Books: 2013 In Review

I spent a lot of my precious free time in 2013 reading books. I have mostly been keeping a record of them on Goodreads. On the one hand, it's a good site for doing so; on the other hand, I'm not always thrilled with putting my content under the control and for the profit of someone else. So I'm going to link to reviews for all of the "books" I read in 2013. The total is more impressive than it should be, because Goodreads allows you to review many pieces of short fiction, especially those nominated for awards. Since I voted on the Hugo awards this year, I read a lot of that type of work.

So I'm going to go ahead and link to my Goodreads reviews where I have them. Because makes sense to me, I'm going to group the books by author, and then by date read.

Lois McMaster Bujold (12)

I had been interested in reading the Vorkosigan Saga for a while, but I was pushed to do so when Captain Vorpatril's Alliance was nominated for a Hugo. I prefer to read a series in order, which was difficult because Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is (by one reckoning) the 14th book in the series. I broke that rule here, but I have been catching up.

• Shards of Honor 4 stars
• Barrayar 4 stars
• Captain Vorpatril's Alliance 4 stars
• The Warrior's Apprentice 4 stars "Once again, the Vorkosigan saga gives me a book that is not about the big, deep, mind-blowing questions that I like to see in a five-star book -- rather, it gives me a fun book with more subtle characterization than you see in most sci-fi works."
• The Vor Game 4 stars
• Cetaganda 4 stars
• Ethan of Athos 5 stars "The one thing I feel that is missing from most of the [other Vorkosigan saga] books is the "big picture" questions that science fiction is capable of addressing. In this books, issues of gender that Bujold addresses obliquely in other books come to the fore." 
• Borders of Infinity 5 stars "This collection of three novellas goes from strength to strength."
• Brothers in Arms 4 stars "This novel is fundamentally a story about clones, which makes it inherently ridiculous."
• Mirror Dance 4 stars "In general I like this book (I just skimmed the torture scenes). As usual, Bujold plums her characters' psychological depths with tremendous deftness."
• Memory 5 stars 
• Miles in Love 5 stars "This is an omnibus edition...If I had to rate them individually, I'd give Komarr 4 stars, A Civil Campaign 5 stars and Winterfair Gifts a weak 4 stars."

Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire (4)

I'm not sure I get the point of the "open pen name", but I read two books each by Grant and McGuire, who are the same person. I don't intend to read more.

• Countdown: A Newsflesh Novella 4 stars "I was not expecting to like this novella, since I'm not a big fan of the zombie genre. I was very pleasantly surprised, however."
• San Diego 2014: Last Stand of the California Brown Coats 2 stars "Ugh. I really don't like zombies, and it doesn't help when every character makes repeated references to the "zombie apocalypse." And yes, the novella explained to the reader just how wonderful science-fiction fans are."
• Rat-Catcher 3 stars "Since I'm not excited about either cats in fiction or fairies (the cats in the story are essentially a type of fairies), it didn't do much for me."
• In Sea-Salt Tears 3 stars "I liked it marginally better than Rat-Catcher."

Naomi Novik (3)

I read the two most-recent novels in her Temeraire series this year, as well as a short story.

• Crucible of Gold 4 stars
• Feast or Famine 4 stars "I was skeptical that Novik could pack much into fewer than 2000 words, but it was enough to bring a smile to my face."
• Blood of Tyrants 4 stars "The latest Temeraire novel is divided into three parts. I don't think I could improve upon another reviewer's comment on the first part: "If I could pretend this never happened, I would.""

Aliette de Bodard (2)

Two of her short works were nominated for Hugos. I had mixed reactions.

• On a Red Station, Drifting 2 stars "Maybe this could have been three stars; I'm on the fence."
• Immersion 4 stars "I was disappointed in this...until about halfway through when something "clicked" with me."

Rachel Hartman (2)

This new author has really impressed me with her Seraphina series. I'm looking forward to the second book.

• The Audition 4 stars "It is a nice little piece that contains many of the subtleties that made Seraphina enjoyable."
• Seraphina 5 stars "I regret not reading this book before the Hugo nominations closed."

Nick Hornby (2)

I occasionally read books by men in 2013.

• More Baths, Less Talking 4 stars "Having someone witty and erudite discuss books you're not going to read is perhaps better than discussing books you've already read."
• Fan Mail 5 stars "If I could have Nick Hornby as a guide, I would follow whatever soccer he wrote about."

George R. R. Martin (2)

I am cheating a little bit by grouping these two books under Martin, since one is a book he co-authored, and another is a collection he co-edited.

• Windhaven 4 stars "The book has held up well over the years.While I have no specific complaints about it, neither did I find it a compelling page-turner."
• Old Mars 3 stars "I wish I hadn't read this book. It wasn't a bad book.  It's just that it took up valuable space in my reading schedule, and I'm still not sure why."

Jack McDevitt (2)

• The Cassandra Project 4 stars "I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't bowled over, either."
• Starhawk 4 stars "It's a solid prequel, but it lacked the philosophical depth I find in others of the author's books"

Ben H. Winters (2)

• The Last Policeman 5 stars "I finished this book very quickly, and even when I wasn't reading it, I spent a lot of my time thinking about it -- both are evidence of how compelling the book is."
• Countdown City 4 stars

 Other Authors (23)

• Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed 3 stars "I was leaning towards four stars until I realized that I have little interest in reading the sequel."
• Backscatter by Gregory Benford 3 stars "This short story is freely available online at Tor.com. It's a throwback to old-school science fiction, which is both good and bad."
• The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester 2 stars "The Demolished Man had two strikes against it -- it is 60 years old, so a lot of it feels anachronistic, and it features ESP prominently." 
• A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan 4 stars
• The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi by Pat Cadigan 2 stars "I kind of liked the characters and the setting, but it was hard to slog through the style."
• Bossypants by Tina Fey 5 stars "This was a light, quick read."
• Atom Drive by Charles L. Fontenay 3 stars "A solid Golden Age story...exciting science, flat characters."
• Rangers FC - We Don't Do Walking Away by Lisa Gray 3 stars "This book is essentially a series of match reports with just a little bit of background and personal reflection added." 
• The Boy Who Cast No Shadow by Thomas Olde Heuvelt 3 stars "A well-executed story, but not one that connected with me."
• The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin 2 stars "I fell asleep every time I picked it up, and didn't finish any books until a month later when I set it aside." 
• Mantis Wives by Kij Johnson 2 stars "Even if you find the joke funny (I didn't), it's just a one-joke story."
• Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones 4 stars
• After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress 3 stars
• The Stars Do Not Lie by Jay Lake 3 stars "The characters are kind of neat, and the setting has some promise, but the ultimate payoff is not fantastic."
• Mono no Aware by Ken Liu 4 stars "This is a nice, clean science fiction story set aboard a generation spaceship that has been launched to save a remnant of humanity from a killer asteroid headed towards Earth." 
• Someone Could Get Hurt by Drew Magary 4 stars "This was a quick, funny read, with a few literal laugh-out-load moments."
• New World Mindfulness by Donald McCown 4 stars "This book is excellent for those looking for an introduction to the concept of mindfulness without a heavy dose of Buddhism." 
• The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter 3 stars "The main two characters in the book (one of them an AI) speak to each other in ways that sound like a 14-year-old nerd's idea of witty banter."
• The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson 4 stars "It fell short of five stars for lacking the intangible elements that would make me want to stay up late to finish it, or urge others to read it once I was done." 
• Redshirts by John Scalzi 2 stars "It was a struggle to get through this book, though less so as it went along."
• Tales of Majipoor by Robert Silverberg 5 stars "It is sad to think this book represents my final visit to Majipoor." 
• The Emperor of Mars by Allen Steele 4 stars "It was a very enjoyable tale of someone on a realistic version of a future Mars who finds mental refuge in older, less realistic visions of Mars." 
• Fade to White by Catherynne M. Valente 3 stars "The 1950s-parody style wore thin pretty quickly."

Bowie Restaurant Project: (78) Irie Cafe

Irie Cafe is now closed.

Irie Cafe, 6840 Race Track Rd
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 12/19/2013
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Jamaican food comes to Bowie! Irie Cafe has opened in Hilltop Plaza, right next to Chesapeake Grille.

On my first visit, I tried the Jerk Chicken, since I think of that as the "classic" Jamaican dish. The lunch special comes with two sides, but no drink. I had the rice & peas and the redskin potatoes. Everything was excellent.

Irie Cafe Interior

On my return, with four co-workers, I tried the goat curry. I switched sides from the rice & peas to the jasmine rice for variety; I don't think it was worthwhile to do so. The goat curry was very good. One of the problems with goat is that the bones are very small, so you end up picking them out of your mouth too often. That was the case here, but that's not really the fault of Irie. I think they are the only place in Bowie to offer goat; they may be the only purveyor of curry, as well. A colleague enjoyed his chicken curry; I think I'd go that direction next time. (But I had to try the goat).

Someone else had the jerk chicken and found it dry. My previous visit had occurred soon after opening at 11; the later trip began at 12:15, but it was getting close to 1 by the time our food arrived. So there may be some freshness issues with that dish. I can't really recommend arriving promptly at 11, though; the one time I tried that, they weren't open yet.

A word about prices -- even the lunch specials start at $10. You're not going to find any bargains here. The soft drinks are $3, and the homemade drinks, while tasty, will set you back $3.90.

Despite my concerns about the disorganization and the prices, I'm giving it four stars. Tasty food in an attractive, non-chain restaurant is worth at least 3.5 stars, and I'll give it an extra half-star for the uniqueness of the cuisine.

That said, I think 9 out of 10 times (or 99 out of 100?), I will head next door to Chesapeake Grille instead. I just don't have cravings for jerk chicken often enough to justify the extra expense. I mostly see myself coming here with groups of people who are looking for something a little unusual.

Hilltop Plaza has a pretty crowded restaurant scene now, with Irie, Chesapeake, Outback, Olive Grove, East Delight and Jersey Mike's. I don't pretend to understand much about entrepreneurship, but I suspect all six will not remain standing in a year's time.

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Bowie Restaurant News

Olive Grove is open as well. I've visited twice, with mixed results, so I will probably do a tie-breaker third visit. Six restaurants to go, then!

This used to be a Subway, but now it's all covered with flowers.

Bowie is down to 5 Subway restaurants. The Subway in Bowie Town Center is no more. I have mixed feelings. It was one of the better choices in a sad food court, but its closure raises hopes that something better will come along. In the mean time, just go to Carolyn Quinn's.