Cynara's #2: The Reading Season

For the next little while, I will have more time to read, and it will be too hot and sunny to do practically anything else. If you're that curious about what I've been reading since January, you'll find a link to my previous thread above. Lovely to see you! The books are on the shelf over there, never mind the cat hair, and here's a glass of wine. No, you don't have to talk if you don't want to - we can just read.

Thread #2

#79: Serve it Forth, Consider the Oyster, and How to Cook a Wolf
#80 through 84: Bayou Moon, Fate's Edge, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, and Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
#85: Purity in Death by J. D. Robb
#86 & 87: It Happened one Autumn and Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
#88: Planetary 4 by Warren Ellis
#89 and 90: Ghost Story and Changes by Jim Butcher
DNF: Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain by Judith Flanders
#91: Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik
#92: Venetia by Georgette Heyer
#93: Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
#94: Fever Moon by Karen Marie Moning
#95: In The Embrace of the Alligator by Amanda Hale
#96: Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs by Adrienne Mayor
#97: Stranger in my Arms by Lisa Kleypas
#98: Dawn by Octavia Butler
#99: My year of flops : the A.V Club presents one man's journey deep into the heart of cinematic failure by Nathan Rabin
#100: A Test of Wills by Charles Todd
DNF: God's Crucible by David Levering Lewis
#101: Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories by Colin Dexter
#102: Bleach Vol. 1 by Tite Kubo, et al.
#103: Wings of Fire by Charles Todd
#104: The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters
DNF: Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope
#105: Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielsen
#106: The Shepherd's Granddaughter by Anne Laurel Carter
#107: Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen
#108: The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
#109: A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Towes
#110: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
#111: Adulthood Rites by Octavia Butler
#112: Bleach Vol. 2 by Tite Kubo, et al
#113: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
#114: Imago by Octavia Butler
#115: The Magnificent Rogue by Iris Johansen
#116: The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart
#117: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
#118: The Art of the Hobbit by Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull
#119: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 3 Part 2: Century: 1969 by Alan Moore et al
#120: Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton
#121: Look me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison
#122: Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
#123: The Briar King by Greg Keyes
#124: Garment of Shadows by Laurie King
#125 & 126: Charnel Prince and Blood Knight by Greg Keyes
#127: Cast in Peril by Michelle Sagara
#128: The Born Queen by Greg Keyes
#129: The Western Lit Survival Kit by Sandra Newman
#130: Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux
#131: Iced by Karen Marie Moning
#132: The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes
#133: The Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
#134: Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
#135 Enough of Calvin Trillin by Calvin Trillin
DNF: Musicophilia
#136: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
#137: Cold Days by Jim Butcher
#138: Sex, Straight Up by Kathleen O'Reilly
#139: Ruthless Awakening by Sara Craven
#140: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
DNF: London's Underworld by Henry Mayhew
DNF: The Magnate's Make-Believe Mistress by Bronwyn Jameson
#141: The King of Fear by Arcudi/Mignola
#142: The Devil Does not Jest and Others (Abe Sapien #2) by Arcudi, Mignola, and others
#143: Hot Under Pressure by Kathleen O'Reilly
DNF: The Tycoon's Rebel Bride by Maya Banks

Happy New Thread, and Happy Me to be first!
I was going to catch up on your old one when I saw you here - so now I'll do it!

Here I am back to say that I hope you'll someday give Devices and Desires another chance. I'm ashamed to say that I have never gotten to the third book of the trilogy, but I really liked the first two!

Woohoo! Congratulations on the new thread, Cynara, and on 79 books read - geesh, that's a lot! :D

Great new thread!

Wooo! Great to see you all!

Eris, when you are out of school, and if you have a job that doesn't need to be 'taken home,' then you, too, will have time for the floods of genre fic I've been inhaling.

I'm a little behind, but nice new digs!

Yes, well, I'm a bit behind on my reviewing. Time to catch up!

...she said, a month ago. Well, time to actually catch up, though some of my reviews will be, of necessity, brief.

That's all right! I know how keeping up with your thread can be difficult sometimes.

#79:



Serve it Forth, Consider the Oyster, and How to Cook a Wolf by M. F. K. Fisher

While I read only the first three books in this omnibus, it was more of a case of "too much of a good thing" than any indication that I didn't like them. Fisher's prose is clear and flowing, and I like her decided opinions and occasional notes of whimsy. I would probably have enjoyed Consider the Oyster more if I'd ever eaten one or felt an urge to do so, but there you are.

Thanks Eris!

#80 through 84: Bayou Moon, Fate's Edge, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, and Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews





I can't figure out which of Andrews' series I like more. My initial impression was that the "Magic" series was a bit better than the Edger series, but as time goes by the Edger books have been a little more marvellously weird - the "Magic" books, though enjoyable, have perhaps lost a little steam? Maybe that's just because I can't get too worked up about Curran, and they're less original than the Edger books. Still, both are strong urban fantasy/romance series.

#85



Purity in Death by J. D. Robb

A reread, and one I'm particularly fond of.

#86 & 87:



It Happened one Autumn and Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas

My Kleypas festival continues with the next two books in the Wallflowers series. "Autumn" was just fine, and Devil in Winter was excellent! I did miss the greater focus on the friendships between the "Wallflowers" that made me enjoy Secrets of a Summer Night so much. Once Kleypas established the relationships in book one, she didn't find room for more than a nod in that direction in books three and four. Bah! There's more to life than men. I'd like to see some more of the Wallflowers in book four, if/when I get there.

#88



Planetary: Spacetime Archaeology by Warren Ellis

My reread leaves me with an impression similar to my initial reads: a little bit blown away (keeping the world strange! Spacetime archaeology! Superhumans as an immune system for the planet! Awesome vistas! Strangely touching weirdness!) and a little unsatisfied by the character development, both its direction and its lack of detail.

#89 and 90



Ghost Story and Changes by Jim Butcher

Rereads both, they're both standing up well, with an amazing control of (the sometimes grim) tone and powerful readability. Where the red hell is Butcher's release date for Cold Days? We wants it, preciousssss, and we wants it now.

DNF: Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain by Judith Flanders

I'm a bit embarrassed about this one, because it's a perfectly good book. I think I tried to read it too soon after Flander's other excellent book, The Victorian House which I liked very much.

#91



Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! After a bit of a slump, Novik's Temeraire series is back at the top of its form! I can't tell you how thrilled I am. Oh, the dragons are being so dragony, and Laurence is being a wonderful foil instead of weighing things down. Great plot (if a bit familiar from previous novels), and terribly enjoyable. There's some interesting development for the supporting cast, including (VAGUE SPOILER) the first non-straight character.

#92



Venetia by Georgette Heyer

So far, I haven't found two Heyers that are alike. The reformed-rake plot has a little (a very little) in common with These Old Shades to be sure, and there's a bit of the daffy energy of Cotillion's ending in there, but they're quite different in denoument and in plot. Heyer's horrible mother-in-law character is a bit Austenesque, but she's too real. I think this one had better pacing than Cotillion - unlike some reviewers, I didn't feel the story got bogged down in the supporting characters. Delightful. Funny. Recommended!

#93



Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

Hmmm. James does a nice job of the setting and characters, while gently interrogating some of the certainties of Pride & Prejudice through the villain's final speech. It's also fun to see the cameos of other Austen characters zipping by, though they did pull me out of the story. Sadly, I did figure out the mystery fairly early. I was also a bit troubled by what I saw as a plot hole, and all the atmospheric gathering-storm business at the beginning didn't add up to as much as I'd hoped. In fact, I put down the book feeling great respect for James' writing and command of Austen's tone, but also a little let down by my high expectations.

Wonderful cover, though!

Rarrrrrr! Mad reviewing streak continues! Rarr!

#94



Fever Moon by Karen Marie Moning

Another author is on the graphic novel adaptation bandwagon. I'm glad that Moning (and/or her publishers) went with a new story and didn't attempt to hack one of her rich, textured books down to GN size. The story is just fine, though it feels very monster-of-the-week - it feels like a glimpse into the TV series that might have been, with Mac and Barrons tearing around Dublin fighting unseelie for the greater good.

I wasn't able to get too emotionally involved, however, and I think that's the fault of the art. Al Rio almost caught the right mood here, with a nice balance between beauty and grit. Unfortunately, some key character designs kept pulling me out of the story. Mac as a strapping blonde bombshell I can accept, but Dani? (FAN RANT STARTS HERE) Dani's supposed to be coltish or rangy or waifish. She's definitely not the busty cornfed type I see in these pages. And Barrons... uh, no. If Dani is cornfed, he's a prize steer with ludicrously massive shoulders. And god, I think his face is all wrong. (FAN RANT ENDS)

I know an artist will never be able to please everyone, particularly when he has the misfortune of following five detailed novels. I can understand why he or she might disregard aspects of an author's character description (provided here as backmatter). I do regard it as a limitation when every woman has the same body, as does every man, and their clothes hug them like superhero spandex no matter what they're wearing. Sheesh. Despite the fantastic subject matter, Moning's stories have, at least in my head, always been inhabited by real people (okay, except for Barrons, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to turn him into a superhero), and I found Rio's style jarring.

Lovely colour work, a good story, and a great cover don't quite compensate for the over-the-top pneumatic makeovers of my favourite characters.

#95



In The Embrace of the Alligator by Amanda Hale

I am happy to make full disclosure that the author is an acquaintance of mine (and she's awesome). You can decide for yourself if that's biased my review.

Personally, I think that it's a handicap more than a benefit. I just hate reading something by someone I like, because (as readers of ARCs know) the chance of my liking a semi-random book is... well, minimal, and even great people can write something that I don't enjoy.

I was very pleased to find that within a few chapters, In The Embrace of the Alligator had hooked me. Partly, for me, it was the portrait of modern Cuba. I have some family ties to that country, though I've never been there, and Hale's novel has a wonderful sense of place - you can see the streets and hear the sounds. It's also very much an outsider looking in, and it gave me more context for my family members who are from there or have lived there. I can't wait to talk to them about it!

Also, Hale's story is simply involving - I liked her characters and their shifting relationships. I liked the way she can damn a character, then give us a new perspective on him fifty pages later. It was really good, and I'm going to look up more of her books.

Yay for reviewing streaks! I'm steering clear of the P.D. James because I just can't handle any novel that mucks around with Austen's characters in the same setting. Retellings I don't mind (e.g. Bridget Jones's Diary) but follow-up novels in the same universe never work for me. I've yet to encounter anyone that can adequately match Austen's style to make the characters believable. But that's a personal hang up. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Cynara!

I felt she did the best job of writing in Austen's style that I've seen so far - possibly because she doesn't succumb to the temptation to discuss details and feelings outside of Austen's purview.

#96



Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs by Adrienne Mayor

It's not often you find a scholarly book that is also well-written, comprehensible to laymen, and surprisingly fast-paced; for all these reasons, I recommend Mayor's study of biological warfare in the ancient world unreservedly.

I suppose the queasy might find Mayor's discussion of some of the gristlier ways we've found to end each others' lives difficult reading, but you need only be guided by the title to figure out if you belong in this group. People burning to death? Dying of excruciating poisons? Being covered in scorpions, which have just fled from a shattered pottery bomb? Still with me? Yes, you are the audience for this book. Mayor doesn't linger over these descriptions, and if you are as intrigued as I am by the logistics of scorpion bombs, the occasional frisson of horror is probably part of the fun. She draws delicate parallels with present attitudes to biological weaponry, but by and large keeps the focus on the ancient world. Highly recommended.

#97:



Stranger in my Arms by Lisa Kleypas

Lisa, I love you, but this plot is preposterous.

(Also, a man who declines to rape his wife may be a prince by regency standards, but here in the 21st century we have somewhat higher standards - particularly because he gropes, leers, and verbally harasses her constantly. And yes, I know she's enjoying it, but *he* can't know that. )

Still, the ending was so good, I forgive you. Not a "must buy," but I'll think of this one affectionately.

#98


Dawn by Octavia Butler

Another good one! I was drawn right into this book from the first chapter. I liked Butler's strong, un-neurotic protagonist, and I was fascinated by her acclimatisation to the aliens. The book bogs down a trifle in the last third, as it gets too involved in the inter-relations of the new characters, but I'm almost certainly going to continue the series. A fascinating premise which is well-excecuted by Butler.

Hello - I love all the romance on your threads! I've just reserved Dreaming of You from my library. They seem to have one copy for about four million people, but the good news is, I'm next :-) I've also heard good things about Naomi Novik. I can see that I'm going to have to have the library catalogue open in a separate tab when I visit. I've also read The Iron Duke this year - I didn't totally love it but it was interesting, and also my first foray into steampunk.

Welcome! I loved Dreaming of You, just loved it. It's one of the two romances that have made the permanent-collection grade in the last year - that, and Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels. Dreaming of You has a better ending, though.

I'm on a Kleypas binge, which was provoked in equal parts by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and by LT user Morphidae.

Novik's books are a bit uneven, but I'm entirely in love with Temeraire, and His Majesty's Dragon is a wonderful, wonderful book.

I see you've also read Powerful Greek, Unworldly Wife, or have it on your LT list, anyway. I thought that one was a bit of a train wreck, actually, when I reviewed it last year. What did you think about it?

I love anything by Sarah Morgan, and, although there are books that I liked more than this one (try One Night...Nine-Month Scandal) I particularly liked the way that this one began with the hero and the (alleged) "other woman", thereby breaking one of the first rules of category romance which involves getting the hero and heroine together ASAP and preferably on the first page. So I remember that first scene because it was different.

I read something by Loretta Chase a couple of years ago and didn't like it enough to try another one, but maybe Lord of Scoundrels might be a possibility.

(Edited to get the first touchstone to work)

Thanks for the recommendation!

I wouldn't have thought offhand that the subject matter of Greek Fire was my cup of tea, but your review is very persuasive. I may have to check the library for that one.

I found it fascinating. I mean, how do you get scorpions into a bomb? What about bees? And did people think this was fair play? We think WMD are a modern issue, but it's as old as the ability to poison wells in the desert.

>31 Cynara: :D

#99



My year of flops : the A.V Club presents one man's journey deep into the heart of cinematic failure by Nathan Rabin

Although Rabin's odyssey is organized by genre, really it takes him through three categories of film: fiascos, failures, and secret successes. Those three categories may tell you something of the delights to be found herein. I loved the fiascos, those ambitious films that got horribly off the rails somewhere (and then crashed into a transport truck full of clowns before arcing beautifully over the ocean & sinking without a trace). There's great fun in reading a funny critic square off with a failure, and Rabin is funny. Finally the secret successes - those films, unloved by critics or the public, which turn out to have been good all along.

While I prefer reading a paper book to reading on a computer screen, I also have to recommend the original series of columns over at the AV Club; there are far more than could be fit into this book, and I would be remiss if I didn't suggest his review of Exorcist II: The Heretic and the appalling The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu. Not only does the AV Club host more of these columns than appear in the book (though there are special book-only ones, including Cleopatra), but due to the magic of the internet, they come with clips.

"The result, perhaps not surprisingly, was one of the craziest films ever released by a major studio, a semi-coherent Grand Guignol romp involving telekinesis, James Earl Jones in a bee costume, and an airborne demon named "Pazuzu"."

#100



A Test of Wills by Charles Todd

This was recommended to me by the same friend (bless her) who got me reading Laurie R. King's Mary Russell books. I can certainly see why; both mystery series are concerned with the aftermath of World War One and, to varying degrees, the effect of the war on English life and on the damaged psyches of the first men to experience modern warfare.

And it's a mystery, of course. A good one, too, with that methodical quiet discovery that keeps you turning the pages, even though not much appears to be happening. The shape of it all seems to be just over the next page, and if you just read it, surely you'll figure it all out. I didn't, until the end, which I always like.

Also: Ian Rutledge is an intriguing hero - damaged, alone, maintaining his dignity, and wondering if he didn't lose his life in the trenches after all. I'm rooting for him. Actually, Rutledge isn't as alone as he'd like. While outwardly he is quite functional (generally), he is also shell-shocked. In his case, it manifests as a furious, vengeful voice in his head - the voice of Hamish MacLeod, whose identity I won't spoil.

My only remaining questions are these: first, is Wings of Fire as good, and second, when, pray, will my library deliver the cursed thing to my branch? Are they reading it? I want it, now.

Cynara, did you not get the memo that no one on LT is allowed to write reviews of good books in series that I haven't already started? It's ... I just ... No.

Julia, love, I know exactly what you mean. My library list has warning notes on all the series, so I don't accidentally get myself in over my head. I give each one due deliberation before I dip a toe in. I mean, maybe I'll hate it and I can take it off the list - or maybe I'm ready to fall in love again.

As it is, my favourite series authors seem to have gone on some sort of writing strike or are frittering their time away with spinoff series (I'm looking at you, Karen Marie Moning and Karen Chance). Also Rutledge is helping me to dodge starting The Hindus: An Alternative History, a giant kitten-squisher.

DNF: God's Crucible by David Levering Lewis

I wish to clear Lewis of any blame here. I have every reason to believe that he's written a fascinating, scholarly account of the early years of Islam and its later conflict with Christianity (?). I didn't finish this book for a simple reason, and it's not one I'm proud of. I cannot listen to Richard Allen's voice without giggling and losing the plot.

There, I said it. I thought "oh, an audiobook! My husband and I can enjoy it together this summer. What a clever idea." I was very smug when our train was delayed (due to having struck someone outside Burlington) and I brought out my iPod. No sooner had the vocal stylings of Richard Allen rung out through our earbuds but we were looking wildly at each other, wondering if this could possibly be continuing for the whole book. It would have. Possibly it was the boredom and stress of a train delayed past midnight, but it seemed totally absurd, and M. abandoned his attempt to listen within minutes.

I was eventually able to get past Allen's voice (by-the-by, I should mention that it is in no way grotesque or eccentric - it is deeply & richly plummy, like James Earl Jones played at half-speed. He has won awards. He's very good at his job. He's very handsome. It was just the wrong voice at the wrong time for us.)

Also, I found it difficult to listen to a historical work instead of reading it. So often one wants to glance back a paragraph to see if this is the same king he's talking about, or flip back a few pages to look at a map or figure out if this is the tribe x was at war with. I found it much easier once we hit Mohammed's life, but by then the whole thing was due back at the library. Quel dommage. Maybe I'll try a hard copy some day?

#101:



Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories by Colin Dexter

The rather lovely new series Endeavour made me look up my Morse books, and I found that a collection of short stories had been published. I sought it out forthwith, and was mostly pleased. There are a few good Morse stories in here, and Dexter varied them with some non-Morse work - not a totally pleasant surprise for me, but I generally enjoyed them very much.

It occurred to me what an odd series Morse was. I could argue that the central emotional theme is sadness, really - the sadness of the bereaved, but mostly the loneliness of our crabby protagonist. Over and over Morse almost makes a connection with a woman, but by fate or death or her guilt, he's alone again eventually, with only the long-suffering Lewis in his life, and Dexter never skimped on the abrasion between those two, either. It's an odd kind of sugarless sentimentality that pervades the series - or a lyrical sadness, if you prefer. It also makes the consolations of art - Wagner and poetry for Morse - exceptionally real to the reader. Morse supplements them with alcohol and crossword puzzles, of course, but he's never a hard-bitten copper.

Anyway, I'm wandering. I'm feeling a half-formed urge to reread the later novels, and/or rewatch the wonderful John Thaw adaptation (I think I will always have a tiny crush on John Thaw's Morse).

What is this, the James Earl Jones thread!? :)

The Heretic is one of my favourite bad films. (It's strictly JEJ in a leopard costume, talking about locusts!)

There can never be too much James Earl Jones.

At this rate, I'm going to have to watch the damned thing, though I never saw the first one & I don't much like horror.

Also, this looks like a bee costume to me:

There can never be too much James Earl Jones.

Oh, agreed!

The second one is hilarious (and rather embarrassing) rather than horrifying.

Okay, locust costume. But he does spit a leopard. Really. :)

Cynara, I agree about the difficulty of listening to nonfiction on audio. I have a similar problem with reading it as an e-book, because I am constantly wanting to flip back and forth and it's very difficult to do that in an e-book.

>46 lyzard:
Oh, I think I saw a bit of the leopard part.

>47 rosalita:
That's interesting - I was wondering if I found it difficult because I was tired when I started, but I'm thinking not.

I think nonfiction just requires a higher level of attention, maybe? Or a different type of attention, where you want to flip around to maps, endnotes, pictures, etc., which is hard to do in an e-book and impossible in an audiobook.

#102



Bleach Vol. 1 by Tite Kubo, et al.

Bleach is my most recent and most successful foray into manga. It's something I keep thinking I should like, and I keep reading first books and thinking... ehhhh... I guess I'll come back to this series? Maybe? Someday?

Bleach has grabbed me a bit - I like the spirit-monster angle, and I'm somewhat interested in the characters, which are usually my stumbling-block for manga. I admit that I don't get the manga/anime obsession with high school. It seems like whatever series I pick up gives equal time to formulaic flirting & school bullies as it does to monster-punching, which confuses me, but there you go. Vol. 2 is on hold at the library.

#103



Wings of Fire by Charles Todd

Wings of Fire, taken together with A Test of Wills, establishes some elements that I'm guessing will be characteristic of Todd's series: an English village; self-doubt; family secrets; an artistic woman/suspect to whom Rutledge is drawn; a passionate, hurt woman/suspect (to whom he is also drawn) who gives Rutledge a prime ticking off at one point. And Hamish, of course, yelling about witches whenever Rutledge so much as glances at a woman.

This book was as intriguing and absorbing as the first, and I think it was a better mystery. I felt like I had a better grasp of the situation and motives, so I was more involved in trying to figure it out. It lacks the fascination of becoming acquainted with Rutledge and Hamish (and Jean, absent/present as always), but I'm sure we'll see more character development for Rutledge in future books. I don't want to read too many at once & become frustrated with villages, though, so I may enforce a small wait for book 3.

#104



The Falcon at the Portal by Elizabeth Peters

This eleventh book in the Amelia Peabody series is part of my husband's and my ongoing read-aloud. We did this one uninterrupted by another book, as after Lord of the Rings, M. is hard-pressed to think of a replacement series to read (one which he's sure is still any good, that is. One of the sadnesses of being a reader of fantasy is finding, upon revisiting, that your beloved teenage series have pages, words, and characters of clay). So, more Peabody for us.

After a few books that (I admit) tend to blend together for me in retrospect, The Falcon at the Portal stands out sharply. It has a mystery - well, three or four, actually - that are given sufficient attention in the plot, and as far as the Emerson-Peabodies go, All Sorts of Things Happen. In fact, someone who loved Peabody et al less might call it soap operatic, but I cannot dismiss Ramses' feelings so lightly, even if others can be so insensitive. See, now Amelia's voice is slipping into my review.

There's still material I would probably cut. The Wardani subplot is too detailed and doesn't go much of anywhere, for example, but I think Peters is setting it up for the next books. The next book is particularly Victorian-melodramatic, and I'm looking forward to it very much. In fact, these books may constitute the later peak of the series; I'll keep you informed as I go. We're going to be reading this next one interspersed with The Jungle Book, as soon as I can lay my hands on a copy. I don't know where my wonderful Kipling omnibus has gotten itself to - very annoying.

I also don't get the manga craze among those of my age group, but ah well, we all have our tastes. One of my friends is really obsessed with the Black Butler series - have you heard of or read that? I'm thinking of giving it a look, just to see what the fuss is about.

Huh. No, I don't know it! It has a really high rating on LT, though. I'll add it to the library list, thanks!

DNF



Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope: a firm rebuke to all authors who have assumed that early 19th century people were just like us, really. I expected to be fascinated by this - a street level, first-hand account of early 19th century America from an Englishwoman. I expected to learn a great deal about England and the US.

Instead, I was reminded of the reality of how conventional Britons saw the world, and it wasn't pretty, e.g.: educate women in philosophy or science? How foolish. Slaves are poorly treated? Such a naive idea. The equality of man? Now, really.

None of it should be a surprise to me. Perhaps it's just because I'm grouchy that I feel like kicking Mrs. Trollope. I shouldn't blame her for being unable to rise above her contemporaries, but it's hard going when every page she's (politely) complaining about the greasy, filthy, uncouth, mercenary underclass daring to act like her equals. Generally, whenever she drops a crumb of praise, it's to an emigrated Englishman or someone who was educated in Europe.

One of the common threads is her quiet conviction that this belief in the equality of human beings is fundamentally flawed. She doesn't deny that people can improve themselves and become worthy of higher stations, but she is absolutely certain that the run-of-the mill American is unable to manage his or her own religious, political, and financial affairs, and that they would all do much better if they depended on the Anglican church and the hereditary aristocracy to sort things out. She even speaks well of the Catholics (and anti-Catholic sentiment was commonplace in England) as dignified and traditional worshipers.

Still, I think you can also see the insecurity of young America in the stiff way the locals treat Trollope and her family - she's giving things away to the "peasantry" (I am not kidding; she actually calls them that) - clothes, food, etc., and she's perplexed and annoyed at the way no one will thank her. Instead they gruffly say that they suppose they'll need to work for it, and she can call them when she needs them. Harrumph. She's trying to be lady bountiful - or at least neighbourly - but it's taken entirely the wrong way by the independent farmers, who seem to be looking for insult.

I'm not American, but I really can't cope with more of this. Maybe some time when I'm feeling a little less irritable I'll give it another go.

I don't necessarily excuse her, but the Trollopes were in dire financial straits when Frances wrote that, and she appealed to as many prejudices as possible in order to make as much money as possible.

That's interesting context! I'm curious - do we have her on record admitting that? Feeling insecure in her social place would also naturally have made her more anxious to set herself apart.

I can't offhand remember my sources for that, but it seems to be a consensus view. The family was in a real mess at the time - Frances was bringing in the money that her husband couldn't (and earning a lot of resentment for succeeding where he failed), so there were all sorts of stresses in action.

For what it's worth, Mark Twain is on the record as finding the book an accurate (albeit one-sided) sketch of America at the time. He found it amusing. :)

Eta: Heh!

A Victorian scholar has this to say:

Mrs. Trollope's subsequent scheme promised to be a fiscally sound way to vent her wrath on America. She had heard of Captain Basil Hall's Travels in North America, an anti-American travelogue that generated immense ill will and marvelous sales. The book was so hostile that it was said that the British government had commissioned Hall to write it in order to stop the growing admiration of the British people for the American way of life. The financially foundering Mrs. Trollope decided to take advantage of the copious personal notes she had amassed during her journey, and try her hand at invective. (She had never written a book before.) She thus produced the Domestic Manners of the Americans. The book's effect was such that "No English name has been held in greater execration among Americans than that of Fanny Trollope".

She had been sold on America as "the land of opportunity" and thought she could repair her family's money situation there but for one reason or another everything she tried ended up losing money. So she came home disappointed and broke. :)

Ha! Yes, I'd seen the Twain quotation in the Wikipedia article. It behooved him to be open-minded about provincial-minded travel books, since he wrote The Innocents Abroad. Well, the desperate financial situation does mitigate my opinion of poor Mrs. Trollope, though it is still an infuriating book.

#105



Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielsen

Ignore the twee title; beneath the celebrity-culture title there beats the heart of a great YA book. It's a pity that the weakest thread of the book is advertised on the cover.

I really liked Olive, our tough, hurt heroine. As someone whose parents split around that age, she spoke to my condition. I thought it was a great read, and I could definitely see myself using it in the classroom.

#55: Domestic Manners of the Americans sounds interesting. I think I'll have a look (particularly as it is free for the Kindle). I am not American, or British for that matter, but I do live in the UK, and there is a still a certain looking askance at the US by a lot of people here. In fact, the media often prints things about Americans that they wouldn't dare print about races or religions. How they enjoyed Mitt Romney's visit the other week, for example, in which he managed to offend just about everyone in his interviews. But in among the mocking was a general lack of surprise - it seemed to be expected that he would behave like that.

#60: Am I alone in thinking that someone the right age for George Clooney could not *possibly* have a teenage daughter?!!! I think time is passing faster than I want to admit.

Apparently Clooney is 51 or so. Time is passing!

What did Romney say in the UK? I heard about the "Palestinian culture" thing, but didn't realize it was part of a general trend.

Let's see, he criticised London's readiness for the Olympics, which of course most Britons had also been doing, but the rules are different for visitors. Then he said something about understanding Anglo-Saxon culture which implied that the current President was disadvantaged in that respect. Then one of his aides said something at a press conference which ended with "kiss my a**". Not a great success for Mr Romney. I think any other politician would also have been criticised for the same comments, but the reasoning wouldn't have been "well, he's American, of course", which a lot of our media do tend to think explains things.

Niiiiice. Thanks for the update.

#106



The Shepherd's Granddaughter by Anne Laurel Carter

I seem to be on a YA run, and I'm actually getting through some of the books people have lent me. Who knows, maybe I'll even read A Complicated Kindness one of these days?

I read this book mostly during a dreary insomniac episode, but I hope that didn't colour my reaction too much. It tells the story of a Palestinian girl who grows up in the countryside with her family, who raise sheep and grow olives and grapes. From a very young age all she wants to do is herd sheep on the same mountain as her grandfather and great-great grandfather. The first half of the book is mostly about her and her family as she learns shepherding and works to gain her family's permission; the second half brings the Arab/Israeli conflict to the fore, as land is taken for Israeli "settlers," and our heroine's life is in jeopardy of changing utterly.

While no representation of this conflict can please everyone, I think Carter paints a nuanced and sensitive representation that is still very much on the Palestinian side. All her characters are three-dimensional, and we can empathize a little with her brother's desire to resort to violence to defend their home, even while we feel for the wretchedly sympathetic son of an Israeli settler, caught between his father and his own American viewpoint.

Carter doesn't try to delineate the Israeli side of the issues, and there's little philosophizing about the Palestinians, either. She tells the story of one family, faced with fear and violence as they try to live their lives as they have always done. The Shepherd's Granddaughter succeeds very well as a novel and a textured picture of Palestinian rural life.

#65: Adding that one to the BlackHole. It sounds very good. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Cynara!

It's been sitting in my own personal version of the BH for what must be more than a year now, and I feel a little silly about avoiding it, now that I've read it. It's not cheery, exactly, but it was very interesting and involving. Thanks for dropping by!

Aie. The very funny and talented David Rakoff has died of cancer. He left too little work behind, but Fraud: Essays and Don't Get Too Comfortable were hilarious; Half Empty was also funny, but touched by his knowledge of his serious cancer. I saw him read once, and it was wonderful. Thank you for your books, Mr. Rakoff.



David Rakoff, 47, Comic Essayist, Dies, New York Times

#68: I have not read anything by David Rakoff, but I am sorry to hear about his early death.

I first heard David Rakoff on the public radio show "This American Life" before I ever read any of his writing. He had a unique, sardonic voice that I really enjoyed. I was very sorry to hear of his death.

It is a damn shame. I never heard his "This American Life" spots, but I heard that Sedaris championed him there.

#107: Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen



Quite marvellous - better than Dear George Clooney, but similar in some ways. In Word Nerd, our young protagonist breaks out of the isolation imposed by his mom's overprotectiveness and finds a mentor and a life. Funny, occasionally wrenching, charming.

#108


The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers

I hardly know where to start or how to review this one. I liked the relentless imagination and atmospheric writing, but as character piles upon storyline piles upon setting, one starts to feel that Powers has overegged the pudding. Without giving too much away, our main character Brendan Doyle is an professor of Romantic period poetry who is enlisted by an eccentric millionaire to deliver a lecture on Coleridge under extremely unusual circumstances. Doyle must make his own way in an early 19th century London as he is pursued by gypsies, beggar's guilds, a werewolf, and sorcerers of ancient Egyptian magic.

Powers takes his story seriously (perhaps too seriously) and does the thing thoroughly - but about two-thirds of the way through, when I hoped the threads of the plot would start to come together, Powers was still introducing new elements. I mean, I haven't even mentioned the Dr. Moreau monsters or the vengeful cross-dressing woman or Lord Byron or the hero's time masquerading as a deaf cobbler or the elemental magic... sigh. I also found that Doyle not only lacked charisma but was also decidedly unlikable at times.

>72 Cynara: Glad you liked that one. I was quite fond of it when I read it last year.

#109:



A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Towes has been languishing in unsolicited book purgatory since my dad handed it to me a year (?) ago. I'm sorry I took so long to pick it up. I was absorbed by it - by the protagonist trying to make sense of her family's dissolution and her rebellion against her conservative Mennonite town. I could happily have heard less of her boyfriend, but it was an engrossing and atmospheric read, and the suspense was handled wonderfully.

#110:



The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

I came across this book on LT a year ago or more, and it's languished in my library list since. I feel like a fool for leaving it so long. This is an involving, emotional book with the irresistable page-turning of a great mystery but the soul and mind of a work of literature. I'm calling it "literary SF" to the friends and family members I'm pressing it upon.

For those of you who haven't read it: a Jesuit-funded expedition to contact a newly discovered alien race has failed. Its single shattered member has returned to the Jesuits to heal; they want to help him, and to learn the story of the expedition. We follow, alternately, his story and the story of the people who went on the mission.

I'm almost concerned about reading the next book - how can it do this better, or equal the first one?

Wow, that's a powerful statement, Cynara! I've only read Doc by Mary Doria Russell, but this one sounds quite different. I'm always amazed by authors who can write so widely.

Lots of good reading (and good reviews) to be found here!

Thanks, Roni! Sometimes they just *bleh* out of my brain, and sometimes I shape them a bit. I'll go through this lot & turn some of them into review-field reviews eventually.

So, #111



Adulthood Rites by Octavia Butler

I started this sequel to Dawn (post no. 29 above) with some trepidation. Lilith's son, growing up between two peoples, etc. etc.? It sounded kinda lame. While it didn't fall into the teen-angst mediocrity I feared, it naturally lacks the wonderful strangeness of the first book - the worldbuilding was fascinating, but now that we know how things work, the book now has to be driven by the story and the characters.

Butler succeeds quite well here. In fact, I think the story, while not exactly tightly structured, is better than the first book because it doesn't get mired in all the awkward human stuff. While the essential flaws of humanity are still very much on display, they drive the middle of the book, and we get something intriguing (and a set-up for the next book) in the third act.

While I'm not on fire, as I was halfway through Dawn, I am looking forward to the final book of the trilogy.

#76: I loved The Sparrow! I am so glad to see the book has found another fan.

I really have got to get some Octavia Butler read one of these days. Thanks for the reminder!

I think I put her on my list because of Among Others. I'd like to reread that some day after I've read more of the books she mentions!

Just *delurking* to say hello. There are some marvelous reviews up there and I wanted to say that, with the Ilona Andrew books I neither can decide which of the two series I like best. Both of the series have their pro's and con's.

I have put the Octavia Butler books on my wishlist. I have read already a few other ones of her which I quite enjoyed.

I see you read Among Others - I have finished that one a few days ago and thought that it was a brilliant book. :)

And now that I check, I see that Butler isn't in Among Others at all. Oh well.

Drachen, thanks for following my thread! I'm glad we're enjoying so many of the same books. I've dropped a star at your thread, and I look forward to catching up. Among Others was bloody brilliant, wasn't it? I'm getting an itch to read it again, but I think I need to read some LeGuin first, and a bunch of other authors.

*Smile* no, Butler was not in Among Others, but never mind she is still quite an interesting author.

Yes, Among Others was brilliant and I will definately read it again at one point. I will do some Le Guin as well - very long time ago that I read some - my first one will be The left Hand of Darkness for the Coursera cours on literature I am presently doing. :)

Did you see that Among Others won the Hugo Sunday?

Oh, I have to check that out as well. Thank's for the tip ronincats.

That's wonderful! It's well-deserved, too. I wish I could press that book on more people, but most people would need to read a few dozen books before they enjoyed it they way I did.

I noticed that you have a Georgette Heyer book up there...Does she have sex in her books? (Just trying to get an idea of what kind of romance they are...)

Nope, no sex at all. Heyer is a frequent favourite of those who don't want sex in their romance. It's a trifle more heated than Jane Austen, but Charlotte Bronte wouldn't have turned a hair.

And don't assume that if you like/don't like the Austen/Bronte books, that you will feel the same about Heyer. I can't stand either Austen or Bronte, and cannot work out what all the fuss is about, and yet I thoroughly enjoy Georgette Heyer, especially when I don't want to have to concentrate.

I own Among Others, but have not gotten a chance to read it yet. I was hoping to get to it on my school break, but it has not happened. Oh well, maybe soon!

>90 lunacat: I love both, but I agree that Heyer has a very different feel.

>91 alcottacre: I hope you love it when you get there!

I have never read anything by Heyer - but then again - I do enjoy my run's of paranormal romances.

I like both Austen and the Brontes, though I prefer Austen because there's some humor in her books.

Yeeeah, I suppose that Jane Eyre isn't a laugh-fest, love it as I do.

#112:



Bleach Vol. 2: Goodbye Parakeet, Goodnight My Sister by Tite Kubo, et al

I'm still on the fence about this series. It's intriguing, and I like some of the art, but I'm not enthralled, or even particularly interested. I suspect it might get good as the plot develops, but progress is slow.

I don't normally celebrate my Thingaversary, but I like the idea of it; I've bought myself the (traditional) one book per year plus one, and here's what I'm getting:

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison - I must have given three copies of this book as gifts, but we don't own one!
Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance - to fill in a hole in the series, and so my husband can give them a try if he likes.
Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton - which I wasn't able to read through the library first, as is my current habit, but I'm willing to take a chance on.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 3: Century #2 1969 by Alan Moore - okay, Moore, I'm going to follow you to the bitter end on this one.
Among Others by Jo Walton - to celebrate its Hugo win, and so I can reread it myself and foist it on all the fantasy/SF fans I know.
Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round by Marisa McClellan - because my Christmas canning is coming up, and this book was simple, had gorgeous illustrations, and great foodie recipes.

Interesting haul you have got up there
- and you say they canning one is good? It says there "Preserving in small batches" How small are the batches.
I have not done any preserving for almost two years due to lack of time, but planning to do some this year again. What do you preserve?
I usually do different type of chutney's and jam's during summer.

I suppose it is a bit of a rogue's gallery.

I got Food in Jars out of the library and really liked it! It's got everything from "Carrot and Daikon Radish Coins" to "Cake in a Jar" to "Bing Cherries in Red Wine Syrup" to your more traditional jams, jellies, and relishes.

I got into preserving a few years ago. The first year I was up to my elbows in slippery blanched peaches and sticky floors, trying desperately to keep ahead of the shelf life of soft fruit. I had some successes (apricot jam!) and some failures (every strawberry jam I've tried, ever).

Then I got into wine jellies, and I've done a ton of those. Close family members get the stacked set of three 125-ml. jars at Christmas - port, rosé, and gewurtz/riesling jelly. They are like falling off a *log* they are so easy, and they're very impressive sounding. I also do seville orange marmalade, which is *not* like falling off a log, but is tasty and dependable and feels like an achievement. Really, you can do wine jellies in a couple of hours on a weeknight.

I don't generally like pickled vegetables, but I'd like to increase my range somehow, maybe into more dessert things (sauces? lemon curd?) and onion confit, etc.

When she says "small batches," she's mostly thinking of people like me, I think, who process everything in stock pots on the stove. You can see her introduction, canning instructions, and index on Amazon.

That may have been a bit too much detail. :-)

I check both books out. That sounds really fabulous. Especially the "wine jellies" - I love giving home made presents - and most of my family and friends started to look out for them *grin*.
In general - if I can - I just like messing around. Whether it's cooking, preserving, cream or soapmaking. If I do have the time (which has been a problem for some time now) that's what I do.

Although, no one, ever, never wants my cookies - if you get one of my famous cookies make sure you got a dentis appointment beforehand. :)

This is the recipe I use for liquid pectin (though the lemon juice is optional, in my opinion): http://agoodappetite.blogspot.ca/2009/06/port-wine-jelly.html - and this one if I can only get crystal pectin for some reason: http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/recipe_page/51.php?pid=154

Honestly. Sterilize jars. Boil wine with sugar, lemon juice for a minute. Add pectin, stir. Pour into jars, process. Fall off log.

(edited for URL accuracy)

I haven't tried soapmaking, but I'd love to! How do you make it?

#102

So that is the whole recipe for the wine jellies? What would you advise them to be eaten with? I'm after cheap, easy recipes that sound good for Christmas presents! Do you have any others?

I'm after cheap, easy recipes that sound good for Christmas presents!

In my humble opinion, wine jellies are perfect for that. That is the whole recipe, with the quantities listed in the links I sent.

I like the crystallized pectin recipe because it uses the whole bottle, not just 500 mls. with a cup left over. I usually get a decent port, so that's about $15, but the Gewurtz/Riesling (and either wine or a mixed wine will do) can be a respectable $10 bottle. From that and the sugar, you get about six 250 ml. (one-cup) jars per bottle, or almost twelve of the half-cup jars - so, it's very impressive & classy, and quite inexpensive. I think I priced it all out once, and between the jars & the sugar, the white & rosé came out to something like $1.33 per 125-ml (1/2 cup) jar, and that amount would go for about $6.00 commercially. I give them away at the office, if I'm feeling generous.

There are a few main things I do with the wine jelly - first, eat it with meat. It's lovely with pork or chicken. Second, it's wonderful with cheese. I put the jar out with a little spoon in it when I serve cheese & crackers or baguette, and people can dab a little jewel of it on their brie or cheddar or goat cheese or whatever. Third, it's lovely used like jam. On hot fresh bread with butter... on toast... on scones.... Don't tell anyone, but I even eat it with peanut butter. It's wonderful.

I steal ideas from companies like this: http://www.barclayswinejelly.com/.

Wow the recipes look really cool. Although, I have never seen liquid pectin. I need to check that out.

soapmaking is lots of fun - for hard soap bars, there are two different methods to do it. Cold process or hot process - I do both - and then you have melt and pour for glycerin soaps (which I don't like) You will need a little bit of equipment for it - which you can get very cheap - and a good book or class to start off with. There are quite a few safety requirements you have to addhere to, as you work with caustic lye to make soap. If you should try out to make soaps they always say to use cold liquid before adding the lye - I ALWAYS use frozen liquid, because the lye heats the liquid to extrem high temperatures.

There are quite a few very good books out there, which are very informative.
The Handmade Soap Book by Melinda Coss for example.
The Soapmaker's Companion Susan Miller Cavitch.

And some sites are pretty good as well. Such as:

teachsoap
soapmakingforum which is great to discuss all kind of things
cranberrylane quite interesting as well.

And mine end up looking a bit like this, but more awesome:

Cool! Thanks for the book recommendations and links; I'm going to check those out.

Oddly, I've heard about the melt-and-pour glycerine thing, and frankly... well, while I have no beef with anyone who enjoys it, it didn't look like "enough work" to me. I suppose I want it to be more like marmalade - remarkably labour-intensive, and taking most a of a day.

Fantastic, thank you. Once I've converted recipes from cups to ml, I'll give it a go (I'm in the UK). They look lovely. I'm intrigued by some of the jellies from barclays as well.

Again Wow - that ARE your jellies? I have to try that as well, and I will have some lovely Christmas presis. I forgot to ask what is the shelf life on these jellies? The same as with the jam 6-12 month?
And I had to convert into ml's as well.

Yes, Cold processed soap is quite labour intensive, but makes lots of fun. You only have to be patient when the soap matures (a minimum of 4 weeks) - you know the same as if you wait for a good wine or cheese *grin*

Ah! 1 cup = 237 ml. Almost, but not quite, a quarter of a litre. I'm Canadian, so I speak both.

The shelf life is at least that. With the marmalade, I've actually been told to let it mellow for a year....

Those aren't my jellies. Mine are even better. :-) Well, mine have my hand-drawn "Surprised Octopus" labels, which are actually much more labourious than the jellies themselves.

I definately will try them out and will let you know how they turned out - and let you know how they were received.

"Surprised Octopus" labels?

#113



Bridge of Birds: An Novel of Ancient China that Never Was by Barry Hughart

I don't think I'm going to be able to finish this review without using review-words like "picaresque" and "rollicking," so I'm going to use them here, up front. This book is somehwere between fantasy and detective fiction - Sherlock Holmes by way of Chinese myth, with some Munchausian glee.

Despite my qualms (a fantasy-China written by a guy from Illinois?) it proved to be more fun than it has any right to be, and Master Li and Number Ten Ox connived their way in to my heart. I'm on to the next book, and I'm enjoying it just as much. What a shame Hughart only wrote three of them!

#114



Imago by Octavia Butler

Well, if you liked the first two, you'll probably like this one, too. I was expecting book three to continue the story of book two (for no reason except that it seemed so dramatic an ending, how could Butler resist telling us what happened next?), and instead it's in some ways very similar to book two. I think she could have taken it further.

Huzzah, another Bridge of Birds convert!!

Bridge of Birds looks like fun. Will check that one out.

#115



The Magnificent Rogue by Iris Johansen

Eeeeeh.... Well, 'magnificent' might be overstating it. The plot is fun, and I like our heroine quite a bit (strong-willed without being an idiot, flawed without being neurotic), but our hero is just kinda 'there'. The most memorable aspects of his personality are his strong sense of responsibility to his tenants and clan and the way he gets a hard-on every time our heroine walks into the room. He is insufficiently roguish.

#116:



The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart

Outrageous coincidences, ancient labyrinths, beautiful girls, and great characters - The Story of the Stone will be familiar to fans of A Bridge of Birds, but no less enjoyable for all that. On to the next one, for sure!

Whew. I'd lost track of how many books I'd finished. I'm further behind than I'd thought!

#117



The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

1/3 murder mystery (yay! Gripping! Or would have been, if I hadn't seen the movie.)
1/3 exploration of medieval thought and life (good stuff! Mostly.)
1/3 minute recital of heresies of the 14th century (oh good god when will this bit be over).

I've never read The Name of the Rose, but now I really want to, thanks to your succinct summary, Cynara!

Woohoo, The Name of the Rose sounds like my kind of book! I really need to read that one. Thanks for the reminder, Cynara.

I loved The Name of the Rose, I think it is such a beautiful written book. Glad you enjoyed it.

I got about 100 pages into The Name of the Rose and just couldn't go on. It was too dense for me.

Yeeeeah. I mean, I think I would have enjoyed it more if a) I hadn't known whodunit, and b) I hadn't seen the movie version with its more pared-down storyline. I'd heard that it's Eco's accessible genre-fiction book, but that should have come with a big you know, accessible for Umberto Eco.

Minute recitals of heresies was exactly the reason I couldn't even properly start it. However, the other two thirds make me want to try again, and skim read the rest!

Oh, dude, that's almost exactly what I did, once I was halfway through and feeling like I would throw the book at the god-damned wall if it mentioned the poverty of Christ one more time.

It's so strange for me to write that, because normally it's exactly the kind of historical/Christian/philosophical/political information that would fascinate me. I just didn't feel that Eco did a good job of animating that part of it; it felt like his index cards were showing (like Caleb Carr and The Alienist.) I'd rather read a good popular history about that aspect.

However, he does get big points for introducing me to the word heresiarch which is so entirely my Word of the Month. I'm going to start using it with my husband. "There's nothing wrong with these pants."
"Heresiarch!"

Hi Cynara, just passing by to say hello. *wave* .

Agreed "Heresiarch" is indeed a very interesting word *laugh*.

Oh, I am so adding Heresiarch to my list of words-I-must-use-on-my-brother. Thank you, Cynara! :D

The Name of the Rose was the first book I read for my first English class in undergrad so it has some sentiments attached to it. Glad you 2/3 liked it. :)

Hi, Cynara. Saw you on another thread, and thought I'd drop by. Do you know, I just bought Bridge of Birds, as a combined birthday / Thingaversary present to myself. It was sitting on the wrong shelf, by itself. Sadly, that was the only one in the shop, so I couldn't get the other two. And nope, not a convert - I read it years ago, and having been periodically reminded of it on LT, grabbed it as soon as I saw it, without a second thought (apart from "Can I get the others?")

Love your jellies / jams - but would love to see pictures of your own. They do sound awesome. I could eat some right now with paté and crusty bread.

All right. I have been reading ahead of myself, so I'm going to catch up by hook or by crook*.

*I am going to write short reviews and generally skive off.


#118: The Art of the Hobbit by Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull
A lavish (definitive?) reproduction of every last little sketchy thing Tolkein did to illustrate The Hobbit. I would have been just as happy with three versions of each watercolour instead of six (note how he changed where the river bends! etc.), but it was a lovely thing to read and enjoy. Beautifully bound.


#119: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 3 Part 2: Century: 1969 by Alan Moore et al
Not as good as the first two LXG collections (to be fair, not much is), but a sight better than Black Dossier or the previous "century" collection. Moore is a bit plotty, and doesn't let us terribly close to his characters, but it's closer than we've been in a while, so I'll take it. The lyrics at the end map onto "Sympathy for the Devil," if you're interested.


#120: Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton
Very interesting, particularly for people who enjoyed Next Generation. Half bio, half history of his feelings about the franchise. Very funny in parts, though needy, too. He wants to be loved.

#121: Look me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison
Still the best Asperger's memoir I've read. His columns and blogs are interesting, too, and often provocative.


#122: Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
Not a terribly loveable little book, but an intriguing and sharply observed one.

#123: The Briar King, #125 & 126: Charnel Prince and Blood Knight, and #128: The Born Queen by Greg Keyes

This is a twisty, inventive little epic fantasy series; one starts with certain assumptions about plot and good vs. evil, and very few of them survive intact to the final book. Keyes is also remarkably adept at both characterization and monster-fighting scenes (I mean he can *really* write a monster-fighting scene). This series also yielded several "oh my gosh" moments, where you simply can't believe what just happened, but it changes everything.

It isn't flawless - he adopts a Martinish narrative technique where we follow threads of the plot from the POV of selected characters, and as much as I enjoy both series, one can't help but have favourites; his female characters are, in retrospect, pretty dull, and he could have cut some of the masculine fretting about duty and I wouldn't have missed it.

Still, I strongly recommend this series for its blend of moral complexity, lightfooted plotting, inventive worldbuilding, and exciting, suspenseful monster fights.

I rather liked Just a Geek, too. I read his blog and follow him on Facebook. Still seems like a decent guy.

Yeah, very much so! He seems like a lovely man.

Too much to catch up on, but I'm entranced by the wine jellies, generally love The Name of the Rose, and lack a book of finishing the Greg Keyes series. I ought to get back to them because I liked them too.

Speaking of jellies - I've done a batch of riesling-peppercorn and a batch of port wine jelly, and I've also pickled some red onion slices: my first pickles!

Wow - soo many books. The fantasy batch sounds pretty interesting. BTW. I am off to Germany again on Saturday and will give it a go at your jelly receipes. Will let you know how they turned out :) Wish you a great week.

Riesling-peppercorn jelly and pickled onion slices? Intriguing.

ETA: you might want to pop in to scaifea's thread, then :)

O lord I just finished Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux, and I do not even.

I mean ****, really?

What is this thing? Is there a single interaction in it that feels real? Will she please stop blaming all her problems on him? Will he stop menacing her without really meaning to, so, y'know, it's her fault when she gets freaked out? But what about the (SPOILERS) ending where he decides all her *many* emotional problems should be fixed by a vastly expensive restaging of the gangland massacre her grandmother witnessed because therapists, y'know, are for girls and won't really help.

And of course we have the twin thing, where she can *tell* which is which, and of course that means it's *love* and this isn't even the annoying bit (and they intentionally set up his brother to grope her to test her WHAT?), the annoying thing is THEM, our main characters. I mean, has anyone in the history of time actually thought like this guy? And then she pouts and demands her rights to manipulate him and winks at his brother over his back and god I hate them both.

Sorry you didn't like it. It's one of my favorite romances. :(

Blargh! Sorry, Morphy. I'm sure that must be why I picked it up. It sucks when someone doesn't enjoy one of your favourites.

It's okay. Plenty of times I haven't liked other people's favorites! Sometimes it's just a matter of timing, other times it just doesn't push the right buttons.

I know, but I always feel a bit lousy when someone slags Jane Eyre or The Lord of the Rings - it's worse when it's romance, because it gets so little respect in the first place. You've steered me towards some books I really liked, too! And just because Mike and Sam drove me crazy, it doesn't mean I don't like you. :-)

>141 Cynara:: So, um ... you weren't keen?

I'm excited! Warren Ellis' Gun Machine is on Early Reviewer; I hope I get it!

it's worse when it's romance, because it gets so little respect in the first place.

Oh, bingo!

I hated a romance recently and now I feel I have to find one I like so that I can write a nice review and say, "See? See? I don't hate romances!" I sure don't do that for any other genre.

:-) Your support is appreciated. Most romances are 'another man's poison.' There are some that are widely acclaimed (Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase is one, Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas is widely loved) and that's often a guide to decent writing, but preferences in plot, personality, etc. are highly individual.

Yes - I hit on one of the "she wants to be dominated" breed, which is certainly my least favourite kind. :(

Groan. How "oldskool," as the ladies over at Smart Bitches say.

Oh good. I liked Lord of Scoundrels. So it's just that one book. Whew.

Yes, it is! And you suggested a bunch of Kleypas novels I liked, too.

LOL - Very much enjoyed your review of Sweet Liar definately not for me. I do love my romances, but I very much prefer them really cheesy in form of shapeshifters, vampires and co.

Wish you a lovely weekend *wave*

#124:



Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King

Things are looking up for this series after the somewhat lackluster Pirate King. King takes her characters out of Europe again - and I must say, that many of my favourite books from this series include Ali and Mahmoud in one form or another.

King manages to keep the history lectures from taking over the entire book (though I shamelessly skip down the page whenever Russell starts to recount political proceedings for a few paragraphs at a time), and strikes a good balance between Mary on her own and together with Holmes, and there's some nice interaction between them.

#127



Cast in Peril by Michelle Sagara

From humble beginnings in the first book, Sagara has created a rich and involving series! I do wish she'd tighten up the parameters of her heroine's gifts a bit more - it seems like she's a "chosen one" all over the place - but the relationships and worldbuilding are increasingly textured and delightful.

Hi Cynara,
it was a long time very quiet over here :)
I have read the first book in the series by Michelle Sagara a few years back, but it didn't leave that much of an impression with me :)

Wish you a lovely weekend!

#129



The Western Lit Survival Kit by Sandra Newman

Cheeky, well-researched, and passionate; the only humour book that has ever made me want to read Rabelais. In fact, there are enough insightful passages and intriguing accounts that I might actually need to own this so I can read her recommendations and come back to it. It's also immensely quotable; beware if your spouse or roommate doesn't enjoy hearing the hilarious thing you just read.

#130



Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux

De gustibus non est disputandum.

>159 Cynara: Heh. :D

> 159 LOL Agree with Morphy!

Hi, Drachen;
Yes, my brain wasn't in LT for a while. Also, it took me forever to read #132, and I've been reading New Yorkers for a bit now, between books. I'm glad to be back!

>160 Morphidae: and 161
I figured I'd said enough already.

#131



Iced by Karen Marie Moning

NB: this is going to be totally incomprehensible to people who haven't read Moning's Fever series. Apologies, but this is the account I feel like writing.

My first impression was the online excerpt, which gave me the first twenty-seven pages. It covered three of the more annoying aspects of the Fever series: sidhe-seer politics, Ryodan, and Dani herself. Don't get me wrong, I liked Dani and Ryodan well enough in the Fever books, but I never really wanted to read a series about them. However, I remember my reservations about the first Fever book well enough to give Iced the old college try.

It's got a strong story, with a good mystery angle. Moning is obviously delaying some of the 'good stuff' until later in this series (trilogy?). The dynamic between Ryodan and Dani isn't as interesting as I'd hoped, and though Dani is further developed as a character, I can't really get very excited about him. Christian's development is heartbreaking, and I'm oddly disappointed to hear how much he hates Mac, who was, after all, trying to save his life.

In the end? It could go somewhere. I doubt I'll enjoy this series as much as the first one - but then, I didn't expect to get into the Fever series as much as I did. I have faith in her ability to pull a series together, and not much in her ability to grab me in the first book.

I just read the second Fever book and have to ask, does it get any better? Where is the plot? Do any non-jerk characters appear?

I am wondering as well, I started a couple of years ago the first one and abandoned it, because I thought it was so boring and stilted.

Wish you a lovely weekend Cynara!

Me, I loved it, but it certainly did take a while to get going. Mac's I'm-a-pretty-princess thing is very annoying, but gets utterly shredded eventually.

I fell behind on your thread, Cynara, but it looks like you've been reading pretty steadily. :)

Yeah - even where it looks like a gap, it's just that The Age of Wonder took so long, and then I got through most of my New Yorker backlog, which I don't track here.

Oh I love The New Yorker but it's definitely a whack of reading all on its own. Which is probably why I don't pick it up very often.

I loved the Fever series as well, and I though Iced was pretty good! Mostly, I love how Moning isn't afraid to risk EVERYTHING. The world is a terrifying place, and she's willing to let just about anything happen to her characters... that said, I also love how her monsters are truly monsters. I trust she'll pull Dani's trilogy together in an amazing way -- that cliffhanger! -- so I'm looking forward to the next installment. I doubt it'll be as captivating as I found the Fever series, but I'm *thrilled* to return to her version of Dublin again!

Me, too!

#132:



The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes

As told
through the medium of biography
In which
some of them are pretty cool (Caroline Herschel rocks)
and
some drag on longer than a giraffe's necktie.

Modestly readable, somewhat enlightening, and not painful.

#133:



The Children of God by Mary Doria Russel

Not quite as compulsive and ominous - nor as joyful and funny - as The Sparrow, this book is still a wonderful, immersive read.

#134



Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

I picked this up after an LT recommendation. It was very enjoyable - in many ways it's like Billy Bryson's travel book, The Lost Content, only Steinbeck's book is far less crabby and snarky, though it does have its moments of snark and its moments of hands-in-the-air incomprehension. As a newcomer to Steinbeck, I was surprised at how... manly it all was. Steinbeck is never happier than when he's doing something manly in the company of men, preferably while impressing us with his manliness (though he is an author). In any case, it's a fascinating window into pre-'60s America and a good read.

#135



Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin by Calvin Trillin

Sadly, this one was titled too accurately. I don't understand why I didn't enjoy it more - I love reading him in the New Yorker, and I've really enjoyed two longer books - Alice, Let's Eat and About Alice. Somehow, this collection seemed overlong, and too many of the pieces seemed vanishingly, annoyingly slight.

Isn't that funny, Cynara? I felt exactly the same wait about Quite Enough, and I also have loved many of his longer works. Family Man is just a lovely book that made me wish he was my dad.

I'm glad it wasn't just me! I was wondering if I was just in a really crabby mood and couldn't enter into the spirit of the thing.

DNF: Musicophilia



Another miss; my mother passed this one along to me with the caveat that it wasn't as good as his other books (so why pass it along?), and again, that it wasn't as fun as his New Yorker pieces.

Mostly, as charming as his writing style is, I found the case studies repetitive, and I didn't enjoy thinking about my earworms so much - the songs that get into your head and won't go away, harassing your brain until you'd give anything to get rid of them. I got a few chapters in and then decided it wasn't any fun.

#136:



The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The good thing about rereading this series is that now I know which parts to skip (I'm looking at you, 90-page section about the details of a lawsuit which never becomes relevant).

#137:



Cold Days by Jim Butcher

This came out two weeks ago, and I can't believe I didn't know. In fact, if I had known I probably wouldn't have read it yet, because I would have gotten onto the library website and made sure I was among the first few dozen to get a copy. As it is, I couldn't bear to wait until it was my turn, so I went out and bought it, even though it won't fit with my paperbacks.

It's strong, vintage Harry, with a bit of that new bitterness still lingering from Changes and Ghost Story. Things have changed, compadre, and they haven't stopped changing yet. Still, there are some very funny scenes here, and some good solid warm stuff, too.

Also, modern mythology may need to be substantially rewritten in light of certain new pieces of information about major figures of the Winter Court.

I'm in the mood to review, but The Girl who Played With Fire is taking a while - it's not just that it's long, but that it's too bulky to fit in my purse. Mayhew's The London Underworld is just barely pursable, but there's only so much I can read at once. Add in my feverish work on a pair of thrummed mitts for Christmas, and I don't have anything to write about....

That's ok. We could talk about cheese...

Mmmm, I love cheese...

I'm eating some parmesan right now. That is a good cheese.

I'm looking forward to camembert myself. Bought some for nibbles on Christmas day. :)

If I were a poet, I would write you a Christmas sonnet. But then again, if I were a poet you wouldn't be painstakingly tutoring me through Shakespeare's sonnets! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday.

Hi Cynara, some great reading over the past few weeks. I have The Sparrow on my wishlist for next year and I also thought I might going to give it a go with the Jim Butcher books.

Just wanting to wish you a wonderful and magical Christmas with your family and of course an exciting New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Now I just have to tuck myself into bed to sleep off all that food. Tomorrow will be spent on my computer, initializing my new Kobo ereader and electronically borrowing lots of books from the library which I can't get in hard copy!

Cynara, I got a Kobo Touch last Christmas and I love it. And yes, the library books are by far the best part for me, since I buy so few books.

Hope you're having fun with your new toy. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR CYNARA!

Thank you!

Here's to a great new year ahead, Cynara!

Happy New Year, Cynara! Thanks for being my boon companion through Will's sonnets this year!

Thanks, Roni! And thanks, Rosa - I like "boon companion".

All right. End-of-year out-of-order finale:

As I mentioned above, I got an ereader for Christmas. The first thing I did was run online to my library, which has ecopies of romances that they no longer have in hard copy. Since my romance reading is 98% recommended by the ladies at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, I was thrilled to find that my library actually has bundles of romances grouped by the SBTB podcasts. This one was a 'category' theme.

If you don't know (as I didn't, before I started reading the blog), "category" romances are the ones you're used to laughing at in drugstores. They come out like magazines, they have titles like The Masterful Arab CEO's Bought Mistress' Secret Baby, and they belong to "categories" at the publisher, like Harlequin's "Blaze" or "Silhouette" lines which generally have standard amounts of sex and/or particular themes (like a religious or cowboy category). Many of them have contemporary settings, not historical ones.

As you might imagine, categories are the romance novels of the romance novel genre - they're often considered disposable, silly, and poorly written, notwithstanding that many well-respected genre authors (Nora Roberts, for example) started off by writing categories.

Despite some tentative toe-dipping recorded earlier in my thread, I hadn't yet read one I liked until I got this bundle. SBTB contributor Sara used to look down on categories, but challenged herself to, well, you know, actually read some, and she found that, oh gosh, they're just like every other kind of book - many of them are lousy, but some of them are great. And so, she bundled them and I read them.

#138: Sex, Straight Up by Kathleen O'Reilly
#143: Hot Under Pressure by Kathleen O'Reilly

These are rather sweet contemporaries with a minimum of game-playing and good (if not wildly individual) protagonists. The things keeping them apart are realistic and resolved well. I particularly liked how Ashley's sister in Hot Under Pressure was handed by the plot; it was nice to read a complicated sister relationship, not one that's purely idealized or toxic.

#139: Ruthless Awakening by Sara Craven

Oh, dude, this one was a bit crazy. Hero who kidnaps the heroine on his yacht? Check. Heroine who just keeps on taking the rap for random idiots so the hero can be an asshole to her? Check. Surprise defloration? Check. Last-minute revelations about family history? Check. Kind of awesome crazy, but I don't need to read it again.

DNF: The Magnate's Make Believe Mistress by Bronwyn Jameson
DNF: The Tycoon's Rebel Bride by Maya Banks

Nope, it's official. I can't get behind exotically handsome autocratic billionaires from the Mediterranean. The second one might yet be okay, but the heroine is annoying the heck out of me, so I'm calling it now.

#140: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride



Really good! In genre terms, it's a paranormal YA from a male POV, no romance. I'd love it just a notch darker and more complicated (something really awful happens to a character, and it's kinda taken in stride at first), but it's well-written and I really like our unassuming but resilient protagonist.

Just a note: I have no idea whether anyone in the target audience will get the pun in the title. I eventually looked it up, but the good news is that it's an awesome title whether you are acquainted with the back catalogue of Elton John or not. I can't wait to get the next one, Necromancing the Stone.

DNF: London's Underworld by Henry Mayhew

Henry Mayhew, you're fascinating, but I can't read you all at once, and library due dates are a cruel mistress.

#141: King of Fear by Arcudi/Mignola
#142: Abe Sapien Volume 2: The Devil Does not Jest and Other Stories by Arcudi, Mignola, and others

A fairly strong collection of monster-punching stories from the Abe Sapien line show up some deficiencies in the ongoing BPRD plot. I'm really tired of frogs, blasted urban hellscapes, cryptic spirits/hallucinations, and Liz being sulky and losing her powers. You've done it, guys. Now would it kill you to have the gang punch a monster, or follow up on Ben Daimio or something? That was the last time I felt fully invested in the series.

The pun of Hold Me Closer, Necromancer was the first thing I noticed, but then I'm old. I don't think kids would get it, but their parents would!

You did some good reading there at the end. I hate not being able to finish a library book before it has to go back. In fact, I used to rack up the overdue fines because of it. Now, most of my library reads are ebooks and (as you're no doubt learning) there are no fines because when the due date rolls around the book goes bye-bye all by itself!

Only new reads qualify; all awards are chosen by a cat staggering over a Twister mat. Complaints may be sent to my lawyer.
Touchstones are refusing to work for some reason. I beg your patience.

Best mystery:
#100: A Test of Wills by Charles Todd

Best romance:
#32: Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
So good I added it to my permanent collection and started a Kleypas binge trying to recapture the magic.

Best non-fiction:
A crowded year! I couldn't pick. Some of these were hilarious, some seriously interesting and informative.
#40: Kosher Chinese by Michael Levy
#23: Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys
#38: I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad by Karolyn Smardz Frost
#74: Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

Best humour:
#99: My year of flops : the A.V Club presents one man's journey deep into the heart of cinematic failure by Nathan Rabin
#129: The Western Lit Survival Kit by Sandra Newman

Best SF:
#110: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Sorry, Octavia Butler. The Sparrow was above and beyond.

Best YA:
#107: Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen
#140: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Very different books, but both a bit wry and short on nonsense.

Best comeback:
#91: Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik

Bloater award (best book that was ridiculous and too long):
#11: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Enough said.

Worst read:
#8: Holy Terror by Frank Miller
(Ptui.)

Best literary fiction:
#30: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
#95: In The Embrace of the Alligator by Amanda Hale

Best what-is-it? Fantasy?
#113: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

Jim Butcher Award:
Should probably go to Ben Aaronovitch, but I'm giving it to Butcher again because he's still the best. Thank you for not abandoning Harry for that mediocre Codex Alera thing you do.

Love your awards! And that you appreciated Bridge of Birds--I love that story.

>198 Cynara: It's been over a year since I read this one but I enjoyed the pun in the title (and also most of the chapter titles). I hadn't realized the sequel was out. May have to track that one done.

Great year-end reporting.

Happy New Year!

Thanks, guys. I suppose I should get a new thread up!

Edit: and here it is: http://www.librarything.com/topic/147310