Fleeing her old life, Rosemary Harper joins the multi-species crew of the Wayfarer as a file clerk, and joins them on missions throughout the galaxy. Looking forward to a simpler life, she soon discovers it’s not what she was expecting; everyone has secrets, and there’s more than enough to keep her busy.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Published 2014 via Kickstarter Bingo Category – Space Opera (Hard Mode)
This comfy, cosy, Firefly-esque space opera hits the spot in terms of an easy going, character focused novel. The plot is good, the writing is good, the characters are fully fleshed out and feel real, and plot arcs get resolved. It’s all very satisfying. I enjoyed it, but it almost felt too cosy. The stakes were relatively small, everyone was polite and nice and friendly and mostly everything was resolved in a nice, polite, friendly way. I know there is loads of love for Becky Chambers and I’m not surprised, because what she writes is great, but this book and most likely the rest of the series, is just not for me.
January 2025 was a nightmare. This is something that I will not change my mind about. Whatever could go wrong, went wrong. Work. Home. Hobbies. Didn’t matter. It was a huge pile of baggy pants that I’d much rather not have worn.
I read two books. Two!!! And I only enjoyed one of them. Neither of them were bingo challenge books and I found myself more and more disheartened as the month continued on like a battering ram. By the end of it, I felt like I’d gone more than a few rounds with Tyson. Whichever one you think of. Either packs a punch.
So here is my January Reading Wrap-Up, just for fits and giggles.
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is the kind of book that I should have found thoroughly enjoyable and brilliant. It’s right up my alley. It’s lyrical, descriptive, atmospheric and full of beautiful imagery and concepts. Two characters are chosen to have a dramatic duel of some sort, for some unknown reason, and there’s a circus, created by wonderful people, that arrives in random places without announcement, and is only open at night time. There are characters galore, all of whom are captivated and thrilled by the circus and its inhabitants. There are mysterious “magicians” and “illusionists.” There are characters who are captivated by the very essence of the circus. There is a plot, in all of the atmosphere, somewhere. It was a good book. But I have absolutely no idea what the reason for it was, or why the events were so important, or what the point of the narrative was.
Okay, that’s not entirely true. There are a few themes and tropes that are evident – found family, friendship, good, evil, true love. My point is, that all of that is swept up by the atmosphere, it’s all meaningless without the circus. Maybe that was the point. Anyway. It’s very atmospheric and chock full of gorgeous imagery, but it just missed floating my boat by an oar or two. I gave this a 3.5/5 stars, but that’s probably a bit unfair because the writing is almost as captivating as the circus.
An exploration of the macabre, where the seemingly mundane takes on a terrifying significance. . . .
A pregnant woman’s sketches on a seemingly innocuous blog conceal a chilling warning.
A child’s picture of his home contains a dark secret message.
A sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments leads an amateur sleuth down a rabbithole that will reveal a horrifying reality.
Structured around these nine childlike drawings, each holding a disturbing clue, Uketsu invites readers to piece together the mystery behind each and the over-arching backstory that connects them all. Strange Pictures is the internationally bestselling debut from mystery horror YouTube sensation Uketsu—an enigmatic masked figure who has become one of Japan’s most talked about contemporary authors
This is not the type of book that I would usually pick up, as intriguing as it sounds. It was recommended to me by Waterstone’s Dan at my local branch, and it was most definitely worth it. Interconnected stories lead to the unravelling of a mystery is as much as I want to say about it, because if you do pick this up, I don’t want to spoil it. It’s a quick read, and can be “dipped” into if you can resist reading it in one sitting. I couldn’t.
It was a solid 4.5 stars for me.
That was my January. Just those two and a humungous PITA of a life to go with them. Like I said, thank God it’s February.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mision – if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
But right now, he doesn’t know that. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time, and he’s just woke to find himself hurtling through space, millions of miles from home.
It’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery, and he’s got to do it all alone…
This is the first Andy Weir book I’ve read. It’s also one that I decided to listen to the audiobook of – for which I’m very glad because the audiobook just adds to the experience. I’ve listened to it more than twice. I’ve joined communities about this book. I am looking forward to the movie that’s upcoming (although I’m not a Ryan Gosling fan, I hope he can pull off the role.)
I don’t do science. Or maths. Or anything like that to be honest; and I was worried when all of the scientific aspects came into play that I wouldn’t be able to follow what was happening – turned out it wasn’t an issue, and the accuracy (or lack thereof) would have made no difference to me anyway, but, I got caught up in the narrative and felt Grace’s excitement about it all, and felt like I was learning stuff, even though I can’t remember the ins-and-outs of it all! I think I may have even enjoyed science lessons with Mr. Grace.
But I digress.
I’ve read plenty of things about Project Hail Mary since I finished it – some positive, some negative – but I can say I’m definitely in the positive camp for this. I absolutely love Grace, I both love and hate Stratt at the same time, and Rocky is by far one of the most interesting characters I’ve met.
From the first 2 plus 2 equals, I was hooked. Weir’s writing style just clicked for me straight away and I tore through the book like a mad-woman. I could not put it down. When I listened to it, I didn’t want to stop listening. It was that compelling, I re-read and listened almost immediately after finishing.
The plot, the stakes, the characters, the awkward situations – the togas, the mechanical hands, the flashbacks – all of it just came together amazingly and I rode the journey with Ryland all the way through. Stratt was frustratingly annoying, amazing and awful all at once and was extremely believable given the circumstances. But I connected with Grace more. I mourned his losses, fist-bumped at his achievements along with him, was frustrated when he was. I adored his relationship with Rocky and the friendship they built regardless of the boundaries of language and race, light years upon light years away from their own homes; believing and hoping even when all belief and hope seemed lost. I was right next to Grace when he realised what was really important. I was with Rocky when he realised what Grace had done. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions.
I love character driven stories, and PHM is no exception to that. Weir created a scenario where success was minimal, stakes were ridiculously high, and where above all, friendship and love were proven to be the ties that bind. The ending was extremely satisfying.
This is a tale that will stay with me for a long time, and I will most definitely re-visit it again, probably regularly. Andy Weir most certainly did his job well, and I, for one, am most definitely a fan.
In a mysterious town hidden in our collective subconcious, theres a department store that sells dreams…
What a wonderful idea! The concept caught my interest straight away and I would have given this book a go even if it didn’t fit my book bingo 2024 list, but it happens to do that quite well in the category of Author of Colour, and it fits for hard mode, which is another bonus. Interestingly, the book was published as a debut in 2020 and funded entirely through a crowd-funding service in Korea – and became a bestseller! How awesome is that! It’s also my local Waterstones pick of the month for August 2024, and there’s a book club meet about it at the store in September, so I’ll be going to that!
This endearing and whimsical tale follows Penny as she becomes the newest employee in Dallergut’s, supplying dreams to customers with various requirements. It’s reminiscent of Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium in parts but is most definitely something that is unique: and I wanted so desperately to love it, to get swept away in the deliciousness of the concept, but it really didn’t hit home for me.
It’s not the concept – that’s fabulous. It’s not the characters, although I felt they could have been more fleshed out. The translation wasn’t even much of an issue, although I do feel that it simplified the narration somewhat and it may have been more effective as a whole if read in the original language. DDDS (Dallergut Dream Department Store) is a very good book: it’s a feel-good, cosy, slice-of-life tale but it could have achieved so much more. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the Tale of the Three Disciples is just one example that could have been expanded to become something even more wonderful. I know it’s part of a duology, and that in the next book, there is the possibility that it could become something amazing. I also know that it might not be the author’s intent for it to become something other than what it is, which is cosy, slice-of-life as I’ve said, but there is so much potential in the concept that wasn’t executed and it’s such a shame.
I liked DDDS, the characters were quirky, and the idea of dream-making and selling was intriguing and compelling. I loved the messages that were in the book – the themes of friendship, love, grief, loss, loneliness, stress, perseverance, acceptance, identity and more were all covered in this little novelette and were covered well. It is a magical, lovely little tale.
I was just expecting something else, and I can see so much more that could come from it. I’ll still be picking up the sequel so I can find out what happens to Penny, Weather, Dallergut, Maxim, Assam, Babynap Rockabye, Animora Bancho and even Vigo!!
If you enjoy slice-of-life, cosy fantasy, you’ll love DDDS, and even if cosy fantasy isn’t normally your go-to, try this one. You might find you enjoy it more than you think you will.
boc-hord 