"A river of words flowed between us." - Ernest Cline
Loved:
Ready Player One, Ernest Cline: Oh my gosh I could not put this down, and ended up with a horrific sunburn from sitting poolside for about five hours reading it. My interest was piqued after seeing the movie trailer, but it was a rousing endorsement from Wade that ultimately got me to make the purchase. Set in a dystopian, virtual reality future, this was "Hunger Games" meets "Divergent" meets "The Matrix" in all the best ways.
Enjoyed:
Victoria, Daisy Goodwin: Eh - I feel like I just keep trying and trying to like Queen Victoria and I just kind of...don't. This novel riffs on the Masterpiece series, and was a fast enough read that I didn't have time to get bored with its myriad historical falsities and inaccuracies or the trumped-up love story at the heart of the plot.
What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved, John Mullen: As a lifelong lover of Austen, I actually really enjoyed this dissection of significant aspects of her novels. Examining everything from the weather, to use of first names, to the presence (or absence) of servants, it provided a lot of context to read deeper into my favorite texts. Maybe a full Austen re-read is necessary soon...
Breaking The Rock: The Great Escape from Alcatraz, Jolene Babyak: A caveat - this was not particularly well-written or edited. That said, I'm on a major Alcatraz/prison kick after our trip out to the island on my birthday, and this account of the circumstances surrounding the island's most dramatic escape attempt was well-researched and super interesting to me, given my current fascination. A weird little niche read, kind of a fun change!
Tolerated:
This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, Jonathan Evison: I had heard really good things about Evison's work, and I think this was a letdown for me because the whole thing felt incredibly disjointed and somewhat flat. I saw both of the major twists coming about four or five chapters before they actually were revealed, and I couldn't get invested in any of the characters or their issues. It was...solidly meh. Oh well!
Re-reads:
None this month - a short, busy month calls for a short, busy reading list!