Orpheus’ Letzter Tanz
Una mia foto sulla copertina dell’edizione tedesca del romanzo “Orpheus’ Letzter Tanz” di Christobel Kent!
Why I’m not switching to ebooks just yet…
I love the concept of ebooks, just like I loved the idea of digital music since the birth of the mp3. While it would take something major for me to even think about parting from my paper books, there is something endearing in the thought of a portable format, something you can backup, and that allows you to read hundreds of books on a device the size of a paperback.
However. Let me tell you a little story.
I have … (Read more)
Review: Paladin of Souls
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Astounding! I did not read the first book in the series as I was told this one would stand on its own, and so it was. A powerful story about an unlikely heroine: a once-crazy, middle-aged dowager queen that only wants to have a little room for herself and be treated like a human being from her peers. Of course things go downhill and Ista finds herself … (Read more)
Review: Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A delightful satire on gothic romance, full of of wit and love for the genre – for only a connoisseur would know its tropes, merits and flaws so well as to construct such a tale. I know some will not agree, but I would venture to say that Northanger Abbey did for gothic what The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy did for sci-fi, or Young Frankenstein for the horror/Hammer … (Read more)
Review: Deathless
Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m afraid this book didn’t quite rapture me the way previous stories by the same author did. The premise is wonderful, the historical and cultural setting is spot-on, the elements are all there, but in the end they don’t quite seem to gel the right way and they often leave me wanting. Oddly enough, at times the story seems to run too fast with its gaps of months and … (Read more)
Review: The Secret Adversary
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
International intrigue, kidnappings, missing documents and constant deceiving… the plot of this fast-paced novel is as witty and compelling as the main characters, steadfast Tommy, no-nonsense Tuppence and the rich and extravagant Julius (who, if this were a movie, would be chewing scenery left and right). While the fear of a labour strike paving the way to a Socialist revolution in Great Britain might seems a bit silly … (Read more)
Shadow was not superstitious…
A friend of mine is auditioning for a part on the audiobook for Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Since the thing is done via a web contest, it would be extremely appreciated if you could go and vote for him (requires registration).
Just listen to that sexy voice! You know you want to!
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Review: Blindsight
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This review is SPOILERY
This novel will repeatedly challenge your point of view. Armed with mind links, prostheses and mechanical extensions, multiple personalities, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, self-regenerating spaceships and gene-resurrected vampires, the humans in the book often feel more alien and inscrutable than the mysterious structure they are sent to investigate – in particular because the main character and narrator is, himself, incapable of true empathy. On the other … (Read more)
Review: God’s War
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m conflicted about rating this book. One one side, the writing is fluid and the worldbuilding is spectacular: the middle-eastern/Islamic cultures are well rounded and believable, and there is no dumbing down for the Western reader (if you don’t know what a dhoti or a burnous is, get ready to google a lot in the first few chapters; also, a bel dame is not a French pretty woman); and … (Read more)
Invito: Lenta conversazione
LENTA CONVERSAZIONE – opera a otto mani di Stefano Anceschi, Gabriella Becchi, Ian Gazzotti, e Barbara Leoni, a cura di Cesare di Liborio
UniMoRE – Sede di Ingegneria
Padiglione Buccola
zona S. Lazzaro, Reggio Emilia
Inaugurazione: venerdì 15 aprile 2011, ore 11:30… (Read more)