January Reading Review
Here I write about what I read last month and update you on the progress of my yearly reading goal of 52 books. Everything on paper, some of my favourites from SubStack, and, this month, a film.
Books Read - 2/52
On Paper
The Last Daughter of Wolves by
A 60 page romantasy novella with likable main characters, a Wolfing in human form and a sensitive young man who prefers books to people. The romance is set in a dark fantasy world full of strife with a decent story to drive it along. Fast paced, has to be at 60 pages, with an immersive world.
Kathrine writes here on SubStack over at:
The Hero of Ages (Mistborn Book Three) by Brandon Sanderson
A satisfactory conclusion to the first Mistborn arc. Well paced (a surprise given Sanderson is known for his avalanche endings) with intriguing and surprising revelations alongsidge predictable twists. While his style is not my preferred he does know how to spin a plot and make an 800 page book seem short. The award for worst sentence must go to, “His sense of smell, like his other senses, was incredibly sensitive.” (Chapter 14, p.129). The sentence is functional, mechanically so, and loses all form and beauty because of it. That is Sanderson’s style, clear pane window, but there is certainly something lost because of it, including metaphor and subtext, “He fought on. And, as he did, the prevalance of death around him seemed a metaphor for all he had done over the last three years.” (Chapter 51, p.460) I think part of why Sanderson’s books are so long is that everything is spelled out, there is little that lingers once finished and few questions remain. This clarity has its merits, for one, it is easy to read, and two, it reduces misinterpretation. It does not prevent foreshadowing or hiding things in plain sight which Sanderson does do very well throughout Mistborn 1, 2, and 3. Revelations in 3 change how events in 1 and 2 are understood, but it does feel like it is all spelled out. Sanderson books are the furthest end of the clear writing style and their polar opposite is probably Steven Erikson’s Malazan series or Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun.
On SubStack
Disposal is a scifi story told through reviews. It’s dark and anything else I tell you would be a spoiler, I highly recommend it.
The next story I read on SubStack is a time travel novella that
shared for a Throwback Thursday. I wasn’t sure what to expect but Ben’s a good writer and cranks up the tension just enough each chapter to keep you reading. I read the whole thing in one sitting.’s Ride to Deadwood was next. A short Western full of drama and gunslinging. Mighty fine.’s Best Dad is a series of diary entries from a man with an unusual and terrifying ability but he is definitely not a murderer. writes a jungle tale of mountain fiends and primitive man. Dark and foreboding.
On Film
A comedy film about a tobacco lobbyist. The story follows the highs and lows of Nick Naylor as he faces off against a US Senator trying to force cigarette companies to print a skull and cross bones with the word poison on every packet, he has to balance his job defending cigarettes with being a role model for his son. Great film.
See you next month for the February review.
Thank you for reading.
Thanks for that, Redd! I'm glad you liked it.
Thank You For Smoking is a fantastic movie. Funny enough, my wife and I were talking about how well it holds up on the way to our destination for the little birthday vacation we're having for her. We enjoyed it quite a bit when it first came out. Now that we're older and have a much stronger understanding of the elements the film both discusses and lampoons, we love it even more.