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End of the 2019 Books
Jan. 1st, 2020 07:30 pm89. The Viennese: Splendor, Twilight, Exile by Paul Hofmann. 3. History of Vienna, with a lot of musing on the psyche of Viennese. Hofmann doesn't actually like his fellow Viennese very much?
90. Time Siege by Wesley Chu. 3. Mostly moving around the set pieces to set up for the inevitable third book. When everything can be rewritten via time travel, most events don't have a lot of emotional impact.
91. Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. 4.5. This is an odd one. It's got four stories, each of which are good, but which isn't really going to justify the cover price for non-writers. But for each story, there's a brainstorming session that lead to it, commentary on revisions that need to be made, and all the previous drafts of the story (with changes highlighted!) As a writer, getting deep into other people's processes is fascinating.
92. The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone. 4. Fluffy but charming amateur sleuth with a geeky twist. I very much liked the justification for why someone hopelessly non-detective-y would have been mysteriously hired in the first place.
93. Storm Warning by Mercedes Lackey. 5. I've really been enjoying re-reading the Valdemar books. I particularly like some of the main characters in this one, including naive but earnest Karal the priest and cynical but kind of accidentally noble Imperial commander Tremane. (Note that nostalgia may be coloring this all, however.)
94. Storm Rising by Mercedes Lackey. 4. OK, I'm not exactly being objective here - this is probably not as good when looked at with a critical eye as my enjoyment of it. But I really enjoyed how Lackey ties a huge number of characters and books together, and I just like hanging out in this world.
95. Storm Breaking by Mercedes Lackey. 4. Look, if you liked the first two, you'll like this one, although to be honest nothing happens in it that didn't happen in the previous book. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy excuses to revisit the characters.
96. The Art of Three by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese. 3. I usually really like their work (disclaimer, I know Maltese in real life), but I bounced off this one. If you want to sit through the mostly-amicable complex negotiations of a poly triad, the characters are charming enough. But I didn't really feel like there was a whole lot of plot here, and didn't buy that the emotional revelations would stick.
97. Lord of the Two Lands by Judith Tarr. 3.5. Interesting historical fantasy adjacent to Alexander the Great. Not hugely satisfied with the ending, but a lot of fun.
98. Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Lost Stars by Claudia Grey. 4.5. Wow, that title's a mouthful. Romeo and Julietish thing between two Imperial cadets that delves into how various officers in the background of Star Wars IV/V/VI would react to all the stuff going on, in surprisingly complex and thoughtful ways.
99. Taking Charge of ADHD by Russell A. Barkley. 4. Thoughtful and exhaustively detailed (seriously, this covers EVERYTHING, far more than you need) look at the causes, symptoms, and potential therapies for ADHD. A lot of good suggestions.
100. Your Defiant Child by Russell A. Barkley and Christine M. Benton. 3.5. Read this on the advice of my kid's therapist and I'm not sure how applicable it actually was to our situation, so this might be more helpful to others. A lot of overlap with Taking Charge of ADHD.
101. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper. 2.5. Kind of run-of-the-mill comic urban fantasy, with the usual hapless female protagonist who suddenly becomes a wisecracking hapless vampire. Would be generically enjoyable, except that the love interest does something pretty awful that's set up as the catalyst for an explosive argument...that then turns into a "I love you/I hate you" hot sex scene. Except what he did really was awful and unforgivable and she was entirely right to be upset. She doesn't even literally forgive him, the whole argument gets basically swept under the rug and never dealt with again.
102. The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene. 3.5. Much of the advice does boil down to, if you're an authoritarian jerk to your kid and your kid doesn't take it well, maybe try not being an authoritarian jerk to your kid?
103. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane. 5. If I told you this was about an aimless guy who takes a job in a mysterious bookstore and stumbles into a centuries-old cult pursuing the secret of eternal life, it would not convey the warmth, wit, or cleverness of this utterly charming book.
104. We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin. 4.5. This history/rallying cry from the Indivisible folks is simultaneously inspiring and really intimidating.
105. Class: A Guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell. 3.5. This very entertaining taxonomy of American classes (written in the 80s) is somewhat dimmed by the author's breathtaking snobbery and complete myopic inability to see that the his chosen tribe of intelligentsia is every bit as beholden to status-seeking and somewhat irrational class markers as the rest of them. (He thinks he's too smart to fall for it. He's not.) Doesn't mean he's wrong about the rest of it, though.
106. You've F*cking Got This!: Daily Motivation for People Who Hate That Crap by Racheline Maltese. 4. Delightfully snarky self-help book that highly recommends spite as a way of motivating yourself to do the things you want to do.
107. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. 5. Tragicomedy of manners set in the Jazz Age. The author has a light, deft touch with character and phrasing that makes this a joy to read. (Also, you kind of know where it's going from the prologue, but it doesn't quite go where you think it's going.)
108. Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan. 3.5. I'm not sure it's actually particularly insightful, but this survey of romance novels from snarky super fans is fluffy good fun. Includes Choose Your Own Adventure romance novels at the back.
109. The Stray by Betsy James Wyeth. 2.5. I re-read this book from my childhood to see if it was as weird as I remembered. IT IS. Strangely compelling dream logic but doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense from an adult perspective and ends with a sudden completely unforeseen and unnecessary tragedy. The images will stick with a child for life, it seems, and comes with a side order of confused trauma. Kind of lyrical writing, though. Order for the unsuspecting child in your life today!
110. Secrets of a Fashion Therapist: What You Can Learn Behind the Dressing Room Door by Betty Halbreich and Sally Wadyka. 2.5. I think I was hoping for some kind of insightful tell-all by the legendary personal shopper from Bergdorf Goodman. Like, thoughts on what our clothes say about us or something. Instead, it's a treatise on how to buy clothes that doesn't actually offer much insight on building a wardrobe that isn't covered more thoroughly elsewhere. The extra-wide margins are filled with cute-but-unhelpful doodles and fawning quotes about how much everyone loves Betty.
111. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. 5. Two interlocking stories - one of gods that spans millennia and one of people that spans a week. No one is quite who you think they are or quite who you want them to be, and your sympathies are brilliantly manipulated (but not in a way that plays you false). I guessed some of what was happening (which you're meant to, the clues are well laid) but was still shocked by the ending.
90. Time Siege by Wesley Chu. 3. Mostly moving around the set pieces to set up for the inevitable third book. When everything can be rewritten via time travel, most events don't have a lot of emotional impact.
91. Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. 4.5. This is an odd one. It's got four stories, each of which are good, but which isn't really going to justify the cover price for non-writers. But for each story, there's a brainstorming session that lead to it, commentary on revisions that need to be made, and all the previous drafts of the story (with changes highlighted!) As a writer, getting deep into other people's processes is fascinating.
92. The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone. 4. Fluffy but charming amateur sleuth with a geeky twist. I very much liked the justification for why someone hopelessly non-detective-y would have been mysteriously hired in the first place.
93. Storm Warning by Mercedes Lackey. 5. I've really been enjoying re-reading the Valdemar books. I particularly like some of the main characters in this one, including naive but earnest Karal the priest and cynical but kind of accidentally noble Imperial commander Tremane. (Note that nostalgia may be coloring this all, however.)
94. Storm Rising by Mercedes Lackey. 4. OK, I'm not exactly being objective here - this is probably not as good when looked at with a critical eye as my enjoyment of it. But I really enjoyed how Lackey ties a huge number of characters and books together, and I just like hanging out in this world.
95. Storm Breaking by Mercedes Lackey. 4. Look, if you liked the first two, you'll like this one, although to be honest nothing happens in it that didn't happen in the previous book. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy excuses to revisit the characters.
96. The Art of Three by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese. 3. I usually really like their work (disclaimer, I know Maltese in real life), but I bounced off this one. If you want to sit through the mostly-amicable complex negotiations of a poly triad, the characters are charming enough. But I didn't really feel like there was a whole lot of plot here, and didn't buy that the emotional revelations would stick.
97. Lord of the Two Lands by Judith Tarr. 3.5. Interesting historical fantasy adjacent to Alexander the Great. Not hugely satisfied with the ending, but a lot of fun.
98. Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Lost Stars by Claudia Grey. 4.5. Wow, that title's a mouthful. Romeo and Julietish thing between two Imperial cadets that delves into how various officers in the background of Star Wars IV/V/VI would react to all the stuff going on, in surprisingly complex and thoughtful ways.
99. Taking Charge of ADHD by Russell A. Barkley. 4. Thoughtful and exhaustively detailed (seriously, this covers EVERYTHING, far more than you need) look at the causes, symptoms, and potential therapies for ADHD. A lot of good suggestions.
100. Your Defiant Child by Russell A. Barkley and Christine M. Benton. 3.5. Read this on the advice of my kid's therapist and I'm not sure how applicable it actually was to our situation, so this might be more helpful to others. A lot of overlap with Taking Charge of ADHD.
101. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper. 2.5. Kind of run-of-the-mill comic urban fantasy, with the usual hapless female protagonist who suddenly becomes a wisecracking hapless vampire. Would be generically enjoyable, except that the love interest does something pretty awful that's set up as the catalyst for an explosive argument...that then turns into a "I love you/I hate you" hot sex scene. Except what he did really was awful and unforgivable and she was entirely right to be upset. She doesn't even literally forgive him, the whole argument gets basically swept under the rug and never dealt with again.
102. The Explosive Child by Ross W. Greene. 3.5. Much of the advice does boil down to, if you're an authoritarian jerk to your kid and your kid doesn't take it well, maybe try not being an authoritarian jerk to your kid?
103. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane. 5. If I told you this was about an aimless guy who takes a job in a mysterious bookstore and stumbles into a centuries-old cult pursuing the secret of eternal life, it would not convey the warmth, wit, or cleverness of this utterly charming book.
104. We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump by Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin. 4.5. This history/rallying cry from the Indivisible folks is simultaneously inspiring and really intimidating.
105. Class: A Guide Through the American Status System by Paul Fussell. 3.5. This very entertaining taxonomy of American classes (written in the 80s) is somewhat dimmed by the author's breathtaking snobbery and complete myopic inability to see that the his chosen tribe of intelligentsia is every bit as beholden to status-seeking and somewhat irrational class markers as the rest of them. (He thinks he's too smart to fall for it. He's not.) Doesn't mean he's wrong about the rest of it, though.
106. You've F*cking Got This!: Daily Motivation for People Who Hate That Crap by Racheline Maltese. 4. Delightfully snarky self-help book that highly recommends spite as a way of motivating yourself to do the things you want to do.
107. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. 5. Tragicomedy of manners set in the Jazz Age. The author has a light, deft touch with character and phrasing that makes this a joy to read. (Also, you kind of know where it's going from the prologue, but it doesn't quite go where you think it's going.)
108. Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan. 3.5. I'm not sure it's actually particularly insightful, but this survey of romance novels from snarky super fans is fluffy good fun. Includes Choose Your Own Adventure romance novels at the back.
109. The Stray by Betsy James Wyeth. 2.5. I re-read this book from my childhood to see if it was as weird as I remembered. IT IS. Strangely compelling dream logic but doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense from an adult perspective and ends with a sudden completely unforeseen and unnecessary tragedy. The images will stick with a child for life, it seems, and comes with a side order of confused trauma. Kind of lyrical writing, though. Order for the unsuspecting child in your life today!
110. Secrets of a Fashion Therapist: What You Can Learn Behind the Dressing Room Door by Betty Halbreich and Sally Wadyka. 2.5. I think I was hoping for some kind of insightful tell-all by the legendary personal shopper from Bergdorf Goodman. Like, thoughts on what our clothes say about us or something. Instead, it's a treatise on how to buy clothes that doesn't actually offer much insight on building a wardrobe that isn't covered more thoroughly elsewhere. The extra-wide margins are filled with cute-but-unhelpful doodles and fawning quotes about how much everyone loves Betty.
111. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. 5. Two interlocking stories - one of gods that spans millennia and one of people that spans a week. No one is quite who you think they are or quite who you want them to be, and your sympathies are brilliantly manipulated (but not in a way that plays you false). I guessed some of what was happening (which you're meant to, the clues are well laid) but was still shocked by the ending.
