Category: Book Love

Following economic collapse, Toronto dissolves into such chaos that the central city, known as “the burn”, is abandoned by Canadian government. Those who live there do so without proper infrastructure, no electricity or plumbing, no hospitals, no police, etc. Yet, these people manage to create lives in the slums, small businesses built in what ways they can (one person fixes shoes by replaces the soles with old tires), and doing what they can to avoid the dangerous gangs that proliferate.

Ti-Jeanne is a woman who feels trapped by the burden of her baby son, while wanting to end her relationship with her drug-addicted boyfriend Tony and dealing with her gruff, overbearing grandmother. On top of that, Ti-Jeanne begins having frightening visions, which means she’s inherited some of her grandmother’s gifts. Ti-Jeanne can’t seem to escape her attraction to Tony, especially after he gets in trouble with the gangs and seeks her help.

Nalo Hopkinson draws on her Caribbean roots to infuse this novel with such folk creatures as Jap-Jabs and duppies and other strange spirits. It’s a richly textured novel with a well-realized sense of place and community.

Ti-Jeanne is a strong character, a woman who may not always be sure of herself, but has the strength to act when action is required. And as a whole, the characters in this book are complicated and interesting, with the main villain Rudy being truly terrible and terrifying. A really great book that has me wanting read a lot more of Hopkinson’s work.

As I mentioned, one of the presentations at FOGcon was by Nalo Hopkinson, in which she played ring games, one of which was the “Brown Girl in the Ring” game (here’s a link to the words and here’s a video of a disco star singing it is in 1978), which is quoted several times throughout the book. I didn’t understand the quote when I read it the first time, but seeing Hopkinson in a group, singing the rhymes and showing how the game is played (one person stands in the center, while other stand in a circle around her singing, then the girl in the center makes a body movement, which the circle repeats, at which point someone else is chosen to be in the center), added a whole new element to the reading of the book. It makes me want to go back and read the book again and see how that new understanding of the game may change how I perceive the text.

[Cross-posted to my livejournal.]

In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, Time Out New York create a top 50 list of best books for kids, which of course I had to immediately go through to see how many I’ve read. There are a bunch on the list that I’m definitely interested in reading, and there are several I barely remember and wouldn’t mind reading again. It’s kind of a nostalgia grab bag, reading this list. I haven’t even thought about Are You My Mothere? in ages, but now the entire story vivid in my mind and making me smile.

Of the 50 I’ve read 19—
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Holes by Louis Sachar
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
The Bone series by Jeff Smith
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

[Cross-posted to my livejournal.]

1. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
2. Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper, by Kazu Kibuishi
3. Sophie’s Choice (audio book), by William Styron
4. Great Classic Science Fiction (audio book)
5. The Probability of Miracles, by Wendy Wunder
6. Daytripper, by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá
7. A Rope of Thorns, by Gemma Files

Read reviews on my livejournal.

(Via mrissa) I will add my monthly reading list later today.

The book I’m reading: I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov, which is enjoyable, but very old fashioned in tone and sentiment. I’m also reading The Letter All Your Friends Have Written You, a lovely book of poetry by Caits Messner and Tishon that I got through their kickstarter project, as well as Z: Zombie Stories, a young adult story full of exactly what the title says.

Books I’m writing: I’m inching along with the Untitled Werewolf Novel, and the way things are going with my Fay Fairburn stories, I may just end up with a novel out of that.

The book I love the most. There are so, so many books I love, but a couple of new favorites are Imaginary Girls, by Nova Ren Suma, and The Probability of Miracles, by Wendy Wunder.

The last book I received as a gift: I think it was a cookbook of simple, low-cost recipes that I never actually use.

The last book I gave as a gift: I bought The Last Days of Dead Celebrities, by Mitchell Fink, from the $2 bin at B&N for my sister, cause she likes that sort of thing, but I haven’t given it to her yet.

The nearest book: I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov, which is currently sitting in my purse, along with an issue of NANO Fiction.

The book I want someone else to please write for me: Oh, goodness, I don’t know.

[Cross-posted to my livejournal.]

A Rope of Thorns is book two in a trilogy, so if you don’t want any spoilers, I suggest you stop reading and go devour A Book of Tongues first.

Book two has Reverend Rook and his Lady Ixchel constructing “Hex City,” built on blood and carnage, but also the only place where hexes can live in peace with one another. Meanwhile, Chess, the red-headed little man of grit and violence, barely in control of his new abilities, seeks his revenge against his former lover, Rook, while avoiding the attacks of angry hexes, Pinkerton agents, and other darker creatures, with Ed Morrow along for the ride.

As the middle book in the trilogy, A Rope of Thorns widens the the scope of the story, interweaving new characters and plotlines into Gemma Files’ vision of a blood soaked west.

As always, violence follows Chess wherever he goes, as well as a strange new red weed that is spreading through the desert in the wake of his footsteps. But Chess has changed. He still laughs at the world and it’s brutal misery, but his laughter is more bitter and without glee. The unfolding of Chess’s character that began in the first book, continues in the second. His layers are stripped away and the profoundly human that lays at his core is unveiled. I’d be madly in love with him, if it weren’t for the fact that he is fictional, gay, and unlikely to take my affection kindly.

The addition of Yancey Colder into the story is wonderfully refreshing. She’s a spiritualist with her own unique power and is drawn into Chess’s circle of violence. She’s a strong female character, one who knows how to act quickly and smartly in the face of threat, and who manages not to be crushed under the weight of disaster that transpires.

Morrow, too. I find I’m even more fond of him in this book, because for all that happens, he stays loyal and true to his friend, Chess. He’s a good brave man, who knows that justice isn’t always what’s written down in legislature books.

Most every one is given a wider breadth in this one, though the Gods that are playing board games with the world remain somewhat one-dimensional. Though, as they are far from human, I suppose that’s to be expected.

Like the first book, there’s plenty of sex and gore in gripping, graphic detail, and the story moves along at a fast pace. I’m looking forward to reading the final book, A Tree of Bones. Based on the ending of book two, I can’t even imagine the carnage that will have to take place.

[Cross-posted to my livejournal.]