Reading Update

 The Princess Diarist, Fisher

Princess Leia's story about filming the first Star Wars movie. I liked a lot of her stories, though this book was mostly focused on a certain romance. She's really poetic. 

They Can't Kill us Until they Kill Us, Abdurraqib

A series of essays about music and equality. Some really stick with you.

 

Voyage of the Bassett, Christensen

As a kid, I loved this made-for-TV show called "Voyage of the Unicorn." I recently found it was based off of a book series. So I tried it. But the TV show was too nostalgic for me (hokey as it is), so the book felt kinda flat. 

All the Impossible Things, Lackey

A story of finding family in unexpected places. With a hint of fantasy.

 

The Dark Half, King

I don't usually read Stephen King books. But this one was on my reading list (and as usual, I don't know why it was on my list). After a couple people got slashed to death, I was afraid that the ending would be much worse. But luckily it wasn't. And it was an interesting concept, with a pen-name that comes to life.

 

Zoo Story, French

It was hard to tell if this book was for zoos or against them. Or whether or not they were condemning certain people. People they were scolding they later seemed to forgive. I guess they were trying really hard to be neutral about it. Anyway, it was like those zoo shows they have on TV.

 

A Graveyard for Lunatics, Bradbury

This book just... confused me. 

 

The Incredible Tide, Key

I read this because it's what "Future Boy Conan" is based off of. It's not a long book. It's amazing to think that Miyazaki could turn this into a full series. And of course, he changed most of it. The book felt rather bland in comparison XD

The Blue Sword, McKinley

I didn't realize this was a sequel to a book I'd read before. It was good though. So far I like this author's fantasy stories.  Though I'm noticing she has a way of using confusing magic to win the day.

 

Eaarth, McKibben

Well, this was a depressing book. I learned a lot of this in school, but it looks like I needed the refresher. It's all about how we're screwed with climate change. But it's also so important. I think the scariest part is that this book is old now. How have things changed since then? 

 Journey of the Pink Dolphins, Montgomery

I like her animal books. And this one is about the area I'm about to go in Peru! It was fascinating to hear all of the mythology about the dolphins. 

 

Shadow and Bone, Bardugo

So far I've only read the first book in the series. I'm going to try the tv show next. I'm not sure yet if I'll keep reading.

 

Horse Thief, Peck

When I started this book, I was kind of concerned that pretty much every character was a jerk. Luckily that was not the case! I like the nice guys (usually). It was an unlikely crew on a noble quest.

 

Dogs that Know When their Owners are Coming Home, Sheldrake

Okay, here's one bizarre study from this book.  They had a robot that would randomly move back and forth and side to side. When it was by itself, it moved randomly across the enclosed area. But then they hatched some chicks, and had the chicks imprint on that robot. And when the robot was turned loose outside of their cage, it spent almost all of its time right beside the chicks. It was as though the chicks were calling their robot dad to them.

 

Paper Menageries, Liu

A series of short stories, some sci-fi, some fantasy, and mostly about Chinese mythology or culture. They were fascinating, and sometimes heartbreaking. My favorite was the Paper Menageries one. I love the idea of breathing life into origami. But man, so sad!

 

Nim Chimpsky, Hess

A book about one of the first chimpanzees that scientists ever taught to use sign language.  I've learned how they used to treat these kinds of study animals, but it's still is hard to read. For example, usually when the chimps have grown up and were no longer sweet babies, they were dumped in research labs. There they were kept in little cages and used in experiments. That nearly happened to this chimp.

 

My Sister's Keeper, Picoult

When I finished this, all I could think was reverse-deux-ex-machina. The total blind-siding of the ending kinda made me mad. 

 

The Anthropocene Reviewed, Green

I really like John's nonfiction writing! I suppose that's not surprising. I always liked his "Thoughts from Places" videos. 

 

Equal Rites, Pratchett

I've been on the fence about the few of his books I've read. But I really liked this one! It's one I should have read in high school. 

 

Wonderbook, Vandermeer

 My cousin lent me this book about writing. I think it was a good book. But the illustrations and diagrams were so confusing that it's really all I remember. For example, several charts saying that a story is a lizard.

 

Hyperion, Simmons

 I liked the format of each person telling their story. But I didn't realize it was the first book in a series. I was really confused when it ended apparently right at the beginning of what they were building up for. I looked up summaries of the other books, to try to find out if I wanted to continue reading. But they didn't even make sense to me.

 

Teen Killer's Club, Sparks

I loved that this normal girl was able to help several very troubled teens feel like actual human beings.