Athabasca - Personal reading journal 2011

An attempt to keep some sort of list of what I'm reading this year. I seem to be collecting more books than reading, at the moment.

January 2011 Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold.
One of my favourite authors. Again Bujold doesn't disappoint. I wonder why Miles is such an appealling character? - the humanity, interest in others, insatiable curiosity or the manic approach to life that leaves everyone else scrabbling to keep up? I've already re-read this several times - like a good wine, Bujold just keeps getting better and better.

January 2011 Bullet by Laurell K Hamilton
One in the series that I missed - probably explains why I've been finding this whole series difficult to follow recently (and a bit tedious - who knew you could have too much sex in a book?). I really enjoyed the earlier books, but now seldom bother to buy these titles. This one wasn't so bad and did explain some stuff I've been finding confusing. However, they never seem to go anywhere (except back to bed)!

January 2011 Fallen by Lauren Kate
I really adore the Twilight books and thought I might try this one. Not finished it and I'm not sure about it yet. I'll probably persevere - it might turn out OK.

Finished this yesterday. Not sure about it still - there seemed to be a lot of information jumbled in the last 20 or so pages - and a complete turnaround with characters and plot. Not sure it's worth persevering with. Almost like the end of the book belonged to a completely different book to the beginning. Confusing.

Welcome to the pub's journal room! I feel your pain about collecting more books than you're reading. That's been the story of my life for the last two years. However, having a job is nothing to be scoffed at. :) My motto: "One of these days"

Let me join in...in welcoming you to our friendly little pub. We chat about all sorts of things here and I hope you'll find time to dip your toe into more than one streaming thread.

I will add your thread to the list!

Thanks for the welcome guys. I am already enjoying many of the threads - I just tend to be more of a lurker - but I'm trying to get over it!

January 2011 Lord of the changing winds by Rachel Neumeier

A great wee fantasy. I kept thinking it was about to get predictable and then it would veer off in a different direction than I had expected. Written with a really light touch, good on character and some interesting ideas. Not a particularly demanding read, but an enjoyable one - definitely worth looking out for the sequels.

January 2011 Son of Avonar by Carol Berg

A re-read. I quite enjoyed this, although I did find it confusing first time round and maybe a bit predictable in places. There are two main storylines - the present and what happened to Seri in the past. The interweaving of both is interesting and confusing at the same time. However the gradual denouement is well-handled and you get very involved in the characters. I will need to have a look out for the sequel. (update: already in my collection!) She is quite a challenging author, but worth sticking with.

January 2011 Storm glass by Maria V Snyder
Part one of a trilogy, but also a continuation of an earlier trilogy, which makes things a bit difficult to follow. However, a fair beginning - it's easy to care for the characters. The main character takes self-doubt a bit far and the romance stuff is a bit obvious. Apart from that, a rollicking read with an interesting magic system and some surprising twists and turns. I will look out for the next one.

February 2011 Land of the burning sands by Rachel Neumeier
Second in the Griffin Mage trilogy. Very enjoyable, with an interesting central character - a geas-bound slave who escapes one master, just to fall in with another, but far different, one. His future then takes a rather surprising direction. Fewer griffins this time, but more about justice and necessity. A bit of a deus-ex-machina at the end, but nonetheless enjoyable.

February 2011 Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
An enjoyable romp, a bit better than many of the genre. Probably helped by being gradually introduced to the whole school/Moroi/dhampir thing. They do seem a bit like a jazzed up high-school romance, with a bit of Buffy-like behaviour. Maybe why I enjoy them - normal teenage angst set against a paranormal background. A fun read - must look out for the rest.

February 2011 Law of the broken earth by Rachel Neumeier

The last of the Griffin Mage trilogy and a very satisfying conclusion. Another land and more gifts and mage-talents and even more interesting characters. A fairly easy read, but with great themes of love, honour, justice, necessity and balance. All the main characters from the previous books make an appearance. Perhaps wrapped up a bit conveniently at the end, but a thoroughly enjoyable, if rather light read. I wouldn't recommend reading it without first reading the first two. Nowhere near as dark as a lot of fantasies. I confess I'm getting a bit tired of all the misery, torture and anti-hero stuff in other fantasies. Maybe I'm just getting old, but I prefer something a bit simpler. I tend to enjoy a lot of YA stuff, maybe I'm regressing. Life just seems too short to spend in a very dark fantasy, unless it's particularly well-written.

Wow - I only just realised - I'm well into six weeks of reading and so far, only female authors. When did that happen? 9 books seems to be a bit of a pattern. I've just added two books to my rucksack for a short trip - and they're both by women too. I hadn't realised that so much of what I read is written by women. I checked the LT map and was surprised to find that nearly 50% of the authors I own are American - guess I can blame Amazon for that. I must check the ratio of male/female. Perhaps the female slant has been a recent thing? When I started reading sf/fan, there were hardly any female authors - apart from CJ Cherryh, Anne McCaffrey and Andre Norton.

Well, Ursula K LeGuin and a few others have been around for quite some time as well, so... ;-)

In general gender has nothing to do with my choice in books but I've noticed I read more books written by women since I jumped on to the LT train. I have not stopped to analyse how this come, though.

Busifer - yeah, I had forgotten LeGuin (I was a big fan of Earthsea).

I was just taken by surprise by the number of women writers I'm reading. A friend of mine insists she only reads women authors and I tended to think I was a bit broader in my reading habits. So it surprised me to see how gender-specific my reading is - without ever noticing! (So there was some point, after all, to keeping a reading journal :-))

At one point I made the same discovery. I countered it with trying to read some male authors. Reversed misogyny? ;-)

Re #4

I hated the first Twilight book, but thought I'd give Fallen a go, as I like some of the ideas behind Twilight, but not the writing. I'm afraid I found Lauren Kate's style to be terribly slow-moving, despite quite a decent opening. A hundred-odd pages and nothing is happening!

I've given up for how and moved on to Beatrice Colin's The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite, which after four chapters is terrific.

Ian, I struggled with Lauren Kate's style too and the opening of Fallen is the best part. The very end is interesting, but in an almost un-connected way to the start. Bit bizarre.

I confess I do like the Twilight books a lot, while recognising they're not that well written and there are a whole lot of issues about them. I think that Stephenie Meyer, like JK Rowling, just hit the zeitgeist and they seemed so fresh compared to everything else around at the time. Of course, now they have both caused a whole new industry of vampire romances and schoolboy wizards to grow up around them, some of which are not very good. I wonder if new writers are being "pushed" into these genres to sell books quickly, before the zeitgeist moves on? I have to say Lilly Aphrodite looks interesting - better luck with that one!

I like the selection of authors you've read so far. Have you read anything else of Carol Berg's ?

Reading Fox - so far I am having a bit of a problem with Carol Berg. I really liked Transformation, but, although I own it, I seem not to be able to start Revelation. It's been on my TBR pile for a long time. I enjoyed Son of Avonar, but am only halfway through Guardians of the Keep (for the last few months).

I am maybe finding her a bit more challenging than I like - however, I have just purchased The spirit lens, so something keeps drawing me back to her, but not whole-heartedly!! Do you enjoy her writing? Is there something I am missing here?

March 2011 Grave sight by Charlaine Harris
The first book in a series about a woman who can find dead bodies. She then gets drawn into solving the mystery of four murdered people - three of whom were murdered before she turns up, but no-one had really noticed! The book's got a few flaws, but the characters are interesting and it may be a series that gets better further on. Seems a bit of a journeyman work. I never got into her other (Sookie) vampire stuff, perhaps this series might suit me better??

March 2011 Treachery in death by J.D. Robb

Another installment in a great wee series. This times it's a dirty (and rather unbelievable) cop who is foolish enough to mess with Eve Dallas. Some fun interactions with the extensive cast of characters who now grace this series, but definitely one for the fans. I suppose it's asking a lot to keep the quality of a series going for so long. However, it would have to be outlandishly schmaltzy before I gave up on these. A really fun read.

March 2011 Halfway to the grave by Jeaniene Frost

Another girl vampire-hunter series - but actually quite well-written. She has all the usual hang-ups, but there is some character development going on and an interesting background story. She ends up working for Homeland Security after giving up the gorgeous vampire lover, but I suspect that'll sort itself out in later books. Not bad. Perhaps the best of these I've read (other than Patricia Briggs).

March 2011 Visions of heat by Nalini Singh

My first Nalini Singh book. It was fine - interesting characters and world-building. This is obviously in the middle of a series, as she spent some time catching up on characters from earlier books and setting up the next few books. Sometimes a bit gruesome and the characterisation a bit one-dimensional, but a fun read that kept pulling you along. A little Mills n Boony with regard to gender stereotypes - a lot of he-man (or he-jaguar) stuff going on. Not sure I'll bother to seek out the rest, but OK for a bit of a distraction.

March 2011 Grave surprise by Charlaine Harris

Second in the Harper Connelly series. This series is starting to really take off. Again the corpse-hunter gets drawn into a murder investigation. It's a pretty easy read - finished in one evening, but very enjoyable. As well as corpses, we now have psychics and ghosts, (and a reeaaallly complicated romance!)but it's all brought together pretty nicely. Good characters, an interesting plot with lots of twists. All in all a fun read - I'll definitely look out for the rest.

The Grave series and the Lily Bard series are just as good as the Sookie series and sometimes even better.

Thanks for that, Morphidae.

I had missed the Lily Bard series entirely. I've reserved the omnibus from the library and will give it a go. I had tried to read one of the Sookie books, but did not enjoy it - perhaps I picked one in the middle of the series. Once I've tried these two series, I'll maybe have another go at the Sookie titles. :-)

March 2011 The better part of darkness by Kelly Gay

Not sure about this one - it started promisingly, but failed to grab my attention after that. Perhaps it's the first book of a series that then had to carry too much information and the author just got carried away with too many bright ideas. A recently dead cop starts experiencing strange powers in a really messed-up Atlanta. Portals into parallel worlds have led to a really complex reality. Add to that a recent divorce and a teenage daughter, and I think you just have too much stuff going on. I struggled to finish this and I don't think I'll bother with the rest.

March 2011 An ice cold grave by Charlaine Harris

The third of the Harper Connelly books. This one was really good with serial killers; multiple corpses and they're starting to sort out that romance. Very readable, but, what is it with so many murders going un-noticed, largely due to deliberate head-in-the-sand behaviour? Apart from that, this was an absorbing read, if a pretty quick one. Now, where did I put the next book in the series...?

#22: Hello there! :O)

Athabasca, the only work I own by Carol Berg is The Cartamandua Legacy, which I have yet to read. Have you read it?

Also, I really really was tempted to buy The Spirit Lense, but it was out of my price range. Are you reading it? Depending on what you think I might go get it after all! Keep me posted! :O)

~Pandora~

Wow. I'm so bad at keeping in touch with threads I've posted in. Janny Wurts recommened her to me a while back. SO afr I've onyl come across Song of the Beast which I did enjoy a lot. But 1 book isn't that representative of an author's style.

Hi Pandora and Reading Fox

So far I haven't read either of those (more to add to the EEEnormous TBR pile!).

Pandora - I just need to finish Guardians of the Keep first, then I promise I'll have a go at The Spirit Lens. (OMG...the pressure!!) :O)
Do tell me what you think when you've read the Cartamandua legacy.

Reading Fox - Song of the beast looks great and very similar to Transformation which I would highly recommend. I really need to finish that series...I don't really know why I'm vacillating, as I really enjoyed Transformation...maybe I just don't want to be disappointed by book two?

March 2011 Reunion in death by J.D. Robb

A re-read. A very enjoyable dip back into this series with all the usual elements - includes a rather harrowing trip back down memory lane for Eve Dallas. Good action, interesting development of relationships.

March 2011 Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

The 4th (and perhaps last) book in the Harper Connelly series. An excellent read as Harper comes home and eventually solves the disappearance of her sister. I really enjoyed this series, which I think just got better and better. I found the characters really engaging and the plots, though a little flawed, were interesting enough to keep me reading. I really must have another go at the vampire stuff and some of her other series.

March 2011 Shalador's Lady by Anne Bishop

Wow. I love the Black Jewels. I thought this one was better than the first in the series, which got too much involved in the goings-on at the Keep. A grand wee read with everything turning out alright in the end and everyone getting their just desserts (you really need to read the book to follow the humour!). OK, a bit/very schmaltzy, but a perfect read for a quiet Saturday afternoon.

March 2011 To war with Wellington by Peter Snow

This has taken me ages, as I was only reading a chapter at a time - otherwise I just found I was mixing up all the battles and names!

Perhaps a bit Peninsular War-lite (probably deliberately to reach a larger audience than the military history set.) It was well-written and very readable with lots of excerpts from the diaries and letters of the men who fought in Wellington's armies.

I hadn't realised that Harry and Juana from The Spanish Bride by Georgette Heyer were real people - they certainly play a part in this narrative. Some day, I would really like to read this alongside the Sharpe series - I think Bernard Cornwell was pretty accurate.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone unfamiliar with this campaign - it is a whole lot clearer than many books written about military history. Real military history aficionados might find it a bit on the light side.

(Update: Yeeaaah - my first book by a male author this year!)

ETA: edited to update; to try to fix touchstones and messing about with images

Fascinating. That Georgette Heyer must be the only one my grandmother didn't have a copy of. Just checked: Harry is Sir Harry Smith, sometime Governor of what was then the Cape Colony, and widely popular he was, too. He's commemorated in the town of Harrismith in the Free State (the main business of which now seems to be feeding and watering travellers between Johannesburg and Durban -- it's almost exactly halfway), and less obviously the town of Aliwal North, Eastern cape. This was named after a Battle of Aliwal in India, where Smith was on the winning side. Juana made a hit here in her own right, and is commemorated in the towns of Ladysmith (Kwazulu-Natal; major siege in the Anglo-Boer War) and Ladismith, Western Cape (where they make CHEESE!), and in a peak in the Eastern Cape called Juanasberg. And, confusingly, in the local common name spanspek for a winter(?) melon. That unpacks to "Spaanse spek" = "Spanish bacon", as it was Lady Smith's favourite breakfast.

hfglen: Yeah, Peter Snow covered a lot of that in this book (I think Georgette Heyer ended with Waterloo - I need to re-read that book!). Considering the battles Harry Smith was in, it's amazing he survived at all or that the marriage was a long and happy one, given they met at the sacking of Badajoz. If you add all his adventures together, they seem too far-fetched to be true. One of those times when real life trumps fiction! :o)

(Funny how there's always a connection to CHEESE?)

March 2011 Beowulf by Seamus Heaney

I read this after seeing it on the TIOLI thread in January. It was excellent. When I think how terrible it was in earlier translations! Heaney's introduction was very erudite - I had to reach for the dictionary several times, but he has done great justice to this epic saga. A rollicking read that casts quite a bit of light on the fantasy genre and Tolkien in particular. Note to self: buy a copy of this sometime!

I read some version of Beowulf in 8th Grade, probably true enough to the original to properly note the characters (Beowulf, Grendel, Grendel's mother, etc.) but not more than that. With all the press surrounding the Heaney translation, I have often wondered whether reading this version would create a more positive impression of the story. Is this a particularly academic treatment or is it something one can read without a lot of background?

Jillmwo - like you I had read another translation that I found really hard work. The poetry here is very accessible, but the introduction (which I think you should read - even if only for the explanation about "So" - the first word of the poem!) is pretty academic. Several people on the TIOLI discussion had listened to the audio version narrated by Heaney and they all highly recommended it.
P.S. I do think inflicting Old English sagas, even in translation, on kids is a bit sadistic. What age is 8th grade?

Eighth grade is generally age 12-13; in the American system, it's considered the end of childhood and entry into real adolescence. Thus the curriculum that year has some level of increased expectations. I remember that we read Hiroshima that year as well. Such happy reading options. Still, no doubt Beowulf appealed to the male half of the class. It wasn't told in prose; there was some attempt to offer it as epic poetry, as I recall.

>41 Athabasca: Beowulf!!!!! I have never read any translation or edition of the legend. I'm putting that on my wishlist.

Well, DragonFreak, if you're into dragons, Beowulf's got a good one!

March 2011 Guardians of the Keep by Carol Berg

I think I know what keeps me from enjoying Carol Berg wholeheatedly - her dark side is very dark. However, that said, a good second book of the trilogy - developing a lot of the threads of the first book and setting up the final clash. I did enjoy it, once I got through the darkest passages. There are great characters and moving between different points of view was easier, now that we know the characters better. I'm looking forward to the resolution, although I'm sure it'll be cataclysmic, now that she has set up such inimical worlds.

>46 Athabasca: Yes, Beowulf is among my top 5 favorite myths. I probably wouldn't have heard it if it wasn't for the show Clash of the Gods on the History Channel. Beowulf is the ultimate fighter. It's like the Herculeas of Norse myths. That makes sense, right? I saw this one movie one time, but it's not exactly the same as the true myth, but the overall effectiveness wasn't lost. But yeah, the first chance I get, I'm reading it.

So, three months in and what have I read?

22 books
20 new; 2 re-read
20 female writers; 2 male

Owned 7; Library books 15

Fantasy 7
Crime 7
Urban fantasy 5
Non-fiction 2
Science Fiction 1

Favourite so far - Cryoburn
2 series completed - Griffin Mage and Harper Connelly
Wonder what that all means?

(Oh - and met 10 really nice people!)

Nice to have Miles V. back in action in Cryoburn.

Yes jnwelch - It is great to have the wee man back. I always worry 'though. I once heard LMB say that she created stories around the worst thing that could happen to the hero and how he dealt with that. OK ( careful about spoilers!) the end of the book qualifies, but I'm usually concerned about what she might inflict on Miles in the course of the story! :-)

Hah! Yes, I'd heard that, too. Good thing he's a resilient fellow! Ekaterin can keep a bit of an eye on him now, too. Wish she'd been with him in this one.

April 2011 Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong

I've struggled with this series - some I've liked, some I haven't - it hasn't helped that I tend to stumble on them out of order. However, this one I really liked. I think the Elena/Clay relationship has developed enough to be worth reading - I confess I usually want to bang their heads together. Set in Alaska with more werewolves and other supernaturals, this is an enjoyable romp that kept my interest to the end. Perhaps I should go back and try this series from the beginning...

April 2011 Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong

Almost a prequel to this series, describing Clayton and Jeremy's back-story. It was an OK read - more interesting because you know most of the characters. Not sure it stands on it's own.

April 2011 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Would you believe I've never read The Hobbit? I've tried a few times, but never made it past the trolls! I was tempted to have another go as part of the 'Striking cover art' TIOLI, as I've always loved Tolkien's cover design.

To get me through it this time, I tried it as an audio book. That did work a bit better but I have to confess, I found it all a bit wearisome, until the very final chapters. The Lord of the Rings is my favourite book, but I didn't really enjoy the prequel, although it was interesting tracing some of the connections between this and the epic sequel. However, at least I have finally finished it - so something was achieved.

April 2011 Soulless by Gail Carriger

Oh my, this was so much fun! Kinda Georgette Heyer meets Buffy, in the most ladylike way! Great characters and an interesting set-up. I can't wait to read the follow-ups. Such a pleasure to read!

#55- The Hobbit isn't really a prequel. I'm fairly sure it was written first and intended to stand alone as a atory in it's own right. However Tolkein's children wanted to know more about the world, so JRR set-to and a few decades later LoTR was there. They are quite different in style.

April 2011 South Riding by Winifred Holtby

This was an amazing read - I couldn't put it down. I picked it from LizzieD's collection as part of the April TIOLI Tag mirror challenge. I wanted to have a go at something outside my normal range and this book certainly qualified. The writing was beautiful and the characters and storylines engaging. I don't really know how to do this book justice - in a funny way the nearest analogue I can think of is Dickens - it certainly has that type of sweep, cast of characters and social conscience to it.

I'm kicking myself because the BBC has just aired a dramatisation of this and I missed it completely - one to search for on DVD.

April 2011 Too many cooks by Rex Stout

My first Nero Wolfe. It was fine - a bit Poirot-ish, in a very American fashion. I like the narrator and the crime was complex enough to be interesting. Very much of it's time with regard to women and black people, but an enjoyable romp for all that.

Glad you enjoyed the Nero Wolfe. Just so you know, Archie is mine. ;) This is one of my favorites because of the food aspects, but another is Some Buried Caesar, for the little digs back and forth between Archie and Wolfe. Also, it inspired me to create the best chicken and dumpling recipe ever.

MrsLee - Perish the thought of getting between you and Archie! :o)

'though I am jealous! I really enjoyed how he kept taking the mick out of Wolfe and himself. I'll keep an eye out for Some buried Caesar, as I did enjoy the interactions between the two characters. I'm afraid my cooking skills are nothing to write home about, but always happy to get involved in a tasting!

I don't think you met Saul Panzer in Too Many Cooks, but if you can persuade him to give me a second thought, I'll let you have Archie. Fickle, I know, but I could never keep Archie happy on the dance floor, and I am way over his age limit.

ETA: I just peeked at your profile and see you are from Scotland, these mysteries are quintessential American in their tone, wondering how that part will seem to you? Archie is a smarta** about many things, but it always seems tongue-in-cheek to me. Also, there is a Nero Wolfe group here called The Black Orchid. It is quiet, but usually perks up when new folks speak up there.

MrsLee - I've ordered Some buried Caesar from the library and will get back to you about the Archie/Saul decision.

I do sometimes find American books, particularly earlier ones, can be a bit difficult to really engage with. The language and customs seem very different For example - why do you all go around holding your thumbs? What's that all about? :o)
I suspect that humour, as with French, does not always "translate" exactly - however that is true of most historical writing.

I agree that Nero Wolfe does seem very American in style - however, I adored the very early Lesley Charteris books for exactly the same reason! So I am happy to keep on trying to bridge the trans-Atlantic divide! All the best

Re: "holding thumbs" One day, I have no recollection how long ago, we were chatting about crossing fingers (hoping something nice would happen) and one of our GD frequent posters said that in her country the term was "holding thumbs". We adopted that expression because it seems quite nice. Just a minor bit of fun, and makes us feel like a community.

#64:

*chuckle*
You know, I've often wondered in passing where that saying came from! Another mystery solved! Thanks, Maggie. :O)

April 2011 Myrren's gift by Fiona Mcintosh

I was enjoying this to start off - fairly standard fare of honourable man trying to serve dishonourable Prince. However, I just got so irritated by the uneven writing and particularly the stupidity of the main character! How many times can the country's "greatest swordsman and strategist" get captured/tricked and generally abused? A pity - some nice elements let down by poor plotting and wayward characterisation. It seems to be the first in a trilogy, it could get better, I suppose....

Ah, I love the standard fare of honourable men, but not when they react unevenly or seem like a dupe.

I believe it was Busifer that started the "holding thumbs" so maybe Sweden?

Oh, Saul isn't in Some Buried Caesar, either. He features in the stories where Wolfe stays in New York. I'll see if I can find out one of the better ones with him in it. You really must read some of those. Even though I love to see Wolfe all uncomfortable in the country out of his element, the New York stories have a feel all their own.

Thanks MrsLee, I'll look forward to that!



April 2011 Sworn to silence by Linda Castillo

A cracking wee crime set in Amish country - a bit too gory for me, but it raced along, drawing me more and more into the mystery. I'll certainly look out for the rest of this series!

Alright, I've put out inquiries to some of my friends here who are Stout fans, we'll see if they come up with anything different, but for me, I recommend:

Champagne for One I love the title, the book always reads hauntingly to me. Very noir, and Saul and Archie have some fun in it.

Three Witnesses In this is a short story called The Next Witness, and some fun insights into Saul.

The Mother Hunt I'm not sure this has Saul at all. I just like it. :)

April 2011 Day of atonement by Faye Kellerman

The fourth in the Decker/Lazarus series. A re-read. I really like these - I like the Jewish background, I like how grumpy Decker is, I like the romance and I generally like the crime-busting. The end of the series has become a bit cynical for me, but I really enjoyed the first half-dozen or so.

MrsLee - thanks for the reading suggestions. I'll add them to my wishlist. I'm looking forward to reading more Nero Wolfe.

#64/65 I'm pretty sure it is Busifer's saying from Sweden.

#66 - "It seems to be the first in a trilogy, it could get better, I suppose....
"
I doubt it somehow. I read betrayal by the same author, the start of another series. It wasn't any better than how you've described it - good ideas but uneven execution - and I haven't gone on to read any more of her work.

April 2011 Some buried Caesar by Rex Stout

Another rollicking read from Rex Stout. Nero Wolfe at his best - I was killing myself laughing at him and the bull!
*Wonders how she's going to tell MrsLee about the other woman in Archie's life?*

Lily Rowan is merely a trinket, I am the real deal for him. *stamps foot firmly*

April 2011 Changeless by Gail Carriger

Part of Do Nothing But Read Day. Again I really enjoyed this - lots of fun with some great one-liners, for example:

"I should hate to go to Scotland! It is such a barbaric place. It is practically Ireland!"

"Imagine if it got known that I had been knifed by a maid, a French maid, no less? Had I died, I should never have lived it down!"

"The dirigible came to rest as lightly as a butterfly on an egg, if the butterfly were to stumble a bit and list heavily to one side and the egg to take on the peculiar characteristics of Scotland in winter: more soggy and more gray than one would think possible"

I will need to add the rest to my wishlist. I highly recommend these to anyone who enjoys historical or urban fantasy or just wants a fun read.

April 2011 Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Again, finished as part of DNBR Day. A great fantasy of the pig-boy-saves-the-world type (or pig-girl in this case). Well-written with a rather complex plot which takes rather a long time to make much sense. That's probably why it has taken me so long to finish. However, a very enjoyable read with a very satisfying conclusion and I'm keen to see what happens next.

April 2011 Oath of fealty by Elizabeth Moon

I really enjoyed this - it is a bit disjointed, following the lives of three of Paks' friends from the Sheepfarmer's daughter series. All three are taking on new responsibilities, if in different areas. So there are lots of similarities between the three narratives, but they are sufficiently diverse to maintain your interest - I wonder if it might not have been better to go with three separate books, as the three narratives are obviously unfinished? Quite a bit of time was spent setting up for trouble coming in the next instalment.

However an enjoyable fantasy, very like the last book of the earlier series. I've already ordered Kings of the North.

April 2011 Jonas Beautiful dead by Eden Maguire

Not sure about this one. YA, with a promising premiss, but really just an investigation of a crime by a teenage girl who has a hunky un-dead (or maybe dead is a better expression) boyfriend. A bit obvious in places, but a fairly pleasant, undemanding read. I don't think I'll bother with the rest of the series, but a harmless way to spend an hour...

April 2011 Silk by Alessandro Baricco

A great little romance. A very quick read, yet one of those books that keeps resonating. It has an almost Japanese sparseness but also flashes of that peculiarly French small village eccentricity. A thoroughly enjoyable novelette.

Silk is a surprise favorite of mine. I hadn't heard of it before joining LT, and thoroughly enjoyed it. As you say, a quick read but one that keeps resonating.

Tried to fix the touchstone.

(Been on hols for a week, so actually managed to finish some books!)



April 2011 River marked by Patricia Briggs

I really like this author and thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a description of a developing relationship, it was great, with some fab one-liners. There was also a good plot, although perhaps a little obvious. A great addition to the series.

April 2011 The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Read as part of the GD joint read. An interesting book that was perhaps let down by the unevenness of the writing. The contrast between the science and the reality of the Lacks family's life was maybe too great and meant there was too much variety of tone - although credit to the author for trying to represent the family in their own voice, rather than sterilising their own view of their reality. Perhaps it was her inability to balance that with the scientific view of what had happened that led to the book not living up entirely to its promise.

May 2011 Exit strategy by Kelley Armstrong
An enjoyable romp - assassins hunting down a serial killer. Good characters and interesting relationships. I'm keen to find the rest of the series.

I quite liked Exit strategy too, it's an interesting change from her Urban Fantasy stuff.

Hi Reading_fox, I think I preferred this to some of the other stuff she writes. I've enjoyed a few, but lost the will to live while reading some of the others. I think I just don't like some of her protaganists or at least don't like how they behave!

May 2011 Captain Wentworth's diary by Amanda Grange

This had been recommended by one of the other DNBR posters. It was great fun. I enjoyed Persuasion, but had always found Captain Wentworth a bit unsympathetic. This book paints him a lot more vividly than Austen had and describes their earlier meetings, which are only alluded to in Persuasion. A light read that fairly galloped along.

May 2011 Mission of Honor by David Weber

I really loved the earliest Honor books - a great mix of military sf and actual characters. However, the last few have been unbearably schmaltzy (even for me and I seem to have a very high schmaltz tolerance). This one seems to be getting back on track. Weber has the usual problem of trying to create adequate jeopardy after developing a seemingly omnipotent hero, but, in this case, he doesn't over-do it. All the usual suspects (cast of 1000s, by now) are here and the rather labyrinthine plot of the last few books is coming to some sort of fruition. I suppose the series is suffering from most of the problems of a long-running series, but this one seems to be getting back to the quality of the earliest books. (note to self: must find synonyms of schmaltzy!)

(Update - for future use: sentimental, corny, cheesy, mushy, soppy, cloying, maudlin, slushy, mawkish, tear-jerking, bathetic, overemotional ) And yet, I still like 'em!

May 2011 The hare with amber eyes by Edmund de Waal

Read as part of the May "Orwell prize" TIOLI challenge. A memoir of the recent history of a European Jewish family who owned a collection of netsuke. The author traces the collection from Paris of the 1890s to post-war Japan. A light, but engrossing, read that explores both the recent history of Europe and Japan and a lost world of wealth and privilege, often expressed through the arts. A bit of a miscellany (it reminds me of the old British Museum, before the Great Court was built - a labyrinth of 18th and 19th century gentlemen's collections), but an elegantly written insight into one family's history.

May 2011 Made to be broken by Kelley Armstrong

Number two in the Nadia Stafford series. This was fun - very like the first book with assassins chasing a killer. Goes over a lot of the ideas of the first, without developing them much, but an enjoyable read with some good characters and will she/won't she romantic interest(s).

May 2011 Masques by Patricia Briggs

A bit of a journeyman work this (as the author now admits). The characters are rather one-dimensional and the plotting seems a bit haphazard, with a few deus-ex-machina elements - a very convenient dragon and the sudden acquisition of extreme healing powers, to mention just two. I think Patricia Briggs could develop this into a good fantasy series - the ingredients are all there. However, this book isn't particularly strong and, had it been written by someone else, I doubt I would have finished it.

May 2011 Magic at the gate by Devon Monk

A pretty good addition to the series. I really like the characters - there just might be too many of them now, with magic-users and Hounds and several different types of bad-guy. However, I like the main character and I adore Stone. (I want a gargoyle!) There is perhaps too much going on, but there's a lot of energy in the writing and I am keen to see how it all plays out.

Don't really like using wishlist for books I don't intend to buy...I have to return a few books to the library and don't want to forget them. (Memory's going with old age!)

My soul to take by Rachel Vincent
The well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

Too many threads/too many books
The Virginian by Owen Wister
Cavalier of the Apocalypse by Susanne Alleyn
James Joyce by Richard Ellmann (in library cat.)
The uncommon reader by Alan Bennett (in library cat.)
The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip
Hounded by Kevin Hearne
She walks in beauty; a woman's journey through poems by Caroline Kennedy
Keep this forever by Mark Halliday
French illustrators: Benjamin Lacombe/Rébecca Dautremer
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman
The Sisters of Sinai by Janet Soskice (in library cat.)
Will the Vampire People Please Leave the Lobby? by Allyson Beatrice
The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Bel canto by Ann Patchett (in library cat.)
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
Black prism by Brent Weeks (in library cat.)
Lamy of Santa Fe by Paul Horgan

May 2011 One foot in the grave by Wm Mark Simmons

This was pretty good. Written back in 1996 before the urban fantasy thing had really taken off, it has a certain freshness. The hero finds himself sort-of-undead and involved in a whole new world of vampires and ghoulies. There's quite a good plot and a whole slew of interesting characters. An enjoyable journey into the pre-Twilight vampire sub-culture.

May 2011 Still life by Louise Penny

I picked this up after hearing lots about the series on other threads. I'm not 100% sure about it. An interesting crime novel with a great detective - a very humane character. I maybe found the background a bit mundane. However, all-in-all a good read and I'll look out for the rest. I think the series might grow on me. Or perhaps cozy crime isn't really my thing?

May 2011 Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
This was surprisingly good. A rather naive London police constable ends up working for the wizard division of New Scotland Yard (more or less). Full of lots of Harry Potter and other pop culture references - quite a light read which treated the whole supernatural stuff very pragmatically. London itself was definitely one of the main characters and this book will be particularly enjoyable to people who know the city well. It looks like it's the beginning of a series and I'll certainly look out for the others.

May 2011 The cruellest month by Louise Penny

Ooooh! I may have seriously underestimated this series! This is no.3 - no.2 isn't in the library catalogue. It's much more complex than the first, or rather has brought out into the open issues only hinted at in the first book.

While being a cozy crime set in a wee Brigadoon with the murder rate of Southern California (very Midsomerish), the village is also surrounded by a sea of police corruption and malice. The main detective is hugely engaging - a man of honour fighting against a tide of evil. There is also a whole cast of interesting and involving characters - some time is spent developing the stories of the background characters and promising more chicanery for later books. Very, very good indeed!

And that's my fiftieth book this year. So an average of around 10 per month. However, thanks to LT, the TBR pile is going down very slowly. The Tioli challenges are making a bit of a difference, as it's fun to try to fit some of the TBR books into the various challenges - of course they also throw up all sorts of other books I want to read too! Hohum - gaining on the swings, losing on the roundabouts! :o)

Wow, several of us finished Rivers of London/Midnight Riot at the same time. And it appears we all liked it!

drneutron - like you I found Rivers of London a fun wee read. I suspect we were all led astray simultaneously by other LTers! (Isn't it annoying when they publish the same book with different titles - it's like they haven't noticed how small the world is becoming!)

Oh my - I love LibraryThing! I was lurking on LizzieD's new thread, when everything went wild. Just as I was panicking a new message came up:
"Features being released; expect weirdness"
Don't do that to me - I'm too fragile for those kinds of surprises! :o)

May 2011 Wolf hunt by Gillian Bradshaw #51

A lovely wee romance that I keep coming back to re-read. A whole different take on the werewolf thing. Set in the Middle Ages and fairly low-key, this is one of my favourite romances.

>100 Athabasca: That's too funny! Only on here would that have happened!

Yeah, Dragonfreak - I was panicking that I had broken LizzieD's shiny new thread! :0)

May 2011 The Lily Bard mysteries by Charlaine Harris #52-57

Thanks for the recommendation, Morphidae - these were great. Interesting mysteries with a great heroine, sexy love interest and some great characters. Small town America seems just as dangerous as some of those sweet English villages! I did take some time to read the omnibus, as I found that the stories were a bit similar and you lost some of the effect by reading them too closely together. I suppose that proves there is some point in the year-long wait for a new book in a series (which I usually hate).

I really will need to try the Sookie books again, as I really enjoyed these and the Harper Connelly books.

Yeah, I can't imagine reading them one right after the other. I think I took about a year to read them all.

May 2011 Moon called by Patricia Briggs #58

A re-read. I really like this series, which I think is among the best of the Urban Fantasy books around. Good characters and plots set in an interesting urban fantasy world. It makes a difference that the main character is so engaging.

In May, I also read the first in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Perry; I look forward to reading more titles in this series based at least in part on your recommendation.

Cool jillmwo - I hope you enjoy them - I'm really looking forward to reading more of that series!

May 2011 Silent speaker by Rex Stout #59

Another Nero Wolfe and a pretty good one. I did get a bit confused with all the different suspects, but I was hugely amused by Wolfe's bare-faced underhandedness lack of scruples - the man doesn't have a moral bone in his body. :0)

June 2011 Stark's war by John G Hemry #60

I really like the "Black Jack Geary" series written by Jack Campbell - I'm not sure which name is the pseudonym. This is a lot simpler - what happens when the grunts eventually rebel against the military hierarchy. The book is quite well-written and a bit of an easy read. A rather old-fashioned military sf series.

June 2011 The iron hunt by Marjorie M. Liu #61

Mmmhh. Dunno - it failed to grip me. Some interesting ideas (I liked the demon familiars) but not terribly well executed. It almost felt like the middle of a series intead of the beginning. The character was so bound up in what had happened before - particularly her family's history that it just felt too much time was spent explaining and not enough developing the storyline. The series might improve - there are some good elements, but I doubt that I'll bother.

June 2011 Blood bound by Patricia Briggs #62

A re-read - number two in the series and Mercedes is on the hunt for a sorceror vampire while trying to decide between two werewolf lovers or another vampire! Decisions, decisions. A good read, perhaps a bit darker than others in the series.

June 2011 Storm front by Jim Butcher #63

I don't know what has kept me from getting started on this series, but, thanks to the TIOLI challenge on titles with words of the same length, I eventually got around to the first book. It was really good. Harry Dresden is a great character who I think will grow on me even more. The plot was interesting and the supernatural elements well-handled. Can't wait for the rest of the series.

Oh dear. Another potential addict. The next two in the series are a bit bumpy, but as far as I can tell, from there on they are insanely fun.

Yes, and what a great feeling it must be to come upon the series with so many already written!

MrsLee - I could feel that addiction settling in..I've heard a lot about this series on LT and am looking forward to reading the rest.

jnwelch - I do detest waiting around for the next book to be published. The only problem now is not reading them all too quickly. A good series needs to be savoured not gulped down in one go! (At least, that's what I keep telling myself.) :0)

Hah! Yes, I know what you mean, Athabasca.

It reminds me of when I came upon the Lee Child Jack Reacher series after he'd already written a bunch of them. Just wonderful to have all that fun reading waiting. Same thing happened with Jim Butcher's Dresden books, except he hadn't written as many when I started.

Of course, I eventually got through them all and now I'm like so many fans of both series, looking forward to the next one that comes out.

Imagine how I felt when I discovered Terry Pratchett about four years ago? I'm still savouring my way through them. :)

Jim Butcher will go much faster. Not so much careful reading needed to catch all the subtle meanings and humour.

June 2011 Dead cold by Louise Penny #64

Why, oh why do publishers give the same book different titles? I had skipped to number three of this series because it didn't appear to be on the library catalogue. It was only on investigating further that I found it under a different title.

However, that said, this was a grand wee read. It starts to show some of the darkness of the third book, while still being a good mystery in its own right. I really liked some of the background as well - how you fight fires in extreme cold was particularly interesting. A fine crime series with a lovely detective and an involving story-arc.

>117 MrsLee: MrsLee - I confess I struggle a bit with Sir Terry - sometimes I enjoy the humour and sometimes not. I do, however, adore the orang-utan librarian! :0) I did meet the author once - he used my office for a few hours to work on his next book!

Very cool, that Sir Terry used your office! Hope he left it tidy. :)

I find that I can't read him continuously, like Butcher, but like to sample about one a month.

June 2011 The seven storey mountain by Thomas Merton #65

It's been 30 years since I first read this and it's every bit as good as I remember. It was written back in the late '40s and does suffer from some of the prejudices of that age. However, as the delineation of a spiritual journey, it is still a great and uplifting read.

June 2011 Blood oath by Christopher Farnsworth #66

First of the President's vampire series and pretty good - a bit too gory for me, but good characters and you can sense that there's a lot more in store for the later books. Kind of West Wing meets Angel with lots of nasties thrown in.

There were others by Thomas Merton that I tended to prefer to Seven Storey Mountain, usually having to do with the monastic life.

jillmwo - funnily enough I don't think I've read a lot of his other works - maybe some poetry and I did get completely lost in one of his later books about Eastern mysticism. I see that my local library has a few of his other books that I may try over the summer. I suspect he's a writer you have to approach gradually :o)

True. I think Merton either speaks to you or you wonder what in the name of sense it is he's maundering on about. I just thought his commentary on monastic life tended to be less abstract and therefore appealed more to my practical side.

June 2011 Iron kissed by Patricia Briggs #67

Another re-read. Third in the Mercedes Thompson series - Mercy tries to clear a friend of a murder charge and ends up getting in too deep with the fae and their magics. A great wee series that doesn't flinch from the nasty stuff. Good characters in a very believable magical world.

June 2011 Theodora; Actress, Empress, whore by Stella Duffy #68

This book was being discussed on the TIOLI threads and I was curious as the only other books I had read about this period were by Gillian Bradshaw - The bearkeeper's daughter, Beacon at Alexandria and Imperial purple. Like the Gillian Bradshaw books, this one is well-researched and well-written. The characters come alive and I would quite like to see a sequel, although the author may feel that Justinian's reign is covered elsewhere. The only downside to the writing is that the author does spend a lot of time explaining why the characters feel or do something, rather than allowing them to reveal themselves through the story - but that's a fairly minor point. All-in-all a good read about a period not much explored in historical fiction.

June 2011 Fool moon by Jim Butcher #69

Second in the Harry Dresden series and another cracking wee read. I do think the author got a bit carried away with himself - does one book really need 5 different types of werewolves? Would one or two different versions not have been enough? Apart from that minor issue, I really enjoyed the different characters and there are obviously a few threads still to be explored in later books.

Keep pushing on in the Butcher books! If you can make it through Fool Moon, the rest will be great. Actually, I think I really fell in love with them around book four.

Thanks, MrsLee - I am enjoying the Dresden books so far, there does seem to be a lot of potential.



June 2011 Blameless by Gail Carriger #70

Third in the series and Alexia is being chased around the continent by assassins and Templar knights. A fun series that insists on not being taken seriously! Some great one-liners and some fab characters.

Statistics for April to June 2011

Books read: 48
42 new; 6 re-read
18 female writers; 12 male

Owned 12; Library books 36 (no wonder it is taking so long to reduce the TBR pile!)

Fantasy 5
Crime 17
Urban fantasy 16
Non-fiction 3
Science Fiction 2
Historical 5

Favourite so far - South Riding

Amalgamated statistics for January to June 2011

Books Read: 70
62 new; 8 re-read
29 female writers; 14 male

Owned 19; Library books 51

Fantasy 12
Crime 24
Urban fantasy 21
Non-fiction 5
Science Fiction 3
Historical 5

July 2011 In the arms of Mr Darcy by Sharon Lathan #71
TIOLI July - sequential no. of words in title
Library book; Historical romance

Part of a series of sequels to Pride and Prejudice, which may be the reason why I wasn't really fond of it. There were a lot of subplots that I couldn't follow, probably hold-overs from previous books. It was difficult to find a story-arc; the book was pretty episodic, with lots of people falling in and out of love with each other, against the background of the Darcys' (overly) wedded bliss. Probably OK if you had read the rest of the series, but overall, I found it a wee bitty tiresome.

July 2011 Bluestockings by Jane Robinson #72
TIOLI July - titles with the word 'blue'
Library book; non-fiction

An interesting exploration of the lives of the first women admitted to English universities - in particular Oxbridge. Well-written with details of both the barriers faced by women, the atmosphere of the colleges and the daily life of the female students. It reminded me of the colleges mentioned in Dorothy L Sayer's Gaudy night and by Vera Brittain. It also made me very grateful for the relative ease of my own university education and brought back some great memories - funny how much hadn't changed between the early 1900s and the early 1980s! (Bluestockings having been exchanged for the uniform of jeans and shirts!) A fairly light and amusing read about a critical era for women's rights and education.

July 2011 The murder stone by Louise Penny #73
Library book; crime

Another fine installment in a great wee series. A bit Agatha Christie - a murder at a family reunion in a remote luxury hotel. A classic whodunnit with a great detective and the gradual unveilling of more of the background to characters who have appeared in the earlier books. An excellent crime series with layers of meaning/complexity and interesting dramatis personae.

I'm going to try to keep a list of the TIOLI challenges I'm attempting for July:

#1 Read a book with a sequential no. of words in title (6); In the arms of Mr Darcy by Sharon Lathan; (3) The brutal telling by Louise Penny
#2 Read a book that ends with your middle initial: Sandstorm by James Rollins (M)
#3 Read a book with two double sets of letters in the author's name or title: The night bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger; The English assassin by Daniel Silva; The sweetness at the bottom of the pie by Alan Bradley (shared read)
#4 Read a book with the word summer in the title: Summer knight by Jim Butcher
6. Read a book with a country or region in adjectival form in its title or subtitle: 1000 years of annoying the French by Stephen Clarke
#7 Read a book with the words skies, grain, mountain or plain in the title; By the mountain bound by Elizabeth Bear
#12 Read a book with a direction in the title: Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon
#13 Read a book with the words blue or berry in the title: Bluestockings by Jane Robinson
#17 Read a fantasy book for Juvenile and Young Adult month: Wild magic by Tamora Pierce
#19 Read a book in a genre whose number you rolled on random.com: The silent life by Thomas Merton
#20 Read a book that you should borrow from the person below you: The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon

Total read: 12 (8 from TBR pile; 4 from the library).
Abandoned: 2 - Could not get interested in Sandstorm and found 1000 years of annoying the French really annoying.
1 shared read.
Favourite - Kings of the North

July 2011 Grave peril by Jim Butcher #74
Library book; Urban fantasy

It took me a while to get into this - it felt like you were beginning in the middle. However, it certainly ended with a huge bang. The last few chapters were excellent and I adore Michael. A great series that manages to make up for a lot of the dross that is written in this genre. Go Harry!

July 2011 The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon #75
TIOLI July; borrow a book from the person below you
Library book; crime??

I've been meaning to read this for years, but never got around to it - probably because I knew it was going to be a difficult read. Narrated by an autistic boy trying to solve the murder of a neighbourhood dog, this book shows all the difficulties of autism, particularly for the family. I'm glad I read it, eventually, even 'though it was pretty emotional.

What does TIOLI stand for, and where do you find the challenges, and are they private or for everyone?

Loved Grave Peril. I'm just about ready for another Dresden book, when I finish the two fictions I'm reading at the moment.

I think TIOLI is "take it or leave it" - but that's the only question I can answer.

MrsLee, TIOLI is a "Take it or leave it " challenge run by the 75 book challenge group. They set around 20 challenges every month to read various types of books and you pick and choose which you do that month and, if you don't manage to complete them, there's a "no guilt" rule! Anyone can take part. This is the link to this month's challenge.

I really like them for making me have a go at books on my very large TBR pile and I usually try a few challenges every month. However, I have to be really strict to restrict myself to mainly TBR books, as the challenges introduce you to lots more books you just have to read! For ages I followed the challenges in a lurking capacity, but, for the last few months I've been taking part. They're a friendly bunch and you'll meet a good few GD regulars over there.

I've also learned a lot from them on adding images and generally making better use of a lot of LT capabilities. (For example, that's my very first embedded link!)

I suppose, for me, the TIOLI challenges give me a smaller monthly TBR pile, while also expanding my reading out of it's usual rut!

Sounds like fun. If I were in a different place right now in my life, I would love it, but I have to read by my whimsey right now. I love the idea of reading off of my TBR shelf to meet silly/fun categories. I might lurk there now and then. :)

It does indeed seem like a lot of fun! I just followed the link to this month's challenge and the various options seem both creative as well as -- well, challenging!

Very cool.

Yes, MrsLee and jillmwo, the challenges are a lot of fun - I particularly like that you can pick and choose which challenges you do, and it doesn't really matter if you cannot finish a book - it'll fill another challenge later. There are also lots of opportunities to read books together and compare notes - there are several joint reads going on at the moment, and that's also pretty cool.

However, I should warn you that the TIOLI challenges are a little addictive! Some of us nearly had a heart-attack when @SqueakyChu, who organises the challenge, was a bit late this month in posting the July challenge. A bit like addicts being denied their fix!

July 2011 The silent life by Thomas Merton #76
TIOLI July; roll a dice to select a genre (religion)
Library book; non-fiction

A short book describing the basis of the monastic life and the main monastic orders. Originally published in the 1950s, it has a slightly old-fashioned approach, but is well-written and explores some interesting history.

July 2011 Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon #77
TIOLI July; Read a book with a direction in the title
Own book; fantasy

A great sequel to Oath of fealty if a bit confusing at times. There are a lot of characters now and action spread across four kingdoms, but a very enjoyable fantasy of the old-school type. I'm not sure that we needed the dragon-ex-machina, but, apart from that, I really enjoyed the story; although I can see that the author is gearing up for a multi-book epic - there are now so many loose threads hanging around!

July 2011 The night bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger #78
TIOLI July: Read a book where the author or title has two sets of double letters (FF/GG)
Library book; graphic novel

What a quaint wee book - it has a very dream-like quality. The author describes it as both the story of a woman's secret life as a reader (don't we all have one of them!) and as a cautionary tale of the seduction of the written word. The main character ends up as a librarian - a fate worse than death, non? LOL :0)

I think The Night Bookmobile got a lot of buzz in the library community; of course, they were primed to like it. Glad to hear you found it enjoyable.

>jillmwo - I have to admit to being among the group primed to like it! :o) But I also like that it had a bit of an edge - I haven't read any other Niffenegger books, I'll need to get round to them, now.

July 2011 By the mountain bound by Elizabeth Bear #79
TIOLI July: Read a book with the word 'mountain' in the title
Library book; fantasy

Another one for the 'dunno' pile. A fantasy based on Norse myths - Valkyries and Norse Gods. In style, somewhat like A companion to wolves by Sarah Monette, but a lot more gloomy - there's a lot of falling into despair and murdering everyone going on and I'm pretty sure only three characters were left alive at the end. The POV changed continually between three characters and that did make the book both more interesting and more confusing at the same time. It didn't really grab me and I only finished it to find out what happened to the main character at the end. (Answer: nothing!) It all seemed pretty pointless, really.

"but a lot more gloomy - there's a lot of falling into despair and murdering everyone going on "

That pretty much sums up the Norse mythology I've read so far.

And much of the recent Scandinavian crime literature as well!

*waves to Athabasca*

#150: MrsLee
""but a lot more gloomy - there's a lot of falling into despair and murdering everyone going on "....
That pretty much sums up the Norse mythology I've read so far."

ROFL! As one of Norse descent, I can attest to that fact! :*)

Much Bliss & Purrs,
~Pandora~

>MrsLee - I used to like the Norse mythology stuff, but it is a bit gloomy - there never seems to be any chance of redemption, so things just get more and more hopeless.

>jillmwo - I agree, I haven't managed to finish one yet.

>*waves back at Pandora*

#153:
" I used to like the Norse mythology stuff, but it is a bit gloomy - there never seems to be any chance of redemption, so things just get more and more hopeless."

Yep, we're a cursed lot! LOL. I take some small comfort knowing where my "doom & gloom" heritage come from though! Hehe. :*)

I always mean to comment more about your actual reviews, Athabasca, but end up getting sidetracked by hilarious (at least to me) comments people leave!

*makes mental note to compliment more your awesome reviews* I have been enjoying reading them for quite some time now, even if I'm not the best about commenting on them. Keep them coming! :*)

Much Bliss & Purrs,
~Pandora~

Hi Pandora - thanks for that. I'm not sure I would call them real reviews - more just my musings on what I'm reading. I only do proper reviews for books with no other descriptions - I never feel I have anything particularly original to say!

It's nice that other people read the thread and comment. However, I really don't object to lurking - it tends to be my main pastime as well! :o)

July 2011 The brutal telling by Louise Penny #80
TIOLI July: read a book with a sequential no. of words in the title
Library book; crime

Another multi-layered crime set in rural Quebec. Perhaps a bit more disjointed than others in the series, but still a great crime novel with a lovely detective and a wide range of suspects.

July 2011 The English assassin by Daniel Silva #81
Tioli July: Read a book where the author or title has two sets of double letters (ss/ss)
Library book; thriller

This was OK. I had heard a lot about the series on other threads, but I didn't find the book all that interesting. Maybe because it was the second book in the series and I haven't read the first, or maybe because the storyline has been done to death recently. It was an OK thriller but didn't really strike a chord with me. It seemed a bit old-fashioned - the kind of thing Frederick Forsyth used to write 30 years ago.

July 2011 Jane Austen: A life by Claire Tomalin #82
Library book; biography

I started this off really slowly, thinking it would take me a few months to finish (literary biographies generally do!). However, I soon became swept up in the writing and the story. For an author who led a fairly uneventful life, this is a hugely interesting book - tracing the history of Jane Austen and her large family. A really well-written biography that kept me enthralled to the last page.

I thought she did a *tremendous* job with that biography! I enjoyed it as well.

July 2011 Wild magic by Tamora Pierce #83
July TIOLI: Read a juvenile fantasy book
Library book; YA, fantasy

A very light, enjoyable, old-fashioned fantasy of the pig-girl-discovers-magic-powers-and-saves-the-world variety. Refreshing and loads of fun. Makes you remember why (and how) you started reading fantasy in the first place.

July 2011 The sweetness at the bottom of the pie by Alan Bradley #84
July TIOLI:Read a book where the author or title has two sets of double letters (ee/ss) Match read
Library book; crime

Oddly enough, another book about a child solving a crime - this time a precocious mad scientist solving a murder literally on her doorstep. Fun and fairly light-hearted - the best bits are probably the ongoing war with her sisters, but solving the crime is well-handled and there are some great characters.

>159 jillmwo: - jillmwo, I really like Claire Tomalin. I did find this one captivating and really easy to read.

Summer knight by Jim Butcher #85
TIOLI July; #4 Read a book with the word summer in the title
Library book; urban fantasy

Number four in the Harry Dresden series and another rollicking read. This time Harry is up to his neck (literally) in fairies and a troublesome ex. A fun read that shows a writer developing in skill and confidence.

Interesting cover image. Ours is very dark and mysterious.

>164 MrsLee: Yeah...The Orbit books UK design - they're a bit tasteful for me and say very little about what happens inside the book. I sometimes wonder if cover designers actually read the books - or did the publisher think that these books are so well known, he could afford to be arty??

TIOLI books for August...

#1 Read a book with an adjectival tag beginning with w; Vengeance in death by Nora Roberts (white)
#4 Titles in form of three words with 'of' in the middle: Bridge of birds by Barry Hughart; Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
#5 Title with word that sounds like letter from alphabet; Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (shared read)
#8 Shared read: Case histories by Kate Atkinson; The sun also rises by Ernest Hemingway
#10 Title from periodic table: Quicksilver by Garfield Reeves-Stevens - just couldn't get into it
#13 Read a western; Death comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather (shared read)
#14 Author born in August: Candy is dandy by Ogden Nash (19/08/02); Death in the stocks by Georgette Heyer (shared read)
#16 Title has words with same no. of syllables; Under heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
#18 Title has a reference to music; Ballet shoes by Noel Streatfield (shared read); Key of light by Nora Roberts (shared read); Dark symphony by Christine Feehan - complete tosh!
#22 Main character has an unusual name: The magicians by Lev Grossman (Quentin); Bury your dead by Louise Penny (Armand); My dear Jenny by Madeleine Robins (Iphigenia)

17 books attempted 2 Abandoned 7 shared reads
(TBR pile 6, Library 8, e-books 2, re-read 1)
Favourites: Under heaven/Death comes for the Archbishop/Bury your dead

July 2011 The doorbell rang by Rex Stout #86
Own book; crime

Another great Nero Wolfe. This time he takes on the mighty J Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Wolfe's machinations (and outright greed) make for an entertaining read.

I love his flaunting of J.E.H.

Yeah - in a battle of egos, only Nero Wolfe will emerge the victor!

#165 - the early ones in the series did have a tasteful indication of the theme, and they do capture Harry's threadbare existance with the sellotaped covers.

I'm curious to see how you get on with Furies, I found this to much below par compared to the Harry series, and I like that sort of fantasy. ... I'm very much a minority voice on this one I suspect.

Ballet shoes by Noel Streatfield #87
TIOLI August: Read a book with a connection with music
Library book; Juvenile fiction

A great wee blast from the past, every bit as charming as I remember. A must read for the little girl in all of us.

Under heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay #88
TILOI August: Read a book where the words in the title have the same no. of syllables
Library book; historical

My, my, this was excellent. Set in Tang Dynasty China, a tale of derring-do, love, honour and imperial politics. Great characters, perhaps a bit wayward in plot - you felt he was making it up as he went along, but the pace of the story just pulled you along. One of those books that you regret finishing.

Case histories by Kate Atkinson #89
TIOLI August; Read a book with another person
Library book; crime

An interesting crime with some great characters. It was episodic and did go backwards and forwards in time a bit confusingly. However a good read and a different take on the PI genre.

Bridge of birds by Barry Hughart #90
TIOLI August: Read a book with a title in the form "X of X"
Own book; historical

A cracking read from Ancient China. Number Ten Ox and Master Li Kao set out to find the cure for a plague affecting the children of the village. Along the way they encounter gods, monsters and more trouble than they could have imagined. A great wee book with great characters and a traditional Chinese folklore feel.

Glad you liked Bridge of Birds. I got a real kick out of it myself.

Bury your dead by Louise Penny#91
TIOLI August; Read a book where the main character has an unusual name
Library book; crime

This was absolutely amazing! There was so much going on - a holdover plot from the previous book; a disastrous police operation and then a body in the library! This series just gets better and better. Great characters, great plots and a well-researched and interesting background. I want to jump on a plane for Quebec right now.

My dear Jenny by Madeleine Robins #92
TIOLI August; Read a book where the main character has an unusual name
LT Early Reviewers e-book; historical romance

My first ER book. A gentle regency romance of the 'quiet, plain companion entering society and meeting a rich suitor' type. A pleasant read with nicely-drawn characters and a fairly mild plot. Was originally published back in the 80's and does seem a lot more innocent than modern romances.

I do think they could have picked a better cover. I think covers do matter - even for ebooks and I didn't find this one at all attractive.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys #93
TIOLI August; Read a title with a word that sounds like letter from alphabet
Own book; historical?

I was never a big fan of Mr Rochester and this prequel to Jane Eyre certainly shows him in a pretty bad light. The story of Mr Rochester's first wife, her descent into madness and his involvement in it - the book is well-written and atmospheric, if sometimes a bit disjointed (mirroring the growing madness of the newly-weds!)

The magicians by Lev Grossman #94
TIOLI August: Read a book where the main character has an unusual name
Library book; fantasy

Okaaay...Harry Potter meets Narnia with a Stephen King vibe. I think there's just too much going on here; the main character isn't particularly likeable and it's all a wee bitty predictable. A lot of other LTers have liked this book but I barely managed to finish it - I'm just not sure it was worth the effort.

Key of light by Nora Roberts #95
TIOLI August: Read a book with a connection to music
Library book; romance

First in the Keys trilogy - a light, fluffy romance in Nora Roberts' usual girl-power style. Good light entertainment and I might keep reading, but, really there's not a lot to it (Another poor cover)

Death comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather #96
TIOLI August; Read a western
Library book; religion/historical?

Before the August TIOLI, I had never heard of Willa Cather. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of the early Church in the then very wild West - simple and charming, with magnificent descriptions of landscape that transport you immediately to the deserts and plains of New Mexico. My Irish granny used to pray for a happy death and the main character here seems to achieve that; "I shall not die of a cold, my son. I shall die of having lived." (where do I sign up?) OK - definitely on the schmaltzy side, but a cracking wee read.

I have got to get around to reading some of my Willa Cather books. I've heard such great things about her here. I don't have this particular one, but it sounds right up my ally! Poor, poor wishlist.

I just read Death comes for the Archbishop recently, and I also really liked it. It supposedly is inspired by real events described in Lamy of Santa Fe by Paul Horgan. Her My Antonia is my favorite, and O Pioneers is really good, too.

I strongly prefer The Song of the Lark by Cather. It's wonderful, a story of a young woman who pursues a career as a professional opera singer. I fell in love with Cather by reading that book.

>182 MrsLee: MrsLee - going by this book, I would highly recommend Cather - she's a breath of fresh air

>183 jnwelch:,184 Thanks for the recommendations, guys, I'll add them to the wishlist!

Vengeance in death by J.D. Robb #97
TIOLI August; Read a book with an adjectival tag starting with 'w' (white)
Own book; crime; re-read

One of the best of this series. Eve Dallas chases a mad serial killer who has targetted old associates of Roarke's. Some good action sequences - love the one with the poodle. Even after several re-reads, I never remember who the villain is! Ain't old age great!

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher #98
TIOLI August; read a book with a title of the form "X of X"
Own book; fantasy

An interesting beginning with some great characters and involving story-arcs. I did find that the Harry Dresden books took some time to develop, this series may do the same. There's an original magic system and some hints of a much more complicated underlying mystery. Perhaps not the best fantasy I've read in a while, but it bodes well for the rest of the series.

The sun also rises by Ernest Hemingway #99
TIOLI August; read a book with a friend
e-book

It's been a long time since I read any Hemingway and now I remember why! It's not a bad book - as a description of an aimless post-war group navel-gazing over too much alcohol, it's fairly interesting. It really comes to life, though, when describing fishing and bull-fighting - obviously the only subjects the main character (and author) are particularly passionate about. It's the contrast between the passion he feels for bull-fighting and the rest of his life that make the novel seem a little hollow. All-in-all, probably an accurate reflection of a post-1st-World-War generation wasting the rest of their lives in a futile and purposeless way.

I'm about halfway through and my review will be about the same. It's rather "meh."

>189 Morphidae: Morphy, I think "rather meh" is the perfect description!

It seems to be written like some ink drawings - one-dimensional and a bit bland. I prefer more colour and life - although the descriptions of sport were much more vivid. I've never fished, but I could see myself by the banks of that Pyreneean river. I really, really don't approve of bull-fighting and would run a mile from a real one - but in this book, the bull-fighting was strangely compelling - I was almost watching it out of the corner of one eye - horrified and fascinated at the same time. You know, it may be one of those novels that grows on you when you're not reading it!

Death in the stocks by Georgette Heyer #100
TIOLI August; Read a book by an author born in August
Library book; crime

My first Heyer crime - it was OK, I guess. A light detective story set against a fairly brittle 1930s impoverished upper-crusty background. There's a sweet romance and the crime is nicely resolved. However, there seemed to be a lot of pointless 'Noel Coward' posturing going on.

Try Envious Casca, also by Heyer. I think it's a better country house style murder and my library book group seemed to enjoy it. It is true that Heyer is a product of her time with some of her attitudes, but she does produce a respectable Golden Age mystery. (At least, IMHO)

Thanks jill, I'll try that one next. I didn't dislike Death in the stocks, but I wasn't hugely enamoured either - I thought the 'heroine/love interest' was a tad silly. I do like Heyer's romances, so I'm willing to give the crimes another go.

This thread seems to be a wee bitty slow and given I've reached 100 books and there's September's TIOLI to sort....we continue here