The Reading List for August 2024

 

In spite of being driven off course by a couple of books I couldn't finish, I still managed to read eight books this month. I had attempted to read books 3 & 4 in Octavia Butler's Patternists series but I found the two books unreadable. I wouldn't attempt book #5.

I've written blog posts on six of the eight I did read

 The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
The Little Sparrow Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
A Question of Belief  by Donna Leon
The Silkworm  by Robert Galbraith (J.K.Rowling)
Rogue Male  by Geoffrey Household
Patternmaster  by Octavia Butler.

Mind of My Mind by Octavia Butler made the list - but no blog post

To get back on track, I finished the month with another by Donna Leon - Drawing Conclusions. Leon is my "go to" when I really need a good book.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Anyone familiar with this blog knows that I'm a huge fan of books dealing with time travel. Over the past few years I've written more than two dozen blog posts covering the subject with the actual number of time travel books read totaling more than that.

It was only natural that upon learning of The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley I'd download the book and put it into the queue.

I've mixed thoughts on the novel. Overall, the book has great potential, but I'm sorry to say that Ms. Bradley doesn't live up to the challenge.

Sadly, the book seems uneven. At certain points, the book hits home only to turn unexpectedly bland.

To make things worse, the book suffers from a bit of "wokeness". The folks from the past tend to be very often "politically incorrect" which doesn't sit well with the folks in the present. With the writer being a millennial, the wokeness isn't surprising.

In an online interview, the author describes the novel as a time travel/romance. I didn't particularly care for the romance.

The book isn't a total flop, but I don't really recommend it.