Sorrel's Books

I've been wanting to document my reading list for a while now, but I always seem to miss the beginning of the year. Not to worry: with a birthday coming up, I've decided to go for a year of my life with books instead. I won't be aiming for a particular number (I don't need to be challenged to read copiously) but I'll be guessing around the 150 to 200 mark.

Books By Date Read:

OCTOBER
1. The Diary of Pelly D., L.J. Adlington
2. Prince of Tennis 2, Takeshi Konomi
3. Prince of Tennis 3, Takeshi Konomi
4. Ink Exchange, Melissa Marr
5. Model Spy, Shannon Greenland

6. Jennifer Government, Max Barry
7. A Vicarage Family, Noel Streatfeild
8. Coyote, Allen Steele
9. Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder (reread)
10. Don't Panic, Neil Gaiman

11. The Careful Use of Compliments, Alexander McCall Smith
12. The Host, Stephenie Meyer
13. Blitzcat, Robert Westall
14. Mars Crossing, Geoffrey A. Landis
15. A Tangled Web, L.M. Montgomery

16. Coyote Rising, Allen Steele

NOVEMBER
17. Cop This Lot, Nino Culotta (John O'Grady)
18. Snowcrash, Neal Stephenson
19. Bleach1, Tite Kubo
20. Everlost, Neal Shusterman
21. Prince of Tennis 4, Takeshi Konomi

22. Prince of Tennis 5, Takeshi Konomi
23. Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys (Norton Critical Edition)
24. Sunshine, Robin McKinley
25. It's Kind of a Funny Story, Ned Vizzini
26. House of Many Ways, Diana Wynne Jones

27. On Basilisk Station, David Weber
28. Coyote Frontier, Allen Steele
29. Foreign to Familiar, Sarah Lanier
30. Wintersmith, Terry Pratchett
31. Magic or Madness, Justine Larbalestier

32. Blaze of Glory, Michael Pryor
33. The Elysium Commission, L.E. Modesitt

DECEMBER
34. Powder and Patch, Georgette Heyer (reread)
35. Sabriel, Garth Nix (reread)
36. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
37. The Honor of the Queen, David Weber
38. Magic Lessons, Justine Larbalestier

39. Nimisha's Ship, Anne McCaffrey (reread)
40. Lirael, Garth Nix (reread)
41. Magic's Child, Justine Larbalestier
42. Tithe, Holly Black
43. Frederica, Georgette Heyer (reread)

44. The Magic of Recluce, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
45. The Towers of the Sunset, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
46. Arovore, Xicanti
47. The Magic Engineer, L.E. Modesitt (reread)

JANUARY
48. Fruits Basket 1, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
49. Fruits Basket 2, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
50. Fruits Basket 3, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
51. Fruits Basket 4, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
52. Fruits Basket 5, Natsuki Takaya (reread)

53. Swan Feather, Lorna Hill
54. Marked, P.C. Cast
55. The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor
56. Fruits Basket 6, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
57. Fruits Basket 7, Natsuki Takaya (reread)

58. Fruits Basket 8, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
59. Fruits Basket 9, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
60. Fruits Basket 10, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
61. Fruits Basket 11, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
62. Fruits Basket 12, Natsuki Takaya (reread)

63. Fruits Basket 13, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
64. Fruits Basket 14, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
65. Fruits Basket 15, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
66. Fruits Basket 16, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
67. Fruits Basket 17, Natsuki Takaya (reread)

68. Fruits Basket 18, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
69. Fruits Basket 19, Natsuki Takaya
70. Fruits Basket 20, Natsuki Takaya
71. Fruits Basket 21, Natsuki Takaya
72. Fruits Basket 22, Natsuki Takaya

73. Fruits Basket 23, Natsuki Takaya
74. Chosen, P.C. Cast
75. The Order War, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
76. These Happy Golden Years, Laura Ingalls Wilder
77. Prince of Tennis 6, Takeshi Konomi

77. Girl Genius 1, Phil Foglio
78. Ironside, Holly Black
77. Tennis Shoes, Noel Streatfeild
78. The Death of Chaos, L.E. Modesitt (reread)

FEBRUARY
79. The World Menders, Lloyd Biggle
80. Prince of Tennis 7
81. Prince of Tennis 8
82. Prince of Tennis 9
83. The Rose of Sebastopol, Katharine McMahon

84. Untamed, P.C. Cast
85. Mainspring, Jay Lake
86. Angel Fever, Isobelle Carmody (reread)
87. A Cage of Butterflies, Brian Caswell (reread)
88. Little Brother, Cory Doctorow

89. Venetia, Georgette Heyer (reread)
90. Cardcaptor Sakura 1, CLAMP
91. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, Galen Beckett
92. Guilty Pleasures, Laurell K. Hamilton
93. Hellsing 1, Kohta Hirano

94. Black Maria, Diana Wynne Jones
95. What Makes You Not a Buddhist, Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
96. Rose Daughter, Robin McKinley
97. Business Etiquette, Patsy Rowe

MARCH
98. The Reader, Bernhard Schlink
99. Jane of Lantern Hill, L.M. Montgomery (reread)
100. South of the Border, West of the Sun, Haruki Murakami
101. The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
102. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones (reread)

103. The Alien Way, Gordon R. Dickson

APRIL
104. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver (reread)
105. Prince of Tennis 10
106. Prince of Tennis 11
107. Prince of Tennis 12
108. Dogsbody, Diana Wynne Jones

109. House of Many Ways, Diana Wynne Jones (reread)
110. Hexwood, Diana Wynne Jones (reread)
111. The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley
112. So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore, Wayne Jacobsen
113. Saving Francesca, Melina Marchetta

114. Fall of Angels, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
115. The Blue Sword, Robin McKinley
116. The Chaos Balance, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
117. The White Order, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
118. Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson

119. Addition, Toni Jordan

MAY
120. Beauty, Robin McKinley
121. Throw Out Fifty Things, Gail Blanke
122. Entertaining Angels, Joanna Bell
123. Trixie Belden and the Mystery on Cobbett's Island, Kathryn Kenny
124. Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Unseen Treasure, Kathryn Kenny

125. Trixie Belden and the Mystery at Saratoga, Kathryn Kenny
126. Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Queen's Necklace, Kathryn Kenny (reread)
127. Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Castaway Children, Kathryn Kenny
128. Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery, Julie Campbell
129. The Secret of the Mansion, Julie Campbell

130. Trixie Belden and the Mystery off Old Telegraph Road, Kathryn Kenny
131. Trixie Belden and the Mystery off Glen Road, Julie Campbell

JUNE
132. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
133. Colours of Chaos, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
134. How Language Works, David Crystal
135. Sugar Princess 1, Hisaya Nakajo
136. Fruits Basket 1, Natsuki Takaya (reread)

137. Fruits Basket 2, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
138. Fruits Basket 3, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
139. Fruits Basket 4, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
140. Fruits Basket 5, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
141. Fruits Basket 6, Natsuki Takaya (reread)

142. The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
143. Frangipani, Celestine Vaite
144. Sugar Princess 2, Hisaya Nakajo
145. Fruits Basket 7, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
146. Fruits Basket 8, Natsuki Takaya (reread)

147. Breadfruit , Celestine Vaite

JULY
148. The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson
149. Fruits Basket 9, Natsuki Takaya (reread)
150. An Unlikely Governess, Karen Ranney
151. My Friend Flicka, Mary O'Hara
152. Magic Steps, Tamora Pierce

153. Sandry’s Book, Tamora Pierce
154. Tris’s Book, Tamora Pierce
155. Culture Shock! Japan, Rex Shelley
156. Daja’s Book, Tamora Pierce
157. Briar’s Book, Tamora Pierce

158. Territory, Emma Bull
159. Blackberry Wine, Joanne Harris
160. Magii of Cyador, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
161. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
162. The Children of Green Knowe, L.M. Boston

AUGUST
163. The Arrival, Shaun Tan
164. Scion of Cyador, L.E. Modesitt (reread)
165. Tiare, Celestine Vaite
166. Feed, M.T. Anderson

Books By Genre:

YA/CHILDREN'S (63%):
1. Diary of Pelly D
2. Prince of Tennis 2
3. Prince of Tennis 3
4. Ink Exchange
5. Model Spy
6. A Vicarage Family
7. Little House in the Big Woods
8. Blitzcat
9. A Tangled Web
10. Bleach 1
11. Everlost
12. Prince of Tennis 4
13. Prince of Tennis 5
14. Sunshine
15. It's Kind of a Funny Story
16. House of Many Ways
17. Wintersmith
18. Magic or Madness
19. Blaze of Glory
20. Sabriel
21. Magic Lessons
22. Lirael
23. Magic's Child
24. Tithe
25-48. Fruits Basket 1-23
49. Swan Feather
50. Marked
51. The Looking Glass Wars
52. Chosen
53. These Happy Golden Years
54. Prince of Tennis 6
55. Girl Genius 1
56 Ironside
57. Tennis Shoes
58. Prince of Tennis 7
59. Prince of Tennis 8
60. Prince of Tennis 9
61. Untamed
62. Angel Fever
63. A Cage of Butterflies
64. Cardcaptor Sakura 1
65. Hellsing
66. Black Maria
67. Jane of Lantern Hill
68. Howl's Moving Castle
69. Prince of Tennis 10
70. Prince of Tennis 11
71. Prince of Tennis 12
72. Dogsbody
73. House of Many Ways
74. The Hero and the Crown
75. Saving Francesca
76. The Blue Sword
77. Trixie Belden and the Mystery on Cobbett's Island
78. Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Unseen Treasure
79. Trixie Belden and the Mystery at Saratoga
80. Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Queen's Necklace
81. Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Castaway Children
82. Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery
83. The Secret of the Mansion
84. Trixie Belden and the Mystery off Old Telegraph Road
85. Trixie Belden and the Mystery off Glen Road
86. Sugar Princess 1
87-92. Fruits Basket 1-6
93. Sugar Princess 2
94. Fruits Basket 7
95. Fruits Basket 8
96. My Friend Flicka
97. Magic Steps
98. Sandry’s Book
99. Tris’s Book
100. Daja’s Book
101. Briar’s Book
102. The Children of Green Knowe
103. The Arrival
104. Feed

NON-FICTION (8%):
1. A Vicarage Family
2. Little House in the Big Woods
3. Don't Panic
4. Foreign to Familiar
5. Freakonomics
6. These Happy Golden Years
7. What Makes You Not a Buddhist
8. Business Etiquette
9. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
10. So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore
11. Mother Tongue
12. Throw Out Fifty Things
13. How Language Works
14. Culture Shock! Japan

SF/FANTASY (64%):
1. Diary of Pelly D.
2. Ink Exchange
3. Coyote
4. The Host
5. Mars Crossing
6. Coyote Rising
7. Snowcrash
8. Bleach
9. Everlost
10. Sunshine
11. House of Many Ways
12. On Basilisk Station
13. Coyote Frontier
14. Wintersmith
15. Magic or Madness
16. Blaze of Glory
17. The Elysium Commission
18. Sabriel
19. The Honor of the Queen
20. Magic Lessons
21. Lirael
22. Magic's Child
23. Tithe
24. The Magic of Recluce
25. The Towers of The Sunset
26. Arvore
27. The Magic Engineer
28-51. Fruits Basket 1-23
52. Marked
53. The Looking Glass Wars
54. Chosen
55. The Order War
56. Girl Genius 1
57. Ironside
58. The Death of Chaos
59. The World Menders
60. The Death of Chaos
61. The World Menders
62. Untamed
63. Mainspring
64. Angel Fever
65. A Cage of Butterflies
66. Cardcaptor Sakura 1
67. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent
68. Guilty Pleasures
69. Hellsing
70. Black Maria
71. Rose Daughter
72. Howl's Moving Castle
73. The Alien Way
74. Dogsbody
75. House of Many Ways
76. Hexwood
77. The Hero and the Crown
78. The Blue Sword
79. Fall of Angels
80. The Chaos Balance
81. The White Order
82. Deerskin
83. Colours of Chaos
84-89. Fruits Basket 1-6
90. The Name of the Wind
91. Fruits Basket 7
92. Fruits Basket 8
93. The Diamond Age
94. Fruits Basket 9
95. Magic Steps
96. Sandry’s Book
97. Tris’s Book
98. Daja’s Book
99. Briar’s Book
100. Territory
101. Magii of Cyador
102. To Say Nothing of the Dog
103. The Children of Green Knowe
104. The Arrival
105. Scion of Cyador
106. Feed

HISTORICAL Fiction and Non Fiction (7%):
1. A Vicarage Family
2. Little House in the Big Woods
3. Blitzcat
4. These Happy Golden Years
5. Wide Sargasso Sea
6. Powder and Patch
7. The Rose of Sebastopol
8. Venetia
9. The Reader
10. The Other Boleyn Girl
11. Territory
12. To Say Nothing of the Dog

MISC:
1. Jennifer Government
2. The Careful Use of Compliments
3. Cop This Lot
4. Little Brother
5. South of the Border, West of the Sun
6. Addition
7. Entertaining Angels
8. Frangipani
9. Breadfruit
10. An Unlikely Governess (insufficient authenticity to count as historical!)
11. Blackberry Wine
12. Tiare

Welcome to this group--it is really fun. I just joined last month and am having a great time. I'm happy to have someone just starting so I can read your posts from the beginning. Looking forward to see what you are reading.

Sorrel

A hearty welcome! We are a bunch of well-read, interesting and friendly folk. I look forward to watching for your book list.

Thanks for the welcomes :)

I'm looking quite forward to seeing how my list shapes up too! I'm expecting to see a lot of fantasy and YA, and hoping to find some good hard SF and a bit more general literature than I think I've been reading lately.

Sorrel

Regarding YA, have you read an of Westall's books?
If you haven't done so, you might want to try Blitz Cat. If not for LT, I would not have heard of this book.

hi Sorrel

Welcome, nice to see an other YA reader here.

I read mostly Dutch YA, but some are original written in English or translated into English.

Welcome to the group, Sorrel! Hope you have as good a time with these folks as I have had over the past several months.

I have been reading quite a bit of YA over the course of this past year, too, and will second Whisper's recommendation of Blitz Cat as well as recommending Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. I discovered both of these books in this group, so I am sure as you are wandering through everyone's threads you will discover books that appeal to you as well.

I just finished another Westall book called In Camera and Other Stories. I highly recommend this one. It is excellent!

#11 Whisper: I already checked and my local library does not have that one by Westall. I am currently reading The Machine Gunners by him, though.

Stasia

You might want to try interlibrary loan to obtain Camera and Other Stories. It is worth the read. I was fascinated by his creativity. In my opinion, it is more adult that young adult. In fact, unlike his other books, I found this one in the adult fiction section.

Are you enjoying The Machine Gunners? If so, I'll check this out at my local library. They have a great selection of Westall's books.

My reading year has begun! Nothing particularly difficult so far, but I do read a lot for pure entertainment as well as to improve my mind.

# 7 & 9: I've just picked up Blitz Cat from the library, so I'll let you know what I think when I've read it. In the meantime, here are some quick thoughts on what I've read in the past week:

The Diary of Pelly D.: Distopia's not usually my thing, even though this one's stayed with me longer than I expected. It's pretty pessimistic, but not in a rub-your-face-in-it kind of way; it's more like the attitude of Ivan Denisovich, which I prefer.

Prince of Tennis 2 & 3, Takeshi Konomi: I'm wondering how long a tennis manga series can go on without getting tedious (I probably won't be reading all 42) but for now it's still fun.

Ink Exchange, Melissa Marr: I really enjoyed this one. Good story telling, and an interesting look at some ethical problems. I did approve of the ending too, but it wouldn't have spoiled it for me if it had been different.

Model Spy, Shannon Greenland: entertaining, but silly.

Jennifer Government, Max Barry: More distopia! This was pretty disturbing to begin with - capitalism literally takes over the world - but settled into being a bit more comfortable than I think it should have been. Explores the potential of human greed, but emerges with a fairly optimistic take on what people won't be pushed into tolerating.

A Vicarage Family, Noel Streatfeild: Autobiography of one of my favourite childhood authors.

Sorrel

I'll be interested in hearing your comments regarding Blitz Cat.

#12: Linda, I would recommend The Machine Gunners to you, especially since you enjoyed Blitz Cat. Westall really has the knack of talking at the level of young people, but not down to them, if you know what I mean. I can read his books and picture the characters speaking just as he writes them. The Machine Gunners is also set in WWII, but does not have the 'fanciful' turn that Blitz Cat does because it is written from the standpoint of pre and teenaged kids, not a cat. Overall, I really recommend it. I would like to see what you think of it.

I will try and get In Camera and Other Stories on ILL if I can. It may be a while, though.

Hi Stasia. Thanks for the recommendation regarding The Machine Gunners. My local library doesn't have this one so I'll obtain it via interlibrary loan.

I'm currently reading The Kingdom by the Sea and if you haven't read this one, you might give it a try. I agree with you...his charaters are so well described that you feel as though you know them....

The Kingdom by the Sea will have to be another one that goes on ILL for me as my local library does not have it. Thanks for the recommendation.

I'm already having trouble remembering what I've read in the last week-and-a-bit: I may need to post more frequently.

Coyote (Allen Steele) was a well-told story but lacked a decent ending: it looks like it will run directly into its sequels. Hopefully they will hold up long enough to make it worth getting to the resolution!

I had a number of the Little House books (Laura Ingalls Wilder) when I was little, but Little House in the Big Woods is a recent acquisition: I loved the bit where Grandma was Jigging!

Don't Panic is Neil Gaiman's biography of Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's series. It was fun to read, and often Adamsesque, but sometimes a little clumsily so (this didn't really detract from the book, though). On the whole it was insightful and well worth reading.

I'm finding Alexander McCall Smith's Isabel Dalhousie books to be interesting, but also perplexing. I enjoyed The Careful Use of Compliments, but find it pretty difficult to relate to Isabel. For someone who thinks about her decisions as much as she does, I find that she makes some very strange ones.

The Host (Stephenie Meyer) was better than I expected, but also had some quite strangely motivated characters. I liked some of the author's take on the importance of relationships, but the way they developed didn't seem to make a logical transition and much of the characterisation seemed unrealistic or inconsistent. That sounds like it was really bad, and I don't quite mean that: it didn't jar enough to be a problem when I was actually reading it, but when I think back on it, it doesn't seem quite right.

I did enjoy Blitzcat's mix of whimsy with history. Thanks for the recommendations :)

I really liked Mars Crossing (Geoffry Landis). It's the kind of SF I'd like to read more of: plausible science and decent story. It details the events of a postulated Martian landing that runs into trouble. The characters end up seeing a lot of Martian scenery in their bid to get back to Earth.

A Tangled Web was ok, but not one of L.M. Montgomery's best.

Coyote Rising (Allen Steele) did a good job of tying up loose ends from Coyote, and had a more satisfactory conclusion itself. It's a good story, but I have a feeling that the series could have incorporated more interesting SFy elements than it has.

They're a Weird Mob (Nino Culotta or John O'Grady) was a pseudo-autobiography of an Italian immigrant settling into Australia and coming to terms with the (uniquely Australian) language and culture. The actual dialogue is a bit dated, but I thought it was an excellent book nonetheless. A classic, even. It's sequel, Cop This Lot, was ok but did not measure up to the original.

BEST OCTOBER READ: Mars Crossing
LEAST GOOD OCTOBER READ: Model Spy

#19 Sorrel: I will add Mars Crossing to my ever growing Continent TBR. Thanks for the recommendation!

Glad to hear the you liked Blitz Cat.

I love this: "(I don't need to be challenged to read copiously)" :) I can relate too.

A lot of scifi/fantasy readers here, so if you're looking for a specific kind of something give a shout and somebody will have an idea. Glad you're here :)

Hi Suslyn,

Thanks for the welcoming words. I’ve been finding a lot of reading ideas from other peoples’ threads in this group (though I have been a bit shy about cross-posting) and this has really widened my scope. Usually about half of what I read is something I’ve read before, but I’ve read nothing but new books for a whole two months!

If anyone has suggestions, I’m on the lookout for some hard science fiction coupled with good story telling. Some examples of what I’ve liked to date include Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red, Green and Blue Mars, and Antarctica; John Brunner's Crucible of Time (but not Stand on Zanzibar); James White’s Sector General novels; and David Brin’s Practice Effect.

Snowcrash was exuberant and funny: A samurai-wielding pizza delivery guy saves the world from fundamentalist computer/brain hackers. Not quite sure what to make of the comment on organised religion, but it’s something to think about. Whatever I decide, it’ll still be a good book.

Bleach (teenage boy accidentally obtains soul reaper abilities and a responsibility to lay dead spirits to rest) was not quite what I had expected: It was less whimsical, more sentimental, and more gruesome. It was readable though, and I will follow through with subsequent volumes when I can find them in a library.

Everlost managed to be quite creepy. Two kids don’t quite die in a car crash: they don’t survive, but neither do they ‘get where they were going.’ It’s a premise that could either be treated quite banally, or imbued with the beautifully surreal atmosphere that Shusterman has achieved. Very readable, and despite the creepiness, it’s actually a fun adventure.

I’ve been meaning to read Wide Sargasso Sea for a while now, as Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favourites. This is not because I necessarily approve of the characters’ decisions (and I do think the ending is a cop-out), but I enjoyed Jane’s sincerity and compassion. Wide Sargasso Sea takes on the same story from the point of view of Mr Rochester’s mad wife, and so addresses the problem of Annette/Bertha being dehumanised and neatly disposed of as a neat ending to Bronte’s problem.

I am glad I read this, but did not exactly enjoy it: I had a hard time engaging with the story. On the other hand, there was much to think about, and the dumb ending made a lot more sense with Rhys’s take on the matter. It was a good ending for this book.

I found the Norton Critical Edition to be extremely frustrating. Footnotes would often take up half a page, but only one in ten were actually useful. The rest were trivial, and for the most part, glaringly obvious comments. Nonetheless, I was continually distracted by them hoping that the next one would be enlightening. This edition not recommended.

I liked reading Sunshine. It was written in a very readable conversational way, and easily held my attention for the most part. It was a generally unremarkable vampire story.

It's Kind of a Funny Story, but it’s also kind of sad. Ted Vizzini writes a thoughtful and sympathetic account of a boy’s struggle with depression and his effort to manage it. A well-written and accessible story. It’s also hopeful, which I liked.

House of Many Ways is loosely linked as a sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle, but previously introduced characters don’t really make enough of an appearance to develop or appeal. It is best read as a stand-alone novel, and as such I found it to be suitably diverting. (An overly sheltered girl with bookish inclinations is sent to look after her uncle’s house. He’s a magician; the house is weird; she finds her calling as a magical librarian.)

On Basilisk Station is a military space opera. No pretentions of great literature, but entertaining nonetheless.

Coyote Frontier was a satisfying conclusion to an enjoyable and cohesive trilogy. I had hoped that the series as a whole would be more on the sciency side of science fiction, but for what it actually was, I have no real complaints.

Foreign to Familiar is a short book that looks at the differences between hot and cold climate cultures. The material presented is easy to understand theoretically, but more challenging to take on in a practical sense to relate to others in their own contexts. It’s worth reading more than once.

Wintersmith gets a thumbs up as another agreeable Discworld romp, but it’s not one of my favourites.

*SLIGHT SPOILER IN THIS SECTION*

Magic or Madness is a book that I found to be surprisingly scary. It’s about a girl called Reason. (One of the reasons I picked this book up is because I really like the name.) Reason comes from a family with magic in its genes and finds herself faced with a choice of embracing it and dying young, or ignoring it and going mad. I found Reason to be tiresome at times; and more paranoid than her information warranted (even though it did turn out to be justified), but as a whole I enjoyed the book. The scariness is manifested mostly as a function of demonstrable untrustworthiness in all adult/authority figures, which is made more unsettling than one might suppose.

*SPOILER END*

I only just liked Blaze of Glory. (A magic-wielding accidentally technically dead student from a political family helps to avert political disaster and thus save his country.) The narrative was slightly ponderous and the characters and events were not always interesting. On the other hand, Michael Pryor presented some interesting ideas, and I did find myself more curious about how things would turn out than I was uninterested in getting there. I will at least start with the sequel.

The Elysium Commission was a cross between a space opera and a detective novel by an author I usually like quite a lot. The result was less compelling than I had hoped (having picked up the book on the strength of the author alone) but still worth reading. It was predictable, which I personally don’t mind in a book if the journey is entertaining, but it seemed like much of the conclusion happened just because it had to, rather than for interesting and convincing reasons.

November books attempted but not read:

About half way through Alexander McCall Smith's Portuguese Irregular Verbs (three German professors galumph about. The one with a superiority complex is repeatedly humiliated.) I decided to read no further: I found it tedious and painful. It was unentertaining. It was not exactly unreadable, but definitely not worth the effort. Very disappointing, because I usually like McCall Smith, and I find languages and linguistics fascinating as well.

I also did not finish Walter Moers' City of Dreaming Books. I was initially put off by the introduction (paraphrased): “If you are the kind of person who would not read a book if you knew it could kill you, then read no further:” I am exactly that kind of person. I persevered for a little while, but was not in the mood for this author’s particular foibles at the time. I may come back to it, or I may not... After some initial reservations, I did like The 13½ lives of Captain Bluebear by the same author, so that is at least some incentive.

BEST NOVEMBER READ: Snowcrash
WORST NOVEMBER READ: Portuguese Irregular Verbs

I do enjoy Weber's Honor books, or did a whole bunch through her return from Hell. After that, well... Must say I skipped a bunch of the techy stuff though.

I have not read the space opera by R. M. Meluch, but it came highly recommend and is on my list to pick up when I'm home at Christmas.

I enjoyed the first Stardoc book by Viehl, but ended up disliking the series and her other works. In each I've read (8+) the female lead character ends up in a kind of sexual submission. In the end they just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Have you tried Timothy Zahn's Conqueror series? Book 2 was my favorite there, and I actually began the series with that one. His Manta's Gift is another fav of mine. Stanley's Fifty Degrees Below was for sale here in Romania, another book 2. If you enjoyed the mars series you might like this too.

Guess you've read Brin's Startide Rising et al? I prefer the first set to the second. Same goes for Simmons' Hyperion and Emperion. With both authors I loved the set up (the first books) but didn't like where we ended up.

LOL That's probably way more than you were looking for! I love your Nov worst read LOL

>25 Sorrel:: I loved Wintersmith. Despite the YA aspect, I think the Tiffany Aching books are some of his best...I like the themes of responsibility and common sense. Oh well.

>27 suslyn:: I have to agree about the Honor Harrington books. They were fun for a while, but they really changed about the time of Hell (perhaps even a bit before) and became long-winded and a bit tedious. I just couldn't get into Viehl. I tried Blade Dancer and didn't like it. Everyone said Stardoc was the best, so I tried it...same result. I have not tried that particular Zahn series, though I generally find his stuff amusing. Thanks for the recommendation.

I read Zahn's Night Train to Rigel this year. I thought it was pretty good, and plan to look up the sequels. My only complaint about the books was that they're supposed to be sf/thriller/noir, but I never got the feeling the galaxy was *really* in any danger from the bad guys. Still, pretty good reads.

Isn't the universe ALWAYS in danger from bad guys!!!! I think I learned that from James Tiberius.

Message #23
Sorrell
I agree with your comments re. Wide Sargasso Sea.
I liked the book, but had a difficult time with the author's switching back and forth between characters. It was a tad confusing at times.

Message #25
I like your description of this book. I'm adding it to my tbr in 2009 list. Thanks!

>28 TadAD:: I do agree that Wintersmith was well-written; but then, much of Pratchett's work is. My personal favourites are the ones that feature Susan and Death.

>31 Whisper1:: Which one did you mean?

Powder and Patch (Georgette Heyer): A nobly born rural type is urged by his father and his love interest to go to town to acquire some style. He thinks they should take him as he is, but he gets bullied into it anyway. He’s cross; they’re apprehensive, but everything turns out ok in the end. The charm is more in the telling than the plot - Heyer’s historical romances are usually rather fun (this one’s not bad), and are faithful to historical context.

Sabriel (Garth Nix): Excellent world-building and original ideas. A generally well-told story.

It’s hard to say exactly what Freakonomics (Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner) is about… statistical and economic analyses of random interesting things, perhaps. But it’s not at all dry: you don’t need to be able to speak in numbers to appreciate it.

The Honor of the Queen (Ha, ha - it’s a pun!) continues David Weber’s Honor Harrington story after Basilisk Station. Still entertaining.

While the first book in Justine Larbalestier’s Magic or Madness trilogy was slightly sinister, the second two books (Magic Lessons and Magic's Child) were more along the lines of slightly tedious. The first book had set up a consistent and intriguing account of magic use and consequences, which I found fascinating enough to want to explore more. I read all the way to the end, but was not sufficiently impressed to be recommending this series to other people. Unfortunately, instead of developing her ideas with the same degree of rigour and originality that seemed indicated with their introduction, Larbalestier continued with inconsistencies and implausibilities. Even the plot twist at the very end was unsupported by what had gone before. On the up side, while the first two books made laboured, self-conscious use of Australian slang, the language in the final book seemed more natural.

Nimisha's Ship (by Anne McCaffery) is a book that I enjoy despite the fact that it is soft SF that sometimes gets its science wrong. A highly born female decides to be an engineer; builds a spaceship; gets sucked through a wormhole (through no fault of her own); and colonises a new planet. It’s a light, pleasant read with a happy ending.

Lirael follows Sabriel as the second book in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom trilogy. It is just as well written, but is annoyingly unresolved at its close. (Annoying, at least, when the third book (Abhorsen) is not close to hand.)

Sorrell regarding message #31

I'm sorry for the confusion. I was referencing Magic or Madness...
duh...I've was in the hospital for four days this week and I swear the morphine given to me while there has impacted my thinking abilities....

>34 Sorrel: Nimisha's Ship is one I haven't read -- thanks.

re: weber. My fav of his may be Excalibur Alternative -- have you read it?

I have fallen woefully behind with my comments - hopefully I'll catch up before my year is done.

Tithe by Holly Black. (Girl turns out to be a fairy. Being a fairy is dangerous, because most fairies are not compassionate.) I liked it. The fairy love interest was suitably attractive. I didn’t really identify with Kaye, but her adventures maintained my interest. It really wasn’t a bad book - I am just being very inarticulate about it. Nonetheless, for urban fantasy with fairies, I did prefer Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely.

Frederica (by Georgette Heyer) is one of my favourite Heyer regencies, although as usual the charm is more in the telling than the plot. (Respectable but challengingly-circumstanced heroine sweet-talks grumpy distant-relative bachelor into bringing her and her sister out into London society.) Heyer’s romances are faithful to historical context and usually fun. This one is not an exception.

The Magic of Recluce (L.E. Modesitt) is the first book in the Saga of Recluce, which is one of my favourite fantasy collections. The series describes a wonderfully consistent system of magic that complements the technology of variously advanced societies. The books don’t have to be read in any particular order to be appreciated, but I’ve decided to read them in publishing order this time, which is what the author recommends. This book is set almost at the end of the series’ internal chronology, and takes the form of youth on a quest. Said youth turns out to have the fate of the world in his hands, but that’s later on - not in this book. I promise it’s not as trite as it sounds! The Magic of Recluce a bit clunkier than some of the later Recluce instalments, but it’s still worth reading for its own merits; and definitely worth reading as part of the whole story.

Whereas The Magic of Recluce (L.E. Modesitt) is close to the chronological end of the Recluce saga, The Towers of the Sunset occurs near the beginning. (Young man escapes matriarchy and arranged wedding/ history of the founders of the Island of Recluce.) I found this instalment to be more enjoyable than I remembered - again, it’s a good book by its own merits, but not one of my favourites in the series.

I read a draft manuscript for Arovore (by Xicanti from the Green Dragon) to volunteer some opinions. They were mostly positive opinions: I only read half a dozen new books in December, but this was one of the ones I enjoyed the most. The story is a fantasy of manners following two brothers who've come to Arvore to join the army, and detailing their first few months of military school.

The Magic Engineer (L.E. Modesitt) is the third book in the saga of Recluce. Yay - an engineer! Personal interest engaged, although the title was somewhat embarrassing to carry around. This is a very engaging book, and one of the better ones in the series. That said, there are a few things about it that bother me:

1. The main character ‘winces’ so much that I found myself counting.
2. The materials science doesn’t really add up. (It’s not at all fatal to the story; it’s just a personal area of interest.)

BEST (NEW) DECEMBER READS:
Arvore (Xicanti)
Tithe (Holly Black)

I obviously liked all of the re-reads: that’s why I reread them :)

LEAST GOOD DECEMBER READ:
Magic's Child, Justine Larbalestier

Cool! Another Recluce fan. I've read them in publication order, but never in chronological order. Maybe I should go back and do that sometime!

Oh, and as an engineer, I really latched onto The Magic Engineer as well. 8^}

Fruits Basket, by Natsuki Takaya, is a beautifully drawn shoujo (girls’) manga. The story is mostly character driven, and reflects - by charming example, and a little contrast - on the value of good relationships (family and friends in the spotlight). Meanwhile, back in plot-land, an orphaned schoolgirl is taken in by a family that turns into animals when hugged (it’s a curse). The story follows her time at school with her friends and adopted family. Highly recommended!

Swan Feather (by Lorna Hill) is another girly read - ballet and rags to riches. It’s part of a hard-to-come-by series that I’ve been collecting, and I happened across a relatively cheap 1st edition in a second hand bookshop. Hurrah! It’s not up there with the best books I’ve read in the series (Veronica at the Wells, Masquerade at the Wells and Ella at the Wells), but it’s definitely readable, which is more than can be said for the worst (Principal Role).

Marked (by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast): I was drawn in here by the description ‘vampyre (sic) finishing school,’ but it’s not really like that… It’s a fairly typical boarding school tale with vampyres tacked on. A normal human girl (Zoey) becomes an extra-specially talented/blessed vampyre; goes to vampyre school; and makes friends and enemies. It was not bad, if you like that kind of thing.

The Looking Glass Wars (by Frank Beddor) was vivid and exciting, but it got a little bit up my nose. I found Beddor’s alternative account of Alyss/Alice and Wonderland to be interesting, however I am always a little prejudiced against authors professing to tell a ‘true’ story of some previous work. I don’t so much mind an alternative take on an existing story (if it’s well done) but to say or imply that the original author got their own story wrong seems disrespectful: if it is interesting enough to be explored further, then I like to see the original author given a bit of credit. Yes, ‘the true story’ trope must have been a consciously decided plot device, but I think it’s a weak one. I liked Beddor’s story, but found that the narrative tone detracted throughout.

Chosen (by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast) doesn’t quite follow on from where Marked left off, because there is a book in between (Betrayed) that I couldn’t get hold of. It doesn’t matter though; the Casts have done a pretty good job of making this book stand on its own. Zoey’s character is believably developed in this book - and it was a brave move to show that she is a completely fallible individual. Unfortunately that seems to be the extent of non-icky character development in this instalment. Her friends are mostly sickly sweet and spineless, and sometimes cringe-worthy. The major plot premises are that Zoey’s dead best friend turns out to be not completely dead, and that politicking by both vampyres and humans is making life dangerous for everyone.

The Order War (by L.E. Modesitt) is the fourth book in the saga of Recluce. It’s one of the better ones, and is about Justen, an engineer who channels both order and chaos (to the consternation of his very black (read ‘order-based’) family). Coming from an order society, Justen grapples with the apparent need to neutralise the threat of too much white chaos in the world.

These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder is one of the later books in her ‘Little House’ autobiographical series. It is written in the same style and with the same appeal as her earlier books. It’s light reading, but I enjoyed it.

Girl Genius 1, (by Phil & Kaja Foglio) is described by the authors as a ‘gaslamp fantasy’: kind of like steampunk, but not quite. It has the same Victorian appeal, but also a dash of fantasy added to the science. Throughout the story, it becomes increasingly apparent that Agatha may be the last surviving member of a talented and prestigious family of mad inventors, and that her previous inability to engineer any kind of working machine was artificially induced to protect her identity. This is a skilfully drawn comic, and I will probably continue to follow the story online.

Ironside (by Holly Black) is a sequel to Tithe, but while it is similar in style, I did not enjoy it as much. The tension between Kaye and Roiben went a long way to maintaining my interest in Black’s first book, but their relationship was not really developed much further in this sequel. I found Corny to be the more interesting, albeit frustrating, character this time around.

I was surprised to be disappointed in Noel Streatfeild’s Tennis Shoes. Some of my absolute favourite children’s books were written by this author, and although she has also written a number of weaker books that I disliked, she considered this one to be her best. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it very much at all. The story is about the Heath family children, and the push from their older family members for them to be ‘first class’ at tennis. I did not enjoy reading about the way this family treated Nicky, and I did not think that the way in which she ultimately triumphed - not only in her own right, but also over her family - was realistic. Having read the first part of Streatfeild’s autobiography A Vicarage Family, I can see a lot of the author in Nicky and her family situation, so it is understandable that Streatfeild would see satisfaction in Nicky’s success, but this was not a convincing adaption. I much preferred the biography itself for believability and readability, even though the disconcerting family dynamics were much the same.

The Death of Chaos (by L.E. Modesitt) reads as an immediate sequel to The Magic of Recluce, and as such I was surprised to see them split up in the author’s recommended reading order. The Saga of Recluce has quite a number of different story arcs that focus on different regions and characters, and I think that reading through the whole of each arc before moving on to a different one is my preference. On the other hand, reading the books in publishing order as I have been has prompted certain insights that I may otherwise have missed.

BEST JANUARY READS: Fruits Basket (Natsuki Takaya)

LEAST GOOD JANUARY READ: Tennis Shoes (Noel Streatfeild)

The World Menders (by Lloyd Biggle Jr.) is loosely linked to one of my old favourite SF novels, The Still Small Voice of Trumpets. Unfortunately, I was not as impressed with this book, or even with any others I’ve tried by the same author. The similar theme in the two books mentioned is that of a cultural survey team being called in to a planetary frontier to help solve an apparently culturally anomalous first contact situation. The World Menders takes what is trite from The Still Small Voice and reproduces it, while leaving out the intriguing originality I hoped to find.

I’m still going strong with the Prince of Tennis (by Takeshi Konomi) having now finished volumes 7, 8 &9. At one point I had these volumes lined up before number 6, but found that the story was too strongly sequential to skip the missing one. I am actually finding these books to be quite exciting at the moment - at the end of vol. 9 we are mid-way through the first inter-school tournament. This series has exceeded my expectations, and my library only has three more volumes that I haven’t yet read! I’m not sure what I’ll do after that…

The Rose of Sebastopol (by Katharine McMahon) is set around the time of the Crimean War, and appropriately establishes the feeling of quite a different time. Mariella is a conventional 1850s girl with believable motivations and experiences - we wouldn’t always excuse the same opinions today, but for her context they make sense. The story skirts around some very interesting historical figures and events, but the real appeal of this account is Mariella’s sincere approach to facing adversities and her correlating personal growth.

Untamed (by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast) has much the same feel as the previous instalments in this series. Zoey’s ‘good’ friends are still irritating, but Zoey and Aphrodite (enemy-turned-friend) are once again able to save the book from being completely irritating with a bit of spunk and comparatively realistic attitudes. The plot is still secondary to the whole danger at boarding school vibe, with a vampyre-human war seeming imminent, and nasty beasties being called from the deep. This series as a whole hasn’t made a big impression on me, but for what it is, it’s good enough.

Mainspring (by Jay Lake) is steampunk with brimstone, injustice and oppression. It is Victorian in a rather grim sense, but even so it has its moments of beauty and majesty. Lake’s world building is excellent - our vision of his clockwork universe was easily the best feature of this book. On the downside, the actual plot was not so original, and I did not enjoy the pervasive mood of gloom.

Angel Fever (by Isobelle Carmody) is a charming short-ish story that takes the question “What is beauty?” and comes up with a practical and moving, if not particularly subtle, response.

A Cage of Butterflies (by Brian Caswell) was one of my favourite books when I was at school. On revisiting it, I found it clunkier than I remembered, and not one of this author’s best. It’s not bad, though, and I still enjoyed my reading experience. The plot mixes a bunch of smart kids, some telepathic babies, a greedy corporation, and a couple of normal, ethically inclined adults.

Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, is a well-paced, interesting book that raises some serious questions about security and accountability. The story is both apt and readable, but the ending seemed too neat, and too easy for the good guys. Despite that, I was impressed (and I like a happy ending anyway). The premise is that a young hacker and his friends are illegally arrested after a terrorist event, and subsequently tortured and persecuted by the government. At the same time, the government starts imposing restrictions on the civil liberties of the wider population. The young hacker starts an underground movement to counter the disturbing trend.

Venetia (by Georgette Heyer) is one of my favourite historical romances. I've read it a number of times before, and will no doubt read it many times more in the future.

Cardcaptor Sakura 1, by CLAMP, is very, very girly - this manga is so girly that there is a panther with butterfly wings in it. I read a lot of kids’ lit, and understand that when you read a children’s book you read it as a children’s book, but this was just a bit too sweet for my taste. The artwork is not as well done as some other books I’ve been reading, and I probably wouldn’t recommend these to anyone I know, however I would read more of this series if they were readily available just to see how they might develop. There is a bit of potential there for something interesting to come out of it. The basic premise is that Sakura, a primary school girl, has magical powers and is sensing some sort of environmental magical imbalance, which she will probably hope to fix in future volumes.

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, by Galen Beckett, is written in the style of a historical novel, but is not actually a historical novel because it takes part in a world that is a little different from our own. This is a cleverly constructed story, which I read with great satisfaction. I particularly enjoyed some of the literary references, which were not mere name-dropping episodes, but seamlessly integrated details that gave a greater sense of accessibility to a world that was in other ways strange and unique. I recommend it.

Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton: In a world where humans and beasties (including vampires) live alongside, Anita is a human who has a slight immunity to vampire wiles. So they blackmail her into investigating a crime by the vampires against the vampires. I did not like this book. After the beginning, it was pretty much what I expected, but the demented fetish thing in said beginning soured the experience for me.

Hellsing 1, (by Kohta Hirano) was pretty much a let down. The plot was slow moving to non-existent, the characters lacking in appeal, and there is nothing that springs to mind as having been a redeeming feature. The lowdown is that Hellsing is a bad-vampire eradication agency whose star agent is Alucard (no prizes for guessing his heritage). Alucard really wasn’t that interesting as a character - his defining trait seemed to be his superiority/ condescension problem.

Moving right along, Sorrel! Good going. I am going to look for The Rose of Sebastopol, Mainspring, and The Magicians and Mrs. Quent.

Black Maria (by Diana Wynne Jones) left me decidedly nonplussed. It’s a story about power and manipulation, and the setting is uneasy and surrealistic. A school-aged girl and her family go to visit a manipulative aunt who makes a bewilderingly successful attempt to take over their lives. It reminded me very much of Spider Mansion by Caroline MacDonald, which I read about 15 years ago and also didn’t like.

What Makes You Not a Buddhist (by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse) is a very readable and accessible introduction to the core of the Buddhist philosophy. It is structured in four parts corresponding to four (fundamental) seals. It turns out that why I am not a Buddhist is in fact four-fold: I didn’t identify with any of them. While this book was written in a mostly engaging and interesting way, the author’s pop culture references were sometimes a bit cringe-worthy, and will probably date badly.

Rose Daughter (by Robin McKinley) is a beautiful retelling of The Beauty and the Beast. McKinley’s focus on relationship building is what appealed to me the most, and not just between Beauty and the beast: I really enjoyed reading about Beauty’s family as well. On the whole, the writing is good, but toward the end of the book I found myself tripping over some of the author’s stylistic choices. There is a lot of repetition and rephrasing that began to draw attention away from the story and more to its construction the more I noticed it.

When I picked up Business Etiquette by Patsy Rowe, I expected to find some practical information and some impractical but interesting information regarding accepted “proper” behaviours and conventions. In this I was correct. However, I was surprised to also find some advice that ran counter to accepted norms (the guest of honour should sit to the right of the host); some highly subjective and overgeneralised imperatives (men should never have long hair); and some suggestions that were downright vulgar (if you are a woman, you should place your credit card on the table for the duration of any meal you host so that the bill will not be mistakenly given to your masculine guest!) This book passes my usual benchmark of ‘how to “correctly” eat a bread roll,’ and offers some practical advice that should not lead you astray if you use your common sense, but I would hesitate to rely on it to give any definitive answers.

BEST FEBRUARY READ: The Magicians and Mrs. Quent (Galen Beckett)
WORST FEBRUARY READ: Guilty Pleasures (Laurell K. Hamilton)

Most of the stories and accounts I’ve been reading lately have been adequately crafted, but The Reader (by Bernhard Schlink) stands out as being really beautifully written. It’s a story about a young boy who has a relationship with an older woman, and about a Nazi war trial, and about contemporary Germans coming to terms with Germany’s Nazi past. I was a bit reluctant to get started after I’d decided to read it, as some of the themes are definitely distressing, but this is a thoughtful, well-measured book. I recommend it.

Jane of Lantern Hill (by L.M. Montgomery) is an old favourite. It’s fairly typical Montgomery, with similarities to the Anne and Emily books in themes and style, but with its own story and a different cast of characters. Jane lives rather unhappily with her mother and grandmother in mainland Canada until one day out of the blue her father asks for her to visit him on Prince Edward Island. At first she doesn’t want to leave her mother, but she finds a lot to love about the Island, the people she meets there, and the freedom she finds.

South of the Border, West of the Sun (Haruki Murakami) was unsettling. I didn’t really feel drawn into the story for most of it, but found the last few chapters to be quite powerful. The story is about an only child (Himeji) as he grows up - how he approaches relationships and what he seeks from life. I found little hope in the narrative, as Himeji’s personal philosophy does not sit well with my own, but I did recognise a lot of truth in the reality of his character. It scared me, a bit.

The Other Boleyn Girl (by Philippa Gregory) is a partly fictional narrative retelling of Anne and Mary Boleyn and Henry VIII. Even though the book employed a lot of hypothesising, conjecture and artistic license, I learnt a lot about the period because it interested me enough that I followed up with a bit of further research (I previously knew very little). So I found it both entertaining and educational.

After a very trying week I wanted a book that would cheer me up, and Howl’s Moving Castle did the trick. Sophie is the eldest of three sisters - and a stepsister to boot - so she doesn’t expect great things for her future. She has her fair share of problems, but doesn’t get too angsty, because she’s a likeable practical sort of person. She puddles along and does her best (which is actually rather good indeed), and finds out that she’s quite happy with life after all. Diana Wynne Jones has spun a fresh, original and comfortable story that I recommend. Note: the movie is a little different, but I found it equally as good, which is rare enough that I thought it worth a mention!

The Alien Way (by Gordon R. Dickson) is the old kind of SF in which you can hear the narrative cogs turning in service of an Interesting Idea. That said, it is quite interesting if you’re willing to look past a bit of smugness and inarticulateness both from the author and the main character. The Idea is an exploration of how a different species might evolve to develop a very different worldview / moral paradigm from humankind’s. I have a bit of a soft spot for old SF myself, maybe due to an over-susceptibility to nostalgia, but I didn’t feel like I wasted my time over this one.

BEST NEW MARCH READ: The Reader (Bernhard Schlink)
LEAST GOOD MARCH READ: The Alien Way (Gordon R. Dickson)

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (by Barbara Kingsolver) is a fascinating and inspiring read. The first time I read it, it was informative and entertaining. This time it was informative, entertaining and motivating… My housemate and I went out and bought Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll, and last weekend we made cheese and pasta from scratch and she preserved tomatoes for winter. Lots of fun!

Prince of Tennis (having read volumes 10, 11 & 12) is still appealing, and there is a lot of unresolved material that my library does not have the tools to address. I’d like to read more, but I’m now in a bit of a pickle, because I do not want to buy a 42 volume set! Realistically, this is probably where it finishes.

Dogsbody (by Diana Wynne Jones) was an adequate, but not an enthralling read. A mistreated stepchild takes in a stray dog that is actually a disgraced extraterrestrial bigwig with a mission. (And it’s not tongue in cheek.)

House of Many Ways, by Diana Wynne Jones, is the first book I’ve read twice since starting my reading log. It really is quite charming (reference to subject text intended ;) Original comments in post 24.

I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle earlier this year and I agree. Informative, entertaining, and motivating!!

It is difficult to say what Hexwood (by Diana Wynne Jones) is about without revealing too much – the plot undergoes a number of paradigm shifts, each time apparently bringing the reader closer to the reality of the story. The narrative progresses vertiginously, making blurry distinctions between the real and the possible, and fluidly mixing timelines and causalities. The wood is at the centre of things; its field of influence is explored, but never completely understood. (Just in case that sounds like the story’s wishy-washy and left wide open, this is a reassurance that the narrative threads are adequately tied together and successfully resolved at the end – it’s just that the wood’s a bit of a mystery.)

The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley, is about a practical yet somewhat marginalised princess’s coming of age and finding her place. I have a generally positive memory of the story, but was a bit unconvinced about Aerin’s relationship choices. Looking back, I’m finding it hard to remember details, as the story has been overshadowed in my mind by Deerskin, which has a similar set up, and is a much more powerful, yet far less pleasant, story.

So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore (by Wayne Jacobsen and) is a thoroughly irritating book that I read at the request of a friend. The writing is terrible and surface story is cringeful. There was some interesting content (and some that I questioned), but I didn’t take notes; was absolutely not going to brave the book again to do so; and was not in a particularly receptive mood in the first place, so a lot of it was wasted on me. What I came away with in the long run was pretty much what I went in with.

Saving Francesca, by Melina Marchetta, is a well-paced, well-written exploration of Frankie’s school and home life as she starts year 11 in a new school, documenting her everyday challenges and triumphs. Marchetta has unerringly captured the culture and place that she has chosen (Italian/Australian/Catholic/Sydney/High School) and also gets top marks for strong character development, relationship development and readability.

Fall of Angels (L.E. Modesitt) begins a SF story arc in a predominantly fantasy series. This is where the high-tech precursors of Recluce’s order mages become stranded on the world of Recluce and establish the matriarchal society at Westwind. The characters’ technical adaptations and achievements are interesting, and judging by the consistency of the chaos and order potential already showcased in this series, it's not surprising that in this book and in The Chaos Balance (its chronological sequel) we receive a consistent SF account of how it came to be. The coherent system of ‘magic’ in the Recluce books is part of what makes it such a standout series for me.

The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley, is set after The Hero and the Crown, but was written first. In my opinion, this is the better book. Harry is an orphan who moves from the Homeland to a military outpost at Istan to be closer to her brother. She finds that the desert hills suit her - she is one of few who sees their beauty. In time, Harry finds that the desert is stranger than it first appears; that stories of the inexplicable have more substance to them than an ordinary Homelander would credit; and that she has a place among the desert people if she chooses.

The White Order (L.E. Modesitt) is the first story (in publishing order) of the Recluce saga that takes a closer look at the chaos wielders. The change of perspective gives a welcome look at a new culture, and backs up previous hints that black and white are not as simple as good and evil. This book follows the childhood of Cerryl, who has a talent for chaos that his family fears may land him in trouble. Modesitt’s world building is very good – his world has many cultures and histories that are all interesting to read about.

Mother Tongue (Bill Bryson) is a super-entertaining pop history of the English language, featuring many laugh-out-loud moments. It took me a while to warm to this book, as I was dubious about the reliability of some of its claims, which are sparsely referenced (sometimes not at all) and end-noted where I would have preferred in-text for more immediate and convenient checking. Getting past this quibble, and provisionally accepting the content, I really enjoyed myself with this one.

Addition (by Toni Jordan) was a bit of a disappointment. The blurb seemed to promise more than the book delivered. Grace is a number lover coping with OCD and she meets a nice man. Being a number lover myself (and also somewhat into routines, but not OCD) I thought that the numbers aspect could have been done better. The romance was sweet, and the treatment sequence frightening. Overall it was an ok book but not one I’d be in a hurry to recommend to anyone.

BEST APRIL READ: Saving Francesca, Melina Marchetta
LEAST GOOD MARCH READ: Addition, Toni Jordan

I did not find Beauty (Robin McKinley) to be as memorable as the author’s later retelling of the same story in Rose Daughter. I remember moderately liking this story, but finding the ending completely unsatisfactory: Beauty’s insecurity stemming from the Beast’s transformation – she wonders whether she can marry him after all once he is so different – is a natural response that is unexplored and made little of.

Throw out Fifty Things, by Gail Blanke, hasn’t made a lasting impression. Two months later, this is what I remember from it:
1. Throwing things away is liberating
2. Getting rid of limiting ideas/attitudes is liberating (but it didn’t go into how to throw off such ideas, so not much of a win there.
3. Get rid of at least 50 things; go on, you can do it!
4. If you throw out more than one of the same sort of thing, that only counts as one thing.
5. You’re not allowed to throw out other people’s stuff (but the author did it anyway.)

Now, out of all of those items, the bits I didn’t know already were: 2b: how, to clear up mentally, which wasn’t addressed;
4: which is somewhat arbitrary anyway; and
5b: but it doesn’t actually matter to me that the author’s husband is going to miss his jam jars.
So the verdict is- this book successfully passed the time, but imparted no new lasting knowledge.

The blurb for Entertaining Angels (Joanna Bell) did not sound all that appealing, but comments on library thing prompted me to check this book out. An elderly gentleman from a small village has commissioned an artist, Julia, to sculpt an angel for the local church. Julia has trouble mustering the inspiration get started, but is determined to win through and make a place for herself and her autistic daughter, Hebe, in the village community. This book was pleasant to read, and quite original. I was cross at first that Julia seemed to need a man to function properly, but on reflection I wonder if it was indeed a need, or more of a happy coincidence. As one other character pointed out, we shouldn’t be afraid to take inspiration where we can find it: there’s no point being snobby if it stops you making the best of what you have.

When I was in primary school I read a single Trixie Belden book – I remember that somebody was being poisoned by cyanide, and the Bob Whites were discussing whether it could have come from apple seeds. In trying to pin this title down, and in a bout of quasi-nostalgic reading, I began a Trixie kick on my long weekend. The quality of these books is pretty varied, and doesn’t directly correlate to whether they were written by the original author or a subsequent one. Disappointing fact uncovered: ‘Kathryn Kenny’ is a pen name for a series of publishing house authors. Oh well.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery on Cobbett's Island, ‘by’ Kathryn Kenny, is not bad. Trixie and the gang find a treasure map on their rainy island holiday.

Trixie Belden and the Secret of the Unseen Treasure (Kathryn Kenny) is ok so far as Trixie goes. Someone has been stealing pension cheques and harassing a little old lady. Trixie thinks it’s to do with a valuable bequest.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery at Saratoga (Kathryn Kenny) is another decent one about a race horse doping scandal.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Queen's Necklace (Kathryn Kenny) is pretty ordinary – Honey inherits a necklace that is apparently a valuable copy of a royal piece. The kids head off to England on an educational holiday to try to track down its history and avoid having it stolen.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Castaway Children (Kathryn Kenny) is pretty weird. Trixie finds a couple of ‘abandoned’ children and tries to track down their story.

Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery (Julie Campbell) is one of the original and better Trixie stories: Trixie and mates go on a trailer holiday, while at the same time trying to track down their friend Jim, who’s gone missing, and a pack of trailer thieves.

The Secret of the Mansion (Julie Campbell) The very first in a long series. Introducing Trixie and her friends.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery off Old Telegraph Road (Kathryn Kenny) is another good one: Trixie organises a bike-a-thon to raise money for her school’s under-funded art department, but seems to be facing more resistance than reasonable, including some sinister threats.

Maybe I’d just had enough by the time I got to Trixie Belden and the Mystery off Glen Road (Julie Campbell) but I found it so bad that I couldn’t even read it through properly. I skimmed it, found no apple seeds, and couldn’t say now what it was actually about.

BEST MAY READ: Entertaining Angels (Joanna Bell)
WORST MAY READ: Trixie at Glen Road (Julie Campbell) or, if not counting Trixie: Beauty (Robin McKinley) didn’t meet (rather high) expectations.

Deerskin (Robin McKinley) was well written and compelling, but also distressing. It is a modern retelling of the fairytale Donkeyskin that is also its own valid story. This is a style that McKinley has developed well. Lissar is the daughter of an idolised king, and the queen who is ‘the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms’. Her parents do not seem to understand how or even why to love their child, and eventually Lissar is the victim of active abuse. This is the story of her escape and recovery.

Following on from The White Order, Colours of Chaos (L.E. Modesitt) is a wholly satisfactory return to and conclusion of Cerryl’s story.

Having an hour to kill in the library before my skating lesson, I coincidentally came across Sugar Princess 1, by Hisaya Nakajo. This did require some substantial suspension of disbelief, but it is cute: Maya is spotted by an artistic skating coach when she is mucking around at the ice rink and performs a credible attempt at a double axel! She starts to learn skating properly, and makes very fast progress. This manga has good artwork, and although the story is not super-plausible, it has potential to get more absorbing as it goes along. Unfortunately the series seems to have been aborted after the second volume.

The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss, is completely readable - I found myself wanting to get back to it whenever I had to put it down. Kvothe is a figure of legend; an artist, magician and adventurer who is convinced to tell his story. I enjoyed learning about Kvothe’s mastery of varied talents, but was also disappointed with his occasional but regular outstandingly bad random decisions. Some of the supporting cast was pleasing to read about (Auri!) whereas others left me cold (the ‘woman of mystery’ love interest irritated me, and ‘university bully’ seemed like more of a plot device than a character). On the whole, a good book, and I await the sequel with high expectations.

Frangipani (by Celestine Vaite) is a story about a Tahitian lady and her family. It is nicely told, and has the same sort of charm as Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective agency. Very good.

Sugar Princess 2, by Hisaya Nakajo, starts where the first volume leaves of. The series unfortunately has not been continued: I’d read more if it had been.

Breadfruit (by Celestine Vaite) had charm, but was not quite as good as Frangipani. Both books are worth reading, but Frangipani is more of a coherent story, whereas Breadfruit sometimes feels more like a string of anecdotes collected together. The two books are about the same characters, but they do not require a certain reading order – the timelines overlap somewhat, and both stories stand very well on their own. (Breadfruit was written first).

*GAVE UP ON IN JUNE*

Interview with the Vampire (by Anne Rice) was not by any means shaping up to be the worst book I’d ever read: I didn’t mind pulling it out on the bus if that was all I had, but it was not a book that I was eager to get back to in general. However, being a bit bogged down by a stack of partly-read less than gripping books, I decided to be done with all of them.

For some reason Curse of the Mistwraith (by Janny Wurts) never really engaged my imagination at all. It seemed like a very detached view of a world that might have been interesting in parts if only I could have had a better look. I found it like reading a dry history, and would not be a big reader if this was my usual reading experience. 550 pages in I gave up and skimmed through the rest, still didn’t get excited, and went ‘Oh. It’s a series. I won’t be reading any more of it.’ (Having said that, I have enjoyed other books by this author eg. Sorcerer’s Legacy.)

How Language Works (by David Crystal) is another book I purged from my currently reading stack. From the blurb I was expecting this book to look at different aspects of communication - both worded and other - but the book turned out to be more about linguistics than anything else. Some of it was interesting, while other bits were not quite what I was after. I ended up reading around 2/3 to 3/4 of the (mostly) stand-alone chapters.

Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susannah Clarke was recommended to me as being very funny à la Douglas Adams or Neil Gaiman. It wasn’t. It wasn’t even funny at all. I waded through 60 pages of dull ponderous boring events, then gave it to the person who recommended it to me. It turns out that he’d only read a few pages in the first place, so it seemed a just punishment.

BEST JUNE READ: The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
WORST JUNE READ: tie between Curse of the Mistwraith (Janny Wurts) and Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell (Susannah Clarke).