Tags, Genres, Post Apocalyptic Supplies

I'm thinking about going back and specifying genre and possibly audience (YA, etc.) for my entries. Although this blog is mostly for me to keep track of my reading, maybe it would be helpful and make it more like a REAL review blog.

Starting to plan my vacation has gotten me in the mood to plan what would be in my EXTREME survival backpack. Thanks to Mr. Page's junior year biology class and my literary preferences I'm obsessed with the mechanics of survival in a post-apocalyptic world, so I thought it would be fun to plan what I would need to have on hand. This week I hope to get reviews up for "The Gift of Fear" and "Wilderness Survival for Dummies" and get my supply list started.

Gotta Fever, and the Only Prescription is more Audiobooks

Since I've been working on knitting as many hats as possible, I've turned to audiobooks and gotten completely hooked on the one I listened to this weekend.

Lirael by Garth Nix (REREAD) (YA, fantasy)

Lirael spends her childhood feeling like an outsider. Physically distinctive from all her cousins, she also lacks the gift of foresight that is the mark of her people. When she finds she must leave on a mysterious journey she meets with Prince Sameth, a man with a dangerous job he is not sure he can actually bring himself to do.

This audiobook is narrated by TIM CURRY. So great! My favorite is when he does the voice for the small, evil, white cat. His women's voices can be a little nasal but it's Tim Curry and he's so great I don't care.

One character who seemed very different to me in my relisten of this book is Nicholas. For most of the book(s) he is possessed or sickly with everyone trying to rescue him, but for the 15 minutes or so when he's NOT possessed he's actually kind of badass. He saves his rugby team from being blown up by friendly fire, helps them start a signal and make noise then grabs a sword to fight a necromancer. And... that's about as far as he gets. But still, not bad.


Honestly I've always loved this because because it's so teenage emo. Lirael doesn't fit in, she feels like she'll never be as good as everyone else, blah blah. It's like a slow-flowing stream of emo interrupted by awesome monster killing and talking dog. Once the adventure really gets going I have trouble putting my CD player away to go to bed, so the story does pick up.

Sam is pretty emo too- at one point he even admits to himself like he's acting like a spoiled baby- but he also has a lot of fear, which I think is a cool thing to see in a fantasy hero, most of whom don't seem to feel fear at all (or if they do it's just a kind of nervousness). Sam is genuinely terrified of death, to the point where he has awful physical symptoms. I like his unexpected talent, and would like to see more of it and how it works (in another book maybe pleeeeease?).

Looking forward to finishing this tonight and moving on to "Abhorsen".

Warden threw a party in the county jail...

Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith (NEW READ) (YA, dystopian, adventure)
  I love a good prison story, and this one definitely has interesting elements. Alex is running a string of burglaries when he and his best friend are caught in the act, and Alex is framed for murder. Once caught, Alex is sentenced to life in the infamous prison "Furnace". Furnace houses only teens, created especially for that purpose after a summer of shocking gang murders several years earlier. Not only is Furnace unusual in that it is almost completely underground, there are also huge freaky guards, monster dogs and machine guns. Worst of all are the men in gas masks who take you away in the middle of the night...
  While the writing in this book didn't really grab me, the situations the story portrayed felt very real. Furnace is a little like junior high: try not to cross authority figures, avoid the Crazy kids who are Trouble, make a decent showing but don't come off like you're looking for a fight. It's a complicated social structure, and I like how the reader gets to struggle along with Alex about the choices he makes. I enjoyed the scifi elements like the dogs and men in gas masks- can't wait to find out what the story is there, though a big hint is dropped near the end of the book.
  All in all a fast read, not particularly deep but an interesting and intense beach book.

Lovin' those secondary characters

The Incredible Hercules: World War Hulk (NEW READ) (comics, superheroes)
I didn't read this to catch up with Hulk so much as to find out what was going on with Amadeus Cho. Punk mastermind hacker hanging out with an Olympian Demi-God? Yes please! So in this comic stuff blew up, Amadeus outsmarted everyone and believed in the Hulk (cuz friends! Hell yeah!) and in the end no one was really all that happy. But since that leads to Herc and Amadeus on the road having crazy adventures in later issues I'm totally fine with that. For more reasons on why this character is so awesome, see The 7 Most Brilliant Moments of Amadeus Cho.
Now I've gotta check out his Prince of Power miniseries!

Monday Holiday Reading

"Magic Mourns" from "Must Love Hellhounds" by Ilona Andrews (NEW READ) (urban paranormal)
A cute story about how Andrea and Raphael finally got together- and fought Cerebus a few times. I liked that it was from Andrea's point of view- it's fun to see how well-rounded and distinctive the other characters in the cast are.

"Veil of Night" by Linda Howard (NEW READ) (romantic suspense)
Light suspense / romance. The romance was not happening for most of the book, and you could tell who the villain was early on, but I still enjoyed this as a quick read. I liked that the one night stand stayed that way and didn't immediately turn into true love. Bridezilla getting hers was the most satisfying part of the book. >:)

Day off reading

Fell into a bit of a lull this week, but yesterday when I found out the new Kresley Cole was out I blazed through it and another title I had half finished.


Demon From the Dark by Kresley Cole (NEW READ) (paranormal romance)
   I enjoyed this book more than the last one in the series (Pleasure of a Dark Prince), but I think that is because PoaDP took place in the past timeline-wise, so I felt like we were retreading territory we had already seen. I'm also still trying to work out how well the events tied into the established canon.
   DftD takes place after the events of previous books and avoids this problem. Carrow, the witchy best friend of Mariketa (book 3 heroine) has been captured by a mysterious organization bent on studying and eliminating immortals. Since the last book ended on a cliffhanger with quite a few characters (strangely all single...) being kidnapped, here we get to see how they are faring in captivity. Carrow learns she is now the guardian of a young witch before being sent on a mission to capture an incredibly powerful vampire/demon (vemon!) Of course this leads to destiny and sexytimes.
   I liked how the book had several distinct sections, and didn't just end where I thought it would- it carried on into a full jailbreak/war that I can't wait to read about in the next book. On the other hand I was a little uncomfortable with how the characters used sex to manipulate each other (especially emotionally). Some of their fights were pretty cold, and I wished they had talked things out a bit sooner. I like that there is a big reveal scene where everyone's feelings get out in the open, but at the same time I wish it wasn't necessary and thought it was strange that that was all it took for their problems to be solved.
   Overall, I enjoyed the plot, didn't enjoy some of the sexual politics as much but love the wide variety of characters present in the world. ALSO, this is the first Kresley Cole where I found myself correcting the grammar. I am not that great with editing and grammar, but I still picked out some clauses that need to be flipped and have their commas removed. Hopefully this is not a sign of declining quality.



Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa (NEW READ) (YA, fantasy, romance)
   Meghan Chase has rescued her little brother from Faerie and killed the Iron King, but now she is bound to return to the Winter Court with hot hot faerie prince Ash. The Winter Court isn't a friendly place for a half human/ half Summer fey, and when Meghan is framed in a horrible crime she realizes that the Iron Fey are on the move again.
   I was happy to see Ironhorse return in this book: It's a horse! Made of metal! I want one! Grimalkin and Puck all come back to join in the adventure. There's quite a bit of slow bits followed by ACTION ACTION ACTION, which made it easier to get stuck on the down parts. I found the love triangle one of the slow areas, just because it was obvious she had already made up her mind and was just stringing things along in an effort to be nice.
   Iron Fey are based in Silicon Valley- perfect! I do wonder if all the Iron Fey are evil. The other fey all hate them, but they can't really help what they are. Meghan seems SO SLOW to realize what is going on with her Fey powers, and only Ironhorse had figured it out by the end of the book. I can't tell if they are willfully ignoring *SPOILER* but it left me seriously questioning the intelligence of the characters (and wondering what the author thought of me the reader, dropping such BROAD HINTS and then not mentioning them).
   I'll still give the next book a go, since I want to know more about the Iron Fey- those computer nerds sound like my kind of magic.

Mine Till Midnight

Worked late last night but finished off my day by reading:

Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas (REREAD) (romance)
I almost always enjoy Lisa Kleypas, but this book employed one of the romance book standards I don't really care for- the instant "I want that person and don't know why" on the part of the guy. I mean REALLY? You have no idea? Is it because she's hot? Because she's a classy lady? Because she's an intelligent and family-focused woman? Pick a reason, it would be more realistic than this befuddlement!

Despite the not-so-beloved trope use the rest of the book was very enjoyable. The heroine's family are all eccentric in their own ways, and there is especially some character development in the case of the second sister Win (heroine of the next book) and Leo, the older brother also had his own character arc. Not sure that I like this series as much as "The Wallflowers" but it is still one of my picks for historical romance.

Mary Roach!

Supa-kawaii

Mary Roach came to our library! I got to have dinner with her and she is super nice! We talked about stuff like Piranha 3D, Dolly Parton and all kinds of random things. She spent time with everyone who wanted a book signed and at the end of the event I got to shock her when I told her that Fabio had been hit in the face with a goose while riding a rollercoaster (she's met Fabio!). She didn't believe me, so I got photographic evidence off the internets (not too hard to find).

Sick Day Reading

I spent Monday home with a stomach bug, so I read quite a bit:

The Twelve Kingdoms: Skies of Dawn by Fuyumi Ono (REREAD) (YA, fantasy, epic)
This is some of my favorite Twelve Kingdoms material. There are more characters than in the first arcs which can make it confusing, but I love how all the viewpoint characters in this series start out as horrible people and personal journey themselves into awesomeness. The introductory sections can drag a bit but the coup against corrupt officials is super-exciting (especially once you know who is taking part in it). I'm not usually a shipper, but I'm all for Shoukei x Kantai like woah. She's a former princess! He's a general who's sometimes a bear! Together they're all about piggyback rides and doing the dishes together, awww.

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews (REREAD) (urban paranormal)
This series is a cure for all the overpowered, hyper-sexy paranormal romance heroines out there. Yes, Kate is powerful, but she gets hurt an awful lot, sometimes doing stupid things. The worldbuilding and magic are well thought out, and there are plenty of interesting secondary characters.


Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (REREAD) (urban paranormal)
Read two in a row, just because I had the time and could. :P

Tudors in the Privy

Henry VIII, non-sexy flavor

(REREAD) Henry VIII: The King and His Court by Alison Weir
   I'll admit to keeping a book in the bathroom just in case, but I'm not camping out in there like a guy. The ideal bathroom book has to be something that you can pick up and put down at anytime and still be entertained, and this 600+ page biography fits the bill. Filled not just with the facts of Henry's life, it also covers what life was like for those at the royal court. Some of my favorite details were things like the rules the had to set down for behavior: No peeing on the floor, No drawing a penis on the wall. The more things change, huh?

   It's also interesting to see how overwhelmingly positive people were at the start of Henry's reign and how as he aged they became less optimistic. Henry was pretty much like the second coming until he started divorcing queens and breaking with the church. There's some nice coverage of all the palaces built during his reign, though not all of them have survived to the present day. This is a book to reread whenever you feel like going back in time to learn about a different way of life.

Read a Comic in Public Day

Reading "Saint Young Men," a totally cracked out manga. Jesus and Buddha are living as 20-something roommates in Tokyo- watch as they visit Disneyland, go the pool and more!

Ohisashiburi

Felt like blogging and remembered this was here.

Read this week:

(REREAD)  Emissaries from the Dead by Adam-Troy Castro. I had forgotten how violent the opening to the book is, but I enjoyed revisiting the huge artificial world One One One and its sloth-like inhabitants. Although Andrea has a violent past she doesn't spend too much time either angsting over it or excusing herself due to circumstances. I'd like to know more about how the universe operates, and see a wider variety of people who are working in indentured servitude.

(NEW READ) I also read Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, but don't want to say too much to avoid spoilers. In the end I felt that any character that DID NOT come out of the book with horrible PTSD was a bad person. When I finished I was actually shaking, not sure if it was the book or the one session reading I gave it.

On the radar:

Scandal by Carolyn Jewel -  Need to finish this one. Heard about it when people started muttering that it should have won the RITA for best historical. That seemed unusual in the romance communities I frequent (where most people try to avoid acting like dicks) so I figured this book must have been really something. Enjoying it so far, just put it down for other things.

Grass by Sheri S. Tepper - SST's book often come across as way to didactic for me, but I keep returning to Grass. I love the setting so much, even the crazy giant church that runs the Earth (where the important stuff is in the basement and the peons all live in the soaring architectural towers). Grass just takes me away to another place.

Wishlist

I'm in a workshop for teen librarians, and we are supposed to create a blog. I'm updating this with a booklist of books I want to read:

~In the Coils of the Snake by Clare Dunkle
~Uglies by Scott Westerfield

That's all for now!

Random stuff

So I've been home for several weeks, which means lots of rereading. Some of the stuff I've reread:

Lord of the Rings, The Alleluia Files, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Illusion (the only Paula Volsky book I've ever been able to get through, but I love it), Mansfield Park, The Chronicles of the Chrestomanci Book One, a ton of random romance/ popular novels, and all the Harry Potter books.

New Stuff:
~Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

This book really sucked me in- I read it in one 3-4 hour sitting. It's fairly dense, and uses challenging language, sometimes excessively I felt (I started keeping track of how many times I spotted vertiginous.) However, the language really builds up the imagery in the story, some of which is exceptionally vivid and disturbing. I wouldn't recommend it if you have a queasy stomach- there's TON of mucus imagery along with plenty of violence, but the story and setting completely seized my attention.

~The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

I've just started this, thanks to Lucy. It sure doesn't start off with a "hook"- two chapters about the heath? And I still have trouble picturing it, other than that's it's hilly and dark. Once I came to the character driven chapters I started to enjoy it quite a bit. I've only read this for about an hour so far, but I should finish up in the next few days.

March 27- Dumas, Flaubert, Bradbury, Stroud

Currently Reading:

~The Count of Monte Cristo (Unabridged)

Not finished yet, but it's very different from the abridged version. Much more excitement and poison.

~Madame Bovary

Again, not quite finished with this. Lucy tells me I can keep it. :P


Lately Finished:

~Bradbury Classic Stories 1 : From the Golden Apples of the Sun and R Is for Rocket

This is an amazing collection of short stories. They range in length from 5 pages to 80 pages long, but all managed to grab my attention. I think my favorites were "The Fog Horn," "The Murderer," and "Frost and Fire". I hope the library has a second collection like this. This book made me want to reread "Dandelion Wine" aka. "The Bradbury No One Has Read".

~The Amulet of Samarkand

YA/Juv fantasy fiction. The humorous narration really makes this book. I especially enjoyed the demon's many footnotes, which reminded me of Terry Pratchett's work.