Roni 'n cats Run Up the Numbers in 2013

Welcome to my new thread for 2013! Please visit often and leave comments. I am here in San Diego and read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, but a smattering of most everything else as well.


Happy New Year!













Best Fiction Books of 2012

Night Circus
Ready Player One

Best Children's Book of 2012

The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
(This is the first of the series The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place but it's the only one I've read so far.)

Best Series of 2012

Paladin's Legacy series by Elizabeth Moon
Toby Daye series by Seanan McGuire
Connor Gray series by Mark Del Franco

Best YA Series of 2012

Seven Realms by Cinda Williams Chima

Best Non-fiction of 2012

The Closing of the Western Mind by Charles Freeman
James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Lives of Alice Sheldon by Julie Phillips

Find my final 2012 Thread here

2012 Stats:

172 books read, 55,982 pages (326 pp. average)

142 new books read
62 library books
16 books off my shelves
64 new purchases
30 re-reads (off my shelves)

Science fiction: 29 (17%)
Fantasy: 76 (44%)
Children's: 15 (8%)
Nonfiction: 19 (11%)
Fiction: 9 (5%)
Romance: 12 (7%)
Mystery: 14 (8%)

I was very pleased at the increase in nonfiction this year!

Country of origin:
US 137
England 27
Canada 4
Ireland 1
Australia 1
Japan 1
Norway 1

Author gender
Female 118
Male 53
Combo 1

Format
Hardback 74
Kindle 34
MMPB 40
TPB 20

Year Published:
2012 40
2011 30
2010 17
2000-2009 45
1990-1999 11
1980-1989 10
1970-1979 6
1960-1969 4
1950-1959 3
1940-1949 2
1917 1
1897 1
1865 1
1843 1

ACQUISITIONS

95 books

48 read, 47 tbr

Cost: $423.83 ($4.46 average)

Source:
Amazon 28
B&N 2
Mysterious Galaxy 8
Adams Avenue Bookstore 3
Early Reviewers 5
Gifts 8
BookMooch 3
PaperBackSwap 31
Miscellaneous 7

Genre:
Science fiction 22
Fantasy 39
Children's 5
Nonfiction 22
Fiction 3
Mystery 3
Romance 1

Note: I actually placed 203 books on my Kindle this year, but I am only counting the 22 for which I paid any sum, no matter how small.

DEACCESSIONED:

70 books physically out the door

BookMooch 27
PaperBackSwap 19
school library donation 18
public library donation 6

Book #1 Seven for a Secret by Elizabeth Bear (128 pp.)

I had forgotten that I had this third Kindle book in this series yet unread until I did my summaries last night, so I thought I might be able to finish it in 2012 last night. I almost did--12:04 a.m. But since I'd already tabulated all my 2012 stats AND I've always made a practice of counting the year and month that I've finished a book in, this becomes my first book of 2013 instead.

This is the third of Bear's ebooks featuring the wampyr Sebastien and his court, brought to my attention by Dear Richard. Each has become progressively shorter and this one was almost too much so--more of a novella and not nearly as richly developed as the other two. However, it was delightful to catch up with Abby Irene and Phoebe. Richard has a wonderful review on the book page.

Looking forward to your 2013 reads! I was quite intrigued by your comments on Elizabeth Bear last year, will see what the library has of hers...

A happy new year, and bookmarking you, looking forward to your thread this year!

>3 ronincats: It did feel too short, didn't it? Oh well. I really want a big, juicy 600-pager of this world, so I'm always going to be a bit misty.

Just stopping by the say Hi and good luck in 2013!

Book #2 Adam, Eve, and the Serpent by Elaine Pagels (154 pp.)

At first, I thought this was just going to be another history of the early Christian Church, material I had already covered in depth in Pagans and Christians and The Closing of the Western Mind. But when Pagels gets to the fifth century and Augustine, she really goes into depth about his arguments as well as his opponents, and the political implications of a Church now allied with earthly power. She explores how Augustine completely changed the Christian conceptualization of man and his place in the world with his new doctrine of original sin and as a result, man's inherent sinfulness is beyond his control and in need of authority to deal with it, in contrast to the previous centuries' vision of God's creation as good, mankind possessing free will, and baptism giving man a clean slate and moral freedom. Fascinating!

Oh, that does sound interesting. Adding it to the pile...

Book #3 The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson (352 pp.)

It was very interesting to look at the mindset of a social-evolutionary biologist. He does a pretty good job of explaining the assumptions underlying his accumulation of research, and made me think. Unless you are particularly interested in this field, though, I wouldn't recommend it because it is still pretty scholarly in nature and a fair amount of dry reading is present.



Book #4 Unveiling Islam by Ergun Caner and Emir Caner

This book is by two former Muslims who converted as young men to evangelical Christianity. As such, they have a clear agenda to strongly differentiate Islam from Christianity, and they do. This is still a very interesting book to read, however, from their perspective.

Book #4 sounds like an interesting read.

Book #5 The Becoming by Jeanne C. Stein (295 pp.) Acquired 09/01/12

I would not have picked up this urban fantasy about a newly-made young woman vampire dealing with her new "status" if it had not been set in San Diego. For its genre, it's pretty typical and okay light entertainment, with some interesting dynamics. And there are at least two mysteries about characters leading on into the next book. But no, not really my thing!

Book #6 Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson (652 pp.) Acquired 04/28/11, a BOTS!

Seems like this took me forever--and then I look at the page count! It DID take me forever. But although it seemed slow at times, it was an enjoyable journey and a good introduction to the adult Sanderson oeuvre. (I had read Alcatraz versus The Evil Librarians a few years ago.) This is classic sword and sorcery fantasy, with two major female characters and two major male characters, and I liked the character development of them all a lot. The story made sense and I liked where it ended up.

Book #7 Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan (288 pp.)

I initially read a good review of this book on Terri's (tloeffler) thread, but a lot of people have been reading it since then, with generally good reviews. I enjoyed this book. It had some of the same vibes as Ready Player One, although the plot wasn't as engrossing for me. There was a bit of gaming involved, a lot of computer culture--I feel like the target audience is twenty-somethings. It felt a bit light to me, all the appropriate pop pieces (medieval secret society, old mysterious bookstore, boyhood gaming chum, hot Google babe) were there, but it never really engrossed me completely. However, highly satisfactory light entertainment.

I have this one on my reader, just waiting. Perhaps it can wait a little longer?

Loving the stats! I still need to finish The Night Circus. I got caught up in a pile of books and didn't want to miss any of the details.

Can't wait to see what you'll pick up this year. :)

Book #8 The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima (517 pp.)#

This is the third book in the YA tetrology I've been reading, the Seven Realms series by Chima. As I've mentioned with earlier books in the series, this series reminds me a lot of Megan Whalen Turner's Thief series, but even though it shares a lot of elements, Chima's characters and world-building make this a highly original world that I'm enjoying a lot.



Book #9 The Cookie Book: Breitenbach by Maritza Breitenbach (167 pp)

This Early Reviewer book is not a cook book. Basically an ode to women's genitalia, Our Bodies, Ourselves it is not, more of a lite version. But the photography and art, oh, the art, makes this a delightful little (6-3/8 by 6-3/8') book nonetheless. Many gorgeous photos of blossoms as well as great art of women make this a pleasure to browse through. A complete glossary, bibliography, and index add to the usefulness of this book.

Book #10 The New Moon's Arms by Nalo Hopkinson (323 pp.)

I've wanted to read Hopkinson since she burst upon the scene and won the Locus Award for the best new writer in 1998 with Brown Girl in the Ring. As a woman of color, born and raised in the Caribbean, she was reported to have a unique voice on the speculative fiction scene. Sometimes I'm a little slow. But finally, I picked up The New Moon's Arms last November.

Calamity Lambkin is burying her father when we first meet her. Her adjustment to this, her relationship with her daughter and grandson, her daughter's father and his partner, an old enemy/friend, and two new men in her life are worthy of a book in itself. But we also have a strange boy found on the beach near her house who may or may not be a creature of legend, and the return of Calamity's "finding" ability which is returning objects from her childhood home on a neighboring island which was completely destroyed by a hurricane many years ago. And there are the multinational corporations that are taking advantage of the island nation's debt to move in and possibly destroy its fishing ecology. Plus interspersals of local legend and quotes from "Uncle Time" by Dennis Scott. (Scott was one of the most significant poets writing in the early post-independence period in Jamaica, and his first published collection, Uncle Time (1973), for which he won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, is marked by an effective literary use of the vernacular, or "nation language". He has been regarded as one of the main influences for modern Jamaican poetry. --wikipedia)

This is a rich and earthy story. Calamity is not a particularly likable character, but she is a very interesting one and her story read quickly and fluently. I like Hopkinson's use of language and imagery a lot. She definitely has a unique voice.

Judy, Mr. Penumbra was quite decent light entertainment--just not outstanding.

Krys, good to see you here, and I'll be looking to see what you are reading as well. Hope you can get back to The Night Circus ASAP.

I like the sound of The New Moon's Arms. I have read only a few books from that part of the world. I may just add this one to the list!

Book #11 Reflections on the Magic of Writing by Diana Wynne Jones (362 pp.)

This is a selection of talks and articles given over the years by DWJ, who died last year. I worked my way through them during this last week, the format of short articles matching my concentration well. I found them fascinating. There was some repetition, as she spoke to different audiences at different times, but her character and voice came through strongly and I loved how she analyzed writing.



Book #12 Necessity's Child by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (336 pp.)

I love Lee and Miller's Liaden Universe books. They develop such great characters and it is always interesting to read about them. This was no exception and it was exactly the kind of book I needed right now. That said, this book in some ways feels like they have settled into a formula. We encounter a new, previously hidden culture on Surebleak. Miri, Val, Anthora, Pat Rin, Nova all put in appearances. The social reconstruction of the planet's society is moving along. An Agent of Change has nefarious plans. We have some great characters. Maybe it's because the main characters are youngsters, delightful though they are. Or some doubt that the agents would have such open access at the end to their target. Or maybe just that I am below the weather.



Book #13 Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay (96 pp.)

This is a long-time Book Off the Shelves. I got this book from PaperBackSwap in 2009 after Stasia reviewed it. In this slender archaeological record of notes and drawings by amateurs Howard and Harriet Carson, their analysis of the ruins of Room 26, miraculously preserved over 2000 years after the catastrophe burying the North American continent in various pollutants, is presented in great detail, from the Great Altar in front of the Ceremonial Platform to the white sarcophagus and sacred urn found in the inner chamber. Slight but amusing take-off on archeaological pretensions.

Book #14 Infinity's Hold by Barry B. Longyear (281 pp.) read 1/26/13 acquired 3/3/2009

I picked up this 1989 book nearly four years ago because I already had the books The God Box and City of Baraboo already on my shelves, with generally positive vibes being what I remembered about them. Now, through the miracle of Wikipedia, I can tell you that Longyear was a triple winner in 1980 with Enemy Mine (which I have NOT read), getting a Hugo, a Nebula, and the Locus Best New Writer award. I also now know that City of Baraboo is the second in the Circus World series, and that there are two more books following Infinity's Hold, this book.

A number of science fiction authors have played with the notion of a prison planet, a world where convicts are basically dumped with basic supplies and left to work out their own destinies. In overburdened societies, this frees up resources for their (usually) over-populated planets. Pournelle, Anthony, Weber, and many more did it; Heinlein did an adaptation of it in Coventry. It sets up interesting dynamics for social adjustment.

In Infinity's Hold, Earth has finally decided to join a confederation of other planets sending their "unrehabilitatable" prisoners to the planet of Tartaros. Bando, our narrator, is a mid-20s Hispanic in a maximum security prison in the US. Dumped on Tartaros with basic survival gear in the middle of a desert in groups of several thousand (the capacity of a ship), most new arrivals are quickly ambushed, murdered and looted by already resident gangs. But Bando's smallish group, including most of the women on the ship, manages to survive and even, over a week's time, to evolve some basic law that even hardened criminals can see sense in, as they deal with conflict both within the group and with the existing gangs.

I was very nearly completely turned off at the beginning of the book by the excessive use of unfamiliar (perhaps created?) prison slang. Fortunately, after the first chapter the incidence of such language dropped to manageable levels. The characters were a completely multicultural mix and women were given strong and convincing roles. There was a lot of violence, but not without cost to the individuals doing it. Longyear has to have been an idealist, but I think that somewhere in all the drops in all the years, there probably is the possibility that one group will develop a proto-democratic structure. A few plot points didn't make sense. At the end, Bando makes a journey at night across the desert looking for someone who has left the camp. We've already established that he can't track, the desert is huge, and he only has a rough idea of the direction the person went. What are the odds he's going to stumble onto her in the middle of the desert? Oh, well--this is fiction.

Basically, this is an interesting thought experiment that was undoubtedly much more relevant at the time, but I'm not sure it's a good enough story to recommend to anyone who does not love to fill in their reading of older science fiction. It would have made a good book for the February social justice thread, though.

Book #15 The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood (313 pp.)

This is the second book in this children's series about the young governess Penelope Lumley and her three charges, the wolf-children. This is a Lemony Snicket type series, with outlandish adventures in each and a big mystery with little mysteries attached toward which we progress in small increments. The trip is a lot of fun, but don't be wishing for much resolution in any given book.

Book #16 The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin (175 pp.)

This 40-year-old book is a fascinating thought experiment, if not perhaps a completely riveting story. I was impressed early in the book with how accurate some of the predictions about climate and society were today.

Putting Le Guin into her time, it is also relevant to note that in 1971 she was perhaps the first writer to make the psychological and sociological aspects central to science fiction. Although we have many of the elements of classical science fiction here in the tale, they arise from the human brain rather than being physically discovered. For me, this is one huge "what if" exercise, exploring reality rather than space, totally science fictional, but somewhat dated in terms of style and language.

Book #16 Jhereg by Steven Brust (239 pp.)

My second re-read of the year (the Le Guin above was the first), this is because I've strongly encouraged a few other people to read it for Fantasy February, so I figured I should refresh my memory. Although this series has been uneven overall, I love the world-building and the regulars and the relationships between them. The difficulty is in not immediately going on and reading about how Vlad and Cawti met (Yendi) or how Vlad and Morrolan entered the Paths of the Dead through Deathgate Falls (Taltos).

Book #18 The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima (598 pp.)

I just turned to the last page to get the page count, and had to read the ending again. Just perfect.

Okay, this is the fourth and last book in the Seven Realms series. Although I could see Chima going back to this world for more stories, they wouldn't be this one. Actually, it is such a rich world, it would be a shame if she didn't use it again. As I have been saying all along, I really, really like this world and its characters. In her first series, The Heir Chronicles, I liked a lot about the setting (modern) and how magic fit into it, but the teen angst just got to be too much for me. In this series, even though the two main protagonists are teens, it's all bigger than just them, and the angst is at a realistic but minimum level. The plot is complex overall, with several layers running through it, and I just love how Chima balances it all and ties it all together at the end. Highly recommended for fantasy lovers.

Book #19 Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger (307 pp.)

Oh, this was a lot of fun! More over-the-top characterizations in the alternate universe of the Parasol Protectorate but about 20 years earlier. Very limited interaction with werewolves and vampires (only one of each, mostly background), but lots of mechanicals and a delightfully warped boarding school atmosphere.

I really must dust off my copy of Jhereg...

We're having a group read of it this month, Tania, at
http://www.librarything.com/topic/148667
You'd be very welcome if you'd like to join us.

Thanks Roni! I actually bookmarked that thread when t was first announced, but I doubt I'll have time to get to it, too many other reading commitments this month (and beyond).

Book #20 Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay (673 pp.)

Kay does what he does so well, taking a period of medieval history and transforming it into a many-layered fantasy incorporating memorable characters and complex relationships around a turning point in history. He does it again, well and truly, around the lost province of Tigana and the quarreling dukedoms of the Hand, modeled on the peninsula of Italy, only inverted and in the Southern Hemisphere. This is a good story. It did not take me in, chew me up and spit me out to the degree of The Lions of Al-Rassan with its dreadful final contest. But truthfully, I'm not sure anything could. Still, Dianora, Alessin, Devin--even Brandin--will live on in my memory and I will hope that Brandin and Dianora come together in their Finavir.

Book #21 The Phoenix Girls: The Conjuring Glass by Brian Knight (202 pp.)

This is the first of a new series for middle school girls. Thirteen year old Penny is moving back to a small town in Washington to live with her guardian, her mother's best friend, after her mother's death. She makes one friend, and thanks to a talking fox, they find a box with a wand and a book of magic. At the same time, someone starts kidnapping children in the area. Penny and Zoe are able to block the evil Birdman and rescue the children, but are left at the end of the book with needing to further develop the next stage of their magic powers.

This is clearly a book for this age group. It reads smoothly and carries the interest, but without the depth or character development that would make it entertaining for adults. There are lots of mysteries hinted at that will clearly be a focus of future books. There are two egregious printing errors: on page 175, "to wet your curiosity" instead of "to whet your curiosity" and on page 200, the boy named Rooster is called "Roster". One can hope that future books will not only carry the action forward but also develop some emotional depth. Recommended for its target group.

Book #22 Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (581 pp.)

This is a series where you are along for the journey. Matthew and Diana travel back to 1591 to find witches capable of training her. We get a lots of neat historical references, even a meeting or two with both Queen Elizabeth and Rudolf II. Diana is only in mortal danger once, so it is a bit slow action-wise, but they return to the present prepared to face the modern enemies in the next book. Probably too long and not all that significant, but I am finding this an entertaining if light read.

Book #23 City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte (484 pp.)

Well, it was quite a coincidence that this book also dealt with Prague, Rudolf II, John Dee and Edward Kelley, just like my previous book. But let me tell you--that one was much better.

This is like The DaVinci Code in that it is disjointed, full of extraneous pieces that go nowhere, egregious sexual escapades, trying to be a spy type thriller with the addition of a history of Beethoven in the same space, which is dark space. I'm surprised the authors didn't throw in the kitchen sink--it's about the only thing that isn't there. Wait--is that it down in the basement? Seriously, it is a pastiche of everything that is selling books these days, and while some of the Amazon reviewers thought it very clever for this reason, for me it simply did NOT work. Poor writing, poor pacing, poor plotting. I am really upset that I was unable to get it from the library (still second on the hold list after a month) and ended up buying it for Kindle to meet my RL book group deadline tomorrow--a complete waste of money, imho.

Book #23 The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson (284 pp.)

I love it when books serendipitously dovetail! In its opening chapters, Johnson's discussion of the entrepreneurial collection and disposition of mid-19th century London evoked recent reads Our Mutual Friend, with a dustman as a main character, and Dodger, with its main character being a tosher although defined a little differently than Johnson's toshers.

Johnson is, of course, explaining the systems of the large city of London in 1854 in order to help explain not only how a major cholera break was able to occur but also how two individuals familiar with the area were able to gather evidence about how cholera spread and be instrumental in stopping its spread. He is interested in the larger picture of epidemiology as well and so one is exposed to all sorts of interesting things you might not expect.

For example, waterborne diseases have been endemic since mass human settlements began occurring. But the response has not been to purify water (the technology did not exist for most of that time) but to drink alcohol. "Dying of cirrhosis of the liver in your forties was better than dying of dysentery in your twenties." As a result, many scientists believe that selection pressure led to increased populations of individuals who could produce enzymes called alcohol dehydrogenases, which allow humans to tolerate the poisonous alcohol, in a manner similar to the increase in the population of lactose tolerance. So, while most of us have inherited a genetic tolerance of alcohol, some have not, and populations who never developed mass settlements never developed the enzyme at levels above chance, and therefore do not exhibit alcohol tolerance.

Also to think about is his contention that the environmental footprint of cities is much less than it would be for the same population dispersed across the countryside. "Portland's 500,000 inhabitants require two sewage treatment plants, connected by 2000 miles of pipes. A rural population would require more than 100,000 septic tanks and 7000 miles of pipe" Almost any service system can be delivered more economically to a concentrated population than a dispersed one. And cities support population control, just by their character.

This was an interesting story and a quick read. A little dry in style--I found myself nodding off a few times when reading at bedtime, but with much to think about.

The Ghost Map does sound interesting, Roni!

I agree Tigana was good but not as heart wrenching as Lions of Al-Rassan. I also rooted for the evil opressor Brandin :)

I agree that Shadow of Night could have used an editor/been a bit shorter, but I think that these books are just so fun that it doesn't matter. I also agree that it is a light fun read.

Book #24 Goblin Moon by Teresa Edgerton (293 pp.) Acquired 6/2011, read 2/2013

Had I read this book in my teens or twenties, I believe I would have adored it. Unfortunately it was written a decade or so later. However, it was still enjoyable but not outstanding. Sometimes considered steampunk, it has all the characteristics and setting of a Victorian novel set in a fantasy world. It made me think of Our Mutual Friend with a gothic touch and, of course, magic.

Book #26 Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk (355 pp.) Acquired before 2011. Read 2/14/13. BOTS

If you like urban fantasy, you'll like this. Sure, all the cliches are there, but handled in an interesting manner with decent writing. I don't think I'll be continuing the series, but that's just because I'm not really into this subgenre all that much.



Book #27 The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby (386 pp.) Acquired May 2011, read February 2013

Usually I send my books to my sister in Kansas after I've read them, and eventually she gets them read and returns them to me. But this is one she owns and sent to ME to read. It is a Book Off the Shelf prior to 2012. It is a children's fantasy, somewhat light on the fantasy but it is there. Feels more like a historical in most cases. Three young people (I'd put this at ages 11 on up) in a big city at the turn of the century, I'd say, late 1800s, are all three in want for different reasons. They find each other and help each one resolve many of their issues. There are some very grim aspects to their circumstances that made it difficult for me to get into the story at times, but overall I enjoyed it.

Book #28 The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin (429 pp) acquired May 2012 read February 2013

I received this as an ER book last May. I started it and put it down--but didn't forget it. Sometimes lots of intrigue and death do that to me. But I knew I wanted to pick it up again eventually, and I did still owe that review. So I made it a target for Fantasy February.

Jemisin's world-building is even better than in her award-winning Hundred Thousand Kingdoms trilogy. She talks about it a little at the end, but while reading it, you simply are immersed in another world. She never holds back from political treachery and death, something that sometimes makes it difficult for me to get into her books, but she always provides a strong story which keeps me going until the end once I am in them. And she is highly original--very few fantasy tropes to deal with.

In her self-interview at the end, she asks herself--since all her books have strong ties to the gods--about why she keeps exploring religion in her writing, and what she replied resonated with me. "I consider myself an agnostic...in the sense of doubting the capability of any human religion to encompass the divine...Religion is a handy guide to living, assuming you're still living in the society that existed at the time of the religion's founding."

Ooh, I haven't heard of N.K. Jemisin before, but you make her sound worth checking out! And, lookee, several of her books available at the library...

I have really liked the three Jemisin books I've read. They are solid good reads.

Wookie, she's been up for the Nebula both of the last two years, she's a woman of color, and she's very original. Give her a chance!

I agree, Morphy.



Book #29 Peter, Paul & Mary Magdalene: The followers of Jesus in history and legend by Bart D. Ehrman (272 pp.) Acquired 10/12/12. Read 3/4/13.

I have a number of Ehrman's books and find him an entertaining writer. This book treats separately with the three characters named, looking at what are the probable historic facts associated with each and, what is even more interesting, how and why they came to be depicted legendarily, using the New Testament and apocryphal writings, including the Nag Hammadi texts. Due to my fairly extended reading in this area over the last few years, a lot of this was familiar to me, but I still found it interesting going and the character of Mary Magdalene to be the most interesting, probably because as Ehrman says, we actually know the least about her!

Book #30 The Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill (240 pp.)

This is the fifth of the Dr. Siri books, and I continue to find them entertaining and informative. Dr. Siri is away from the morgue for the whole trip, and Dtui is taking care of things in Vientiane. I'm still worried about that ring, though.

Book #31 Yendi by Steven Brust* (209 pp.)

This book takes place a year or two before Jhereg, when Vlad was first setting up in business and gets involved in a Jhereg war. Just as entertaining. We will be discussing it in the Jhereg group read thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/148667



Book #32 The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly (311 pp.)

So I pulled this off the bookshelf above and went and stretched out on the couch for a couple of hours and read it! Had to catch up with Dejah. This is one of my favorites by Hambly because I love the characters and the developing relationships, despite the direness of the situation. Classic fantasy with some nice twists. If you liked the Paksenarrion books, you will like this.

Book #33 Taltos by Steven Brust (181 pp.)

This book is the earliest chronologically in the series although the fourth in publication order. In it, Vlad alternates between stories of his rather grim early days and his current predicament which brings him into contact with Morrolan, Sethra Lavode, and Aliera. This provides a great deal of backdrop into their relationships, and also provides insight into the consequences of the major action in 500 Years After, becoming a hinge book between the two series. Taltos remains one of my favorite books of the series--I love the interaction with the gods here.



Book #34 Dragon by Steven Brust* (286 pp.)

This is the second book in the series chronologically, and the 8th in publication order. I think this is the first time I've read it in such close temporal proximity to the other 3 initial books. This time through, I paid a lot more attention to some of the incidents that I now know are important to the future of the series, such as the meeting with the Serioli, but I got a little irritated with the dual story technique similar to that used in the last book. Vlad, can't we just get on with the story? Still a good tale, though.

Book #35 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (249 pp.)

I've heard so much about this. Many have loved it; others can't see what all the fuss is about. I found it totally charming in its portrayal of Botswana and Mma Ramotswe. While clearly seeing the flaws in African society, the love of Africa comes through very clearly. This is as much a character study as a series of cases and mysteries.



Book #36 Murder Most Crafty edited by Maggie Bruce (330 pp.)

I thought a book of short stories, while not my favorite genre, would fit in well in the crevices of my spring cleaning, and this was a gift from Jan Burke's sister (Jan has a story in it) and it's Mystery March, so... The premise is each short story has a craft featured in it, and then instructions for doing that craft follow the story. It sounded good. I love crafts. But for me, it didn't work. The stories were too short, and the murders too prevalent. Silly to say, of course, but since someone dies in almost all of the short stories, the body count was very high. Even though I spread the stories out, it got to me. Some of the stories were flippant, some disturbing, some weird. I only really liked a couple. But perhaps a true mystery aficionado would react differently.

Book #37 The Witches of Wenshar* by Barbara Hambly (339 pp.)

This is the sequel to Ladies of Mandrigyn and follow Sun Wolf and Starhawk on their journeys as he seeks someone to train him in his new skills. Still great characters, but continued troubles for our protagonists.



Book #38 Rapture in Death by J. D. Robb (324 pp.)

My first book finished in the last 9 days, this is my fourth book for Mystery March. This was just okay for me. I was pretty sure of what was going on fairly early, and the sex between Rourke and Eve was predominant over any development in relationships both between them and with other characters from earlier books.

Book #39 Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (440 pp.)

Oh, this was a delight! Such an original world! It reminds me in tone of Joan Aiken's Nightbirds on Nantucket series of books. It was a fast read that completely sucked me into the world and characters. Yes, it is YA, but engrossing for adults too.

I hadn't realized that it ends in mid-story though--now I have to get the sequels, and quickly!

s

Book #40 Alien Tango by Gini Koch (428 pp.)

I knew I should have left well enough alone after the first book in this series. Listen, I'm sure it has its audience, and Koch is rather clever to have herself stand out by putting paranormal romance into a science fiction setting rather than a fantasy setting. And really, her sf situations can be interesting and fun, and the family dynamics very entertaining. IF you don't get distracted by the heroine being a major Mary Sue and perpetually horny and having absolutely mind-blowing sex with her alien boyfriend all over the place. Unfortunately, those things distract me, not in a good way, and I am now officially done with the series.



Book #41 Teckla by Steven Brust* (214 pp.)

This is chronologically the 5th of the Vlad Taltos books, and the one where Vlad has to start confronting reality, rather than living in a fantasy world. This is uncomfortable for him, and since we are him, it is uncomfortable for us as well. While we reach a shaky equilibrium at the end of the book, it's not clear what's going to happen next.

Book #42 Phoenix by Steven Brust (245 pp.)

This is the sixth book in the Vlad Taltos series chronologically, and there isn't a whole lot I can say without spoilers. When you get here, we can talk about it over on the Jhereg thread.



Book #43 Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire (338 pp.)

I am a BIG fan of McGuire's Toby Daye series--I think it is one of the best urban fantasy series going. I was less enthused by the first in this InCryptid series, mainly because it seemed less original in its application of urban fantasy tropes. That said, this second book in the series definitely grabbed me more and I found it very enjoyable. I think this is one that may just get better and better as it deepens its characters and their relationships. I can hope, anyway.

swooping through on my broom, trailing smooches

Book #44 A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin* (205 pp.)

This is my very own cover, creased corner and all, and the original cover, although not my favorite. I was suddenly inspired to pick the book up when Kerri (DorsVenabili) mentioned she was getting ready to read it, despite not being too comfortable with wizards, magic, or dragons. She is going to listen to it as an audiobook--if it has a good reader, I think Le Guin's language will lend itself to listening. So I started last night, and finished this morning, as it had been far too long since I've re-read it. I don't know how the current young generation will find it. It starts slowly, descriptively--I could read it for its descriptions of the various islands of the Archpelago alone--and I don't know how many will have the patience to let the language come to them rather than hunting for the bones of the story. I know some will, of course, but wonder if it will seem "old-fashioned" to the majority, or if it will sweep them up in spite of themselves. Of course, here is another series I now want to completely revisit!

Book #45 Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld (485 pp.)

The action continues apace. I regret that most of it is off the Leviathan and so more prosaic in setting--I loved the setting up of the Darwinist environment and mindset--but one certainly cannot complain of lags in pacing as Deryn and Alek continue to try to counteract the Germans. Next, I'm on to the conclusion in Goliath.

>53 ronincats: It bears up under re-reading quite well, IMHO.

>54 ronincats: I like this series a lot.

Book #46 Old Filth by Jane Gardam (230 pp.)

I read this lovely Europa edition from the library for the group read going on this month. This story, the story of Edward Feather's life, is folded back and forth and in upon itself like an origami figure, with every fold precise and sharp. I think I was caught from the moment Filth shuts himself out of the house in a snowstorm. Gardam lifts it above just a story of a man's life with the mystery of what did really happen in Wales, so many years ago. It's a haunting story, in many ways. And Gardam ends it perfectly.



Book #47 Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (543 pp.)

The conclusion of the trilogy is just as action-packed as the first two books. Still a good story, but the first book is my favorite!

Book #48 Fire Season by David Weber and Jane Lindskold (287 pp.)

This is the second book in a YA series prequel to the Honor Harrington books, detailing how treecats were discovered as humans were settling Sphinx. Decent story for YAs, but probably only through adults who are already Honor Harrington fans and love her treecat.



Book #49 The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen (352 pp.)

We meet Sage as he is being sold into service from the orphanage to one of the King's regents. Along with two other boys, Sage is going to be groomed to impersonate a missing and presumed dead prince, as the royal family has just been murdered, to avert a civil war. This first novel is full of typical fantasy tropes, from the medieval-like setting to the characters involved. However, the character of Sage does stand out in its originality and stubbornness, despite a fairly conventional plot. This YA will entertain young teens, but might not be enough to hold the attention of adults. Still, this is only the first of a trilogy, so perhaps the books will deepen with experience.

Book #50 Merchanter's Luck by C. J. Cherryh (208 pp.)

First Printing DAW #488 (for swynn)

This is a re-read in preparation for filling in of Cherryh's Alliance-Union series. It probably shouldn't count as a re-read since it's been 30 years since I last read it--that's a generation, isn't it?

Cherryh pulls me in with her sparse diction, her tight third person view which holds me at a distance at first until all of a sudden there I am, up close and personal, fully engaged in this tale of a solitary merchanter trying to keep his ship flying in a universe where the politics are shifting and alliances are changing, and he looks to be crushed in the middle.



Book #51 Graceling by Kristin Cashore (471 pp.)

Book Off The Shelves--acquired before 2011, read 4/19/13

Many people have recommended this book as entertaining YA, and it is a fun, quick read. It's taken me so long to get to it because of that phenomenon so often noted here--once you have a book in your possession, all of the newer and library books suddenly take precedence. It is definitely YA, focusing on Katsa and her feelings throughout. The only drawback is that it would have been interesting to see more of other people in that world, and to get more of an idea as to what the consequences of being Graced were, especially since so many were of an innocuous nature. Perhaps the other books of the series will provide more in that area.

>46 ronincats: I love Gardam's work. Old Filth and Faith Fox are my favourites!

Book #53 The Great Transformation: The beginning of our religious traditions by Karen Armstrong (399 pp.)

Wow. What an epic book. Armstrong tracks four cultures from 1600 BCE through 220 BCE to chronicle the emergence of the core concepts of modern religious thought, consisting in brief of a turning into oneself and discovering or creating a compassion and sense of oneness with others, then bringing it out again into practice in the world. Each one on its own would be a hefty slice of history of China, India, Greece, and Israel. But she compares them as each encounters turmoil and destruction and develops its own ways of transforming those experiences.

Notable quotes:

Noting the effect of recording religious insight in writing:
The pupil was no longer reliant on his guru, but could peruse the texts by himself and draw his own conclusions, and his knowledge might be shallower, because he might see no need to look beneath the words on the page or experience the luminous silence that took him beyond its words and concepts.

The Axial sages put the abandonment of selfishness and the spirituality of compassion at the top of their agenda...They concentrated on what people were supposed to transcend FROM--their greed, egotism, hatred, and violence. What they were going to transcend TO was not an easily defined place or person, but a state of beatitude that was inconceivable to the unenlightened person, who was still trapped in the toils of the ego principle. If people concentrated on what they hoped to transcent TO and became dogmatic about it, they could develop an inquisitorial stridency that was, in Buddhist terminology, "unskillful."

Last night I finished my 54th book of the year.



Book #54 The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord (303 pp.)

I enjoyed this book. I see the reviews are all over the place, but I thought this was an interesting and well-written book with a story about a people, a planet, and relationships that I enjoyed. Some have complained about this being essentially a romance, but I disagree. The science fiction romance books I have problems with are those who essentially take a romance book (immediate irrational physical attraction, lots of emphasis on the physical side of the relationship, etc.) and place in a nominally sf context. Authors such as Linnea Sinclair leap to mind, and to a lesser extent, Catherine Asaro. Now these might be enjoyable stories, but they are definitely more romance than sf. In The Best of All Possible Worlds, the world-building and the plight of the Sadiri take center stage, and the relationships develop gradually and plausibly from that action. The action is not space opera; it is a methodical exploration of the cultures of a planet, so this is not a fast-paced adventure. Actually, it reminds me much more of main-stream novels than romances, transfused into a well-built science fictional setting.

Book #55 Airborn by Kenneth Oppel (501 pp.)

Once I got over this book not being Leviathan--there are similar situations at the beginning of the books in the description of the flying machine--and settled into the adventure frame of mind, I got sucked into the plot of the story and sped through the second half in no time. This is a great adventure story for middle school students, and still pretty entertaining for us adults. It really builds on the exploring spirit of the early 20th century for its conventions and its interests, and those juvenile series so popular at that time such as Tom Swift, never really transcending that genre but just fun swashbuckling adventure.

Book #56 The Crimson Brand by Brian Knight (374 pp.)

This is the second book in a juvenile fantasy series. This one isn't published yet--I'm serving as a reader.



Book #57 Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (335 pp.)

Drat, I didn't note in my tag who recommended this recently.

This is a light YA fantasy, very entertaining and appropriate for young teens. But I don't think I'm going to bother to look for the sequels and wouldn't particularly recommend for adults.

And now for my April summary:

14 books read, 4,986 pages

12 new reads, 2 re-reads
6 library books
1 Kindle book
3 books off my shelves
5 science fiction, 5 fantasy, 1 nonfiction, 1 children's, 1 general fiction

see message 3 for a complete list.

12 books acquired (I just realized that I had to go check which of the 7 Kindle books I downloaded this month cost actual money, which means I need to count them here, and added those three books.)

5 science fiction, 3 fantasy, 2 children's, 3 nonfiction, 1 romance
2 ER books, 1 PBS, 4 Amazon, 5 independent bookstores
9 paper books, 3 Kindle

see message 4 for complete list.

NO books out the door. B^(

These are the books I had planned for April:

Group reads:
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong

Ongoing series:
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (library)
Athyra by Steven Brust
Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch
Fire Season by David Weber (library)
Merchanter's Luck by C. J. Cherryh (reread for start of series)

Books off the Shelf:
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel for book group 4/30
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Then, in addition, I did a re-read of A Wizard of Earthsea and read The False Prince, Paranormalcy, and The Best of All Possible Worlds, both from the library and both as results of book bullets from other LT members. And then the reading of The Crimson Brand.

Not bad--only one planned book did not make it and it goes on the May list.

May list so far:

Group read:
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

Ongoing series:
Athyra by Steven Brust
Heavy Time by C. J. Cherryh
Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal
Fyre by Angie Sage

New women authors:
Sarah Zettel--Fool's War

Books off the Shelf:
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers pre-2011
The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt 8/5/2011

And that is sufficient for planned reads, gives me some flexibility to pick up other books on the spur of the moment, especially if Seraphina finally comes in for me at the library.

Book #58 Athyra by Steven Brust (243 pp.)*

Once I got into this book, I realized that Jhegaala, which is one of the more recently published books, goes between Phoenix and this one, so I need to go read it next. I can't say much about the plot because others are reading this series, but this is the first book in the series where Vlad isn't the viewpoint character. I still think this is one of the more original fantasy series out there.



Book #59 The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong (229 pp.)
acquired prior to 1/1/2011, read 5/6/13

Armstrong does it again. In 229 short pages she condenses and integrates the content of many tomes into a succinct biography of the Bible, of what it has meant to peoples through the ages, ending with her trademark plea for compassion instead of stridency in our spirituality.



Book #60 Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal (319 pp.)

I found this sequel to Shades of Milk and Honey to be much improved in writing and story. In the first book, Kowal had the language of the period down, but the story itself had weaknesses and devolved into melodrama at the end. In this book, there is still drama aplenty, but it is tightly woven into the story and not at all over the top. Part of this, I think, is because here Kowal is focusing on the relationship between Jane and Vincent and has removed them from England for most of the story, moving it from a novel of manners to a deeper level with history serving as an underlying structure.

Book #61 Heavy Time by C. J. Cherryh (330 pp)

This is an early book in the Company Wars series, taking place primarily on a refinery station in the asteroid belt. As with many of Cherryh's books, it has so much detail and personality that one has to take it slowly at first, but then picks up as you become completely pulled into the world and start to care about what is happening. Not one of her most riveting, but a good look early on into the political intricacies of the Company Wars.

So, I went to the library today to pick up three books that are completely the fault of other LTers reviewing them. Foggidawn is responsible for Museum of Thieves and City of Lies, the first two of a YA trilogy, after she reviewed them on her thread. I forgot to tag Iron Hearted Violet, so I don't know WHO to blame for her! And while I was at the library, I picked up two books I already own for 25¢ each, To Say Nothing of the Dog and Restoree, simply so I can pass them on to others.



Book #62 The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (456 pp.)

This book was recommended by Jenny (lunacat) probably 4 years ago, and was a surprise gift from Stasia over two years ago. I targeted it for May Mars, Myth and Make-believe because it had been in my tbr pile for so long.

Optimus, a Lindworm of Lindworm Castle, is motivated after his literary godfather's death to travel to the city of Bookholm, THE city where books are written and published, to search for the mysterious author of a document left him by said godfather. Once there, he runs afoul of the Powers that Be and is exiled into the catacombs where he has many adventures.

Some people have mentioned being irritated by Jasper Fforde because they feel he is being too "clever" in his allusions--a feeling I don't share, by the way, because I enjoy the hell out of them. But here, I did feel some of that irritation because of all of the anagrams of authors' names--Doylen Cone, Melvin Hermalle, Rasco Elwid--which threw me completely out of the story. It is in some ways rather a silly little story, whimsical with many odd characters--rather Alice in Wonderlandish, but since it revolves around books, the wonder of books, the literary styles of books, the joy of books, what is not to like? I can't decide if it was meant to be a children's book or a book for adults--Moers is a German author and I'm not familiar with his other works.

I just enjoy his wild imagination and illustrations !

Good to hear you liked Glamour in Glass, since I bought that for myself recently. :)

Book #63 The Borgias: The Hidden History by G. J. Meyer (429 pp.)

Mine was an ER copy, so I didn't get that nice cover, nor the maps, family tree or index. THe maps were missed the most, as the action moves all over Italy in the 1500s.

I know relatively little about this period in history, which turned out to be an advantage for the author as I had nothing to unlearn about the Borgias. Much of his premise is that what everyone thinks they know about the Borgias, and their very black reputation, is due to slanders perpetrated by enemies often years after the fact, and that a careful review of contemporary records shows them to be no worse and no better than contemporaries in that violent period of history. His arguments appeared cogent to me and are presented in a clear and interesting manner. I especially liked the way he followed each chapter with a Background section that looked at the broader picture and presented relevant information. The book covers three generations of Borgias, with five chapters devoted to Alonso's career and rise to pope, five chapters to Rodrigo prior to his election as pope, 5 more chapters devoted to his years as Pope Alexander VI, and six chapters on Cesare. He seems to clearly present both the faults and strengths of each man as they coped with tortuous politics and wars. The interactions of the city states, the nature of the papacy and its lands, are fascinating. I found this a very interesting read, and would be interested to hear the reactions of scholars of the Borgias.

Book #64 Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill (424 pp.)

What I liked:

The conceit of having the palace storyteller presenting the story

The overall concept of the mirrored world

The possibilities of the relationship between Violet and Demetrius

The fact that the story didn't flinch from the necessity for a strong ending

What I didn't like:

This was very dark for a children's book, even taking the Nybbas' influence into account

I don't like it when the young heroine does stupid things (Inkheart, I'm looking at you!)

I'm not sure I can buy when Violet wises up

The Nybbas is appropriately scary and nasty and repulsive, but what is happening seems disjointed and inconsistent

The little people, although I like them a lot, seem simply inserted into the storyline

So, I had quite a bit of difficulty picking the book up and reading it for the middle third of the book. Although the last section went quickly, there were still sections that seemed too harsh for the children's book this seems to be (I could see a couple of scenes creating nightmares), and yet the book doesn't go beyond that into a broader audience. The story seemed to pull in disparate elements from children's fantasy and, although attempting to weld it into a new and original form, didn't succeed for me in creating a believable whole entity. It's quite possible others will like it more--I have become much more persnickety over the years in this genre.

Book #65 The Creature in the Case (109 pp.) is a novella following Abhorsen by about 6 months, by Garth Nix, that follows Nick after his recuperation in an adventure with a Free Magic creature that ends up with him where he wants to be, in the Old Kingdom. It's acceptable, but we never ARE in the Old Kingdom, which is rather a disappointment. Not the place to start the series, but always good to get back in touch.



Book #66 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (656 pp.)

This book was read for the group read and to get it off my Books Off the Shelf list. It was purchased prior to 2011 during the Borders closing out sale. I still do not understand why it is found in the Science Fiction and Fantasy shelves! Someone far upthread said, when I first mentioned this, "Golem! Doh!" but I don't buy it. Animate golem, yes, but inanimate clay figure believed to be golem, no.

I was pulled into the story quite early, and enjoyed the book. The glimpses into the early history of comic books was fascinating. It was whimsical, touching, improbable, and heart-breaking.



Book #67 Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (451 pp.)

This was marvelous! Great world-building, good control of characters, fascinating cast of characters--it's hard to believe it's a first novel. I loved it. It was well worth the 4 month wait on the hold list for the library.

For no particular reason I have been resisting reading your Book 66 which has been on my shelf forever. I know that one day it will be read, just hope it is sooner rather than later. And Seraphina looks very interesting.

Ooh, Seraphina looks good, into the TBR pile.

Judy, if there hadn't been a group read of it last month, K&C would still be sitting on my TBR pile.

Brenda, it was a fun read.

Neil Gaiman is a very smart man!

I like that quote :)

Thanks!



Book #68 Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner (312 pp.)

This was recommended recently by foggidawn, and the library had it. It's children's fantasy, with a rather interesting setting--a town where no danger or risk is allowed and the children are always in the custody of an adult. While the villain is rather stock and overdone and the message a little heavy-handed at times, still the museum is a novel concept and I enjoyed following Goldie and Toadspit in their new-found freedom.



Book #69 City of Lies by Lian Tanner (278 pp.)

This is book 2 of the series begun with Museum of Thieves. It continues the adventures of Goldie and her friends. The action moves to another city, so we see very little of the museum this time, but the Fogleman is still very much the villain. Beware--this book ends on a cliffhanger, and I didn't have the third book ordered from the library!! Now I do, but it will still probably be a week before it gets to my branch.

Here is my May summary.

Total Read = 12 books, 4244 pages

2 nonfiction
1 historical fiction
1 science fiction
8 fantasy

11 new to me books, 1 reread
4 books off the shelf
4 library books
6 female authors, 6 male authors
7 US authors, 1 German, 1 Canadian, 3 Australian
books published from 1991 to 2013

58. Athyra by Steven Brust* (243 pp.)
59. The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong% (229 pp.)
60. Glamour in Glass by Mary Robinette Kowal (319 pp.)
61. Heavy Time by C. J. Cherryh% (330 pp.)
62. The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers% (456 pp.)
63. The Borgias: The Hidden History by G. J. Meyer (429 pp.)
64. Iron Hearted Violet# by Kelly Barnhill (424 pp.)
65. The Creature in the Case by Garth Nix (109 pp.)
66. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon% (656 pp.)
67. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman# (451 pp.)
68. Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner# (320 pp.)
69. City of Lies by Lian Tanner# (278 pp.)

Books Acquired = 3

39. The Borgias: The Hidden History by G. J. Meyer (ER, $0)
40. The Creature in the Case by Garth Nix (Amazon Marketplace, $7.99)
41. Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers (Amazon Kindle, $1.99)

The last one is a Kindle special today. I've always wanted to read it and I couldn't resist!

Books Out the Door = 3

29. Real Time 1: A Catalog by John Bookman (Bookmooch)
30. The Gandalara Cycle, Vol. 1 by Randall Garrett (PBS)
31. The Gandalara Cycle, Vol. 2 by Randall Garrett (PBS)

Book #70 Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver (307 pp.)

This children's book is just as delightful as Kathy (UnrulySun) and numerous others have reported. Especially delightful were the illustrations, with the exception of one egregious error. In the very first drawing within the story (the opening pages were delightful!), we see Liesl in her attic, but despite the author twice stating that Liesl has a three-legged stool at her desk, we see a regulation 4-legged chair there. Pity, that! But the story itself is fun and delightful.

I took a break from my fantasy fare, and read a chicklit on my Kindle for my next book.



Book #71 Attempting Elizabeth by Jessica Grey (321 pp.)

Kelsey is a girl geek who is retreating into her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice, after a bad breakup--but this time it's literal. She wants to be Lizzie but keeps entering as other characters, at the same time as she is trying to get to know a hot new Aussie in real life. Yeah, it's chick lit with a heavy dose of Austen. Light, doesn't take itself too seriously. The best part is the quote that starts each chapter and, yes, she lists the sources at the end (besides P&P, Star Wars and The Princess Bride are some of the sources).

Book #72 Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen (326 pp.) acquired prior to 2011, read 6/3/13

16 out of 25 books acquired prior to 2012
10 out of 15 book acquired in 2012

Nina (humouress) recently read this book and her review pushed it up to the top of my tbr pile. For much of the book, I wasn't sure that I was going to buy into it. For reasons that are inherent to the story, the elements are highly derivative with all sorts of allusions to classic fantasy. But although the story was thin, it was entertaining, and the reveal at the end made it worthwhile in my opinion.

Book #73 The Magistrates of Hell by Barbara Hambly (256 pp.)

I picked this up for my Kindle in April when I saw it was available and, at that time, cheap, since this is one of the few vampire series that I follow. (The others are Elizabeth Bear's Sebastian in an alternate history series and Robin McKinley's Sunshine, although the latter is not a series.) Asher is a professor and former spy in London in the late Victorian era at the start of the series, a riveting book call Those Who Hunt the Night. In the second book, Traveling with the Dead, the locale moves to Paris. The third book goes to Constantinople and St. Petersburg in Blood Maidens. This book is set in the early 1900s in Peking, China, amid the fall of the emperor and the positionings of the Germans and Japanese in the lead-up to World War I. James and Lydia continue to be fully-fleshed out characters--I love Lydia especially--as they continue to investigate and deal with rogue undead creatures, who always have a logical reason for cropping up, with the aid of Simon, one of the oldest of vampires. Just the logistics of a vampire traveling is fascinating. No sparkles here, just gritty and dangerous.

Book #74 Jhegaala by Steven Brust* (304 pp.)

I'm re-reading Brust's Vlad Taltos series. Jhegaala is unusual in that it is 7th in the series chronologically but 11th in the series in publication order, so this is the first time I've read the story pretty much where it fits into the timeline. Actually, I forgot and read Athyra first, but that reminded me to pull out Jhegaala and fill in the gap between Phoenix and Athyra. This book was a disappointment to many when it came out, as we were dying to find out what was happening to Vlad after Dzur, but when read within the chronology, it holds up well and fills in some interesting information. It is very interesting to see Vlad out of his natural environment, but now I'm anxious to move on with Orca and bring Vlad up to date over the next 5 books. It's looking like it might be a full year before Hawk comes out.



Book #75 Orca by Steven Brust (290 pp.)

Next in the series, Vlad has found an isolated sorcerer who may be able to help with Savn's head injury. In return, he agrees to help her acquire the mortgage from for her cottage. This leads him, and Kiera the Thief, into a tangle that has Empire-wide ramifications. Vlad just has a gift for this, doesn't he? Lots of action, lots of Vlad--what's not to like?

Book #76 Limits of Power by Elizabeth Moon (492 pp.)

This is not the place to start this series. Start with Sheepfarmer's Daughter and read through the Paks trilogy. Then, when you are invested in Duke Phelan and Arcolin and Dorrin and Stammel and Mikeli, come back and read this 5 books series, of which this is only the fourth. Because then you will revel in the slow and deliberate unfolding of complex detail after complex detail, trusting that it will all have purpose in the finale, and enjoying spending the time with these old friends.



Book #77 Issola by Steven Brust (255 pp.)

This is the book where most people feel that the story is starting to get back on track again. Vlad spends most of his time with Aliera and Morrolan and Sethra and Lady Teldra again, and we learn more about the Jenoine. Lots of action.



Book #78 Dzur by Steven Brust (285 pp.)

Well, in this one Vlad is back in Adrilankha the whole time. The action starts and ends at Valabar's, Vlad's favorite restaurant, and it is guaranteed to make you hungry!!

Book #79 The Orphanage of Miracles by Amy Neftzger (314 pp.)

This is the new Early Reviewer book I received this week, the first of a new children's fantasy series. First, what I liked about it:

The book is a beautiful hardcover with a cover you want to stroke, high quality paper and nicely illustrated.

The storyline alternates between two different character POVs that move toward each other, and the characterizations are distinct and differentiated.

The set-up is original and lends itself to a quest fantasy.

I only noticed a few misprints in the book.

Okay, so why am I damning with faint praise? Because this is an ALLEGORY. The author is much more comfortable with telling us than showing us and so, after she has just shown us, she then has supporting characters explain it quite explicitly. This is so heavy-handed for me that it gets in the way of what could have been a delightful story about Kelsey and Nicholas that also had some moral lessons embedded in it.

And after the discussion of the excellence of Georgette Heyer's Regencies on various threads, I simply couldn't help it. Time for a reread!



Book #80 Cotillion by Georgette Heyer (366 pp.)

One of my favorite Heyers, it is recommended that you read enough of the traditional Regency romances to be aware of the common tropes so that you can savor her clever plays on them, but highly enjoyable regardless.

Oh, DRATSAB! Piffle! I hate it when a book stops right in the middle of a story. And the next book isn't anywhere close to out yet!!



Book #81 Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George# (225 pp.)

We meet Celie and her family, the rulers of Sleyne, in the magical Castle Glower once again, subsequent to the adventures of Tuesdays at the Castle. This time, the Castle has revealed a griffin egg and won't let Celie tell anyone about it. This is another fun adventure, but this book is only the first half of this story, so don't read it until the next one is out. And that won't be until next spring.

Book #82 Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina (210 pp.)

Okay, I haven't been counting Kindle books as Books Off the Shelf, because they don't take up shelf space. I bought this last October for $2.99 (it is now 99¢) because I thought it sounded interesting. It is set in an alternative Victorian London where steam is outperforming petroleum and the combustion engine as a power source, and Charles Darwin's son is Prime Minister. Claire is the daughter of a peer in a world splitting between the Bloods and the Wits, the old nobility and the intelligentsia, but she is wild about machines and not at all interested in society life or marriage. When her father suicides after the Arab bubble bursts, she is left penniless, and then homeless after a mob loots their house. But Claire believes in the power of her mind to overcome adversity!

This is kind of silly in some ways, but Adina tells a good story and it is all good fun. Great steampunk elements, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. However, it ends in the middle of the story and the three sequels written so far all cost more ($4.99)--I'll let it percolate a few days and see if I need them.



Book #83 Poison by Bridget Zinn (276 pp.)

I think it was foggidawn again who recommended this one. This is another fun little adventure for the younger end of the YA audience, I would judge. A little unrealistic--but hey, it's fantasy! Kyra knows there is something wrong with her best friend, the princess, but no one will listen to her--and after she attempts to assassinate the princess, she is running for her life. Much lighter in tone than this would suggest. Richard, don't read this one.



Book #84 Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers (252 pp.)

I've read a few of the Peter Wimsey mysteries, but none with Harriet in them, so I picked this one up for my Kindle last year. I needed a quickie to read last night, and so found this on the Kindle without even noticing the juxtaposition of names. Typical Sayers, very enjoyable, and I noticed the key clue when first presented, so I'm proud of myself.

Book #85 Sister Mine by Nalo Hopkinson (305 pp.)

Totally unique urban fantasy, lush, disturbing at times. Two conjoined, now separated, sisters, offspring of a demigod and a mortal, have to deal with their own relationship as well as their connection to those demigods that comprise half their family. Glad I read it, but probably not for everyone.



Book #86 These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer (378 pp.)

Liz (lyzard) and some others are reading through Heyer's books chronologically, and this month is one of my favorites. This is not a Regency; indeed, it is two generations earlier, for the protagonists' son will be the anti-hero of Devil's Cub and their granddaughter of An Infamous Army which takes place at the time of Waterloo, therefore in the Regency period. This is known as a Georgian for King George is recently on the throne, where dress and manners were much more intricate and formal and the English nobility were often to be found in Paris and on the continent in general. The plot would be pure melodrama in less skilled hands, but Heyer stamps it both with her infallible attention to the detail of the period and her characteristic lively dialogue and well-drawn characters. I still have to wipe away a happy tear at the end every time I read it.

Book #87 The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (181 pp.)

Like Coraline, this is a spooky tale but for adults, even if much of the action takes place when the protagonist is seven years old. Gaiman can give me the creeps and he definitely does here, but I do like the ending.



Book #88 Hellburner by C. J. Cherryh (393 pp.)

Book 2 of The Company Wars, immediate sequel to Heavy Time, this book continues the story of Paul Dekker and his companions as the Earth Fleet engages in more heavy politicking vs. the Earth Company in an attempt to prepare Earth for attack from the Union. Constantly shifting lines of command, a new model of spaceship to prepare for, and sabotage from hidden sources--there's a lot going on here. I liked it better than the first book, but that book set most of the background for this one. I've already read the next three books in the sequence, Downbelow Station, Merchanter's Luck, and Rimrunner, all quite a while ago. DS I'll settle for the summary on Wikipedia--that is one monster book with a million things going on. ML I just reread before these two, and I plan to reread Rimrunners next before moving on to Tripoint and Finity's End, although I halfway feel I should go ahead over to Cyteen to get the goods on the Union's pov.

June summary!!

Books read: 19 Pages read: 6014 Average book length: 317 pp.
Average pages read per day: 200

Of the 19 books, 6 were re-reads. 4 were by Steven Brust as part of my reread of his series and 2 were Heyers.

Of the 13 new-to-me reads, 4 were library books, 3 were Books Off the Shelf, and 6 were books acquired this calendar year.

Genre: 2 science fiction, 10 fantasy, 3 children's fantasy, 3 romance, 1 mystery No nonfiction--unusual for me this year.

Authors: 13 female, 6 male. 14 US, 4 England, 1 Canada

Acquired 10 books at a cost of $69.51, 6 fantasy, 1 children's, 1 nonfiction, 2 paranormal romance

Sent 2 books out the door via PaperBackSwap.

Half Yearly Summary

88 books read. 29,131 pages read. Average book length=331 pages
Average pages read per day=161

70 new-to-me books, with 21 from the library, 28 books off the shelf, and 21 books newly acquired this year.
18 re-reads

51 books acquired this year, 25 of them read (4 had been previously read), total spent $277.57 (average $5.44)

33 books out the door

Genre of books read:
science fiction:14
fantasy: 44
children's: 9
nonfiction: 10
general fiction: 2
romance: 3
mystery:5

Book #89 Beyond World's End by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill (331 pp.)

I picked up Mad Maudlin in this series at the library sale shelf, and Morphy says I should have read this one before reading that. I read the original book, Bedlam's Bard, many years ago and was fairly meh. Morphy says this is the first book where Eric has grown up, and she's right that he has here. I'll go ahead and read MM but probably won't look for the series. It's okay, but pretty run-of-the-mill.



Book #90 Path of Beasts by Lian Tanner (337 pp.)

This is the third and final book in the Keeper children's fantasy series which foggidawn brought to my attention earlier this year, and I think I like this one best of all. The three books form a nice, tight story arc, the morals of the story are well-hidden below the story itself, and it's fun. Mostly.

Book #91 The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt (419 pp.)
Acquired 8/5/11, read 7/4/13-Book Off the Shelf

McDevitt writes science fiction books that are cosmic archaeological mysteries. These are often perilous expeditions with collateral damage, and not just the redshirts. I have read 4 of his Alex Benedict stories, and quite enjoyed his first and most recent books despite the fact that his books seem somewhat formulaic. But I had not read any of his books with Hutch as a protagonist, and people seem to like them better. This is the first, and I didn't find it that much different than the Benedict books, but am quite willing to continue with this series, at least up to Chindi, which Peggy mentioned as a favorite.

Just finished The Sherwood Ring and loved it as much as ever. Of course, that COULD be because I am An Old-Fashioned Girl, but I don't really think so. I always thought it so unique because while you have lots of fantasy based on Tam Lin, you don't have so many around the Revolutionary War.



Book #92 The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope (266 pp.)

This is basically a charming romance with Revolutionary War ghosts aiding and abetting. You will enjoy it. Read it.

Book #93 Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery by M. Louisa Locke (337 pp.)

I picked this up as a free book for my Kindle on 12/30/11, and finally got around to reading it. It is the first of a series of historical mysteries, all set in Victorian San Francisco (I think at this time there is just one more book and a couple of stories, all on Kindle). I thought it did a good job on the historical detail, as it should. The author is a retired professor of US and Women's History at one of San Diego's community colleges. There is a romance along with the mystery--both are quite decent and I liked the main character (an independent female) quite a bit. I also liked the attention to the life of a servant and the place of the Chinese at that time. Remembering that neither of these are my usual genres, I still think you might give it a try, especially if you are an Amazon Prime member, in which case you can "borrow" it for free. It has 457 reviews on Amazon, with an average 4.2 out of 5 stars, so seems to be well regarded.



Book #94 Restoree by Anne McCaffrey (252 pp.)*

This is an oldie but goodie. Just fun, pulp science fiction with an interesting female lead, a bit of romance, and lots of adventure. This is the other duplicate I picked up at the library for 25¢, a paperback reading copy in decent shape, and I will send it to the first person requesting it (who has not already gotten one of my give-aways).



Book #95 The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall (283 pp.)*

I was introduced to this in my children's lit class in college, and was totally charmed. Over the years, I got rid of my copy of this and its sequels, but had the urge recently to reread it, and ordered a copy from PaperBackSwap. Definitely a children's book, but still as charming as ever.

Book #96 Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer (310 pp.)*

This is a sequel to These Old Shades, taking place some 25 years later, still in the Georgian period. I quite like the character of our heroine, and it is great fun to meet up with Leónie, the Duke, Rupert and Fanny again and reprise some of the action of the first book.



Book #97 Huntress by Nicole Hamlett (178 pp.)+

This was a free urban fantasy that I had on my Kindle and it was, surprisingly, a decent if not particularly original story of its kind. 30-something Grace, newly divorced, meets her mom, the goddess Diana, and learns she has to rather quickly step up to meet her heritage because she is desperately needed as a combatant. Hey, it was just right for my poor sick body/brain at the time I read it.

Book #98 Iorich by Steven Brust (319 pp.)*

This installment of the series has Vlad back in Adrilankha again trying to save the Dragaerans from themselves. A good Vlad installment. Unfortunately, I need to read the three books of The Viscount of Adrilankha again, I think, in order to appreciate properly the next in Vlad's series, Tiassa. Not a place to start, but a good continuation.



Book #99 Taash and the Jesters by Ellen Kindt McKenzie (233 pp.)*

I picked up this ex-library copy of a children's book years ago, and have hung onto it. It is a fun, interesting fairy tale-type story, a classic, and I always enjoy it for light reading. I now know (thanks to the computer and Amazon and Wikipedia) that McKenzie wrote a half dozen other children's fantasies, but I've never run across any of them.

Book #100 The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (484 pp.)

I liked this better than Amber does, whether due to her recent grumpy reading phase or my weakened condition. I loved the setting of 1880s Manhattan and the Jewish and Syrian communities there--it felt very real. And the fantasy was appropriately fantastic and not mundane or trite at all. I liked the characters and the interactions--in short, I found it a very solid story and liked it a good deal.



Book #101 Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley (422 pp.)*

This is only the second time I've read this book by McKinley. When I first got it in 2000, I of course devoured it immediately--and was disappointed. But I have always suspected I was disappointed in good part because I wanted another Damar book, which it wasn't, and have always meant to give it another chance. I'm glad I did, because this classic fairy tale retelling of Sleeping Beauty really does have a lot to recommend it. As always, I loved the individuality of her characters the most.

Book #102 Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss (356 pp.)#

What a book of investigative reporting! I cannot begin to imagine the work that went into this book, and the glimpses into the processes of the food companies and how they process food were fascinating. Excellent!



Book #103 Jinx by Sage Blackwood (360 pp.)#

Foggi described this book as reminiscent of DWJ, and it immediately leapt onto my wishlist. When it showed up at the library, I grabbed it. Yes, it's exactly that kind of hubbly-bubbly magic and young protagonists and adventure, and was great fun. Foggi, I agree that the ending is weak, but it's obviously leading into a sequel. I thought the Urwood was a great setting.

Book #104 Water Witch by Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice (216 pp.)*

Okay, this one is one of my guilty pleasures. This 1982 story on a distant planet where water witches control the access to surface water (or at least they used to, before a palace coup wiped out the true ones), Dezi and her father live off of pulling con scams as she pretends to be a water witch. But this last scam is going badly wrong...I love it! I love the story and the characters--just simple, imaginative fun science fiction the way it used to be.



Book #105 The Seven Towers by Patricia Wrede (264 pp.)

This is one of Pat Wrede's standalone fantasies. Set in a fairly typical medieval style setting of kingdoms, it is rescued from banality by its characters. I enjoy rereading it every decade or so, as I do all her work.

Book #106 Quantum: Einstein, Bohr, and the great debate about the nature of reality by Manjit Kumar (372 pp.)#

This was for a group read in the Science, Religion, History thread. At first, when the author started talking about blackbody experiments in the first chapter, I wondered if I was going to be able to hang. But after that first glitch, Kumar did a wonderful job of keeping the layperson in the know as to the key controversies and questions as quantum theory and mechanics developed, and the personalities were just wonderfully developed. I had trouble putting the book down over the three days I was reading it--I kept wanting to get back to it and find out what happened. Highly recommended!!



Book #107 The Paths of the Dead by Steven Brust (399 pp.)*

The first of the three-volume The Viscount of Adrilankha, this book follows 500 Years After by 250 years, reuniting us with the famed quartet found therein, and introduces us to major new characters as it chronicles the end of the Interregnum and the recovery of the Orb.



Book #108 The Lord of Castle Black by Steven Brust (397 pp.)

In a continuation of the previous book, Zerilka and crew overcome odds to begin the process of reestablishing the Empire, while our titular Viscount Piro experiences barriers to true love and spurns civilization to set up as a highwayman.

Book #109 Sethra Lavode by Steven Brust (351 pp.)*

Sethra Lavode completes the single story arc of the Viscount of Adrilankha, which has been broken up into three books--a fact of which the author Paarfi complains vociferously in the prologues to the last two books. In the last section of the book Paarfi masterfully keeps us hanging on three separate action-filled story lines as he brings us up to date on each one in small sequential parts. Indeed, as Paarfi so eloquently elucidates at one point in the books, it is the trial of the author that although events may be happening simultaneously, the author may only present them sequentially. Paarfi basically channels Alexandre Dumas in style, adventure and loquacity and he's a lot of fun for those who enjoy such. As I have stated before, The Phoenix Guards is basically Brust's homage to The Three Musketeers, Five Hundred Years After to 20 Years After, and these three books to The Vicomte de Bragelonne, the much less well-known book of the trilogy.

At one point in this book, Sethra Lavode, Enchantress of Dzur Mountain, is in her library, when her servant Tukko appears.

"I believe, madam, that you have read that book before," observed Tukko.
"Not above a hundred times, I believe. But then, it is the mark of a good book that it rewards many readings, is it not?...
"I thought that you preferred novels for relaxation."
"Sometimes. But then, I judge a novel more harshly."
"Do you? Why is that""
"Because history is able to rely upon the truth, of course. A novel, in which all is created by the author's whim, must strike a more profound level of truth, or it is worthless."

There is another page of this discussion, but in the interests of brevity, I will not reproduce it here.

Book #110 Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox (365 pp.)

This is the first book in the Dreamhunter duet, recommended by Kerry (aviatakh) as the author is a fellow New Zealander. It's a good thing that I have the second book also out from the library, right here, because the book stops right in the middle of the story. Very original--I don't think I've ever read a setting at all like this. I'll write more after I finish the second book.



Book #111 Rimrunner by C. J. Cherryh *(287 pp.)

I read this many years ago--as witness its presence in my personal library--but all I remembered about it is that I liked it. Rimrunners is the fifth of the Company Wars books. Each has different characters dealing with the disruption caused by the war between the Alliance, Union, Earth and merchanters. In this case, we follow a former Union marine, stranded on a dead-end space station, who is desperate to get back on ship and ends up on an Alliance spook ship. Typical gritty Cherryh.

Probably what I miss most in the Company War books, at least to date, is the rich interaction with aliens that is so vital to the Chanur books, and many of her singletons. I've got too more of these, Tripoint and Finity's End, and then I move over to the Alliance point of view and the Cyteen books.

Book #112 Fool's War by Sarah Zettel (455 pp.)

This was an excellent multi-layered science fictional story! In the tradition of Cherryh, although not quite as dense or edgy. I love her characters and their backstories, and an original premise is frosting on the cake. I'd love for someone fairly new to science fiction to read this and let me know if it is as accessible as it seems to me.

Book #113 Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu (312 pp.)

This is a hard one for me to review. It truly is two books in one. I was really pulled into Hazel's 5th grade world in the first book. It rang so true, and I loved her reading and references. I identified with her adjustment issues, and grimaced at the school counselor (no, no!) and loved her friendship with Jack. In a very unusual manner for me, when the magic came, it was like an unwelcome intrusion. The heavy symbolism and magical explanation for a withdrawal into depression are almost too much. Granted, they probably wouldn't be picked up by a child reader. But they pulled me out of the story. The second part of the book, Hazel's journey into the forest, is fascinating to the adult with its myriad allusions and scenarios. But I really wonder how the 5th grader would react to it as a reader. And I felt the ending just rather hung there, without integration. So, while there were parts of the book I definitely loved, I have mixed feelings about this book. However, if you are an aficionado of fairy tales and children's fantasy, this book is not to be missed and totally worth reading.

Book #114 The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor (336 pp.)

This is the second book by Okorafor I've read--the other was her Who Fears Death?, nominated for the 2010 Nebula Award. This is an early book, not as violent but with many of the same themes. Nnedi has it in for father figures, for example. It is imaginative, set on a post-apocalyptic Earth in Africa, and its young heroine's quest journey is enlivened by many non-traditional features. Very enjoyable reading.

Book 115 Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox (442 pp.)

Finally! I finished it. This book completes the story started in Dreamhunter. It is a very strange, very unique conceptualization. The core world/society is very British but with The Place and its dreams overlaying it. The story, for me, moves in fits and starts, but it is complex and for others, like Kerry (aviatkh), it is fast and compelling. I never got lost in the story of Laura and Rose but was always an observer. And yet, it is a fascinating tale that I'm not sure I understand yet. I surely do not understand the purpose of the epilogue. So, recommended to try, with the understanding if you bog down, you have permission to Pearl Rule it.

Looks like you've had a lot of good reading lately. How have you been otherwise?

wow, yer a reading machine. I've added Fool's War (Kindle 1.99) as I really enjoyed the last Sarah Zettel books.

Speechless. Awed and speechless. So much reading finished! I...well, it's not polite to envy and detest one's hostess out loud, so I shall go and mutter sulphrously in my corner.

re: 14 Hmm, I really liked Ready Player One, I wonder if I would enjoy this as well.

re: 21 I remember back when Motel of the Mysteries came out, it was quiet amusing to me at the time, gee that was ages and ages ago.

re: 27 I just read this recently, and boy it was fun, looking forward to the next book in the series!

re: 47 I think i only ever read the first 3 or 4 of this series (back when that was all there was.) Perhaps I need to go revisit it now. Of course I would have to decide if i should read in publication order or chronological order.

re: 65 The City of Dreaming Books just has a really intriguing name, I'm probably going to have to check that out, in fact it sounds familiar, I think I read someone else talking about reading it before.

re: 84 I really enjoyed the whole Maginficent Devices series so far, read the first two when I found them, and had to wait on the last two, till they came out. I don't really pay attention to the cost of the book, unless its really pricy.

re: 86 Second the good read on The Ocean at the End of the Lane not what I expected, but still a great book by Neil Gaiman.

re: 95 I've heard reviews of Salt, Sugar, Fat on NPR, and it has piqued my interest, I really ought to check it out at some point.

Such a variety of books, old and new, some that definately give me thoughts for adding to my list!

Thanks, Morphy! Been busy prepping the house for company to come--always more of a chore than one thinks!

Beeg, which ones have you read and liked? That's my only Zettel so far.

Richard, I'm behind here. In fact, I'm getting ready to catch up my book summaries to date right now.

Stephen, thanks for your comments! Read the Brusts in chronological order, especially if you once read the first four or so. I just haven't made up my mind to plunge into the Magnificent Devices yet--waiting to see if the library picks them up, but if it doesn't, I will probably go ahead and get them. Do you have a thread? I don't find one in the 75ers group.

Book #116 Daily Life in Biblical Times by Liora Ravid (461 pp.)

This book was received as part of the Early Reviewers program.

Ravid is a PhD. in biblical studies and a native Israeli who is proficient in biblical Hebrew. She parses out the grammar and double entendres found in the original Hebrew for us as we go through the Genesis stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons, as well as Ruth and Naomi, and David and Absalom. Ravid believes that these stories are not simply legends, although some fantastical elements have been added onto the stories over the multitude of years of oral transmission, and that parsing the small bits of information encapsulated in the stories can show us that they are faithful to the conditions and laws of the time where they are supposed to happen. Walking us through the societal norms of the times, women's role in these societies, fertility, and the legal consequences of rape for both female and male, she fills in the background that is lacking for modern readers. Although I got irritated when she pretended to literary aspirations and used overly flowery language, she actually did this rarely and her typical writing style is clear and informative and interesting. I learned a lot from this book, especially about levirate law and its applications to women at these various times and places.

Book #117 In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters (387 pp.)

Wow! This is a realistic depiction of the epidemic of Spanish influenza, the reality of the horrors of WWI, and the craze for Spiritualism that existed in 1918 in the US and, in this book, set in San Diego. Our protagonist is an independent thinking 16-year-old girl, Mary Shelley, who comes to stay with her aunt and to renew connections with a childhood friend, who is leaving for the war. As if all this is not enough, with the flu decimating the population and the young men suffering from shell shock, her friend is soon dead under mysterious circumstances. Is his spirit visiting her? What happened? A gripping story, a powerful first book for the author, a fascinating picture of a society and world far distant from us in time and custom.

Book #118 The Woodcutter by Kate Danley (346 pp.)

Hmmm. I read this for a discussion group. I don't think she writes particularly well. I kept getting caught up in awkward phrases. However, despite a general distaste in the first third of the book, Danley did succeed in getting me caught up in the story finally despite her words. This is another one, like Breadcrumbs, that takes all the fairy tales you can think of and references or includes them in one way or another through the story. Recommended if you are a fairy tale addict, probably not otherwise.



Book #119 Med Ship by Murray Leinster (640 pp.)

Murray Leinster was a major figure in early science fiction. I have loved these stories forever, and picked up a free Kindle edition recently. These were a series of stories and novellas written for and published in the science fiction magazines in the late 50s and early 60s, focused around the character of Calhoun and his tormal as they travel to various planets on behalf of the Med Service to disperse the latest medical developments and deal with medical emergencies. You will find varied reviews, from love it to hated it, but I enjoy the mental gymnastics and always thought these would form the basis of a great sf tv series.



Book #120 Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (185 pp.)

This was the first book I bought this year, for my Kindle, and I finally got around to reading it. Incredibly moving in the first section, it documents some of Frankl's concentration camp experiences, which he then uses to illustrate his conceptualization of logotherapy in contrast to psychotherapy. Glad I read it.

Re 108: actually I have a thread right in this group (and last year's). It's not super long, as I tend to only update it with a pile of books about twice a month, and often give the briefest of reviews ... more quick impressions on most books.

The Isavalta series is quite good, I think Faith turned me on to her.

Man's Search for Meaning is, indeed, incredibly moving. One of my favorites.

Book #121 Tripoint by C. J. Cherryh (361 pp.)

Marie Hawkins has a bone to pick with Austin Bowe, ever since they had a collision on station 23 years ago that resulted in her son, Tom Bowe-Hawkins. And now they have come to rest at the same station again, with Bowe and his space ship in her reach. And Marie doesn't have a reputation for sane. Tom has never felt at home with his Hawkins cousins on the Sprite, but when he gets shanghaied onto the Corinthian, can he find a place with his angry father and jealous half-brother in the mix? And then there's the old Mazianni ship that wants to capture their navigator...

As usual with Cherryh, a fair amount of angst, lots of action, and darn good science fiction!



Book #122 Mainspring by Jay Lake (320 pp.)

This book was recommended both by David (tapestry) and Richard, the latter of whom is participating in a pre-mortem wake for the author who is battling a terminal disease.

Set in an alternate steam-punkish Earth, the Clockwork universe is a reality--the inhabitants can actually see the metal tracks along which the moon and the earth orbit. When a lowly apprentice receives a visitation from the Archangel Gabriel warning that the Earth's mainspring is running down and needs to be rewound, it sets into motion a chain of events

This is one of Lake's earliest works, and I think it shows in both the form of the story (the hero's quest as an extensive travelogue) and the way many of the ways of the world we brush up against are briefly considered and then left behind as the action moves on. And the preoccupation with sex was not nearly as enthralling for me as it might be with the young male, although to be fair, it did not dominate the story for the most part. But the ingenuity of the world was exciting and it made for an entertaining read. I'll be glad to see some of the author's more mature work.



Book #123 The Cardturner by Louis Sachar (336 pp.)

This book has been recently recommended by both quinaquisset and Donna, and since I've been spending the summer taking a bridge class, I requested it from the library. It is a delightful YA book that reflects Sachar's love of the game of bridge along with a cast of colorful characters, a quick read, and made even more enjoyable by the fact that I understood almost all of the bridge and enjoyed the allusions.

Book #124 Ceremony in Death by J. D. Robb (340 pp.)

Well, there certainly was a lot of sex in this one! Whew! A cop is perhaps murdered by a Satanist coven, and Eve has to investigate. 6 murders in all, but hey, it's Eve and Rourke, right?



Book #125 Chimes at Midnight by Seanan Mcguire (357 pp.)

This is the 7th in the October Daye fantasy series, and by gum, these books just keep getting better. It's impossible to summarize without a million spoilers for the earlier books, so let's just say that Toby manages, with her sidekicks, to take care of what has become a major problem. But then, McGuire adds a short story that foreshadows something along the order of "you ain't seen nothing yet!" This book, like the others, is pretty much non-stop action, and if you've liked them, you'll love this. One of the best urban fantasy series going out there!

BTW, McGuire was nominated for the 2013 Hugo Award for her novel Blackout written under her pen name Mira Grant. John Scalzi won last weekend for Redshirts, which was only saved from averagedom by its codas in my humble opinion. A dignified photo of the five nominees for best novel, taken before the award was announced, can be found here:
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3669/9703880914_518418cb6a_z.jpg

Book #126 Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (378 pp.)

I continue to slowly read the Harry Dresden books, years behind most of you. This is the third in the series, picked up for September Series & Sequels month, and it is nonstop action. Some interesting things happen to the people around Harry and I can see the development of his relationships evolving, one of the things people have said they like most about these books. At this point, though, it's still mostly action adventure, and there are other later series that probably built on this that I like better.



Book #127 The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotteril (274 pp.)

It is always such a pleasure to read a Dr. Siri book. There are always at least 3 other plots going on around the main murder mystery. Dr. Siri has accumulated a cadre of secondary characters who are a delight to meet again. Despite the brutal nature of the crimes in this one, these subplots and characters let the story be ultimately one of hope and caring.

Book #128 The Thieftaker by D. B. Jackson

Faith was the first to recommend this to me. It's set in Boston before the American Revolution and involves an alternate reality where conjurers are a reality. It is in essence a murder mystery set in an interesting political and historical reality with some magic thrown in. And not unrestrained floppy messy magic, but with specific rules and consequences. The characters and the setting were very interesting, and I liked it but was not completely blown away by it.

Book #129 Keeping It Real by Justina Robson (pp. 333)

I had this book on my list for the Worlds of Wonder Women of Genre challenge as an author I had not previous read. I am having mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I think there is some really interesting world-building going on--this is set in a future earth that has been drastically changed by the Quantum Bomb of 2015. On the other hand, Lila's self-image problems (granted, not every girl is a cyborg or a bionic woman) got a little old and the elves seemed fairly stereotypical in their allure. For some reason, Zal never came through as a complete character to me, even though he is one of the primary characters. I'm hoping it develops more depth in future books.



Book #130 Finity's End by C. J. Cherryh (564 pp.) and my 32nd book off the shelf this year

This is the 6th and final Company Wars book, and by far the best of the lot imho. The characters are superb, the world-building solid and believable, the action interesting---almost measures up to Chanur's Homecoming in my estimation! And that's saying a lot.

And now it will be on to the Cyteen books, so I can get the other side's POV. Although I want to go back to Chanur's Homecoming, the finale, to see how many of these ships I've come to know showed up there.



Book #131 Shadows: Robin McKinley by Robin McKinley (356 pp.)

Now THIS was fun! Even though I wanted McKinley to be working on the second half of Pegasus, this was a lovely digression along the way. 16-year-old Margaret has always seen the shadows clustering around her stepfather of two months, but events in Newworld are about to cause her to come to terms with them, and much more.

Book #132 Tiassa by Steven Brust (335 pp.)

This is a reread, the most recent book in my reread of Brust's entire Dragaera series, with the exception of The Phoenix Guards and 500 Years After, the very earliest ones which I have read a number of times each. This book is different from most in that it jumps around in both time and narrator, and upon my first reading, done in typical breakneck speed fashion, I really didn't appreciate it as much as I do this time, having reread the whole series in the last few months. Following a silver tiassa figurine, we drop in and out of the timeline of Vlad's life and various plots to the resolution of the final mystery.

September Summary

Books read: 12

11 new-to-me reads, one re-read
3 books off the shelf!
9 series books for Sept. S&S
5 library books
so that means three of them were recently bought books, 2 of those being published in September itself.

8 fantasy
2 science fiction
2 mystery

6 by female authors, 6 by male authors
all but one in the US, that one living in England

3 books acquired, two bought as soon as they were published and one via PaperBackSwap.
1 SF, 2 fantasy

No books out the door for September

3/4 Year Summary

132 books read. 44,554 pages read.
Average pages/book=337.5
Average pages read/day=163.2

New to me books 99
Re-reads 33
Library books 35
Books Off My Shelves 32

Science Fiction 23
Fantasy 67
Children's 13
Nonfiction 14
General fiction 2
Romance 4
Mystery 8

62 books acquired, 36 of them read

1 science fiction
27 fantasy
6 children's
12 nonfiction
2 general fiction
4 romance
2 mystery

50 books out the door

Book #133 Hounded by Kevin Hearne (304 pp.)

I'd read several reviews of this and waffled over whether to start this series or not, but David's review (tapestry) pushed me over to the "must read" side. I'm glad it did, as this was a fun read. Hearne knows his mythology and handles it responsibly--something I always appreciate in Druid modern fantasies. I like how the main character is on the fringe of things between the gods--except when he isn't. And his dog Oberon is one of the best characters in the book. Recommended for a fun fantasy read. Not nonviolent, but fun.



Book #134 The Hopfield Tales by Mike Evers ( 194 pp.)

I borrowed this from Amazon Prime because Lori (lkernaugh) really enjoyed it, and it sounded rather fun. These are three novellas with nothing in common except their location in the village of Hopfield in northern England. The tales themselves have been described in the two posted reviews. Let me say that although these were entertaining, they were very uneven and I don't think the writing was very good. The concept of learning about the past history of England through encounters in the present has been done before, perhaps most notably by Rudyard Kipling in Puck of Pook's Hill, and I'd certainly recommend that over Mr. Evers' book.

Book #135 Ad Eternum by Elizabeth Bear (96 pp.)

Sebastien returns to New Amsterdam in 1962, after Abbie's death, to a greatly changed world. This is a novella, at 96 pages, and pretty much a coda to his tales.



Book #136 A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (403 pp.)

I remember when this book was all the hue and cry, and so I picked it up on remainder when Borders was closing a few years ago. Since I'm trying to read 40 Books Off The Shelf (that's MY shelf) this year, I decided to get this one off my shelf. I must confess to not liking it as much as I expected. In part, this may be because first person, present tense is NOT my favorite way to tell a story, but also I think that the story itself failed to capture my interest fully. Gemma and her "friends" in some ways seem almost caricatures of the types needed to fill out the story, and their angst, although fully justified and in fact, in terms of the powerlessness of girls of their time to affect their future, probably the meatiest part of the story, never fully resonated with me. I have heard the sequels are not as good as the first, and so have no plans to continue with the series.

This also is book #10 out of 12 in the Worlds Without End Women of Genre contest for 2013 to read 12 award-winning female authors of F&SF who are new to me.

ETA: I could certainly see it being a favorite among actual teenage girls, however.

Book #137 Gooseberry Bluff Community College of Magic by David J. Schwartz (416 pp.)

Soooo, somehow I ended up with a sample of this book on my Kindle. Probably it was featured in one of the Bargain Books on Kindle emails. When I read the sample, I was interested just enough to check up on it at Amazon, but not interested enough to pay $3.99. But then I realized I could borrow it for free as a Prime member, so I did that.

This is a cute, fairly run-of-the-mill fantasy. Our protagonist, who is a person of color--mentioned only because this is unfortunately rare, is an agent for the Federal Bureau of Magical Affairs and entering an undercover job as an instructor at the above mentioned community college to try to trace transfers of demons. Unfortunately, things quickly get bigger and more complex. There are interesting characters among the other faculty at the college, lots of little side plots tying into the main one, and this is clearly the beginning of a series. I can't give you the main premise because Joy only comes to grasp it gradually throughout the story. So, not great literature, but some entertaining light reading.

Book #138 Cyteen: The Betrayal by C. J. Cherryh (359 pp.)

I bogged down early on this book when I first tried to read it some 20 years ago, but this time I was able to get past all the politics in the beginning and on to the real stories within. This book, the first of three on Cyteen, takes place in space but not out in space. All the action takes place at one research station on the planet of Cyteen and our POV never leaves the planet. It is a novel of personalities and politics surrounding far-reaching technologies that have the potential to, no, that HAVE affected all of humankind. Still, for me, some of the most exciting parts are the references to Earth and the Alliance and most of all to Gehenna, all in a universe we have come to know and love through Cherryh's other books. This book truly is just the first third of the story, so we end at a transition point, but nowhere near The End.

one of these days I'll go back and re-read that series

Book #139 Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan (272 pp.)

Aslan has put together in very readable fashion a reasonable consensus of what we know about the historical Jesus in his milieu. Having read the first three volumes of John P. Meier's A Marginal Jew, where the entire first volume covered the problems of knowing the historical Jesus and the methodologies used to tease out information, very little was new to me, but infinitely more readable. I think Aslan does a very good job of taking the field and presenting it to the layman. He clearly states where there are alternative views on a given topic, and cites where they may be found, as well as citing his own sources fairly extensively in the Notes. The problem, of course, is that other than the Gospels and Paul's letters and pseudo-letters, there are only two short references to Jesus that exist historically. And scholars have pretty unanimously agreed that the writers of the Gospels were not writing narratives or histories of Jesus' life, but were taking the traditions and sayings that had accumulated about Him some 30 to 60 years after his death and creating a narrative that promoted what they felt was the meaning of His life for their congregations. The great disparity of that meaning for different groups throughout the first three centuries of Christianity was the material for 3 or 4 major books I've read over the last 3 years. Aslan's views on who Jesus thought he was and his goals seem very reasonable (and probable) when interpreted in the context of his social and political milieu, although I'm sure that they will be found wanting by the devout believer.



Book #140 The Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer (252 pp.)

My brain was tired on Thursday and Friday, and so I turned to a Heyer re-read to recharge it. This is another of Heyer's early romances, set in the Georgian period before the French Revolution, and I have always loved Horry as a character. Anyone less like the stereotypical heroine would be hard to imagine. And it was interesting to see Heyer moving plot elements around--Lethbridge is very like the Duke of Andover in The Black Moth (also the villain} and the Duke of Avon in These Old Shades and Devil's Cub, who is the protagonist. The interplay between Pel and Roland is developing, but not yet at the level of that between George, Gill and Ferdy in Friday's Child. Yes, Heyer would become more of a master of her craft in later books, but there are some delicious moments in this one to savor.

Book #141 Ghost Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (328 pp.)

This reread was for my book group. Finally, Lee and Miller have pulled Theo's story (Fledgling, Saltation) and the mainstream Korval books together into the same plotline and timestream. So we get to see Miri and Val, as well as Theo and the Uncle, dealing with all the issues set up in previous books, plus a few more. Still great fun, and there was lots I didn't remember from my first read. Now I have to go immediately on to the sequel!



Book #142 Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (373 pp.)

I had forgotten when I wrote about Ghost Ship that the sequel was indeed out and I had read it last September when it came out. Doh! So of course I had to reread it immediately since I had forgotten so much of it. Mostly Theo in this book, and her adventures on Bechimo, but also we see Kamele leave her home planet and head for Korval, and a little bit of Miri and Val at home on Surebleak with their new addition. Lots of interference from the Department of the Interior, of course. Good story.

Book #143 Cyteen: The Rebirth by C. J. Cherryh (248 pp.) acquired 11-11-11, read 10/27/13

This book continues the stories of Justin Warrick and Ariane Emory. While Justin is struggling to survive in a hostile environment and to establish his work, Ari is growing up in oh so many ways. Again, this is a book of politics and technology, not space opera traveling between the stars. This is the middle book of a series, so it's on to the third now.

Book #144 Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman (128 pp.)

This is a delightfully kooky fun children's book with great illustrations, all about why a father is so late getting back with the milk for his children's breakfast cereal. It's complicated. ;-)



Book #145 Cyteen: The Vindication by C. J. Cherryh (308 pp.)

Ari is growing up, Justin is calming down, and the politics are heating up. This is the conclusion of the Cyteen trilogy, and I am still in awe at Cherryh's world-building.

Book #146 Balance of Trade by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (451 pp.)

I read the first chapter of the newly released Trade Secret and said to myself, "Self, you have got to go back and reread Balance of Trade first; it's been too long." And I was right. Trade Secret opens up with a scene directly relating to a scene in BoT that I had forgotten. It was lovely to revisit Jethri and his adventures as a Terran on a Liaden trading ship (set a couple hundred years earlier than the main Liaden books)--he's a character I really like and as usual Lee and Miller keep the interest and action going, while developing full-bodied characters.



Book #147 Trade Secret by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (356 pp.)

This sequel to Balance of Trade picks up right where the first book ended, and moves on with the action as Jethri must deal more with restoring Balance than his beloved trading, although there is some opportunity for the latter as well. The plots of other threaten not only him but also the ship upon which he grew up. However, the whole is brought to a very satisfactory conclusion.

Book #148 Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger (310 pp.)

Oh, dear! I think this one is even more fun than Etiquette & Espionage. For one thing, there is less world-building as we are already familiar with it. That leaves room for more action! And action there is. Sophronia continues at the finishing school that is housed in a dirigible and is also a training school for espionage. When boys from the local boys' school for evil geniuses join them for a trip to London, things liven up, but more than this, why are the Picklemen, the vampires, and the potentate for Queen Victoria all in a pucker over a new invention that allows flight in the aetherosphere? Never a dull moment and with that delectable tongue-in-cheek that Carriger is so good at, this was simply a lot of fun.



Book #149 Revenant Eve by Sherwood Smith (472 pp.)

This is the third book in the Dobrenica series by Smith. The first was a charming adaptation of The Prisoner of Zenda, and the second carried on Kim's story in Dobrenica. This book was quite different in that Kim's actual story is confined to the first 19 and the last 12 pages. During the rest of the book, she is a bodiless spirit connected to an ancestress 200 years in the past. We follow her across several decades, from Jamaice to England to Napoleon's Paris to Vienna and finally to Dobrenica again. So this becomes in large part a historical novel with a small amount of magic thrown in, and it is very interesting in that way, as is Aurelíe, the character she is shadowing.

Book #150 Fundamentalism and American Culture by George M. Marsden (260 pp.)

For the last three weeks, I have been working on this interesting but very, very dry work on the emergence of fundamentalism in Protestant America in the mid-1800s and its transformation by the First World War and the 1920s, and gradual subsidence into the 60s. This new edition has a chapter tacked on to address its resurgence into a political movement from the 80s on, which unfortunately is not equal to the task. This is a thorough history, but not very readable, and organized in ways that don't lend themselves to a clear comprehension. For example, Marsden doesn't explain some of the terms he is using until the third or fourth chapter.



Book #151 Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (339 pp.)

I was able to finish this last night, after having relatively little reading time recently. I liked it better than some and not so well as others, but the latter is more about the subject matter than the writing. I guess I'm more credulous than some--I really didn't see any major plot holes. I thought the author built up the suspense very skillfully in the first half of the book, and the flip arounds in the second half weren't the ones I was halfway anticipating--everything had to be reinterpreted. Clearly a lot of research went into the book, and I was willing to suspend disbelief on the few extrapolations made by the author. She didn't sugarcoat anything, and I respect her tight plotting.

Book #152 Silver by Rhiannon Held (317 pp.)

This urban fantasy was recently recommended by Inge and it was entertaining light reading, welcomed after my hectic week. It's a mystery in the affairs of werewolves--I think there is only one interaction with an actual human in the book--as to who or what injected silver into and killed an entire pack except one--and she is mad. The protagonist is a lone wolf affiliated with a pack as an enforcer, and dealing with tragedy in his past (of course). I don't read many of the werewolf books, although I have read the first Mercy Briggs and of course love how they are characterized in The Parasol Protectorate books, although they are only a small part of the whole there.



Book #153 A Turn of Light by Julie Czerneda (854 pp.)

Whew! The trade paperback is a full 2 inches thick! And it was worth every page. This is Czerneda's first sally into fantasy--she's written over a dozen very decent science fiction books--but it is one of the best fantasies I've ever read.

Jenn Nalynn is approaching her 19th birthday and adulthood and her only wish is to travel outside Marrowdell and see the world. But that is the one thing that others will kill to prevent. Because if she leaves, Marrowdell will be destroyed.

This is a magical book. Not that it is full of people doing magic. No, Marrowdell IS magic and the loving descriptions of its geography and inhabitants and their interactions brings it fully to life. Run, don't walk, to the nearest book source and get this book by this fantastic Canadian author!

Book #154 The Cats in the Doll Shop by Yona Zeldis McDonough (140 pp.)

This is an ARC that was picked up at a book show by a good friend who knows about my collection of cat books and my love of children's books last year. I started it a while ago but got distracted by other things. Today, I though its shortness and simple story would be a great contrast to the Czernada, and it was. Simple and sweet, this is a sequel to The Doll Shop Downstairs, which I have not read, but I can imagine the story. This family of immigrant parents and their American-born daughters in NYC in the early 1900s, I would think (there is still war going on in Russia), are welcoming a young cousin sent to them from Russia. There are complications and also there are cats who help iron on the complications just by being there. Charming.

Book #155 How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier (336 pp.)

Entertaining light fantasy about a high-school age girl in an alternate reality who wants to get rid of her parking fairy and attract the new boy. I enjoyed the little details of the slang and the school setting, as well as the reader's Australian accent. But this is light and should be avoided by all means by Richard dear. Although I feared at first I would not have enough interest in the character to persevere, it was quick reading and, as I said, entertaining.



Book #156 Vast by Linda Nagata (403 pp.)

What can I say about this book? Vast in scope, in time, in space--and yet with characters we can identify with. This is classic sf in the modern style. Very good.

And this is a ROOT book and it completes my WorldWithoutEnd Women of Genre Fiction challenge for 2013!

Book #159 Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (371 pp.)

This is the first of the final three books I need to read to meet my ROOT challenge (see goals above in second message) and book 4 of the Harry Dresden series. I like this book the best yet of the series. Harry is as usual between a rock and a hard place, but he manages to be one tough nut to crack.

Book #39 The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke (235 pp.)

This book of short stories continues in the world Clarke created in Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and I think I like this world better in the short tastes here.

I liked the short stories a lot, too.

so behind on threads.. I liked Clarke's short story book too, although I have a soft spot for her meandering epic. I keep wondering if she will write anything else! Happy new year too.

Book #161 Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (622 pp.)

This will probably be my final book completed for 2013 and completes my ROOT challenge for the year of reading 40 books off my own shelf, 25 of which had to be acquired prior to 2012. It was a very enjoyable classic fantasy--lots of people have mentioned liking the magic system but for me, it was the characters themselves that immediately pulled me into the story and kept me there. I can see why this book has so many fans.

Happy New Year to all of you, too!