Finally: 11 in 11 for Dejah_Thoris

Even though I’m only getting around to posting this in June (I started on LT at the end of April) I’m counting books I read in May.

Since I’m starting so late, some of these categories are pretty easy – others not so much. We’ll see how it goes!

11 in 11 Challenge:

Category #1 Look away, Dixie: Book on the history or geography of any part of the Southeastern U.S. – Civil War books count.

Category #2 Climb every mountain: Books about or set in nations which include part of the Andes mountain rage or the Andean region in general. Strictly speaking, this includes: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador and Venezuela. My focus, however, will largely be Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

Category #3 English, please?: Books in translation to English.

Category #4 Before the bomb: Any pre 1945 fiction qualifies.

Category #5 Old faithful: Books in which religion, faith, spirituality, religious history play an important role – fiction or nonfiction.

Category #6 And the winner is: Pulitzer Prize Winners, any year or category.

Category #7 Drama Queen: Plays, plays and more plays.

Category #8 New to me: Books by authors I’ve never read before in mystery, fantasy and science fiction.

Category #9 On and on and on: Any new to me book in an ongoing series. - Changed to count only the most recent book in a series.
Category completed 9 July 2011

Category #10 You’re reading what? : Books that are listed by fewer than 20 LTers and/or have no reviews at the time I begin reading the book.

Category #11 Kiva countries: Books about or set in nations of people to whom I’ve made Kiva loans – fiction or nonfiction.

Category #1 Look away, Dixie:

1. Midway Georgia in History and Legend 1752 – 1867 by Josephine Bacon Martin (also #10 2/0)
2. The Story of Georgia’s Boundaries: A Meeting of History and Geography by William J. Morton (also #10, 2/0)

Category #2 Climb every mountain :

1. The Circulation of Children: Kinship, Adoption and Morality in Andean Peru by Jessaca B. Leinaweaver (also #10 5/0)
2. Cradle of Gold: The Story of Hiram Bingham, a Real-Life Indiana Jones, and the Search for Machu Picchu by Christopher Heaney

Category #3 English, please? :

1. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (Spanish)
2. The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte (Spanish)
3. The Rabbi’s Cat and The Rabbi’s Cat 2 by Joann Sfar (French)

Category #4 Before the bomb:

1. Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther (1940)
2. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (1934)
3. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (1913)
4. The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey (1929)
5. Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley (1918)

Category #5 Old faithful:

1. I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim eds Ebrahimji and Suratwala (also #10, 4/0)
2. The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels by Janet Soskice

Category #6 And the winner is:

1. A Few Figs from Thistles: Poems and Sonnets;
eight sonnets from American Poetry: A Miscellany and
“The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver” all by Edna St. Vincent Millay
(Poetry, 1923)
2. Proof by David Auburn (Drama, 2001)

Category #7 Drama Queen:

1. Children of a Lesser God by Mark Medoff
2. Hedwig and the Angry Inch text by John Cameron Michael, music and lyrics by Stephen Trask
3. Any Wednesday by Muriel Resnick (also #10, 13/0)
4. The Lady’s Not for Burning by Christopher Fry
5. The Solid Gold Cadillac - Teichmann and Kaufman

Category #8 New to me:

1. India Black Carol K. Carr
2. Dead to Me Anton Strout
3. Death on Tour Janice Hamrick
4. Darkship Thieves Sarah A. Hoyt
5. Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch
6. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
7. Under Wraps by Hannah Jayne
8. The Serialist by David Gordon
9. Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck
10. The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
11. The Hydrogen Murder by Camille Minichino

Category completed 1 August 2011

12. Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Category #9 On and on and on:

1. Dead Reckoning (Southern Vampires) Charlaine Harris
2. Slugfest (Dirty Business Mystery) Rosemary Harris
3. Bel-Air Dead (Stone Barrington) Stuart Woods
4. Hunt the Moon (Cassandra Palmer) Karen Chance (also #10 42/0)
5. Mourning Gloria (China Bayles) Susan Wittig Albert
6. Hit List (Anita Blake) Laurell K. Hamilton (also #10 98/0)
7. Unnatural Issue (Elemental Masters) Mercedes Lackey (also #10, 19/0)
8. Magic Slays (Kate Daniels) by Ilona Andrews
9. Smokin’ Seventeen (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich (also #10, 114/0)
10. Heartless (Alexia Tarabotti / Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Carriger
11. Grave Dance (Alex Craft) by Kaylana Price

Category Completed 9 July 2011

Extras!

12. Alien in the Family (Katherine Katt) by Gini Koch (also #10, 38/0)
13. Overbite (Meena Harper) by Meg Cabot (also #10, 43/0)
14. Rule 34 (Halting State) by Charles Stross
15. Murder on Sisters’ Row (Gaslight Mysteries) by Victoria Thompson
16. Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy
17. A Touch of Gold by Joyce and Jim Lavene ((also #10, 14/1)

Category #10 You’re reading what? :

1. Bottom of the 33: Hope, Redemption and Baseball’s Longest Game Dan Barry (19/2)
2. Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling by Charles Allen (41/0)
3. La Catastrophe: The Eruption of Mount Pelee, the Worst Volcanic Disaster of the 20th Century by Alwyn Scarth (18/0)
4. The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants by Jane S. Smith (50/0)

Category #11 Kiva Countries:

1. The Drunken Forest by Gerald Durrell (Paraguay)
2. This Our Dark Country: The American Settlers of Liberia (Liberia) by Catherine Reef

Hi Dejah_Thoris, welcome to LT and the 11 in 11 Challenge! You have great categories and I am particularly intrigued by your Climb Every Mountain and You're Reading What? categories.

Welcome! The Drunken Forest looks good, I'm adding it to my wishlist.

You've got some interesting categories. I'd like to read some more South American stuff, but I need to finish up some of my current challenges before I think of tackling a South American country challenge! I'll be watching your list though to see how you fill that category and some of the others!

Welcome to the category challenge, Dejah! Your categories look great, and I'll be interested in seeing what you read for them.

Thanks, everybody, for the welcome to the 11 in 11 category challenge. I have to confess I had a great time thinking up my categories, although some of them are pretty ordinary. Since I was starting so late, I thought I ought to have a few categories I knew I'd complete without much effort. As the others, they're an attempt to counteract my lazy reading habits -- I should be reading more non-fiction -- and fiction other than mysteries and science fiction and fantasy....

>13 lkernagh: I think those may be my two most interesting categories. I think both will heavy on the non-fiction.

>14 paruline: The Drunken Forest was unexpected pleasure. I'd never read any Gerald Durrell before, by I'll cartainly be reading more in the future.

>15 thornton37814: I've been fascinated by Latin America for years now, particularly the Andean region and Central America. Since I've given the Andes it's own category, I'll have to fit Central America into the others...

>16 ivyd: I'm kind of curious how some of these categories will fill out, too. I've never been one to plan my reading very far ahead, so it'll be a surprise for me as well!

> As the others, they're an attempt to counteract my lazy reading habits -- I should be reading more non-fiction -- and fiction other than mysteries and science fiction and fantasy....

Oh, I totally agree with you! I'm trying to do the same thing with my challenge.

> 1

Great categories!

Re category #11:
I just started participating in Kiva, having made my first loan to a woman in El Salvador. To what countries have you made loans?

Hey, I just started participating in Kiva and I made my first loan to a woman in El Salvador! Cool :)

I chose El Salvador because I'm married to a Salvadoran and have traveled to El Salvador. How about you, Danielle? Why did you choose El Salvador?

It’s great to find other Kiva lenders on LT!

About 75% of my loans are to individuals/groups in Latin America, mainly because it’s a part of the world by which I’ve been fascinated for years. The rest of my loans were made on a whim just because something about the person interested me and the loan met my criteria.

My Kiva Countries:

Latin America:
Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay -- edited to add Nicaragua, Colombia, Honduras

The others:
Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Philippines

I’m trying to keep my eyes open for loans in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Columbia (the only other Latin American countries in which Kiva has Field Partners). I think it’s fascinating how/why people pick the individuals or groups to whom they loan.

I’d like to visit El Salvador – actually, I’m pretty open to visiting anywhere in Latin America (I’ve only made it to Mexico and Guatemala). My one El Salvador loan was to a woman who makes hammocks and woven bags. That loan has been fully repaid and the money re-loaned to someone else.

I’d love to hear more about how you picked your loans – was it just the country, or was it also the type of work? Individual or Group loan?

>18 mathgirl40:

Hey mathgirl40 -- It looks as though you and I share an interest in science fiction and mysteries. What types of nonfiction are you trying to read? Or are you reading more fiction -- just not SFF and mysteries?

> 22

I picked my woman in El Salvador because she sells food. Among the food are pupusas, which I've grown to love, being married into a Salvadoran family myself. Pupusas are Salvadoran tortillas made of corn flour and which have a thin layer of either chicarron or cheese inside. I stick to those made with cheese as I don't eat pig meat. They are topped with curtido, a picante cabbage salad. Yum!

>24 SqueakyChu:

Yum is right -- pupusas sound great! I often loan to women who do some sort of sewing work, even though I haven't sewn much for years. I also like to loan to women pictured with dairy cows -- my favorite photo of my great grandmother shows her bottle feeding a calf.

Oops... actually my first loan was someone in Ecuador not El Salvador :) Mine was a somewhat random choice but I went with a single mom with three kids. My best friend is a single mom with two kids and I see how much she struggles to make a good life for her kids. I seem to have a soft spot for moms.

Okay, now I am hungry. Thanks for that!

I’ve been intending to go back and post my reviews / comments about each of my 11 in 11 books to this thread, but it seems like too much work. I think I’m just going to start adding them from this point on.

If anyone wants to read what I had to say about any 11 in 11 book I read in May or through 11 June, please check out my 75 Book Challenge thread here. I also posted formal reviews for most of them.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #7 Unnatural Issue by Mercedes Lackey

I hadn’t realized that the new Mercedes Lackey Elemental Masters novel Unnatural Issue was out until I saw it on the New Books shelf at the library. Curious as to what fairy tale she was working with this time, I scanned the inside cover blurb and quickly determined that it was Donkey-skin by Charles Perrault.

The only reason I’m aware of Donkey-skin is because it is also the basis for Robin McKinley’s excellent, if dark, Deerskin. Generally speaking, the story goes like this: King loses beloved wife, goes mad with grief, notices his long ignored daughter is as beautiful as her late mother and decides to marry her. The Princess escapes and eventually finds happiness.

In Unnatural Issue, Richard Whitestone, an Earth Master, loses his wife to childbirth. He becomes unhinged by his grief and shuts himself up in his country house, seeing no one but his housekeeper and solicitor. Over the years, he begins to dabble in evil necromancy and decides to bring his wife back in a suitable body. His daughter Susanne, who he blames, in part, for his wife’s death, has been raised by / as one of the servants. He spies his daughter from a window (apparently for the first time) and notices her striking resemblance to his dead wife. He decides Susanne will be the perfect receptacle for his wife’s recovered soul. And so the story goes.

I delighted to find that Lord Peter Almsley (Lackey’s homage to Dorothy Sayers and her creation Lord Peter Wimsey) was a major character in this book (Almsley previously appeared in The Serpent’s Shadow. I was having such a good time picking up all the Wimsey references (physical descriptions almost verbatim from the Lord Peter books, his brother the Duke, French relatives Delacroix instead of Delagardie, references to opera singers, Basque shepherds, etc.) that it took me a while to notice that I wasn’t as enthralled as I usually am by Lackey’s work. The story picked up by the last third or so the book and part of it were wonderful. For me this was merely a good entry into the Elemental Master’s series, but far from the best. Any fan of Lackey or the series should definitely read it.

I’d like to make a pitch here for Robin McKinley’s Deerskin. It is extremely well, done, but be warned that there is actual sexual abuse / incest before the Princess escapes and her healing is long and painful. She does heal and eventually finds happiness and her father gets his well-deserved comeuppance. I’ve reread the Deerskin, but I confess there are parts I skip; they’re just too painful to read more than once.

BTW, Donkey-skin is available here at Project Gutenberg.

Category #7 Drama Queen:

Play #2 Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a cult hit, rock musical that is essentially a monologue by the bands transgendered lead singer Hedwig.

Much has been written about Hedwig and the Angry Inch (although admittedly not on LT) so I’m going to keep it short. It’s a show about acceptance of oneself and acceptance of oneself by others. Change that to loving oneself and being loved by others and it would still fit. The show is painful and poignant and powerful, particularly the songs. I was especially struck by “The Origin of Love,” “Wig in a Box” and “Wicked Little Town.”

If you only read a musical you miss a great deal of what’s going on, so, I read it in conjunction with watching the 2000 film. They did a great job with the movie (not unexpected since John Cameron Mitchell, the writer and star was at the helm) and I recommend it. But don’t skip a copy of the text, or at least of the song lyrics; I wouldn’t have appreciated some of the songs as much if I hadn’t been able to read and reread the words.

And I have to add that the show was oh so perfect for this category....

Category #4 Before the bomb:

Book #1 Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther (1940)

Mrs. Miniver is a largely innocuous series of vignettes written for a London newspaper from sometime in 1937 to very early in WWII. Published in book form it was very popular both in Great Britain and in the United States. The tales are primarily of family life and capture an idealized vision of English womanhood. Later in the series, the threat of war appears, for example, in a conversation about accepting evacuees from London or in a sketch about the family collecting their gas masks. There’s also an interesting emphasis that unlike in WWI, it’s important to realize that the fight is against the German government, not the German people. This seems to be a backlash against excessive hatred against all things German at the time of the Great War.

In all truth, the eponymous film has more to offer: a plot and Greer Garson. The screenwriters did a great job turning Mrs. Miniver into a cohesive story that roused support for Britain while the U.S. was still neutral. The screenwriters earned their Academy Award.

A word of warning: there are two instances of what I will call an unfortunate word choice, once in reference to a toy black infant in a crib and the other to a minstrel show. When I came upon the word, particularly for the first time, I found it completely jarring and distasteful and totally at odds with the pleasant story in which it appeared. I did what I usually do when finding inappropriate language or depictions in older works: I looked at in in context, thanked the Universe that things have changed and that such usage is no longer acceptable, and I moved on. If choose to read the book, know it’s coming.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #8 Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

The Kate Daniels books are one of my favorite urban fantasy series. Kate has finally settled down with Curran, the Beast Lord – well, she trying, anyway – and is still attempting to keep her parentage a secret. Only, as she finds out, it’s less of a secret than she thought. As usual, there are bad nasties defeat and personal situations to work through – Kate comes through in spades.

Kate’s life isn’t easy, but she’s tough, determined and thoroughly competent. I like that in an urban fantasy heroine and I eagerly await each new entry in this series. I try anything the author duo Ilona Andrews wants to write.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #9 Smoking' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

I’m not going to write much about Smokin’ Seventeen because, frankly, you either like the over the top goofiness of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books or you don’t. It’s life as usual for Stephanie: stalkers (including the guy her Mother wants for a son-in-law), indecision over Morelli and Ranger and another car destroyed. Ranger fans will be pleased by his presence is this chapter of Steph’s life, although I admit I’m not at all sure where Evanovich is going to go with it.

I was reading Smokin’ Seventeen while I was on a 45 minute phone call with my cable/internet service company: about 35 minutes of that was spent on hold. Stephanie’s antics made me forget the Muzak and probably kept me from biting the service representative and his supervisor’s heads off (figuratively speaking). Anything that can me smile while I was that annoyed is worth reading.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #10 Heartless by Gail Carriger

I do like the Alexia Tarabotti / Parasol Protectorate books, although I didn’t think that Changeless or Blameless held up to debut, Soulless. The fourth installment, Heartless, however, slips easily into place as my second favorite in the series.

Once again, Alexia’s in danger. Actually, the Hives want to kill Alexia and Lord Maccon’s child, but as Alexia is eight months pregnant, at the moment they’re a package deal. In addition to staving off threats to her person, she most also prevent a possible assassination attempt on the Queen, puzzle out the reappearance of octopi in London, and generally solve problems for assorted friends and relations. Mayhem ensues.

If you liked the other books in the series, you certainly should this one.

Category #8 New to me

Book #5 Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch

First and foremost, Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch was tremendous fun to read. On her way home from jury duty, the unfortunately named Katherine ‘Kitty’ Katt comes across a ‘monster’ killing people left and right. Armed only with her Mont Blanc pen, Kitty kills the aggressor and immediately finds her recruited by gorgeous men in Armani suits from a secret government organization. The gorgeous men (and as she finds out later, women) are aliens who are protecting the people of Earth from, well, other aliens.

It’s not great literature, but this chick lit / science fiction / sexy romance is very entertaining. It’s also very flawed. For example, Kitty, a marketing manager, occasionally shows flashes brilliance at risk assessment and data synthesis / analysis, while the rest of the time she’s only moderately bright. The command structure for the alien group is rather odd; willing suspension of disbelief is stretched to its limits repeatedly. Nevertheless, I’m willing to forgive a lot for a fun book.

I’m a little concerned, though, that what is tolerable in a single book might become untenable over multiple books. As I write this, the third in the series has recently been published. I guess I’ll just have to give the next book a try.

Category #8 On and on and on

Book #6 The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

This was a good British mystery, starring archaeologist Ruth Galloway. I was put off by the constant harping on weight issues and famliy pressures early in the book, but the end result was very satisfactory. The developments in Ruth's personal life have the potential to be very interesting, indeed.

Category #4 Before the Bomb

Book #2 The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

I hard to believe that I'd never read The Thin Man before. I throughly enjoyed it, although I have to admit that Nick and Nora's dialog in my head sounded remarkably like William Powell and Myrna Loy....

Category #7 Drama Queen

Book #3 Any Wednesday by Muriel Resnick

Any Wednesday is a dated romantic comedy that had a very successful Broadway run starting in 1964. The premise is simple -- a women turning thrity has been in a long term relationship with a rich and powerful married man. The relationship has been conducted almost entirely on Wednesdays. What happens when a strange man and the wife show up at the woman's appartment, which is on the company books as a tax deduction?

It's a very slight comedy, but cute. For all that it's more than forty years old, there were a elements that still rang true.

Category #8 On and on and on

Book #7 Under Wraps by Hannah Jayne

This book was a disapointment. Tha main chatacter, Sophie Lawson, is a dithering idiot. I kept hoping that she'd get a grip and develop some personal strength, but she never did. Some of the ideas in the book were good, but derserved a better presentation -- and heroine. I seriously doubt I'll read the next in the series.

Category #6 And the winner is

Book #1 A Few Figs from Thistles: Poems and Sonnets;
eight sonnets from American Poetry: A Miscellany and
“The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver” all by Edna St. Vincent Millay

First Fig
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--
It gives a lovely light!

Edna St. Vincent Millay won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for three works / poems: A Few Figs from Thistles: Poems and Sonnets, which was later republished under a slightly different title); eight sonnets published in American Poetry: A Miscellany and “The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver.”

I love her work. Her love poems often have a snarky edge -- they're maevelous. She also has no fear of works that seem to contradict each other in the same collection.

Grown-Up
Was it for this I uttered prayers,
And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs,
That now, domestic as a plate,
I should retire at half-past eight?

She also writes of sorrow and loss, with great power. "The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver" is a beautiful almost fairytale like story of hunger and desperation. I understand it's been made into a children's book -- frankly, I can't imagine why anyone thought that was a good idea -- spoiler-- the mother dies, sacrificing herself for warm clothes for her child.

I must confess, though, that while I admire her very powerful works on darker topics, I prefer the snarky and the humorous. She is, btw, most famous for her sonnets.

from American Poetry: A Miscellany

VII
Oh, oh, you will be sorry for that word!
Give back my book and take my kiss instead.
Was it my enemy or my friend I heard?–
"What a big book for such a little head!"
Come, I will show you now my newest hat,
And you may watch me purse my mouth and prink.
Oh, I shall love you still and all of that.
I never again shall tell you what I think.

I shall be sweet and crafty, soft and sly;
You will not catch me reading any more;
I shall be called a wife to pattern by;
And some day when you knock and push the door,
Some sane day, not too bright and not too stormy,
I shall be gone, and you may whistle for me.

Category #8 New to me

Book #8 The Serialist by David Gordon

I was looking for a book to read for the Edgar July TIOLI Challenge and The Serialist jumped out at me. I recently read a review from some one here on LT (can't remember by whom at the moment -- edit -- it was DeltaQueen50) and decided to give it a shot.

I loved it. It's not for everyone -- it's not a cozy and it is, after all, about a serial killer. But it's also about a writer and reflects a tremendous love for genre fiction. By working passages from protagonist Harry Bloch's varied work, there's science fiction, vampires and (very) soft porn. I am certain that other LTers will find passages that speak to them, as they spoke to me as an avid, possibly obessesive, reader. On top of that, it's funny.

I'm not taking the time to write the review this book deserves -- give it a try, anyway. I doubt you'll regret it.

The Elly Griffiths series is one of my favorite of the newer series.

I'm trying to remember where I read about the Elly Griffiths books -- I was thinking it might have been chinquapin, but it may have been on your thread. Obviously, I need to start keeping notes about who's suggesting what books!

I think the next book is out this fall -- I'm looking forward to it.

Category #9 On and on and on
Book # 11 (which completes the Category)

Grave Dance is the second entrant in the Alex Craft urban fantasy series by Kalayna Price. Alex has a way with the dead; she’s a freelance necromancer. In the previous book, Grave Witch, Alex found out she’s part Fae and the Fae courts may be more interested in her than she might wish. Throw in some murder, the Fae Investigation Bureau and two interested male parties (a Fae assassin and a soul collector Alex calls ‘Death’) and you have a fairly interesting story.

The series isn’t great, but it shows promise.

Category 8 New to Me

Book #9 Glazed Murder by Jessica Beck

I was disappointed by Glazed Murder the first Donut Shop Mystery by Jessica Beck. I can’t pinpoint why this cozy didn’t hold my attention, but I found myself not particularly caring what happened to the characters or what the solution to the mystery was. It wasn’t badly written; I just didn’t like it.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #12 (extra) Alien in the Family by Gini Koch

I wouldn’t have read this third book in Gini Koch’s Alien series so soon if I hadn’t been traveling. I was in the bookstore and wanted something really light and Alien in the Family fit the bill.

Kitty is planning her wedding to Jeff, but his extended family is causing problems. It turns out Jeff is a possible heir to the throne of the planet from the aliens on Earth have been exiled. Kitty is apparently going to be vetted and in the process the couple is caught up in a play for the throne.

It was goofy, fun and entertaining, but it was not good urban fantasy; it’s more chick lit with an intergalactic flair. There appear to be several more to be published in the series, and I’ll probably read them when I’m in the right mood.

I've been wondering whether or not to give the donut mysteries a try. I think I'll hold off awhile on the mysteries, but I might need to make a run to Krispy Kreme when the "hot" sign is on.

>46 thornton37814:

I know other folks on LT have liked the Donut series, but I just didn't think it was anything special. I hope I'm not steering you wrong!

As for Krispy Kreme, well, one of the sorrows of living in the North is the lack of fresh, hot, glazed Krispy Kremes. Yet another reason to move south again.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #13 (extra) Overbite by Meg Cabot (also could be #10, 50/0)

Meg Cabot’s books for adults are chick lit / romance. No matter how many vampires, vampire hunters or psychics she adds, she’s still not writing urban fantasy.

Overbite, the follow up to last year’s Insatiable, was about as good as its predecessor, which means not very. Meena, having broken off things with Lucien, son of Dracula, Prince of Darkness, is working for the Palatine Guard (a Vatican supported vampire hunting organization). She’s supposedly using her psychic talent (the ability to sense when someone is/will be in mortal peril) to help keep her coworkers alive. In Insatiable, Meena’s ability has been the bane of her existence and was an important component of the book. In Overbite, except as an excuse for setting up the first scene, her ability barely rates a mention.

I can’t help but wonder if someone (agent, publisher, etc.) said “Oh – you should write something paranormal or with vampires” and Cabot went along with it. Frankly, it just doesn’t feel comfortable; this isn’t her kind of world building. I would have rather read one of her light and humorous chick lit novels.

If you like Meg Cabot’s work, but don’t read much urban fantasy or only vampire books categorized as romances, you’ll probably like Overbite. If you like Cabot but are an urban fantasy fan, you’ll probably find it weak. Don’t like Cabot? Definitely don’t read it.

I do enjoy Meg Cabot's chick lit, but I wish she'd go back to that instead of doing this vampire stuff! I know they're a hot trend right now, but seriously -- not every book needs to have them!

Christina -- I couldn't agree more! Not everybody is meant to write fantasy or science fiction; I think the mind/skill set required to create a coherent (not to mention interesting) fantasy world or society is quite different from that needed for mainstream fiction. And honestly, I'm just a little tired of constantly seeing books about the hemoglobin challenged.

Hopefully, Cabot will return to her fun chick lit soon -- more books ala Heather Wells or the Queen of Babble series would suit me just fine.

Category #8 New to Me

Book #10 The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross (TIOLI #17, Cat #8)

When I first picked up The Girl in the Steel Corset I saw that it was steampunk and completely missed that it was YA (it’s published by Harlequin Teen). I don’t read much YA, but since it was YA month and it fit a TIOLI Challenge, I thought I’m read it anyway.

It was ok. The plot and steampunk world / devices didn’t strike me as particularly original. I also felt some of the YA elements were pushed a little hard. There’s young woman who feels as though she has two personalities, one ‘good’ and the other that engages in dangerous behavior beyond her control. She also is has two potential love interests, one nice guy and a bad boy type. slight spoiler It turns out her personality has been split ala Jekyll and Hyde and the halves need to be rejoined. It bothered me that the idea wasn’t followed through completely. Her ‘bad side’ should have caused her much bigger problems by this point in her life and she would have engaged in much riskier behaviors. The concept was, well, seriously derivative, but also just not that well executed.

There is also a young man who hates parts of his body because they were changed to machine to save his life and a young woman whose talents were previously ignored in favor of her male relatives – you get the idea. All these individuals, plus a young American cowboy type (apparently his flaw is that he’s American?) have been gathered together under the auspices of a golden boy orphaned, wealthy Duke to create a nascent crime fighting team. Woohoo.

As I said, I don’t read much YA. A teenager probably would have enjoyed it more.

Category #10 You're Reading What?

Book #4 The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants by Jane S. Smith

Several years ago I looked for a book about Luther Burbank’s life and works. All I could find in my library system was a not very interesting short work. Happily, I recently stumbled across The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants and it was exactly what I’d been looking for.

While not particularly well known now, Burbank was as well known in his time as Edison and Ford with whom he was friends. Without a post-secondary education or a scientific understanding of genetics, Burbank developed hundreds or even thousands of hybrid plants. He was critical to the promotion of California as a new Eden and wrote a hugely popular book on the rearing of children – even though he was himself childless.

I would recommend this excellent book to any gardener or person interested in early 20th century popular culture. Actually, I’d pretty much recommend it to anyone.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #14 Rule 34 by Charles Stross

I generally like Charles Stross’ work. I think his Bob Howard / Laundry series is great and I really enjoyed Halting State, the book to which Rule 34 is a sequel. Unfortunately, Rule 34 did nothing for me.

In relatively near future Edinburgh, a spammer is found dead in what appears at first glance to be a revolting household accident. It’s quickly apparent that spammers around the world are being knocked off in similarly gruesome circumstances. In all honesty, I didn’t care who was killing them or why. I’ll continue to look forward to the next Charles Stross release, but I would have been perfectly happy to have not read Rule 34.

Catagory #6 And the Winner Is...

Book #2 Proof by David Auburn

David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof is amazing. Catherine has put her life on hold for years while caring for her mathematician father, who is brilliant, but severely mentally ill. His recent death has left her haunted and confused about her future. But when Catherine produces a notebook with an original work of mathematical genius, how can she prove to her doubting sister and one of her father’s old gran students that the work is hers?

I’m kicking myself that I didn’t see Proof on Broadway. Read it.

Category #5 Old Faithful

Book #1 I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim eds Ebrahimji and Suratwala

I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim was an interesting collection of brief (4-5 pages) essays by self-identified Muslim-American women. Some essays were fascinating, while others bordered on the banal. It was definitely worth reading, but I wish that there had been more variety in the women represented; the collection leaned heavily toward journalists, lawyers and political activists under 40 – many under 30. Are there no Muslim-American women in their 50s or 60s or with only a high school education? Or who choose a very conservative interpretation of Islam? I would suggest reading this only if you have a particular interest in Muslim-American women’s issues.

Category #4 Before the Bomb

Book #3 O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

Much has been written of O Pioneers!, so I’ll simply add that I enjoyed the depiction of the development of the farmland and the story of a strong woman very much. SPOILER The only things that bothered me were the idea that Frank was in any way justified for his murderous assault or that Marie, by being too beautiful and too full of life was somehow the cause of constant disaster around her. Otherwise, it was excellent.

I loved O Pioneers! when I read it years ago. I think I got the love for that type of book from reading the Little House books around 4th or 5th grade. I've enjoyed many books of pioneer and frontier life as well as immigrant stories in that setting over the years.

COMPLETELY off topic

One of my Categories is Kiva Countries for which I'm reading books about the nations that are home to individuals to whom I've made loans.

Kiva is offering free $25 loans to newly signed up lenders -- basically, they'll give you $25 to make your first loan. The offer is very limited, so if you're interested, hurry.

You can use this link to qualify to reigster with Kiva: http://kiva.org/invitedby/liane5680

Thanks.

Edited to reflect that all 4000 of the free first loans have been distributed. It's still a great organization, though.

Oh man... figures! I just made my first loan last month. Oh, well. It's for a good cause right? :)

PS.. I might steal your idea for the 12/12/12 challenge. Books around the world Kiva style sounds cool!

I think Kiva's a great cause -- and most of my discretionary giving (lending) goes to it these days. I love being able to reloan funds.

By all means, go for a Kiva 12 for 12 – I’ll probably do it again, too. I’ll be fascinated to see what you end up reading. Some nations have proven to be little trickier to find books for – Tajikistan comes to mind. I need to do a better job looking….

Category #7

Book #4 The Lady’s Not for Burning by Christopher Fry

The Lady’s Not For Burning is play in verse and a comedy on an unlikely subject: a woman accused of witchcraft and a weary soldier who has decided to end it all, preferably by being hanged.

It doesn’t sound funny, but it is. Very witty and sometimes farcical, the work still manages to get across some serious themes mixed with the humor. The Lady’s Not For Burning would definitely be better on stage than on the page; it would be great fun for the actors to perform.

It will probably be most appreciated by those accustomed to reading plays, particularly those in verse.

Category #9 And on and on and on

Book #15 Murder on Sisters’ Row by Victoria Thompson

This is another solid entry in Thompson’s Gaslight Mystery series. Mrs. Brandt’s profession as a midwife ensures that the mysteries are almost always about sex, and Murder on Sisters’ Row is no exception. As always, the depictions of New York City’s underbelly are fascinating.

I can’t help but wonder if Thompson hasn’t decided what to do with the relationship between Mrs. Brandt and Detective Malloy. This plot certainly did nothing to move them forward.

Category #5 Old faithful

Book #2 The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels by Janet Soskice

The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels is a wonderful, wonderful book. There have been a number of excellent reviews written of this book, so I’ll be brief. Very intelligent and conveniently wealthy twin sisters from Scotland defy convention and academia to discover and translate long forgotten Biblical texts in the Sinai. Their lives are quite an adventure and they deserve not to be forgotten. Very inspiring.

Category #1 Look away, Dixie:

Book #2 The Story of Georgia’s Boundaries: A Meeting of History and Geography by William J. Morton (also #10, 2/0)

This short but excellent book brings together a wealth of information on the changing boundaries of the state of Georgia. Morton assumes no prior knowledge so some of the early chapters covering the colonial period may be very familiar to many readers.

Many boundary issues have been settled by the courts, particularly the Supreme Court, and Morton does not hesitate to quote extensively: perhaps too much. Modern disputes are covered thoroughly and anyone looking for explanations for recent disputes with South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee would be well served to turn to this book.

As a genealogist, I think this work will serve as an excellent reference, especially when researching disputed locales. However, if you expect, as I did, a discussion of the Georgia Land Lottery system, you will be disappointed as it’s mentioned only in passing. The lands distributed in the lotteries were already within the boundaries of Georgia, they were just owned by Native Americans. As these lands were purchased, they became open to settlement to others, but the boundaries of the State were not changed.

Category #7 Drama Queen:

5. The Solid Gold Cadillac - Teichmann and Kaufman

The play The Solid Gold Cadillac is a self-proclaimed Cinderella story in which a slightly over the hill actress takes down the greedy leaders of a corrupt corporation – and it’s a comedy. This light and fun bit of fluff and romance had a successful run on Broadway in the early 1950s and was made into a film in 1956, with Judy Holliday as a much younger heroine. If you like old movies, you’ll probably enjoy reading this very dated but highly entertaining play.

Category #8 New to me:

Book #11 The Hydrogen Murder by Camille Minichino

The Hydrogen Murder is the first of Camille Minichino’s Periodic Table Mysteries. Gloria Lamerino, a physicist who’s taken early retirement from a California university, has moved back to her hometown of Revere, Massachusetts. She’s renting an apartment over the family business of her best friend’s husband: a funeral home. To keep herself busy, she’s signed up as a consultant with the Revere P.D. She’s particularly qualified to work on the second case that comes her way because she knows the victim: a young physicist working on the potentially lucrative creation of superconductive metallic Hydrogen.

This book was ok. I could have done without the funeral home tour and the heroine’s repeated comments about her weight. Gloria also seems to have had a difficult relationship with her late mother that still has a detrimental effect. The mystery wasn’t bad, but not particularly strong; I did enjoy the physics.

This was an interesting enough first novel that I’m willing to give the next a try.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #16 Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy (TIOLI #, Cat #9)

I enjoyed the first to White House Chef mysteries, but something about the third, Eggsecutive Orders repelled me. I skimmed and read the end and didn’t count it a read book. I was a little dubious as I began the fourth installment, Buffalo West Wing, but my fears were groundless; I liked it very much.

There’s a new First Family in the White House and Ollie’s job may be at risk. Following security protocol, Ollie refuses to give the First Kids a batch of Buffalo Wings of unknown origin; the First Lady is not impressed. Furthermore, they family decides to bring in their personal chef to handle the family meals, and he really, really wants Ollie’s job. On top of that, there’s a threat to the First Family, and Ollie, as always, has her eyes open.

Happily, Ollie is no longer dating Tom, which opens up new opportunities for her personal life. I’m looking forward to finding out what happens to Ollie next.

Category #9 On and on and on

Book #17 Cold Vengeance by Preston and Child

Agent Pendergast is at it again. The mystery of his wife, Helen’s death, is driving him to search for answers. But it turns out that there is a great deal about Helen that he never knew….

What can I say? Cold Vengeance was very much like the other recent books in the series face paced, full of action and conspiracies. Characters from previous books show up on schedule; I was particularly pleased that Corrie (first introduced in Still Life with Crows) makes an appearance. Do I think it was a great book? No -- but it was fun.

68 - Heh, that's exactly why I keep reading them. The storyline is way over-the-top and downright bizarrre at times but the books are just so much fun to read. There is always something going on so the pages just fly by.

>68 Dejah_Thoris:-69

You know, I loved Relic and felt just about the same about Reliquary. The Cabinet of Curiosities was a little odd in spots, but it was so NYC and fun that -- well, you know. Still Life with Crows was gruesome -- but I liked Corrie and there's something about Agent Pendergast.... But I have to say after that my feelings become more mixed. I still read them, though.

Do you like any of their other works, writing as a pair or alone?

Truthfully? I know I have read everything that they have written separately and as a pair but nothing really stands out except the Pendergast stuff (but probably because its on-going and a little more recent than some of the other stuff). They do write some interesting 'government secrets' kind of stuff that is entertaining.

I actually met one of them at a trade show (I want to say Preston... ) and after stating that I was a big fan, I couldn't remember a single title! Talk about embarrassing! I finally said 'all of them!' and walked away. :)

Too funny -- you cracked me up. It must have been a terrible moment, though.

I've given up reading their individual stuff. The last one I remember had a possessed rollercoaster / amusement park theme -- something like that....

The only non-Pendergast I really remember and like is Thunderhead which has Nora and Bill in the Southwest. I like archaeology themes and enjoyed the travel into the canyonlands. Other than that, they were all pretty forgettable.

Have you read the first in their new series Gideon's Sword? I haven't gotten to it yet. I'd be interested to know what you think.

Nope, that one is still on hold at the library so we will see. I remember that theme park one! It seemed like a good idea at the time :)

If you like mysteries and archaelology, you might like Lyn Hamilton. She writes about an antique shop owner who travels around the world on buying trips and solves crimes. They are a little hooky at times but interesting as well.

I've got several more Lyn Hamilton's in my TBR pile. They are borrowed from a friend. I have really enjoyed the ones I've read.

Hunh. So apparently I have read Gideon's Sword and I guess didn't like it because I only rated it a 2*. Weird. I don't normally completely forget about books I read THIS YEAR (last year maybe.. and the before that? Hit or miss!). Guess I really didn't like it :)

> 73-74
I’ve read exactly one mystery by Lynn Hamilton: The Xibalba Murders, her first. It was published in 1997 and I would guess that I read it by 2000. In the summers of 1996 and 1997, I spent a total of 10 weeks in Guatemala and then took a two week trip to the Yucatan Peninsula a few years after that. I was doing a huge amount of reading about the Maya (both ancient and modern) and ended up being incredibly annoyed by this book about Mayan archaeology in the Yucatan.

As I recall, it wasn’t that she got anything wrong, it was just that her heroine kept ‘learning’ things that anyone with even a cursory academic knowledge of the Maya would have already known. I know it was just a device to share the info with readers, but it drove me nuts. Silly, huh? As a result, I never tried any of her later books. I suppose I should get over it and try her again.

> 75
The fact that you don’t actually remember reading Gideon’s Sword so recently, and that you only gave it two stars, does not motivate me to give it a try. Somebody likes it, though; they got a movie deal for it.

Category #4 Before the Bomb

4. The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey

I’m a huge fan of Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time, but for some reason I never sought out her other mysteries. Finally, I have read her first Alan Grant novel, The Man in the Queue.

It’s a reasonably good mystery, reminiscent of many of its era (it was originally published in 1929). At times it felt a little forced, but there were many moments in which there were flashes of the brilliance I see in The Daughter of Time; I was particularly struck by Grant’s final assessment of who was really the guilty party.
I would recommend The Man in the Queue to anyone who enjoys early to mid-20th century British mysteries.