Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Ten on Tuesday: last 10 books you read

1) Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. SF space opera. The narrator is sympathetic but mysterious, the scale is both vast and intimate, and the author has completely nailed the "sense of wonder" that I want from my SF novels. This is short-listed for the Tiptree, Clarke, and Nebula Awards. Highly recommended!

2) Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, a reread for me. Interesting ideas, but the book hasn't aged well as several of the major concepts have more recently been criticized or debunked.

3) Revived by Cat Patrick. YA suspense/horror. A very engaging read, although further reflection made me realize the less realistic points of the plot. Recommended if you like YA suspense.

4) The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, a reread. Ditto what I said about Outliers.

5) Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Memoir/graphic novel. This is an amazing book, both in the artwork and in the way the story unfolds. Highly recommended!

6) Living Witness by Jane Haddam. Contemporary mystery. One of my favorites in the long-running series about detective Gregor Demarkian. Recommended.

7) How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny. Contemporary mystery. The series-ender to Penny's series about the Quebec Police Force. A terrific book but you really need to have read the rest of the series for this one to make sense. Recommended.

8) Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. YA SF. A good entry point to their long-running Liaden series. I enjoyed the book but found it a little "preachy".

9) Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy Sayer and Jill Paton Walsh. Mystery set during WWII in Britain. The authorized continuation of Sayer's series about Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey. Very enjoyable; highly recommended!

10) The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord. Utopian SF/romance. Also short-listed for the Nebula Award. Highly recommended!