Like its predecessor Sisters Red, Sweetly is a story we know inside and out, modernized and retold. Jackson Pearce has taken a classic fairy tale-- in this case, Hansel and Gretel-- and cut it open, messed around with its insides, and sewn it back up again. The story looks the same, and the bones of it haven't changed, but almost everything else about it has-- in my opinion, for the better.
26 January, 2012
11 January, 2012
schedule... again.
Hope you guys aren't getting sick of these yet. Next up on Plenty of Pages:
- 'Sweetly' by Jackson Pearce - finished reading, review by 1/13
- 'Hounded' by Kevin Hearne - finished reading, review by 1/16
- 'Hexed' by Kevin Hearne - 1/18
- 'Hammered' by Kevin Hearne - 1/21
- 'Ghostopolis' by Doug TenNapel - 1/25
- 'Lonely Werewolf Girl' by Martin Millar - 1/30
As always, recommendations and comments are welcome. :)
--emily
'Bloodsucking Fiends' by Christopher Moore
Happy New Year, everyone!
So I said I was going to review "Treasure Island!!!" by Sara Levine, but I changed my mind. It was a fast and funny read, but the more I write these reviews the more I feel compelled to focus this blog on sci-fi and fantasy books, of which Levine's was not one. It was funny, but painfully so, a bit like if Kimmy Gibler had a cameo on an episode of Arrested Development : awkward and ridiculous, each interchange leaving me unsure if I was supposed to laugh or cringe, or both. I liked it, but it didn't wow me. (Sidebar-- the fact that most, if not all, kids who are graduating from high school this year have no idea who Kimmy Gibler is, is a tragedy of epic proportions. Discuss in comments.)
Moving on: I picked up Bloodsucking Fiends at last, after it sat on my shelf for almost a year, staring me down. I was expecting a quick read with a lot of laughs, and I wasn't disappointed. But I wasn't expecting the commentary, the intelligence in the humor, or how the book turned the romanticizing of vampires on its ear.
So I said I was going to review "Treasure Island!!!" by Sara Levine, but I changed my mind. It was a fast and funny read, but the more I write these reviews the more I feel compelled to focus this blog on sci-fi and fantasy books, of which Levine's was not one. It was funny, but painfully so, a bit like if Kimmy Gibler had a cameo on an episode of Arrested Development : awkward and ridiculous, each interchange leaving me unsure if I was supposed to laugh or cringe, or both. I liked it, but it didn't wow me. (Sidebar-- the fact that most, if not all, kids who are graduating from high school this year have no idea who Kimmy Gibler is, is a tragedy of epic proportions. Discuss in comments.)
Moving on: I picked up Bloodsucking Fiends at last, after it sat on my shelf for almost a year, staring me down. I was expecting a quick read with a lot of laughs, and I wasn't disappointed. But I wasn't expecting the commentary, the intelligence in the humor, or how the book turned the romanticizing of vampires on its ear.
03 January, 2012
Happy New Year, everybody! Clearly my last schedule has been made a thorough shambles of-- sorry about that. But I'll be back soon with a new review. I dove into "Bloodsucking Fiends" by Christopher Moore today and expect to have it finished by the weekend.
In the meanwhile, this is only tangentially related to books, but for fans of Sherlock Holmes and the BBC's fantastic modernization of it, check out this great review of last Sunday's episode. "A Scandal in Belgravia" was, in my humble opinion, just about as perfect as 90 minutes of television can get. (The review does have lots of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the episode yet, tread carefully.) Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat are pretty much two of the coolest guys around; as good as series 1 of Sherlock was, I can tell they're on the road to outdoing themselves. Next week "The Hounds of Baskerville" airs, followed by "The Reichenbach Fall" the week after.
Til this weekend, then. Happy reading!
--emily
In the meanwhile, this is only tangentially related to books, but for fans of Sherlock Holmes and the BBC's fantastic modernization of it, check out this great review of last Sunday's episode. "A Scandal in Belgravia" was, in my humble opinion, just about as perfect as 90 minutes of television can get. (The review does have lots of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the episode yet, tread carefully.) Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat are pretty much two of the coolest guys around; as good as series 1 of Sherlock was, I can tell they're on the road to outdoing themselves. Next week "The Hounds of Baskerville" airs, followed by "The Reichenbach Fall" the week after.
Til this weekend, then. Happy reading!
--emily
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