Author: booknutgirls

booknutgirls http://thebooknutdotcom.wordpress.com I read. I blog. I sell books. I chauffeur my kids. What more do you need to know?

Audio Book: Good Clean Fun

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by Nick Offerman
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s some mild swearing. It’s in the humor section (I think) of the bookstore.

This is, basically, Nick Offerman’s homage to Offerman Woodshop, his woodworker’s collective in L.A. It’s a portrait of the craftspeople who work there, as well as those people Nick has come across in his “career” (the acting just pays the bills) as a woodsmith.

So, no, it wasn’t the best book to 1) start reading Nick Offerman (I think I’m going to try Paddle Your Own Canoe next) or 2) listen to in audio. That said, Nick is delightful to listen to read a book (not as delightful as Neil Gaiman), and there were lots of delightful anecdotes about Nick’s colleagues, as well as his opinions about working with your hands (pro: I felt justified, since I really enjoy canning) and the joy of working with wood, specifically.

I do have to say that while listening to this, I kind of wanted to learn how to build things (not a new desire for me; I should have taken shop class). I enjoyed Offerman’s enthusiasm for the art of woodworking, and his sense of humor. Even though I wish it has more of a narrative, I still found it enjoyable to listen to.

Reread: The Thief

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by Megan Whalen Turner
First sentence: “I don’t know how long I had been in the king’s prison.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s a few minor swear words, and some violence. This is in the the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.

I’ve been telling people at the store that I can’t remember much of what this book is about, but that the main character has stayed with me for 10 years.  And, in rereading this (it’s been nearly 10 years), I remembered some of what happened (at least, so that the ending wasn’t a surprise this time), but it was still so delightful falling into this world again.

Turner is a fantastic world builder, and a superb storyteller. The characters are magnificent, and I loved seeing all the clues she left along the way to the end.

It really is a magnificent book.

 

Small Gods

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by Terry Pratchett
First sentence: “Now consider the tortoise and the eagle.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: It’s kind of stream of consciousness, without any chapters… but if you’re okay with that, then there’s nothing else to stop you. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Outside of the Tiffany Aching books, I’ve never spent anytime in Discworld. I knew about it, of course, but I’ve never read any of the other ones. And this seemed like, well, a decent enough place to start.

It’s slow to start, and took a very meandering route to a plot. (I’m not entirely sure it really HAD a plot…)  There’s a god, Om, who used to be a Big Deal, and while he has a lot of followers (there’s a whole country and a citadel and a whole religion), he doesn’t have a lot of, well, belief. And so, he’s been relegated to being a turtle for a few years. That is, until he’s accidentally dropped by an eagle into the citadel gardens and meets Brutha. Who is just a simple novice. And who can hear Om talking in his head.

And he goes on an adventure (of sorts) to figure things out.

There’s a bit more to it than that, but it’s all a bit complex and somewhat convoluted. I will say this: it’s not Tiffany Aching, but Pratchett makes a person care about the characters. I loved Om and Brutha, and even some of the other characters. And he gently pokes fun at religion and theocracies and philosophy. It’s not my favorite Pratchett (give me the Nac Mac Feegle any day), but it was an enjoyable one to read.

The Star Thief

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by Lindsey Becker
First sentence: “Honorine realized it was going to be a difficult night when she stepped into the east parlor to do a bit of light dusting and found it on fire.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: April 11, 2017
Content: There’s some action-related violence, but nothing graphic. And some of the names might be tricky to pronounce for the younger kids. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Honorine has been a main in Lord Vidalia’s for as long as she can remember. Lord Vidalia took her in when she was orphaned, and then promptly disappeared. Honorine didn’t think there was anything unusual about her life — sure, she had a knack for inventing and she got along with Lord Vidalia’s son, Francis really well — until one night when a couple of steampunk-y airships arrived, weird creatures called Mordants appeared, and Honorine found out she wasn’t who she thought she was.

On the one hand, this hits all the middle grade fantasy buttons: magical creatures based on constellations, pirates, an evil overlord (of sorts), mythical creatures, action and adventure. And yet… well, it kind of felt that it was going through the paces. Maybe it was me, and where I was when I was reading this, but nothing stood out as, well, unique. I don’t know what I was hoping for, but it fell flat. Oh, I’m sure kids will eat this up, and I’m glad I read it.

But, I guess I was hoping for something… more.

Monthly Round-Up: March 2017

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Time is just slipping away from me; how can it be that it’s the last day of the month?

My favorite this month, or at least the one I can’t stop thinking about:

Hillbilly Elegy (audio book)

The audio is excellent, and I  keep seeing its relevance all around me (most recently in the rollbacks of the clean air policies). Definitely worth reading.

As for the rest…

Adult:

Exit West
A Study in Scarlet

YA:

Geekerella
The Falconer

Middle Grade:

Flying Lessons (audio book)

Non-fiction:

The Princess Diarist (audio book)
The Tao of Pooh

Graphic Novels:

One Trick Pony
Yvain: The Knight of the Lion

What were your favorites this month?

The Falconer

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by Elizabeth May
First sentence: “I’ve memorized every accusation: Murderess.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There’s a lot of violence, and some “improper” situations. It would be in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.

A year ago Lady Ailena Kameron witnessed her mother’s death at the hand of the Faerie Queen. It changed her life forever, not only because of the death of her mother, but because she was wearing a special Scottish thistle that allowed her to see the faerie… not just that night, but always. Bent on revenge, she found a fae — 3,000-year-old Kieran — to train her in the art of killing. Little does she know, though, that the problem is much, much bigger than simple revenge: the seal that has kept the fae at bay for 2,000 years is breaking and she’s the only one who can fix it.

On the one hand: awesome cover, fierce girl, steampunk. evil faeries. On the other hand: it didn’t quite work. I wanted it to. I really did. I even finished it, hoping that it would turn fantastic. But, it… didn’t. It was set in 1844 but felt off with the steampunk-ish-ness: both too progressive with the technology and too regressive with the way that society treated Aileana. It was a weird mix. And I disliked the love story — it just didn’t work. I did like the action sequences and I loved Derek, Ailena’s pixie friend. But other than that, there wasn’t much to, well, recommend it.

Which is really too bad.

Yvain: The Knight of the Lion

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yvainby M.T. Anderson, illustrated by Andrea Offerman
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s some violence and some more mature themes.  Plus it’s based in medieval times. It’s in the teen graphic novel section of the bookstore.

I have an affinity for all things Arthurian (or I used to at least), and so when our Candlewick rep mentioned that the new graphic novel by M. T. Anderson was based on one of the lesser known Arthurian tales, I jumped at the chance to read it.

It’s the story of one of Arthur’s knights of the round table, Yvain. He is challenged by the other knights to go find the magical spring and fight the mysterious knight that defends it. And so Yvain does. And defeats the knight. Which widows the knight’s wife, and sets off an… interesting chain of events. Which includes Yvain falling for the wife, her maid falling for Yvain, Yvain marrying the wife, a year-long bout of jousting in which Yvain forgets he has a wife, an exile in the forest, and then tricking the wife (with the help of the maid) into taking him back.

Definitely an Arthurian tale. It’s odd, to say the least.

The art by Andrea Offermann, however, is stunning. She tries to play up the role of the women (which isn’t much, considering this is a Medieval story) but she also manages to capture the era — both the renaissance faire feel as well as the seedy, realistic underbelly — as well.

Did I like it? Kind of. It was good enough to finish, but wasn’t enough to wow my socks off.

Audiobook: Hillbilly Elegy

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by J. D. Vance
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s a LOT of swearing, including f-bombs. It’s in the biography section of the bookstore.

J. D. Vance didn’t have the best upbringing. That’s putting it mildly. The grandson of Kentucky to Ohio transplants, people who moved to work in factories to find a better life, he grew up in a small manufacturing town in southern Ohio. His mom, one of three kids, was a drug addict who bounced between guys, and so J. D. ended up with his grandma, whom he called Mamaw. He eventually found his way out of the poverty and abuse cycles, joining the Marines, going to Ohio State and Yale Law. But, as he points out in his memoir, his story is atypical.

It’s mostly Vance’s memoir of his childhood (insane as it is) and his family. But he also ties it into the larger issue of rural poverty. It’s something I’ve thought since the year we lived in Mississippi: it’s not (just) about race, it’s about class. And if we don’t do something about the working poor — and I don’t have the answers here — things will just get worse.

J. D. doesn’t have the answers either; just a lot of first-hand observations. The most striking of which is that interventions that happen in high school often come too late. They need to sooner. (Honestly, I saw a lot of our foster daughter in this story. And he’s right: if someone had intervened when she was younger, it would have saved her a world of hurt and trauma.) But it’s also complex: the politicians and agencies don’t always know or understand or assume things about the poor.

A fascinating book. And listening to him read it (he has a slight Southern twang) was a great way to experience this book.

Highly recommended.

Geekerella

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geekerellaby Ashley Poston
First sentence: “The stepmonster is at it again.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it now!
Release date: April 4, 2017
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There’s some emotional abuse, and some mild swearing (a couple of s-words). It will be in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.

Elle Wittimer’s mother died when she was little, and her father remarried to a woman with two daughters. He died a few years after that, leaving Elle alone with her step-mother and -sisters. She lives for the show that she and her father loved, Starfield (a sci-fi TV show that got canceled). It’s being rebooted into a movie, starring a teen heartthrob (do people even say that anymore?) Darien Freeman, whom Elle doesn’t think is a worthy replacement for the ship commander, Carmindor.

Darien has his own issues: he’s a geek himself, adoring Starfield. But, his acting career (managed by his father), has gone the way of teen soaps, and he’s garnered a legion of screaming, swooning fans. Which, of course, means that that Real Fans of Starfield are suspicious.

It’s not coming through yet, but this is an incredibly clever retelling of Cinderella. There’s no magic, just pure and simple fun. But it’s also incredibly clever the way Poston wove the familiar elements of the tale in. From the vegan taco truck, The Magic Pumpkin, to the glass slippers, it’s all there. Some of the characters are stereotypes, but others are surprising, and I loved the world and the show that Poston created.

It’s such a fun, fun book.

 

State of the TBR Pile: March 2017

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I realized when I took this picture this morning, that my TBR pile hasn’t changed much from last month. I am reading, I promise. There’s so many books I want to read as well. I just need more hours in a day. Well, that, and K and I discovered The Great British Bake Off, and watching that kind of poaches reading time. (But it’s SO much fun to watch!)

Hopefully, I’ll make it through at least a few of these in the next month:

Falconer by Elizabeth May
Metropolitans by by Carol Goodman
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Saturdays at Sea by Jessica Day George
Perfect by Cecelia Aheen
Parentspeak by Jennifer Lehr

What’s on your TBR pile?