The Imitation Game | Jim Ottaviani

*This book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

This book is a graphic novel interpretation of the life and research of Alan Turing, told from the perspectives of the people who new him best as well as his own correspondences. 

Review:

I really liked this book. The artwork was well done, the book was well researched, and the story was very intriguing. This isn't just a book about math or logic. This is a book about World War II history,  breaking the German Enigma machines, and the gender bias in British Army. This book even has the first computers! That's how intriguing Turing's life really is, it involves so much world history.

Yes, there are long(ish) segments where Turing talks through his ideas on logic, but they are written in a natural language that makes a lot more sense to a layman than a logic book. What's funny to me is that the artwork for these streams of consciousness, it often shows Turing moving on ahead while his acquaintances are left behind, having problems keeping up with him. Considering how few people seemed to understand him, it makes sense in the moment and overall.

 This is not just a book for mathematicians or logicians. This is a good read for people interested in cryptography, World War II, LGBT history, or even just real life drama. The art style is appropriate for the story and the dialogue is easy to read. I happily give The Imitation Game 4.5 Hoots!

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                    Hoo

Arab and Jew | David K. Shipler | DNF

*This book provided by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

My sincerest apologies to the author on this, it's clear he did significant amounts of research, but this book was entirely too dense for me to get through. I, admittedly, have a problem with larger books and did not know, at the time of my request, how big of a book this was. This is more of a book for a researcher or someone with an incredibly strong interest in the subject matter. I will continue to pick the book up here and there, but it is not something that I can just sit and read. This is an academic book.

Kaiju Winter | Jake Bible

Summary:

The supervolcano underneath Yellowstone Park is about to erupt. The United States is barely able to hold on to its identity as a country while shipping civilians to other countries. Some people think to use the chaos to their advantage while others just want to get out of the ash. Everyone's plans, however, are derailed when, instead of lava, giant monsters start pouring out of the earth.

Review:

If you don't take this book too seriously, it is an absolute joy to read. I'm not sure this is what the author intended, but I loved it for all the same reasons I loved Deep Blue Sea, it was worthy of ScyFy channel movie status. There is very little science involved or thought given to the "why" of things. Instead, the focus is on the human reaction, following the interconnected stories of a handful of people in this impossible situation. I'll be picking up the next book in the series, and not just because I love stories about giant monsters. This series promises to be a lot of fun and has clearly had a lot of energy put into it. 4 hoots!

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Cherry Lips | Lacey Dearie

Summary:

Cerise is the peasant daughter of an herbalist and has no magic other than a cherry tree given to her by her fairy godmother. She learns to turn the cherries into a magic lip balm that makes her irresistible to any man she kisses. This magic ends up being sought by almost every member of the royal family, with whom her family already has a negative relationship with.

Review:

This is yet another magic love story that I have thoroughly enjoyed. Seriously, I may have to reconsider my "no love stories" policy after this. What I specifically enjoyed about Cherry Lips is how much fun it was to read. The dialogue and character interactions were engaging and, at times, had me laughing out loud. There were a couple places where I felt like something bad could have been prevented, but it was not enough to take me out of the book.

The adventure is fast paced, after the prologue, and I was never bored while reading. The side-effects of magic are not only considered, but are essential to the story and growth of the Cerise's character. The book does leave me with a number of questions and even more suspicions, but, fortunately Dearie has written the sequel (which is currently on my wishlist) so I will be able to get my questions answered.

Cherry Lips is a good read for anyone who wants a funny story, a magic story, a love story, and/or a fairy tale. All of these elements are combined in a fun way to engage the reader. 4.5 hoots!

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Hoot!Hoot!Hoo

Birthstone Book Tag

Okay, so here's another book tag I picked up from booktube. This time, from Bookables. With the Birthstone Book Tag, each birthstone is associated with something (i.e. royalty, calm) so you select a book or character that you associate with those same things.

1) January - Garnet (Warding off Evil) - Who's the most evil character you can think of?

Agent Smith from the Ex-Heroes series. He is heartless and highly manipulative. Worst of all, he's highly intelligent and incredibly difficult to defeat.

2) February - Amethyst (Purple/Royalty) - A book or series with regal qualities.

For this one, I'm going to have to go with the Xanth series by Piers Anthony because every single Xanth book that I have read involves a prince, princess, king or queen. Also, the Xanth series introduced me to the idea that King and Queen could be labels that have nothing to do with gender. 

3) March - Aquamarine (Water) - A wishy washy character who'd be better as a follower than a leader.

I have to go with Cale'Anon from Looking for Group (a webcomic that I first discovered as a graphic novel). He goes through a couple of identity crises and I feel like he should just stand back and let Benny and Richard be the leaders of the group for the rest of the series.

4) April - Diamond (Diamond in the Rough) A book you love that doesn't get enough attention.

Definitely going to recommend everyone to the Realmsic series by Demethius Jackson yet again. It is a really good series that I feel should be more popular than it currently is.

5) May - Emerald (Balanced Energy) - Two characters that balance each other.

The first characters that come to mind with this, that I cannot think of a better example than, are Saint George and Stealth from the Ex-Heroes series. I tried to think of others because I want to diversify the books I draw examples from but his amiable, save everyone, let's-be-friends personality completely balances out Stealth's only-the-strong-survive, purely logical mindset. At the same time, she keeps him grounded (difficult to do because he can fly) by making him think instead of just reacting all the time.

6) June - Pearl (Loyalty) - Name a character that was loyal to the end.

I am again going to have to go to a webcomic for this. Quilt from Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire. No spoilers, of course, but there was no one more loyal to his friends and family than Quilt. No one more suited to help save the world. 

7) July - Ruby (Blood Red) - Name a book that made your blood boil or made you angry.

Nnede Okorafor has an amazing ability to make my blood boil for the characters that I am reading. The best example of this was The Book of Phoenix because I was so angry when her story was manipulated to the purposes of others and set about ruining what could have been a good world. It still makes my blood boil to think about it.

8) August - Peridot (Pales in Comparison to Other Gems) - Name a character that you like better than the main character.

The Weasley twins. No question on this one. I didn't read the Harry Potter series until just a few years ago, but had I known about the Weasley twins, I may have picked it up sooner. Those two made the series for me, which, of course, made the last book all the more difficult to get through.

9) September - Sapphire (Ocean of Calm) - Name a book that had a calming effect on you.

This is going to be incredibly strange, but I actually enjoyed Ethics by Spinoza. If you haven't read it, I don't blame you. It's a non-fiction philosophy book that is written in the style of geometric proofs. Definitely not for everyone, but I enjoy the mental exercise and feel so calm when I read it.

10) October - Opal (Iridescence) - Name a book that looks iridescent or has iridescent scenes.

While I didn't like the book, I have to give full credit to Dark Eden's cover art and setting. A world without a sun, where plants and animals are bio-luminescent. Definitely an iridescent book.

11) November - Topaz (Resilience) - Name a character that rises to the top in times of adversity.

I gotta give to Mark Watney from The Martian. He went through so many problems that even I was ready to throw up my hands and give in to the elements. And yet, through it all, he kept his sense of humor and worked through every single problem. 

12) December - Blue Zircon (Friendship) - Name a book with a friendship that you'd like to a part of.

I would love to be part of the friendship between Cinder and Iko from the Lunar Chronicles. Yes, they're more like sisters than friends, but I feel like I'd enjoy being friends with both of them.

So what are some of the books and characters you think of for these birthstones?

Rarity from the Hollow | Robert Eggleton

*This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Summary:

This book is told mainly from the perspective of Lacey Dawn, an 11-year-old girl who lives in The Hollow, a hamlet hit hard, economically and socially, by the closing of the coal mine. Physical abuse is the norm in just about every household. Fortunately for Lacey Dawn, she has a friend, DotCom who tells her that she is destined to save the universe and he has been helping her become intelligent enough to help her family and do the job she's been born to do. 

Review:

I have to admit, the first few chapters of this book were tough to read. Eggleton served as a Child Advocate for many years so he knows, almost too well, the realities of domestic abuse. If you can make it past those chapters, however, the rest of the story is an interesting adventure where the adults are childish and the child has to be the responsible one. 

Naturally, a book like this isn't for everyone. There's a lot of inappropriate humor, but it really works for this book. No other type of humor could come from this situation. I found it interesting that the humor even spread to some of the alien races encountered. I also appreciated how easily humans from a poor town were able to negotiate the best in the universe using techniques unknown to advanced alien races. 

So, while I wouldn't normally read this kind of book, I do appreciate Eggleton's style and how organically the story moves along. Again, yes, a lot of the humor is sex based, but it works for the characters involved. If you can get through the first few chapters, you'll likely enjoy this book. Also, all author proceeds are donated to child abuse prevention. 4 hoots!

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Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

I subscribe to a few booktubers and, every now and then, they do a Book Tag video. They have been tagged, or are starting a tag, with a theme. Aria Mia Loberti did a video on the Unpopular Opinions Book Tag and it sounded like fun. Not to mention, she and I have similar dislikes and I want to assure her she's not getting only hate from people who watch her video.


1) A popular book or series that you just don't like.

I can honestly say that I've never understood the appeal of Twilight. The first book was loaned to me by a friend in grad school who was certain that I would love it and want to immediately read the next book. After I read the first one I gave it back to her and said "no thanks" to the rest of the series. I seriously do not get why people like it.

2) A book/series that you love that others seem to hate.

This one is going to require a bit of a cheat because I've never really read anything that people really hated. I'm going to go with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter because I feel the movie generated a lot of negativity towards the story itself and it is a little embarrassing to say "I really liked Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!"

3) A love triangle where the person didn't end up with who you wanted.

Again, I'm gonna cheat a little. I really did not care for Faramir and Eowyn. I didn't necessarily want her to be with Aragorn, but I still feel that Faramir deserved better than to be someone's second choice. I get that they were happy together and all that, but the way I read Eowyn's realization that Faramir was a better fit, made it really seem like Faramir was her "silver medal" and Faramir is too good of a character to be treated like that.

4) A popular genre that you never reach for.

Romance. If you know me, you know I like my love stories to be secondary or tertiary to other aspects of the story. I also don't generally read Historical Fiction, but I don't know how popular a genre that is.

5) A popular/beloved character that you just don't like.

Mare Barrow from Red Queen. This is another series that I just didn't care enough about to read past the first book and Mare was a big reason for it. I have never before felt so strongly the need to smack some common sense into a character. I consistently felt like she was overconfident in her plan and her overconfidence was definitely her undoing.

6) A popular author you just can't get into.

In line with the previous tag, I have to say, Victoria Aveyard. I really don't understand the draw to her series, but I also don't understand the draw to Twilight. To me it was impossible to become emotionally invested in her characters. I really didn't get a good picture of the world she was creating (apparently she was going for a bit of an Ancient Rome theme). If you enjoy her writing, continue reading, but I will not pick up any of her books. I just can't.

7) A trope that you are tired of reading about.

I'll admit, I'm a bit burnt out on dystopian future settings. It seems like so many books are based on a relatively near future where things have clearly gone wrong or are about to go very wrong. It's getting old and is making me look at every book and think "how is this going to all go wrong?"

8) A series you have no interest in ever picking up.

Game of Thrones. I know, I love the fantasy genre. I love adventure. But I'm not at all interested in the Game of Thrones series. I think it's because the entire thing feels more like a soap opera than a fantasy story and I have no interest in that much drama.

9) A movie or TV show you enjoyed better than the book.

There's gonna be a lot of hate from this one, but The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have often admitted that The Silmarillion is the only Middle Earth book that I didn't have to force myself to read. The trilogy just goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and it killed my reading speed. Now that I think about it, maybe that's also why I have no interest in Game of Thrones, I have trouble with 500-600 page books, regardless of topic.


So, how many of these do you agree or disagree with? How much hate have I generated with this post? Please feel free to leave comments. I will make sure I respond to all of them.