Ancillary Justice

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars.
Loved this space opera!  The pacing is superb!  You can tell Leckie homed her skills in short stories...no fluff here!  At first I thought it was crazy original having an AI operate through multiple bodies as well as the ship, but then, isn't that Seven of Nine?  Notwithstanding, Leckie did an excellent job of making you feel like Justice of Toren (aka One Esk, who is now Breq)..,a huge literary feat.  My only complaint is with Sievarden....hopefully his character is fleshed out in upcoming installments.  I enjoyed the linguistic elements in the book; how different languages can't always translate and how the culture shapes the language or vice versa.  Like how One Esk couldn't see gender because her language didn't differentiate genders.  At first I found that lack of pronoun differentiation confusing and frustrating as I pictured (characters like Sievarden first as a girl, then had to recast him as a boy. But I also appreciated the discovery of my bias for gender roles...I felt compassion and concern when I thought Sievarden was a girl, then when I realized he was a man, I found him weak and pitiful.  But I think the point is that regardless of gender people can be empathetic, power hungry, brave, etc.   All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will read on in the series.</["br"]>


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Quote from "Master Misery" by TrumN Capote

Of all things this was saddest, that life would go on; if one leaves one's lover, life should stop for him, and if one disappears from the world, then the world should stop, too; and it never did.  And that was the real reason for most people getting up in the morning, not because it would matter but because it wouldn't.

A Natural History of Dragons

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Delightful.  Loved Isabella Trent.  She is passionate about dragons and wants to unlock their mysteries, although such scientific work for ladies is generally  frowned upon.  Still, her enthusiasm helps her find a way...and I loved her pluck and determination, and I loved that she was also clumsy, headstrong, and a little condescending...no one likes a perfect heroine.  Loved the characters, loved the plot, loved the dragons.  If i could ask one thing it might be  a little more depth to some of Isabella's relationships, but I wondered if that was intentional...when you are that obsessed with  something, it leaves little room for passion about anything else.  I think YA would enjoy this book as well.


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The Good Earth

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting read for me.  It was recommended to me as a way to explore Chinese history, but I found it was more a lesson in relationships.  The relationship between Wang and Olan, his wife.  His relationship with his children, father, uncle.  And of course, his relationship to the land and what it gives him, and what it takes from him.  It is a story of the relationship between the poor and the rich, and how money shapes the way we view everything from ourselves, to religion, to the rights we think we are entitled to.  Being poor brings a lot of problems...being rich brings even more.  And war trumps everything. There are no epic confrontations, no mysteries to solve, no great revelation....just a story of an imperfect man, doing the best he can to raise his family.


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Lullaby

Sometimes when you cry,

I hold you longer than I could.

I envelop you in the crook of my arms,

     a thousand kisses on your hair,

     rocking slightly side to side.

I hold you as long as,

      as tightly as,

      squirming will allow--

Trying to impress your soul

     with the warmth of my heart.

Because one day we will be apart--

     separated by years,

                          miles,

                          ideas,

                          life.

The night will be dark,

                          cold,

                          marble to the touch

And thoughts of the sun

         seem darker still:

Let your soul recall

This time--

Feel the shadows of feather pillows,

Hear Brahms in the wind,

Taste marshmallows on hot chocolate.

The night will still be dark

But may you feel the warmth of the sun.

The Invention of Wings

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book exceeded my expectations.  The characters were well-drawn, the plot was perfectly paced, deep questions of identity, freedom, and ambition were explored...even the writing was beautiful.  I was not impressed with The Secret Life of Bees ... I thought the characters were too cliche, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel.  Perhaps because Sarah was based on an actual person...sometimes life is better than fiction, and doesn't  fall so easily into cliches.  I could have done without Oprahs editorial thoughts in this edition. I read a few of them, then skipped the rest.


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Musicophilia

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

To be fair, a lot of how much I enjoy a book depends on my expectations going in.  I wanted to understand some of the mysteries behind music...why do some people like rock and others country? for instance...or does music actually help an athlete run longer or faster?  Exactly how does music work to get us to feel patriotic, or happy, or sad?  Why is music in the minor key perceived as dark and the  major key happy?  Why I thought these kinds of questions would be answered in this book I have no idea.  But I was disappointed.  It is true that some of these questions are answered, kind of, but the organization of the book makes it hard to get what I was looking for.  It seemed to me that Sacks merely searched "music" in his computer files of patients, then grouped them together according to diagnosis.  In fact, in several instances, he tells us what he prescribed to help the patient.  Fine if you are a doctor or fellow-sufferer, but not relevant to most of us. In some cases, there was no explanation or resolution, just a list of observations.   Since I was able to highlight about 10 min. worth of information, it was not a total loss, but not what I was looking for.


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