André

I had high hopes for this book, and Gods was I right. The Three-Body Problem is an amazing science fiction novel, and a marvelous introduction to Chinese hard sci-fi. It made me wish I were more of a science geek, so I could understand everything this book's about—even though Liu Cixin does explain everything in a very clear way, I couldn't help but want to have proper knowledge of everything. It's also the most interesting, fascinating story of alien invasion I've ever read, and you can bet I'll ready its sequels.

Also this, from the author's afterword:

“As a science fiction writer who began as a fan, I do not use my fiction as a disguised way to criticize the reality of the present. I feel that the greatest appeal of science fiction is the creation of numerous imaginary worlds outside of reality. I've always felt that the greatest and most beautiful stories in the history of humanity were not sung by wandering bards or written by playwrights and novelists, but told by science. The stories told by science are far more magnificent, grand, involved, profound, thrilling, strange, terrifying, mysterious, even emotional, compared to the stories told by literature.”

Such philosophy, much Plato. Yeah, well. The Just City can be summed up as an imaginary of how Plato's Republic would play out in real life—but with active participation of Gods and robots and, like, time travel. It's a good book, and it's really interesting to see how it tackles Plato's theories and plays with them, bringing up questions and discussions and counter-arguments and an amazing debate between Sokrates and Pallas Athene and whatnot. The great issue here, in my opinion at least, is that it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. So humans are flawed, what's new? So Gods can play with mortals, what's new? So robots might develop sentience, intelligence and/or free will, what's freaking new about that? Apollo wanting to reach excellence is interesting, but... it's not really the focus here, is it? He's just along for the ride.

It is a nice read. Jo Walton's prose is fluid, and it takes us competently in a journey with three different characters who show us different points of view on the Just City's foundation and development. It's just sad that the only thing that made me really, actually glad about it was that it had a definite end, instead of ending in a cliffhanger—it does leave stuff for later, and its ending is sort of anti-climatic, but it is finished nonetheless; it's almost a self-contained story, meaning you could just leave it here and just disregard its sequels entirely. I intend to read them—the sequels, that is; eventually—, but I'm just not in a hurry.

This was intense.

I don't really have much to say about it, except that I related a lot to many of the stuff that happened in Melissa Broder's life, and it's kind of scary. I did not relate to the sex, though, nor to the vomiting fetish. Yeah.

Better Nate Than Ever is such a fun, cute read. It started a little slow for me, but it soon picked up and I suddenly wasn't able to put it down anymore. At this moment, all I can think is what I would give to have this little novel here published when I was younger—when I was Nate's age and could properly appreciate everything he went through; when I was starting to like musical theatre and couldn't understand exactly what it was or where to get recommendations. I just can't wait to read more about Nate and Libby and Freckles—I loved him so much, don't look at me like that—and everyone else.

This was the second time I met Jane Austen, and I must say it was a much more pleasant meeting. Not that I disliked Emma, but I did find it to be slow and tiring sometimes—not to say boring—, while Pride and Prejudice was much easier and nicer to read. The fault could be mine, of course, as I already knew Elizabeth and Darcy's love story and promptly read each page anxious to know how the next ‘scene'—I had only watched the 2005 adaptation—would be told in text form. I wasn't disappointed.

I fell in love with Austen's characters slowly—with few exceptions. Jane and, especially, Eliza were my favorites, just like in the adaptation. I liked their relationship—their sense of sisterhood—and how they trusted and confided in each other very much. Darcy had to grow on me, as I had forgotten how unpleasant he is when we first meet him, and, as always, I left the story wanting more of Bingley. I am happy to read no more of Mr. Collins, though.

At last, I'd like to leave here this excellent article (in Portuguese) written last year about P&P and Jane Austen: http://homoliteratus.com/jane-austen-nao-tem-relacao-com-o-feminismo-como-assim/

I liked the fact that it doesn't feel like a “series book”, I liked the representation, I even liked the story a lot. Still, it doesn't feel like a Hugo winner to me. Not saying that it shouldn't have won—I haven't really read the others, and by all means, congratulations! it's a great book—, but I don't know... it's not what I would've predicted if I had read it before. Anyway, can't wait to see what happens next. Seanan's writing is nice and fluid, and she does a great work with the “School for Gifted Youngsters” trope—is it a trope? it should be.

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
Where Am I Now? felt more like a series of autobiographic essays than a memoir per se. I like Mara Wilson, I follow her on Twitter and all, and thus I was super excited to read about her life—we tend to do that, don't we? We always want to know more about a stranger's life. Where Am I Now? was, in this aspect, more or less exactly what I expected. In this book, she tells us about her career, her family, her OCD, Robin Williams. I feel closer to Mara now, in a way, and I still like her very much, now both as an actress/pseudo-famous person and as a writer.

I was disappointed, though, that she did not mention her bisexuality, not even once, focusing instead on some of her heterosexual relationships. She evens calls herself a straight woman in some instances—which, of course, is what she believed she was at the time, but it felt weird all the same.

This is a great book, and it's great that Neil Gaiman decided to write it. It's great that Mythology is being seen as cool again, it really is. My experience, however, wasn't the greatest. I believe that's only because I'm not a Norse Mythology beginner, this ain't my first time at the rodeo. I do know most—if not all—stories that are told here, and this is a book that doesn't really bring anything new to the table. I mean, by all means, read it and enjoy if you're starting, but don't expect much if you've read any of the Eddas.

I feel like I need to start by explaining this 4-star rating. Most of the people I know are giving this book 5 stars, I gave its predecessor 5 stars, so why am I giving it 4? Well, for two main reasons, mostly: First, I believe I liked Golden Son way better than Morning Star. Which isn't to say I didn't like MS, but I enjoyed GS a lot more. Second, I didn't quite like the ending—a child? Seriously? Mr. Brown, darling, you can do better than that. It was tacky; I didn't like it. The fact that it was almost 6 am when I was about that part and realized what Mustang was talking about is the only thing that kept me from going UGGHHHHHHH out loud.

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable book; It wouldn't be fair of me to say it wasn't. I don't think I've ever liked Darrow, the protagonist, who I find to be a little bit too much of a Mary Sue for my taste, but it was nice to see him grow and change as a character, after all, and there were loads more to like—e.g. my husband, Cassius au Bellona, who did have his redemption arc after all, and nothing else matters right now. The setting was also spot on, with just one minor thing or another that I can't contest properly because I suck at Physics.

It took me forever to finish Moning Star, not because it wasn't a nice read, but because Gods know what got me that I spent weeks barely reading anything. It seems that I Am Back In The Game, though. As a consequence, I ended up devouring the second half of MS almost entirely in one night only, and had a lot to digest. Mea culpa, I guess.

60 days later... fucking finally! I don't remember taking this long to read Perdido Street Station—but I don't know who to blame for it (me, probably; it's always my fault).

The City & The City is brilliant. China Miéville is brilliant. So brilliant, in fact, that I have no idea how to rate this book. I'm fairly tempted to give this a 4-star rating, but it would be unfair. It's not the novel's fault I took this long to read it. Five stars it is then, I think? Everything so neatly done, the writing is impeccable—it takes us exactly where it wants us to be, and it's amazing. As an aspiring author myself, China Miéville is both inspiring and terrifying.

King Rat is China Miéville's first novel, and it's simpler than any of his books I've read so far. Simpler, different, but not poorer in any way. You can see everything here: his master storytelling skills, his unique way of guiding a story forth, his ideologies and beliefs stripped bare before the reader. I believe I would have liked this book more if it were my first Miéville, but yes, I liked it nonetheless. I just wish I had seen more of King Rat's world. I want to meet Queen Bitch and the Lord of the Flies, I wanna know if the spiders found a new ruler. I like it when stories leave me like this: wanting more.

I want the whole world to read this book.

I'm frustrated! Frustrated, I say! It took me exactly one entire month to finish this book, and I didn't like it as much as I expected to. In fact, I would be giving it 2 stars if it weren't for the last two stories. Two stars. Neil Gaiman. Two. Stars. See? Frustrated.

I've had lots of people telling me how hit-or-miss Gaiman can be, how his stories' formula starts to get old after a while, but I didn't quite believe that. I mean I hadn't seen this in Neil Gaiman at all—until now. See, it's not that S&M's stories are bad, they're just... weak. Meh. So so. Wishy-washy. Come on, it's Neil fucking Gaiman we're talking about, I sure as Hell expected more than wishy-washy. Also, I'm not sure that I got them? Maybe I'm being paranoid, but the point went way over my head in some.

The two very last stories saved it for me: Murder Mysteries, and Snow, Glass, Apples. Snow, Glass, Apples was, in fact, the reason I picked S&M up, to begin with—and I was terrified it would suck. It didn't. I'm happy.

How interesting is the experience of reading a book so iconic it inspired lots and lots of the works you read and watch and like on a daily basis? Dune is... an experience, there's no other way of putting it. It is an experience. It took me a good while to get into it, too—200 pages or so—, but I could finally reach a point where all I could think about was Dune. I certainly can understand why it's a classic, and I can't wait to read its sequels—well, actually, I can... I'll probably wait a while.

Do you know what I really want to do, though? Watch SyFy's Frank Herbert's Children of Dune with James McAvoy. Yes. Thank you.

It's really funny how I can't seem to be able to explain why I love this book so much, and still...

Calling this book cute wouldn't make it justice. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is cute, yes, but it's also very fun and relatable, and sweet in a puppy lovey way. It's a quick read, also—it took me just one night to read the whole thing! I fell deeply in love with most of the characters, and the ending—though predictable and somewhat clichéd—payed off.

Knowing Blue was Bram did kind of take away part of the fun, though. But anyway: great read.

By all means, be gay, do crimes.

Maybe because InterWorld wasn't written by Gaiman alone, but in a collaboration with Michael Reaves, I can't help feeling it would've been better executed as the animated something they wanted at first. This doesn't read like a Neil Gaiman novel. It's very YA-ish (middle grade, even?), and I can picture my younger self enjoying it very much, but I've read my fair share of Gaiman stuff over the years, and I felt let down by this one.

It is what it is: your average teen fantasy/sci-fi adventure story.

I hate doing this, but my actual grade here is 4.5 stars. Sorry.

Well, first of all, I love Diana Wynne Jones. I loved her already from her Chrestomanci books, which I read as a kid, and I love her now even more. Howl's Moving Castle is as fun and well written as I expected it to be, and the worldbuilding is simple and effective in a way that many authors can't manage to do nowadays. Jones's characters are very much alive, and I love how each is different from the others, how the story gets to develop their personalities without overexposing them. Also, uh, yes, I re-fell in love with Howl Jenkins. No, I couldn't help myself. Yeah, stop. Stop judging me.

I freaking love this scene so much, and I was so so happy it was in the book.

As most of this generation, I think, I saw the animation first. It didn't bother me much at the beginning, but I developed a... curious sensation as I approached the ending of the story. I don't think I can explain it properly, but I feel like the book and the film complement each other in a way that I haven't really seen written work complement adaptation, like, ever? It's weird, even. This is, of course, my opinion, and you are well entitled to feel differently, but I find it funny that the characters are best developed in the novel, while their film counterparts are more charismatic and easier to relate to; the novel's plot is more complete, it has a “bigger” feeling to it, but the film's is more... consistent. Does it make sense? I don't know.

Anyway, read it, love it. Diana Wynne Jones was a genius and deserves each and every praise she gets.

Apesar do tamanho aparente, não temam: Hugo Cabret é bem curto e rápido, com muitas e bonitas ilustrações; encontrei-o por um acaso e li de uma vez em uma sala de espera. É uma história bonita. Tudo flui muito bem, e eu, que não sabia nada do livro até então, fui pego de surpresa pela temática e pela presença de um certo personagem. Ainda não vi o filme, mas pretendo corrigir isso em breve.

Welcome to the H̸̨̤͉̤̬͖͙̼̒̈̽̂́̕͜͜A̵̢̧̛͎͙̘̠̣̭̻̟͌̈́̉̈̽̄̃̽̉͊̎̈́͜͝M̸̨̰̹͉̻͈̟̫̤͒͛͐͊̓͘P̸͙̜̙͒̆̐̊̒̈̐͝D̴̡̡̮͎͕̲̟̔̓͆̽́̎̓̉̄̑͆̈̽̈͝ͅÈ̴̳͇͈̩̻̩͎̰̰͛̐̆̈́̈́́̑̉̔͘N̵̡̢̨̢͕̰̰͔̬̺̺̩̭̞͕̑͆͛͑̈́͂̋̀̽̇̋̇̒͝ ̵̰͚͛͌̔̕͝C̴̡̢̨͙̮̥͍̖̦͎̿̈͗̽̇͆͂͋͘̕͠O̷͇͖̹̥͈̓͋̊̏̏L̷͙͕̙̣̬̈̉̈͒͑͆́̀̔͐͘̕͝͠L̶͚̂̀̈́̊́̾͊͛͘E̸̛̙̱̜̣̮͉̬͕͕̱̰͛̇̽̑̂͛̆̾̆̎̈́͑̕͜͠ͅĠ̸̡̘͇͍̼̻͙̼̹̜̫͓̱̲̘͑͋̋͒̓̀̽̌͆̉̎̒̒Ȩ̷͔̥̣̠͓͓͉̥̍̃͂͂̉̊͌̋͋͘͘ ̸͍̦͙̘̰̬̎̃́͛̑̒͆̚̚͝͝͝M̸̨̧̢̰͔͚͎̣̯̜͍̰̋̓̐̃͆̂̊͑̆͊͑̽̄͊Ǘ̵̬̫̤̤̭̙̝̮̰͓͓͓͈͈̟̎R̵̝̬͉͇̗̾̏͑̈́͑̈̒̔̀̃̎̋̎̀D̸̝̺̯̩͕̼͎̪̖̄̀͂̕E̵͙̫̙̩͈̤̞̟̫̣̣͂̋̍̏̂̎ͅŘ̵̡̢̢͓̟̠͍̼̱͖̬̼̾̄̓͒̍̓̆̔̇͘͜͜͜ ̷͎͒̿͛͒̀͒̇̒̊̿̒̈́̇͝ͅĆ̷̢̙̀̅̿̑͜L̵̨̛̯̭̖̐̔̆̍̐̑͂͋̒́̓̂͘͝U̶͓̞̣͕̝̮̪͔̦̥̪͚͌̽͑̄̿͐͑̀̈́͝͝B̵̨̦̰͓̦̣͇̠̯̱̓͛͑̄̇͜ͅ!̶̹̩̗̪̉̉͌͜

I truly feel like the reason it took me so long to finish this was just so I had an excuse to procrastinate plotting my novel. Oh, well. It really is an amazing and very useful book, though, and now I have no excuse whatsoever. Let's do this.

Actual rating: 3.5

We're used to zombie Apocalypse stories by now, so I understand how I Am Legend may sound repetitive to new readers. In context though, it's pretty good; a nice, well-built story. Gods know it's better than the Francis Lawrence film, and yes, it is dated, but it still is a fresh take on vampires—definitely vampires, not zombies. It ended up being something new to me, and not at all what I expected. The main character is kind of an asshole though, leaving a sexist tone to the overall story but... 1954, I guess.

I approached Cujo with curiosity. I wanted to know how Stephen King managed to turn a rabid dog into a killing machine/horror monster. I wanted to know how a woman and a kid locked inside a car could sustain an entire novel. I knew little about it, but what I did know didn't make much sense. It didn't seem possible, you know? Didn't seem doable. To be completely honest, I still don't know how he did it, but he did. This little book kept me on the edge of my seat at all times, and it's probably one of the most disturbing horror stories I have ever read—and I loved every minute of it.

guess i can still read something, huh?
shocking, i know.

this was nice! i started reading save the cat ‘cause i was super excited to write again.
now i'm not as excited, but i had loads of nice insights.