humouress hoping for third time lucky in 2012!

Happy New Year; wishing you all the best for 2012!



Is it a new year already? - how time flies! Well, I didn't make it to 75 books in 2010, or in 2011(thread 1)(thread 2), but I'm edging closer. This year will see things turned upside down for us, so we'll see if it leaves me with more reading time - or less. This year, my resolutions were pretty much "ditto"; i.e., instead of consciously making resolutions, I decided to repeat last year's (because - guess what - I didn't manage to achieve them)

For anyone who hasn't dropped by before, I'm Nina, I have two young children and I've been on LT for three years. I read mainly fantasy, YA and children's books, with an occasional mystery, and I've been volunteering at our small library (staffed entirely by volunteers), so I'm interested in the other side of the counter, too.

Here we go for 2012!







    1)  Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
    2)  Persuasion by Jane Austen
                   3)  Love in the Time of Dragons by Katie MacAlister
    4)  Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. McKillip
        5)  Foundation by Mercedes Lackey
    6)  Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
        7)  Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind
    8)  The Chronicles of Pern : First Fall by Anne MCaffrey
        9)  Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey
   10)  Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones
   11)  Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn
   12)  Hairy Maclary Scattercat by Lynley Dodd
           13)  Magic Kingdom for Sale - SOLD by Terry Brooks
   14)  No Dogs Allowed by Sonia Manzano
          15)  Jack the Giant Killer by Charles de Lint
      16)  Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
        17)  Drink Down the Moon by Charles de Lint
       18)  Red Star Rising by Anne McCaffrey
   19)  Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher
           20)  The Glass Dragon by Irene Radford
   21)  A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda
       22)   The Magicians Guild by Trudi Canavan
        23)   Changes by Mercedes Lackey
       24)  The Magician King by Lev Grossman
   25)  The Thirteenth House by Sharon Shinn
           26)  The Perfect Princess by Irene Radford
           27)  The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
        28)  Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon
           29)  The Book of Dreams by Traci Harding
           30)  Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop
           31)  The Loneliest Magician by Irene Radford
   32)  The Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan
       33)  Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells
    34)  Gone Wild : an endangered animal alphabet by David McLimans
        35)  The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
   36)  Dark Moon Defender by Sharon Shinn
   37)  There's Nothing to Do on Mars by Chris Gall
        38)  Ultimate Spider-man : Death of Spider-man by Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley
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75) LT threads (because I spend so much reading time on them, instead of on books. But they're fun)

{ Some topics for my personal reference :
Basic HTML
Basic HTML 2012
How to do fancy things in your posts

What we are reading threads:
Juvenile and Young Adult
Science Fiction and Fantasy

My wikipage, to keep track of book bullets: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/User:Humouress }

coloured stars :

I'm also including books I read to my kids because they do take up my reading time - even the ones I read to my toddler, because he usually asks for them to be re-read five times in a row quite happily (I think I'm creating another book-monster!); and because I'm hoping it'll help me reach my 75 book mark this year.

I'm tweaking things a bit as I go along. You can click on the list number of the book to go straight down to my review within this thread (or click the title and go to the work page, where I usually post my review, at some stage)

hi Nina
found and starred!

Welcome!

Peeking in, Nina.

Welcome back!

Hello!

Thank you!

Glad to see you back with us again, Nina!

Hey, Nina, look for House of Many Ways to get more of Sophie and Howl!

Good to be back, Stasia. Are you reading for the challenge this year? I can't find your thread.

Thanks, Roni. I missed the challenge in Diana Wynne Jones's memory last year, because I couldn't find anything in the bookshops by her that I hadn't already read (and I particularly wanted her on my bookshelves) (so to speak; that sounds a bit weird, doesn't it?). So as soon as I could lay my hands on the entire (matching!) series, I grabbed them; Howl's Moving Castle was highly recommended, and I hive House of Many Ways waiting for me. (Wonder if that counts as a BOMBS, since it's a recent acquisition?)

I do not have a thread yet, Nina. Look for it this coming weekend.

Will do, Stasia.

Found you and starred!

Ooh, thanks!

Welcome back!

Hello, hello! *starred*

Thank you, thank you!

Hi! :) Starred!

Got ya starred!

Welcome, everyone!

1) Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones



Several days to the south of the fairy-tale land of Ingary, as the carpet flies, lies the fabled land of Zanzib, where Abdullah the carpet seller ekes out a living at the edge of the bazaar, and dreams of being a long-lost prince. One day, he buys a rather thread-bare magic carpet, and then his daydreams start coming true! Between the quirky carpet, an unreliable genie in a bottle, a djinn, who might or might not be wicked, not to mention a magical cloud castle in the air, Abdullah has to rescue his beautiful princess and save the world.

I was initially surprised to find that this sequel to Howl's Moving Castle didn't start where that book ended - but don't worry; all the beloved characters do feature in this book. As with the first book, the twists at the end caught me by surprise, and turned a good ending into an even happier ending. As ever, this YA story is well written, engaging and amusing, and clips along at a good pace. I'm glad I succumbed to all the LT recommendations!

2) Persuasion by Jane Austen


This is one of my, possibly my absolute, favourites of Jane Austen's major works (I've not managed to read everything, yet...) It's not the wittiest, I think, though the humour is very much in evidence, but it's the sweetest romance.

Anne Elliot, having fallen in love as a young woman, but having dutifully declined a proposal of marriage, lives with her older sister, Elizabeth, and father, the baronet Sir Elliot at Kellynch Hall. Unlike Anne, they are very vain about their place in the peerage, but are careless about the duties of a landowner. Her younger sister, Mary, is married into the Musgrove family, and is also proud of the notice due to an Elliot of Kellynch Hall. When the Elliots decide to move to Bath, Anne stays first with her sister Mary and the Musgroves, and then continues on to Bath. At both these places, she finds herself thrown into company with the man she still loves. Her feelings for him have not changed, but he - now a man of fortune - is no longer interested in her. How will Anne find the happiness in life that she so richly deserves?

I do like this book, mainly, as I said, for the romance. But I like the comfortable family life portrayed in this Austen, which, offhand, I don't think we get in any of her other books. The Musgroves senior and the Crofts enjoy life, and are happiest when they have lots of other people around them who enjoy life, too.

Although Anne is neglected by her own family, her friends see her value, and she is not as timid or put-upon as Fanny, of Mansfield Park. As a heroine, she has a quiet, purposeful dignity.

And I think, of all the Austens I've read, this has the happiest ending.

I'm about half-way through Love in the Time of Dragons, which is the first in the 'Light Dragons' series (which follows the 'Silver Dragons' series), and opens with someone waking up to find they are suffering from amnesia. She is - and therefore we are - thrown into the middle of events without knowing quite what is happening. I'm not quite sure if I'm a bit lost because of her lack of memory, or because I haven't read the previous series.

I quite like the plot so far, which started out promisingly - when I can follow what happened in the past, and sort out characters (many of whom are still off-stage) from the welter of names. Unfortunately, the plot is turning into a sub-plot, and the book is turning into a Mills & Boons 'romance'. She is deeply in lust with a man based on the fact that he is arrogant, chauvinistic and exudes sexiness.

Its starting to annoy me a bit. Plus the fact that it's supposed to be set in London, but could be anywhere in the world. It's personal, I know, but when my home town is mentioned, I look for it to be featured a bit. In my experience, people in England don't say "Six blocks north" when asked for directions, so it jarred.

OK; mini-rant over.

Well, your first two books are favorites of mine, but Love in the Time of Dragons doesn't sound like a winner to me. Your rant seems justified!

Well, it started off nicely, but when it turned into a sex romp, I got fed up. If I had realised before I bought it - I wouldn't have bought it, but if I had read it knowing expecting that slant, I probably wouldn't have been quite as disappointed.

But some people obviously like it; it has quite a few 4 star ratings, and some 5 star ratings, too. It's just really, really not my thing.

Those first two are classics rather. Back to business, now.

Incidentally, since about half-way through last year, I've been including my star ratings in my written reviews, because when I go back and look at my library list, I see ratings that don't make sense. They seem lower or higher than I thought I had given. Has anyone else found this? I'm wondering if I've accidentally clicked on the stars and changed my rating, but it seems to happen quite a lot.

I don't know about that, but I do know that I often later change ratings that I gave a book immediately after I read it. Up or down a little bit (usually a little bit).

I try not to change my ratings :) (so I'm the other way around to you) Sometimes I'm surprised that I gave something that I don't remember favourably more stars, but then I re-read my review and realise there were some good points, so I would rather go with my first impression. But sometimes I see something with 2 stars that I wouldn't ever rate that low, I'm sure. I would never give a Jane Austen, for example, anything less that 5 stars, so if it had a 2 star, I would know it was wrong.

That's odd. I will be interested to see if your ratings do actually change, because that's a problem if they do. I haven't noticed anything like that, but I'm a little more lax about my ratings, clearly.

I mentioned it in Bug Collectors a while ago, but I'm never sure if it's changed or how much it's changed, or if I accidentally changed it myself.

3) Love in the Time of Dragons by Katie McAlister



I must be a sucker for the cover art, because I've picked up 2 copies of this with the same cover, even though I've never read anything by her before. Unfortunately (and this is why I'm hesitant to buy authors I've not read before), I didn't love the book.

Although this is the first in the 'Light Dragons' series, it follows on from the 'Silver Dragons' series, so I came in rather in the middle of things.

Modern-day Tully Sullivan is told by a group of strangers that she, like them, is a were-dragon; or rather, she is a reincarnation of one. She falls (in both incarnations) instantly in lust-at-first-sight with the Baltic, who is from a clan of were-dragons who are enemies of the silver dragon clan, with whom she is staying. Other than that, it seems to be a sex romp (of which there was no indication in the cover blurb, or I wouldn't have been taken aback by it / bought it in the first place); and, for fans of dragons, there's only one passage in the book where they actually turn into dragons.

Sorry; this one wasn't for me.

4) Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. Mckillip

,

Have I mentioned this is one of my all-time FAVOURITE series? I read the Riddle Master trilogy a long time ago, in my teens. I find that some of my favourites from that era aren't as good re-reading them now as I remember them. This series, however, is even better than my memory.

The first book was about Morgon of Hed searching the realm for answers; the second was about Raederle of An searching the realm for Morgon. This final installment brings both of them together with their new-found powers to save the world they know from an inhuman enemy.

I love the way Patricia McKillip writes; she has a way of showing you the vulnerabilities of her characters. I really connected with the deep love and respect that they have for one another; not just lovers, but friends and family, and that is an integral part of the story. Maybe my hormones are still all over the place after having children, but I must confess to shedding a couple of tears; Ms McKillip can really play my heartstrings. She writes very evocatively, bringing a landscape to life or creating an atmosphere with a few simple words.

I would recommend this as an absolute must-read for any high fantasy fan. If you've already read it - go back and read it again!

>33 humouress: I haven't reread the Riddle Master trilogy in years - probably sometime in the late 1980s. Maybe it's time to read it again, because I do remember that I loved it. Thanks for the reminder.

Stasia, Carolyn and I read it at the beginning of 2010 (?)--them for the first time and me because it had been far too long since my last reading. I agree, it's even better now than it was back then.

...I sometimes feel like I'm the only person on the planet who didn't like that series! LOL. Well, to each their own. And I've enjoyed other work from McKilip, so I'm not too disappointed. :)

So I've never heard of Patricia McKillip or this series, but you guys are making me think that she's worth looking into. My library has a copy of the trilogy, so what they hey: ordered!

I've only read The Forgotten Beasts of Eld but I really loved it. Gave it a 9 out of 10. I'm going to be reading Riddle-master in March with Morphy's Mighty Monthly Magical Reads.

Finally, an internet connection!

I'm a) thrilled to remind people to read The Riddle-Master trilogy again, and
b) even more thrilled to introduce people to it for the first time.

Only - after Faith's comment :) - I do hope you love it as much as I do.

5) Foundation by Mercedes Lackey



Another entertaining story from the Valdemar stable. The very handy time-line at the beginning of the book tells us that the events in this story occurred a while before the original "Arrows" series, when the heraldic, bardic and healer Collegia were being built.

It opens with Mags, an orphan who was taken in by a 'charitable' gem mine owner and put to work as a mine slave. Mags, however, is Gifted, and is claimed by the Heralds of Valdemar, when he learns that there is a better life outside the mines, and discovers that he can make friends.

This is the first of the Collegia trilogy, and it did feel more as though it was setting up events for the following books. There are some hints as to the mystery of Mags's heritage and the beginnings of palace intrigue towards the end of the book which will keep me reading the series. The start of the story was about Mags' life in the mines, and being rescued by his Companion-to-be. However, the middle was a little slow, detailing the way Mags felt he didn't fit in, with not much action.

It is well written, as ever; but I could have done with a few less italicised words! I took out both this book and its sequel from the library at the same time, so I have that to look forward to.

I wanted to mention that I reread the Riddle-Master trilogy in February, thanks to your reminder!

I like Mercedes Lackey, too. I think three books in the particular story line have been published and the way the third ended made me think that there was at least one more to come. Enjoy!

6) Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher



It's been a couple of weeks since I read this book, so this is just a brief review. Butcher also wrote the 'Dresden Files', which I haven't read, but I've seen a couple of the TV programmes.

This is the first book in the Alera Codex, where the Calderon Valley is the northernmost part of the realm of Alera (which seems to be designed along Roman lines), and the first defense against the alien Marat hordes which, from time to time, try to invade through the only break in the mountain wall. All human adults are bonded with one or more furies, which are elementals of air, water, fire, earth, wood or metal, and allow their humans to influence their surroundings. We are not told, initially, but they confer other powers, too. For instance, those bonded with fire can affect emotions, those with earth have superhuman strength, and those bonded with water furies are able to heal (though that connection was a bit tenuous for me)

Tavi, a fifteen year old boy, is the only human known who has not bonded on maturity with a fury, however weak, and he is considered a cripple of sorts, as he therefore cannot 'furycraft'. However, he has courage aplenty, and, in spite of (or because of) his weakness, turns out to be a hero.

I really liked this story; the action is fast-paced, and engaging. We also see affairs from other people's points of view, not just Tavi's; we see sorceror's and politicians, and the in-fighting of those who would be emperor, or believe they are saving the empire, and get a well-rounded view of the Aleran world. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

7) Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind



This novella, set several decades before, is a sort of prequel to the 'Wizard's First Rule' series, explaining how Zed, as a younger wizard, set up the wall that kept magic out. Nicely written, though it's been a while since I read the series (so I don't have a basis to compare this story with the main series).

The only thing I would recommend is not to read the introduction first. Goodkind sets a challenge to your morals at the end of it, and it wasn't (for me) the nicest way to start reading a story. It would have been alright to have been challenged after having read it, though.

Yes, there is a fourth book coming in the Lackey series. I think this summer.

>43 humouress:: Goodkind started doing that after the first few books... using his fiction as a soapbox for his own beliefs. And he wasn't nice about it, either. It got really old, really quickly.

8) The Chronicles of Pern : First Fall by Anne McCaffrey



I liked this book of short stories of Pern, which fill in the details of events implied in the novels of the dragons of Pern. It's a good book for fans and those who have read some of the novels, especially the ones at the beginning of the Pernese time-line, but (though it could be read as a stand-alone book) a first-timer to the world of Pern would miss those references which make it a richer experience for people who have read other books. Though it is (necessarily) less dragon-centric than most of the novels, I liked the tone of the book, and (unusually, for me at least) found it well balanced for a short story collection, with all the stories being very satisfying. Usually in a collection, I find one or two stories I hate, one or two that are outstanding, and the others fall in the middle; but I liked all of these.

This is a good mix of short stories, both fantasy and sci-fi, covering the discovery and naming of Pern by a survey ship; the Second Crossing, when colonists found the southern continent too dangerous to inhabit, and still had remnants of old-Earth technology to help them cross to the north; the stories of the founding of new holds and weyrs (you see what I mean when I say it helps to have some background knowledge), and a final story when a relative of one of the founding colonists visits from space.

Highly recommended, especially for fans of Pern.

9) Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey

I'm still reading this one, but it's turning out to be more of a page turner than the first in the Collegium Chronicles series (Foundation, my book #5 for this year)

There's more action, with the newly invented game of Kirball (which does bear some resemblance to Quiditch), and Mags finds some answers to his shrouded beginnings, though they lead to more questions than they resolve. And there is a hint of a threat to the King.

I'm a bit disappointed with his so-called best friends, who now seem to have been using him for their own gains; but maybe they'll redeem themselves before the end of the book. And, for some reason, there's no useful time-line in this edition, though - having read the first volume and placed the narrative within the history of Valdemar - I suppose I'll survive.

9) Intrigues by Mercedes Lackey



This is book 2 of the Collegium Chronicles, and continues the story of Mags (short for Magpie). He is further into his Heraldic training, but still feels like an outsider (which fact is drummed into us in both books). The King's Own herald plans to use this to the advantage of Valdemar, and expands Mags's training to blend into the background and observe events. This leads to intrigue and action, and takes us down into the city of Haven.

In addition, the trainees at the palace are introduced to the newly invented sport of Kirball, with the idea of preparing them to cope with action in battle (which the royal advisors foresee as a possibility in the near future) and Mags is the perfect candidate for the first teams.

There's a lot of action in this book, what with Mags's training as a potential spy for the crown, and the descriptions of Kirball games; and our heroes (both Mags and his Companion Dallen) end up in the infirmary more than once.

I liked this book even better than the first. It's as we'll written as Lackey's other Valdemar books, and I'm looking forward to the third in the series.

10) Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones



This is a school story about magic; but not a la Hogwarts. In fact, the story takes place on a parallel Earth where magic is forbidden (as opposed to merely hidden). Though this is part of the Chrestomanci series (book 5), we don't see the connection until around the final quarter of the book.

At the beginning of Witch Week, a supernaturally powerful time of the year between Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes day, an anonymous note claiming that one of the class members is a witch lands on a teacher's desk. In an universe where magic practitioners are persecuted and burned at the stake, this leads to a fraught week where accusations and untamed magic abound, until the Chrestomanci is called in to save the day.

Although I found the ambience of this book (a school story with cliques and bullies and lots of people keeping secrets) very different from other Chrestomanci books, it had me laughing out aloud at points. Mind you, each book in the series does have a different 'flavour'.

A very nice read, up to Ms Wynne Jones's usual high standards. Recommended.

I am re-reading (from the library) Terry Brooks's Magic Kingdom For Sale / Sold and also reading, for the first time (my own, recently acquired) Sharon Shinn's Mystic and Rider. Maybe it's because I've read it before, but I'm finding 'Magic Kingdom' a bit slow going, whereas I'm quite excited about 'Mystic'; it's enough to get me into bed early (it's my bedtime reading), which is quite unusual!

I generally really enjoy Sharon Shinn's works, but I had mixed feelings about the Twelve Houses series. The first one that you're reading I liked very much, but as I recall, I didn't car for some of the later ones. Unfortunately, that was pre LT so I don't have any comments to refer back to and I can't remember off the top of my heard!

I've only read her Summers at Castle Auburn, which I borrowed from the library; and liked so much, I went out and bought myself a copy. Since that came encased in plastic, I've been saving it for a special occasion to unwrap and savour.

I got the impression that her writing, including the Twelve Houses series, gets good reviews. What would you recommend of hers that you preferred?

First, let me say that I completely agree with you about Summers at Castle Auburn - it's a wonderful book and perhaps my favorite of her works. I've read it several time and now that I don't live down the road from a library with a copy, I may have to buy to ensure I can reread it whenever I want.

As for the Twelve Houses series, I can't pinpoint my objections to it - I just have a negative reaction to it when I think about it. I've only read the first few books and probably should go back and try it again. Perhaps my negative feelings have more to do with my mood when I was reading them than any problem with the books!

I find Shinn skirts a fine line between adult and YA, whatever the actual designation of the book. I am not generally a big YA reader. Her writing / plotting / world building is not without flaws but I enjoy her work so much I'm generally pretty willing to overlook them. You should consider Jenna Starborn, her SF retelling of Jane Eyre, Wrapt in Crystal a SF mystery in which women from two very different religious orders are being murdered and Heart of Gold a somewhat heavy handed, but still good SF novel about prejudice and gender roles. And Troubled Waters is just, well, interesting. I'm also a fan of the Samaria series - the Angel books.

This is probably more of a response than you were looking for! I hope you do read the Twelve Houses books - I'll look forward to your comments. And of course, I'm available to discuss any of the others....

I agree with Dejah right down the line on Shinn, fwiw.

Roni, I knew you had excellent taste!

11) Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn



This is the first in the Twelve Houses series, which refers to the twelve major noble families, who each govern a region of the island of Gillengaria.

King Baryn is growing old, and has only one heir, the young Princess Amalie. Although he has remarried, there are rumours that his new wife has ensorcelled him, and the people of Gillengaria are not entirely comfortable with mystics (mystics being people with a degree of magical power). The Twelve Houses, consequently, seem restless, so the king has sent the mystic, Senneth, on an undercover mission to investigate the mood of the country. Travelling with her, to protect her, are two of the King's Riders - an elite group of fighters who usually guard the royal family - and two other mystics, to help in her mission.

I liked this story. I found it engaging, but the tone of the book was light, making it an easy read, and hard to put down.

The only criticism I have is that (on my book) the cover illustration didn't quite match the author's description of Senneth; I imagine her as looking something more like Debbie Harry of Blondie, with short white blonde hair and tight black leather clothes. The cover for Reader and Raelynx, though - which I saw in the library, and which, in fact, piqued my interest in the Twelve Houses series - does look quite stunning.

I haven't heard of that one before! On the list it goes. Sounds decent enough!

I'm glad you liked Mystic and Rider - I remember liking that one, too. I'm looking forward to her latest one coming out, even though I believe it has werewolves....

I did like it. The romance was, perhaps, not as satisfying as my expectation based on my decade-plus old memory of Castle Auburn; but I will be looking out for the next book in the series.

Werewolves, you say. (You have something against them? Apart from the obvious, that is). Hmm.

12) Hairy Maclary Scattercat by Lynley Dodd



Hairy Maclary (he of Donaldson's dairy) is feeling frisky and bouncy, and just has to chase every cat in town; but he gets his comeuppance in the end, at the paws of (who else?) Scarface Claw!

This was yet another book we had to read five times in one sitting. My three year old and I were in the library, and I picked this up to read, as we have the first book in the series - Hairy Maclary of Donaldson's Dairy - which we both like.

The books are short stories told in verse, with about four lines to a page, accompanied by a facing page appropriately illustrated. The illustrations are humourous and quite detailed without being overly complicated (I like the way we see Hairy peering at the cats from cover, and the fact that the cover illustration is different from the pictures in the book); each page has a separate character (in this case, cats); and the verses and the story are straightforward, lively and easy to follow.

I'm still reading Magic Kingdom for Sale - SOLD!, and still struggling a bit with it. Given the title; the characters with names like Bunion, Pasrnip, Filip and Sot; Questor Thews, the heroically-named gangly inept wizard, who has managed to turn the court scribe into a talking dog with hands instead of paws; and the fairy-tale kingdom which is actually falling apart, you might expect this to be a humourous book.

However, it's not. I remember the first time I read it (years ago), I was a bit puzzled, especially since the cover illustration supported that impression.

It has the same doom-and-gloom atmosphere that some of the Shannara books (after the first trilogy) have. I find some of the language a bit ...stilted? ...stylised? For instance, whenever Brooks mentions the magic that feeds the land and keeps it alive, he usually writes 'the magic' instead of just 'magic'. Since it is mentioned quite frequently, being a major part of the plot, it's starting to pop up and make rude faces at me whenever I come across that phrase. Not that my grammar is brilliant (most of it I picked up from studying foreign languages, rather than from English / English Lit), but Brooks uses the imperfect tense a lot, rather than the past perfect, and this tends to dull the impact of the prose till it feels as misty as the atmosphere.

I'm also not finding much to sink my teeth into - there's not much action, but there is a lot of emotional baggage. And lots of mist and twilight. And doom and gloom.

At the moment, I'm inclined to give it three stars, unless things change.

*waving* at Nina

Hi, Stasia. So nice to see you again!

My review (much the same as 61) above, of :

13) Magic Kingdom For Sale - SOLD! by Terry Brooks



I've just finished re-reading "Magic Kingdom for Sale - SOLD!", and struggled a bit with it.

The story opens with Ben Holiday, a hot-shot lawyer in Chicago, who - having lost his wife a couple of years ago, and being a bit of a loner - feels that life has nothing left to offer him. Catching sight of an advertisement in an exclusive Christmas catalogue, and not fully believing it, he decides to buy a magic kingdom. When he arrives in the kingdom, he finds that all is not well, and he sets out to put things to rights.

Given the title; the characters with names like Bunion, Pasrnip, Filip and Sot; Questor Thews, the heroically-named gangly inept wizard, who has managed to turn the court scribe into a talking dog with hands instead of paws; and the fairy-tale kingdom which is actually falling apart, you might expect this to be a humourous book.

However, it's not. I remember the first time I read it (years ago), I was a bit puzzled, especially since the cover illustration (the one with the banner and the dog reading at the lectern) supported that impression. I kept expecting it to turn humourous, but it never did.

This time, knowing that it isn't supposed to be funny, I still didn't find it a satisfying read. It has the same doom-and-gloom atmosphere that some of the Shannara books (after the first trilogy) have. For me, the writing style didn't work; it felt, somehow, insubstantial and misty, rather like the ambience of the story itself. Brooks uses the imperfect tense a lot, rather than the past perfect, and this tends to dull the impact of the prose.

I didn't find much to sink my teeth into for the first three quarters of the book - there's not much action, but there is a lot of emotion from Ben. And lots of mist and twilight. And doom and gloom. The country seems a bit two-dimensional and rather empty, with characters only popping up when Ben goes out to look for them. The final few chapters do redeem it somewhat, when things do start to work, but overall, the atmosphere and action seem rather muted.

I also have a problem with the map at the front of the book, which I did find I needed to keep looking up as the story wore on. In spite of the fact that the edition I read was quite recent ie a re-issue, the map was very hard to fathom. There was quite a lot of detail, which was great, but a lot of the places I was looking for were in woodlands and forests. Unfortunately, because the detail was so heavy, it made it impossible to read the writing, and very hard to find the landmarks. It's a nice map, but the lines need to be a lot finer.



PS : apparently, Steve Carrell ("The Office") has signed on to star in a film based on this book.

You've put your finger on why I eventually stopped reading Terry Brooks altogether. In fact, when I did my bookcase project at the beginning of this year, I pulled my entire collection of Brooks (the first Shannara trilogy, very derivative and written in the 70s when everyone was trying to be Tolkien; the Heritage of Shannara trilogy; the first 4 Magic Kingdom books; and the prequel First King of Shannara which was the one that pushed it over the breaking point) off my shelves and have them here in a box to be traded off. I will never reread them. They are depressing and full, as you say, of doom-and-gloom, so why should I let them use up 16 linear inches of shelf space that could be put to better use?

14) No Dogs Allowed by Sonia Manzano



This was a book we got out of the library for my toddler. It is apparently a semi-autobiographical award-winning story by Sonia Manzano (who plays 'Maria' in Sesame Street) and has been turned into a musical.

The story, narrated by seven year old Iris, is about an event that happened a long time ago when she was six, and her family decided to go for a picnic to the Enchanted State Park lake. Somehow, this turns into an expedition for the whole community, for which everyone packs just about everything. They all set off, have adventures along the way, and finally reach the lake - where they get a rude shock, and have to find a solution.

The characters are vivid and true to life, especially for a short children's story (don't we all have mums who pack enough food for a week when we're only going for a day trip?), and have wonderful nicknames - such as her sister, Shorty the Fortune-teller, who can tell the future by rolling her eyes (with typical tween-age exasperation) and El Exigente (the demanding / exacting one) the dog, who is very good at sleeping. The book is beautifully illustrated (ink and watercolour), conveying the sense of the bustling multicultural Bronx neighbourhood. There's a great sense of warmth and community spirit in this gentle tale of a girl and her dog and the wonderful day that everyone has.

> 65 : The constant doom-and-gloom atmosphere does get a bit oppressive, Roni, but I think it also feels a bit artificial, or somehow manufactured. Maybe because you keep expecting this book to be light, especially with a castle called Stirling Silver. Even now, fresh after a re-read, just looking at that name, I have an expectation of brightness.

Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint



Comprising of :

15) Jack the Giant Killer
This story, set in modern-day Ottawa, tells the story of Jacky Rowan, who stumbles across Faerie magic one night and impulsively offers her help to the beleaguered Sidhe (de Lint having transported Faerie-kind from the Old Country (Ireland) to the New Country (Canada)).

Though I can't find any fault with the book, somehow, the story didn't grab me. The genre (urban fantasy) doesn't usually work for me - the disparity between gritty, industrialised reality and ethereal fantasy realms is too harsh for me to reconcile. So I'm giving this 3 stars, though I suspect it deserves more.



17) Drink Down the Moon

This story worked better for me. It is also about Jacky Rowan and her friend Kate Hazel (known as Crackernuts) in the seelie world (that's 'good guys' in kid-speak) helping to fend off the unseelie host (what my kids would call 'bad guys'); but it also introduces new characters, with musicians helping the fiaina Sidhe - in the person of the Pook of Puxhill - who owe no allegiance to either the seelie or unseelie courts.

Maybe there was more fantasy in this, or maybe I was used to the setting, but I found this more readable. I like the way the humans, now working in the Faerie (not fairy) world, find their way through the magic, and find allies in various faerie creatures along the way.

Just to add, native Ottawans - or anyone else familiar with the city - will probably be thrilled to recognise local landmarks (and discover their equivalent in Faerie)

16) Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan



Twelve year old (not eighteen, as in the film) Percy Jackson finds that instead of a troubled teen thrown out of too many schools to count, he is the half-blood son of an immortal Greek god. This means that he lives life at a different pace from 'normal' people, and attracts the attention of deities, both good and bad. And then he is sent on a quest to find Zeus's lightning bolt, to prevent the gods going to war...

This story, narrated in the first person by Percy (Perseus) Jackson, involves the reader from the twelve year old's view point; friends and enemies at school, good teachers, evil teachers, monsters, exploding harpies and so on. I think it should hit its target audience (presumably twelve year olds or so) quite well, and reads well for adults, too. The action flows continuously without being frantic, and Greek mythology melds interestingly into the modern world (you didn't know that you get to Mount Olympus from the six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building, did you? In fact, you hadn't realised there were six hundred floors.). All in all, an engaging story, with more to follow!

The Percy Jackson series gets better with each book, so if you liked that one, you're in for a real treat. And his newest series, The Heroes of Olympus, is even better. He's come a long way as an author since that first Percy Jackson book!

I keep meaning to read more books in that series. I didn't love the first one (it was okay, but very predictable to me) but I heard they get better.

I sorry I haven't been by your thread more recently - I haven't been on LT as much as I would like!

>58 Dejah_Thoris:-59 I haven't anything against werewolves in particular, but does everyone on the planet now have to write a vampire or werewolf novel?

Years and years ago I read Magic Kingdom For Sale but I didn't remember much until I read your comments. You and Roni bringin up the doom and gloom aspect make me reluctant to pick any Brooks up again after all these years....

To tell you the truth, I've never been a big fan of Charles de Lint's. It's been year since I read any of his stuff, either, so I can't say what it is that I don't like, but I have a mental note to avoid his work. Now I'm wondering why....

70-71 : I've recently moved, and (since Borders closed) there's a dearth of bookshops nearby; the first one I found (because I was starting to get twitchy without the heft of a paperback in my hands) didn't have vast amounts by way of Fantasy. I picked Percy Jackson up from the YA shelves because it has a good record, and we've seen the film, so my kids can read it in a couple of years, too. I'm quite happy to keep buying the series.

72 : That's OK; I'm more of an observer than a poster on most threads, myself.

Now I see - I haven't tried paranormal romance myself, so I haven't really come across vampires and werewolves (isn't that the genre you find them under, these days?)

I didn't mean to put anyone off Brooks, but his doom and gloom atmosphere somehow jarred with my expectations of the book (even though I knew it wasn't the light-hearted romp suggested by the title). It worked for me in the first Shannara trilogy, but after that, it began to annoy. I remember one of his books seem to end every chapter with "trundling / tunnelling steadily through the gloom", and in my head, it came out as a monotonous, mock-dramatic cadence (which still echoes in my head, after all these years), which palled long before the end of the book. I picked Magic Kingdom up to refresh my memory on Landover before reading the newer books in the series. I may just go straight to them.

As for Charles de Lint, Drink Down the Moon, which is bound with Jack the Giantkiller, is off to a better start. But I know what you mean by mental note. Sometimes I decide I'm never going to touch an authour again, but when I come across their work, I can't remember why not, and they seem perfectly innocuous. It's only after I get the book and start reading it that I find out - and then it's too late ...

Well, I feel quite accomplished! I'm tweaking my list to put stars next to the books I've read, and to link the numbers to the post where I've reviewed that book. The HTML (is that the word?) looks very messy, but it does seem to be working. Rather like a swan, paddling furiously beneath the surface. If only I knew what it all meant 8-)

And further news; Stasia has hit me with a bullet. Not a book bullet - I've signed up for a distance learning course, and received my first assignment yesterday. I'm still feeling excited and a bit tentative about it all.

Oooh! What class are you taking? I have two more classes before I'll finish with an Associates in Accounting.

I'm being a bit coy, because I'm not known for making my deadlines, but I thought I'd try to learn to write, with a view to earning something out of it.

yes

yes

At the moment, I'm reading Anne McCaffrey's Red Star Rising, which, like all her Pern books, I'm finding immensely readable. I must say, the Pern universe, which has evolved both forwards and backwards in time from that first, stand-alone book, hangs together very coherently, with not many discrepancies. The book I'm reading now (which I seem to have missed the first time around, which is unusual, because I thought I had devoured them all) makes the link between the first colonists - who came from Earth with the necessary technology to break ground and begin a colony on a distant planet - and the first written story, when people have reverted back to a medieval-type culture. This is the point when they finally lose the last of the technology from Earth, and adapt and plan for their descendants.

I've also started Irene Radford's The Dragon Nimbus, which is a trilogy bound in one cover, the first of which is the intriguingly titled The Glass Dragon

Are you sure Red Star Rising is the name of the book? I can't find any book by Anne McCaffrey called that.

Ah okay. It's called Dragonseye here.

No; I couldn't find the touchstone, either, and I couldn't get to the book to check. Will sort that out, thanks.

Eta touchstone (work in progress)

http://www.librarything.com/work/3391003/edit/85692873

Trying to force the touchstone :
3391003/book/Red Star Rising

18) Red Star Rising by Anne McCaffrey



This is subtitled The Second Chronicles of Pern, so I assumed that, like the The Chronicles of Pern : First Fall, it was a collection of short stories. It is actually a novel (known in the US as Dragonseye), and I found this was one of the rare Pern novels I hadn't read before - so all's well. Both Chronicles fill in the gap between the stories of the original colonists from Earth and the later Pernese of Moreta's and then Lessa's times.

Red Star Rising is the story, told (in the third person) from the viewpoints of different characters, of the time when the colonists - now living in the northern hemisphere, know that the red planet, which brings the parasite Thread with it, is once again approaching Pern (the second time in their history). The original technology brought from Earth is finally failing, and they have to use their ingenuity to find alternatives; but dragons and dragon riders are now a firmly established facet of their society. Unlike the stories later in the chronology, the people of Pern do know about the original colonists, and pay heed to the stories of the renewed threat from the skies.

This is the story of how they set the traditions for the generations to come, of how to deal with the threat of Thread, of how to teach and spread knowledge without computers and printouts. I think the US title, Dragonseye refers to what are called the Starstones in other stories; the sculptures (for want of a better word) that are conceived of and set in place in this novel, that warn of the approach of the Red Star.

19) Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher



I enjoyed this book as much as the first.

We continue to follow the adventures of Tavi two years on from the events in Furies of Calderon, as the only person in the Aleran kingdom with no elemental 'furies' to augment his power is called upon once again, to save Alera. This time, the action takes place in the capital, where Tavi has achieved his dream, and is studying at the Academy. He also acts as page to the First of Alera, which puts him at the heart of the politics of the empire, and has been selected for secret training as a Cursor.

At the same time, the Calderon valley is in dire peril, not from internal politics, but from alien invaders, and it is up to Tavi's aunt Isana to negotiate the delicate political pathways of the capital and get urgently needed forces ordered to the valley to relieve his uncle Bernard.

As action-packed as the first book; I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

It's been a while since I read Red Star Rising and Academ's Fury, and I haven't reviewed them yet, so I'll have to dredge the memory banks. I did enjoy them both, though.

In the meantime, I've finished The Glass Dragon and A Thousand Words for Stranger, both of which took me a while, though that had a lot to do with my reading time, which comes after I get the kids to bed, iron the school uniforms etc, etc, so I kept falling asleep, which was not necessarily the fault of the books themselves.

The Dragon Nimbus novels, Volume I by Irene Radford



Comprising of :
20) The Glass Dragon

This was a re-read for me, of a book that I had bought (with its sequel) many years ago. I hadn't picked up the third in the series, so when I saw this omnibus, I thought I would get it, to sort of complete the set. I don't want to knock a first effort, but the novel does need some polishing. I like the idea of a glass dragon, though - or rather, a dragon that is almost invisible, but still material.

The story centres around Jaylor, a journeyman magician on his quest to try for mastery. However, though his magic is strong, it is unconventional, so he is looked down on by other magicians. The country is in danger, as the magical borders and the king's health, maintained by now scarce dragons, are failing. Baamin, the senior magician and king's advisor, is trying to keep the information quiet while getting his journeymen to look for the remaining dragons and the king's missing heir. Jaylor unwittingly stumbles into the middle of a plot to take over the kingdom, and finds allies to help him try to foil it.

Somehow, I struggled reading this, and maybe that's why I didn't get the last book in the series the first time around.



26) The Perfect Princess

This book read a lot more smoothly than the first book, especially the first half. The second half got a bit jumpy, but not so badly that I focused on the writing more than the story. I think the plotting is alright, but the writing could still use more polishing. The device of an unnamed villain (in both 'The Glass Dragon' and 'The Perfect Princess'; but it took me a while to work out if they were different characters in each) telling us their plans at the end of every few chapters seemed awkward to me. Although this unknown was obviously plotting against Jaylor and his allies, it was confusing to suddenly have these asides which didn't really fit into or advance the story.

The narrative begins where the first story ended (it's awfully hard to review the second book in a trilogy-combined-into-one-volume without spoilers): the prince has been rescued and must now prove himself worthy of the throne while the enemy seeks to undermine the foundations of the kingdom.

This time, the story focuses on events around the prince, although Jaylor is still an integral part of them. The 'Perfect Princess' refers to the princess Rossemikka, whom the neighbouring country of Rossemeyer wants to marry the prince, in a bid to make an alliance for peace. At the same time that the prince is fighting for his throne politically, the magic that underpins the kingdom is dissolving. The handful of magicians that are left have to adapt and struggle to use their magic for the good of the country in the face of increasing suspicion, planted by the enemy, from the Council, who are supposed to support the king.

Because this is an improvement over the first book, I'll give it 3 stars.



31) The Loneliest Magician

This story takes place over 300+ densely packed pages. While Radford's ideas are good, the language is still awkward, but either it's improved over the first two books or I'm adapting to it. I think she could have benefitted from a co-writer. There's a new unknown narrator of the asides (the previous two having been killed off at the end of each previous book respectively), and it's equally hard to be certain of their identity.

The newly crowned king and queen have a firmer rule over a Coronnan that is still not fully stabilised. The dragons, whose magic maintains the border, have deserted Coronnan for their own safety, and there are factions trying to bring down the monarchy, as well as those of neighbouring Rossemeyer and SeLenicca. Magic is outlawed in Coronnan, so Jaylor, his family and the newly reformed Commune of magicians have to leave the capital, and seemingly distance themselves from the crown. The queen is unable to produce an heir, and king Simeon of SeLenicca starts a war at the border. The apprentice, Yaake - who has strong and unusual magic, rises to journeyman, and is given his quest to find Shayla, the last female dragon. She, and the king whom she is linked to through the Coraurlia (the crown made from rare dragon glass), have been magically injured, and their left wing/ arm disabled. And then Yaake disappears for three years while things continue in this hiatus.

Meanwhile, in SeLenicca, we are introduced to Katrina, whose maternal family have been highly acclaimed lacemakers to the royal family for generations. SeLenicca has been exploiting its resources for a thousand years, with lace now its only valuable resource for export. Simeon, who is king through marriage to queen Miranda, has made things much worse since his only use for SeLennica is as a stepping stone to conquering Coronnan. The country starts falling prey to plague while the lower echelons of society regress to looting and violence as poverty hits hard.

Although there has been some more improvement, still 3 stars.

21) A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda



This is a sci-fi novel (a slight departure for me) with a touch of fantasy. This is also a first novel, and once I found time to read it (I read through the night last night), I enjoyed it.

The majority of the story is told in the first person by a woman who has no memories. The narrative is interspersed with short 'Interludes', told in the third person, about other characters in the story. This device does work, and gives us information that the main character doesn't have; for instance, her real name is Sira, and (though she assumes she is human), she is a humanoid alien, of a species that has psychic abilities which it wishes to continue to keep secret from other species.

While in transit on the planet Auord, Sira is attacked and separated from the rest of her party. With no memories before that point, she is rescued by Captain Morgan of the Silver Fox; and so begins an intergalactic chase, as she begins to piece together her past, and tries to understand why so many different factions want her.

I will admit to a few alarm bells (bad romance novel) going off when I discovered the hero had piercing blue eyes, but it turned out alright in the end. I found this book nicely written, with a bit of a mystery as we try to work out the secrets of Sira's past with her. An excellent first novel.

22) The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan



Another new author for me; I've seen Trudi Canavan's books around before, so now I've finally dipped a toe in and read one. I whizzed through this one, because I've been hanging onto my library books for so long, I can't renew them anymore, and I have to say that (at just over 500 pages), this was quite easy to read. It's nicely written; engaging, but not too complicated, and the language and plot flow smoothly.

In the country of Kyralia, magicians are supposed to be taken from all walks of life to be trained in the Guild, but for a long time, the practice has been that only those from the Houses are tested for the gift, and so it is assumed that only the rich can become magicians.

Every winter, the Guild magicians hold purges in the capital city of Imardin, to indiscriminately clear the slum areas, and this causes resentment amongst the slum dwellers. One year, Sonea throws a rock at the magicians with all the weight of her anger behind it, and it breaks through the magicians' shield to knock a magician unconscious. Stunned that the unthinkable has happened, other magicians reflexively respond with fire. Knowing she has been seen and fearing for her life, she goes into hiding, at the same time trying to learn how to use her burgeoning powers - unaware that they will destroy her unless she is taught to control them. The magicians of the Guild have to search the slums in a race against time to save her and the people around her, to try to convince her to trust them and to return with them to the Guild so that they can help her.

I'm now onto Changes, the third of Mercedes Lackey's Collegium Chronicles, and finding it as easy to read as the others. Of course, as others have mentioned, Mags's (the main character's) thick accent can get a bit irritating, but I can ignore it for the most part, except when the apostrophes come so thick and fast it makes his speech unintelligible to the reader. Even his compatriots in the story have noticed and commented or corrected him! Plus, there are a few strange words (like 'aight' and 'twa') starting to appear, and he is starting to invent words (which his friends are also puzzling over). But other than that, it's all good and I'm enjoying the story, which makes for a pleasant read.

I've also just started Sharon Shinn's The Thirteenth House, and am revelling in the feeling of revisiting, as old friends, most of the major characters from the first in the Twelve Houses series. I'm enjoying it (all two chapters I've read so far), and Ms Shinn's is well on her way to getting onto my select list of favourite authors.

23) Changes by Mercedes Lackey



This is the third of Mags's adventures, as told in the Collegium Chronicles (so called because it opened at the time the Bardic, Healing and Heraldic colleges of Valdemar were being built). I assumed this would be a trilogy, but I see mention of a fourth book.

Mags (Magpie), rescued from being a mine slave, and having gone through adventures in the first two books, continues his training as a Herald, including secret training as a spy on behalf of the crown. The assassins of the second story, Intrigues, have been foiled, but the Valdemarans have not managed to find out why they attacked, or whom they were sent by. Mags is given a cover identity, to work down in the city of Haven to find and follow the assassins' trail. Meanwhile, back at the collegia, Mags is told to start forming his own coterie of useful people that he trusts, and so he lets his friends into his secret. The game of kirball, and interest in it, continues to grow (although, offhand, I don't remember it featuring in other Valdemar chronicles).

This Valdemar book was as nicely written as usual. The plot, re the assassins, didn't advance much, but there was a lot of detail about Mags's life and progress through the college, and his friendships.

Unfortunately, his quirks of speech were still in evidence, and he developed new ones - which didn't go unnoticed by the people around him. Another thing people in the story noticed, but put up with, was that certain of his friends became a bit self-absorbed and whiney. Maybe we could have done with a little less detail on those points.

Overall, though, this book was light, but engaging and fun to read. I shall look out for the next instalment on the library shelves.

On the theme of well constructed universes, as we were; it being more than two years since I read The Magicians and the old brain cell not being quite what it once was (sadly - but let us not dwell on past glories) ... I went back to the reviews to see if I could jog loose some memories of details of events in that book, since I am now reading the sequel, The Magician King.

As you may (or may not) recall, Quentin is a fan of a series of books set in a Narnia-like world, called Fillory, which were supposedly written by a man named Christopher Plover about the adventures of the Chatwin children, and I discovered that there is a web site for him and the Fillory books! Trawling through the web, I found that some people think that Christopher Plover and the books were real. In fact, the first chapter from the first book is on the web site. It's quite nicely done, but tries a little too hard to copy the jolly English (as in 'of England') tone of children's books of that era (WWII, supposedly). There are a few phrases that are a bit too worldly, and a fair sprinkling of Americanisms, some of which probably wouldn't have been found even in American literature of those times. But all in all, the whole thing tweaked my funny bone.

What I did find, which I thought was a gem, was this story of Jane Chatwin, which fills in some gaps. But don't read it unless you've finished reading at least the first book, The Magicians.

24) The Magician King by Lev Grossman



This is the sequel to The Magicians, which I actually thought was a one-off; but I spotted this in the library, so I picked it up. If The Magicians was the equivalent of the Narnia book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, then this would correspond to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in that much of the adventure takes place on board a ship out at sea.

Quentin and his friends from the first book now rule in the magical / mythical land of Fillory; but life is too easy, and they wish for adventure. Adventure they get, and it takes Quentin through multiple universes on a quest to save magic. Threaded through the book is Julia's side of the first story, which took place in the 'real' world and explains how she learned her magic outside the aegis of Brakebills, the magic school that Quentin got into but she didn't, and how she became the way she is now.

On a personal note, I didn't like the casual swearing peppered throughout characters' speech. (I'm a bit sensitive to this at the moment, because my primary school child brings it back home, and my toddler mindlessly parrots it; and generally, I'm not a fan anyway.) It does correlate to violence that is hinted at through the book, and which is finally realised at the end, so it does fit in with the tone of the book. The violence itself is not gratuitous, in that it does make a point. On the other hand, the book could have also worked without that scene, and maybe it is just there for shock value. (I'm not a fan of violence, either; it tends to haunt me, especially when it blindsides me as it did here. I only recognised the hints in hindsight)

The book is well written apart from that one aspect that jarred; the plot works well and the prose . For the first time, I'm wondering if I should rate a book higher than my personal enjoyment of it.

On balance, I think I will give it four stars.

Well, I've gone and done it; I gathered my courage and went for an audition for a musical. Despite it being my first ever audition, I was a bit disappointed not to be offered the starring role (so you won't be seeing me on Broadway next year), but I did get offered a part in the chorus (so maybe the year after). So now, I'm going to find out what it's like to tread the boards for the next few months. I only hope my poor mum can cope with the babysitting :-)

I'm loving The Thirteenth House, which I will finish (and hopefully review) soon. There was a poignant moment last night, which had me dissolving in tears.

Congrats on the gig! Hope it's an amazing experience for you!

Thank you. It's local theatre, but it sounds like fun (except that the hall is rather cold; it's winter here - at least it should be warmer by the time of the performance, in October). Well, I start week after next, so we shall see what it's like. Should be fun.

25) The Thirteenth House by Sharon Shinn



I am really enjoying the 'Twelve Houses' series. Based on recommendations, and the fact I remember I liked her Summers at Castle Auburn, I went out and bought the whole series, and so far I'm absolutely delighted with my investment.

This is the second in the series. Despite the fact that all my copies merely state 'A novel of the Twelve Houses', and you probably could read this as a stand-alone novel since all pertinent information from the first book is provided, I don't think you could read the first book after reading this; the story continues on in this book shortly after events in Mystic and Rider finish and there are relationship developments and so on that would spoil the read. But that's a marketing issue, and not a problem with the book.

The short version of the story is : a damsel rescues a knight in distress, and they fall in love.

The longer version: About six months after the events in Mystic and Rider, four of the companions - mystics Camon, Kirra, and ever-faithful Donal, and King's Rider Justin are asked to rescue Romar Brendyn, who will be regent to his niece, princess Amalie, should the king die. Once they have accomplished that, Kirra returns home to Danalustrous, but sets out again shortly after, disguised as her sister Casserah, to join the princess and her party - including the regent and the remainder of the six protagonists of the first book (including the powerful mystic Senneth, and another King's Rider, Tayse) - on a social / political tour of some of the Twelve great Houses of Gillengaria, which has been designed to introduce the hitherto reclusive princess Amalie to the nobles she will rule in the future.

The princess and her allies have to assess which of the Twelve Houses are preparing to make war against the king and investigate the discord fomenting in the so-called 'Thirteenth House', which is made up of the lesser lords of the realm. And Kirra has to contend with her mutual attraction for the married Lord Brendyn.

I like this series; it is well written, and nicely paced. The characters and their interactions work well, as does the plot. It's a page turner, for me. There were, as I said, a few poignant moments that had me wiping away tears. I can't wait to read the next book ... but I shall hold off, and savour the anticipation ... and then savour reading it.

Woo hoo! Half way through the year, and I've just finished one third of my quota, if I'm to reach 75 this year (maybe if I give up eating, and just read ...)

And I've nearly made my first century (re posts on this thread)

Apologies for the interruption to transmission; we took the kids skiing mainly for them to see real snow for the first time in their lives, so that's a big thing crossed off the list. We came back through Canberra, which - even in winter - is a really pretty city; but too quiet for my husband who prefers, I think, the bustle of Manhattan.

Even I took a ski lesson, with a Scandinavian-accented instructor. Wonderful guy, taught great technique, and I could probably go to the winter olympics if I stuck with him. In about 50 years; at the end of a 90 minute class, our group had only got to ski down a small slope once. Actually, that's probably the way they teach there, because my sis was in a different group, and they did much the same.

But we all had fun. My 3 year old is too young for classes, unfortunately, but we took him on a snow tube, which is a huge inner tyre that you sit in and slide down a gentle but long and icy slope. There were a couple of steep bumps at the top, and we were revolving all the way down, so - while I was terrified that we'd tip out, me on top of my child - he was laughing uproariously with delight the whole way down; which got me laughing, too. Absolutely great fun.

(Didn't have time to read, though)

So strange to hear you talking about skiing when it's over 90 outside (that's around 35 for you folks). The wonders of the world in which we live ...

I know; we're Down Undah (which makes you Up Over?). You're all talking about heat waves and so on, while I'm shivering over here. I grew up in the UK, but moved to the tropics and lost all my acclimatisation to cold (only a couple of years ago, though), so now I'm cold. The ironic thing is that we spoke to my aunt in London, where it's supposedly heading into summer, and the daytime temperatures here are actually higher. If I was still living there, I'd probably be down to a T-shirt by now, but here I am, 3 layers deep in clothes, with a scarf around my neck!

I don't do cold.

#97: I would probably break my arms, legs, or neck skiing - but snow tubing sounds fun! Of course, here in Texas we rarely get snow, so the chances of my actually ever being able to try it are probably nonexistent.

Actually, Stasia, none of us (my eldest, my sister or myself) fell over in the actual lessons, even though my son isn't old enough to get poles (I absolutely needed mine to manoeuvre). Mind you, we didn't go very far, either. I've been skiing (on snow as opposed to dry slopes) once before, in Massachusetts where they give you the basics before letting you loose on the slopes. That time I fell quite a few times, pretty spectacularly (mainly because it was the only way to stop).

But I recommend you find somewhere to go snow tubing as soon as possible. If you have any qualms about sliding down a slippery slope pretty much on your backside with no means of slowing or stopping except for gravity, put a small person in the tube with you; they are fearless.

I have my first rehearsal tonight. I'm in the chorus (I was rather disappointed not to get a leading part from my first ever audition), and apparently we're going to learn to tap dance. Not something I've done before, though I've been intrigued by it.

I've had a crash course in tap from our choreographer, who was taught by the Tap Dogs; so now, I can tap - for about 30 seconds, before it all goes squiffy. It's hard work, but I can see it being fun, when I finally get the hang of it!

Nina - Best wishes for your rehearsal tonight - tap sounds like good fun - I personally dance like an octopus but I like to see others making a good job of it - even if only for 30 seconds!

The crash course is part of the rehearsal, the first of which was last night. Our poor choreographer has to teach the lot of us tap from scratch. I'm not sure if any of us have done tap before! It looks like good fun - I hope it all works!

So - I have learned (for anyone who knows tap) the Time Step (note, I didn't say I have learned to do...)

Sounds like a blast. Have fun!

Thanks.

I've been practising my time step. When our choreographer does it, I think 'Oh yes; that sounds like the one they always do on films or TV'. I'm sure I'm doing it the way she taught us (and we wrote it down); but it doesn't sound anything like. Oh well, I'll find out in rehearsal tomorrow.

Nina - have a great weekend and I'm sure that the rehearsal will go well. I hesitate to ask you to break a leg but I think you would know what I mean.

Thanks Paul.

I have a bad left foot and a dodgy right hip and both my knees creak (though my mind insists I'm not much older than a teenager); but I know what you mean.

Ohhhh the musical sounds like SO much fun!!! Community theatre is one of those things I hope to get around to someday... I'm just so busy teaching dance on almost every night of the week, I just can't fit it in right now. But my goodness, tap!!! How fantastic!!! I'd love to learn that too...

Well, I guess I'll live vicariously through your experiences for now. Keep updating us!!!

I was just about to ask you for tap lessons, after reading the first half of your post; but then I read the second half.

Will keep you posted.

I was all ready to show off my time step last night, but we rehearsed some songs. The book is from an off Broadway (comedy) show I've not seen, so they're unfamiliar to me as yet. But they're fun.

27) The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory



Tiercel and Harrier (hmm - hunting birds; any significance?) are best friends from very different families in the ancient city of Armenthalieh in a world where most magical races have retired from human affairs. When Tiercel starts getting visions which threaten the safety of the people around him, the two boys decide to journey to the Temple of Light at Sentershadan to seek answers.

There is a Balance in the world between light and dark, which is maintained by Wild Mages. In the remotest desert, a powerful Wild Mage has been seduced by the dark, and the Balance of the world has been disturbed. This is the beginning of the story as the light prepares to restore the Balance.

I haven't read anything of James Mallory's (at least, I don't think so) but this was a bit different from what I've read of Mercedes Lackey's work recently ('The Collegium Chronicles'). This is the first book in their 'The Enduring Flame' trilogy, which takes place centuries after 'The Obsidian Trilogy' by the same writers. Not having read the first series, I didn't feel at a loss, though I did occasionally wonder how the 'legend' matched up to the story; maybe I'll read it sometime and find out.

I'd say it's more a YA story, though it wasn't classified as such. I knew the protagonists were young men, but I didn't realise they were supposed to be 16 years old until near the end. Some of the characterisations were slightly clichéd; dragons have barbed tails, elves have Tolkienesque names, and the occasional death in the story is passed over quite lightly. On the whole, it was a pleasant, light read.

28) Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon



I picked this book up because I kept coming across Diana Gabaldon in the bookshop, and her books looked intriguing. Being a bit wary, as always, of investing in a tome of a new-to-me author (because I've been burned before, but I haven't the heart to eject such books off my shelves), I thought this collection of short stories about a minor character from her historical / time travelling 'Outlander' series (extrapolating from the cover blurb) would be a good introduction.

The stories are :

1 - Lord John and the Hellfire Club

Lord John Grey, in investigating the death of an acquaintance, finds himself embroiled in very strange goings-on.

This story is set in the 18th century when (we learn from obscure hints and innuendo) homosexuality was considered an atrocity - which poses a problem for Lord John and certain of his friends. It is divided into three parts, though I felt a bit lost in the first part, as it kept referring to events from the 'Outlander' series and hinting about a red-haired mutual acquaintance of Lord John and his friends. However, once the story got going, part two drew me in.

2 - Lord John and the Succubus

It is 1757 and Lord John Grey is stationed in Saxony, as liaison officer to Hanoverian allies, fighting against the French and Austrians. As well as corporeal enemies, the troops stationed in and around the town of Gundwitz suddenly find themselves facing the threat of a succubus; but does such a thing actually exist? Lord John finds himself involved in the investigation, as well as a possible romance or two.

I must admit that whenever I read a story that takes place in England anytime before WWI, I subconsciously use Jane Austen as my standard, and expect the characters to behave with Victorian propriety, so it startles me when it's written more in Georgette Heyer's style; but that's just my mind-set.

That said, this war-time mystery was enjoyable. Lord John seems to be turning into a detective of sorts, with the action taking place in 18th century Europe.

3 - Lord John and the Haunted Soldier

Lord John is back in London, and - after recovering from an injury resulting from an exploding canon at the front - finds himself in front of an inquisition into the murder of Tom Pilchard i.e. the canon itself. The inquisition suspects that the canon was sabotaged, and Lord John Grey finds that suspicion turned on himself. Feeling that he (or one of his brothers) is being framed, he investigates further.
st
As in the first two stories, Grey finds himself embroiled in a mystery which he sets out to solve. For me, the interest was not so much in trying to solve the mystery (which is what I usually try to do with crime fiction) as in the details of life in that period. The action moved from the Arsenal, where arms and ammunition were tested, to London, the countryside and out on the water, with visits to gentlemen's clubs. I can only assume that the details are accurate (never having studied the era before). Although, as I mentioned before, this gentleman soldier seems to move in more permissive circles than my Jane Austen heroines: for a society where even to be suspected (rightly or wrongly) of being homosexual could mean death or worse, some characters in these stories are fairly blatant with their hints and invitations.

While I didn't love these stories to bits, they are good stories and certainly held my interest. I think I'll be exploring further into this world at a later date.

Having now read other reviews, I'd like to add:
1 - like other reviewers, I agree that the third story is the best, and it lifted my rating by half a star.
2 - unlike other reviewers, this is my first foray into Diana Gabaldon's universe, and I think that does make a difference to how we experienced the book.

I'm still out on part three of 'The Hellfire Club'. I remember it as being a bit choppy, but I wanted to finish the story, and I was rather sleepy.

But the writing was good in general. Comparing this story to 'The Phoenix Unchained', for example; the death of a minor character in this short story was more affecting than that of a major one in the latter book. She paints a clear picture of the agony the character goes through, whereas - having spent a fair chunk of the book with the character - 'Phoenix' baldly states "And then they died". It was a study in different writing styles.

Oh man, I haven't gone inner tubing in a long time. Here in Canada, you can do it in winter and summer. Winter you take it down a hill rather than sledding (or tobogganing if you want to really get Canuck in your lingo). In the summer, you hook it up to the back of a motor boat and go out on the lake. I've only done winter inner tubing and it's been many years, but I always had a blast. But it's true, if you hit a bump at speed, you go flying. :)

I'm very glad we didn't hit a bump, then! We went to a ski resort, just for the day, and had the last slides before they closed for the night (very disappointing, as we only got to do it once. Actually, they'd already closed the ticket office, but a nice lady generously gave us her last 2 rides). Consequently, it was very slippery; in fact, I couldn't get in at first, because it kept slipping down the slope before I could get properly settled, which is probably why we started off turning. My sister held the tube for us, and decided to start higher up the slope with my eldest, and then they couldn't start until someone else pushed them off. But the surface had been pretty much glazed smooth, though there were big bumps at the top, probably built in.

My husband called from Japan, where he landed last night. He was extolling the wonders of his hotel bathroom (these things are important to him); apparently, there are lots of buttons you can press, with different sprays. We were both grateful that our youngest wasn't there to explore. I had visions of him going to town with them. 'Nuff said, I think.

Finished another rehearsal. It was part singing and part tap again tonight, though I suddenly realised that (having managed to get the rhythm last week) I forgot to practise my time step this week. I thought most of us hadn't done tap before, but now it looks like about half of the others have. Our choreographer shot through a few sequences, which I managed to get the hang of ... until she started speeding things up, putting them to music and stringing them together. Hope I can keep up!

I've been finding in the last couple of years or so that I'm not as light on my feet nor as flexible as I used to be. Comes as a bit of a shock when the old body doesn't do what I expect it to. I suspect that I could stand to lose some weight (though I've been suspecting that for a good few years, now).

29) The Book of Dreams by Traci Harding



This story is a fantasy about the fight to save the ancestral land of Aboriginal Australians and prevent it being exploited for its resources. The land is sacred as it is home to spirits, mythical Australian animals and nature elementals.

The premise of the book was original, I thought, but it felt a bit like chic-lit meets mysticism; everyone seemed to burst into tears at the drop of a hat. Although it comes in at just under 500 pages, the writing felt a bit light. For instance, several (incidental) characters die, but it doesn't feel like those events have much emotional impact.

I did like the illustrations, though. Each chapter title page has an enchanting drawing of one of the mythical animals, and some of them are also depicted as emerging from the cover of the book. The protagonist, Kyle, seems to be named after the author's brother, for whom the book was written, as she had promised to write a book for him, which I found appealing.

#118: Comes as a bit of a shock when the old body doesn't do what I expect it to.

My mind still thinks I am 20, but my body knows it is 50!

>120 alcottacre: : *sigh* That is exactly my problem.

I've started Heir to the Shadows, which is Anne Bishop's sequel to Daughter of the Blood in the Black Jewels trilogy. I read the first book a few years ago, but I've forgotten the details. It's OK so far; I'm a bit confused as to the relationship between people to each other, different places to each other or the different levels of power to each other. It could just be my bad memory, but I seem to remember having the same problem with the first book. It was starting to irritate me, but I think I've started to get a handle on it. We'll see how it progresses.

The Black Jewels trilogy is one of my favorite series and I've read and re-read it many times. Any questions, please feel free to ask me.

>123 Morphidae:: Thanks Morphy. Where to start?

I think I'm slowly getting the hang of it; but how do the realms relate to one another? I've realised that they lie in (3?) parallel universes, but which country lies in which universe? Oh - is that why some of the names are similar?

#121: We can commiserate together, Nina!

Figures you'd ask geography questions! I couldn't really help you with that. Some of the books have maps, I think. And yes, the three "lands" are similar to parallel universes.

*delurking* to say hello - and that the Black Jewels are among my favourites in paranormal romances as well. The way I understand it with the realms is that the three realms are part of the same world, connected through the gates. There is Tereille - the Realm of the Light, Kaeleer - the Shadow Realm, and Hell - the Dark Realm. I always thought that they are sort of like parallel Universes, with the territories being the countries in the realms, and yes - some of the countries/territories overlapp into the different Realms, and somehow they all share the same seasons. Hmm, yes I think that's what I mean.

humouress - did you read already the Kushiel series by Jaqueline Carey ? If you like Anne Bishop, you will like her as well. :)

>126 Morphidae:, 127: Thank you both. That does clarify things somewhat.

I've read the first book (Kushiel's Dart), and I think I've got the second on the TBR pile somewhere. The premise was a bit 'hmm' for me, but once I read it, I really liked the way it was written.

ETA the correct book

30) Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop



Although I've seen this series around a lot, I hesitated to read it, because it's about demons, harpies, the prince of Hell, and so on, which is not my usual fare. Once I started it, I found that these are just different races or titles, and not that the characters are necessarily evil (except for the 'bad guys').

This is the second in the Black Jewels trilogy, and I must confess that it's been a while since I read the first one(Daughter of the Blood), which probably affected how I read the second one. I found it a bit confusing until I realised that Hell, Kaeleer and Terreille are three realms that lie in parallel universes and are shadows of each other; but I'm still not completely sure how the power politics (i.e. Queens, Warlords etc) work. I do see that power is linked to the colour of the jewels that a person of the Blood has a right to, either by birth or by making an offering to the Darkness.

The story takes up from the point where the child Jaenelle Angelline - the Witch who has been prophesised, as the most powerful Queen the dark realms have ever seen - had been badly injured but rescued in the nick of time. It covers the eight years until she comes of age and comes into her heritage, while the people around her help her in her recovery and protect her from those jealous of her power, who had tried to destroy her unsuccessfully at the end of the first book.

However, the 'bad guys' are out and out villains, with no redeeming features; and the 'good guys' are pure goodness with no redeeming flaws (except for bad tempers, which are justified by being provoked by injustice). The heroes are martyrs, which always makes me squirm, or are lost in self-pity or feeling sorry for one of the other 'good guys' who has suffered grievous tortures. In spite of tortures they went through, I couldn't feel enough vested emotional interest to care deeply about it, except as narrative to continue the story.

There were some amusing moments when friends or family teased each other, but I prefer my humour in more subtle doses than the treatment here.

The occasional time jump is a bit disorienting; for example when Jaenelle is badly hurt, the next chapter opens with her behaving as though nothing serious has happened, but a few paragraphs later, you find out that the story has moved on six months or a couple of years while she recovered.

All in all, it was an interesting read, but a bit too much of 'it doesn't matter what horrors the bad guys put the good guys through, the good guys will still win - so there!' It's not a bad story, but I can see why I didn't rush out to buy more of the series after reading the first one.

Nina - interested in an update on your rehearsals and when the show proper will take the locality by storm? Irrespective of all that I trust that you have a great week.

Hi, Paul; thanks for dropping by, and for your interest.

We had another rehearsal last night and worked on another song with harmonies, and progressed with our tap routine. I'm enjoying the tap - I'm even considering taking classes after this - but it's hard to practice, because the old brain can't keep the routine in! But I'm getting there. I think we'll be stepping up rehearsals next month, and then we perform around the middle of October. I'm quite happy, now, not to have a major part; I've quite enough to work on as it is. :-)

>123 Morphidae:, 127: Sorry, ladies. I tried to like Heir to the Shadows better for your sakes, but I suppose it just isn't my cup of tea.

It's okay. We can't always like the same things.

Nina - vicariously enjoying your progress with the rehearsals given my own kinetic limitations - last time I tried tap dancing I flooded the bathroom floor.

The secret is to make sure they're turned off firmly. Don't give up!

ETA: the faucets, I mean.

I experimented in the kitchen today. It happens very rarely, because (being a science-y kind of person) I have to go by recipes, and refer to each stage at least 3 times (I kid you not) before I'm confident enough to actually carry it out. I had caught sight of a photo of a mushroom burger the other day, so having dutifully googled for my recipe, I found this, which I modified thus.

I grilled my capsicum; splashed some red wine (Shiraz Cabernet), balsamic vinegar and olive oil on my Portabellos and grilled them; and toasted some bread rolls. I then layered the lot with baby spinach as well, using pesto and caramelised onion jam to hold it all together.

It came out quite nicely (though my conservative parents weren't enthusiastic about it), but not quite as OMG as I was anticipating. Do any expert cooks have any thoughts on how to intensify the flavours? Individually, they worked as expected, but put together it didn't have that taste explosion I was looking for.

Anyway, that takes care of my monthly foray into the realm of cooking.

I think the reason I have to slavishly follow recipes is because at the age of 10, never having cooked before, I decided to make apple pie as a surprise for my mum. However, we had just moved house, and unfortunately the only flour in the house was gramm flour. Needless to say, all my hard work was in vain, and the results were inedible. :-( To add to my blushes, one of the neighbours came round to welcome us, so my mum served her one of the first pieces. Somehow, they never were great friends.

Nina the mushrooms sound delicious. Have passed the intensification query to SWMBO as she does have flair in the kitchen.
Love the apple pie story and I think you'll be barred from the dessert counter at the group cook-in!
Have a lovely weekend.

I promise my cooking has improved since then, and deserts are actually my strong point (my only point, really), since I have a serious sweet tooth. But if it means less cooking and more eating for me, I'm all for it!

Had a good start to the weekend; took the youngest sprog down to the aquatic centre at the Sydney Olympic Park, and we had a whale of a time! As well as the usual swimming pools, they have a set up aimed at kids, with fountains, waterfalls, bubblers etc in a shallow pool, a water slide (which he's too small to go on, yet) and - my personal favourite - the 'raging river', which is a C-shaped extension to the pool where the water whooshes you along at high speed. Immense fun! So now he's decided he doesn't want to swim any where else, and that is 'his' swimming pool. Can't blame him, really.

ETA link

I've been reading about the Olympics on other threads, and been meaning to make a comment here, but now it's all over. Britain did us really proud; not just the medal tally, but in the hosting, the ceremonies, the venues ... I was absolutely thrilled to watch it all, even from half way around the globe. Well chuffed.

The Olympics were really neat, weren't they? Good job!

Nina - I can identify with your comments on the Olympics - I felt very British for the weeks of the Games and revelled in every medal obtained. Did half-heartedly raise a cheer for Malaysia in the badminton and was pleased to note that the two eldest kids thought that it was cool to be British (well half-British I suppose) when the national colours were predominantly gold.

And don't forget, the Paralympics start on Saturday. Apparently there have been ads by Channel 4 up everywhere saying "Thanks for the warm up"!

It's good that their getting some mainstream air-time; I've seen some trailers, and those athletes look amazing!

Ooh - just realised I missed my Thingaversary.

I was looking at my profile page, trying to work out where my wiki page is, and how to use it (I'm thinking I'll create a wish-list, from all the great recommendations I'm reading about). I re-discovered I've been an LT member since 2nd August 2008, so now I've got to rush out and buy (at least!) ... what is it ... 4 books, or is it 4+1? Anyhow, I'm owed a treat. Yum!

Forgot to say we had another rehearsal last night. We were asked to dress in costume, for promotional shots; as we're doing 'Nunsense', we are all in habits. So for the first half of our session, we went through some dance moves, to get some shots of us in action, and did some poses, and tried out the tap routine. I must say it gave me a little flutter of almost-butterflies to be standing on stage in costume.

Then we practiced some of the songs. It sounded quite odd with the hood on, because our ears were covered, and everything we said or sang sort of echoed inside it. It made the singing a bit hard, especially since I'm singing harmony and not melody (I tend to wander off and sing melody until I've learned my part); usually I can pick it up from one of the stronger singers, but last night I could hear nada, except me. And melody, which didn't help.

Phew! finished book 31, The Loneliest Magician, which is the third in Irene Radford's 'Dragon Nimbus' novels. It was a bit of a struggle; and I've recently discovered I bought the final duology, so I have that to get through, too.

Hi Nina! Just swinging by your thread to see what you've been reading. Sorry you didn't like the Black Jewels series. I quite enjoyed them myself. Probably because they weren't like the typical fantasy that I'm used to reading.

Happy thingaversary Nina. Sounds like a great advert for the paralympics. Of course some of the disabled athletes distinguished themselves in the warm-up event. Pretorius in the 400 metres and the South Korean blind chap in the Archery - apparently the guy who decided it was a good idea to coach him must have been in the running for a bravery medal.

Happy belated Thingaversary!!

>146 jolerie: : Hi, Valerie. Thanks for dropping by.

>147 PaulCranswick: : Thanks, Paul. I missed the archery; it must have been a sight to behold (sorry - pun unintended).

>148 ronincats: : Thanks, Roni.

I've just started The Gilded Chain, which is the first of Dave Duncan's 'Tales of the King's Blades', and am rocketing through it (well, for me). It's funny hilarious and interesting, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it, which makes a change up from my recent three-star run.

ETA : correction

32) The Gilded Chain : a Tale of the King's Blades by Dave Duncan



This is the story of Lord Roland, Durendal (named after the founder of Ironhall), the greatest swordsman of the King's Blades and a legend in his own lifetime. He entered Ironhall, as all those elite swordsmen do, as the Brat, was forged into a Blade there, and was assigned in service by the king ... to a fop. The binding conjuration ensures that each Blade will defend their ward to the death, whether they like them personally or despise them. But Durendal's dream has been to serve his king, Ambrose IV (very much reminiscent of Henry VIII), and he gives the crown a lifetime of the best service.

This is a story of courage and honour and loyalty, of duty and adventure. It takes us through coming of age, action and court politics, love and sorrow, and it's funny (hilarious, even) and engaging. In short, I had a rollicking good time reading it, and I shall be hunting down the others in the series. One of Duncan's best.

Added it to Mount TBR!

> 152 : Oh, good. I so thoroughly enjoyed it, I was hoping to hit someone with a book bullet. Hope you like it, too.

Nina, what genre would you categorize The Gilded Chain?

> 154 : I usually stick to fantasy, Valerie, and that's where I found it (in an SF and fantasy bookshop); I suppose it's a sword and sorcery story (though the magic is incidental). Or it could go under Swashbuckling Adventure :-)

I'm back from another rehearsal. Tonight we went through the whole of Act I, and it's coming together quite well. There are a few hiccoughs still, obviously, and some tuning to be done. I got to see the leads in action (they've been rehearsing individual parts on other days), and they did a good job.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got six library books to read, which are due (and possibly un-renewable) in two days...

33) Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells



This is a library book that I read and re-read and re-re-read .... for my youngest. It's from the 'Max and Ruby' television series (for younger viewers) about two rabbits, and I think we've seen this particular episode a couple of times. Whatever the reason, he loved the book.

It's Granny's birthday, and responsible Ruby and silent Max have very different ideas about what kind of cake to make for her. How will Max (who doesn't talk or write yet) get the ingredients he wants to buy for his cake?

This book ties in directly to the same episode (as I remember it). Each page has a large illustration, presumably taken from the television show, with a couple of lines of the story underneath. Beginning readers can read Ruby's shopping lists. It's a nice story, and I think it helps that kids can identify with it, if they have seen the series on television. I'm giving it four stars, as it is fun and entertaining.

Have just read your entire thread, and thoroughly enjoyed it. You got me with several books as well. I hope the rehearsals for the musical are going well - I wouldn't be able to do anything like that and I'm in my twenties!

Hi, lunacat. I'm glad you enjoyed it; I aim to entertain :) I'm happy to have given you some good ideas for books, too - I see you've added The Gilded Chain to your library. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. As for the musical, I'm having fun, but it's hard work. I think a lot of the others have a background in dance, to some extent, and they pick up the routines quickly, whereas I, with my bad memory, have to work at remembering them from week to week. But if you teach me horse riding, I'll ...er ... encourage you to tap.

Nina - your pun on the archer reminded me of one on the paralympics which is funny but in bad taste:

There was news today that the authorities were worried about the success of the Paralympics as apparently the administration is crippled. I know. Sorry.

Have a lovely weekend.

*groan*

I'm sure it'll improve ;-)

So, having lost a kilo after about a month of not much in the way of dieting or exercise (well, I reduced my snacks), I decided to use one of the many books I've bought in anticipation of finally shifting those last few kilos. It's been a while; my youngest 'baby' is in preschool, but actually, since I got married, I've not tended to lose weight that I put on.

I picked up The No Excuse Cookbook by Michelle Bridges (the trainer on Australian 'Biggest Loser') because, in addition to the recipes which have calorie counts and are quick to prepare and make, there is a 4 week menu plan. This attracted me, because I don't have to work out balanced meals or count calories. There are also shopping lists for each week, but as they don't have the amounts, I'm doing my own.

This is week one (which started on Monday). I didn't do the breakfast or the lunch, because I hadn't go myself organised enough to do the shopping in time. (But I have now - there are a lot of vegetables! The vegetable drawer in the fridge has overflowed.)

Monday dinner was Pepper Kangaroo stir fry. (If I manage to do a second round, I might substitute the meat, after some uncomfortable questions from my kids) There was quite a bit of it, but as there are no carbs in the dinner recipes, it did fill me up.

Tuesday breakfast was supposed to be All Bran fruit salad, but I modified it, since a) I hadn't managed to get all the fruits and b) my standard breakfast is fairly similar.

Tuesday lunch was Turkey and Cranberry sandwich, which was tasty.

Tuesday dinner was Char-grilled Tuna Steak with Citrus salad. Again, quantity is large, but it's filling so you don't miss the carbs.

So far (on day 2), my weight is fairly static. The quantities are a bit more than I would normally serve myself; I'd be happy with 2/3 the amount. One thing I did notice, once I started using the book, is that most of the recipes (not the ones scheduled for weekends) serve 2 people, where most books cater for 4 people. But you have to be able to buy the ingredients in small portions, which is proving a bit of a hiccough. Another problem I'm running up against is finding some of the ingredients. I found kangaroo quite easily, but I happened to be shopping in a different area; I'm not sure if I could get it at the local supermarket (though it may not be an issue in future). And tuna steak is hard to find. Even the fishmonger doesn't carry it, though my sister, who lives closer to the CBD says her supermarket has it. We're in the outlying suburbs, in the Hills.

ETA : so I replaced the tuna with barramundi, which worked quite nicely, taste-wise.

Hi humouress,

I found the problem with getting the ingredients from some of the cookbooks is quite a common problem. I usually try to replace them with something else. ;)

When I want to loose just a few kg, I usually cut out the carbs in the evenning's for a few weeks. I don't eat many carbs in the evening anyway, but I always feel that it helps quite a lot. I would eat then large amounts of salad or steamed veg, with chicken or fish.

Eek - kangaroo? What does that taste like? Good luck on the losing of weight, I live with someone who has a constant battle with her weight as it fluctuates a lot, and I can only imagine how frustrating it is!

You should definitely learn horse riding, though I think I'm a little far away to assist. It's fabulous exercise for weight loss and really tones your core and stomach muscles as you have to use them to keep you balance.

Although I think tap dancing is safer :P

Thanks, ladies.

>163 drachenbraut23: : drachenbraut, I meant to add that I had to replace the tuna with barramundi. The thing is that I'm not very good at replacing things (as you might know if you've been following Paul's thread). I would have gone for salmon instead of tuna, for example, but the lady at the fish counter steered me towards barramundi because it's not an oily fish, and if you just pour lemon juice over it, it cooks. Plus the fact that each recipe is carefully balanced in terms of calories, I'm not keen on messing around with them. One of the reasons I picked this book up, after all, is that it's all done for me.

>164 lunacat: : lunacat, kangaroo is much like beef (in fact, I might change to that, if there's a next time).

Horse riding sounds like a good idea. I tried to start my son on it last holidays, but the weather was uncooperative. We're moving into warmer weather now, so maybe we can both try. Apparently, I've been very lazy about getting my core muscles back into shape (tone non-existent), so it might be the very thing (I've been given exercises to do, but I dislike gym-work with an apathy)

The plan is to review the book recipe by recipe as I go through the menu plans, and then add it to my 75 challenge list. However, I think I'll drop the breakfasts, because I'm always running late and don't even have the 5 or 10 minutes it would take to make them up, if I'm to get the kids to school on time.

Today (already!) I fell off the wagon, and despite having stuffed the fridge with ingredients, didn't eat any of the meals scheduled. I've found my excuse - all that cooking is too big a shock to my system! Hoping to do better tomorrow.

On the rehearsal front, we are now rehearsing twice a week, with just over a month to go. We went through Act 1 again tonight, and started polishing bits, like the dance routines (although they're not all fully choreographed yet). Time to get serious, folks! But it's a good group, and we all have fun with it, especially as it's a comedy.

Nina - I find reading about diets and exercise and health programs extremely interesting and I am always rooting for my pals to achieve whatever objectives they set themselves but I seem fundamentally predisposed to flunk all attempts at them myself. I don't think it is willpower because after all I did sports to a fairly high level (semi-pro cycling) but somehow I cannot get excited about eating grass and I much prefer reading about exertion than actually exerting.
I read everywhere that one should never skip breakfast but cannot remember a working day when I had anything other than coffee.
Good luck with getting something positive from the books - I will be following you with interest as always. x

Cheering you on Nina! I too am battling the last 10 pounds or so before I want to consider getting pregnant again. 10 extra pounds this time to add to probably another 10 pounds I will probably gain after a second pregnancy does not bode well for my body. I am always jealous of taller people who when then gain a measly 10 pounds, you don't even notice it. But when a 5 ft 1in gal like me gains even 5...it shows! Oh well, the exercising has never been too hard to do, but it's the watching what I eat and when I eat it that has always been the struggle for me.

>167 PaulCranswick: : Thanks, Paul. Don't worry, I'm not dropping breakfast, just not going with the ones in the book. I'm going with my usual bog-standard cereal (with skimmed milk) and juice. It's what I've done since I was at school, and I can do it whether half asleep or in the mad morning rush.

>168 jolerie: : Thanks, Valerie. Part of the problem is I didn't lose all the weight I should have before my second pregnancy (I only had 5 years, after all), AND they were both Caesars, AND ... you might even be a tiny bit taller than me. I don't mind exercising (but I'm not keen on gym work), but it's getting up the oomph to get out there, today that gets me. Unfortunately, in addition to all my other excuses, I hurt my foot about 6 months ago, and the doctor told me to take it easy; and of course, I have been :)

I did make an effort on the weekend, and went to a badminton club, which was fun. I want to try and be a bit lighter on my feet for the tap dancing (it's all staying on my toes and lots of jumping from foot to foot), so I've got less than a month. Of course, if I lost all the weight yesterday, that would be good.

ETA : a friend of mine told me about a post natal Malay massage and wrap that apparently gets your body back into shape really quickly, but unfortunately, it's not available in this neck of the woods; I could have used it.

Nina - You need to get on the plane over here for that. tukang urut (traditional masseuse) is a must for Malay ladies and SWMBO was no exception. A fierce and heavily muscled older lady used to visit the house after the kids appeared bearing strange objects and potions. Apparently painful using red hot stones and a great deal of body weight I can personally vouch that it helps get the lady back in shape quickly having been the happy beneficiary on three occasions to date!

Thanks for the invitation, Paul, but I'm afraid (no matter how much I wish otherwise; although red hot stones?) I'm three and a half years too late. :-(

But I may yet cash in on your kind offer; will I also get treated to those culinary delights you keep writing about?

Nina - of course you would be treated. Chivalry is a habit I don't think I would ever be able to shed especially when it comes to treating my friends to two of my favourites - food and books.

Thanks, Paul; and bang goes the silhouette. And the shelf space.

I managed to get back to the hob yesterday. Lunch was potato and egg salad with green beans and celery (a low calorie version of salade niçoise.) Again, the quantity was rather more than I needed, but my sister came by, so I gave her some, too. It's a very tasty meal, and even she said "It's really nice, actually".

Dinner today was pumpkin, onion and cinnamon pot pies. It took me longer than the stated 15 minutes to prepare it (I couldn't skin and slice the pumpkin in that time safely, let alone the rest of it), but there isn't much more work than that. It's tasty, but not exciting. The feta and pine nuts (I love pine nuts) liven it up, but there isn't much of them.

Lunch was the same (following the menu plan), so I just used the left-overs and heated it in the microwave. I have to confess, I toasted more pine nuts, because the original ones had gone a bit soggy overnight in the fridge. :-)

The recipe says 'serves 2', but after the two meals, I still have half the pies left. I've been making the full amount in the recipes in the hopes of enticing other people in my family to join me, but so far, not much luck. I should really just make enough for me, but it's hard enough buying small enough quantities to serve the two stated in the recipes.

And after all that (chopping vegetables and washing all the boards and pans), the scale has crept down only one tiny notch. Here's hoping it won't see-saw on me, as it has been known to do!

ETA : dinner was steak with mixed veg; very nice. I actually did a good job cooking the steak, and my son (who ought to know, he's eaten enough in his time) was smitten. Usually, I leave cooking the meat to my husband, since he's the carnivore. It must have been a good job, because I set off the smoke alarm. Maybe I should just wait until the weather warms up, and cook these things on the barbecue (- the barramundi smoked out the house, too). The mixed veg came to quite a bit. I'll admit I put the smaller piece of steak on another plate with the greater share of the vegetables, in case anyone else wanted to have it. I must say, the cooking and the preparation were quite easy, but there was a lot of washing up (what can I say; it's an issue for me)

I can't say my family are altogether on board with my adventures in healthier cooking (the smoke alarm might have something to do with it). I may have to rethink my strategy on this.

I took the kids skating yesterday, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I couldn't get them off the ice. It was the first lesson for both of them, though my older one has been skating with me before. They both did very well, for more or less their first time. The little guy (with a huge helmet on) was actually pretty stable on his skates. The first thing the instructor did was show them how to fall safely; and he did it really well. Of course, he's got a much shorter distance to go down (not having the longer leg proportions he will grow into), and he popped up again much more easily than I remember doing.

They begged to go again, and I'm tempted to join them next time, in spite of this wretched foot. I did manage to read several chapters (in between taking pictures), but I'm taking a jacket next time!

Went in to town with the kids to buy a birthday present for my eldest's friend. My son was adamant about Beast Quest and only that, but as it's a series of 60+ books, I wasn't so keen, since we couldn't know where in the series he was up to. In the end, we got a stand-alone Beast Quest book and the first of 'The Infinity Ring' series (A Mutiny in Time), which is a kind of interactive series where the readers collect cards, hunt for clues and use the books' website.

And then, to encourage my eldest to read more, I picked up the first in The 39 Clues series, which is also interactive, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which was his choice.

And then, because I got books for him, I picked up a mini book set of Hairy Maclary and Friends for my younger one.

And then, because I was feeling left out, I had a quick look for myself (the shop, by this time, was getting ready to shut, and they were hoovering around our feet). I scanned the classics section, and caught sight of Louisa May Alcott's name and remembered I wanted to reread some of her books. I spotted Little Women and Good Wives in a combined edition for half of the price of the birthday books, so I grabbed that. Well, it was a good deal.

And then I saw a matching edition of Little Men and Jo's Boys, and you know I'm a bit obsessive about books in a series on my shelves, and where am I going to be able to find it again, so ...

All in all, a pretty decent haul! I won't be there when my husband opens the credit card bill.

 

For anyone running out of shelf space; convert your staircase!

#171 "And then, because I was feeling left out, I had a quick look for myself " - sounds like a perfectly valid excuse for book buying to me! I hope you enjoy rereading the Louisa M. Alcott books - they were some of my favourites as a child and I'm probably due a reread.

#177 Wow!

I've seen the pics of the staircases a couple of times and I love them each time. If I was designing my own house, they would definitely be incorporated.

I hope you can find a way of making the healthy eating work for you and your family. In my house (I rent a room from my best friend and her husband) my friend does all the cooking because she likes it. She is vegetarian, she and her husband are always looking to lose some weight, and I am a complete carnivore who has to eat high fat food to keep weight on, but I really struggle with not just eating junk food.

Quite often she'll do adaptations of the same meal for each different person. A roast chicken - I have all the skin, we all have the same veggies but I put butter on mine once they're cooked, and I have proper gravy, she has a Quorn chicken fillet. Spaghetti bolognaise - she has soy mince, I have full fat mince and the husband has lean mince. It's a lot of pots and washing-up but we have a dishwasher and it works for us.

Nina - your staircase idea is a good one -I just need another floor! Maybe I can start to look at the roof space. I hope your weekend is skating along nicely.

The staircase shelves are great - the only worry I would have - Would I ever reach the bottom or top of the stairs?

To come back to your food plans - did you ever try green smoothies? They are extremely easy to make, very healthy, even children like them, very filling and also help with loosing weight.

>178 souloftherose: : Heather, the Alcott's are now on Mt TBR. I read the first couple as a child (ooh; that reminds me - must look up What Katy Did again), and I must have skimmed the others, because I have vague memories that it got a bit sad at the end. But I think I'll pull out Little Women quite soon.

>179 lunacat: : I am a complete carnivore who has to eat high fat food to keep weight on
I say, that's not fair!

Send your friend round to me; she sounds dedicated. The cooking in this book is quite straightforward, for the most part, but sometimes the preparation and the washing up afterwards put me off a bit (I'm only a kitchen person once in a while, not three meals a day, every day)

>180 PaulCranswick: : Paul, apparently the staircase / bookshelf was designed for a house with limited space, for a couple who wanted access to their attic conversion, and space for their book collection ... so it could work for you.

Good people; they've obviously got their priorities straight.

>181 drachenbraut23: : drachenbraut, I share your concern about climbing the stairs. More than likely someone would have to come and pull me off after a couple of hours. But they'd always know where to find me.

I may have tried a smoothie once, about 7 years ago ;-) What's a green smoothie, and how do you make it? The part that interests me most is that kids love them, too. Of course, losing weight is good, too.

I hear rumours than your name is Bianca; is that so? And I'm guessing that 'drachenbraut' (wild guess, I admit) translates as 'dragon-something'. 'dragon breath'?

Oh; update on the recipes : I decided to skip the weekend recipes since they are family-size meals, and I wasn't about to eat a whole roast chicken by myself. I did have the other steak, and half of the remaining vegetables, and I made the Turkey and cheese toasties - that should have been one of the breakfasts - for dinner tonight. I realised (afterwards) I shouldn't have had carbs for dinner, but I had decided to make it because I bought all the ingredients for breakfasts along with everything else, and I was hoping the kids would eat it. My eldest did, and liked it, but my youngest refused.

I think I might just do the lunches from the book this week and reduce the quantities. On both nights, the steak felt a bit heavy for several hours after dinner.

Hi humouress,
*laugh* indeed a wild guess - but as you "guessed" - drachen = dragon and braut = bride. I know, very silly - but that's my inner child. I was always very fond of dragon stories.
and you are right my name is Bianca.

Green smoothies are delicious - they are a mix of fruit and greens (salads, leafs, herbs, non-starchy vegetable such as cucumber) and were developed by these "rawfoodist" as a means to increase their intake of greens in a healthier and tasty way.



You can use any fruit and green combination you like - you just can let your taste buds guide you. However, here a simple recipe which my son likes very much:

1 ripe banana
1 orange peeled
1 sweet apple
1 cup of water
and for a beginner smoothie 1 handful of fresh spinach or any other salad you like, my son prefers spinach or cale. Because of the fruits you don't taste the greens that much. Makes approximately 1 ltr.

and here one of my favourite receipes

1 ripe banana
1 apple
1 cup of fresh pineapple
1 cup of water
1/4 cucumber washed, but unpeeled
2 handfull of spinach - Yummie

And here some useful links from the Raw Family. Their books are great and informative as well, also they can be a bit "preachy" in regards to their diet.

10 Health Benefits of Green Smoothies
Guidelines to drinking Green Smoothies

>187 drachenbraut23: : Thanks Bianca; I'll have to try it, but I think my kids are too picky. My younger one is addicted to fruits, but other food is a different matter. My older one (like my mum and my husband) is allergic to anything green or healthy looking. (My husband thinks eggs or potatoes are acceptable vegetables and my mum labels any raw salads 'cow fodder'. This is one of the reasons I'm not having much luck sharing my food)

As for your screen name, I started out reading King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, which led me to Fantasy, with a side tour to dragons. Yay for inner children, I say.

34) Gone Wild : an endangered animal alphabet by David McLimans



My three year old picked this up to read at the library, and I was quite pleased, because I thought it would help me teach him his letter sounds and be interesting, too. Plus, I'm interested in endangered species.

The book (obviously an A to Z alphabet book) is filled with black and white illustrations of the capital letters, which has features of an endangered animal that starts with that letter, one per page. There is also a panel with a stylised picture of the animal (so you can see it properly) and information about the animal : where it comes from, how badly it is endangered, why it is in danger.

As a parent reading the book, I was impressed. It is a Caldecott Honour book, it is beautifully illustrated, with simplistic pictures reminiscent of woodcut illustrations, and I was interested in the information.



However, I'm not sure it is aimed at the right age; all the data didn't maintain my three year old's interest (though he initially asked questions), and though my eight year old would probably find it more informative, I'm not sure he would deign to read an alphabet book. Of course, if we owned it and had it at home, instead of reading it at the library, that might not be a problem.

In spite of that, I think it's a great book, and a wonderful idea, so I'm giving it four and a half stars.

Love following your meal plan progress, Nina! Gives me lots of motivation to watch what I eat. Some days are easier than others. I just wish I knew how to make my habits more consistent. It doesn't help to eat well one week and then totally fall apart the next, which is what I'm so often guilty of!

Yes, it is really hard to find a balance. Although, I managed a fairly balanced diet over the past 10 years - but it was a difficult road. However, I always think each effort in the right direction is worth it. And at the end of the day, it doesn't need to be healthy every day, as long as there is moderation. Otherwise, where is the fun going to be in enjoying, a large variety of food?

#182 What Katy Did is a great book too :-)

>189 humouress:: Oops, sorry. Wrong icon. I read a book at the library with my youngest and he didn't want to borrow it. Since I didn't want to type the review on my phone, I copied a picture from one of my other posts and jotted down a few quick notes. It should have been

>190 jolerie:: Well, that's me, Valerie; this week hasn't been so good. I treated myself to a brownie at lunch time - the rationale being that my son got me my breakfast, and gave me less than I usually take, and I didn't want to serve more, since he'd been so sweet. So I was expecting to be hungry (though I wasn't actually hungry), so ...

But then, when he came back from school, he was eating a slice of NY cheesecake, and couldn't finish it, so he offered me some, so ...

(I'm not one to pass on an offer of free dessert!)

Though I was good and had salad for lunch, and not much dinner. Well, the good / bad news is the scales have been static for the last 4 days in spite of / because of my 'treats'.

>191 drachenbraut23: : Bianca, as you can see, I'm still trying to find the balance.

>192 souloftherose: : I agree, Heather. I was given a compilation edition of What Katy Did one Christmas, as a child, with the first two or three books, and enjoyed them.

Apparently, Susan Coolidge heard an 'argument' that went "Katy did" "Katy didn't" and so on, and that was the inspiration for the book. I was reading about katydid insects in Gone Wild - which I will review properly, soon. I wonder if they actually sound like that?

Static is always better than gain. Occasional treats are okay because it's all about balance right? Now a week of all treats, well, we all know what happens then... :)

Agreed with Jolerie, static is always better than gain, and everyone needs a treat now and then - especially if it is coming from one of your little ones. :)

Static is always better than gain.

Unless you're a radio engineer, in which case, gain is always better than static! :)

35) The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie



This is the first in the First Law series. The fabric of it is woven together from the threads of many different characters from different places in the Union, each with their own story and view point. Abercrombie seems to be having fun with his characterisations; the heroic-seeming ones are flawed, while those with weaknesses have redeeming qualities, which they often lose again. The country itself is headed by a king so fat, he usually falls asleep when he does appear; but is run in reality by a Council of Twelve, who each have their factions and agendas. In the meantime, the Union is in imminent danger of attack from both the north and the south, while their attackers also face an alien threat. The army is mainly run by nobles with little battle experience who look down on commoners who have worked their way up the ranks. All in all, it sounds a mess, but the story works.

The pace of this book is fairly brisk, and it holds your interest as to what happens to each character; I kept hoping that, having unexpectedly redeemed themselves, but fallen again, they would turn out decently after all. It is laugh-out-loud funny in parts. Though it gives a detailed view of each main character, getting into their heads, it does seem to be setting the stage for future events rather than carrying the story very far. I must admit I had to turn off my 'bad language radar' (mum of young kids here), but once I got past that, it was an interesting story - confusing as it is to review.

36) Dark Moon Defender by Sharon Shinn



Another captivating tale from Sharon Shinn's 'Twelve Houses' series.

This time, it is Justin, a King's Rider, who is the focus of the story. He is sent on a lone undercover mission to Neft, the nearest town to Lumanen convent where Coralinda Gisseltess, the Lestra, maintains her cult of the Pale Mother - the goddess of the moon. There, he discovers that the Lestra is actively persecuting mystics - and that, unbeknownst to her, Ellynor, one of the novices within the convent has mystical powers. When he rescues her, Justin - who has had little use for women in his life up till now - could lose his heart.

This story is told mainly from Justin's point of view; but it also show Ellynor's life as a novice, and follows Senneth's and Cammon's group in different parts of Gillengaria, on the King's business.

The goddesses, who - apart from the Pale Mother - have long been forgotten in Gillengaria, start to play a more active role, and magic, which is little understood, seems to be getting stronger. Although the focus is Justin, very soon the six main protagonists we have been following through the series are back together again, and even non-mystic Justin feels he can almost see their bond to each other.

There is a fair amount of romance as various members of the group of six find their match (not to mention the political match-making Senneth and Kirra engage in), but it suits the mood I'm in and there is plenty of danger and suspense to balance it.

I am really enjoying this series; I like the group of six, who all bring different strengths to the table and, despite danger, fight in their different ways for king and country.

>196 jolerie:, 197: Thanks, Valerie and Bianca, for your encouraging words. I lost about half a kilo overnight last weekend, and I think I got a bit complacent. You're right, static is better than gain. Thankfully, the scales dipped down again last night.

>198 drneutron:: Thanks Jim. Trust you!

Hi humouress - glad to hear you lost some of the pounds you want.

BTW: *blush* is it just me seeing constantly "work in progress" pics, or are they supposed to be there?

The "Twelve House" series by Sharon Shinn sounds very promising, put it onto my wishlist on amazon for future reference.

>202 drachenbraut23:: Thanks, Bianca.

Yes, I'm being a bit lazy. It's much more fun reading other people's threads. Plus I'm trying to get the kids to bed. One's in, and I thought he was settled for the night, but his brother is in a bit of a sulk (currently camped out on my bed in protest), and disturbed him. Now he won't settle until the other one joins him (being younger, he's always had his big brother in the room; really, he should go to bed earlier, but I'm not always that organised)

I'm making my way as slowly as I can through the 'Twelve Houses' series, so I can savour them for longer. I'm really enjoying it, but I want to pick up the next book as soon as I finish one.

Nina - I will certainly follow you and Bianca with the Green smoothies and I'm glad they seem to work - I could do with some help in increasing my metabolism actually - in the days when I was active in sports I had a very speedy one and could eat what I like but nowadays I only have to look at food to gain inches.
Have a lovely weekend.

Thanks, Paul.

Thank you to everyone for your continuing encouragement; it's an incentive to keep trying when that extra chocolate biscuit looks soooo tempting.

Oh, alright, Bianca! I'll put in my reviews now, so you don't have to see 'work in progress' signs everywhere. *grumble, grumble*   ;-)

*Blush* Soooooooory - well, at least two are gone. Great reviews. I have got The Blade Itself already ages on my TBR pile. Once in a while I take it, look at it, put it away and think "next time". I think it will go a little higher now.

I definately will keep an eye out for the Twelve House series, as it sounds very promising.

Have a nice Sunday :)

Just joking, Bianca :) Thanks to you, I've knocked out 3 reviews, which is good, because if I leave them too long, I lose my first impressions, and it just gets harder.

34), 35) & 36). Still not even half-way yet. :(

Losing weight is extremely hard work. Even if you do everything "right", the body simply wants to hold onto the weight. It wasn't built to lose.

#199 Enjoyed your thoughts on The Blade Itself Nina. I have that one sitting on my kindle.

>208 Morphidae:: Hah; tell me about it, Morphy! Although, I tend to give up on doing everything right - so maybe I shouldn't complain.

Many congratulations on your weight loss. You must have stronger will power than me.

>209 souloftherose:: Thanks Heather. It's a hard one to review, since it brings together so many diverse threads, and some of their stories run for a bit before they start coming together. But worth a read; I'll be looking for the next one in the series, but I don't think I'm going to dive straight in.

Besides, I've got to clear my library card. I've got some books that I need to get renewed, since I think I've renewed them myself the maximum number of times over the internet.

Rehearsals are proceeding apace; now we're going through an Act each evening (there are only 2), and ironing out bits, putting in more choreography etc. On some days, I feel like I'm the only one who can't remember the dance moves, entrances, etc. and on others, I feel safe that I'm not the only one. But I'm having fun, and it's a good group of people (all actresses, for this production).

Today, they had us dancing with brooms; I just hope I don't whack someone! Thankfully, the weather is getting warmer, and the hall isn't freezing anymore. On the day I did my audition (in June), I was shivering with cold as well as nerves :)

Oh dear. I just snorted at the idea of you whacking people with brooms. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly, but I will admit that it could be a lot of fun with a few mistakes thrown in ;)

So my new strategy is to just make and eat the lunches, since I was ending up with a lot of left-overs going to waste. Plus, I think the portion sizes for some meals were, ironically, a bit too large for me. I'm going to try to give my eldest some of the sandwiches; and I came up with a sneaky solution. I finely (and I mean finely, to pass inspection) diced the remainders of leftover vegetables and incorporated them into a pasta sauce for the kids. Not an original idea, I know (I got it from Jessica Seinfeld); but the important thing is that they ate it without noticing the vegetables. You wouldn't understand the significance of this, but the merest lump in the wrong place can bring to a screeching (from me!) halt any food going into my youngest (with accompanying facial expressions).

Anyhow; back to the recipes. Today was the egg tarragon sandwich, for which there is a delicious-looking photo in the book, and I was quite looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I couldn't get tarragon, so I substituted chives, and omitted the optional chilli (in the hopes my child will eat it tomorrow for school lunch). I'm beginning to think that the photos do not necessarily faithfully represent the recipes. (My potato & egg salad had rather more celery than the photo, in spite of the fact that - not being overfond of the stuff- I cut back on it). My egg mix came out more liquid than I was expecting.

Tastewise, it was okay. The mix was a bit bland. Perhaps the tarragon and chilli would have made a difference. Knowing what cottage cheese is like, I did sneak in a touch of salt (but not enough, because I couldn't taste it) although I assume it was left out of the recipe on purpose. Not bad, overall; but it needs tweaking.

ETA : I'm also starting to feel that not all the ingredients can be found. Maybe it's seasonal, or maybe it's because I'm out in the 'burbs. That means I have to substitute; but one of the reasons I bought this book was because everything, including daily calorie count, is all planned out for me, so it rather counteracts the benefits.

*giggle* same here, just imagening you "sitting" on, and "dancing" with a broom, and than whacking people with it. What play are you doing? Sorry, curious me!

Hi, lunacat. Unfortunately, the possibility of hitting someone / being hit with the broom is fairly high. It's a small stage, and there will be ten of us, though possible in two lines. We're still in the process of working it out. Hopefully it won't be me who gets hit :-)

It is a comedy, so we'll just pretend we made the mistakes on purpose. I'm sure there'll be some; just when I think I have one dance sequence down, another one goes flying out of my head, or we get another to learn. Think I'm getting a handle on that tap. Hopefully. (Oh dear. Another unintended pun. I must be tired. Time for bed)

No problem, Bianca. The play is Nunsense, where most of the nuns in a convent have succumbed to food poisoning, and the remaining nuns have had to bury them. It opens with Mother Superior explaining that there are 4 nuns we didn't have the funds to bury, and they've been stored in the freezer. So we are holding a kind of talent show by the remaining nuns to raise funds for their funerals. It's a comedy; honest!

The brooms come in (in our version) when we sing 'We've got to clean out the freezer'

LOL - that sounds really great - I would love to see Photos of that play.

Progressing also (at least for now) with my plan to get my weight down, so I can actually tap dance (for which we need to stay on our toes most of the time - when we're not air bound). Last weekend, I dropped about half a kilo overnight (assuming I didn't fix the scales), and I may have become complacent, resulting in the weight then staying static for most of last week. But it's gone down again this weekend (maybe my once-weekly bout of exercise is helping. I've joined a badminton club), and I've sneaked into the upper range of my BMI.

On the other hand, my waistline seems to be expanding, so I'm addressing that by reading the books I bought (months ago) on exercises I can do every morning. Maybe if I got up in time, and actually did some?...

>218 drachenbraut23:: There's been a snap-happy gentleman wandering through our rehearsals for the past couple of weeks. I'll see if I can find any shots. Dress rehearsals will be at the beginning of next month, so there might not be anything until then.

Nina - I have the same problem with waistline, but not of course the tap dancing! I am trying to do lots of walking as a precursor to cycling again in a few weeks time and I intend to go swimming a little more often. I need the willpower to get up my metabolism and burn off the fat around my tummy but it isn't easy - especially getting home from work knackered and having to force myself to walk.

True, Paul. It's the will power thing that gets me, too.

Well, here's a suggestion. I have a niece who is very musical, and my aunt tells me she danced to lose weight. So - find a bookshop or two at a suitable distance, and then tell yourself you can only buy one book a day (or you'll have to ask Paul the statistician to calculate your usual daily average book buying) if you walk there. Incentive enough? I'm sure Hani will be pleased, anyway. :)

Hi humouress, just noticed that your name is Nina - lovely. I am looking forward to see your pics from the rehearsal.

Just passing through and trying to catch up with everyone Nina! I've been trying to eat my leftover dinner as my lunch. That keeps me from making something unhealthy and yes, that whole portion sizing thing... :)

My one friend did this no oil, no bread, no a lot of things for a couple of weeks. She had a larger lunch and a much smaller dinner portion. She is not even overweight to begin with and I saw such noticeable changes in her! So inspiring, I tell ya!

Hahaha Nina - willpower will definitely be an issue then. Hani has told me that she expects my room full of books to be sorted out by Thursday otherwise I will be in trouble - she didn't specify the punishment as yet.

>223 drachenbraut23:: Thank you, Bianca. I fully intend to get pics as soon as possible, but the actual doing, I'm not so good at (I still have to organise baby photos.)

>224 jolerie:: As I was saying to Paul, Valerie, it's all will power. I'm not sure I could do what your friend did. Looks like she was already fairly health conscious, which I'm not. I have to confess to an addiction for nuts (that's why I'm on LT) and dark chocolate McVitie's digestives. Chocolate is, however, one of those vital mineral thingies that our bodies can't survive without. Mine, anyway.

>225 PaulCranswick:: Good luck with the book sorting, Paul. My husband's been waiting four years already for me to tidy up.

37) There's Nothing to Do on Mars written and illustrated by Chris Gall



I've read There's Nothing to do on Mars several times to my youngest. I really like the way it's set out, with text next to large pictures reminiscent of 1950's style comic strips (Buck Rogers et al). It works well for him, and I think (in my fond imagination) it would also be interesting for my elder one, and would subtly impart information about Mars (Mars is red, it suffers from dust storms, has two moons, etc).

The story is about a boy, Davey Martin, who moves to Mars with his parents. At first he's really bored, so his parents tell him to go out and play, and he ends up having all kinds of Martian adventures with his dog (which happens to be a robot).

It's a futuristic story told with old fashioned images. I found the pictures very clever. There is one where he finds an 'old toy', but we can see the NASA logo on its side, and realise it's a Mars rover. Even the endpapers are (red) covered in drawings and information, purporting to be his diary. And I love the first illustration, which shows their Airstream trailer (camper van) - with rocket blasters underneath, lifting off from Earth.

And I'm the total opposite. If you told me I couldn't have chocolate for the rest of my life, I probably wouldn't bat an eye. Now if you told me I couldn't have chips, I probably rip your heart out. :)

Chocolate and cheese are the two things I can't live without. It's just physically impossible. My body would shut down. It's all that keeps me going, and gives me my wonderful figure ;)

*Wink* at Valerie - same here, but do you mean "fries" by chips or "crisps"? If you mean crisps that would apply to me *laugh*

Nina - very nice review on the kiddie book, that sounds like a good book to remember as a future present :)

Stopping by and waving hello

>228 jolerie:: Valerie, chips / crisps are a once in a while thing for me. Chips I'm OK with, but if I start a bag of crisps, I'd probably go through it to the bitter end.

>229 lunacat:: Cheese is also an occasional thing for me, lunacat, because I can see all the calories just by looking at it. But chocolate ... I've got a figure, too, but I'm less than enthusiastic about it at the moment. I just need to tone a bit (but I've been saying that for months). I shall take up your attitude to life. :)

>230 drachenbraut23:: Thanks, Bianca.

>231 Whisper1:: Hi! Linda.

I am about to embark on Little Women and its sequels, which I haven't read properly since I was a child, so I expect my outlook will be somewhat different. I do remember there were events that made me sad, so I'm going in with a bit of trepidation.

Continuing with week 2:

Tuesday lunch : Celeriac coleslaw and rare roast beef sandwich. I had to substitute cabbage for celeriac, multigrain bread for rye and my roast beef was from a packet, so it wasn't rare. But it was a tasty sandwich.

Wednesday lunch : Chicken and udon noodle soup. I've made this recipe before, so I reduced the star anise to one, as two were too overwhelming for me last time. Tasty, filling and satisfying, though I'd say the volume would feed 4 people, not just the stated 2.

Nina - surely there is plenty of room for excuses if most of her suggested ingredients are not available in the form she instructed! hahaha in any event I wish you well with the plan. Mine own is to walk off whatever I eat which is going ok but my legs and feet are not particularly impressed by the idea.

Go Nina Go, I am sure not long anymore and you will have lost the few kg's.

You may know this site already. However, I get quite often recipes there and I think the site is great. This receipe is very easy and TASTY.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

>235 PaulCranswick:: Thanks for the support, Paul. Good point about substituting ingredients. I hadn't thought of that. So - swap low fat cottage cheese for full fat cream cheese. No, no ... I must be strong.

>236 drachenbraut23:: Thanks, Bianca. The pattern seems to be to lose half a kilo on the weekend, and then no movement either way for the rest of the week. Thanks for the recipe (although I confess I was also attracted by the ones on the side, which look rather calorific). My current project is to work through this book, and add it to my list of 75; but I will try the recipe out on my husband. If he eats it, that would be a success, because he's a confirmed carnivore. It does look like a meat-burger.

LOL - My dad is like that. When I still lived in London, I ate mainly vegetarian with some white meat and fish, since I moved back to Germany four years ago I am surrounded by carnivores. As I moved back in with my parents my mum took over most of the cooking. Alex loves her food and that their is meat every day - shows in his size as well now - his new nickname is "Moby Dick".
I have tried to sheat my dad with a recipe like that :( Didn't work. Good luck on that front!

>238 drachenbraut23:: Well, my husband thinks potatoes or eggs are acceptable vegetables. ^-^ The one time I got him was with the first meal I ever cooked for him, before we were married, when he didn't notice there was no meat in the meal. But then, he was a bit distracted at the time ;-)

LOL - I didn't have that problem. Alex dad was already vegetarian when we met, so my ventures into meat or fish grew even less and less.

I had been toying with the idea of eventually becoming vegetarian; but after we got married, I went the other way. :)

I used to be a Vegan, changed to Vegetarian and now I am an Omnivore, although still gravitating more to the Vegetarian side.

I am a complete carnivore. Not entirely in agreement with your husbands as to what constitutes vegetables though. I'm much more likely to avoid carbohydrates - there is just not much there that I like!

>242 drachenbraut23:: Oh, dear, Bianca. At this rate, you'll end up as a carnivore.

>243 lunacat:: What; no chips, crisps, cakes, pastries Jenny? As long as you hang on to the chocolate and cheese.

I'll eat chips occasionally, crisps but not every day, some cakes but has to be homemade, can't stand the shop bought ones and it depends what they are as I don't really like cream in them, and never to the pastries.

As for other carbs, I'll eat small amounts of them - rice/pasta/potatoes (but really don't like potato) and bread. Still would much rather eat meat and junk food though.

Today my diet consisted of: sweet biscuits with icing on them for breakfast, half a big bar of chocolate, a load of other sweets full of E numbers and sugar, and some 'rhubarb and custard' sweets. And a cup of tea.

I go through phases of trying to eat more 'properly' and healthily, but they don't often last. I like fruit but never seem to get round to eating much, and I LOVE salad but only eat it during the summer.

>245 lunacat:: (I'm assuming your name is Jenny, from a reply on Paul's thread)

Actually, your diet sounds a lot like mine, because I usually can't be bothered cooking, especially if it's just for me. Though I do like carbs, especially pasta and rice. I try to keep off them, but it's harder now the kids are going through the carb phase (when they actually eat). And once I've gone through the effort of working out what they might eat, cooking it for them, and then try to feed it to them ... it looks rather tempting.

Yup, me too! I'm the Queen of Carbs. I don't care so much for sweets and meats so my problem is really learning to eat balanced and not swinging like a pendulum so much!

I have Little Women on my shelves forever... you remind me that I should read them some time soon! I didn't know there were other books in the series?

OK girls - listening to your diet requirements I decided you probably would HATE my food - that's what my Dad does anyway, he things it's to healthy - although I do enjoy crisps (luv them), have the odd sweets and chocolate - I die for anything vegetarian. Oh, yeah and before I forget I quite enjoy CHEESECAKES in all shapes and forms, and puddings, and the occassional buiscuits. Well, I think that's it.

>247 jolerie:: Valerie, I have Good Wives, Little Men and Jo's Boys as well; and I think that's all to the series. Oh, if I finish it, that means I can put it into the September Series & Sequels.

>248 drachenbraut23:: Bianca, I think I will just have to content myself I'm doing my bit by knowing someone who eats so healthily. :)

38) Ultimate Spider-man : Death of Spider-man by Brian Bendis, Mark Bagley



I haven't read comic strips for ages, since I was young, and went through the Asterix the Gaul comics. Oh - except for Tintin, which we got for our eldest when the film came out. But my 3 year old picked this up when we were leaving the library. I wouldn't, by the way, have picked it up for either of them, since it's about fighting and death (yes, guilty - overprotective mother here), and there are full page sketches with skulls and skeletons. But my youngest doesn't seem to understand the connotations, and my older one read it, and so far there have been no repercussions.

This is a story from the Ultimate Universe, which (as I understand it) is a revamping of many of Marvel Comic's lines. Researching it, I found than many heroes, villains and side-kicks have been killed off and resuscitated over the years, in the re-imagined line.

In this hardback book, as Peter Parker is in a café talking to Mary Jane, he is called up by S.H.I.E.L.D. for training, as they consider him a rogue agent. Before he can begin properly, Captain America, who is overseeing his training, is called away by an emergency. At the same time, Norman Osborne, the Green Goblin - Spiderman's nemesis - breaks out of S.H.I.E.L.D. captivity and releases five more of Spidey's erstwhile enemies. The Sinister Six go on a rampage of New York city, with the specific intent of destroying Spiderman. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. is fully occupied by the other event, Spiderman is on his own, trying to protect his family and friends and defeat the super-villains.

The picture on the front depicts Ultimate Spiderman / Peter Parker with his mask off walking into the mist with his Uncle Ben (who was killed at the very beginning of the Spiderman story arc), saying "You did good, kid".

Woo hoo! crossed the half-way mark, with a quarter of the year to go. I was contemplating a new thread, but I think I'll just keep everything together in one place.

Actually, I think I will start a new thread ....