When I said "tomorrow"

Well, I meant to post the last four one-paragraph reviews, but I was lazy and didn't. Heh.

So, catching up now while I wait to find out which US woman wins the fencing crown...

The Rites of Spring (Break), by Diana Peterfreund is another perfect beach read. Following the previous two books in the Ivy League/Rose & Grave series, we find Amy and the rest of the Diggers (get it, Grave, Diggers? Yeah) on their way to their island off the Florida coast to enjoy their spring break, following a long winter. See, there are these other secret societies and while the Diggers were almost successful in pulling off a heist, Amy was "caught" and then WW3 broke out, all directed at her. But, she gets to go to a semi-private island and it'd would be great if not for three things. One, her mortal enemy from the first book is also at the island; two, someone is trying to hurt/kill/embarrass the Diggers, focusing again on Amy; and three, the guy she loves to hate...yeah, he's there too. And Amy will be damned before she admits she likes how he looks in a pair swimming trunks.

Oh, hey, Zagunis won fencing. Congrats!

The Host, by Stephanie Meyers (yup, two books by this author so far this summer) was much better (in my opinion) than Breaking Dawn, although it took me a while to get into this story. Basically, Earth has been taken over by alien parasites and it's pretty much a done deal before anyone has any idea what's happening. However, some humans realize what's going on and form rebellions; Melanie is one of those rebellious humans, and when she realizes she's been found out, tries to kill herself to protect the others. However, the "souls" as they call themselves, manage to save her and Wanderer is placed inside Mel to try and find out where the others are hiding. Mel is tougher than anyone expects though and Wanderer is forced to share Mel's body and memories with her. I don't want to say much more about this, since that would give away some of the amazing plots in this story, but I will tell you that nothing happens the way you think it will, that Meyers made me cry three times, and that if she doesn't write a sequel to this story (I've heard she will) I will be very mad.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett was hysterically funny. I have a real love-hate relationship with Gaiman (as in I love his children's books and short stories, but don't really like any of his adult novels), so I put off reading this book for the longest time. (I've never read anything by Pratchett, so right now, nothing but love.) If you like dry humor, satirical humor, and British humour, then you're going to love Good Omens. Angels and demons are collaborating together to stop the apocolypse and enjoy a good meal or two, the Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse are running around causing havok where ever they go, there are witch(es) and WitchFinders, a book of amazingly true prophecies floating about, and a young boy called Adam, who, as it turns out, is the Anti-Christ. And in seven days he's going to bring about the apocolypse, whether he wants to or not.

Also, there is Dog. I like Dog. Dog is a hell hound. I always wanted one of them as a pet.

Ink Exchange, by Melissa Marr is the sorta-sequel to Wicked Lovely. I say sorta-sequel because it's not, not really, a sequel, but it involves characters from her first book and some of the plot lines from there, so if you haven't read Wicked Lovely first, you might be a bit lost. Or maybe not. Leslie is trying to salvage what she can of her now-horrible life by getting a tattoo. She's spent months looking for just the right one, and it isn't until Rabbit (the tattoo artist) pulls out a book of "special" tattoos that she finds herself called to a particular one. Only what Leslie doesn't know is that this isn't just a tattoo, but an ink exchange, where, at the end of the tattoo Leslie will find herself unwilling bound to Irial, King of the Dark Faries. She's his know, to do with as he wills, and no matter how she feels about it or who she'd rather be with. (Basically, Leslie goes from an admittedly horrible situation into an even worse one, and it's going to be up to her to find the strength to not only survive, but to get herself out of it.)

Ta-da! Only a day later than I'd planned, so it's really a win compared to my previous track record. Now, I think it's time to eat something (hello 12.30) and maybe get ready for the day. It looks nice outside, although it looked nice yesterday and I still got caught in the rain. Brooklyn is turning out to be a lot like Seattle, except for this God-awful humidity.

Also, I totally lied. I haven't started Victory of Eagles yet; instead I'm reading Looking For Trouble by Leslie Cockburn and it's great. It's a memoir from one of the first women to break into "boys-only club" reporting the Third World.

Reviewing

Let's compare this to speed-dating, shall we? I'm going to review the books I liked (from the fifty-one I've read during the most recent hiatus) in a paragraph each.

The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness (Emma) Orczy was an absolutely wonderful story. Set during the French Revolution, we have a band of Englishmen, led by the Scarlet Pimpernel, who are snatching aristocrats from le guillotine and stealthily sneaking them into England. Citizen Chauvelin, a French spy and sworn enemy of the Scarlet Pimpernel, is tired of looking like a fool each time a French aristocrat is saved; fortunately for him, he stumbles onto a few members of the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, one of whom happens to be the very dear brother of Marguerite St. Just, a beautiful French ex-actress, and new bride of Sir Percy Blakeney, an English baron. The marriage is an unhappy one as Sir Percy thinks his wife is rather immoral (she said some things in private that were used to behead two men), while Marguerite couldn't care less what her husband thinks because she believes him to be a brainless idiot. Blackmailed into betraying her husband, Marguerite is forced to choose between saving her brother's life, or sentencing the Scarlet Pimpernel and several French aristocrats to their horribly painful deaths.

Black Ships, by Jo Graham was another great read. A re-telling of The Aeneid, it's from the point-of-view of Gull, daughter of a captured Trojan slave. After she's injured in a chariot accident, Gull is useless as a house or field servant, so her mother takes her to the temple, giving her to the Pythia to serve the Lady of the Dead. It's meant to be however, as Gull begins to have visions, proof that the Lady of the Dead has another purpose for Gull. Becoming Linnea, as Gull is renamed, she is trained in the ways of the Lady and eventually becomes the Pythia herself. It isn't until after she assumes this role that her first vision comes true: black ships on the horizon and they get closer every day. The ships are full of what's left of the free Trojan people, and led by Aeneas, Prince of Troy, they have come to reclaim their stolen kinsmen. Upon meeting them, Pythia is forced to make a decision that will forever alter her fate and that of the people of Troy.

Perfect You, by Elizabeth Scott was almost as good as Bloom, in my opinion. Kate had a pretty decent life going; parents who loved each other, an annoying older brother, and a fantastic best friend. That all changes though, when her father decides to quit his job at a software company and start selling Perfect You vitamins at the mall and when Anne, her best friend, suddenly decides that she wants nothing to do with Kate and starts hanging out with the mean, but oh-so popular girls instead. Everything is horrible, her parents are fighting, Kate has no friends anymore...and yet, well, there's Will. Will, the popular, handsome guy she can't believe likes her. Will, the guy she doesn't want to like, for the aforementioned reasons. Will, who she can't admit to liking because he's Will, but does anyway. Kate has a choice to make: does she let life back in to her life, or does she shut it all out so that nothing can ever hurt her again?

Everyone Worth Knowing, by Lauren Weisberger, was a nice, quick read. The perfect lazy summer afternoon book, when the only ambition you have is to drink down an entire pitcher of fresh-squeezed lemonade in the shade. Bette's a twenty-something living in New York, working the corporate job she despises, and gossiping with her best friend on their stolen lunch breaks when, after one too many e-mails from her boss, quits her job and decides to live life unemployed. That goes over SO WELL with her family, especially her uncle Will and his lover Simon. Taking her ever-so-lightly in hand, Will gets Bette a job with his old assistant Kelly, who has her own PR firm. Suddenly Bette finds herself being paid to go out at night, drink lots of alcohol, and dance with incredibly hot men. It's only after her own life starts ending up in the gossip blogs that Bette realizes she might need to make a few changes...one of which might be dumping the super wealthy, too-gorgeous-to-be-real British boyfriend for the bouncer.

The King's Shield, by Sherwood Smith.
OK, I can't review THIS BOOK in just one paragraph, but since I said I would...
Inda is finally going back home, leaving his once forced-on-him pirate lifestyle, along with Tau and JeJe. He's going back to warn his best friend, the King, of the upcoming Venn attack. Pressed into being the king's shield, Inda is forced into fighting a land battle that he can't win (as he hasn't had any military training since he was a child), except that he has to (because no one else can). There's infighting and lying, personal sacrifice, love, betrayal, a wedding, blood, tears, and pain and again, Sherwood, you made me cry. Anyway, this is a brilliant book, and it's only the third book in the Inda series, so stay tuned for Treason's Shore (and let me tell you that that title is giving me all kinds of ideas), where Sherwood will conclude this amazing story.

...one day, I'm going to have to post about these books, but in sections. Like, in Inda, do Inda's life as a Tevi at the academy, then do his life as a pirate, etc. It's the only way I'm ever going to be able to write about these books coherently...

Night Shift, by Lilith Saintcrow was pretty good. Set in a less gritty setting than her Dante Valentine series, JIll Kismet works the night shift, hunting demons, devils, Traders (with demons), and everything in between. She, and hunters like her, is what protects us from the things that crawl out in the middle of the night. Jill, still reeling from the loss of her one-time mentor and lover, is shoved onto a case that no one can get a handle on. Forced to team up with an FBI were-team and a fresh-off-the-farm were, Jill ends up battling to save not just the city she protects, but the lives of everyone she cares about. It's too bad she looses her own heart in the process. *grins*

Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyers is apparently something of a hot item in the blog world. Personally, while I didn't love everything in this book, I really enjoyed it. I hadn't spent a lot of time deciding where I wanted the story to end (although I did assume that Bella would become a vampire and there would be a run in with the Voltaire) and I didn't let myself get sucked into this fandom (like I did with Harry Potter OMG DON'T YOU DARE PUT HIM WITH HERMIONE! ahem), which might have had something to do with it. Anyway. Bella, freshly engaged to her beloved Edward, has to put together a wedding, survive her honeymoon, and deal with the heart break of her best friend, the werewolf Jacob...and oh yes, survive being turned into a vampire was well.

OK, so I have four books left to review (The Rites of Spring (Break), The Host, Good Omens, and Ink Exchange), but honestly, if I spend one more minutes in front of my computer I might just have to scream. So tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow.

When I put my mind to something...

Wow, talk about an unexpectedly-long hiatus!  

When I wrote my last post, I assumed to myself that I'd be back shortly, updating my books list, or posting about something of interest that I'd read, but I clearly that wasn't the case as it's been three months since my last post.  

At least I have a good reason for this hiatus: I've moved.  

Yup, I gave notice in late May and left my job and life in Seattle to take a chance on starting a new one here in New York.  It's only been two weeks since I actually moved, but it's starting to feel like two months.  

I've read fifty-one books in the meantime (thank you little notebook for not getting lost in the move) and I plan to put (slightly-late) reviews up, once I get a bit more organized here. And yes, by organized I mean buy a dresser because this living out of a suitcase is getting old!

I'm not going to join any more challenges

but if I was going to, I think that this one, the 1% read challenge, would be really interesting.

And even though I'm not going to join, if I were, my choices would be...

Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
Wild Swans – Jung Chang
If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler – Italo Calvino
Casino Royale – Ian Fleming
The Maltese Falcon – Dashiell Hammett
Lady Chatterley’s Lover – D.H. Lawrence
The Forsyte Saga – John Galsworthy
The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton
The Awakening – Kate Chopin
Bleak House – Charles Dickens

(Optional)
The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
North and South – Elizabeth Gaskell

(I did a quick tally of the books from the list and it looks like I've read exactly 5%. And if I I tally up the books I've started and won't finish, it's almost 2%.)

I’ve been splitting my time between a couple of books recently, reading The Twisted Citadel (for reviewing purposes) and The Scarlet Pimpernel. I’m enjoying them both a great deal, although they’re nothing alike. The Twisted Citadel is a dark fantasy novel, with legacies of power, winged warriors, and an evil menace that is perfect in its creation, while The Scarlet Pimpernel is about the French Revolution and a group of Englishmen who saved French aristocrats from the guillotine.

I picked up The Scarlet Pimpernel after a few years of avoiding it (and I can’t remember why I was avoiding it) and am very glad I did. I’ve been reading a lot of swashbuckling, sword-wearing, death-before-dishonor novels lately and everyone was suggesting The Scarlet Pimpernel as a book I’d enjoy reading.

I also just finished Birds of a Feather, the second Maisie Dobbs novel. Quite a good read, and even though I’d figured out who the “bad guy” was, I enjoyed the entire novel. Set in England fifteen years (or so) after the end of World War I, I was startled to come across a reference to Baroness (Emma) Orczy and her participation in The Order of the White Feather, a theme that features heavily in Birds of a Feather.

I knew about the practice of passing out a white feather to men who weren’t in uniform (during WWI), but I hadn’t realized there was an actual order of women…

And although I have no time to read (which has never stopped me before!), these books all sound very interesting:

A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas E. Sniegoski
A Magic of Twilight by S.L. Farrell
Black Ships by Jo Graham
Bring Down the Sun by Judith Tarr
Fallen by Tim Lebbon
Gladiatrix by Russell Whitfield
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
Heart of Light by Sarah A. Hoyt
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
Madapple by Christina Meldrum
Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan
Mind the Gap and Poison Ink by Christopher Golden
Soul by Tobsha Learner
The Queen’s Bastard by C.E. Murphy
Waking Brigid by Francis Clark

and, a non-science-fiction/fantasy novel, Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors

Review: Peony in Love

Based on a true story*, Peony in Love, by Lisa See was an amazing book. Just wonderful. I've only read one other book by Lisa See before (Snow-Flower and the Secret Fan) and while I enjoyed that one, I think this one is just a bit better. (Maybe because there is less on the foot binding?)

Set in 17th century China, it tells the story of Peony, a sixteen-year-old girl betrothed from birth, who, emulating her favorite opera character, dies from being lovesick over a man she's just met.

Peony has been raised in the traditional ways (trained to obey her parents, honor her relatives, be seen and not heard, and to always, always bring honor to her family), but she's also been raised to read and think. At a young age, she fell in love with the opera The Peony Pavilion (about a young, sixteen-year-old maiden named Li-niang who takes control of her destiny in the only way she can: she starves herself) and reads it constantly, longing for a life (and love) like Li-niang's.

For Peony's sixteenth birthday, her father puts on a showing of The Peony Pavilion and it is there that Peony spies the man she instantly knows she will love. Secretly meeting him one night, she's both thrilled and terrified to realize that he feels the same way about her, although he too is engaged to marry a woman he's never met.

Despairing over the fact that she'll never be with "him," Peony stops eating and instead focuses on writing her critique of The Peony Pavilion as she wastes away. She tells herself that after she finishes writing her critique, she'll start eating again and become the good wife that she has been raised to be, but unfortunately, she doesn't get the chance. Dying, she realizes the mistakes she's made, but has no time to fix them.

(here there be spoilers, and I explain why I wanted to smack Peony!)

As it turns out, Peony's soon-to-be husband was "him." At the opera, Peony's father brings Ren (that's him) up on stage to introduce him as his future son-in-law. But Peony, in such silent despair over the fact that she'll never be with the man she loves, doesn't look out past the curtain. (And this is reason why I wanted to smack her. If she'd just looked all of this pain could have been avoided and she's have had the happy, full of love life that she wanted! Ugh, teenagers.)

It's after her death that Peony begins to realize just what's she's done by killing herself. Her mother and father, both stricken with grief, never dot her ancestor tablet, which means that Peony's soul can never be reunited and she is forced to roam the earth as a hungry ghost. Also, as she died an unmarried maiden, no one will pay her the proper ancestor respect, which means that she will continue to starve and waste away as a ghost. (It's really this part of the novel that fascinated me. I liked learning about the Chinese afterlife, the rituals for judging the dead, and the ways the ghosts were both free and bound by unbreakable rules. Apparently, in China, ghosts can't do corners, which is why bridges zig-zag. It keeps the ghost away.)

Ren also moves on, marrying a different girl after a few years have gone by. Heart-broken, Peony alternately tortures the girl in her dreams while also trying to force her to be the perfect wife for Ren. Ren's second wife eventually dies and Peony blames herself, leaving Ren's home and wandering for a while. It's during this time in her afterlife that Peony begins to grow up. Meetings with her long-dead grandmother clue her in to certain family secrets that Peony had never known, while other meetings with other lovesick maidens reinforce Peony's love in Ren and her deeper desire to be heard. It takes being reunited with her mother's ghost to really, truly, push Peony into the woman she wanted to be and to help her find the love that she'd always wanted to with Ren.

I won't spoil the ending for you because Peony's journey as a ghost and as a young woman in love is something I think you should read for yourself. It's a wonderful story, full of rich details about both 17th century China and the Chinese afterlife, about a girl who truly just wants to be heard, and a love that will transcend even death.

*This novel is based on the real-life story of three woman, wives, who wrote The Three Wives’ Commentary, the first book to be written by women. Lisa See used the names of these women, as well as all the details of their lives' (and their husband Ren) that she could in crafting this story. The Peony Pavilion is also an actual Chinese play that is still censored in China due to it's influence on young woman. A few years ago, the Chinese government temporarily delayed the production that was going to be held at Lincoln Center because they didn't want certain censored scenes to be produced.

A List

So I've been thinking about what books I want to read for Joy's Non-Fiction Five Challenge and I think I finally have it narrowed down.

In no particular order:

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon. Yes, this is the abridged version; I wish I had the time to read all six volumes, but unfortunately, I've yet to find a safe way to clone myself. Alas.

Granuaile: Ireland's Pirate Queen by Anne Chambers. OK, now don't tell, but I started reading this book this morning. OK, tried to read this book, but I was so bored! I'm going to substitute this book instead: The Pirate Queen: In Search of Grace O'Malley and Other Legendary Women of the Sea by Barbara Sjoholm.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. I've had this book on my shelf for a year now, always meaning to pick it up.

Nothing But Red.

I'm not sure what the fifth book will be. I'm reading a couple now that would qualify (The Western Canon, The Well-Educated Mind, The Meaning of Sunglasses, and The Child That Books Built), but maybe I should keep this last spot "open," in case something else comes along.

Expanding my horizons

So, clearly I didn't get around to posting all of the reviews that I wanted needed to, not if I want to stay caught up anyway. Oh well, gives me something to look forward to tonight, right?

In the meantime, I've been thinking about my reading habits and what they say about me. If you look at the list of books I've read this year, you will see that most of them are of the science fiction/fantasy/historical fiction/young adult genre...and not a whole lot else. Normally, I'm OK with this, but every now and then I wonder what I'm missing out on. It's not that I don't like books in other genres (like literary fiction), it's just that I don't like them as much.

Again, like I said, I'm normally OK with this, but every now and then this preference of mine seems to rear up and I find myself struggling to read anything that's not one of my above preferences. For instance, my rl book club is reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. It's a best seller in Japan and it's gotten a ton of praise here, but I'm struggling to get in to it. (I suppose part of the problem could be that I know I need to have at least half of it read by tomorrow afternoon...) I keep wondering when the action is going to start, if the field they are walking through is really part of the local pack's territory and the weres are going to get pissed at them for trespassing. But then I remember that this isn't that type of book...

Still, I will preserve and read as much of it as I can, and I will continue to try and read outside of my preferred genres. Which, brings me to the latest reading challenge that has caught my eye: Joy's Non-Fiction Challenge. Running from May to September, the rules simply state to read five non-fiction books. Doing that, reading non-fiction, has been a yearly goal of mine, but it's usually one that I don't meet. Hopefully though, being "challenged" will keep me interested.

Not quite sure what I'm going to read (or even if I'm going to formally sign up-June through September is going to be incredibly busy for me), but I'm thinking that my books will be of the historical slant. I have a dozen or so on my TBR shelf at home, but these books have also caught my eye.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (This one I have on hold at my library)
The Spartans (I read Gates of Fire last year and loved it. The Spartans sound like an incredible society of people and I want to know more about them.)
Golden Legacy: How Golden Books Won Children's Hearts, Changed Publishing Forever, and Became An American Icon Along the Way (This seems like a good choice, seeing as how I'm planning on quiting my current job soon and moving into publishing.)
Nelson's Purse: The Mystery of Lord Nelson's Lost Treasures (Ever since reading the Temeraire series, I've been increasingly interested in Lord Nelson.)
Books on Fire: The Destruction of Libraries throughout History (Ohh, book burning fills me with rage. This should be interesting.)
The Dragon Seekers: How an Extraordinary Circle of Fossilists Discovered the Dinosaurs and Paved the Way for Darwin (This sounds interesting. As a kid, I spent hours trying to dig out an enormous rock in my parent's backyard, convinced it was a dinosaur bone. Plus, it features a woman scientist, which is always nice to read.)
The Zookeeper's Wife (Nazi resisters in Poland, who hid 300+ Jews in a zoo.)
Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe (I didn't know that the Queen of England (Elanor), the Queen of France (Marguerite), the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor (Sanchia), and the Countess of Anjou (Beatrice) were all related.)
Seafaring Women: Adventures of Pirate Queens, Female Stowaways, and Sailors' Wives (Hmm, pirates! I've always liked pirates, plus they feature in Inda, which has reawakened my interest.)
Granuaile: Ireland's Pirate Queen C. 1530-1603 (Grace O'Malley has long been a person of interest for me, as I think she was the first female pirate.)
A Treasury of Foolishly Forgotten Americans: Pirates, Skinflints, Patriots, and Other Colorful Characters Stuck in the Footnotes of History


Of course, my first book is going to be Nothing But Red.

P.S.

see more crazy cat pics

Review: In the Serpent's Coils

(For the YA challenge, the first in a series challenge, and Carl's challenge. I love it when books can be cross-used.)


In the Serpent's Coils, by Tiffany Trent, is the first book in her Hallowmere series.

At age fifteen, Corrine wakes up to find herself an orphan in the care of her uncle. Told that her mother took ill and died, she finds herself kept virtual prisoner by her uncle and his servants, her every move watched and forbidden from looking at her mother's trunk*. The only freedom she has is in her dreams, where she sees faries who warn her, and in the garden, where she finds that there is something inhabiting the hawthorn bush. After agreeing to a deal with the inhabitants of the hawthorn bush, Corrine's uncle discovers what she has been up to and sends her away to Falston Manor, a reform school.

Once there, Corrine finds that her life was actually better at Uncle William's. The girls are cruel, the teachers worse, and every night Corrine is locked inside her room in the attic, where she spends her nights dreaming of horrible things that have, or might have, or might one day, happen. Also, two girls have disappeared from Falston, and Corrine is haunted at night with visions of what happened to them.

Slowly though, Corrine adapts to life at Falston. She begins to make friends with Christina and Ilona, two other girls there; Miss Brown, the headmistress, isn't so horrible; and Corrine discovers, hidden in the library, letters from a monk, Angus, to a nun, Beatrice, detailing their forbidden love.** She finds several more of these letters and learns that Angus has sided himself with the fey, while Beatrice is still hiding herself within the abbey.

Still, it isn't until Corrine discovers that the teachers (and the priest) at Falston are witches, in the service of the Captain, that she takes action. Learning that the Captain is the one stealing the girls for use in blood sacrifices, Corrine agrees to help the fey stop the witches.

However, what Corrine doesn't know is that with her decision, she's just made everything worse.

(here there be spoilers...and for book two, too)

As I said, this is the first book in the Hallowmere series, a new take on the fey. I liked Trent's world; how she split the fey into two distinct groups, the Unhallowed who seek to destroy humans, and the Hallowed who are there as protectors. Then, there are the witches, who...well, it seems like the witches are against the fey, except for the witch-fey and I don't know who's side she was on. (Or is on?) Corrine gets thrust into the middle of it all and learns that her family has been involved in this battle for decades.

I don't want to give too much away, but there are several different plot threads running through this novel. The mysterious Captain-in the service of the Witch-who follows Corrine around (I think he's going to turn out to be her presumed-dead father); the Witch, who isn't a witch (i.e., like Corrine's teachers); Rory, who seems to see the same things Corrine does; Corrine's missing locket (no one knows when that disappeared, but Corrine knows she had it before she fell ill); the witches and their secrets; and the Unhallowed, who seem to have a disturbing interest in Corrine. Most of these threads are carried over into book two (which I loved, I only liked this one), leaving us with the same questions that Corrine has.

Who is she? Who was her mother? Why is everyone keeping things from her? What happened to her father? Why do the Unhallowed fey have such an interest in her? What does the little silver mark in her eye mean?


*Inside her mother's trunk were several things that, as a child, Corrine didn't understand. But, one of the things inside there was a picture of a beautiful young woman, wearing the same iron cross as Corrine's mother had, a wicked smile, and feline-shaped eyes.

**I think that the mysterious Mary-Rose child is the same one whose picture Corrine found in her mother's trunk. The monk's letters about Mary-Rose hint at her mysterious background and how they've bound her from ever knowing what she is. Corrine's mother wore the iron cross to protect herself from her abilities. It would make sense to put that same cross on someone (without telling them what it can do) if you wanted to shield them. I also think that Mary-Rose is Angus*** and Beatrice's child...although those hints are really in the second book.

***Except, it's not going to be Angus's child, is it? (We get hints of that in book two, but I'll be it comes out in book three.) I really like the Unhallowed fey; they're tricksy.

Review: Magic Burns

(Read for personal reasons and Carl's challenge)

Magic Burns, by Ilona Andrews, is a fantastic book. I wanted to start off with that, before I start detailing the ways in which I loved this novel. It's the second book in the Kate Daniels series (actually, I don't know if this is the "Kate Daniels series" or what Ilona is calling it, but whatever) and it picks up pretty much where the first one, Magic Bites, left off.

Kate, the liaison between the Mercenary Guild and the Order, is still trying to keep her head down while earning a living as a merc. She's really not successful, not with Curran's ex-girlfriend coming to see her-asking for a favor Kate really doesn't want to give-or when Derek (the werewolf) shows up to hire Kate on behalf of the Pack to retrieve their stolen maps. Taking both jobs, Kate ends up running into a third case when she finds Red, a street kid that had helped her previously, and Julie, young girl with a mysterious power of her own. In an attempt to help Julie find her missing mother, Kate gets sucked into more than she knows... Atlanta is caught in a power flare and it seems that someone is trying to awaken an old god, with Kate caught in the middle of it all.

(here there be spoilers)

OK, so first, I love this novel. We get more of Kate's backstory, including a lightly edited version of how her mother died while fighting her natural father, as well as a bit of insight into Kate's life with the father who raised her. As it turns out, 'Voron,' (meaning Raven) as he was called, was Roland's warlord. He trained Kate at a very early age to be what she was, a weapon. I can't wait to find out more. (Also, do you remember Kate's tattoo, from Magic Bites? It was of a raven, holding a sword, under which was written Gift of the Raven (but in Russian).

As Kate put it, "I'm my father's gift." Then, when asked about the sword the raven was carrying, Kate said, "I never said it was a nice gift.")

We also learn a bit more about the Pack in this novel. We're introduced to the werehyenas, as well as beastkin (remember Corwin? The cat-were? Well, beastkin are a cat-were's (any animal-were, actually) very rare children and they're usually killed on sight.). And, we get quite a bit more of the delicious Kate/Curran interaction. It seems that Curran is really quite serious about Kate and of course she's 1) terrified, 2) pissed, and 3) interested...and all at the same time. Poor girl, really.

As for the story part of Magic Burns, well, again, amazing. We've got a couple different plots running throughout the whole novel; interestingly enough, most of them tie in together. During a job with Jim, an unknown person shoots their target with some rather distinctive arrows. While searching for that person, Kate ends up running into Red, a street kid who had helped her before, and his younger girlfriend, Julie. Owing Red a favor, Kate ends up watching Julie when they're attacked by Bran...the mysterious archer from before. It seems that Bran is the one who stole the Pack's maps and while Kate is able to take them from Bran, he uses his abilities to get them back. And back. (Kate is forced to take a chair to his head.) Along the way, we learn that Bran is in the service of Morrigan, a Celtic goddess. Meanwhile, Julie is searching for her missing mother, a witch (who's coven worshiped Morrigan), while creatures that were thought to be only myths are searching for Julie. (Seems the afore mentioned coven might have screwed things up with their rituals, ending up with them worshiping a different aspect of the Crow than they thought.) Oh, and don't forget that Atlanta is currently in the midst of a power flare; one so powerful that gods and goddess (thought only myths) can manifest. Yeah, you know Kate's thinking that the timing could have been better.

I like the way that Ilona tied together those three plots (Julie, Bran, power flare), making what could have been a jumbled mess in to something that made a great deal of sense. I also liked the way she sprinkled in the bits about Kate's parents and her past, dropping them in to the story. It was a good way to give us more in places that were appropriate (like relating to Julie about not having a mother) while still leaving us wanting a whole lot more.

So, as you can clearly see, I haven't had a chance to write up any of my thoughts on Magic Burns (loved!), Inda (loved!), The Outlaw Demon Wails (surprisingly, didn't love, but liked a lot), and a few other books. It's like my life conspires against me.

Let's see...

• I need to write up Inda, In the Serpent's Coils, By Venom's Sweet Sting, Tiger in the Well, Dragonhaven, and Among the Impostors for the YA challenge. (Haha! No I don't, because I've read more than twelve books! Yay, my first challenge is done! But, I will continue to post one review each month of a YA book.)
  
• I need to write up In the Serpent's Coils, and Magic Burns for Carl's challenge.
• I need to write up The Outlaw Demon Wails, Embrace the Night, By Venom's Sweet Sting, and a whole list of others just so I remember them (and to remind myself what I liked about them).
  

This is going to be a busy weekend!

I've been having a hard time finding a book for the fairytale requirement for Carl's challenge, but after perusing other people's list, I think I've settled on The Princess Bride as my choice. I actually bought it a few years ago with the intention of reading it, but never got around to doing so. Hopefully I'll like the book for itself and I'll be able to read it without seeing the movie version running in my head at the same time.

Dear author

Dear Sherwood Smith,

Hi! Is it too much if I start my letter off by saying how much I love you?

Hmm, right. Too much. OK.

How about if I tell you how much I love your novels; is that better?

Great. OK.

I love your novels, I really, really do. The world building you've done is incredible, your characters feel real to me, and your plots never fall apart on me. I can't wait to get my hands on more of your books so I can read them and fall even more in love with your writing.

I just have one teensy request: could you stop making me cry?

It's just, in Inda, I've cried three times already and I have a feeling that when I start The Fox I'll be bumping the crying count even higher. I just got over a horrible cold-infection thing and I am really enjoying my non-stuffy nose and my non-watery eyes right now.

OK, well, that was all. Really. Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your novels and how eagerly I'm waiting for your latest books to come out in paperback. (I'd get the e-book version, except I hate e-books.)

Love,
Me

Dear Lisa See,

Hi! How are you? You might not remember me, but I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan about a year ago and just fell in love with it. Well, excluding the parts about foot binding. I just can't understand that, can't understand how that was attractive and how long that practice went on for. The very idea makes me want to shudder.

Oh, right, sorry. I'm actually writing about Peony in Love, your latest novel. I started it yesterday and I have to be honest when I say that this novel is even better than Snow Flower. Peony feels more real to me and I'm just loving the story.

Except for this one thing. See, I know where you're going to go with Peony and the mystery guy and her husband and if I could only reach through your novel and just SMACK Peony a couple of times, I'd feel so much better.

It's not a criticism or a complaint (OK, it is a complaint, but only in the best way) about your writing: I love your writing. It's just, if I could reach out and SMACK Peony, her life would be so much easier. I just know it! I'd save her from her stupidity and she could go off and be happy. (This is of course assuming that I'm right about what's going to happen next.)

Granted, that would mean a much shorter novel; would you mind?

OK, well, thanks for reading my letter. Again, I'm a huge fan and I am really love this novel and I can't wait for my bus ride home to read more. (I still want to SMACK Peony.)

Love,
Me

P.S. Oh! You've written a mystery series too? Awesome, I'll have to check that out too.

I just don't have enough hours in the day

Right, so my glorious plan to write up and post a (few) reviews of Magic Burns clearly never came about. I had absolutely no free time last week between my editing classes starting back up and the arrival of my five-year-old niece.

Honestly, I didn't have time for much of anything with her around, including sleep.

So, instead of having posts, we're going to have bullet points of things I that I want to talk about but, but will just mention instead. (Because they deserve a mention at the very least.)

-Amazon coming out with its own print on demand (POD) service that they're going to require other publishing houses to use. Despite the fact that Amazon says that by using (their) one service consumers will really get books faster, what it actually means is that Amazon is going to have a stranglehold on the POD market and other publishing house will either have to suck it up and pay what Amazon charges, or they won't be able to sell their POD books through Amazon.

-The state of Indiana is passing a law that will require will require any businesses that sell “sexually explicit material” to register with the state government.
1) Seriously? We're going there?
2) Who is going to define "sexually explicit material"?

-This looks good. Comics, The Red Scare, what's not to love? (note: I linked to Powell's, which, is a first for me. Not linking to Amazon is going to require a lot of work.)

-Nothing But Red, the anthology featuring Joss Whedon's essay about the brutal death of Du'a Khalil Aswad, is available.

In April 2007, a group of men pulled seventeen-year-old Du’a Khalil Aswad into a mob. They proceeded to stone and beat her to death, a supposed "honor" killing for allegedly falling in love with a man of a different faith. Several camera phones recorded the entire incident from the front row, and videos later surfaced online. One month later, popular filmmaker Joss Whedon expressed his despair and outrage at the misogyny in all cultures on a fan-run blog. "Because it’s no longer enough to be a decent person," he wrote. "It’s no longer enough to shake our heads and make concerned grimaces at the news. True enlightened activism is the only thing that can save humanity from itself. I’ve always had a bent towards apocalyptic fiction, and I’m beginning to understand why. I look and I see the earth in flames. Her face was nothing but red." The arts anthology Nothing But Red was conceived as a way to raise both awareness of the issues he spoke of, as well as money for the charity Equality Now.


Buy a copy.

A list

Things that are awesome:

Feeling pretty healthy on your birthday. (I woke up this morning with a sore throat, but still, I wasn't sick yesterday.)

Making a perfect batch of popcorn on the stove. (Mhh, popcorn.)

Realizing from a photo on an author's website that her book has been released five days earlier than it was supposed to be. (Or, maybe they always release books early, but don't "release" them for a week? I don't know.)

Yes, yesterday I saw a post on Ilona Andrew's webpage which included a picture that showed her latest book, Magic Burns, out a week ahead of schedule. I had to wait until after I'd left work for the day, but I pretty much ran to the nearest B&N where I frantically searched the floor for the book. Couldn't find it in the new releases, couldn't find it at the front, couldn't find it in the SF&F section! Disappointed, I made one last turn around the store...and there it was. Two stacks of that beautiful, beautiful book.

I'm going to save my review of it until next week, since if it wasn't supposed to be released, I don't want to spoil anything for anyone. (So hard not to say anything, because Magic Burns was packed full of great things, interesting things, intriguing things, funny things, hot things...) The only thing I can say is that this will totally qualify for the mythological book for Carl's challenge.

One down, four to go!

Recent reads

A War of Gifts is a short story by Orson Scott Card, sent in Ender's world during the time that he's at Battle School. It features several of the characters from Ender's Game, namely Ender and Dink, but it introduces Zeke, a young boy who believes in Christ, peace, and whatever his father says. Taken against his will to Battle School, Zeke vows to participate in nothing, setting himself against everyone else there. Dink, meanwhile, is wagging his own little battle against TPTB (refusing a promotion, refusing to play the games). As something of a joke, Dink gives another Dutch boy a Sinterklass gift, which Zeke seizes as a violation of the no-religion rule at Battle School. His attempts to get Dink in trouble backfire at first; in fact, Dink manages to get most of the other boys to continue the gift giving, but eventually this plan backfires when Zeke manages to get the Muslim students involved. Ender isn't featured much in this novella, although he does play the peacemaker in the end.

Despite the fact that I found the story interesting, I don't really feel like this story belongs in Ender's world; more like Card was writing this to prove some sort of point. Religion never really featured in Ender's world (a few small mentions in the beginning of the book, but that was it). From what I remember, religion becomes important in the Peter and Bean sequels .

Night Life by Caitlin Kittredge was another recent read (last night, actually) and another disappointment. Det. Luna Wilder is a reluctant were in hiding as weres and witches aren't welcome. (It was only a few years back that they could be shot on sight.) Hiding her nature, Luna lives with her witch cousin Sunny and gets by. A homicide detective, Luna gets called in when a young woman turns up dead, her throat torn out and her index finger removed. Starting to search for the killer, Luna ends up with another case (missing person), as well as crossing paths with one of the local were packs. Despite reading through the whole novel, I couldn't seem to connect to Luna or any of the other characters. Also, things weren't explained so much as just stated; you had to take things for fact. I don't mind a bit of that in a "new" world, but the fact that everything had to be taken for fact bugged me. And the weres seemed to be mostly violent people (OK), but they were also usually prostitutes, pimps, or dealers; not really sympathetic characters. Despite how much I crave books in urban fantasy, I don't think I'll be reading any of the following books.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday meeeeeee, Happy Birthday to me!

I haven't had much of a chance to do any reading recently as I had a friend in town. It was great having the chance to spend some time with her; I hadn't seen her in two (maybe three) years. Still, having a guest and taking her out and around Seattle means very little time left over to read. Hopefully I can "catch up" this weekend.

I signed up for Carl's Once Upon A Time ll challenge last week and have been trying to decide what books I want to read. From March 21 to June 20, I need to read four books: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology...and then, read Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. (I'm doing Quest Three, the "harder" one.)

The problem is, I don't know which books to read!

• I've got Kim Harrison's The Outlaw Demon Wails, Ilona Andrew's Magic Burns, Karen Chance's Embrace the Night, C.E. Murphy's Heart of Stone, In the Serpent's Coils, by Tiffany Trent, and Tangled Webs by Anne Bishop on the list...these six all seem to be urban fantasy (excluding Anne Bishop), although Heart of Stone and In the Serpent's Coils might have a mythological or fairy tale base.

• Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss sounds like it will do for the folklore one (the summary says that the novel follows the story of Kvothe, the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen). Wizard = King Arthur = folklore, right?

• I could reread books (War for the Oaks, anything by Steven Brust [and I'm already planning on rereading all of the Vlad series, which has magic, dragons, and telepathic jhregs], anything by Charles de Lint) but I don't particularly want to. Oh! Joanne Harris would count; both Runemarks (ah ha! fairy tales!) and the sequel to Chocolat (I'm blanking on the title, but I know it's about magic) could work for this challenge.

Hmm, maybe I should check out what other people are reading. Not only would I get a better understanding of what others are reading, but I could see how they're classifying their choices!

Catching up

(I wonder, if I counted, how many of my post titles would be "catching up.")

So, I finally have some free time and what happens? I catch one of the nasty infections that seem to be floating around and it knocks me down. One full weekend and a few odd days spent on the couch and do wonders to eat up your time. While I didn't get most of the things done that I wanted too, I did end up with a lot of free time on my hands, meaning that I was reading.

Oh, how I was reading. It's been just over a book a day, about 1.75 books/day, based on my notes. (Really, all that free reading time almost makes up for being sick.)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was a reread for me, although it had been long enough that I had forgotten most of the story. My RL book club picked it (our first YA!) and from what I heard, everyone loved it. (I was home, coughing, on my couch.)

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, by Lauren Willig, was an entertaining read, although I think her first two novels in this series are my favorite. This series goes back and forth between now (featuring Eloise, the American grad student who is in London researching the Pink Carnation, Colin, the Pink Carnation's great-?? grandson, and a few other people) and England’s Napoleonic era, where the Pink Carnation and assorted others run around trying to stop the French spy known as the Black Tulip. In the Crimson Rose, we have Mary, elder sister to Letty (previous book), who finds herself at her wit's end after her sister marries the man Mary intended to. Faced with depending on her sister and new brother-in-law for financial support, Mary decides to take Lord Vaugh up on his offer: if she will spy for England, he'll pay for her next season.

The whole series is entertaining, but I recommend reading them relatively close together (if possible). It took me a while to remember who everyone was in the Crimson Rose; I even forgot who the Pink Carnation was!

Into the Dark Lands and Children of the Blood are two books in a series by Michelle Sagara West (she writes the Cast in Series I started reading earlier this year). Set in an alternate world, there are two sides: Bright Heart (the Light) and Dark Heart (the Dark). After an eternity of war, both the gods have left the mortal realm, leaving their war in the hands' of their followers, both blood and nonblood (human). The first book, after setting the backstory, introduces us to Erin, a healer by birth and warrior by choice, granddaughter to the Lady, Bright Heart's first servant. Captured after battle, she's taken prisoner/guest by Stefanos, first servant to the Dark Heart, who, though at first he intends to feed on her, keeps her alive as part amusement, part confusion, and part something else that he's not quite willing to admit.

Children of the Blood is set three hundred years later, opening with Stefanos and his army crushing the last of Bright Heart's followers. Everyone of the blood there is killed, except for Darin, a young boy who managed to survive by being where he shouldn't have been. Keeping the boy alive as a gift for Erin, Stefanos seeks to wake her from the sleep he cast her into three hundred years before. However, despite being the first servant, there is an entire church against him, seeing Erin as an abomination, and Stefanos is forced into fighting a battle for her that he can't win.

Weekend reading

Actually, I didn't read all that much over the weekend. Friday night I ended up going out, and Saturday my father was over so that took up most of my reading time. I did watch both Persuasion and Gosford Park; does that count for literary content?

Yesterday though, I read Bloom, by Elizabeth Scott and I have to say that I love it. It's about Lauren Smith, a seventeen-year-old high school student who has something of a perfect life. Sure, her mom left when Lauren was six and her dad is never around, but she's got decent grades, a semi-popular best friend, and she's dating the most popular (not to mention smart, kind, handsome, and decent) guy at her high school.

So why isn't she happier?

It takes running into Evan again, a boy she met as a child when her father started dating his mother, to make Lauren realize that what she has isn't making her happy. The only question is, does Lauren have the strength to go after what does?

This book felt very different from most of the other YA books that I've read; it doesn't have the always-shy-but-secretly-beautiful girl as the main character, just a normal girl, living a (mostly) normal life.

Over at Chasing Ray, Colleen posted about The Red Leather Diary and I have to say that it sounds like it will be what I wanted The Luxe to be. (Did that make sense? I was so disappointed by The Luxe.) Author Lily Koppel found a diary that was written in 1929 by a young girl named Florence. Koppel tracked down Florence (who was still alive, living in Westport, CT) and together they pieced together Florence's story, using what she had written down in her diary as a starting point. Full of details about Florence's life as a young girl (shopping trips, her family, her school, her relationships with both boys and girls), it sounds like it's going to be a fascinating story.

Twenty-one books read in twenty-nine days

...and I wonder why I don't get more accomplished!

All jokes aside, I really think this is a new record for me (although I have read six books so far in March, and today is only the 5th). Now, if only I could do a better job of posting!

To update my challenges, I've read several books that would qualify for the YA challenge, but I'm only going to write about three now: Code Talker, The Ruby in the Smoke, and Court Duel (Crown Duel). Of those three books (my version of Sherwood Smith's novel is one book, titled Court Duel), I have to say that Court Duel was my favorite, while The Ruby in the Smoke was the novel I was looking forward to the most.

Court Duel, by Sherwood Smith:

Mel and her older brother Bran have promised their dying father that they would start a revolution and dethrone the current king. Easier said then done. It seems that no one wants to help Mel and her brother, except the villagers, wage war against the king. It's only after Mel is taken prisoner by the other side that she begins to see that everything isn't as clear-cut as she believed it to be.

And this is only the first book! I first read Court Duel about two years ago and just recently decided that it was due for a reread. And once again, after reading it, I fell completely head over heels in love with Mel. She's adventurous and foolish, big-hearted and pig-headed, completely sure of what she's doing, but figuring out along the way that really, she doesn't know as much as she thought she did. If I had to sum it up in a sentence, it's: Pride & Prejudice - ten years (YA, remember?) + a world where magic exists. (Really, Mel is Elizabeth Bennett, minus those ten years, and the Marques is a very nice version of Darcy.)

Code Talker, by Joseph Bruchac, is a fictionalized version of how the Navajo language was used during WWII to create codes that the other side couldn't break. It starts by telling how as a young man, Ned Begay is sent to an Indian School where the first thing he and the other children are taught is that their language is worthless, their ways are worthless, and that English is the only language that will be spoken. You can imagine the irony when ten or so years later, Ned and other young men from his village are approached by recruiters from the United States Marine Corps (USMC). Signing up, Ned and the other men become code talkers; it's their job to send and receive messages during the war that are sent coded in the Navajo language. Bruchac does a good job of taking us to the places where the battles were fought in WWII, describing Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Iwo Jima as the hells they were and what the soldiers there had to face each day while they attempted to stay alive.

I had originally picked this book up a few years ago, but had never gotten around to reading it until last month. It surprised me to learn about the Navajo code talkers; I honestly can't remember even a chapter about them from any of my high school history books.

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman is a book I picked up to read only because I saw the BBC version of it on Masterpiece Theatre. And because it was written by Philip Pullman. It features sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart, recently orphaned after the death of her beloved father. She's not given much time to grieve though, not when mysterious notes start arriving, or when an innocently asked questions leads to a man dying at her feet. And when you combine that with a long-lost ruby and the opium trade, well Sally has a lot to figure out if she wants to live to see the next day.

Despite how much I wanted to like this novel, I was somewhat disappointed with The Ruby in the Smoke, but I think that's more because I saw the movie version before I had read the novel. There are two more books in the Sally Lockhart series and I'm hoping that I enjoy them more.

OK, more book reviews to come tomorrow.

Oh, I just can't stop myself

So, as I’m sure you know, bloggers, specifically book bloggers, love reading challenges. The more challenges you are a part of, the more books you get to read. Theoretically, anyway. Truthfully, the more challenges you are a part of, you end up with more books that you want to read, but less time. At least that has always been my experience with them.

It’s a sad, vicious cycle and one I like participating in. I’ve already joined two challenges this year and while I’m going to be good and not “join” any more, I’ve found a couple that look really interesting.

The first is the First in a Series Challenge. I don’t think I really have to describe to you what this challenge is about, since it’s spelled out in the title. Joy is the same blogger running the Sweet and Simple YA challenge that I joined . I like this challenge, because it will force me to seek out new authors and new series.

So far, I think I have three “first books” lined up. Michelle Sagara West and her Cast in series (I read Cast in Secret, the first book, a few weeks ago and loved it). There is Jerri Smith-Ready and her Aspect of Crow series (first book there is Eye of Crow). There is also Philip Pullman’s mystery series about Sally Lockhart (first book in this series is The Ruby in the Smoke).

And while I’m not sure this will count (except, I’m not actually doing the challenge, so I can make it count), I am also planning on rereading Steven Brust’s Vladimir Taltos series. My younger brother introduced me to this series (and this author), for which I’ll be eternally grateful. Not that I’ll ever tell him that.

The other challenge is Annie’s What’s in a Name Challenge. The rules are to choose one book from each of the following categories:

1. A book with a color in its title.
2. A book with an animal in its title.
3. A book with a first name in its title.
4. A book with a place in its title.
5. A book with a weather event in its title.
6. A book with a plant in its title.

Looking at my above list, I see that The Ruby in the Smoke and Eye of Crow will work for this challenge too. And it’s not cheating; Annie said we could share books across challenges. Hmm, while I’m thinking about it, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell will work for this challenge too.

I think it will be interesting to just keep track of how many books I read fall into one of the above six categories, I know I have some other books on hold at the library that will also work here.

Challenges

Despite the fact that I can't seem to meet the challenges I set for myself, I usually do fairly well with challenges that other people create.

So, in addition to the 50 Book Challenge, I'll be doing the Chunky isn't always Bad challenge (one "chunky" book per quarter), starting with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Yeah, so I haven't actually gotten around to starting that yet. I've read three other books though that qualify). I'll also be doing the Sweet and Simple challenge (read twelve young adult novels, one per month). I actually think I've already read a young adult book (January, I think), so yay! I'm off to a great start.

ETA:

All right! I've read two young adult novels so far in 2008!

First was The Luxe, which I was sadly disappointed by. I wanted it to be more Gossip Girls-TV show, not boring characters who were stereotyped in the first chapter. You had the good-girl rich girl, the rebellious-rich girl, the scandalous-rich girl, the nice-guy rich guy, the bad-boy-with-heart rich boy, the poor boy, the poor girls, and the parents. I really, really thought this novel would be more fun, more engaging, but it wasn't. I see that there will be a sequel, but I'm going to pass.

Second was Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters, which was much more enjoyable. Cornelia is the only child of famous (and divorced) pianists, who spends her time either being ignored by her classmates, the pawn of her classmates' parents (who want to be introduced to her constantly touring mother), or alone in her room, reading her dictionaries. That all changes when Virginia Somerset moves in next door and proceeds to introduce Cornelia to the other Somerset sisters through Virginia's stories about their travels around the world. In the end, Cornelia doesn't only meet the world and the audacious Somerset sisters, but through Virginia's stories, she meets her mother, and finally, herself. This book was so much more engaging than The Luxe; I really got a sense of Cornelia's isolation from everyone and why she clung to words the way she does.

Third, well...I don't really have a list planned yet, but I think that I'll be reading The Ruby in the Smoke next. That's my tentative plan, anyway. Either way, March's book will be the first I'll link to and submit for the challenge.

Upcoming books I'm excited about

Mind the Gap: A Novel of the Hidden Cities by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
This just sounds fascinating; I love the idea of hidden pockets and doorways that lead you somewhere you don't expect. And with ghosts and a setting in London, I don't think I can go wrong.

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
Hmm, more Charles and Anna. Can't wait.

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
This sounds intersting, kind of like Jumper.

Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
I read the first book in this series and loved it, so I'm hopeful that this one will be as good.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
I...yeah, I'll be honest. I'm reading this solely because I like the Twilight series so much.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
The conclusion to the Twilight series.

The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
Hmm, more Rachel. Can't wait to find out what is going on in the demon world.

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews.
I like Kate. I can't wait to see how much damage and trouble she can cause in this book.

Faefever by Karen Moning.
Oh, Mac. You try so hard to kick fae ass and not admit you're attracted to Barrons.

Embrace the Night by Karen Chance.
Heh, Cassie and Pritkin, on the run from the Circle, while trying to find a long lost book. If they both survive each other, it'll be a miracle.

oh, life

How you get away from me sometimes. Heh.

Right. So, after that absurdly long "hiatus" I just took, I'm back. Kinda. Sorta. Well, not to be coy, but there have been a lot of changes in my life this past year and blogging has fallen by the wayside. (I'll get to those later.) I'll do an actual post tonight, but I just wanted to get the ball rolling now.

...

So, I had goals for myself in 2007, and sadly, I don't think I met any of them. There was a list of twelve books I was going to read this past year, split fifty-fifty between non fiction and classics.

Still, looking over my notes from 2007, I did read five non fiction books, and if you add that to the one classical novel I read...hey! I read six books that weren't some form of fiction! (Yes, I know that classical novels can still be fiction, but work with me, ok?)

88 books, broken down as follows:

Non fiction: 5
Classical: 1
Short stories: 4
Science fiction: 2
Fiction: 32
Urban fantasy: 17
Young adult: 27

Sebastian Faulks is writing a new James Bond novel. I'm of mixed feelings about this, since on the one hand, I'm not really sure I like Faulks. "Charlotte Gray" left me so bored I didn't finish it, while "Birdsong" was something I picked up in Prague and enjoyed. One for two, not necessairly the best odds. There's also the fact that despite saying I would, I've yet to pick up any of the Bond novels and really I should read at least one or two of by Flemming first.

"Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows" is old news to me now, which is why I'm always surprised to find that a month later, people are still reading it for the first time. (Not that there is anything wrong with that, it just seems a bit strange to me. Like people who eat dessert slowly.

I bought "Eclipse" because a friend and I are going to the author talk she's doing on Wednesday (I've read the first two, but don't own either of them) and my boss called me on reading teen-age vampire chick lit. I told him he'd recognized it too quickly to play it off as if he remembered the cover from the NYT article three weeks ago and told him I was sure if we went to his house we'd find the series on his shelves.

"Territory" was excellent and a nice break from "Anazani Boys", which I'm slogging through despite my apathy towards it. A very good friend loved it and loaned me his copy; I'm only halfway through though and I have to give the book back Wednesday.

Carl has posted about this year's R.I.P. challenge and I'm seriously considering doing at least one, if not two of them this year. Time will be a factor, as I have my NaNo story from last year to finish in September, editorial classes start in October, and this year's NaNo story begins Novemember 1st...but since I'll be reading anyways, maybe I'd better put together a list.

Hmmm

So yeah, apparently I suck at blogging this year. In fact, I haven't read anyone's blog since roughly my last post. *waves*

Sorry.

Recaping ever so quickly....I haven't read any of the books I said I was going to, I have read Glass Castle and The Worst Storm Ever (I loved Worst Storm, although it's just completely depressing) and I'm planning on reading The Devil in the White City on the plane Friday. (I've read other books too, but none that I can remember off the top of my head.)

Let's see how I do this quarter, shall we?

Oh, did you think I was failing already?

Unforeseeable: incapable of being anticipated

Yes, last Friday (err, well, as I started this last week, it's now 2 Friday's ago) I had every intention of coming home and posting about the books I was reading, when something unforeseen happened and I ended up spending the next five days in a place where there was no internet. After, when I was home, I could have updated, except I had more unforeseen events happen, like my car going wonky and a huge pile of work to catch up on. Those last two combined to make me a rather irritable person, one who didn't feel like typing anymore, thank you very much.

However, I've had the past two days to sleep! and finally decompress a bit, so I'm posting away. (Except, it's been so long, that all of the good comments I had about things I've read are fading!)

(Yes, I wrote the above on Sunday...it's now Wednesday. Oh, me.)

I've been doing a bit of reading these past few weeks, even making the tiniest bit of progress in regards to my first self-challenge: I've read through chapter 2 of "Great Feuds in Mathematics". Yup. If I read one a day, I might actually finish the book before the end of the month. It's been interesting so far, but not in a fascinating, I can't wait to read the next part kind of way. This book is feeling to me like brief little snapshots of people who I may or may not have heard of in high school. I'm hoping that in later chapters, it'll become more interesting to me, as we'll be heading to the recent past feuds, as opposed to the ones that happened in the 1600s.

My real life book club just met last night to discuss "The City of Falling Angels", which I have to say I enjoyed much more than "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil". I really loved Venice (and long to go back!), so reading about the city brought me back to when I went there several years ago. I didn't see all of the places that the author wrote about, but then, he was living there for several years while I was only there for a few days. The "main" story is about the fire that destroyed the Fenice (Opera House), and the years spent rebuilding it, while the side stories were about the investigation into who/what caused the fire, the Save Venice group, and a dozen different people the author met or became involved with while he was staying there. Still, his main theme was the Fenice, and how people saw it then/now, which I did see as his attempt to keep the story 'together'.

(Some of the people in the group didn't like the various side stories, especially the Olga/Ezra Pound detour, although I thought it was quite interesting. One of the members seemed to also love that section, as, "[T]hey were scandalous lovers people!".)

I picked up "The Rest Falls Away", which was recced by Carl a month or so ago. I have a huge thing for supernatural stories (and shows/movies), so I'll really read almost anything in the genre*, and more often then not, like it**. However, this story, it just didn't grab me, not really, which was a disappointment as I really wanted it to. I mean, Vampires! England! Slayers! I was set up to love this story, and I still can't figure out why I didn't. I'm sort of hoping that it was me (I was stressed, tired, and it was really late), rather than the characters. It wasn't a bad story, there was nothing "wrong"; a nice mix of characters and plots, with some interesting, ala Buffy, twists...I guess it just wasn't what I'd wanted it to be. Which again, could just be me. I'm planning on sending it to a friend who's tastes are pretty much identical to mine to see what she thinks.

(*Yes, I am still reading Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series, although I really can't give a good reason as to why. I'm not liking where most, if not all, of the characters are going, but I still love Anita (who she used to be/my idea of her, whatever.) I won't pay for another book of her's though.)

(**I picked up "Strange Candy", by LKH from the library right before I went out of town and found that I actually really liked a couple of the stories. "A Lust for Cupids" was my favorite; it didn't involve anyone from the Anitaverse, just fun, cuteness, with a nice bit of rage/determination/vengance that made me happy. "Here be Dragons" was also a nice surprise, as it involves psychics who can kill/torture you by invading your dreams, and what happens when they are the monsters they're supposed to be protecting you from. There were also a couple of stories set in the Anitaverse; "The Girl who was Infatuated with Death" I actually enjoyed, as it did feature Anita, Jean-Claude, and Malcolm, who I think is an interesting character.)

I picked up "The Fallen" on a whim; it's the first in a four book series about Lucas, the child of a woman and a fallen Angel. Interesting so far, although not anything really new, but I'm liking it none the less. It's got Angels who think they're on a mission from God and have to wipe out the Fallen angels, as well as the children like Lucas, Fallen angels who are either hiding, helping, or just trying to get back to Heaven, and Lucas, who really doesn't want anything to do with any of it.

I'm still reading Neil Gaiman's "Fragile Things". I find that I can't read too many of his stories at once, because then I don't get to appreciate them and mull over them they way I want to. He's got such a fascinating way of telling a story, of writing it, that I feel I need to take long minutes to read and think before moving on to the next one. He always puts an introduction to his stories in the front of the book, and I read each one of them after I read the story; I don't want to be spoiled. I think my favorite so far is "The Problem with Susan", which anyone who's read the "Narnia" books by C.S. Lewis will pick up on immediately. (Ohh, he's got a new book coming out, about one of the other short stories that's included in this book: "The Facts in the Case of the Departures of Miss Finch".)

Finally, I'm thinking I'm going to switch "The Awakening" and "Bleak House" around. They're going to reshow the Bleak House movies on PBS later this spring, and I want to read the novel before watching it.

Content, content, content

1. subject matter of a document, book, etc, 2. meaning or significance, as of an artistic work.

Well, 5 days into the new year and I've yet to start a book off either of my lists...except, that's not exactly true now, is it? I have "Crime & Punishment" listed, and since I did read another 5 pages (yes, 5 whole pages!) this morning, I guess this means I'm actually on track.

Who would have guessed?

However, as "Crime & Punishment" isn't actually either of the books that I truly think I should be reading, I plan on rectifying that this weekend. "Great Feuds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever" is on it's way to my local library, so I can't start that, but I do have "A Midwife's Tale" here, along with "Awakening". I also picked up several new books at the library today, including Neil Gaiman's "Fragile Things" and "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt, which is the book my rl bookclub selected for this month.

I wasn't able to make that meeting (we read "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", which I liked), so when I checked my email the next day and saw the selected book I had to laugh; I had just started "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil", by the same author.

When I first bought this book, it was at a book sale, and I'm pretty sure that it was in the "literary fiction" section, which was why it took me by surprise to find out that this novel was actually non-fiction, or mostly so. (Also, wasn't there a movie by the same name, with John Cusack? Yes, yes there was. I might have to rent that now.)

"Midnight" is an account of the death of Danny Hansford by Jim Williams, his boss, friend, and apparent lover. This isn't just a 'one-side' account of a crime though, as Berendt seems to be more telling the story of the people of Savannah (those alive, those dead, the rich, the poor, the drag Queen Chablis, even the story of Mr. William Simon Glover, who every day walks Patrick, the invisible dog), rather than just William's story. Berendt had already moved to Savannah and begun the process of settling in, having become rather enamoured with the city after recent trips, when Williams shot Hansford one night.

Having just finished the novel, I'm kinda surprised to find that I don't think I liked it, not as a story anyway. As a collection of short stories that were merged together, maybe; or maybe an interesting guide to Savannah (I didn't realize that the town was really that cut off from the rest of the state). The problem (for me) wasn't that I didn't get drawn into this book, but more that I didn't get drawn into they story that we were supposed to get drawn into; this book really does revolve around the death of Danny Hansford, and those were the parts of the novel I didn't care for.

I thought that the "side characters" were great; I got a huge kick out of the Lady Chablis (lovely drag queen who calls Berendt her chauffeur and crashes the Black Debutant Ball, although I think that s/he'd drive me crazy in person) and Joe Odom (the town con-man, but he's so damn charming and like-able that even though you know he's screwing you over, you just don't care). Those were the people I enjoyed reading about, and I'm glad that they were featured quite a bit.

Hmm, I'm pretty sure this all counts as content...

Danielle wrote a post just today about a new challenge that's making the rounds (actually, one of like a dozen I've read about this past week!), the Reading Across Borders Challenge (which is actually Kate's) and for a brief moment (very very very brief), I was tempted. I know that the majority of the books I read are written by U.S. authors, with some British and Canadian ones thrown in for good measure,(Easily. Like 98.76% US.) and that I really should be expanding those horizons at least a little bit more.

I took a quick look around at the books I have and counted over 15 different novels that have all been translated into English. It's a sign, right? Clearly, I can do this challenge...and, half of the books would be classics, so right there are my 6 books. The rest of them are all in my to be read piles, which hello, always a good thing to read through them.

So, someone tell me why I'm NOT doing this challenge? Actually, don't, I know why. Really. I think I'm actually asking you to challenge me, but please, don't. Really. No matter how many challenges I mention here, please, don't encourage me. Last year I did way too many and didn't actually meet a single one, so I've decided that this year, I'm not doing any. (Except Carl's, should he do the R.I.P. Challenge again in October. I've already picked out my books.) Still, I'm going to try and follow along with this, just to get some hint about all the great authors I'm not reading and the fantastic novels I've never heard of before.

The Year in Review

I started this blog with the sole purpose of keeping track of my reading activities; the books I wanted to read, the books I was reading, and my thoughts about all of it. Looking back at my posts, I don't think that I did too badly. Granted, I've had several lapses here due to a variety of reasons (and yes, some of them could have been avoided), but I never stopped reading, so I'm going to say that overall, it's a win.

Now, last December, my first post, I posted several things that I was going to try and do this year, reading-wise. Out of the four of them, I have to say that only one of them was a success. I've posted 67 books in the sidebar, which means that I read 17 more than I "had" to. I only managed to read 5 classical books (I'd hoped for 21) and 5 to be read books (I'd hoped for 12)...hmm, I was almost halfway to meeting that second goal there, wasn't I? In any case, I'm still seeing them as wins, despite the fact that I didn't met my goals, because hey, in each case, I read 5 more in 2006 than I had in 2005. I also managed to read a few books that weren't fiction, although not as many as I would have liked; but a win is a win, yes?

So this year, I'm going to do the same things again: post reading resolutions.
I just have to come up with some first.

Resolution 1: Read more non-fiction.
I know, I always say this, and I always mean it...yet it never seems to happen. I've got dozens of books I want to read, on a variety of topics, but I never seem to even start them. In an effort to do so, I've put 6 of them on hold/reserve/what have you at the library; one for every other month.

1. Great Fueds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever by Hal Hellman
2. Altered States by Catherine Fisher
3. Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century edited by Rory Dicker and Alison Piepmeier
4. Literature and the gods by Roberto Calasso
5. Before the Fallout: from Marie Curie to Hiroshima by Diana Preston.
(Okay, this one is kind of cheating, since I'd read almost 2/3rds of this work before I had to give it back. Still, I didn't get the chance to finish it, so it's going back on the list.)
6. A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Resolution 2: Read more classical novels
Well, seeing as how I managed to read 5 of these starting in the later half of the year, I think that making a goal of reading 6 should be no problem; yes, one for every other month.

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
2. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
3. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
4. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
5. The Vampyre by John Polidori
6. The Inferno by Dante
(7. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Resolution 3: Post weekly, and with content.
Honestly, I think this one is going to be the hardest out of all of them, unsurprising, I'm sure.

And that's it, three goals. I'm not going to bother with the 50 books goal, or trying to read in an alphabetical list (although I might post one if I seem to be reading in that direction). No, instead I'm just going to concentrate on reading these 12 books this year (1 a month, could I have set myself easier goals?) and posting my thoughts.

Happy New Year!

Oh, snap

SNAP.

I really did not mean to let this happen again, but. Well. Good intentions vs the road to Hell. Welcome to my life.

Let's just gloss over that shall we, and get back to the books.

Oh, how I love my precious, precious books. (Also, I need more bookcases because the dear things are super crowded.)

When we left off, I had finished "The House of Mirth" and was starting "Crime and Punishment", with the sole purpose being to complete one challenge this year, dammit (and no, I didn't). I've only been able to read the first 'book' so far, since time, that precious commodity is seemingly so rare these days. I was getting to work early, so I could quickly read a chapter before going to the office, but with the way Seattle traffic has been lately, well, these days I'm starting to feel lucky that I'm making it to work, much less on time. Still, I will continue reading "C&P", since I really am enjoying it.

(Right now, he's just killed the old lady and her sister and is kinda sitting around going 'well huh, I guess I did it.')

I've also missed my last two book club meetings, not because I didn't read them, but I had plans (Baltimore and then the Rolling Stones Concert), so it kind of hit me on Monday that hey...you have a book club meeting coming up and wait, what's the book? ("The Glass Castle", by Jeannette Wells) Oh, right. So, when are you going to read it? Uh, yeah.

I bought it that night and was able to read it Tuesday, which is good as both yesterday and today are crammed full of things to do and places to be.

It was a really quick, and surprisingly entertaining read, for all that her stories about her life growing up were actually pretty damn sad. Her father was an alcoholic who had dreams of making it rich by finding gold and then building the glass castle for his family to live in; he might have been successful as he seemed highly intelligent and creative except he kept drinking away and and all money the family had. Her mother, an artist, really didn't want to be bothered by raising her children or dealing with her husband and so chose to mostly live for her work. Both parents would pretty much leave the kids to themselves, letting them learn and grow and experience for themselves, which sounds like *yay*, but really. It's not. They had rarely seemed to have food, clothes, money, or even a decent place to live. They'd move from town to town whenever the bills got to high and the creditors came looking, sponging off Jeannette's grandmother when they could.

Still, Jeannette has a way of writing these story that make them sound like fun times and not something horribly sad, which I suppose is the point. You know, the whole what doesn't kill you makes you stronger thing.

The House of Mirth

I just finished "The House of Mirth" and man, am I ever depressed now. I started off really not liking Lily Bart one bit, and then I was annoyed with her for being so naive about Trenor, etc, but at the end, oh, I felt for her, I really did.

I don't know that I liked this work, and it certainly took me long enough to read it, but I will say that Lily won me over in the end.

Now, off to "Crime and Punishment". Or, maybe Monday.

Interesting, interesting

This, R.I.P reading challenge looks rather interesting. I won't be joining it (not with only a month and a huge desire to finish "THoM"), but if I was, I think my books would be:


1. Fahrenheit 451
2. Vampyre
3. Bleak House
4. Coraline
5. Ghost Stories (by Edith Wharton)

Guidelines: pick out any 5 books that you want to read that you think meet the very open, broad criteria of being scary, eerie, moody, dripping with atmosphere, gothic, unsettling, etc.

October = Not sunny in Seattle

Well, now that the summer here in Seattle is over (hello rainy fall days), I think it's safe to say that I finally feel like reading again. I just could not get started, or finish, anything, despite picking up several different books. I'm never sure if it's the sudden heat, or the sunny days, or what, but picking up anything more than a comic or a magazine just doesn't happen. (That said, I read a lot of comics and gluten free cooking magazines over the past two months.)

Despite my lack of wanting to read (or post, or read blogs!), I did do some reading. I got my hands on a copy of "Danse Macabre" by Laurell K Hamilton and found it surprisingly decent, compared to the last few in the series. (You were right Colleen, this was pretty good, and much better than the last few). It's still got nothing on the first couple of books, but I'd like to take this as a positive sign.

I also read "The Birth House" by Ami McKay, which I thought was phenomenal. Very beautiful writing, the way she set the tone with a few lines really grabbed me. I did have particular things that I loved, but unfortunately, I was on a plane while reading this and getting access to my bag was impossible. I'll have to re-read it again sometime and try and remember the things that grabbed me. The second book I read while traveling was "Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse, which really didn't grab me at all. It wasn't the going back and forth Alise and Alice that bothered me (which I liked) but by the absolute predictability of it all. I got it because it looked interesting, but I only finished reading it because I was on a plane and had nothing else.

I completely "failed" the Summer Reading Challenge, and while that wasn't unexpected, I really thought I'd do "better" than I did. (I knew I wouldn't read all 14 of those books, but I thought I'd get through at least 8 of them.) That said, I'm still incredibly proud of myself for reading those 4 books; it's more than I'd read the previous summer (0). I'm still working on "The House of Mirth", and to keep myself motivated, I'm doing Sassymonkey's October reading challenge. I've made this one much easier on myself, at least I think so. All I have to do is finish "THoM" and then (re)read "Crime and Punishment". (I know, I know, but I haven't read that book since I was 18 and I since I really liked it, I'm thinking that this one I can do.)

I've been slowly catching up with people's blogs (some of you got quite a few comments from me today) and adding your recent reads to my library list. I've been doing pretty good about not putting too many books on hold all at once, although I think I have about 6 in transit to me now. Speaking of libraries, I'm down to just one now. The King County library system changed their rules/agreement with the SPL because of some sort of imbalance, so now, if you live in the Seattle area, you can't put things on hold at a KCLS library. (You can still check them out, but having two libraries to put things on hold at was the great thing.) And while the SPL is a great library system, I've always thought that KCLS had a much broader selection of books (seems odd, I know, but really, they do).

So I think that's it for now; I still have a few more blogs to (try and) get through today, and I'm toying with the idea of writing down a list of all the books I want to read for the remainder of 2006. Steven Brust has a new one out, but it's been years since I read his last one that I'm thinking a reread of the series is in order.