SBD: what have I read lately?
Mar. 28th, 2011 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmc_bksIt's Monday! Time for SBD!
One of my goals for the year was to SBD at least twice a month, but I've been slacking on that for a variety of reasons, mostly because I've been struggling with the reading. March is almost over and I've read a grand total of five books. Five! Despite having almost 2 hours of guaranteed reading time while on the train! One of those books was Brockmann's Breaking the Rules (meh) which I wrote about last week, and another was an earlier SBD, Anna and the French Kiss. A third was good enough, River Marked, and merited a post on cover art. Which leaves two last books for discussion: I am J by Cris Beam and Why I Love Geeks by T.A. Chase.
I Am J was an impulse buy for in-flight reading. It is a YA GLBT book: its protagonist, J, is a transboy, born a girl physically but struggling with his gender identity. The book is well-written and appears to be well-researched, and it was worth the cover price. It gave me a glimpse in the the angst of a teenager whose typical adolescent issues are amped up by a factor of 1,000 because of the feelings of being in the wrong body and not fitting in. The book ends with the protagonist in a relatively safe and good place, looking forward to college and whatever might come next. But I doubt I'll re-read it, and I'm not sure why, other than to say that I didn't fall in love with the narrative. Solid B.
Why I Love Geeks was another impulse buy, and it was a rip off. The price ($7) was ridiculous -- the word count was less than that of a Harlequin Presents ($4.50). In terms of the ebook editing or formatting, there were a variety of typos in which similarly spelled (but WRONG) words were used. The prose read like fan fiction: not particularly polished. In fact, I've read much more lyrical fan fiction, thx. The suspense plot was unbelievable and over-complex, involving Chinese business, Russian spies, and an improbable pharmaceutical that makes people invisible. [Don't even get me started on the biochemistry. Even as a science idiot, I had to roll my eyes. I'm sure if The Biochemist attempted to read any of the "sciency" sections, she'd have a coronary. Because biochemistry is all about fast results and jewel-colored liquids bubbling in beakers.] One of the heroes was supposed to be a cute geek; his cuteness was exemplified by his filterless babble, which was apparently endearing. Or so readers were told repeatedly. Because there was a lot of telling and very little showing. The other hero was a cliche -- a taciturn, macho cop, from a long line of cops, with a big, nosy, interfering family. Seriously, I want my money and the two hours I spent trying to read this mess back. F.
One of my goals for the year was to SBD at least twice a month, but I've been slacking on that for a variety of reasons, mostly because I've been struggling with the reading. March is almost over and I've read a grand total of five books. Five! Despite having almost 2 hours of guaranteed reading time while on the train! One of those books was Brockmann's Breaking the Rules (meh) which I wrote about last week, and another was an earlier SBD, Anna and the French Kiss. A third was good enough, River Marked, and merited a post on cover art. Which leaves two last books for discussion: I am J by Cris Beam and Why I Love Geeks by T.A. Chase.
I Am J was an impulse buy for in-flight reading. It is a YA GLBT book: its protagonist, J, is a transboy, born a girl physically but struggling with his gender identity. The book is well-written and appears to be well-researched, and it was worth the cover price. It gave me a glimpse in the the angst of a teenager whose typical adolescent issues are amped up by a factor of 1,000 because of the feelings of being in the wrong body and not fitting in. The book ends with the protagonist in a relatively safe and good place, looking forward to college and whatever might come next. But I doubt I'll re-read it, and I'm not sure why, other than to say that I didn't fall in love with the narrative. Solid B.
Why I Love Geeks was another impulse buy, and it was a rip off. The price ($7) was ridiculous -- the word count was less than that of a Harlequin Presents ($4.50). In terms of the ebook editing or formatting, there were a variety of typos in which similarly spelled (but WRONG) words were used. The prose read like fan fiction: not particularly polished. In fact, I've read much more lyrical fan fiction, thx. The suspense plot was unbelievable and over-complex, involving Chinese business, Russian spies, and an improbable pharmaceutical that makes people invisible. [Don't even get me started on the biochemistry. Even as a science idiot, I had to roll my eyes. I'm sure if The Biochemist attempted to read any of the "sciency" sections, she'd have a coronary. Because biochemistry is all about fast results and jewel-colored liquids bubbling in beakers.] One of the heroes was supposed to be a cute geek; his cuteness was exemplified by his filterless babble, which was apparently endearing. Or so readers were told repeatedly. Because there was a lot of telling and very little showing. The other hero was a cliche -- a taciturn, macho cop, from a long line of cops, with a big, nosy, interfering family. Seriously, I want my money and the two hours I spent trying to read this mess back. F.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-29 02:32 pm (UTC)Five books in a month? Ouch. How about Tamara Allen's latest, The Only Gold? I have been hearing some good words about it. I liked her previous book so I plan to get this even though one bloke on the cover looks very much like my old teacher, which isn't good. :D
Maili (FiaQ)
no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 01:12 am (UTC)Can't remember if I've read other Chase books, but if the geek book is typical, I won't be reading more. It felt like an early draft rather than a polished, finished product.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 10:24 am (UTC)"It felt like an early draft rather than a polished, finished product."
Exactly. It occasionally felt as if Chase wrote and submitted it in one go. I still wonder if it's the norm for Chase, though. One more try? Hm...
no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 11:20 am (UTC)Sunita
no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 05:44 pm (UTC)