on and more of Zinzi's former life is reveled. I did enjoy the voices of Zinzi's friends and neighbors, especially Benoît, whose accent took me back to my time in West Africa and my own red and blue woven plastic bags.

Final thoughts: An amazing crime thriller through the backstreets of Joburg with a lot to say about guilt, discrimination, redemption, and fuzzy animals.

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

This post is part of Devourer of Books' weekly audio roundup, Sound Bytes. Have a look at the other great audiobook reviews from this week.

Imortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley

What if you died and woke up...in the future?

Imortality, Inc. (1959) by Robert Sheckley
Genre: SF Time travel
Length: 5h 48m
Audio publisher: Blackstone Audio, 2011
Read by: Bronson Pinchot
Nominated for a Hugo under the name Time Killer
From: Purchased from Audible
Buy this audiobook from Audible.com

Story: Thomas Blaine, a 32 year-old junior yacht designer, is already obsolete in 1958. There are only so many yachts that need designing. When he gets in a car wreck and wakes up in 2110 New York, he has some serious questions. How is he alive? What's happened in the past 150 years? and Who will hire a 20th century yacht designer?

Thoughts: For such a short story, Imortality, Inc. is full of big ideas. It's also really funny. I guess 'yacht designer' is an occupation much like 'architect.' It's upper class, cerebral, and pays well, but it's so random, it made me laugh every time it came up. The story follows every-man Blaine from the '50's as he bumbles around future New York. It's less about time travel and more about a future where ghosts and zombies have been scientifically explained, immortality can be bought, and the afterlife is for anyone who has the right insurance. Imortality, Inc. is a forward-thinking story that could almost have been written today. Almost because it shows its age in its female characters. They start off strong and unsympathetic, but as soon as they start acting sympathetic, they fall into the female 50's stereotype of stopping their own lives to follow their men. Bleck. Ignoring the women, this is a great story with fabulous ideas.

Reading: I knew Bronson Pinchot from his role as Balki on the 1986 sitcom Perfect Strangers. He did a great job on that show, but I had no idea the guy reading this story was the same person. His voices in Immortality, Inc. are all distinct and extremely well done with a 50's noir flair. I especially liked the voice of Joe, who sounded a lot like Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon. His female voices were good, too, although I didn't care for the 50's baby-doll bimbo. I know it's a period voice, but it's a period voice I'd like to forget. 

Dose of Wikipedia: Imortality, Inc. was loosely adapted into the 1992 movie Freejack starring Emilio Esteves, Mick Jagger and Anthony Hopkins. That movie sounds so bad it must be good!
A scene from Imortality, Inc. where Blaine mistakenly stands in line for a suicide booth, was used in the pilot episode of Futurama. Funny stuff!

Final thoughts: A SF classic and must-listen for science fiction aficionados and Futurama lovers alike.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Graphic novel review: Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki

"How wyrd it is that 1 summer can chg everythg" - Emiko

Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston
Genre: Contemporary YA
Publisher: Minx DC Comics, 2008
From: Library booksale

Story: Emiko is a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian Canadian trying to figure herself out during her high school summer. Along the way she meets some freaks and geeks. Which is she?
Update - Here's a 20 page preview courtesy of artist Steve Rolston. Thanks, Steve!

Thoughts: I am so sad the Minx imprint of DC comics is gone. Minx put out graphic novels for girls from 2007-2008, and every one of them is amazing! I always stayed away from comics because they're so serialized, but graphic novels, where there's a whole story with pictures in one book, touch my sweet spot. I especially like graphic novels about strong girls. Minx only put out 12 titles during their short time, but every one I've read has been great.

Emiko Superstar is an excellent example. Emiko's geeky high school friends are heading in different directions over the summer, so Emiko has to find her own path. After a few false starts, she decides performance art is her calling. Of course, things don't go smoothly from there.

Steve Rolston's clear greyscale graphics are perfect for showing Emiko's suburban lifestyle and, later, the Freakshow. I liked how the frames with the Freaks get more and more cluttered until there's a Where's Waldo? effect with too much going on and nothing shown clearly. Emiko is a Superstar, if only in her own mind.

Final thoughts: A fun story of growing up with great drawings. I could use more books like this about both girls and boys.

Grade: 5 out of 5

Audiobook review: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

A glimpse of one kid's life living near the bottom of a desperate and very believable near-future world.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
First in the Ship Breaker series
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Length: 9h 8m
Audio publisher: Brilliance Audio, 2010
Read by: Joshua Swanson
Awards: Michael L Printz Award winner, National Book Award nominee
From: Library OverDrive

Story: In a world where the glaciers have melted, oil is gone, and gigantic hurricanes ravage the coasts, scrap metal is a precious commodity. People who strip derelict oil tankers for parts are called Ship Breakers, and children are sent through the duct work to get at the valuable copper wiring. Nailer is a Ship Breaker, but he's getting too big for a child's light duty, and he's wondering how he'll survive among the adults.

Thoughts: What a great book. It's rare that I listen to a YA story where the protagonist hasn't grown up in the suburbs, so to hear about Nailer and his crew, living in shacks on the beach and working to exhaustion  just to survive, was inspiring. Even though they live in a dog-eat-dog world, literally due to genetic engineering, these kids don't pity themselves. They don't have the luxury to mope. They just get on with it. Nailer could teach some of those emo characters from other books a thing or two, after he roughs them up and steals their wallets.

Throughout the book Nailer is confronted with complex decisions, and I like that he weighs the options realistically. What's better, the sure money now or the chance of a larger payoff later? How does doing the right thing fit in? What is the right thing? Right for whom? He's never sure if his decisions are the correct ones, but once they're made, he sees them through to the end, even though most come back to haunt him.

I was also impressed by the female characters. Nailer is a teenage boy, but the leader of his crew and several of its members are girls. The girls are all competent, talk to each other about things other than boys, and are neither nice or polite. They never look in mirrors and don't care what anyone thinks. So refreshing.

Ship Breakers is the first in a series, but it's a complete book that can stand on its own. When it was over, I didn't know there was a sequel until I looked it up. It's nice to have a story that finishes in one book instead with a "to be continued" cliffhanger.

Reading: This is the first time I've listened to Joshua Swanson, and I liked his reading. His narration was clear and moved the text along. He used a lot of fun, distinct voices, although the Jamacian-ish females sounded strange to me. I'm looking forward to hearing more from him.

Final thoughts: An exciting, unique story in a very well-defined, believable world. I understand this book takes place in the same world as The Wind-Up Girl and Pump Six and Other Stories. I can't wait until the next Ship Breakers book comes out in 2012!

Grade: 5 out of 5

It's Monday What Are You Reading? 7

It's Monday! Is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Thanks, Sheila!

This week I was traveling, so I only got my October recap posted. October was a great month.

So far November is shaping up into Time Travel month. Several of the books I've been listening to have (unknown to me when I chose them) included time travel. I'll have to keep up the theme. This week I put in a lot of listening. Reviews coming!

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami - travel between parallel- worlds Japan
Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett - kids travel to 1941 Britain
Timesplash by Graham Storhhs - Time travel in the future for fun and profit.
Immortality, Inc by Robert Sheckley - Time travel for profit, but not for fun. 1959 Hugo award nominee.
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes - Alternate-reality present day South Africa with daemon animals, like in The Golden Compass, only neo-noir.


And some non-time travel books:
Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston - Great graphic novel about a girl finding her wild side.
Snuff by Terry Pratchett - no time travel, but fun Pride and Prejudice references!

What have you been reading this week?

RIP, MX3 and October wrap-up

October was great! Since I was traveling, it's taken me awhile to get to my wrap-up post up, but now that I'm back, here it is.

RIP VI from Stainless Steel Droppings started in September, but I didn't sign up until October. I started MX3 from Jenn's Bookshelves at the same time. For these challenges I got through 10 spooky audiobooks and 2 graphic novels. 

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett

Children of Paranoia by Trevor Shane

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Walking Dead Compendium One

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

A Discovery of Witches by Debra Harkness

Crossing Over by Anna Kendall

The Death Cure by James Dashner

I also reviewed two audiobooks in October outside of the challenges. 

The Pirate King by Laurie R King

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This month I participated in Leswamee's Literary Blog Hop Giveway and the fabulous Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon.  So much fun! Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting The Sci Fi Experience starting in January, and Jenn is doing a Thanksreading weekend over Thanksgiving. I can't wait! Let me know what cool challenges/events you're doing.