Book Check-In 10/12/20

 

Since my last check-in I finished two books! The long awaited completion of The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin, and The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.

Reviews/thoughts below the cut

I liked The Dispossessed. Which was kind of surprising because it took so long to get through. I ended up listening to the second half as an audiobook, just to help me finish. I think part of the reason it took me so long to read is that while it was interesting, it wasn’t very engaging. Once I set it down, I wasn’t really drawn to pick it back up. Also, the chapters were incredibly long so I never got that “I’ll just read one more chapter” continual reading thing. It was a very philosophical book, and not at all what I expected. I went in not knowing much, just a recommendation from a friend (thanks Paul!), a very brief skim of the description (I got that it was sci fi and that’s about it...). So I was surprised at how much it was just about the philosophy of the two different worlds. I liked that it looked at both sides critically which was interesting, and showed them both as imperfect. I’m never sure about the switching perspectives or times between chapters, and in this book I really wasn’t sure how I felt about it until the end. I think it’s important to how the book works, and how you understand both worlds, but I still didn’t love the switching. One thing I really liked about this book was the worldbuilding. I’m a sucker for good worldbuilding, and this one had a very interesting and very fleshed out world (and some discussion of the way other worlds worked). It was very interesting and the switching did a good job of showing both worlds. I thought the ending was beautiful, and I was torn between wanting more, and thinking ending it where it did was perfect.

4/5 stars. It took me a while, but I liked it when I got there.

The Thief is so incredibly different that it’s wild I’m reviewing both of them together. Set in a sort of ancient/mid Greece, it follows Gen (Eugenides) who’s a thief that’s been caught and imprisoned for stealing from the king. He gets pulled out of prison by an advisor to the king, and is told he can become the King’s Thief, or he can die in prison. He decides to take his chances stealing, and is sent on a journey with the advisor, two other boys, and a soldier. The world building in this one was very interesting. The two boys on the trip are apprenticed to the advisor, so he quizzes them on things about the lands they travel through and the world around them as they journey, which gives us an interesting glimpse into the world. They also tell the legends/myths of the old gods and goddesses as they sit around the fire at night, which gives us even more insight. It feels very natural, and it’s a very fun way to introduce exposition that was very important to the story. This was just a very fun book, I read it in about 2 days (and accidentally stayed up till 2 one night reading!)

4/5 stars. A lot of fun! I already checked the next book in the series out from my library!

I’ve started two new books. One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake (2nd in a series) and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (as an audiobook). Outlander is incredibly long (32 hours!!!) so I might not finish it this week, but I watched some of the show on Netflix and was into it so I’m very excited about the book!

As always, you can see all the books I’ve read on my reading list.