Solo Reading Retreat - Day Two
Aug. 24th, 2024 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearAs Dave is away over the long weekend, I decided to hunker down at home and do a solo reading retreat. I read a short book in the three days leading up to it and, by the end of day two, had read one whole physical book and listened to the last few hours of my current audiobook.
Fasting, Feasting - Anita Desai
This book is more a series of vignettes building up a picture of a particular Indian family, rather than one coherent storyline. I therefore found it a bit difficult to get a hold of, though it started engaging me more towards the halfway point. It's very sad and a bit dreary, though I connected to Uma's story of continually being marginalised and was pleased by her eventual emergence into more independence. The latter few chapters switched viewpoint and continent completely, which was a bit abrupt, though the characters presented were still all very unhappy in different ways. I'm not sure it really came together for me as a whole, but I appreciated how it started and ended with the package of gifts from India to America, making it come full circle to a certain extent.
In Ascension - Martin MacInnes
This was given to me by a new writer friend the night before my planned reading retreat, so immediately went to the top of the pile.
It's about a microbiologist who gets involved in a space mission to try to reach the Oort Cloud, because of her work with algae that will provide a renewable source of food on long space flights.
There was a lot of summary throughout, which made it a bit difficult to engage with the story on an emotional level. It also didn't really get started until 40+ pages through and we didn't get the protagonist's name until pg 52.
It all felt a bit remote, despite the first person narrative and a lot of the microbiology and technical aspects rather passed me by. There were moments of emotion, particularly relating to Leigh's interactions (of lack thereof) with her family, and I appreciated the alternative perspective of her sister towards the end, which added a whole new dimension to the narrative.
It lost me a bit at the end - and I misinterpreted what actually happened, as well as not being entirely sure what the book was trying to say.
Still - interesting overall.
Phoenix Rising - JA Andrews
This is the third in the Keeper Origins trilogy, the audiobooks of which I have very much enjoyed over the last few months.
This instalment starts immediately after the end of the last one, and involves all my favourite characters a lot more than the middle book, which was great.
It's a bit episodic - there's a lot of faffing about, travelling, and seemingly pointless side quests. But there's also a lot of great character background and detail, as well as plenty of exploration of the emotional fallout of what's happened previously.
It gets a bit repetitive with various characters updating other characters about what's been happening throughout (which the reader already knows) - but the climax is satisfying and there's a huge amount of highly entertaining aftermath, which I always appreciate.
Overall, a really good conclusion to the series.
Fasting, Feasting - Anita Desai
This book is more a series of vignettes building up a picture of a particular Indian family, rather than one coherent storyline. I therefore found it a bit difficult to get a hold of, though it started engaging me more towards the halfway point. It's very sad and a bit dreary, though I connected to Uma's story of continually being marginalised and was pleased by her eventual emergence into more independence. The latter few chapters switched viewpoint and continent completely, which was a bit abrupt, though the characters presented were still all very unhappy in different ways. I'm not sure it really came together for me as a whole, but I appreciated how it started and ended with the package of gifts from India to America, making it come full circle to a certain extent.
In Ascension - Martin MacInnes
This was given to me by a new writer friend the night before my planned reading retreat, so immediately went to the top of the pile.
It's about a microbiologist who gets involved in a space mission to try to reach the Oort Cloud, because of her work with algae that will provide a renewable source of food on long space flights.
There was a lot of summary throughout, which made it a bit difficult to engage with the story on an emotional level. It also didn't really get started until 40+ pages through and we didn't get the protagonist's name until pg 52.
It all felt a bit remote, despite the first person narrative and a lot of the microbiology and technical aspects rather passed me by. There were moments of emotion, particularly relating to Leigh's interactions (of lack thereof) with her family, and I appreciated the alternative perspective of her sister towards the end, which added a whole new dimension to the narrative.
It lost me a bit at the end - and I misinterpreted what actually happened, as well as not being entirely sure what the book was trying to say.
Still - interesting overall.
Phoenix Rising - JA Andrews
This is the third in the Keeper Origins trilogy, the audiobooks of which I have very much enjoyed over the last few months.
This instalment starts immediately after the end of the last one, and involves all my favourite characters a lot more than the middle book, which was great.
It's a bit episodic - there's a lot of faffing about, travelling, and seemingly pointless side quests. But there's also a lot of great character background and detail, as well as plenty of exploration of the emotional fallout of what's happened previously.
It gets a bit repetitive with various characters updating other characters about what's been happening throughout (which the reader already knows) - but the climax is satisfying and there's a huge amount of highly entertaining aftermath, which I always appreciate.
Overall, a really good conclusion to the series.
