My Book List

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:24:01 GMT

I ended up cutting the books read before April, to make it easier on your friendslists. So, from 64 on...

64) Small Favor, Jim Butcher
65) Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey
66) Dark Lord of Derkhelm, Diana Wynne Jones
67) An Inconvienent Truth, Al Gore
About global warming. Definitely a chilling book, despite some clumsy writing. Very well-put-together visually. Despite critical BSing, Gore has his facts together and they are extremely worrying to anyone with a brain (ie, not my insanely conservative aunt).

68) Bitch, Elizabeth Wurtzel
About the treatment of difficult women in reality and popular culture. Highly entertaining and a fun feminist read, despite some glaring cases of Did Not Do the Research. For example, a mention of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots had me rolling on the floor when the author not only put the two on a similar prestige level but argued that both had lifted the English monarchy to unprecedented heights and avoided getting beheaded. Despite the fact that Mary was not only never England's queen, but did get beheaded, by Elizabeth. Yeah.

69) The Lady and the Unicorn, Tracy Chevalier
About the making of the famous tapestries. An... odd book, in a lot of ways. Very artsy and angsty. Some very well-drawn characters, though, and I love Chevalier's descriptions.

70) God's Secretaries, Adam Nicolson
About the translating of the King James Bible. Oh, dear, Mr. Nicolson. He's terribly bombastic and utterly assured and pretentious about his subject matter. Unlike Ms. Wurtzel, however, he very clearly Did Do the Research, and aside from his somewhat frequent lapses into laudatory purple prose, the book is a fascinating read.

71) Alanna, the First Adventure, Tamora Pierce
About a girl who disguses herself as a boy to become a knight. One of my old favorites, a definite comfort read, and surprisingly one that ages extremely well. The prose gets a bit simplistic at times, but Alanna (despite accusations to the contrary) is a real and wonderful character, delightfully human, with some really fun adventures. Reliving my childhood and all that. Also, MYLES. Yes.

72) In the Hand of the Goddess, Tamora Pierce
Second Alanna book. Apparently all my older male characters are really Myles in disguise. Funny, that.

73) Ethan of Athos, Lois McMaster Bujold
About an OB-GYN from a planet that forbids women to land (no, really, it works), and his adventures in the rest of the galaxy, trying to get ovarian cultures and ONOEZ having to interact with women. Ethan is adorably flustered by women, very cute, and willing to adapt to their presence. Even though he's from a planet of religious fanatics, he doesn't give off the scary religious fanatic vibe; instead he's sweet and flustered most of the time. Well worth a read if only for him.

74) The Museum of Hoaxes, Alex Boese
A collection of historical hoaxes and jokes. Fun to read but not really worth buying or remembering.

75) The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper
There's a bit of a theme in reliving my childhood going on here, the only difference being that I never actually read The Dark is Rising as a child. I really enjoy it, though; the Arthurian themes and echoes are so beautifully drawn. I get the same sort of "oh my GOD" reaction to this series that I got when I first read the Lord of the Rings. A gorgeous series of books so far.

76) The Courtesan's Daughter, Priscilla Galloway
Apparently based off a real incident in Athens during Grecian times, this book is the story of a girl, her stepmother (a former courtesan), and their joint troubles with a gent who just doesn't get that no means no. Rather juvenile, but entertaining for all that. Contains an amusing use of a goose as a guard dog, which I expect will be laughed at by people who have never actually seen a goose.

77) Pleasure for Pleasure, Eloisa James
Romance novel. Cheesy, Regency, based kindasortamaybeanitsybit off Shakespeare, nothing to see here, move along.

78) M is for Magic, Neil Gaiman
A collection of short stories for children. Brilliant, as are all of Gaiman's works, if slightly adult in places. I know at least two of the stories (The Black Cat and October in the Chair) would have given a small me nightmares, but the story about the Ponti Bridge is hilarious.

79) Duchessina, Carolyn Meyer
Catherine d'Medici, her childhood, and her path to the French throne. Brilliantly written. I kept forgetting it was classed as young adult.

80) And Less Than Kind, Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis
Either the final or the penultimate book in a series of Elizabethian fantasies. The only reason I'm still reading this series is Harry and Rhoslyn's romance. Seriously, people, SHOW DON'T TELL. The constant summaries were driving me up the wall. Also, Elizabeth? Way more awesome than you're giving her credit for. At least Harry and Rhoslyn were consistently adorable, and Rhoslyn's conflicted devotion to Mary was really poignant. Dammit, This Sceptered Isle was so good! What happened to the series?

81) Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System, Joanna Cole
82) Magic School Bus Gets Baked in a Cake, Joanna Cole
83) Magic School Bus Inside the Earth, Joanna Cole
84) Magic School Bus Blows Its Top, Joanna Cole
85) Magic School Bus At the Waterworks, Joanna Cole
86) Magic School Bus Inside Ralphie, Joanna Cole
87) Magic School Bus: The Electric Field Trip, Joanna Cole
Yeah, reliving my childhood, and research for a project I've got going. I love MSB so much. Also, MS. FRIZZLE IS A TIME LADY. Search your feelings; you know it to be true.

88) Ithaka, Adele Geras
Eh, didn't like it. Geras seems to be co-opting the stated events of the Odyssey for her own feminist purposes. While I did like Mydon and Klymene's brother, Mydon almost got killed and Klymene's brother really did, leaving me with the screechy Klymene, an annoying and self-indulgent main character, a villainess who couldn't decide if she wanted to be evil or not, and the mopey, wishy-washy Penelope. Not worth it.

89) Loving Frank, Nancy Horan
A curious case of a book winning me over as it went. It struck a little close to the bone with some painfully true depictions of divorce and parental abandonment, and I didn't like Mamah and hated Frank (possibly for those depictions), but the end of the book made me choke up, so I had obviously come to at least tolerate them at some point. The book does some funny things with time, but it's a heartbreaking read.

Now Reading: Fool Moon, Jim Butcher (yes, still); The Snow Leopard, Peter Matheison (yes, still); Uglies, Scott Westerfield

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:40:07 GMT

1) Which Witch, Eva Ibbotson
2) Twilight, Stephanie Meyer
3) The Gammage Cup, Carol Kane
4) The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman
5) The Observation Deck, Naomi Epel
6) The Secret of Platform 13, Eva Ibbotson
7) What You Wear Can Change Your Life, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine
8) The Lioness and Her Knight, Gerald Morris
8) Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Eoin Colfer
9) The Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
10) My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, Jim Butcher et al.
11) My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, Jim Butcher et al.
12) Rose of No Man's Land, Michelle Tea
13) Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
14) The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
15) The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
16) Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper
17) A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
18) Promiscuities, Naomi Wolf
19) Legacy of Love, Joanna Trollope
20) Inkhart, Cornelia Funke
21) A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer, Eve Ensler et al.
22) The Five People You Meet In Heaven, Mitch Album
23) Selling Olga, Louisa Waugh
24) The Pleasure of the Text, Roland Barthes
25) Storm Front, Jim Butcher
26) Othello, William Shakespeare
27) The Tale of Genji, Lady Murasaki
28) The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld, Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs
29) Something Big Has Been Here, Jack Prelutsky
30) The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
31) Poetry, Language, Thought, Martin Heidegger (you think you could use a little more circular logic, dude? No, please, just a little more?
32) Otello, Verdi
33) The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis
34) The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
35) The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Koingsburg
36) Tales of a Korean Grandmother, Frances Carpenter
37) The Twenty-One Balloons, William Pene du Bois
38) Garfield Hogs the Spotlight, Jim Davis
39) Garfield Feeds the Kitty, Jim Davis
40) The Voyage of the Basset, James Christensen
41) The Book of Vice, Peter Sagal
42) Duchess in Love, Eloisa James
43) Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex, Dave Barry
44) To Tempt a Gentleman, Kate Huntingdon
45) The Gun Seller, Hugh Laurie
46) Much Ado About You, Eloisa James
47) Kiss Me, Annabel, Eloisa James
48) Royal Harlot, Susan Holloway Smith
49) Seven Daughters and Seven Sons, Barbara Cohen and Bahija Lovejoy
50) The Witches, Roald Dahl
51) Tamar, Mal Peet
52) Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
53) Vensuian Lullaby, Paul Leonard
54) Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud
55) Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose
56) Point of Hopes, Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett
57) Point of Dreams, Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett
58) On Evil, Adam Morton
59) Haunted Halls, Elizabeth Tucker
60) The Heart of a Woman, Maya Angelou
61) Crispin: the Cross of Lead, Avi
62) The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian, Lloyd Alexander
63) Shards of Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold
I love this one so much I'm reading it again. A sweet and definitely non-traditional love story, in a sci-fi universe I actually like. For those of you playing along at home, that's a grand total of two. Plus, the heroine is named Cordelia, and kicks ass repeatedly. Awesomeness.
64) Small Favor, Jim Butcher
I've reviewed this elsewhere. Suffice to say that the book, despite what I think are a few dangling plot threads, literally left me breathless. Also, Murphy is hardcore awesome. That is all.
65) Kushiel's Dart, Jacqueline Carey
Awesome worldbuilding, a truly spectacular villain, Quintilis Rousse, some lovely and memorable side characters and a beautiful love story (Ysandre and Drustan) make up for the fact that I hate the main character and want to give her love interest a good smackin'. Some phenomenal writing here, though.
66) Dark Lord of Derkhelm, Diana Wynne Jones
Finally got around to reading this after two or three false starts, and wow. Diana Wynne Jones delivers again. It's worth making your way through the complicated and rather slow beginning for the emotional and awesome end. Also, it's a brilliant skewering of traditional fantasy a la Tolkein. Give it a look.

Currently Reading: Fool Moon, Jim Butcher; The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen; Bitch, Elizabeth Wurtzel, The Lady and the Unicorn, Tracy Chevalier

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 08:18:52 GMT

I has more books!

1) Which Witch, Eva Ibbotson
2) Twilight, Stephanie Meyer
3) The Gammage Cup, Carol Kane
4) The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman
5) The Observation Deck, Naomi Epel
6) The Secret of Platform 13, Eva Ibbotson
7) What You Wear Can Change Your Life, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine
8) The Lioness and Her Knight, Gerald Morris
8) Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Eoin Colfer
9) The Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
10) My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, Jim Butcher et al.
11) My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, Jim Butcher et al.
12) Rose of No Man's Land, Michelle Tea
13) Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
14) The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
15) The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
16) Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper
17) A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
18) Promiscuities, Naomi Wolf
19) Legacy of Love, Joanna Trollope
20) Inkhart, Cornelia Funke
21) A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer, Eve Ensler et al.
22) The Five People You Meet In Heaven, Mitch Album
23) Selling Olga, Louisa Waugh
24) The Pleasure of the Text, Roland Barthes
25) Storm Front, Jim Butcher
26) Othello, William Shakespeare
27) The Tale of Genji, Lady Murasaki
28) The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld, Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs
29) Something Big Has Been Here, Jack Prelutsky
30) The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
31) Poetry, Language, Thought, Martin Heidegger (you think you could use a little more circular logic, dude? No, please, just a little more?
32) Otello, Verdi
33) The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis
34) The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
35) The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Koingsburg
36) Tales of a Korean Grandmother, Frances Carpenter
37) The Twenty-One Balloons, William Pene du Bois
38) Garfield Hogs the Spotlight, Jim Davis
39) Garfield Feeds the Kitty, Jim Davis
40) The Voyage of the Basset, James Christensen
41) The Book of Vice, Peter Sagal
42) Duchess in Love, Eloisa James
43) Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex, Dave Barry
44) To Tempt a Gentleman, Kate Huntingdon
45) The Gun Seller, Hugh Laurie
46) Much Ado About You, Eloisa James
47) Kiss Me, Annabel, Eloisa James
48) Royal Harlot, Susan Holloway Smith
49) Seven Daughters and Seven Sons, Barbara Cohen and Bahija Lovejoy
50) The Witches, Roald Dahl
51) Tamar, Mal Peet
52) Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
53) Vensuian Lullaby, Paul Leonard
54) Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud
55) Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose
56) Point of Hopes, Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett
57) Point of Dreams, Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett
58) On Evil, Adam Morton
An interesting and thought-provoking meditation on the nature and definition of evil. Can be a bit incoherent at times; it seems as if Morton is basically thinking on paper. Worth a read, and easy for those of us of a non-philosophical bent to follow.
59) Haunted Halls, Elizabeth Tucker
A sociological interpretation of a collection of ghost stories. I skipped most of the sociological interpretation and just read the ghost stories. Bonus points for including Redlands' theater ghost.
60) The Heart of a Woman, Maya Angelou
A sort of autobiography, history and sociological story all rolled up in one. Maya Angelou is a gifted writer and very entertaining, never boastful. The book drags a bit at times (particularly during her relationship with Make, and a bit with Thomas) but overall, it's a close and insightful look at the civil rights movement and her place in it.
61) Crispin: the Cross of Lead, Avi
I am a total sucker for Avi books, and this one did not disappoint. A historical novel set during the reign of one of the King Edwards (probably the third, since they mentioned the Black Prince), with impeccable historical background and a wonderful story, it's everything I've come to expect from Avi's books. A great and fast read. Good comfort book.
62) The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian, Lloyd Alexander
Another good comfort book. The eponymous hero gets himself into deeper and deeper trouble with every page, and meets some real and good friends along the way. About the only thing I didn't buy was the love story, and that was because a) I called it from the back of the book and b) I wasn't exactly sure how old our hero and heroine were, and therefore how plausible the romance was. I would also have liked an explanation for Presto. Still a fun book though, especially watching Sebastian try and fast talk his way out of hideous situations.

Currently Reading: Fool Moon, Jim Butcher; The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen; Shards of Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold

List Updated and a note on The Historian.

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:42:57 GMT

Books I've Read:

1. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
2. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (or Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, depending on which version you own)
3. White Knight - Jim Butcher
4. The Virgin and the Gipsy - D.H. Lawrence
5. The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Currently Reading: The Scarlet Empress - Paul Magrs

A Note on The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

This is one of the single most frustrating books I have EVER read.

I read it the entire way through, every single page, including the epilogue, and by the end of it I was still wondering when the book would get interesting.

The concept is good. The outline of the story is good. But the author chose to flush it out like a long-winded, drawn-out academic essay which leaves the reader in a constant state of frustration and drowsiness. If it weren't for the fact that the subject matter was interesting, and as I previously mentioned, the storyline itself was interesting as a concept. But the ending, dear gods, was such a cop-out the likes of which I have NEVER seen before. How this piece of literary Valium ever made it to the bestsellers lists I will never know.

The "interesting" bits of the story go as follows: Main character (who's name we never learn; we'll call her Girl) is young and attending school. Girl stumbles across an odd looking book with a dragon woodcut in the center in her father's study. Girl confronts Father about the book. Father begins to take Girl on trips, and on each one reveals a piece of his story of how he found the book, learned the story of his professor's research on Dracula because of it, and ultimately meets his future wife and many friends along the way. Girl grows up, Father goes missing, Girl continues to read Father's notes and letters to her about his search for Dracula and Girl's mother (who disappears shortly after Girl is born), all while Girl is retracing her Fathers footsteps. This ultimately leads to Dracula's tomb, which Girl is miraculously able to puzzle out in the span of a few DAYS, while it took BOTH of her parents several YEARS to figure this out. Girl finds her father in Dracula's tomb. Dracula wakes up and tries to take Girl and Father. Father's friend miraculously appears and tries to kill Dracula, ending up dead himself. Girl's Mother then appears, MIRACULOUSLY, and kills Dracula with ONE SINGLE BULLET. Girl, Father, and Mother live happily ever after until Mother dies 9 years later from a disease, and Father dies from military service as a doctor. Epilogue: Girl discovers book, and recounts the tale IN TWO PAGES of how Dracula first came back from the dead. THE END.

I have never been more sorely disappointed by the ending of a book in my life, and at this point I feel like I've wasted my time with that book, and I kind of want my money back. UGH.

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:48:56 GMT

Hello! All the books I've read this year are below the cut.

1) Which Witch, Eva Ibbotson
2) Twilight, Stephanie Meyer
3) The Gammage Cup, Carol Kane
4) The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman
5) The Observation Deck, Naomi Epel
6) The Secret of Platform 13, Eva Ibbotson
7) What You Wear Can Change Your Life, Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine
8) The Lioness and Her Knight, Gerald Morris
8) Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, Eoin Colfer
9) The Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
10) My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, Jim Butcher et al.
11) My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, Jim Butcher et al.
12) Rose of No Man's Land, Michelle Tea
13) Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
14) The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
15) The Woman Warrior, Maxine Hong Kingston
16) Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper
17) A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
18) Promiscuities, Naomi Wolf
19) Legacy of Love, Joanna Trollope
20) Inkhart, Cornelia Funke
21) A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer, Eve Ensler et al.
22) The Five People You Meet In Heaven, Mitch Album
23) Selling Olga, Louisa Waugh
24) The Pleasure of the Text, Roland Barthes
25) Storm Front, Jim Butcher
26) Othello, William Shakespeare
27) The Tale of Genji, Lady Murasaki
28) The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld, Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs
29) Something Big Has Been Here, Jack Prelutsky
30) The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
31) Poetry, Language, Thought, Martin Heidegger (you think you could use a little more circular logic, dude? No, please, just a little more?
32) Otello, Verdi
33) The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis
34) The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
35) The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Koingsburg
36) Tales of a Korean Grandmother, Frances Carpenter
37) The Twenty-One Balloons, William Pene du Bois
38) Garfield Hogs the Spotlight, Jim Davis
39) Garfield Feeds the Kitty, Jim Davis
40) The Voyage of the Basset, James Christensen
41) The Book of Vice, Peter Sagal
42) Duchess in Love, Eloisa James
43) Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex, Dave Barry
44) To Tempt a Gentleman, Kate Huntingdon
45) The Gun Seller, Hugh Laurie
46) Much Ado About You, Eloisa James
47) Kiss Me, Annabel, Eloisa James
48) Royal Harlot, Susan Holloway Smith
49) Seven Daughters and Seven Sons, Barbara Cohen and Bahija Lovejoy
50) The Witches, Roald Dahl
51) Tamar, Mal Peet
52) Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
53) Vensuian Lullaby, Paul Leonard
54) Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud
55) Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose
56) Point of Hopes, Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett
57) Point of Dreams, Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett

Currently Reading: Fool Moon, Jim Butcher; The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen; On Evil, Adam Morton

The Beginning!

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:23:57 GMT

Here are the beginnings of my list! Of course, I'm only going to list what I've read in the last month or so, since I doubt I'll be able to remember EVERYTHING I've ever read off the top of my head! XD

1. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
2. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (or Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, depending on which version you own)
3. White Knight - Jim Butcher
4. The Virgin and the Gipsy - D.H. Lawrence

Currently Reading: The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova