July Reads

July has been a bit of a varied month for reading.  I struggled to finish Rondo One-Eye. My husband bought me a signed copy while we were in Ardnamurchan, as it seemed to be just my sort of book. But in reality the author's environmental diatribes were just a bit too thick and unrealistic in places. What I Don't Know About Animals was also a big of an uphill slog. The novel seemed to teeter between personal account and scientific fact, but as an animal lover the book seemed detached and unsentimental, while as an animal scientist it was not quite scientific enough. The book seems to really struggle for direction. The Kingdom Hearts manga was also a bit crap. The artwork was nice, but the story was weak, and the characters were mildly annoying. 

On a more positive note, The Last Unicorn is a really stunning graphic novel adaptation. I love the novel and the film, and this book is just the icing on the cake for me. Beautiful illustrations and a true-to-the-novel story (but with some minor unintrusive additions). Dirt Music was fantastic, a really vivid and poignant story, without being overwrought and packed full of adjectives. I wanted more when it was finished. 

And finally, Dark Winter is a book that my friend has written. It's not really a genre that I like (dark crime fiction), but I did enjoy this. It's well written and has a gripping storyline. I'd definitely recommend it.