Books read in 2011

[rolanni]

Unseen, Rachel Caine
Total Eclipse, Rachel Caine
Weight of Stone, Laura Anne Gilman
The Story of Chicago May, Nuala O’Faolain

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.

Comments

Thanks for the tips

[claire774.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tips on what to read. I'm always looking for new authors unfamiliar to me. I just ordered Rachel Caine's "Ill Wind" the first novel in her Weather Warden series. Someone at Amazon suggested reading the Weather Warden Series before her Outcase series. Rachel Caine writes a lot. Amazing. And gets very good reviews too.
C.

The Story of Chicago May

[claire774.livejournal.com]

I'd like to know what you thought of "The Story of Chicago May". There were only 2 reviews on Amazon. Neither reader liked the book. What do you think? It's not the kind of thing that I read ordinarily.
thanks,
C.

Nuala O'faolain

[claire774.livejournal.com]

I had heard of Nuala O'Faolain but forgot where so finally went to look up on Wikipedia. O'Faolain was a very well known Irish author and journalist who unfortunately passed away in 2008. Most of her writing was autobiographical. Her books were NY Times best sellers. The two reviews posted on Amazon on The Story of Chicago May complained that the author inserted herself to much in the work. That's funny because she did that no doubt on purpose being probably at least as interesting herself as Chicago May. Anyone reading this comment (not you Sharon....I'm sure you know this) can look up O'faolain on Wikipedia yourself.

I'm waiting back for a more complete comment on Flann O'Brian from my expert who is Irish himself: Malachi McCormick of the Stone Street Press. Transplant from County Cork now living on Staten Island NY. I had to apologize to him for reading mostly sci fi and fantasy if left alone as I've done since childhood. I have to be kicked in the whatsis to read anything else.
C.

Re: Thanks for the tips

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I'd definitely read the Weather Warden books in order; each one is like an installment in one really, really long novel. I picked up the first Outcast book when it came out -- about the time Gale Force came out. That worked out well.

Re: Nuala O'faolain

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

I'll be interested in what your expert has to say. Having seen Steve and an "expert" almost come to fisticuffs on the topic of Flann O'Brien, Myles na gCopaleen at a Worldcon.

I learned a lot from the Chicago May biography, though not necessarily a lot about May. Part of my interest was that May was working in Chicago at the time the White City was being built and during the Fair itself.

The author did insert herself quite a bit, but I thought it was appropriate, given that she had do a lot of guesswork, and she needed to make it clear that she was guessing and give the context of her guess. She did clearly over the course of the book develop a certain exasperated fondness for her subject.

Biographies to me are always a little unsatisfying, because the plot never makes sense. May's biography had even less plot than average, and I was slightly horrified by the author's ultimate ruminations, in which she wondered "aloud" as it were, if there were really any utility in trying to trace and write about obscure, street-level people.

For more on that -- I recomend Fifth Life of the Cat Woman, by Kathleen Dexter.