Tag: 3 stars

Enjoyable reads. Maybe they had a predictable plot or the characters weren’t entirely three-dimensional, but I had fun while they lasted.

Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch

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Title: Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language
Author: Gretchen McCulloch
Format: Audiobook
Genre(s): Non-fiction
Rating: ★★★☆☆

As someone who loves language and once considered doing research among online communities, I was prepared to thoroughly enjoy this book but perhaps didn’t consider that I might be too familiar with the subject to be its target audience. I’d recommend this book if you’re curious about how the internet is influencing the English language and don’t know much about internet history or linguistics.

It was interesting to hear about things like the origins of acronyms like LOL and how their meaning has evolved over time or comparisons between punctuation online versus on postcards. But I found myself drifting off during the lengthy explanations about different online generations, and I was genuinely shocked when McCulloch mentioned that she had been entirely ignorant of the study of gesture. All in all, it was a fun book but definitely (as McCulloch herself describes it) pop linguistics — something that will leave you with interesting anecdotes about emoji and memes but doesn’t delve much deeper than that.

About the Audiobook

It may seem a bit odd to listen to a book about written language, and I’ll admit that yes, it sort of was. But McCulloch also has a popular podcast, Lingthusiasm, which made me more confident in her narration skills. She definitely didn’t let me down there; she was engaging and she adapted parts of the book for audio. That said, the chapters were a bit long for the audiobook format and I do wish I’d had the book so I could more easily skim the bits I didn’t need to hear about and more clearly remember the interesting parts.

The Upper World by Femi Fadugba

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Title: The Upper World
Author: Femi Fadugba
Format: eBook
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: ★★★☆☆

This is a unique piece of young adult science fiction, melding real physics, time travel, and two main characters from southeast London. It tells the story of Esso, a high school boy who has an accident that gives him a glimpse of a place out of time, and Rhia, a girl who grew up in foster care and is searching for more of her history.

I had a great time learning more about the physics woven into the story and ended up having numerous conversations about the theory of relativity as a result. The point where the physics meets the time travel was (understandably) a bit vague and hand-wavy, and there’s a simplicity to the story that I associate with young adult fiction — neither of which are necessarily a problem, if that’s your cup of tea. The book does a fantastic job jumping between Esso and Rhia’s storylines, building up the conflict and drama to an exciting climax and satisfying conclusion.

The Physician’s Daughter by Martha Conway

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Title: The Physician’s Daughter
Author: Martha Conway
Format: eBook
Genre(s): Historical, Romance
Rating: ★★★☆☆

This was primarily historical fiction — the story of Vita, a young woman after the U.S. Civil War who dreams of becoming a doctor — with a bit of romance that develops as Vita grapples with the expectation that she should set aside her career ambitions and become a wife and mother.

My interest in historical fiction began with books like this: books with intelligent, strong young women in different tumultuous periods of U.S. history trying to discover themselves while also dealing with what was happening in the world around them. I loved all of details that arose from the research that Conway clearly put into this book, and both Vita’s and Jacob’s experiences felt real and compelling (my only research-related criticism being the epigraphs, which repeatedly pulled me out of the story by including texts published after the time when the story took place and even a fake publication).

I was a bit put off by the moments where the perspective shifted mid-scene (maybe just personal preference), and I felt the balance of the story was maybe heavier on the self-doubt than it needed to be, with a lot of time spent on Vita’s worrying and not as much time as I’d have liked on her growing confidence (and the challenges faced) after she fully committed to her path. That said, I loved the way the story slowly layered on scene after scene of struggle to help me empathize with Vita and Jacob’s journeys, from their doubts and fears to the sense of hope and triumph at the end.

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

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Title: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb
Author: Cat Sebastian
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, LGBTQ+
Rating: ★★★☆☆

This is a highly enjoyable romance starring Percy, the foppish son of the (clearly evil) Duke of Clare, and Kit, a former highwayman who Percy tries to hire to steal (from the duke, of course) a book that belonged to his late mother. It has a fairly predictable series of events and I found myself identifying who was really who almost as soon as new characters appeared on the page. But despite that, I enjoyed watching Percy open his eyes to the damage the aristocracy can do and make his own choices based on that knowledge, without having a complete personality transplant. Kit was a charming highwayman-turned-coffeeshop-owner and I adored watching the two fall for each other. I wish we’d seen more of their backstory with their closest friends, Marian and Rob — I especially found it hard to like Marian, who was barely there for Percy — but perhaps the sequel will make them more likable or at least relatable characters.

Arabella by Georgette Heyer

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Title: Arabella
Author: Georgette Heyer
Genre(s): Romance, Historical
Rating: ★★★☆☆

A friend recently introduced me to the Internet Archive Books collection, so I decided to take advantage of its vast collection of older books to read a regency romance by the author who established the genre. I love the historical details in Heyer’s novels, including the dialogue, and she includes a great deal of humor (especially in stories like this that revolve around a sort of mistaken identity). Arabella, as a relatively unsophisticated girl from Yorkshire, provides a refreshingly progressive perspective on the inequality that pervades London — her combination of privilege and naïvety is mostly endearing though at times offensive as she rides roughshod over those around her in an attempt to help the less fortunate. I tend to feel that Heyer rushes the endings, with everything resolved a bit too quickly. But the journey to get there is funny and witty and I always enjoy the ride.