47.
Title: [Out]
Author: Natsuo Kirino
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Pages Read: 150
Reason Abandoned:  Lifeless characters, and a general sense of drudgery. 

48.
Title: [Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth]
Author: Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou
Genre: Graphic Nonfiction
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Pages Read: 151
Reason Abandoned: Greater responsibilities.  Logicomix, a graphic account of the life of Bertrand Russell and the "search for absolute truth," has great promise.  The art is well-suited to the subject, and the authors carefully balance reader expectations to provide significant information and necessary explanations, while respecting a general sense of intelligence.  This is of the sort of graphic text to which I gravitate, and I hope to return to it once my summer classes have completed.  But for now it must go back to the library. 

49.
Title: [Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End]
Author: Jennifer Worth
Genre: Memoir
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June 17, 2014
Rating: ***

This text marks the end of memoir and the beginning of fiction, as far as the PBS show is concerned.  What I appreciate most about this volume is the finality it provides - here, Worth not only tells of her patients, but of the future lives of the nuns, Trixie, Chummy, and the rest.  This kind of resolution is often unavailable for memoirs, and is all the more satisfactory for it.  If for nothing else, I'd recommend this book for just those ends. 

50.
Title: [Zine]
Author: Pagan Kennedy
Genre: Memoir
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Early Review
Date Completed: June 20, 2014
Rating: **

You had to be there, I think.  To a reader greatly removed from the culture which first inspires Pagan Kennedy's 'zine, and suffering from the blog over-saturation which can be attributed to this kind of self-publishing, the text seems shallow.  The reprint includes the original introduction, in which Kennedy cites a few years of "growing up" and growing away from her 'zine, which of course leads her to publish a response and a collection.  As an artifact, it is interesting - I've known of the phenomenon, but only ever witnessed the tail-end, so I did appreciate the opportunity to see the reproductions of one such self-publication.  The content, however, held no interest, and it became a great chore to wade through the original publications to get to her later responses and self evaluations.  Kennedy's memoir is interesting, but I'd far prefer her current reflections than her past work.

All of that being said, I think this would be a wonderful text for someone more invested in this particular cultural movement, the history of social texts, or the recent history of self-publishing.  

51.
Title: [The Dark is Rising]
Author: Susan Cooper
Genre: YA Fantasy
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Pages Read: 100


52.
Title: [The Private Letters of Countess Erzsébet Báthory]
Author: Kimberly L. Craft
Genre: Nonfiction/History
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Purchased
Date Completed: June 15, 2014
Rating: **

Craft herself, in her introduction, states that this collection of letters is intended to serve as a supplement to her text Infamous Lady.  For those, like myself, who have not read her book, Craft provides a brief synopsis, and then jumps into the translated letters of Countess Báthory. I purchased the book in the interest of gaining insight into a feared historical figure, but with no preconceived notions - I was not looking for a gory confession, but had an inkling that a sympathetic scholar may try to salvage her reputation in some way.  The body of material Craft has to work with is distressingly small, which is no fault to her - most of Countess Báthory's letters have been lost or destroyed, so the body of evidence is slim. 

Ultimately, though, this volume is less a text of Báthory's, and more a text of Craft's; the points of interpretations and analysis suffocate the letters, and casts shadows of doubt on the translations themselves.  The text does not well represent Báthory's voice, but rather uses the voice Craft has constructed for the historical figure.  Craft's presence in the text detracts from the interest, and ultimately the book fails to be truly a collection of private letters, and is instead another analysis of Countess Erzsébet Báthory. 

44. 
Title: [Shadows of the Workhouse]
Author: Jennifer Worth
Genre: Memoir
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June 1, 2014
Rating: ****

Having read one Worth before, and as an avid fan of the television show, the stories found in Shadows of the Workhouse are neither new nor surprising, but remain deeply moving. The stories told here show greater depth and consideration than what I've read and seen before, and I appreciated the additional details, and a great sense of "Nurse Lee" as a person. I cried more than once reading this book. 

43.
Title: [Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane]
Author: Suzanne Collins
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: May 27, 2014
Rating: ****

The second in the Underland Chronicles series, Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane follows the titular character when he returns to the Underland, believing his toddler sister Boots has been kidnapped by cockroaches.  As prophecy has dictated, Gregor finds himself again at the service of Regalia in their constant struggle with the gnawers, and sets out to hunt down and kill the Bane.  With stronger pacing than the first, The Prophecy of Bane is a more engaging read, and promises further growth.  The colleague who first recommended Collins' series suggested that one can find ghosts of her now-famous Hunger Games characters in this underground world, spotting strong similarities in character between Haymitch and Ripred and the like.  It's fun to see where some personalities first make their appearances, and I will probably always imagine Ripred drinking himself silly, and Haymitch with a tail.  

42.
Title: [Real World]
Author: Natsuo Kirino
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Pages Completed: 65
Date Completed Abandoned: May 27, 2014
Rating: *

One morning a teenage girl hears a crash next door, and finds out later that the woman living there has been beaten to death; her son - called Worm - is suspected.  What follows is four girls' involvement with Worm in the aftermath of his crime.  I can appreciate gritty and noir, but I've had enough of dead mothers and self-centered angsty teenagers.  Every page was tortuous for its unrelenting self infatuation; I didn't even care to keep reading to find out why he did it (or if, in fact, he really did).  On to better things.

January New Author: Natsuo Kirino

2. 
Title: [The Goddess Chronicle]
Author: Natsuo Kirino
Genre: Myth and fantasy
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: January 15, 2014
Rating: *****
January Resolution Book.

The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino tells a tale of fate, expectations, and the dangers of being a woman in love.  Namima is just five when her six-year-old sister Kamikuu begins training to be the next Oracle of their poor island, and her life is changed forever as she is first identified as "the defiled one."  It is not until she is sixteen that Namima understands what the villagers believe her fate to be - as the yin to Kamikuu's yang, Namima is expected to become the priestess of the dark, and live isolated in the island's graveyard, tending to the dead, and quietly killing herself when her sister dies.  Namima has other ideas, and her choices lead to the telling of myth, a sharp criticism of fate and unchanging cultures, and the roles women play in the creation of life.

Kirino's writing is breathtaking and simple, weaving an epic story from just a few moments.  Parallel narratives are deftly drawn together, confirming the yin and yang of life and story, and finally revealing Kirino's grand plan.  As a partial narrator and protagonist, Namima is compelling and sympathetic, and the reader rages against her fate and feels her heartbreak, even when she loses her own sense of pity.  This is a story about myths and story as much as the characters themselves.  Highly recommended.

One of my resolutions was to read a "new" author each month; as I intend to further broaden my reading horizons, I am defining "new" as beyond the traditional English canon, and outside of my most frequently read genres.  Kirino has set me off to a very strong start.