I’ve now officially reviewed every book and graphic novel and trade paperback comic book bind up that I read in 2015. Mission accomplished! December was primarily a Diana Gabaldon fest–as so many months this year were. What will I do with myself when I’m caught up on the Outlander books in 2016?
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6) by Diana Gabaldon
I was on a tear through this series back last spring/early summer, but The Fiery Cross slowed me way down. Took me two months to finish, then I walked away for two more months just to have a break. When I finally picked this up mid-November, I read it in two weeks. It definitely meanders a bit, and, like The Fiery Cross, it really seems to be made up of a series of smaller episodes that could be individual stories or novels in series, some more interesting than others. But overall, I enjoyed this one thoroughly with it’s focus on the Fraser family and the neighbor turning on neighbor in the beginnings of the American Revolution.
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander #7) by Diana Gabaldon
I enjoyed this one more than any Outlander book since the third one, Voyager. Those all dragged a lot in terms of plot, but this one seemed a lot more tight, probably primarily because we started following more characters. I loved the new characters and having the perspectives on either side of the war.
A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows (Outlander Novella) by Diana Gabaldon
I read this between Snow and Ashes and Echo, which was a bad plan, it came out after the 8th book, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, and should be read after it, it seems. But I was excited to read it, since it covers the always tantalizingly mysterious back story of Roger’s parents and that piece of it was really excellent. I loved the return to a 1940’s setting and the according tension of the Second World War.
Lifeboats by Diane Duane (Young Wizards Novella)
This nearly novel length installment between books 9 and 10 of the Young Wizards series was interesting in that it followed an apocalypse without action-movie like scenes of falling skies and screaming populace. Instead, we get a lot quieter conflict, overshadowed by a sky that is so evidently literally about to fall that it adds the tension without the melodrama and it was a really genius way to handle the situation. It did get a little too slow at parts, but overall it was a really cool story and I also highly enjoyed the extra adventure we had with the characters.
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
Basically a cover buy for sure, but I wound up really enjoying the biography inside it as well. I’d been aware of the stir around RBG’s dissents from the bench several years ago, but I knew nothing of her early work and formative years and I found the passages on the sexism she faced and fought in the 1960’s and 1970’s really compelling. The book overall strikes a great balance between seriousness and irreverance (Annotated legal transcripts+the RBG workout!) and it was the best impulse buy I’ve made in awhile.
Seconds by Brian Lee O’Malley
I really enjoyed the style of this graphic novel; visually it was really vibrant and laid out well. Story wise, I think it started out pretty strong with lots of convincing magical realism elements and an interesting lead character. However, I thought the romance was pretty flat and boring and the conclusion was too heavy-handed with a too-obvious moral. Fun and worth the read, but the beginning of it had me expecting more from the end than it ultimately delivered.
The Starlight Shelves 