| Bookshelf - Partial List |
[Jul. 22nd, 2008|09:02 am] |
Well, it's, um, almost the end of July, and I haven't included "bookshelf" updates about what I've read for this entire year. Recently, I haven't included the updates because I am just too intimidated by the stack of read books on top of the bookshelf closest to my desk. (Also, those stacked books are an effective barrier to keep Acrobat Kitty from leaping the chasm to the bookshelves on the perpendicular wall...) At the risk of causing grievous bodily harm to Acrobat Kitty, here's the beginning of my reading from this year:
- HAL SPACEJOCK, by Simon Haynes. Simon is one of the SFNovelists, and he kindly sent me this copy of HAL, his first comic SF novel, all the way from Australia. I am not a fan of most comic novels, and I'm not even a big reader of SF (I'm mostly a fantasy girl...) I truly enjoyed this novel, though, mostly for the wry voice of Clunk (a robot) and the absolute un-flap-ability of the titular character. Simon has made this volume available as a free download so that other USian readers can enjoy his work, and his fourth HAL novel is now being carried by Powell's, online, without horrendous postage-from-Australian charges.
- THE DEATH OF FAITH, by Donna Leon. A mystery-writing friend recommended Donna Leon to me last year, and then I suddenly saw Leon's name everywhere, in bookstores, on the subway, etc. Her novels aren't amazing mysteries, in the sense of whodunnit, but they're marvelous drawings of Venetian life. I adore the matter-of-fact way that Guido Brunetti navigates the world around him, balancing corruption and faith with a shrug and a glass of fine wine.
- SKIN FOLK, by Nalo Hopkinson. I'm not a big short-story reader, but I've had this collection sitting around for - alas, literally - years. I was captivated by the different voices in the stories, some of which worked better for me than others. One recurring theme - the magic that penetrates our lives - resonated for me; the stories simultaneously felt "fantastic" and utterly mundane, as the people in them embraced the magic in their daily lives.
- WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER, by Elizabeth Geoerge. I used to be an avowed George fan, but I swore off her several years ago, because her work became too wandering for me. I broke my vow to read WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS (the book preceding this one) and was thoroughly grateful that I did - those characters came alive for me again. Alas, this sequel, telling the story of some "small role but major impact" characters from WITNESS, was unremittingly grim. The entire novel, I knew the dire fate of the main character (as related in WITNESS), and the book consisted largely of horrific circumstances designed to get the characters where I knew they'd be. That, combined with a lot of the book being written in an urban patois unfamiliar to me, made this one a major challenge to finish. Sigh.
- WICKED LOVELY, by Melissa Marr. This "fairy tale" is hauntingly beautiful, with very real characters in a contemporary setting, recognizing the reality of magic in the world around them. I was given this book with a strong recommendation to read it to advance my own writing; I enjoyed the storytelling all on its own, without any need for instruction. (The sequel has just come out!)
- EYES OF CROW, by Jeri Smith-Ready. I've known Jeri for quite some time, but (shame-facedly) had not read any of her books. I loved the otherworldliness of this book; it reminded me in the best way of Zilpha Keatley Snyder's BELOW THE ROOT series, which I adored as a child. The worldbuilding, however, and the magic that people get from their animal spirits, is uniquely Jeri's. What can I say? I'm a sucker for a reluctant heroine...
- SILENT IN THE GRAVE, by Deanna Raybourn. My editor gave me this mystery, plucking it from the shelves in her office when I last visited. I enjoy mysteries, but not so much the period pieces, so I wasn't overly eager to read Raybourn's debut novel. My interest was piqued, though, when I saw that Maria Snyder had blurbed the book (while I ignore most blurbs, I don't ignore *friends*!) I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly the believable iconoclasm of the heroine, who creates her own path, even as she conforms to her (Victorian) society's expectations.
- PARASITE REX, by Carl Zimmer. This book languished on my to-be-read shelf for years, after Nancy Kress and I attended the author's lecture at the Smithsonian. Scott Westerfeld used this book as the source for his wonderful interstitial chapters in PEEPS, so I finally dug out my copy. I learned some interesting things, but I have to say that Scott's distillation (and the author's presentation, with slides!) was more entertaining than a lot of the gruesome details about how parasites rule the world.
- BLUE BLOODS, by Melissa de law Cruz. Part of my reading project on YA vampire books. The tone of this book didn't quite resonate with me (the school was just a little too outrageous - coed students stripping in the halls for their gym classes?) but the underlying mystery of the vampires, and who they are, and how they fit into American history, was superb. I actually want to re-read a couple of history texts to figure out more about how these puzzle pieces could fit together.
- VAMPIRE ACADEMY, by Richelle Mead. Another part of my reading project on YA vampire books. I want to be Richelle Mead when I grow up (or, at least, to write her books.) I loved the entire set-up for this novel, and the characters felt incredibly real to me. The romance works well, the narrator was smart, but realistically not-quite-adult.... The most successful of all the YA vamp boks I've read.
OK, that's it for today - I'll get more of the shelf cleared off shortly!
Mindy, completing some housekeeping |
|
|
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
thesandtiger's Friends Page
amused
exanimate