Here is how my reading went this month!
1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor: They didn't lie, her writing is absolutely fabulous and it is effortlessly imaginative, even if the actual story underneath the world isn't too original. I just fell into the beautiful world; truly remarkabale fantasy, but many elements of the real world are retained to make it releatible, even if it's just everyday life in Prague. Of course, it did really feel like a set-up to a larger story and it is structured a bit strangely (I liked the first half better than the second, personally). The romance wasn't overbearing and there are explanations for it. I'm not sure it's my favorite because it didn't have that rare personal connection for me, but it is head and shoulders above most YA fantasy and a great way to spend my time. 4.5/5 stars.
2. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite novels of all time, and I recently realized I hadn't read anything else from Bradbury's impressive bibliography and made an agreement with myself to read as much as I can eventually. Like much of Bradbury, this is a collection of loosely collected short stories. I didn't fall into it as easily as Fahrenheit, but it was compelling and became more so as it went on. It's somber, bizarre, amusing...it's all about the human experience (more social than scientific, for example), and I should've seen the Cold War twist coming. 4.5/5 stars. (I really hate ratings.)
3. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells: I've been trying to read this on my Kindle for a while and I finally got going and finished it (the public domain Kindle format is very frustrating). It's definitely influencial and it does have a foundation in real science (something you don't see with SF nowadays), but I think it's my least favorite Wells novel. It doesn't have many other quandaries in it to think about (in contrast to the future split of humanity in The Time Machine and the lack of adhering to morals when invisible in The Invisible Man), and I just felt distanced from it. Of course it is pretty creepy, but isn't an all-out action blockbuster (which I don't mind). I just feel like it doesn't offer much beyond its concept, and since its concept has been so common in more recent storytelling, the bare bones is kind of underwhelming. Also, those aliens were really focused on the small part of the globe that is Great Britain. 3/5
4. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor: I was kind of on a Bradbury hangover during the first half of this book and I was also splitting my time between reading the War of the Worlds ebook, so it didn't grab me as much as the first book and I wasn't paying attention as much as I should have. However, I really enjoyed it after that, and I just love how different and immersive and beautiful this is. I figured I would like the war book more than the romance one, and I think it has a better structure as well. They're both very different, but they're both gems. More thoughts later. 4.5/5 stars.
It felt like I didn't read as much as I wanted this month, but I read some great books and it worked out in the end. Here's what I'll probably be reading next:
- I am currently reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley for school and it's fabulous.
- On my Kindle (where I got it once for free) I'm about 25% of the way through Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This isn't really the book I like to read and the writing feels a little bland to me, but I'm mostly intrigued by (and going to review it for this purpose) the fact that it's pretty much an intentional parody/attempt-to-be-better-than Twilight. It's actually pretty successful so far...every time I think it's gone to far, the main character talks about how he's a jerk and she wants to be better than him.
- The Illustrated Man and The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury: of course
- I still have The Da Vinci Code.
- And on my Kindle (because they were cheap) I have Cinder, Throne of Glass, The Warrior Heir, and The Darkest Minds.
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