The Thirty Years' War, C.V. Wedgwood

It feels silly to say that a book about the 30 Years War was a bit confusing and the endless list of battles was pointless; that is the essence of the 30 Years War and why it's so difficult to understand or teach. This book does a great job when it settles down to talk about social history, the impact of the battles the economics of the battles, or the people involved in the battles. I got a lot of great information about Richelieu and Gustavus Adolphus and I can finally remember which one was Frederick and which two were Ferdinand. But my eyes did glaze over at some of the endless chapters about battles that went nowhere and accomplished nothing.

Grade: B
#42 in 2017

A Curious Beginning, Deanna Raybourne

I couldn't decide how many stars to give this. It's not actively bad, offensive, or upsetting, but unless you love -- LOVE -- this narrator and her narrative voice, there's nothing in this book. I've read plenty of books about sassy Victorian spinsters and the mysterious dukes and adventures they have, but this also included a weird few chapters of interlude at the circus that go nowhere, and no sex. I just wasn't delighted enough with the main character (or intrigued enough by the mystery), and the mysterious angry-but-sad-inside duke was so cliche.  I read it, and to be honest I'd probably read the sequels if they fell into my lap. But the whole time I was reading it I was like "....sure? Fine? I GUESS????" Grade: C #41 in 2017

Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere), Lisa Cron

I think that ridiculous title is pretty indicative of how I felt about this book. There is good, solid advice in here, and a lot of the writing advice is very helpful. I've been plotting out a novel (because I can't watch the news or I'll lose my mind) and this was a good way to organize it and think about it. But the tone of the book was nails on a chalkboard for me. Other people may enjoy it. It's certainly upbeat and supportive. But it also felt like a manic pixie dream girl was trying to explain to me how how dreams are made, and I didn't find a lot of the sample writing sections very helpful. I didn't need most of the beginning to tell me that human brains like stories or why. I ended up skimming a lot of the end, rolling my eyes and sighing loudly.

Grade: usefulness is a B, tone is a D, let's even it out at a C
#40 in 2017