Posted February 4, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 3 Comments
Changing Planes, Ursula Le Guin
This collection of short stories are all linked by a single idea: when we’re waiting in an airport, we can just slip away to another dimension, or ‘plane’. If you haven’t heard of this phenomenon, I do recommend Ursula Le Guin’s travel memoir — a little out of date now, perhaps, but certainly a good introduction to some of the planes that are out there. Her choice of stories might seem pointed at times — there’s an inherent criticism of all things commercialised in her discussions of the Holiday Plane, for example — but the locals she speaks to and the stories she reveals are fascinating nonetheless. I don’t think I’d want to visit all of these planes, but the Library of Mahigul sounds fascinating, and I’d love to take a DNA sequencer to Islac and try to puzzle out quite how they got their genomes into such a mess.
Of course, there are many other planes out there that Le Guin did not cover, and doubtless there are fascinating stories she could have told and never had time to tell, or never wanted to tell. I’m sure there’s a fair share of utter tragedy and horror out there — but also beauty, and Le Guin finds that even in some of the sadder places.
A recommended read — especially if you’re going to be flying soon.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F, Ursula Le Guin
Posted February 3, 2018 by Nicky in General / 6 Comments
Can it be? Yes, that’s right! No new books this week, neither to review nor bought. I did buy a couple of Guy Gavriel Kay books for my Kobo, but I already owned them in paperback — got them second hand years ago, so I had an attack of conscience.
And because it’s UNstacking the shelves, I get to post full size covers of the books I’ve finished this week. Pleaaaaase don’t comment to tell me to enjoy my new books, ’cause I ain’t got any. Honestly, I appreciate the visits, but if you don’t read the post, what’s the point?
Books read this week:
A good reading week, as you can see!
Reviews posted this week:
–Restless Creatures, by Matt Wilkinson. An interesting topic, but something about the book just didn’t work for me. 2/5 stars
–No Time To Spare, by Ursula Le Guin. Her last publication. Gah. 4/5 stars
–RUR, by Karel Capek. Fascinating because it was so foundational. 3/5 stars
–The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner. Nope. Still don’t get the appeal. 2/5 stars
–Beneath the Sugar Sky, by Seanan McGuire. Not quite my favourite, because I don’t get on with nonsense worlds, but I enjoyed spending more time with Christopher and Kade. 4/5 stars
–Words Are My Matter, by Ursula Le Guin. Her non-fiction is not my favourite, but she still has a crystal-clear vision and way of putting things. 4/5 stars
Other posts:
–WWW Wednesday. My latest reads.
What’s everyone been up to? Good week, bad week, read everything you could get your hands on week? Let me know!
Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup
Posted February 2, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
Words Are My Matter, Ursula Le Guin
I don’t love Ursula Le Guin’s non-fiction as much as her fiction, but at least it’s always a pleasure to read. This book has a rather charming diary of a writer’s week when she attended a writing retreat, including some very nice observations of rabbits which chime well with what I know of my domestic buns. There’s also various essays on genre, and her other usual preoccupations. And then there’s her book reviews — I could wish there weren’t as many of Atwood’s work, who I don’t have much interest in, but it was interesting to see her thoughts on books and authors I know, and especially to see her glowing piece on Jo Walton’s Among Others.
I still prefer her fiction — as she did herself — but I cherished reading this, too.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction, Ursula Le Guin
Posted February 1, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments
Beneath the Sugar Sky, Seanan McGuire
I had to get this the minute it came out, of course. I was a little dubious since this is set primarily in a nonsense world, with a main character from a nonsense world, because that’s really not the sort of thing that attracts me. (Alice in Wonderland drives me wild, I really dislike it.) But fortunately the cast includes familiar and beloved characters like Kade and Christopher, and even drops in on Nancy in her world. Though I wasn’t enamoured of the world, spending more time with Kade was great, and the emotional pay off of the overall quest is pretty great.
I really want Kade to be the main character of his own story, though. It’s nice how he gets involved in everyone else’s, but… I want him to get a happy ever after, even if it doesn’t look like the others’ (i.e. doesn’t involve finding his door, since he doesn’t want to). I’d like to see Christopher get his own story, too.
Rep-wise, it’s also cool that this book features Cora, who is overweight — a fact which was an asset for her when she was a mermaid, and something she’s relatively comfortable with.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, Seanan McGuire, SF/F
Posted January 31, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 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?
Still Ghost Talkers… I’m being terrible at getting round to finishing that, partly because I feel emotional about it and partly because of course I’ve been reading a lot of Ursula Le Guin’s work instead of whatever I planned to be reading.
What have you recently finished reading?
By the time this is up, I’ll have finished I Am Morgan Le Fay, by Nancy Springer. I’m not quite sure what I think of it yet… I don’t think I’m a fan, but it’s not like I hate it either? It’s nice to see someone trying to be nuanced about Morgan Le Fay.
What will you be reading next?
Something by Ursula Le Guin, almost certainly. Probably A Wizard of Earthsea, since that’s the book of hers I really love and want to celebrate most. But of course there’s a whole bunch of others on my list to revisit, including The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, The Telling, Lavinia…
What are you reading right now?
Tags: books, Ursula Le Guin, WWW Wednesday
Posted January 30, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Alan Garner
When I first read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, I found it horribly disappointing after all the hype. Even back then, I noted that the beginning was promising and that there are some wonderfully evocative scenes of claustrophobia and fear… but the mythology, and particularly the mash-up of different mythologies without apparent meaning — someone called Grimnir appears, but he’s the twin of a wizard and did not really strike me as being intended to evoke Odin, for example — bothered me.
I have to say that I’m pretty much of the same opinion now. There are some really great elements, but they don’t come together for me because they’re such a mash-up — and there’s no reason given for the mash-up, as in a story like Gaiman’s American Gods. I didn’t really get a sense of great history to some of the mythology, even though the names given are ancient. Worse, I found the last third of the book almost incoherent in its scrambling from plot point to plot point. Why is this happening? What? I don’t follow…
Maybe as a child I’d have accepted it more easily, with fewer preconceptions and less pre-existing knowledge about some of the mythology used. Alan Garner’s books always gave me the willies as a kid, though, so I didn’t read it back then.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F
Posted January 29, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
RUR, Karel Capek
When you read about robots, you have Capek to thank. He’s the one who first came up with that word for a separate group of manufactured people (automatons?) who carry out work around the house, in factories and in the fields, subservient to the needs of humans. He’s the first one who posited how they might rise up, and declare themselves as people too. It’s a shortish play, and one which I don’t always quite get — what’s with the men all falling in love with the one female character? Why do the characters act the way they do?
But it is fascinating to come back to one of the places where it all started, and it was worth the read to see where some of the themes and preoccupations of later science fiction originated.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: book reviews, books, SF/F
Posted January 28, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
No Time To Spare, Ursula Le Guin
Received to review via Netgalley
All the time while I read this, a few weeks ago, I found myself wondering how much longer we’d have Ursula Le Guin. I wonder if the title, No Time to Spare, was intended to be so on the nose. It’s a wonderful collection, full of Le Guin’s personality: her thoughts on ageing, on genre, on books in general, and on her own work. And also her thoughts on her cat, Pard, and one rather mindful piece on the correct way to eat a boiled egg.
It was a quiet moment when I needed one, and I hadn’t even known I needed it, and now there’s a finite amount of Le Guin’s work left in the world for me to find that feeling in again. Thank goodness for rereading and the fact that Le Guin’s work always merits it.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction, Ursula Le Guin
Posted January 27, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments
Restless Creatures, Matt Wilkinson
The topic of this book — evolutionary biology from the point of view of the importance of locomotion — is fascinating, and I can’t actually point to anything about the writing or structure that bothers me. I just found that I didn’t enjoy it. Part of that is probably because I’m not interested in the physics, and though I think HOX genes are fascinating, I’m already aware of them and the homology in them between species.
I think some of the sections on the physics of motion genuinely dragged a little; if you’re into physics, it’s nothing new, and if you’re not, then it’s not exactly the most fascinating stuff. It’s an interesting topic, and Wilkinson writes pretty clearly, so that might be a personal thing.
Rating: 2/5
Tags: book reviews, books, non-fiction, science
Posted January 27, 2018 by Nicky in General / 16 Comments
Good morning, folks! I’ve had a quiet week. Though quite a few books have somehoooow made their way in, I haven’t actually paid for any! They’ve all been review copies, or bought with gift vouchers. Hurrah!
Received to review
I’ve been interested in all these for a while.
Books bought
I’ve been curious about these, too. So hurrah!
Books finished this week:
Reviews posted:
–The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, by Dorothy L. Sayers. Not a favourite, but still — of course — clever. 4/5 stars
–The Written World, by Martin Puchner. I’ve seen some concern about historical inaccuracies, but I really enjoyed reading it. 4/5 stars
–Cro-Magnon, by Brian Fagan. I originally gave this four stars, but I think I’ll lower it to three. Some sexist assumptions, mostly the same info as found elsewhere. 3/5 stars
–In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan. I found this a delight. 4/5 stars
–The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee. So much information, tons of fascinating stuff. 5/5 stars
–How the Zebra Got Its Stripes, by Léo Grasset. Fairly slim, but some fun facts. 3/5 stars
–Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo. This one really worked for me — it was a quick read and I got into the characters. 4/5 stars
Other posts:
–Turn Around: Ursula Le Guin’s Words of Wisdom. On Earthsea and anxiety and what Le Guin did for me.
–WWW Wednesday. The usual weekly update.
How’s everyone doing?
Tags: books, Stacking the Shelves, weekly roundup
