Melvyn's Updates

Melvyn added 'The Last Graduate'

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:15:54 -0700

Melvyn gave 3 stars to The Last Graduate (The Scholomance, #2) by Naomi Novik
Ok El’s voice is becoming a bit too grating, though I’m still a sucker for the YA elements.

Melvyn wants to read 'Day of the Oprichnik'

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:15:48 -0700

Melvyn wants to read Day of the Oprichnik by Vladimir Sorokin

Melvyn added 'The Last Graduate'

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:12:53 -0700

Melvyn gave 3 stars to The Last Graduate (The Scholomance, #2) by Naomi Novik
Ok El’s voice is becoming a bit too grating, though I’m still a sucker for the YA elements.

Melvyn added 'Children of Ruin'

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 04:55:24 -0700

Melvyn gave 4 stars to Children of Ruin (Children of Time, #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Probably a 3.5, but I’ll bump it up to 4, because 🐙 <3 Also, diplomacy looms large in Tchaikovsky’s tales, which is a theme I personally identify with.

If his achievement in the first book was eliciting empathy for the alien, what was deft in the second was triggering antipathy �� horror, even �� for the familiar.

Melvyn added 'A Deadly Education'

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 03:54:23 -0700

Melvyn gave 4 stars to A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1) by Naomi Novik
This is a solid 3.5 that I’m bumping to a 4 for being a page turner �� though I’m embarrassed to admit that I found the YA parts more gripping than the fantasy. I like El and her caustic wit, but sometimes her voice is too introspective for readers to actually figure out what’s happening.

Melvyn added 'Chroniques de Jérusalem'

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 02:38:04 -0700

Melvyn gave 4 stars to Chroniques de Jérusalem (Paperback) by Guy Delisle
Whatever this collation of travel snippets lack in narrative value is more than made up for in journalistic flair. In Delisle's eye and pencil, the mundane and the extreme blur into a readable and empathisable panels of art �� for make no mistake, this is art.

Melvyn wants to read 'Children of Ruin'

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:26:08 -0700

Melvyn wants to read Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Melvyn added 'Children of Time'

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:21:03 -0700

Melvyn gave 4 stars to Children of Time (Children of Time, #1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Spiders! What a fascinating choice of species to empathize with. I suppose arthropods are as alien as the creatures of earth can get. I would love to see a similar endeavor with octopuses, considering how their intelligence (and they are intelligent) developed so differently from mammals too.

Melvyn added 'The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center'

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 07:29:08 -0800

Melvyn gave 4 stars to The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center (Hardcover) by Rhaina Cohen
I wouldn’t rave about the writing or structure of this book. But the ideas explored are merit consideration and the stories given voice to are worth amplifying.

Melvyn wants to read 'Children of Time'

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:08:19 -0800

Melvyn wants to read Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky