March: Best and strangest

MY BEST BOOKS OF MARCH 2017

-The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - One of the first detective novels ever written, this book was groundbreaking when it was originally released. These days, it’s considered to be a classic and one of the forerunners of the thriller/detective genre. It’s a great read and it’s easy to see why this book was such a big deal. My only complaint: The ending is a bit meh. There’s all this buildup and then…..oh. Okay. That’s it. You can read more of my thoughts here.

-Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card - It’s been years since I read any Orson Scott Card and this was definitely not what I expected of him. And I mean that in the best way possible. Card is an absolutely fantastic author, but this still blew me away. It’s one of those book that I’ll be ranting about for years to come. If you like time travel or serious moral/ethical questions or history or any of the above, this story is definitely for you. Read my full Goodreads review to read me gushing some more.

MY STRANGEST BOOK OF MARCH 2017

-The Last Hot Time by John M. Ford - I should preface this by saying that I’ve never read adult contemporary fantasy before. And it was quite the experience. The Last Hot Time is a set up like a film noir - drinking, gambling, impropriety, you know the rest. That in and of itself doesn’t sound too weird, but throw in elves, gang wars, magic bullets, curses…..and it gets a bit more complicated. It continued to feel like a film noir, but with fantasy characters and issues, which made things interesting. I got the feeling the author is a weird dude because no normal person could have thought up such an interesting premise.

Am I glad I read this?: Ultimately, I guess so?! I definitely didn’t love this book. It was a bit of a chore to force myself through it. I loved the author’s idea, but his execution left something to be desired. You can read more of my thoughts on Goodreads. If nothing else, this book opened the door to contemporary fantasy for me and I’ve added Borderland to my TBR (so maybe I’ll actually read it someday) because of this book. I dunno that I like contemporary fantasy now, but the idea intrigues me and I want to test it out a bit more.

What did you read this month? Anything absolutely mind-blowingly incredible? Anything beyond bizarre?