Stacking the Shelves

Posted May 5, 2018 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

Good morning! Thank goodness it’s the weekend — not that I work any less over the weekend, typically, but I decided to do a readathon from Litsy and thus put a lot of effort into clearing my backlog of things to do. Including the last major assignment of my degree! Just my exams (erk) and my dissertation to go now.

Anyway! Onto the books.

Received to review

Cover of Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Cover of Artificial Condition by Martha Wells Cover of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Yaaaay, Murderbot!

Oh, and I almost forgot (how rude of me!) — I won this from Imyril‘s giveaway!

Cover of Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr

Read this week:

Cover of The Red Threads of Fortune by JY Yang Cover of Permeable Borders by Nina Kiriki Hoffman Cover of Spider-Woman: Baby Talk Cover of Semiosis by Sue Burke Cover of Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart

Cover of Universal by Brian Cox Cover of Void Black Shadow by Corey J. White  Cover of Keeping Their Marbles by Tiffany Jenkins

Reviews posted this week:

–Exiled from Camelot, by Cherith Baldry. Reread of a book I wrote part of my MA dissertation on. Sometimes feels overly emotional, but I loved what it does with the Arthurian material. 4/5 stars
–Spider-woman: Shifting Gears – Baby Talk, by Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez. A bit of a left turn out of nowhere for Jessica Drew, but still fun. 4/5 stars
–Semiosis, by Sue Burke. I had a couple of quibbles with the narration, but I loved the ideas behind this one. 4/5 stars
–Island of Apples, by Glynn Jones. Nope. Didn’t really get it, nor get along with it. 2/5 stars

Other posts:

–Discussion: Affiliate links. That experiment on The Bibliophibian is now over! It didn’t work out very well for me, so this is a bit of a post mortem — and a plea for people to support other bloggers whenever they can.
–WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly report on what I’m reading right now.

So what’ve you been reading this week? Anything fun going on for you? Let me know!

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Review – Island of Apples

Posted May 4, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Island of Apples, Glyn Jones

I’ve been meaning to read this for a really really really long time. It first got onto my to read list back when I was doing my first degree and did a module on Welsh Fiction in English. Perhaps I’d actually have enjoyed it more back then, immersed in its contemporaries and exploring how it reflected on Welsh identity, etc, etc. Reading it now, it didn’t really work for me: it was definitely enjoyable to read Welsh voices and turns of phrase, and people referring to chapel and so on…

But otherwise, I didn’t care about it; I didn’t care about the characters, and I felt all the dreamlike stuff where you can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t was just… too like other books I’ve read? I don’t know. It didn’t stand out to me in any way.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Semiosis

Posted May 3, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Semiosis by Sue BurkeSemiosis, Sue Burke

I originally received this to review, but I felt bad for neglecting it and picked up the hardback at that most excellent bookstore, the American Book Center in Amsterdam. I’ve been meaning to read it for ages, so that was the impetus to finally get going, and for the most part I wasn’t disappointed. The idea is great, and the way it explores a different kind of intelligence, a different way of living, is really great. I enjoyed the character of Stevland; it was a little too human-sounding at times near the end, but I do think that was partially intentional, as Stevland and the humans grew to co-exist and help one another, and genuinely work together (rather than one thinking of training or compelling the other).

I also really enjoyed that though the plants being sentient and against you would make a really creepy and probably enjoyable sci-fi story, it was more complex than that. Nothing was as simple as some of the characters saw it — even Tatiana, whose narration I quite liked for her dedication to working out what was happening, didn’t get Stevland quite right.

I was less impressed with the narrative voice, which sounded too much the same between the different characters, but that was about my only quibble. Sometimes it rather deadened the impact of events, but nonetheless there were some excellent scenes — especially with Stevland, but also one with Tatiana and Jersey.

Overall, not perfect, but recommended!

Rating: 4/5

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WWW Wednesday

Posted May 2, 2018 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments

The three ‘W’s are what are you reading now, what have you recently finished reading, and what are you going to read next, and you can find this week’s post at the host’s blog here if you want to check out other posts.

What are you currently reading?

Cover of Brimstone by Cherie PriestLet’s see, what have I got in progress… I’m partway through Cherie Priest’s Brimstone, which I meant to read back when I got an ARC, but it always kept shuffling to the bottom of my pile somehow. I’ve got to 30% of the way through in a surprisingly short time; I’m definitely intrigued by the characters and how they’re going to come together.

I’m also still partway through An Accident of Stars, Kushiel’s Chosen and Too Like the Lightning. I know, I suck.

What have you recently finished reading?

Cover of Semiosis by Sue BurkeWell, I just fled Brian Cox’s Universal, because though everything is really well explained, it still involves being able to clearly conceptualise numbers. If I have to, I can, but it’s not my favourite thing. So, that’s one book off the TBR.

In terms of actually finishing books, I think the last book I finished was my reread of Madam, Will You Talk? and before that, Sue Burke’s Semiosis, which I really need to put together my review of while it’s fresh in my mind. Short version: the narrative voices could have done with being more distinct, but otherwise I enjoyed the concepts explored.

Cover of Daggerspell by Katherine KerrWhat will you be reading next?

I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Well, no, obviously not, but I don’t really know where I’m going next. Maybe I’ll pick up Daggerspell for the Wyrd and Wonder readalong. (My mother is probably doing whatever adults do instead of a fistpump, having tried to make me read the Deverry books long ago. (I hope I’m misremembering the horrific homophobia, though I have read that there have been revisions now?)

What are you reading?

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Review – Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears

Posted May 1, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Spider-Woman: Baby TalkSpider-Woman: Shifting Gears – Baby Talk, Dennis Hopeless, Javier Rodriguez 

It’s been a while since I read any comics, really, so I picked this one up on a whim. It’s quite a lot of fun: Jessica Drew kicks ass and takes names even when pregnant — even when she’s just had an emergency caesarian. That part isn’t realistic, but the bit about her learning to cope with giving things up, dealing with motherhood, and figuring out who she is now… that’s all probably pretty on the nose. And I loved Carol’s concern for her and how Jessica called out all the overprotective behaviour.

Does it make sense, coming right after the last Spider-Woman comic I read? Not really. It feels like they just decided to take a left turn out of nowhere for the fun of it. It’s comics, so you know it isn’t going to change much — for all I know, Jessica’s kid has been retconned out of everything already.

Still, like I said, it’s fun. And I do like the art in this TPB.

Rating: 4/5

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Discussion: Affiliate links

Posted April 30, 2018 by Nicky in General / 12 Comments

The affiliate link experiment on The Bibliophibian is over.

It just wasn’t working. People would tell me they never click on affiliate links anyway, that they don’t trust them, and that it feels too much like advertising. I can get that, but I’d really hoped for enough to pay for my domain name and such, at least. A book or two now and then. As it stands, after several months of the experiment (I think it might be coming up to six months?) I haven’t yet earned enough for any of the affiliates to pay out, and they’re always looking for a reason to refuse to even credit my account with the amount purchased.

So, affiliates are gone now. I’ll slowly scrub them from the previous posts, and get rid of them from my sidebar, etc, etc.

I’m really disappointed though. Blogging is my hobby, but it’s a hobby that has started to take over a serious amount of my life, just while I’m also doing a full time degree and working several jobs as a contractor. As a UK-based blogger, I don’t even get that many free books from publishers. I’d hoped that I could get enough through affiliate links to make it sustainable — and get a bit back from readers who find my reviews worthwhile or interesting without ever costing them anything.

What I will be doing instead is putting up a Ko-fi link. If sometimes you feel I’ve written an interesting post or made you want to really read a book or just been a nice person, feel free to buy me a coffee or three (well, it’s most likely to be a coke, for me). It’s something I try to do while I’m out and about, to show my appreciation for the work people do on their blogs. Some of us spend a lot of time on it, and it’s worth doing something to say ‘thanks’, right?

(I mean, Amazon and Kobo vouchers are always welcome — thebrightspark [at] gmail [dot] com is ready and waiting to receive donations — but that’s a bit steeper than a can of cola. But that would be another way to support my endeavours, if you want to make sure I buy books with my ill-gotten gains from blogging.)

The point is, blogging can be work, and if we appreciate work, we ought to support it. So that’s my pledge from now on — use affiliate links, donate via Ko-fi, don’t block ads on my favourite blogs if they’re not intrusive…

Personally, I run on cola. Cherry cola, even. I know, I know, I’m a heathen. What’s your poison?

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Review – Exiled from Camelot

Posted April 29, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Exiled from Camelot by Cherith BaldryExiled from Camelot, Cherith Baldry

This was a reread of a book I read aaaages ago for my MA dissertation. Apparently I wanted to look back on more stressful times as I work on my BSc dissertation… In any case, I love what Baldry does with various strands of the mythology, drawing together a more modern Kay and a modern view of him with some of the chivalric world and some, even, of the Welsh mythology. I love what she does with Loholt and even though, per some of that stuff, Cai might end up in opposition to Arthur, and that definitely doesn’t happen here.

It’s also incredibly homoromantic. Kay says Arthur’s the air he breathes for goodness sake. This isn’t a criticism; I quite enjoy this book — but I wonder if it’s why the only copy I could ever find was second-hand and never republished…

Sometimes the emotional stuff does seem overblown to me, but it’s better than dudes who never say what they’re feeling, so why not? I love the value it gives Kay and his emotionality, his work to bring Camelot together and make things work that doesn’t involve pointy objects (other than cutlery).

Rating: 4/5

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Stacking the Shelves

Posted April 28, 2018 by Nicky in General / 14 Comments

Welp, I have deadlines coming out of my ears. I haven’t replied to last week’s STS comments at the point I’m typing this. I’m gonna sit down and blitz through it tomorrow, along with any I get on this post! I am sorry to be a failboat: I blame the fact that I have two (two!) new(ish) jobs and four assignments due within a three week period. And exams coming up.

Ulp.

Still, in cool news, this is my hair now.

(It was teal until yesterday morning, and red for a long time before that. But this was the actual target colour when it ended up teal, more or less.)

Received to review:

Thank you, Tor! But especially thank you Crown Publishing for sending me Foundryside — via express mail, no less!

Books read this week:

Cover of Seven Dead by J. Jefferson Farjeon  

Cover of The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang Cover of Immune by Catherine Carver Cover of Murder in the Channel by Freeman Wills Croft

Reviews posted this week:

–The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, by Dan Ariely. Nothing much new to me, but solid stuff if you don’t know the psychology. 3/5 stars
–Bats in the Belfry, by E.C.R. Lorac. Fun mystery, with a good twist and some very sinister scenes. 4/5 stars
–War for the Oaks, by Emma Bull. It’s the grandma of Kate Daniels, October Daye and their like, and it’s a lot of fun. 4/5 stars
–Evolution in Four Dimensions, by Eva Jablonka and Marion J. Lamb. If you want to learn about non-genetic methods of inheritance, this is a great place to start. Not all of the layout worked for me, but there’s some very good stuff. 4/5 stars
–The Cornish Coast Mystery, by John Bude. If I was just reading this as a random story picked up without context, I might not have enjoyed it so much, on reflection. But being able to place it in the Golden Age of crime fiction, and knowing a little about the influences and so on, I found it an entertaining cosy mystery and worth the time. 4/5 stars

Other posts:

–WWW Wednesday: The weekly update!

How’s everyone else doing? Been reading, in a slump, too many other things to think about? Anything amazing hit your doormat as an ARC?

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Review – The Cornish Coast Murder

Posted April 27, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 5 Comments

Cover of The Cornish Coast Murder by John BudeThe Cornish Coast Murder, John Bude

The Cornish Coast Murder is an entertaining enough story, with the murderer being actually guessable (mostly because I looked for the character who was mentioned but seemed not to have a motive, but sshh) and some rather fun interchanges between the Vicar and the Doctor, crime fans extraordinaire. It has a good sense of place and nothing’s too fantastical, and it classically has killed off a person no one really cares too much for, which makes it fine as a cosy.

It’s definitely fun enough to make me think of picking up more of Bude’s work — I think there’s more republished in the British Library Crime Classics editions, at least. If not, maybe I wouldn’t go out of my way for it, but as it is it’s enjoyable.

And I still like the mental image of the Vicar crawling around the place with strings to get the trajectory of the bullets.

Rating: 4/5

Buy this book: Amazon UK | Amazon US | The Book Depository
The above affiliate links, at no extra cost to you, provide a small commission for me if you purchase something.

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Review – Evolution in Four Dimensions

Posted April 26, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Evolution in Four Dimensions by Eva JablonkaEvolution in Four Dimensions, Eva Jablonka, Marion J. Lamb

This is really clear if you know a bit about what it’s talking about, and probably impossibly dense if you don’t. The illustrations are rather whimsical usually, rather than being useful (even for people who aren’t me and can make sense of things they’re looking at!), and there are “dialogues” at the end of each chapter which go over the previous points and basically play a bit of Devil’s advocate. They didn’t work for me because it was so artificial — obviously they wrote the dialogues entirely themselves, so it was just the questions they wanted to answer — but it might be helpful in clarifying some things for some readers.

There’s some new stuff since this revised edition came out, but it’s still a good primer on epigenetics and some of the other things that are significant when you discuss evolution (like culture). I probably wouldn’t recommend it to a layperson, but if you’re already interested, it’s a good one.

Rating: 4/5

Buy this book: Amazon UK | Amazon US | The Book Depository
The above affiliate links, at no extra cost to you, provide a small commission for me if you purchase something.

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