Cynara's fourth brings the year back 'round

Books listed in this thread.

Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad by Terry Prachett
Pirate King by Laurie R. King
Toronto Street Names: An Illustrated Guide to their Origins by Leonard Wise
Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance
Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsay
A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsey
Powerful Greek, Unworldly Wife by Sarah Morgan (touchstone going screwy)
The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
Ringworld by Larry Niven
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein
Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters
Street of the Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters
Half Empty by David Rakoff
Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin
Silhouette in Scarlet by Elizabeth Peters
The Lost Lions by Edward Gorey
Scandal by Amanda Quick
Howard's End is on the Landing, by Susan Hill
The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkein
Fraud by David Rakoff
Greek Mythology for Teens by Zachary Hamby
Advanced Placement Classroom: King Lear by R. Brigham Lampert
Donald and the... and Donald has a Difficulty by Peter F. Neumeyer
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
Trojan Gold by Elizabeth Peters
The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson
Fool's Errand, The Golden Fool, and Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb
Vengeance in Death and Holiday in Death by J. D. Robb

Currently reading:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkein
Millennium: the End of the World and the Forging of Christendom by Tom Holland
Kitty Goes to Washington by Carrie Vaughn
Conspiracy in Death by J. D. Robb

Books listed in Thread #3:

Ceremony in Death by J. D. Robb
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Betrayer of Worlds by Niven and Lerner
Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost
Hunt the Moon by Karen Chance
Treachery in Death by J. D. Robb
Touch the Dark and Embrace the Night by Karen Chance
Among Others by Jo Walton
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly, ed. Jane Espenson
Room by Emma Donoghue
Galadria by Miguel L. De Leon
The Ape who Guards the Balance by Elizabeth Peters
Forewords and Afterwords by W. H. Auden
Midnight's Daughter, by Karen Chance
A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Psychiatric Tales by Darryl Cunningham
Kill Shakespeare written by Conor McCreery
A Disease of Language by Alan Moore
Promethea, Vol. 1, Promethea, Vol. 2, Promethea, Vol. 3, Promethea, Vol. 4, Promethea, Vol. 5 by Alan Moore
Alan Moore's Light of Thy Countenance by Alan Moore
A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore
Across the Universe: The DC Universe Stories of Alan Moore, by Alan Moore
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King
Alice, Let's Eat by Calvin Trillin
Death's Mistress by Karen Chance
The Night Wanderer by Drew Hayden Taylor
The Dawn of the Colour Photograph: Albert Kahn's Archives of the Planet by David Okuefuna
Deja Dead by Cathy Reichs
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Secret Language of the Tarot by Ruth Ann and Wald Amberstone
Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to its Own Past by Simon Reynolds

Books listed in Thread #2:

Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman
Marvel 1602: New World/Fantastick Four by Pak and David
Marvel 1602: Spider Man by Jeff Parker and Ramon Rosanas
Northlanders Book 1; Sven the Returned by Brian Wood
Anno Dracula by Kim Newman
Make me a Woman by Vanessa Davis
Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Indulgence in Death, J. D. Robb
Northlanders Book 2; The Cross and the Hammer, by Brian Wood
At Millenium's End: Essays on the Work of Kurt Vonnegut
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Rewired by Larry D. Rosen
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
The Lost Books of the Odyssey, by Zachary Mason
My Jesus Year by Benyamin Cohen
The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel, by Diana Gabaldon
Good Omens: The Accurate and Nice Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Gaiman and Pratchett
Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian with Practical Advice for Aspergians, Misfits, Families & Teachers by John Elder Robison
Predator's Gold by Philip Reeve
The Evil Garden by Edward Gorey
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Grandville by Bryan Talbot
The Making of Pride and Prejudice by Susie Conklin
Possession in Death, by J. D. Robb
Soulless, Changeless, and Blameless by Gail Carriger
Naked in Death by J. D. Robb
Glory in Death by J. D. Robb
The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry
Immortal in Death by J. D. Robb
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Rapture in Death by J. D. Robb
The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
The Seeress of Kell by David Eddings
Fleet of Worlds by Larry Niven and Lerner (?)
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
Juggler of Worlds and Destroyer of Worlds by Niven and Lerner

Books listed in Thread #1:

The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning
Possession by A. S. Byatt
Changes by Jim Butcher
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Kick-Ass by Mark Millar
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
First Rider's Call by Kristen Britain
The High King's Tomb by Kristen Britain
In Defence of History by Richard J. Evans
The Eyre Affair By Jasper Fforde
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
An Assembly Such as This, Duty and Desire, and These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan
Missing in Death and Fantasy in Death by J. D. Robb
The Road to Civil War, Civil War: X-Men, Civil War: Iron Man, and Civil War: Front Lines, Book 2 (Marvel)

#110 & #111





Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

Recommended by a friend; I enjoyed them, particularly the first one. If I'd read Pratchett as a teenager, I think I would have been absolutely thrilled. Awful covers!

Nice new thread which I've starred, of course. How's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell treating you?

Thanks for dropping by!
Oh, god, J. Strange and Mr. Norrell has been squatting on my dresser since the summer. I got bogged down with detail, 19th ce. chatter, and uncharismatic characters and haven't gone back to it. Some day.

Love the covers!
Arggh. *JS&MN* - I read the whole thing and was one of the unhappy ones. Please don't say that she writes like Dickens!!! Dickens was a genius!!!!! S.C. is - not.

#112



Pirate King by Laurie R. King

Too short on Holmes, but an agreeable tale. Not up to the standard of the recent books, I'd say.

Hi, Lizzie! No, I wouldn't describe his writing as being like Dickens'; you're right, Dickens was much, much better. The author is very good at evoking Dickens' period, though, and I'd say Dickens was an influence.

#113



Toronto Street Names: An Illustrated Guide to their Origins

Lots of stories about muddy York here - some predictably dull, (i.e. "Scottish merchant comes to Canada, makes good, builds big house which he names after the green glens of his youth, continues to…" snore… snore… snore), but there are some jolly bits about duels, homosexual scandals, and early settlers.

#114

Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance



A belated reread; such fun! Mostly in view of later books, though - at the time of my first reading, it was just good enough to get me on to the third book, at which point things really begin to cook with gas.

#115



Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey

Over at SBTB, someone was talking about Johanna Lindsey, and how her books are an auto-buy. Intrigued, I lined a couple up at the library.

Gotta say, this one didn't work for me. My the middle of the book I was almost on-side with the heroine, but the hero's character development didn't work for me at all. I thought he was a huge jerk, and could only have been salvaged by some serious groveling that never happened.

Part of my problem is that this is a book in a series. While we're checking in with the hero's brother, the hero of the previous book, I am looking on with polite boredom, like a cat at a matinée. I suspect that the present hero got some good setup in that book, which accounts for the rather cursory 'love 'em and leave 'em, that's the only way to treat women. Let's go find some whores, yo-ho' kind of intro he got in this book.

All in all, not a terrible book, but not one to get me excited about the author.

#115
(and, by all rights, also #116, 117, and 118, but I'm not greedy. Honestly, this thing weighs more than my cat. It's huge. You could fend off an army of sinewy highland heroes with this thing. The paper is good quality, so it's dense and pointy.)



A Dance with Dragons, by George R. R. Martin

Oh, dude, where to start. I'm going to try to keep this short. Be warned; moderate spoilers ensue.

The first two hundred pages had me thinking that Martin had entirely lost his (mind? no) his sense of how to keep readers going through his morass of misery. Everything was going down the toilet, and only Tyrion kept me going. It's saying something about a book when a bit about characters being sold at a slave auction is one of the lighter, less harrowing parts. Then, he dropped some almost 'good' things into the plot, and balance resumed.

Once I was past the initial slab of misery, the book took off like a rocket. I was actually finished reading it by the due date, even after procrastinating before picking it up.

If the first book is about the dissolution of stability, the second about the rise of new factions, the third about consolidating those factions, then flushing some of them down the john, the fourth about mopping up and introducing yet some more factions, then the fifth is about the race for practically all of these factions to find and bridle the dark horse: yes, this is the "who gets to marry Danaerys" book. Most of the difficulty with achieving this objective is finding the damned woman. Journeys are long and eventful around here - perhaps too long and eventful at times, but Martin keeps you going somehow.

As you may have heard, Martin has not lost his thirst for the blood of his main characters. I shared everyone's shock back - well, you know when, if you've read the books - but I wonder if this device isn't losing impact as the series progresses? Martin has spoken of how he was awed by Tolkein's use of the death of a central character - how he was fascinated with its visceral effect. And yes, Martin's books do have that "things just got serious" moment, but he'd better watch it doesn't topple over into self-parody with repetition.

I'm trying not to hold my breath for the next one. At least the second season of the spectacular HBO series is coming in April.

I read Strange & Norrell earlier this year and enjoyed it. And while I wouldn't say it's in the same writing style as Dickens, I do agree that Clarke's style is definitely informed by his works. I think for me, I really appreciated the extremely detailed world building (and the footnotes! Footnotes make me so happy). I also liked Jonathan Strange, so that helps.

#116



Hearts Aflame, also by Johanna Lindsey

I liked it better than Gentle Rogue, but still no dice for me.

Also, may I suggest a general moratorium on the use of the word "mayhap" to suggest dialogue from before 1500 AD? Lindsey did some research (on clothes & contemporary political history, at least), but it's really tough to do convincing banter that sounds potentially in-period and is still accessible to the modern ear. I don't think she quite manages it, as she throws a few tag words like "mayhap" into oddly contemporary-sounding sentences.

#117



Powerful Greek, Unworldly Wife by Sarah Morgan

Okay, all of you, I don't need any of your lip about Mills and Boon. Yes, this is a category romance novel: my first, in fact. I am assured by Sarah Wendell over at 'Smart Bitches, Trashy Books' that category romances are, in fact, like any other genre of books; they have their good and bad ones. Sarah Morgan was mentioned as a good category writer, so I though I'd give it a whirl.

Hmmm. Well, it didn't really work for me either. In many ways it worked better for me than Gentle Rogue, and perhaps even better than Hearts Aflame; the hero wasn't a jerk, and the writing wasn't any worse. My problem was with the heroine: oh, poor Millie.

Millie has some sort of condition, I think. Her self-esteem is so relentlessly low that she hides from her own husband in a store, just so he won't see her without her hair and makeup done. She runs screaming from him because she's sure he won't love her once he's seen the scars on her stomach. She tearfully insists that he's whisked her away to the Greek island where they honeymooned, tried to talk to her about their communications problems, and then made tender, passionate love to her until dawn because he's trying to prove that he can sexually conquer even someone as repulsive as she is, not because he loves her, finds her beautiful, and is trying to heal their marriage.

She is not quite rational on this point, and insists on it until I was hoping our hero would stop beating his head against a brick wall and move on with his life. Instead, he badgers her until she reveals all - that her bottomless insecurity led her to freeze him out during their marriage, then assume that he had been unfaithful. She doesn't need a hero, she needs an intervenor, like the people who assist deaf and blind children to communicate.

Somehow, it was his responsibility to figure out what was going on in her head and make it all better - as if she, as an adult, couldn't possibly be expected to identify her own emotional needs and communicate them to her husband. Yes, he's a monster. Jesus. Then, she's healed at one fell swoop by his love. Hmmm.

Hi, Cyanara! I've got you starred!

What is the story behind the images at your first post? Beautiful! Are they rugs?

Karen O.

They're book covers! I admit, I know nothing about them. I image searched "beautiful books", and that was one of the hits. I wish I could say they're all from my personal collection.

Is that right?! Wow! They certainly are beautiful.

Karen O.

p.s. I went back for another look--they are just gorgeous!

I'm back at The Affinity Bridge; I'm out of library books, and I'm tired of having it and Mr. Norrell hanging over my shoulder all the time. At first, I though it was going to be a total loss, but I've softened a bit, and I have an open mind now. We'll see how Mann finishes it. It looks like it's intended to be the first in the series, and I'm willing to excuse a fair amount in a first book.

#118



The Affinity Bridge by George Mann

I initially picked this one up because a) it was on a remainder table, b) I'm still looking for the steampunk novel of my dreams, and c), the cloudy-pewter dustjacket is gorgeous. Go ahead, call me shallow.

I wasn't impressed by the early chapters, but Mann pulled the ending together well enough that I'll almost certainly look the next volume up at the library. He manages his steampunk elements naturally, so the novel feels like it has a real setting, not just a checklist of elements. While the characters are still a bit stiff and awkward, I have hopes.

Most peculiar of all, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is showing some signs of not sucking. I'm not getting my hopes up, but something has finally happened, a few hundred pages in: i.e., Strange and Norrell have met. I'm going to have to give it another hundred pages to see if this odd and surprising trend continues. I doubt it.

The Affinity Bridge sounds interesting. Have you tried Scott Westerfeld's steampunk series? I haven't read a lot of steampunk but I've really enjoyed both Leviathan and Behemoth.

I will say Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is never particularly fast-paced but Jonathan Strange makes it infinitely more interesting, imo.

I haven't; I've put Leviathan on my library list: thanks!

Agreed about JS/MN. I'm actually finding Mr. Norrell rather endearing.

Always glad to share books I really like. I think in JS&MN Jonathan and his wife were my favourite characters.

Just looking in on your thread....
I struggled through JS/MN a few years back, it had enough going for it to keep me interested but only just. Regarding steampunk, you might like the YA Hungry Cities series by Philip Reeve, the first book is Mortal Engines, I love these books. I haven't read past the first chapter but Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding is also tagged steampunk. I enjoyed all the books I've read by both these writers.

>27 MickyFine:
At this point, Jonathan and his wife haven't done very much - I'm finding them both a bit vague, as characters. The author's certainly taking her time establishing them, but I have hopes.

>28 avatiakh:
I've read three books in the Hungry City series, and I agree they're good. Take a look at my thread #2 if you want to see what I thought! Thanks for the point towards Retribution Falls.

Missed your transition to this thread last weekend, but I'm here now. I was also one of the so-so bunch on JS&MN. I have Affinity Bridge here in the tbr pile.

Yay! Good to see you.

I'm vaccilating here on JS & MN. I have about 60% of the book to go, and while I could probably read it through without much pain, I have books coming in at the library.

I've realised that, as always, I've been forgetting to include the books my husband and I read aloud. Those will follow shortly.

#119



Ringworld by Larry Niven

One of my favourite things about reading aloud is sharing favourite books with my husband. My reading is normally a solitary activity that separates me off from the world, so it's a joy to have it become communal!

I read Ringworld first when I was fairly young, and loved it. I've reread it many times over the years, though not very recently. I realised again that many of my favourite parts of the novel take place in the first third; the second third moves fairly briskly, but I can't help feeling that the last third trails away instead of having a satisfying ending. Still, it's a standout among Niven's novels for its successful combination of big ideas and intriguing, relatable characters. Yes, Teela is a pain, but I love Niven's aliens. He just can't write women for beans.

#120



The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein

This was my husband's suggestion, which I seized on eagerly. I hadn't read The Hobbit in years, though I remember my father reading it to me when I was a kid, and the way he choked up over the ending. I used to know it very well.

I think what struck me this time is how rapidly Tolkein keeps the story moving. These events loomed so large in my imagination, but often were finished in (bam!) two pages or (bam!) three pages. M. was frankly disbelieving that the discovery of the ring was almost a throwaway moment (bam! half a page!).

I really enjoyed the reread, and I'm curious how they're going to handle the movie. Tolkein scarcely bothers to give the dwarves individual personalities, except for Thorin, Balin, and Bombur. Only Thorin is a rounded character. We'll see!

#121



Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters

I am passionately fond of Peter's heroine Vicky Bliss, but even I must admit that this is a flawed intro to her series. Yes, there are some flashes of brilliance and wit, the setting is great, the Grafin is a wonderful antagonist, and I haven't really seen a similar premise elsewhere - however, Vicky and Tony don't have much chemistry, and Vicky herself isn't as interesting and sympathetic a character as she becomes in the second book. There should have been more Schmidt, but then he isn't very developed either.

#122



Street of the Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters

Now we're cooking! This is the Vicky I know, and it's such fun watching her and John spar. The supporting characters and setting are interesting, and Peters wraps it up in a characteristic mess of screwball comedy and suspense. M. and I finished this in about a week - I could hardly put it down. I did most of the reading myself, as M. is recovering from bronchitis, and I just couldn't stop.

#123



Half Empty by David Rakoff

Less funny than his hilarious Fraud and Don't Get Too Comfortable, but just as caustic, sensitive, and great to read.

#124



Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin

I read this as part of my ongoing self-education about autism and Asperger's syndrome. I found the chapters on sensory processing both interesting and a bit too long. Grandin also generalizes from her own experience more than I'd like, though she does recognize in her "update" sections that there's a greater diversity in autism than she initially assumed when writing the book. I found the biographical chapters the most interesting; she writes expressively about her own mind and experience.

#125



Silhouette in Scarlet by Elizabeth Peters

O joy ! O Bliss! I am tremendously enjoying rereading this beloved series aloud with my husband. This one was a particular favourite of his, too. I love the Swedish setting, the humour, and the character development.

#127



The Lost Lions by Edward Gorey

To lift my ER review....

"Another lovely little book from Pomegranate press; I'm a great fan of Edward Gorey, so I am always thrilled to see him come up in the Early Reviewer books.

This is a bit slight, as Gorey tales go, but it's a pleasing read and I enjoyed what there was of it. The ink had smudged onto the facing page on one image in my copy, but perhaps that was due to it being an ARC?

Readers new to Gorey probably shouldn't start here, but it's a part of his charming oeuvre."

#128



Scandal by Amanda Quick

Mixed feelings about this one: I didn't care much for the hero (yet another steely Regency he-man, this time with exotic Eastern tastes and skills), but I couldn't make up my mind at all about the heroine.

One minute she's TSTL-ing along* vapouring about her connection "on a higher plane" with the hero, until I think I'm going to put the book down if I hear that phrase one more time. The next minute, her flaky manner is a plot point, and we're seeing her own brand of ruthless emotional pragmatism at work, as well as her unusual (anachronistic, really) financial skills. I rather loved the latter side of her, but it didn't appear often enough for me, and she did get herself into a damn-fool situation where she had to be rescued by the hero. Idiot. Sigh.

There were some hilarious parts, particularly with the hero's domestic staff and the heroine's literary club. On the whole, It's not good enough to tempt me into a reread, but I haven't given up on Quick. She does need to make her heroes more nuanced, but there are some very promising things about this book.

*(Too Stupid To Live, as they say over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books)

#129



Howard's End is on the Landing: a Year of Reading From Home by Susan Hill

While reading this book, much discussed and often loved on LT, I toyed with several different ways of starting my review:

Ahem.
Dorothy Parker wrote that "the affair between Margot Asquith and Margot Asquith shall live on as one of the prettiest love stories in all of literature." To self: no, too waspish, and besides, not quite accurate.

Ahem.
Dorothy Parker will forgive me if I say that "through the pages of Howard's End is on the Landing walk the great. I don't say that Susan Hill actually permits us to rub elbows with them ourselves, but she willingly shows us her own elbow, which has been, so to say, honed on the mighty." Well, that's a little closer.

Ahem.
Susan Hill is happiest when ending sentences "..., I think." Her mood is judicious, meditative, and often arch. She doesn't like Jane Austen. Well, fine, I suppose not everyone can. She doesn't get Australian literature. She doesn't quite see the point of Canadian literature (having read much of both?). Her reading is mostly British, and colonial readers like me may not get the references. She dismisses thrillers and comic books as "ice cream reading" (I think that's an underinformed point of view, but she's entitled to it) but reserves the right to praise Enid Blyton to the skies. Better, closer....

Ahem.
Here is a quotation from the beginning of Howard's End is on the Landing: "The journey began in the old farmhouse where I live, surrounded by the gently rising hills and graceful trees, the ploughed and planted fields, the hedgerows and flower borders and orchards and old stone walls, the deer and birds and hedgehogs and rabbits, the foxes and badgers and moths and bees of Gloucestershire. I climbed two flights of elm-wood stairs to the top landing in search of a book, and found myself embarked on a year of travelling through the books of a lifetime."
I would have expected myself to find this sentence charming. I wanted to adore the book based on its cover alone. Instead, I felt the early rising of what was to become an intense urge to take Susan Hill by the shoulders and shake her, shouting "don't you think I would like to spend a year reading from my shelves? Don't you think I would like to have built-in bookshelves in every room? Don't you think I would like to live in an Elizabethan farmhouse in rural Gloucestershire, surrounded by the original cast of Beatrix Potter?" No, wait, get a grip. Your jealousy is unbecoming.

Sigh. Here we go.

I started my reading year with Anne Fadiman's wonderful Ex Libris, which celebrates reading, books, and the community of readers. In my review I mentioned my discomfort with the occasional near-preciousness in the books-about-reading genre that I felt Fadiman had skirted. Susan Hill, by contrast, plops right into the mire.

Here's my disclaimer: I don't think that Hill is necessarily a snob, or a flake, or as self-involved as this book makes her seem. I'm sure that her reading preferences as she describes them are genuine, and not faked to impress us. Perhaps the tone of the book got away from her.

The book did strike me as self-involved in its lack of focus and frequent digressions into famous-authors-I-have-met and literary-achievements-in-my-career. It is not entirely a bad book, but it is a relentlessly self-regarding book, with Susan Hill using her library as a mirror to inspect and display Susan Hill.

I don't agree with many of her judgements, and I don't have the reading background to have an opinion on the rest. The lack of organization irritated me more as the book progressed, as I wasn't feeling very entertained, and the shifting focus of the book (reading from shelves, literary autobiography, anecdote collection, desert island book list, the writing life) prevented me from feeling that I was getting a cohesive account of any one thing.

I can imagine that if I were familiar with Hill's work and with more of the books and authors she describes with such affection then I might have felt a greater sympathy for the book, and perhaps I could have read it in the spirit she no doubt hoped it would be.

#130



The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkein

This is another read-out-loud with my husband, and I'm greatly enjoying it. I've loved the trilogy since I was twelve, and the movie series, while pretty good, is second in my affections, but it's funny to see the little parts of the book I've forgotten, and the differences in emphasis.

Oh, I LOVE your review of Howard's End on the Landing!! It expresses so much of what I felt while reading it. Thumbs up, thumbs up!

I love the trilogy as well, and bask myself in your enjoyment.

Thank you! I'm glad to find someone who shared my feelings about HEiotL - I disliked how sour I felt about the whole thing by the end, but by then I was finishing it to get rid of it. If nothing else she's a fellow Citizen of the Book, and I share her love of books and respect for them. It was all just so privileged and arch, I wanted to swat her. I think it bothers me because I worry about sounding the same way.

I may have been biased by lycomayflower's excellent review, but in the end mine was less temperate than hers. I just kept thinking "and that's another thing!" whenever poor Ms. Hill wrote something that got under my skin.

#130



Fraud: Essays by David Rakoff

I'm afraid I have to reassess what I said about Rakoff's new book Half Empty above; it is not as good as his earlier collection, Fraud. Not many essay collections are. Fraud is hilarious, waspish, deeply felt, and very well written. I had forgotten how truly excellent it is, so Half Empty may still be four stars, but Fraud is four and a half, or five.

#131



Greek Mythology for Teens by Zachary Hamby

I'm enjoying this whole teaching-materials-for-free side of LT Early Reviewers. I don't know if I'll ever end up teaching Greek Myth for teens, but there's a good chance it will, so I'm glad to have it in my back pocket.

Hamby's book includes jazzed-up-for-teens scripts for some major Greek myths. There are supplementary discussions about themes, in a similar we're-all-cool-here style and some background. It's a solid book, and I like the idea of the reader's theatre approach. The style & level would be appropriate for an advanced Gr. 7 or 8 class, or a more average group of Gr. 9s, or even 10s if you wanted a break.

I only had one little caveat - it's troublesome, having students act out some of this material, even in a simple reading. The women are huffy or dippy stereotypes, mostly, and while this isn't entirely out of spirit for the ancient myth, I got tired of it fast. Also, the dramatization of the story of Zeus & Io was uncomfortable for me - I don't plan to put any student in the position of having to refer to another student's large "udders", and I'd have to think carefully about the whole "you hussy" quickie-in-the-grass dramatic situation. Some groups might be able to handle it maturely, but others... not so much.

#132



Advanced Placement Classroom: King Lear by R. Brigham Lampert

A really solid set of worksheets, questions, and assignments for a high school Lear class, that's what we've got here. I'm really pleased to add it to my library. Though I may not end up teaching AP as such, the contents here look like they would be an excellent supplement (or even basis!) for any unit based on the play. I really like the approach he uses - the vocabulary exploration worksheet, for one, may well pop up in any Shakespeare unit I teach. Good stuff!

Just a quick stop in to let you know I've been enjoying your reviews especially #42.

Thank you! I've never been on the front page before, so I'm all a-glow.

>42 Cynara: Cynara, I thought Howards End is on the Landing was a fascinating concept, which didn't quite come off in the telling. But I enjoyed it anyway. Good review.

Thank you TheTortoise!

Good-bye, Anne McCaffrey, and thank you for the Harper Hall trilogy.

#133 & 4

It seems silly to count these as full books, but I decided at the beginning of the year to just number them as I go and not fret about page count.





Donald and the... and Donald has a Difficulty by Peter Neumeyer and Edward Gorey

Delightful little books - Neumeyer's apparently simple stories are wonderful showcases for an artist, and Edward Gorey did a beautiful, odd, job. Stoic little Donald has a pair of interesting days..

#135



Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

I picked this book up for two reasons: first, an expected 20 hours in a car over American Thanksgiving; second, out of love for Butcher's Dresden Files series. I found the hommages to David Eddings' Belgariad series annoying, but the writing and pacing were generally strong.

Have you ever had the experience of loving one book by an author (despite some quirks in said book), and then picking up more of that author's books - only to find that the quirks you had excused in one book are relentlessly repeated in the rest of the author's oeuvre? Yeah. I can't get behind Butcher's female characters in this one. They are allowed to kick ass, but there's a strong emphasis on healing magic and hearth-guarding (apart from our young heroine), and the depiction of sexual assault creeped me out. Oddly enough, it bothers me more than the exponentially more graphic treatment of sexual assault in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Say what you like about Larsson's series, but it depicts rape as brutal, shattering, and not at all sexy. There was far too much leering sensuality in this for me. I can't give Butcher credit for making his bad, brutal villain a rapist if I feel there's a sneaking complicity in the writing.

I haven't decided if any of this is a deal-breaker for me (perhaps that sounds odd, but it's true) - I may continue the series at some point. Suffice it to say that I'm not in a mood to cut Butcher much slack here.

Interesting--I have that book but haven't read it yet.


Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you! I hope you had lovely holidays, Mickey and Roni!

I'm going to tie up my last 2011 reads here, then move over to start up the 2012 thread!

#136



Trojan Gold by Elizabeth Peters

Consummate. Possibly as good as the next one, Night Train to Memphis. It might even be better... but no. Still, this book represents some sort of romantic-comedy-mystery peak for me.

#137



The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson

I was bewitched by Davidson's Courtesans and Fishcakes and his light, learned touch with the ancients. This is a weightier tome, the kind that makes reputations instead of Christmas lists. I am glad he wrote it; though I'm fairly underinformed, it sounds like a reassessment of Greek homosexuality was overdue. It was informative and, at times, amusing. I did skip a chunk of the chapter on Foucault (a recurring character flaw of mine), but I toughed out some of the lengthier bits on nomenclature and terms at the beginning, and I"m glad I did.

{Edit: here's Davidson's article for the Guardian, which is almost an abstract of the book, or at least a good introduction to it - very interesting! http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/nov/10/history.society}

Oh Foucault. I don't blame you for skipping over him. Just reading his name makes my brain hurt never mind actually reading his theory.

#138, 139, 140





Fool's Errand, The Golden Fool, and Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb

Marvellous trilogy - I haven't read the earlier books, but that might even be a good thing. This trilogy is rich, complex, and a little weary, with none of the annoying gung-ho innocence of many fantasy series. Our protagonist can be a bit passive, but that's neatly explained. I found the ending deeply unsatisfying, but it was because of how invested I am in the characters - narratively, there's a logic to it. I think I'll buy this series.

Mickey: yeah, whenever I see his name, my attention wings elsewhere. Book text: "Foucault's..." My brain:"I wonder what determines whether a species of bird is migratory...."

#141 & 142

My last completed in 2011!




Vengeance in Death and Holiday in Death by J. D. Robb

Two solid entries in the "... in Death" series; good mysteries, good pacing, good Eve scenes and supporting character scenes. It's fun to get back to them! My husband saw Holiday in Death and Loyalty in Death on my Christmas list, so I'm catching up, bless him.

I've been balancing my 2011 book ledger, and I found that I'd missed a couple!

#143



Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

I should note some SPOILERS here, particularly if you haven't read Changes yet.

This is the follow-up to the aforementioned Changes that has had Dresden fans on the edges of their seats since we finished our midnight reads and gasped what!

Butcher has given us a smaller, dark follow-up, which was a good authorial decision on his part. Changes was a crashing epic with gods, valkyries, vampires, sacrifices, the fate of all the major characters, etc. in the balance. After the astonishing finale and the kick-in-the-stomach postscript, we're ready for a change of pace.

Harry is back on the case - the only problem is that he doesn't have a clue, his magic, or a body. Our plot and theme are both pretty solidly centred around picking up the pieces from the last book, so this would be a lousy place for a new reader to enter the series, but as a long-time fan I appreciate that Butcher's actually dealing with the ramifications of all the crap he threw around in Changes.

I'm looking forward to the next book; I'd like to see Harry working on someone else's case and dealing with his new role.

#144



Don't Get too Comfortable by David Rakoff

I listened to this in audiobook form, though I've already read the hard copy a couple of times; wonderful New-Yorker-quality lightly humorous essays. Funny, perceptive, well-written. It's fun to hear him read it; he often gives a line a totally different spin than I'd have thought.

2011 DNF HALL OF SHAME

Bug Jack Barron: pompous, self-enraptured, self-consciously 'modern' 70s trash, which helped to inspire a brilliant graphic novel, Transmetropolitan.

Galadria: awful fantasy book: has the Harry Potter series' faults magnified a thousandfold, with none of its many glories of world building or characterization.

The Tale of Genji: I'm assuming that I'm the one at fault here. I couldn't cope with the loose narrative, the kaleidoscopically changing names, or (to be fair to me) Genji's monstrous selfishness and complacency.

Kill Shakespeare: terrible, boring meta-take on the Bard. Tries to be Fables and fails.

Winter Shadows: self-conscious, poorly characterised Canadian historical fiction. Two girls in different centuries struggle with their different family circumstances and fail to be interesting or fun.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: I've just decided I'm not finishing this. Good pastiche, Ms. Clarke, but this is my stop.

2012 thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/130047