Review:: Why Dogs Eat Poop, by Francesca Gould

Title: Why Dogs Eat Poop, and Other Useless or Gross Information About the Animal Kingdom

Author: Francesca Gould

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

While this book contains quite a few interesting animal facts, the science is wrong in bits, which is enough to get me to dump a book. Add in a whole bunch of ethical weirdness, and I couldn't wait until this thing was over.

Review:: The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues

Title: The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues

Author: Harry Harrison

Series: The Stainless Steel Rat, #8 (Publication Order)

Format: Hardcover

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

The Stainless Steel Rat

The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge

The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World

The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You!

The Stainless Steel Rat for President

A Stainless Steel Rat is Born

The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted

Another Stainless Steel Rat prequel doesn't deliver the original wit and charm of the series. I'm singing the blues myself as Harrison plays too many tropes straight, and doesn't quite manage to cross the line twice.

Review:: The Garden of Marvels, by Ruth Kassinger

Title: A Garden of Marvels: How We Discovered that Flowers Have Sex, Leaves Eat Air, and Other Secrets of the Way Plants Work

Author: Ruth Kassinger

Format: Kindle

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Considering the subtitle, I expected to learn a lot from A Garden of Marvels. Instead, I ended up only learning a little, as the bulk of the book (which isn't very long) was anecdotes about Kassinger's gardening and how she came to learn what she's teaching us. In some contexts that could have been done well, but in this instance, I found it tiring.

Review:: The Grim Grotto, by Lemony Snicket

Title: The Grim Grotto

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #11

Format: Kindle

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

The Wide Window

The Miserable Mill

The Austere Academy

The Ersatz Elevator

The Vile Village

The Hostile Hospital
The Carnivorous Carnival
The Slippery Slope

It appears that the charm of The Slippery Slope slipped away with this one. The orphans are swept downstream and end up on a submarine. Things are pretty predictable, and I just didn't feel engaged by any of it.

Review:: Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal

Title: Shades of Milk and Honey

Author: Mary Robinette Kowal

Series: Glamourist Histories, #1

Format: Hardcover

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I think I'm less angry at this book than disappointed. I went in expecting Jane Austen + magic and ended up really getting neither. While it is a Regency novel, and Kowal works towards Austen's style, much of the charm and all of the wit is missing. And the magic serves no real purpose in the world or the novel. It doesn't feel shoved in, but it does leave me a bit perplexed.

Review:: Stainless Steel Visions, by Harry Harrison

Title: Stainless Steel Visions

Author: Harry Harrison

Format: Hardcover

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I picked this up because it contains a Stainless Steel Rat short story. What I ended up with was a mixed bag. I was definitely underimpressed with many of the stories, while a few were enjoyable. The Stainless Steel Rat story itself was nice, but couldn't make up for the volume.

Nostalgia Review:: A Stainless Steel Rat is Born, by Harry Harrison

Title: A Stainless Steel Rat is Born

Author: Harry Harrison

Series: Stainless Steel Rat, #6 (Publication Order)

Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Still good?
Eh.

Previously:
The Stainless Steel Rat
The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge
The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World
The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You!
The Stainless Steel Rat for President

I have fond memories of realizing I could learn the origins of the Stainless Steel Rat. I have even fonder memories of meeting his mentor, The Bishop. And that's where my fond memories stop. Probably because the rest of the book is just repetitive. Up until now, I felt like Slippery Jim hadn't overstayed, but in this one... it was a bit tough.

Review:: The Carnivorous Carnival, by Lemony Snicket

Title: The Carnivorous Carnival

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #9

Format: Kindle

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

The Wide Window

The Miserable Mill

The Austere Academy

The Ersatz Elevator

The Vile Village

The Hostile Hospital

Once again, the Baudelaire orphans have to deal with an awful situation involving Count Olaf. Once again, the moment something seems to be getting better, it gets worse. Even though we're not dealing with incompetent guardians anymore, this is still really formulaic.

Review:: The Victorian Internet, by Tom Standage

Title: The Victorian Internet

Author: Tom Standage

Format: eBook

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

While The Victorian Internet has some great info, it reads like a school essay. Minus good citations. I learned quite a bit, but if you're writing nonfic, you should cite, not just put sources at the end, and if you're making a point, trust your reader.

Review:: The Hostile Hospital, by Lemony Snicket

Title: The Hostile Hospital

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #8

Format: Kindle

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

The Wide Window

The Miserable Mill

The Austere Academy

The Ersatz Elevator

The Vile Village

Something novel happens. No seriously! Something changes. Is it enough to make the books any better? ...no, not really. But hey, hey. The formula has been altered.

Review:: The Scar, by China Miéville

Title: The Scar

Author: China Miéville

Series: New Crobuzon, #2

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

Perdido Street Station

Apparently I read The Scar, but never wrote a review. Probably because I was so underwhelmed. I absolutely loved Perdido Street Station and I love Miéville, so I was expecting a treat. Instead, I was kind of bored, actually. Maybe it's because there's so little to do with New Crobuzon or maybe it was because I didn't care about the characters. Regardless, it was a solid two stars.

Review:: The Ersatz Elevator, by Lemony Snicket

Title: The Ersatz Elevator

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #6

Format: eBook

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

The Wide Window

The Miserable Mill

The Austere Academy

Gasp! This one very slightly deviates from the formula! An actual plot is starting to coalesce? Does it save the series? ...not really. Spoilers in the review, but if you've been reading these reviews so far, you should realize how little that can possibly matter with books like these.

Review:: The Austere Academy, by Lemony Snicket

Title: The Austere Academy

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #5
Format: eBook
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:
The Bad Beginning
The Reptile Room
The Wide Window
The Miserable Mill

In some ways, this book was better, but in others, it was exactly the same. They're just so formulaic. I understand that some authors feel like that's important in middle grade/YA, but in my opinion, it's underestimating young readers. Sure, some kids may like it, but why not give them something that challenges them a bit?

Review:: The Miserable Mill, by Lemony Snicket

Title: The Miserable Mill

Author: Lemony Snicket

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #4

Format: eBook

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

The Wide Window

Well, this one wasn't as awful as the last one. But that's not saying much. We're dealing with the same formula, the same annoying narrator, and the same problems. Just with a different setting.

Review:: Chew: Taster's Choice, by John Layman

Title: Chew: Taster's Choice

Author: John Layman

Illustrator: Rob Guillory

Series: Chew, #1

Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

If cannibalism and eating decomposing dogs bother you, then Chew may not be right for you. If those things don't bother you... then I don't know. They certainly didn't bother me, and I felt like I should have enjoyed Chew, but I didn't like it that much.

Review:: Fables: Storybook Love, by Bill Willingham

Title: Fables: Storybook Love

Author: Bill Willingham

Series: Fables, #3

Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. I mean, it was enjoyable, but the romance subplot felt really, really forced and squicky. The comic relief felt poorly timed and I felt like Bill Willingham didn't address most of the issues he laid out. It's like they were laid out just to be edgy.

Gonna stop me from going forward?

Nope.

Review:: The Tangle Box, by Terry Brooks

Title: The Tangle Box

Author: Terry Brooks

Series: Magic Kingdom of Landover, #4

Format: Hardcover

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold!

The Black Unicorn

Wizard at Large

At this point, we're moving from nostalgia reviews to just reviews. Or maybe I read this book and was bored so badly I just decided to quit. (Probably not, considering I was such a big Terry Brooks fan as a kid.) Anyway, this book was even more of a snoozefest, which is saying something for a solid two-star series. Spoilers after the cut.

Nostalgia Review:: Wizard at Large, by Terry Brooks

Title: Wizard at Large

Author: Terry Brooks

Series: Magic Kingdom of Landover, #3

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Still good?

...sigh.

Previously:

Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold!

The Black Unicorn

So, here's the thing. These books are better than I'd expect them to be (considering the Shannara books) but really aren't great. And they keep declining in goodness. The first was better than the second was better than the third. Probably because the protag can't learn.

Nostalgia Review:: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Author: J.K. Rowling

Series: Harry Potter, #5

Format: Hardcover

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Still good?

...meh.

Previously:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I don't remember liking this one that much. I do remember being oh-so-sad about Sirius' death. This time, I was just like, "Oh, you dropped a bridge on Sirius to try and make us feel bad. That's poor writing." Most of the plot is that Harry is a stupid git (I know he's a teenager, but come on...) or that Umbridge is oh-so-evil. Consider 870 pages of this, and I'm just left bland.

Review:: Fables: Animal Farm, by Bill Willingham

Title: Fables: Animal Farm

Author: Bill Willingham

Series: Fables, #2

Format: Paperback

Rating:  ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

Fables: Legends in Exile

I definitely read Fables at some point in the past because I totally remembered this plot. It wasn't as good as the first book, to be entirely honest, but the art is better in some ways. And I do love Goldilocks in it. Spoilers later on.