Not as many books to report on this week (it helps that it's only been a week in between)
S. J. Kincaid, Insignia. My sister convinced me to buy this for my Kindle (it was only 2.99--still is!) by saying it was a cross between Ender's Game and Percy Jackson. I thought that was a pretty fair assessment of the tone. Needless to say, I really enjoyed this book, even though generally, sci-fi isn't my thing. Especially not military sci-fi.
The story follows Tom Raines, a 14-year-old undersized boy with bad acne, who's missed so much online school (because his father, a compulsive gambler, doesn't stay in one place long) that his teacher has noticed and is threatening to sic social services on him. Then, while fighting a virtual battle in a gaming room, Tom attracts the notice of a military commander.
The thing is, Tom lives in a world where war is perpetually being fought, but it's no longer a war on national lines (although there's a nominal Indo-American alliance), but on company lines. Giant mega-corps use patriotism to help finance their wars, but the wars are fought in space, using machines. There's no loss of life. The face of the war effort is a group of young, elite fighters, who manipulate the war machines in virtual space. The fighters have to be young, because the adult brain (less flexible) rejects the neural processors that allow them to wield machines.
The military commander gives Tom the option to transform his life, to become one of these fighting machines. Despite his father's skepticism, Tom can't resist the potential to become someone important. He agrees, and finds himself training in the Pentagon's spire. There, he becomes obsessed with Medusa, the code name for the enemy's premier fighter. He wants nothing more than to face her and bring her down (he's pretty sure Medusa is a she).
It's hard to summarize the book without revealing too much, but I loved the school-like environment where Tom trains and makes the first friends of his life. I loved the way Tom stands up for himself (at serious cost), and his unexpected connection with Medusa. I can't wait for the rest of the trilogy to come out.
I also read Rachael Anderson, The Reluctant Bachelorette (on Kindle), because it was cheap and when I read the sample it seemed interesting enough, and clean. It also had mostly 4-5 star reviews.The story was decent (and, as I said, a clean romance, which can be hard to find). The premise was a little far-fetched--that a small town is going to make enough money to finance a desperately needed farmer's market by hosting a bachelorette style show online. The main character, Taycee Emerson, gets conned by her best friend into being the said bachelorette. She doesn't really want to do it, but she'll do it for the town. Then, when her former crush, Luke, gets roped in as well, she tries to sabotage the show so that Luke will get kicked off, only to discover that maybe Luke is the one she really wants. I thought the writing was solid, but I got annoyed with Taycee, particularly towards the end, for her self-sabotaging actions.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
Far West
I can't believe I forgot to list what was my favorite book in the last 3 weeks!
Patricia Wrede's Far West, the last of her Frontier Magic Trilogy. "Eff" (short for Francine) is now a young lady, but still fascinated by the workings of the West beyond the Great Barrier (the magical barrier that prevents wild beasts from crossing what we know as the Mississippi River). When word gets out that the government is heading up a mission to map the Far West (where Louis and Clark failed), Eff wants more than anything to be part of the mission . . .
I really love this series, particularly Wrede's clever re-imagining of the U.S. as a part of a magical universe. I know she's taken some flak for not including native Americans in her world, but given that she's reimagined the West as a place incredibly dangerous for *anyone* to live, it kind of makes sense to me. In any case, the rest of her world is so vividly imagined, I can forgive her for this shortcoming.
Patricia Wrede's Far West, the last of her Frontier Magic Trilogy. "Eff" (short for Francine) is now a young lady, but still fascinated by the workings of the West beyond the Great Barrier (the magical barrier that prevents wild beasts from crossing what we know as the Mississippi River). When word gets out that the government is heading up a mission to map the Far West (where Louis and Clark failed), Eff wants more than anything to be part of the mission . . .
I really love this series, particularly Wrede's clever re-imagining of the U.S. as a part of a magical universe. I know she's taken some flak for not including native Americans in her world, but given that she's reimagined the West as a place incredibly dangerous for *anyone* to live, it kind of makes sense to me. In any case, the rest of her world is so vividly imagined, I can forgive her for this shortcoming.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
October reads
This is why I should post more often--so I don't have a month's worth of reading to review!
Here are some of the more noteworthy books from the past 3 weeks:
1. Erin Duffy, Bond Girl. I'd heard about this book, so when it came up as a Kindle deal of the day, I snagged it. It's not my usual genre, but I actually really enjoyed this story about a young woman's life in the highly sexist and competitive world of a Wall Street Bond trader just before the 2008 crash. (I imagine that Duffy, herself a former trader, drew on some of her own life experiences writing this book). It was sharp, funny, and made me very, very grateful that I'm not financially ambitious and will never have to work in that kind of environment.
2. Jean Webster, Daddy Long Legs. This book is free on Kindle, and if you haven't read it--you should! It reminded me of childhood favorites like Anne of the Island and Girl of the Limberlost. Jerusha Abbot is an orphan with a miserable future ahead of her, until one of the orphanage's trustees decides to pay for her college education, on the condition that she write him regular letters about her progress. (But she is not to expect any letters in return). Jerusha--who calls herself "Judy"--agreeably complies, and this book is the collection of her letters. She calls her benefactor "Daddy Long Legs," because when she last saw him at the orphanage, he cast a long, spindly-legged shadow. Judy herself is a delight, and the letters are fascinating for what they reveal about college in the early part of the 20th century.
3. I also read the companion novel, Dear Enemy, where Judy convinces her college roommate, Sallie McBride, to take control of her former orphanage (which Judy's new husband has purchased). Sallie takes on the job, with the understanding that it's just temporary, and this book is comprised of her letters to various friends (including Judy) about her struggles to bring the orphanage in order. While parts of the novel were charming, it' contains some very odd--and old fashioned--ideas about insanity and eugenics that, while presented as forward thinking in the novel, are pretty backward today.
4. Charlaine Harris's Lily Bard series (books 1-3). Lily is a fascinating character--a survivor of a very traumatic gang rape who tries to go about her business as a cleaning lady but is inevitably drawn into some of the mysterious (and murderous) goings-on in town. I'm not sure that I liked all of the murder plots, but I do like Lily, although I don't imagine she'd be a comfortable friend.
5. I also read a couple of Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly mysteries, about a woman (Harper) who can locate dead bodies and determine their cause of death. Not surprisingly, she also winds up involved in some murder mysteries. I'm not sure I will read more of these, although there are several. The last one I read, an Ice Cold Grave, was about a serial killer in a small town--and it was seriously disquieting. I imagine that was intentional, but while I like mystery novels, I'm not up for gruesome ones like this was.
6. Mariana, by Susanna Kearsley (another Kindle deal of the day). I was intrigued of the premise of this story, about a young Englishwoman, Julia Beckett, who finds herself drawn to an old English house as a child, and purchases it as an adult. She discovers herself unexpectedly reliving moments from the life of Mariana, who lived some 500 years earlier, and finds that she is the reincarnation of Mariana. Okay, the reincarnation bit was a bit hokey, but the writing was smooth and convincing and I enjoyed the story--up until the very end, when everything seemed to resolve a bit too quickly.
7. Cinda Williams Chima, the Warrior Heir--the first book Chima sold, an interesting story about a young boy at the center of a centuries old Wizard war. I thought the world Chima created was more interesting than the individual characters, and while I'll read the sequels, I liked her Seven Realms books better.
8. Susan Cain, Quiet. I don't usually read a lot of non-fiction, but I really enjoyed this book, about the power of introverts in a culture (America) that values extroversion over introversion. She made some pretty compelling points (suggesting, among others, that the Wall Street collapse was fueled in part by our valorization of extroverts, who are more likely to act impulsively in such situations). Mostly, as an introvert myself, I liked her careful research into the strengths of introverts.
9. How to Marry an English Lord--also non-fiction, about the wave of American heiresses who married English nobility between 1870-1910. Fascinating stuff, particularly to anyone who's fans of the BBC series Downton Abbey, Edith Wharton, or Henry James. Now I want to go read more Wharton.
10. Miranda Kinneally, Catching Jordan (another Kindle Deal of the Day). This novel follows Jordan Woods, a high school quarterback whose father is an NFL great, who loves football and friends--and who happens to be a girl. All Jordan wants is to play college ball at Alabama, and she's focused on having her best season yet--until new quarterback shows up to play at her school. Not only is he potentially better than she is, but he's the first boy to make her weak at the knees. What I liked about this book was how realistic her friendships were--she wasn't romantically interested in all the boys around her and she had some great friends. I also liked that the romantic angle wasn't totally predictable, and that Jordan had some complicated issues to sort through with her dad (she calls him, sarcastically, the great Donovan Woods) and some of the cheerleaders at her school. What I did not like was some of the language (Jordan swears a lot, which I guess is in character) and the really casual attitude toward sex. I know lots of high school students sleep around--but not all do, and not with the ease and frequency of the characters here.
Here are some of the more noteworthy books from the past 3 weeks:
1. Erin Duffy, Bond Girl. I'd heard about this book, so when it came up as a Kindle deal of the day, I snagged it. It's not my usual genre, but I actually really enjoyed this story about a young woman's life in the highly sexist and competitive world of a Wall Street Bond trader just before the 2008 crash. (I imagine that Duffy, herself a former trader, drew on some of her own life experiences writing this book). It was sharp, funny, and made me very, very grateful that I'm not financially ambitious and will never have to work in that kind of environment.
2. Jean Webster, Daddy Long Legs. This book is free on Kindle, and if you haven't read it--you should! It reminded me of childhood favorites like Anne of the Island and Girl of the Limberlost. Jerusha Abbot is an orphan with a miserable future ahead of her, until one of the orphanage's trustees decides to pay for her college education, on the condition that she write him regular letters about her progress. (But she is not to expect any letters in return). Jerusha--who calls herself "Judy"--agreeably complies, and this book is the collection of her letters. She calls her benefactor "Daddy Long Legs," because when she last saw him at the orphanage, he cast a long, spindly-legged shadow. Judy herself is a delight, and the letters are fascinating for what they reveal about college in the early part of the 20th century.
3. I also read the companion novel, Dear Enemy, where Judy convinces her college roommate, Sallie McBride, to take control of her former orphanage (which Judy's new husband has purchased). Sallie takes on the job, with the understanding that it's just temporary, and this book is comprised of her letters to various friends (including Judy) about her struggles to bring the orphanage in order. While parts of the novel were charming, it' contains some very odd--and old fashioned--ideas about insanity and eugenics that, while presented as forward thinking in the novel, are pretty backward today.
4. Charlaine Harris's Lily Bard series (books 1-3). Lily is a fascinating character--a survivor of a very traumatic gang rape who tries to go about her business as a cleaning lady but is inevitably drawn into some of the mysterious (and murderous) goings-on in town. I'm not sure that I liked all of the murder plots, but I do like Lily, although I don't imagine she'd be a comfortable friend.
5. I also read a couple of Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly mysteries, about a woman (Harper) who can locate dead bodies and determine their cause of death. Not surprisingly, she also winds up involved in some murder mysteries. I'm not sure I will read more of these, although there are several. The last one I read, an Ice Cold Grave, was about a serial killer in a small town--and it was seriously disquieting. I imagine that was intentional, but while I like mystery novels, I'm not up for gruesome ones like this was.
6. Mariana, by Susanna Kearsley (another Kindle deal of the day). I was intrigued of the premise of this story, about a young Englishwoman, Julia Beckett, who finds herself drawn to an old English house as a child, and purchases it as an adult. She discovers herself unexpectedly reliving moments from the life of Mariana, who lived some 500 years earlier, and finds that she is the reincarnation of Mariana. Okay, the reincarnation bit was a bit hokey, but the writing was smooth and convincing and I enjoyed the story--up until the very end, when everything seemed to resolve a bit too quickly.
7. Cinda Williams Chima, the Warrior Heir--the first book Chima sold, an interesting story about a young boy at the center of a centuries old Wizard war. I thought the world Chima created was more interesting than the individual characters, and while I'll read the sequels, I liked her Seven Realms books better.
8. Susan Cain, Quiet. I don't usually read a lot of non-fiction, but I really enjoyed this book, about the power of introverts in a culture (America) that values extroversion over introversion. She made some pretty compelling points (suggesting, among others, that the Wall Street collapse was fueled in part by our valorization of extroverts, who are more likely to act impulsively in such situations). Mostly, as an introvert myself, I liked her careful research into the strengths of introverts.
9. How to Marry an English Lord--also non-fiction, about the wave of American heiresses who married English nobility between 1870-1910. Fascinating stuff, particularly to anyone who's fans of the BBC series Downton Abbey, Edith Wharton, or Henry James. Now I want to go read more Wharton.
10. Miranda Kinneally, Catching Jordan (another Kindle Deal of the Day). This novel follows Jordan Woods, a high school quarterback whose father is an NFL great, who loves football and friends--and who happens to be a girl. All Jordan wants is to play college ball at Alabama, and she's focused on having her best season yet--until new quarterback shows up to play at her school. Not only is he potentially better than she is, but he's the first boy to make her weak at the knees. What I liked about this book was how realistic her friendships were--she wasn't romantically interested in all the boys around her and she had some great friends. I also liked that the romantic angle wasn't totally predictable, and that Jordan had some complicated issues to sort through with her dad (she calls him, sarcastically, the great Donovan Woods) and some of the cheerleaders at her school. What I did not like was some of the language (Jordan swears a lot, which I guess is in character) and the really casual attitude toward sex. I know lots of high school students sleep around--but not all do, and not with the ease and frequency of the characters here.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Charlaine Harris and Cinda Williams Chima
These two authors have dominated my reading list in the last two weeks, although their styles are certainly quite different. I read the first of the Sookie Stackhouse books a few years back and while I enjoyed them, the casual sex got to be a bit much for me. However, I've enjoyed some of Harris' other series.
In the last couple of weeks, I've read:
The rest of the Aurora Teagarden books:
1. The Julius House: Aurora ("Roe") receives the old Julius house as a wedding gift from her new husband. While remodeling the house, she becomes intrigued by the mystery of the three people who disappeared from the house six years earlier without a trace. The mystery here was decent, and, of course, I like Roe.
2. A Fool and His Honey: This book was hard for me--partly because Martin's niece shows up with a new baby (2 months old) and then disappears. As the mother of a small baby myself, this particular plot twist was horrifying for me. Their search to figure out what happened (and to find caregivers for the baby) takes them back to Martin's hometown and lead to a shocking denouement. I can't say more about that without spoiling it, save that this is definitely the darkest and most depressing of the Teagarden books.
3. Last Scene Alive: Aurora is more than a little annoyed to find that a movie is being made of her experience in the first novel (Real Murders), especially as this brings her rather obnoxious stepson into town. However, it also brings back the elusive Robin (from Real Murders), whom I rather like. This was a fun, quick read--a nice return to the cozy mystery genre.
4. Poppy Done To Death: when Aurora's step-sister-in-law is murdered just before her induction into an exclusive women's society, Aurora takes it on herself to figure out what happened to her. In the process, she uncovers some secrets about Poppy (and about herself). I loved that Aurora ended the series in a very good place, personally and professionally. While I'd read another one, I'm also happy to let the series rest here.
I started Marc Fitten's Valeria's Last Stand, about a sixty-ish Hungarian woman in late 1990s Hungary. I was intrigued by the premise--after all, I lived in Hungary in the late 1990s and I could just picture the type of woman who would star in this. However, the story itself was vulgar (more vulgar than I remember most Hungarians being, but then, my grasp of the language was far from perfect) and I couldn't see anything in it of the Hungary I remembered, so I stopped reading.
I also read the next two books in Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series (note that it's a series not a trilogy as I'd subconsciously expected):
5. The Exiled Queen: This wasn't the best of the series, but as a novel that mostly sets up the remainder of the series, that's to be expected. Princess Raisa, Han, Dancer, and the rest of the group struggle as first year students at the various academies in Oden's Ford (Raise at the Warrior's school and Han and Dancer at the wizard's school). The most interesting thing--from my perspective--was the meeting and budding romance between Raisa and Han.
6. The Gray Wolf Throne. I was initially under the impression that this was the last of the series--when I finished the book, there were still so many loose ends (Chima introduces a new mystery in the epilogue) that I went immediately to Amazon and was immensely reassured to find that there is, in fact, a fourth book, and it's coming out this month! In this book, Raisa returns to chaos in the realm: the queen is dead; the wizards want to make her younger sister the new queen; the clans are threatening war if the wizards succeed. Raisa finds she doesn't know whom to trust, but with Han's reluctant help, she may be able to claim her throne.
Also read:
Meg Cabot's Mediator #2 and #3. I remember enjoying them, but not many of the individual details (a hazard of reading so many books).
Tera Lynn Child's Sweet Venom (I enjoyed her mermaid series a lot, so I snatched up this book when it came up free on Amazon). This tells the interwoven stories of Gretchen, Grace, and Greer, three vastly different young ladies who discover that they are united by two startling facts: 1) they are triplets, separated at birth and 2) they are the human descendents of Medusa, and hence, Monster hunters extraordinaire. For the genre (YA urban fantasy), this was pretty good. The three sisters were all distinct and sympathetic (well, Greer needs some work), but I didn't find myself caring enough at the end of the book to wonder what happens next.
Monica McInerney, The Alphabet Sisters. Like all her books, this involves tangled family dynamics, in this case, of the Alphabet Sisters (so named for their childhood singing group) Anna, Bett, and Carrie, who haven't spoken in three years, after Carrie married Bett's fiance. The story starts when their grandmother, Lola, maneuvers them all into showing up for her 80th birthday celebration. The novel chronicles the subsequent fights and slow healing for the three sisters, although I have to admit I didn't see the final plot twist coming (if I'd known about it, I might have avoided the book because I typically dislike that kind of sentimental book).
Kathryn Williams, Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that Made Me Famous. I liked the premise of this story: sixteen-year-old Sophie wins the chance to attend a seven week course at a famous culinary institute in California and compete on a reality TV series, Teen Test Kitchen. I liked Sophie, who knew what she wanted. And I was impressed by Williams' culinary knowledge (I watch enough Food Network to understand most of the terms). The story itself, though, could have had a little more depth: I struggled to remember all the characters competing in the reality competition and the romantic element felt just a little thin. Still, it was a pretty cute book overall.
In the last couple of weeks, I've read:
The rest of the Aurora Teagarden books:
1. The Julius House: Aurora ("Roe") receives the old Julius house as a wedding gift from her new husband. While remodeling the house, she becomes intrigued by the mystery of the three people who disappeared from the house six years earlier without a trace. The mystery here was decent, and, of course, I like Roe.
2. A Fool and His Honey: This book was hard for me--partly because Martin's niece shows up with a new baby (2 months old) and then disappears. As the mother of a small baby myself, this particular plot twist was horrifying for me. Their search to figure out what happened (and to find caregivers for the baby) takes them back to Martin's hometown and lead to a shocking denouement. I can't say more about that without spoiling it, save that this is definitely the darkest and most depressing of the Teagarden books.
3. Last Scene Alive: Aurora is more than a little annoyed to find that a movie is being made of her experience in the first novel (Real Murders), especially as this brings her rather obnoxious stepson into town. However, it also brings back the elusive Robin (from Real Murders), whom I rather like. This was a fun, quick read--a nice return to the cozy mystery genre.
4. Poppy Done To Death: when Aurora's step-sister-in-law is murdered just before her induction into an exclusive women's society, Aurora takes it on herself to figure out what happened to her. In the process, she uncovers some secrets about Poppy (and about herself). I loved that Aurora ended the series in a very good place, personally and professionally. While I'd read another one, I'm also happy to let the series rest here.
I started Marc Fitten's Valeria's Last Stand, about a sixty-ish Hungarian woman in late 1990s Hungary. I was intrigued by the premise--after all, I lived in Hungary in the late 1990s and I could just picture the type of woman who would star in this. However, the story itself was vulgar (more vulgar than I remember most Hungarians being, but then, my grasp of the language was far from perfect) and I couldn't see anything in it of the Hungary I remembered, so I stopped reading.
I also read the next two books in Cinda Williams Chima's Seven Realms series (note that it's a series not a trilogy as I'd subconsciously expected):
5. The Exiled Queen: This wasn't the best of the series, but as a novel that mostly sets up the remainder of the series, that's to be expected. Princess Raisa, Han, Dancer, and the rest of the group struggle as first year students at the various academies in Oden's Ford (Raise at the Warrior's school and Han and Dancer at the wizard's school). The most interesting thing--from my perspective--was the meeting and budding romance between Raisa and Han.
6. The Gray Wolf Throne. I was initially under the impression that this was the last of the series--when I finished the book, there were still so many loose ends (Chima introduces a new mystery in the epilogue) that I went immediately to Amazon and was immensely reassured to find that there is, in fact, a fourth book, and it's coming out this month! In this book, Raisa returns to chaos in the realm: the queen is dead; the wizards want to make her younger sister the new queen; the clans are threatening war if the wizards succeed. Raisa finds she doesn't know whom to trust, but with Han's reluctant help, she may be able to claim her throne.
Also read:
Meg Cabot's Mediator #2 and #3. I remember enjoying them, but not many of the individual details (a hazard of reading so many books).
Tera Lynn Child's Sweet Venom (I enjoyed her mermaid series a lot, so I snatched up this book when it came up free on Amazon). This tells the interwoven stories of Gretchen, Grace, and Greer, three vastly different young ladies who discover that they are united by two startling facts: 1) they are triplets, separated at birth and 2) they are the human descendents of Medusa, and hence, Monster hunters extraordinaire. For the genre (YA urban fantasy), this was pretty good. The three sisters were all distinct and sympathetic (well, Greer needs some work), but I didn't find myself caring enough at the end of the book to wonder what happens next.
Monica McInerney, The Alphabet Sisters. Like all her books, this involves tangled family dynamics, in this case, of the Alphabet Sisters (so named for their childhood singing group) Anna, Bett, and Carrie, who haven't spoken in three years, after Carrie married Bett's fiance. The story starts when their grandmother, Lola, maneuvers them all into showing up for her 80th birthday celebration. The novel chronicles the subsequent fights and slow healing for the three sisters, although I have to admit I didn't see the final plot twist coming (if I'd known about it, I might have avoided the book because I typically dislike that kind of sentimental book).
Kathryn Williams, Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff that Made Me Famous. I liked the premise of this story: sixteen-year-old Sophie wins the chance to attend a seven week course at a famous culinary institute in California and compete on a reality TV series, Teen Test Kitchen. I liked Sophie, who knew what she wanted. And I was impressed by Williams' culinary knowledge (I watch enough Food Network to understand most of the terms). The story itself, though, could have had a little more depth: I struggled to remember all the characters competing in the reality competition and the romantic element felt just a little thin. Still, it was a pretty cute book overall.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
September Books
Once again I'm behind in my book list--however, I've read some very excellent books this month.
1. Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein. This has been my bedside book for several weeks because I could only read it in small doses. That said, it's a really terrific book--the writing is strong, the story itself is wrenching, and the historical details are fascinating. The story follows two girls: Julie (code name Verity) and Maddie (code name Kittyhawk), who are not only best friends, but wind up together in France on a secret operation. Maddie pilots their plane over the channel, but a crash landing leaves her stranded and separated from Julie (who parachuted out when the plane came down). The first half of the book is told from Julie's point of view, as she writes out a "confession" for the Nazi Gestapo leaders who catch her. The second half is from Maddie's POV. Overall, a lovely study of friendship--but, as I said, wrenching. (This isn't a spoiler--you can guess what Nazis do to spies).
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer. This was an intriguing retelling of the Cinderella story--set in a futuristic world where the Moon has been colonized and it's inhabitants are no longer quite human. Cinder is a cyborg living in New Beijing with an adopted mother and two foster siblings. When the younger sister, Pearl, takes ill with the incurable disease that has been plaguing Earth for the last decade, Cinder's mother volunteers Cinder for a cyborg research study. At the same time, Cinder's work as a mechanic (her Cyborg systems give her a series advantage with machinery) brings her in contact with the prince, who is, not surprisingly, hosting a ball . . . this is the first book in a series, so it's obviously not finished, but I loved Cinder as a character and I'm interested to see where the series takes her. (Plus, you have to love a Cinderella story where she leaves not her shoe, but a mechanized foot behind her . . . )
3. Keeping the Castle, by Patrice Kindl. I picked this up because it was billed as I Capture the Castle meets Pride and Prejudice, and, while I don't think I'd rate it with either of those books, I did enjoy this a lot. This is a Regency era story about a young girl, 17-year-old Althea, who struggles to keep up the dilapidated castle that an eccentric ancestor built at the edge of a picturesque cliff. Althea has two step-sisters with money, but they refuse to contribute to the upkeep of the castle, so Althea knows that she has to marry money. When the wealthy Lord Boring arrives, she thinks he may be the answer--if only she can get rid of his pesky cousin-cum-business manager, Mr. Fredericks. The book was fairly predictable, but it was a fun play on Regency-style romances.
4. The Demon King, by Cinda Williams Chima. I'm not a big reader of high fantasy anymore (I used to be when I was younger), but I read good reviews of this and thought I'd try it. I really enjoyed Chima's Seven Realms world, where the young princess Raisa looks forward to her naming day and a long season of courting and flirting with various suitors. At the same time, Han Alister lives in a totally different world in the slum areas of Fellsmarch. When he can, he escapes to the mountains and the clans (an area of the Kingdom where the wizards are forbidden). The way their two lives join and interconnect is an interesting and complicated story (obviously, I'm not doing a good job summarizing it here). Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed this and look forward to the next books in the series.
Other recently read books:
Meg Cabot, Avalon High (re-read), and The Mediator (#1)
Helen Boswell's Mythology (this deserves a review at some point when my brain is less fried!)
Dee Ernst, Better off Without Him
Megan McDonald, The Sisters Club (cute MG story about three sisters)
Amy Garvey's Cold Kiss (interesting twist on a zombie story--a young girl with powers raises her boyfriend from the dead but doesn't anticipate the consequences. This was well-written, but the stakes in the story weren't convincingly high for me).
Julie Powell, Julie and Julia (interesting, but I liked the movie better simply because it had more of Julia's life in it).
I also started Lisa See's Peony in Love but was so irritated by an early plot twist that I couldn't keep reading it.
1. Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein. This has been my bedside book for several weeks because I could only read it in small doses. That said, it's a really terrific book--the writing is strong, the story itself is wrenching, and the historical details are fascinating. The story follows two girls: Julie (code name Verity) and Maddie (code name Kittyhawk), who are not only best friends, but wind up together in France on a secret operation. Maddie pilots their plane over the channel, but a crash landing leaves her stranded and separated from Julie (who parachuted out when the plane came down). The first half of the book is told from Julie's point of view, as she writes out a "confession" for the Nazi Gestapo leaders who catch her. The second half is from Maddie's POV. Overall, a lovely study of friendship--but, as I said, wrenching. (This isn't a spoiler--you can guess what Nazis do to spies).
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer. This was an intriguing retelling of the Cinderella story--set in a futuristic world where the Moon has been colonized and it's inhabitants are no longer quite human. Cinder is a cyborg living in New Beijing with an adopted mother and two foster siblings. When the younger sister, Pearl, takes ill with the incurable disease that has been plaguing Earth for the last decade, Cinder's mother volunteers Cinder for a cyborg research study. At the same time, Cinder's work as a mechanic (her Cyborg systems give her a series advantage with machinery) brings her in contact with the prince, who is, not surprisingly, hosting a ball . . . this is the first book in a series, so it's obviously not finished, but I loved Cinder as a character and I'm interested to see where the series takes her. (Plus, you have to love a Cinderella story where she leaves not her shoe, but a mechanized foot behind her . . . )
3. Keeping the Castle, by Patrice Kindl. I picked this up because it was billed as I Capture the Castle meets Pride and Prejudice, and, while I don't think I'd rate it with either of those books, I did enjoy this a lot. This is a Regency era story about a young girl, 17-year-old Althea, who struggles to keep up the dilapidated castle that an eccentric ancestor built at the edge of a picturesque cliff. Althea has two step-sisters with money, but they refuse to contribute to the upkeep of the castle, so Althea knows that she has to marry money. When the wealthy Lord Boring arrives, she thinks he may be the answer--if only she can get rid of his pesky cousin-cum-business manager, Mr. Fredericks. The book was fairly predictable, but it was a fun play on Regency-style romances.
4. The Demon King, by Cinda Williams Chima. I'm not a big reader of high fantasy anymore (I used to be when I was younger), but I read good reviews of this and thought I'd try it. I really enjoyed Chima's Seven Realms world, where the young princess Raisa looks forward to her naming day and a long season of courting and flirting with various suitors. At the same time, Han Alister lives in a totally different world in the slum areas of Fellsmarch. When he can, he escapes to the mountains and the clans (an area of the Kingdom where the wizards are forbidden). The way their two lives join and interconnect is an interesting and complicated story (obviously, I'm not doing a good job summarizing it here). Suffice it to say, I really enjoyed this and look forward to the next books in the series.
Other recently read books:
Meg Cabot, Avalon High (re-read), and The Mediator (#1)
Helen Boswell's Mythology (this deserves a review at some point when my brain is less fried!)
Dee Ernst, Better off Without Him
Megan McDonald, The Sisters Club (cute MG story about three sisters)
Amy Garvey's Cold Kiss (interesting twist on a zombie story--a young girl with powers raises her boyfriend from the dead but doesn't anticipate the consequences. This was well-written, but the stakes in the story weren't convincingly high for me).
Julie Powell, Julie and Julia (interesting, but I liked the movie better simply because it had more of Julia's life in it).
I also started Lisa See's Peony in Love but was so irritated by an early plot twist that I couldn't keep reading it.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Kindle Love
After resisting for a long time, I broke down and bought a Kindle earlier this summer. I wasn't sure I'd like the digital format, since I'm a big fan of the tactile quality of paper pages.
But.
I love my kindle. I wouldn't have made it through my hospital stay after the c-section without it. (And since the c-section was entirely unplanned, it was fortuitous that I had my kindle with me with multiple reading options). Now that I'm regularly feeding a baby, I love that the kindle stays open, unlike a regular book, so it's easy to read with one hand. I realize these aren't the reasons most people buy a Kindle, but they've worked for me.
There are a few drawbacks. 1) It's way too easy to buy books on Amazon with their 1-click option. I'm not sure I want to know how much money I've spent on books in the last two months. 2) It's also harder to get library books on Kindle than it is at the library. 3) This probably isn't a drawback for a lot of people, but I have a bad habit of reading ahead in books (yes, I'm one of those annoying people who will sometimes read the ending before I finish the book). I like to be able to see the shape of a book as I read. It's really hard to read ahead on the Kindle--which is probably a good thing in the end.
I also like that the Kindle helps me remember what books I've read, since the list is handily available when I turn on the device.
Here are some books I've read in the last two weeks:
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen. I'd heard good things about this book and I loved it. I loved the language and the characters, but I especially loved the historical detail she put into the novel. I'd never known much (or cared) about the world of the train circus, but she made me care. It was fascinating. (It also clarified one of the words from the movie Dumbo that I'd never understood as a child: the men putting up the tents sing that they're "happy, hearty, roustabouts." Roustabout was a new term for me).
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson. I wasn't sure I'd like this, given what I knew of the content (rape, among other violent acts). I'm not normally a fan of gritty books, either. But I enjoyed this one. I thought Lisbeth Salander was a fascinating character, and I found the psychological mystery that takes up most of the book an intriguing one. I'm not sure that I'd hunt down the other books in the series, but if I come across them at the library I'd probably pick them up.
A Bone to Pick, Charlaine Harris. Second Aurora Teagarden mystery. While I like the characters here, this didn't seem like much of a mystery, which was a little disappointing. I was also frustrated by the fact that, after ending book one with Aurora in the enviable position of having two men vying for her affection, book two picks up with both relationships out of the picture. I would have liked to see that development, instead of having it happen of stage, as it were. I still think I'd read more, since I'm a sucker for cozies.
Speaking of cozy mysteries--I also read the newest Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow books: Some Like it Hawk. While I always enjoy reading about Meg's zany family and friends, this book just wasn't quite as much fun as others, although there were parts about the premise (the town archivist has barricaded himself in the town archives for the last 12 months after the evil financial company takes over all of the public town buildings, like City Hall) that were funny.
Finally, thanks to Amazon's 2.99 price for most of Georgette Heyer's Kindle books, I've been rereading some old favorites of hers: Frederica, Death in the Stocks, and Duplicate Death (although I have to say I like her regencies more than her mysteries).
But.
I love my kindle. I wouldn't have made it through my hospital stay after the c-section without it. (And since the c-section was entirely unplanned, it was fortuitous that I had my kindle with me with multiple reading options). Now that I'm regularly feeding a baby, I love that the kindle stays open, unlike a regular book, so it's easy to read with one hand. I realize these aren't the reasons most people buy a Kindle, but they've worked for me.
There are a few drawbacks. 1) It's way too easy to buy books on Amazon with their 1-click option. I'm not sure I want to know how much money I've spent on books in the last two months. 2) It's also harder to get library books on Kindle than it is at the library. 3) This probably isn't a drawback for a lot of people, but I have a bad habit of reading ahead in books (yes, I'm one of those annoying people who will sometimes read the ending before I finish the book). I like to be able to see the shape of a book as I read. It's really hard to read ahead on the Kindle--which is probably a good thing in the end.
I also like that the Kindle helps me remember what books I've read, since the list is handily available when I turn on the device.
Here are some books I've read in the last two weeks:
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen. I'd heard good things about this book and I loved it. I loved the language and the characters, but I especially loved the historical detail she put into the novel. I'd never known much (or cared) about the world of the train circus, but she made me care. It was fascinating. (It also clarified one of the words from the movie Dumbo that I'd never understood as a child: the men putting up the tents sing that they're "happy, hearty, roustabouts." Roustabout was a new term for me).
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson. I wasn't sure I'd like this, given what I knew of the content (rape, among other violent acts). I'm not normally a fan of gritty books, either. But I enjoyed this one. I thought Lisbeth Salander was a fascinating character, and I found the psychological mystery that takes up most of the book an intriguing one. I'm not sure that I'd hunt down the other books in the series, but if I come across them at the library I'd probably pick them up.
A Bone to Pick, Charlaine Harris. Second Aurora Teagarden mystery. While I like the characters here, this didn't seem like much of a mystery, which was a little disappointing. I was also frustrated by the fact that, after ending book one with Aurora in the enviable position of having two men vying for her affection, book two picks up with both relationships out of the picture. I would have liked to see that development, instead of having it happen of stage, as it were. I still think I'd read more, since I'm a sucker for cozies.
Speaking of cozy mysteries--I also read the newest Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow books: Some Like it Hawk. While I always enjoy reading about Meg's zany family and friends, this book just wasn't quite as much fun as others, although there were parts about the premise (the town archivist has barricaded himself in the town archives for the last 12 months after the evil financial company takes over all of the public town buildings, like City Hall) that were funny.
Finally, thanks to Amazon's 2.99 price for most of Georgette Heyer's Kindle books, I've been rereading some old favorites of hers: Frederica, Death in the Stocks, and Duplicate Death (although I have to say I like her regencies more than her mysteries).
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Catching Up
It's been a while since I posted--with good reason. This has been a crazy summer, given the premature birth of my son, his long hospital stay, and our adjustment at home.
But, I have been reading. Quite a bit, it turns out (funny how much time you have when feeding a baby or pumping milk for a feeding). I don't have time to review all of them in-depth, but here are some of the books I've read the past month.
Lindsay Leavitt's Farewell to Charms, the final book in her Princess for Hire series (very cute books; I imagine they'd be popular with pre-teen girls).
Deborah Harkness, A Discovery of Witches. Very cool book--even for people who are tired of vampire love-stories. Even though there are vampires, demons, and witches here, the academic geek in me loved the arcane trivia and the fact that the early part of the novel takes place at Oxford, in the Ashmolean museum.
Charlaine Harris, Real Murders. An interesting cozy mystery where a small town psycho recreates famous historic murders. I think I'll like the others, too, but the end of this book (which puts a 6-year-old in jeopardy) hit a little too close to home for me to be entirely comfortable with the story.
Stephanie Perkins, Lola and the Boy Next Door. I really enjoyed Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss, so I was excited to find this one the library. I liked this one, but didn't love it. Lola is an interesting character, and I loved Cricket (the titular boy next door), but I didn't love some of Lola's decisions.
Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why--major YA book, about a girl who commits suicide and then sends tapes, explaining why, to the 13 people involved in her death. Interesting and harrowing at the same time.
G. M. Malliet, Death of Cozy Writer. I picked this up because it was compared to Agatha Cristie, and while I can see some resemblance (the upper-class characters in England), this was just okay for me.
Maeve Binchey, Minding Frankie, like all of Binche's books, this involves a vivid cast of characters and some heart-warming moments. I find it a little ironic that I read this shortly before Binchey passed away, since I haven't read any of her books for several years. But I liked it.
Ali Wentworth, Ali in Wonderland. I don't often read memoirs, so I'm not sure why I picked up this one (for a woman I don't really know much about, no less). It was a quick read, but I didn't love it.
Elle Lothlorien, The Frog Prince. Very light-weight, very predictable. Not sure I'd recommend it.
Myra McEntire, Hourglass. I know lots of people love this, but it didn't really work for me. I liked the characters, but I felt that the mood of the first part of the book didn't fit the tension/action of the second part of the book. Plus, I got irritated with the way the hero kept refusing to tell the heroine relevant information.
Carla Kelly, Borrowed Light. This won the Whitney award this year for best LDS romance--and I was surprisingly moved by it. This is a departure for Kelly, who usually writes regency romances, but I enjoyed the frontier story and the gradual transformations about the characters. It was less a love story and more a story of two people growing together.
Rachel Cohn, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. I kept thinking, as I read this, that it reminded me of the movie Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist--but it wasn't until I finished the book that I realized why: Cohn wrote the book that the movie was based on. This was a fun, smart, unusual YA book about a girl and boy who meet when the girl leaves a notebook with a dare in a bookstore--and the boy finds it and leaves his own clues in the notebook.
Alexander McCall Smith, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones. Another 44 Scotland Street novel. I love Bertie--he's such a funny, sweet, sad, precocious six-year old. And now that my own son is six, I appreciate Bertie even more. The other characters are interesting, but Bertie is my favorite.
There are a few other books I've read in here too, but I can't remember what they are at the moment.
But, I have been reading. Quite a bit, it turns out (funny how much time you have when feeding a baby or pumping milk for a feeding). I don't have time to review all of them in-depth, but here are some of the books I've read the past month.
Lindsay Leavitt's Farewell to Charms, the final book in her Princess for Hire series (very cute books; I imagine they'd be popular with pre-teen girls).
Deborah Harkness, A Discovery of Witches. Very cool book--even for people who are tired of vampire love-stories. Even though there are vampires, demons, and witches here, the academic geek in me loved the arcane trivia and the fact that the early part of the novel takes place at Oxford, in the Ashmolean museum.
Charlaine Harris, Real Murders. An interesting cozy mystery where a small town psycho recreates famous historic murders. I think I'll like the others, too, but the end of this book (which puts a 6-year-old in jeopardy) hit a little too close to home for me to be entirely comfortable with the story.
Stephanie Perkins, Lola and the Boy Next Door. I really enjoyed Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss, so I was excited to find this one the library. I liked this one, but didn't love it. Lola is an interesting character, and I loved Cricket (the titular boy next door), but I didn't love some of Lola's decisions.
Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why--major YA book, about a girl who commits suicide and then sends tapes, explaining why, to the 13 people involved in her death. Interesting and harrowing at the same time.
G. M. Malliet, Death of Cozy Writer. I picked this up because it was compared to Agatha Cristie, and while I can see some resemblance (the upper-class characters in England), this was just okay for me.
Maeve Binchey, Minding Frankie, like all of Binche's books, this involves a vivid cast of characters and some heart-warming moments. I find it a little ironic that I read this shortly before Binchey passed away, since I haven't read any of her books for several years. But I liked it.
Ali Wentworth, Ali in Wonderland. I don't often read memoirs, so I'm not sure why I picked up this one (for a woman I don't really know much about, no less). It was a quick read, but I didn't love it.
Elle Lothlorien, The Frog Prince. Very light-weight, very predictable. Not sure I'd recommend it.
Myra McEntire, Hourglass. I know lots of people love this, but it didn't really work for me. I liked the characters, but I felt that the mood of the first part of the book didn't fit the tension/action of the second part of the book. Plus, I got irritated with the way the hero kept refusing to tell the heroine relevant information.
Carla Kelly, Borrowed Light. This won the Whitney award this year for best LDS romance--and I was surprisingly moved by it. This is a departure for Kelly, who usually writes regency romances, but I enjoyed the frontier story and the gradual transformations about the characters. It was less a love story and more a story of two people growing together.
Rachel Cohn, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. I kept thinking, as I read this, that it reminded me of the movie Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist--but it wasn't until I finished the book that I realized why: Cohn wrote the book that the movie was based on. This was a fun, smart, unusual YA book about a girl and boy who meet when the girl leaves a notebook with a dare in a bookstore--and the boy finds it and leaves his own clues in the notebook.
Alexander McCall Smith, The Unbearable Lightness of Scones. Another 44 Scotland Street novel. I love Bertie--he's such a funny, sweet, sad, precocious six-year old. And now that my own son is six, I appreciate Bertie even more. The other characters are interesting, but Bertie is my favorite.
There are a few other books I've read in here too, but I can't remember what they are at the moment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)