A New Year, A New Name

It's been just about a year since I started this blog, and I'm celebrating by giving it a new name: Shelf Space. When I first started blogging as Chick Lit and Cozies, I really did think that's what I was going to focus on. In the last year, I've found that I wanted to write about about a wider range of books and genres, as well as the book world in general - including both publishing and libraries. The new name reflects those wider interests.

As for what I've been reading...I've been on vacation for the last few weeks, so I've gotten very behind in blogging - but not at all behind in reading. I made the monumental mistake of bringing two enormous novels from the library along on my camping trip, so I spent an inordinate amount of effort making sure they didn't get as wet as the rest of us. I probably won't get around to full reviews anytime soon, so here are my thoughts in capsule form:

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness: Really, really disappointing, especially in the first third. Once my expectations were sufficiently lowered, I was able to enjoy the last third of it, but I really wish this had been a stronger conclusion to the trilogy. The best parts of this book are when Harkness puts aside the totally incoherent, over-the-top plot and focuses in on the details of the magical world, such as when the house torments everyone by incessantly playing Fleetwood Mac. The worst parts in this book are the plot and the unconvincing bad guys. I pictured them all twisting their mustaches and leering. And, why on earth would witches think that the way to figure out a witch's power is to open one up? Did they think magical power is like a kidney stone?

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling): This book, on the other hand, was not disappointing at all, but rather a thoroughly enjoyable mystery. The solution is a little anticlimactic, but Rowling does such a good job with creating a mystery and cast of characters that it doesn't matter. This isn't really a far stretch from the Harry Potter books, which are mostly mysteries in a magical world themselves.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld: I was curious about Sittenfeld because I know that she's updating Pride and Prejudice for the Austen Project for Harper Collins. When I read the blurb about the book, I was expecting a kind of escapist mean girls plot, but that's not it at all. This book was totally absorbing - a really well crafted, heartbreaking story with an incredibly frustrating protagonist.