Double Down

No, not the sandwich you DOLT. Though I did become queasy several times during the experience, which I'd imagine is a quality the book shares with the Colonel's penultimate creation. My stomach flip-flopped every time the book described:

• Joe Biden swearing (that was a happy queasy though - the quease of joy)
• Donald Trump tweeting a vague reference to Obama's African birthplace 
• Mitt Romney furrowing his brow and wondering why the American people don't like him, like a reverse Sally Field*
• Meat Loaf performing at a GOP rally wearing a "sweat-soaked black poncho"

Unfortunately, the real quease and cheese of the 2012 elections was given short shrift in this non-fiction narrative. There was no mention of the workout pics mocked round the world; an unforgivable omission that I feel I need to share here in order to make things right:

"In retrospect, the hat was a mistake"

Rick Perry's brokeback moment was also passed over, as was Herman Cain's "I Am America" ad featuring cigarette smoke blown directly into the camera. Sure, we got the behind the scenes scoop on Newt's moon base and Clint Eastwood's ramblings with an empty chair,** but I craved more. Call it the Buzzfeed effect if you will, but I wanted list after list featuring hits like "Michelle Bachmann's top stress-fueled eye twitches." And hey, I'm all about skewering both sides. I would have also accepted "5 shady political ads that straight-up accuse Mitt Romney of murdering people" or "10 times Uncle Joe put his entire foot and most of one leg in his mouth."

Maybe it's because the 2008 elections felt more like a triumph, and the 2012 elections more like a slog. For everyone - obviously my political leanings are evident, but neither side really shined in 2012. It was as mendacious and mean-spirited as an episode of House of Cards. All I wanted was more of the absurd and amusing, because the actual day-by-day was too depressing.

Halperin & Heilemann are still great writers and their insider access is unparalleled, so it's not as if the story wasn't told well. For me, it just turned out to be a story I didn't really feel like revisiting all that much.

3 regal whinnies from Rafalca out of 5.

*Reverse Sally Field may also be a figure skating move; I think the gold medalist at Sochi nailed one 
**Fun fact: he didn't prepare at all and came up with that ten minutes before going on stage, inspired by a Neil Diamond song. Level of fucks given = none.

Ancillary Justice

This book is like the best Star Trek set-up ever; minus the Star Trek. On the show(s), the crew would always blunder into some ongoing epic drama and proceed to stick their sweaty faces in, mucking up the works and making it all about THEM for 60 minutes. I mean, come on Kirk, did you not get enough attention as a child? For real.

Ann Leckie's crafted a unique novel; one that manages to be fast-paced and action-packed while still diving into complex philosophical issues. How will humanity change when technology allows for immortality? When AI makes our objects sentient? When an individual can be split among thousands of bodies? When AI reaches a certain threshold, what differentiates it from a human? Deep thoughts, yo.

i09 named it the best book of 2013, and it's definitely deserving of accolades. Lately I've appreciate novels that assume I'm smart enough to figure it out, and dive into their worlds without too much exposition or hand-holding. That definitely applies here, as from the first page we're immediately on Breq's quest for justice with her, and the back story is revealed in flashbacks over the course of the novel. I did find the gender swapping slightly confusing (in the Radch society, everyone is a "her" regardless of gender - unless I just missed the point and this is actually a lesbian space opera, in which case, even better), but I appreciate the attention to detail that Leckie brought to her world.

So, if you like Star Trek but wish the episodes would delve more into the societal structures & struggles of the Gorn, the Borg, the Cardassians...etc - this book is for you.* Or if you just like kick-ass space quests.

4 androgynous, yet sexy, space jumpsuits out of 5.

As always, you can follow along with everything I'm reading here.

*Yes, I know this book is actually about humans, not aliens. You get my point. NERD!

We Interrupt These Book Reviews for a Mildly Interesting Announcement

Hi, friends. 2014 is the year of baring my SOUL to the internet, I guess, so I am now bringing you unfettered access to my reading life. I only share a fraction of the books I read every year on this blog, for various reasons - if I can't figure out how to sum up my feelings about a read, if I really don't have many feelings about a read, or, frankly, if I am embarrassed about a read, it doesn't end up on the blog.

But I do keep track of everything, because I'm a nerd and spreadsheets are my friends. So, if you want to see what I'm reading about that doesn't get featured, you can now follow along: Jane's Book Tracker. It's organized by year, so hit the tab(s) at the bottom to navigate.

New reviews coming soon.