One of the greatest benefits of reading is that you get to see the world through someone else's eyes. I've made it a goal this year to read and review a wider variety of stories. I have reviewed books written in a few countries other than the U.S. in the past but, I would really like to pick the pace up on that a bit this year. So, I figured the best way would be to use a random place generator and wherever it dropped me is where I would pick a book from.
In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword―representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own…
This delightful story follows a little girl as she discovers the curious possibilities and inevitable drawbacks of not washing between her toes. My kids absolutely loved this adorable story. It's got just the right amount of silly and relatable content that captures kids completely. The illustrations are adorable and the story is simple but carries … Continue reading #BookReview “Things Can Grow Between Your Toes!” Laurie L. Bolanos
Now for the review. "SideShow" takes place before "Delivering Virtue" and "Fortuna and the Scapegrace". As I have read the latter two it was really fun to get a picture of who Didier was before those two great adventures take place. "SideShow" is both a great introductory and companion to flesh out the world of Didier Rain. If you start with "SideShow" you'll be hooked. For so little pages, it does a great job of showing the complexities of the world through the eyes of my favorite swashbuckling dandy.
Vance identifies as a Conservative. I identify as a Democratic Socialist. Politically, it would look like we are opposites..... yet, there is a lot of common ground on our theories of how the issues of poverty can be solved. The reason, in my mind, for that common ground is our shared experiences. Those of us who have lived it understand it in a way that those who haven't never will. This is why we need elected officials from every corner of every class of people we can find. The lenses they are currently looking through are much too narrow.
"An Authentic Experience" is one of those books that I call a builder. At the beginning I didn't like Silver. Not even a little. She seems hollow, selfish and shallow. BUT....(and here is why I call this book a builder) by about the middle of the book I realized that her initial shallowness was part of her evolution as a character. This is one of those books about growing up. It's about gaining wisdom through experience. "An Authentic Experience" is really about how lifes challenges (whether they be our own challenges or those closest to us) morph us into someone different. Someone deeper. Someone wiser. Someone who is actually authentic.
"Red Sparrow" is definitely action packed. From beginning to end it's a whirlwind of intrigue, misdirection and the complexities of humanity. Matthews spy jargon gives the story authenticity where he lacks in character depth. He definitely tried to bring depth to his characters but fell short with the two main characters, Nathaniel Nash and Dominika Egorova.
Something readers should take away from this part of Ishikawa's story is how a persons environment has a direct affect on their character. Some will argue that one must rise above such things but the reality is that most do not and in all honesty shouldn't be expected to. The existence of such oppression is what matters. Life shouldn't be a series of trial by fire. Are we not evolved past this? Are we all still primal beasts unable to transmogrify our society?
In "Artemis", we are also introduced to some judicial ethics that, if not carefully considered and worked out now, will plague us as we've already experienced with the explosion of tech and our judicial systems sluggish pace in keeping up. Is it ethical to deport someone to a planet they haven't been on since they were a young child knowing that it will cause them severe health issues? Is it ethical to deport someone to a country they know nothing of since they didn't grow up there? What constitutes a persons citizenship? As humanity becomes ever more connected is it ethical to continue to divide us into countries? How we move forward with these issues now and later will have a huge effect on our momentum technologically.
I recently noticed that the book can also determine how many he remembers. Realizing this, I started to make a note of the books he seemed to put more interest (which seems to equal memory) into and have been adding books similar into our routine. So far, the "Pete the Cat" series has been doing wonders for his reading. He absolutely LOVES these books!
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