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I don't really notice the wildfire smoke unless looking down from the top of a hill, but egads, are my eyeballs aware that it's here. Despite the prevailing conditions I did manage to get some solid reading in.
What I Finished Reading This Week
Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo
I came to this series pretty late, in part because there's a lot of overlap between Grishaverse fans and fans of other YA series phenoms (think Twilight) that rank high among my hatereads. I did not hateread this book. I actually enjoyed really it--it's a lot of fun.
It is definitely beach read YA fantasy with all the elements thereof: a sickly orphaned protagonist raised in poverty who's actually The Most Exceptional And Powerful Ever (Only she can save the world!)? Check. Who's thrown into a magical school where she struggles to Master Her Talents and the social pecking order? Check. And where she is beautified by the application of magic and a designer wardrobe? Check. But reluctantly, because she Virtuously Does Not Care About Being Beautiful? Check. Is she conflicted by her feelings for The Childhood Companion Who Friendzoned Her and a Dangerous But Rich And Darkly Handsome rival? Yes! Are there shocking revelations about characters she once considered allies? Yes! Are there dramatic flights for her life following inevitable betrayals? Yes!
All the beats are there, exactly where I'd expect them to be, but I didn't hate any of it. In fact, it entertained even as I saw pretty much all of it coming, exactly on schedule...which by one metric is the definition of a good book. I don't know why I enjoyed all of this instead of being irritated by it, but enjoy it I did.
A lot has been made of the Grishaverse's Russia-inspired setting, but this felt pretty superficial to me, like looking at a cling decal of a stained glass window versus actual stained glass. You could just as easily have set this book in bog standard medieval Western Europe and not really lost anything. I can't speak to whether any of the "Russian" terms are accurate, but I was distracted by Bardugo's inconsistent use of them (why for some terms but not others? Why are some italicized and/or capitalized, but not others?) And I repeatedly rolled my eyes at her characters' complete inability to die from exposure, even after a night in the mountains or the snowy winter tundra, soaked to the skin, with no fire, coat, or blankets (truly, the most magical of the protagonist's abilities). So, yeah. There was a lot here that should not have worked for me, but it did. This is not a convention-defying read, but it does genre very well, and I enjoyed the ride.
What I Am Currently Reading
Siege and Storm – Leigh Bardugo
It says something about my enjoyment of this book's predecessor that upon finishing it, I jumped directly into this one.
The Third Revolution – Elizabeth Economy
I've got about two more chapters to go before I finish this one.
[.....] – [.....]
Being the second draft of a friend's novel. So far, I'm really enjoying it.
The Hacker's Playbook – Peter Kim
I've started poking at this one again as a possible follow-on book once I've finished the Economy
MacBook In Easy Steps – Nick Vandome
I poked at about three pages of this.
What I'm Reading Next
This week I picked up Feminisims by Lucy Delap and Hearts of Oak by Eddie Robson.
これで以上です。
What I Finished Reading This Week
Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo
I came to this series pretty late, in part because there's a lot of overlap between Grishaverse fans and fans of other YA series phenoms (think Twilight) that rank high among my hatereads. I did not hateread this book. I actually enjoyed really it--it's a lot of fun.
It is definitely beach read YA fantasy with all the elements thereof: a sickly orphaned protagonist raised in poverty who's actually The Most Exceptional And Powerful Ever (Only she can save the world!)? Check. Who's thrown into a magical school where she struggles to Master Her Talents and the social pecking order? Check. And where she is beautified by the application of magic and a designer wardrobe? Check. But reluctantly, because she Virtuously Does Not Care About Being Beautiful? Check. Is she conflicted by her feelings for The Childhood Companion Who Friendzoned Her and a Dangerous But Rich And Darkly Handsome rival? Yes! Are there shocking revelations about characters she once considered allies? Yes! Are there dramatic flights for her life following inevitable betrayals? Yes!
All the beats are there, exactly where I'd expect them to be, but I didn't hate any of it. In fact, it entertained even as I saw pretty much all of it coming, exactly on schedule...which by one metric is the definition of a good book. I don't know why I enjoyed all of this instead of being irritated by it, but enjoy it I did.
A lot has been made of the Grishaverse's Russia-inspired setting, but this felt pretty superficial to me, like looking at a cling decal of a stained glass window versus actual stained glass. You could just as easily have set this book in bog standard medieval Western Europe and not really lost anything. I can't speak to whether any of the "Russian" terms are accurate, but I was distracted by Bardugo's inconsistent use of them (why for some terms but not others? Why are some italicized and/or capitalized, but not others?) And I repeatedly rolled my eyes at her characters' complete inability to die from exposure, even after a night in the mountains or the snowy winter tundra, soaked to the skin, with no fire, coat, or blankets (truly, the most magical of the protagonist's abilities). So, yeah. There was a lot here that should not have worked for me, but it did. This is not a convention-defying read, but it does genre very well, and I enjoyed the ride.
What I Am Currently Reading
Siege and Storm – Leigh Bardugo
It says something about my enjoyment of this book's predecessor that upon finishing it, I jumped directly into this one.
The Third Revolution – Elizabeth Economy
I've got about two more chapters to go before I finish this one.
[.....] – [.....]
Being the second draft of a friend's novel. So far, I'm really enjoying it.
The Hacker's Playbook – Peter Kim
I've started poking at this one again as a possible follow-on book once I've finished the Economy
MacBook In Easy Steps – Nick Vandome
I poked at about three pages of this.
What I'm Reading Next
This week I picked up Feminisims by Lucy Delap and Hearts of Oak by Eddie Robson.
これで以上です。
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