![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogSo here’s something fun: this entry marks the completion of my 2014 Reading Challenge on Goodreads, in which I set a goal of reading 60 books this year.
These four make 60.
I admit I was lowering the bar a bit. Last year I pledged 65 books, and managed to beat it, but I cut it a little closer. And I noticed that when yr reading to meet a deadline, you end up reading faster than you normally might have done, and you might not enjoy the book as much.
So based on my general average of five books read per month, I figured 60 was a pretty comfortable goal.
And of course 2014 isn’t over yet. So we’ll see how many more get added.
Isn’t this interesting?
Meanwhile, here’s where we’re at.
Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is my first time reading Zafón, and I picked this YA novel up partly because it takes place in Barcelona (where I’ve spent quite a bit of time), and partly because the synopsis on the book jacket sounded interesting – 15-year-old Oscar Drai goes missing for a week after meeting a mysterious girl named Marina. Together they witness a woman placing a rose on an unmarked grave. They follow her, and the adventure begins. As it happens, the jacket synopsis is pretty misleading in terms of the kind of story it suggests, but the story it delivers is pretty good, although it’s not without its flaws. Oscar and Marina’s adventure relies a little too much on key players telling total strangers their life story, the climax is somewhat cheesy in places, and one key plot twist is rather predictable. On the plus side, Zafón writes beautifully, and the relationship between Oscar, Marina and her father is genuinely touching.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’ll be the first to admit, if “Robert Galbraith” hadn’t turned out to be J.K. Rowling – and if the reviews hadn’t been generally good – I probably never have given this book a second glance. And like a lot of people, I was curious to see how she did at something that wasn’t a Harry Potter book. All up, she does reasonably well, though the novel demonstrates the same strengths and weaknesses as her later HP books. Strengths: an interesting plot and some fully realized characters, especially the protagonist, private detective Cormoran Strike, a down-and-out war vet hired to investigate the death of supermodel Lula Landry, believed by the police to be suicide. Weaknesses: padded out and occasionally clumsy prose, and treading very well-worn ground in her portrayal of London’s filthy rich and predatory press without really saying anything new. Also, the female lead – Strike’s plucky temp secretary Robin – doesn’t really come across as strong as she should, despite being both likable and essential to the entire story. Still, as mysteries go, the novel holds its own quite well and shows there’s more to Rowling than the boy with the scar. If you haven't read HP – or don't expect everything Rowling writes to duplicate whatever that series meant to you – it’s worth trying.
Individuals: Flash Fiction by Lao Ma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A collection of short short stories (or “flash fiction, as the kids call it these days) from Lao Ma – a.k.a. Ma Junjie, a professor of literature at People's University in Beijing. The stories are focused mostly on university life, but poke fun at just about anyone with an “official” position, from government administrators to university professors. They’re more like anecdotes than stories, but for the most part they're punchy, amusing and well written. The copy from Make-Do has a few serious editing errors in it, but for anyone who wants a humorous look at the hypocrisies and corruption that characterize the Chinese Establishment (many of which could apply anywhere, really) – or if you want a primer on how to write flash fiction – I’d recommend this.
Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970 by Arthur Dong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An interesting, if condensed, history of Chinese-American nightclubs in San Francisco’s Chinatown from the mid-1930s to 1970. The book is a companion piece to both the 1989 documentary of the same name from author Arthur Dong, and is top-loaded with nightclub memorabilia from the era, as well as interviews with entrepreneur Charlie Low and many of the entertainers who performed in his clubs, from singers and dancers to chorus girls and legendary bubble dancer Noel Toy. On the downside, the interviews do get repetitive, as they cover a lot of the same ground, so they could have done with some editing. Still, it’s an interesting slice of Chinese American history that also gives a taste of the shaky race relations between Orientals and White America at the time. If nothing else, Dong’s nightclub memorabilia collection is first rate.
Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown,
This is dF
These four make 60.
I admit I was lowering the bar a bit. Last year I pledged 65 books, and managed to beat it, but I cut it a little closer. And I noticed that when yr reading to meet a deadline, you end up reading faster than you normally might have done, and you might not enjoy the book as much.
So based on my general average of five books read per month, I figured 60 was a pretty comfortable goal.
And of course 2014 isn’t over yet. So we’ll see how many more get added.
Isn’t this interesting?
Meanwhile, here’s where we’re at.
Marina by Carlos Ruiz ZafónMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is my first time reading Zafón, and I picked this YA novel up partly because it takes place in Barcelona (where I’ve spent quite a bit of time), and partly because the synopsis on the book jacket sounded interesting – 15-year-old Oscar Drai goes missing for a week after meeting a mysterious girl named Marina. Together they witness a woman placing a rose on an unmarked grave. They follow her, and the adventure begins. As it happens, the jacket synopsis is pretty misleading in terms of the kind of story it suggests, but the story it delivers is pretty good, although it’s not without its flaws. Oscar and Marina’s adventure relies a little too much on key players telling total strangers their life story, the climax is somewhat cheesy in places, and one key plot twist is rather predictable. On the plus side, Zafón writes beautifully, and the relationship between Oscar, Marina and her father is genuinely touching.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert GalbraithMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’ll be the first to admit, if “Robert Galbraith” hadn’t turned out to be J.K. Rowling – and if the reviews hadn’t been generally good – I probably never have given this book a second glance. And like a lot of people, I was curious to see how she did at something that wasn’t a Harry Potter book. All up, she does reasonably well, though the novel demonstrates the same strengths and weaknesses as her later HP books. Strengths: an interesting plot and some fully realized characters, especially the protagonist, private detective Cormoran Strike, a down-and-out war vet hired to investigate the death of supermodel Lula Landry, believed by the police to be suicide. Weaknesses: padded out and occasionally clumsy prose, and treading very well-worn ground in her portrayal of London’s filthy rich and predatory press without really saying anything new. Also, the female lead – Strike’s plucky temp secretary Robin – doesn’t really come across as strong as she should, despite being both likable and essential to the entire story. Still, as mysteries go, the novel holds its own quite well and shows there’s more to Rowling than the boy with the scar. If you haven't read HP – or don't expect everything Rowling writes to duplicate whatever that series meant to you – it’s worth trying.
Individuals: Flash Fiction by Lao MaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
A collection of short short stories (or “flash fiction, as the kids call it these days) from Lao Ma – a.k.a. Ma Junjie, a professor of literature at People's University in Beijing. The stories are focused mostly on university life, but poke fun at just about anyone with an “official” position, from government administrators to university professors. They’re more like anecdotes than stories, but for the most part they're punchy, amusing and well written. The copy from Make-Do has a few serious editing errors in it, but for anyone who wants a humorous look at the hypocrisies and corruption that characterize the Chinese Establishment (many of which could apply anywhere, really) – or if you want a primer on how to write flash fiction – I’d recommend this.
Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970 by Arthur DongMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
An interesting, if condensed, history of Chinese-American nightclubs in San Francisco’s Chinatown from the mid-1930s to 1970. The book is a companion piece to both the 1989 documentary of the same name from author Arthur Dong, and is top-loaded with nightclub memorabilia from the era, as well as interviews with entrepreneur Charlie Low and many of the entertainers who performed in his clubs, from singers and dancers to chorus girls and legendary bubble dancer Noel Toy. On the downside, the interviews do get repetitive, as they cover a lot of the same ground, so they could have done with some editing. Still, it’s an interesting slice of Chinese American history that also gives a taste of the shaky race relations between Orientals and White America at the time. If nothing else, Dong’s nightclub memorabilia collection is first rate.
Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown,
This is dF
