My Reading Frenzy

What I've Read - What I am Reading - January 18, 2021

Hanging poems on a cherry tree

The weather this week wavered from gloriously warm and sunny to less warm, but still sunny to cloudy and chilly. Each day that it was sunny, whatever the temperature, I went for a 5K walk. I'd like to work up to a mostly 5K run to prep for the race I might be able to participate in in April, in Richmond, VA. This means lots of audiobook time. 

I am looking forward to Wednesday's Inauguration, which I will watch with a celebratory glass of something bubbly. Probably the lemon-cucumber sparkling water I have been saving for a special occasion. While I am thrilled about the change in leadership, I am also looking forward to the return of the Inaugural poem. Amanda Gorman, former National Youth Poet Laureate, will perform a poem at the ceremony. And rumor is that it will be an original poem, composed for the occasion. 

 

 

Read:

• 500 Miles From You (elibrary book) by Jenny Colgan  - This is Colgan's most recent book, and the 3rd in the Scottish Bookshop series. While much of it is set in Kirrinfeif, Scotland each of the main characters also spends time in London. Their differing points of view about London life are especially interesting to me after having spent a few days there in 2019. This story is heavier than some of Colgan's work, but I think she found a good balance between the realistic and romantic elements of the book.
• Year of the Monkey (audiobook purchase from Audible) by Patti Smith. I saw her live when this book was released. I have listened to her read both Just Kids and M Train finding that I love her laid back style. This one is a short 4.5 hour listen in Smith's unmistakable, poetic voice.
• Brave, Not Perfect (library eaudiobook) by Reshma Saujani - While I appreciated the author's observations about how striving for perfection sometimes holds women back from taking brave steps in both the personal and professional realm, there wasn't much here that was new for me. I felt the segments about how this affects young girls and teens was more informative. I would have like more of this and how parents and educators can counteract the negativity. 
• On Account of the Gum (purchased book) by Adam Rex  - This was a sweet picture book, with delightful illustrations depicting the story of a wayward piece of gum and the family's attempt to remove it. 

 

 

Reading:

• Gideon the Ninth (purchased book) by Tamsyn Muir - While talking about how much I was enjoying this read, I did lament that if we were to purchase it for our library we would have a tough time deciding where to shelve it. It has fantasy elements since half the characters are necromancers, but since they were brought to Canaan House via spaceship and the story is set in a futuristic galactic empire it also leans to science fiction, BUT the animated skeletons and deaths certainly fit into horror. As I was typing this, I convinced myself it would go in horror, but then I talked myself out of it. Maybe it will be easier to decide once I have finished. I am looking forward to how the story turns out for Gideon and eager to move to the 2nd book with its focus on Harrow. 
• Angel Mage (library ebook) by Garth Nix - This is the second of Nix's stand alone novels I am reading after loving The Left-Handed Booksellers of London. The first was Newt's Emerald. I did not really know what this book would be about, but so far there are characters who use icons to call on the powers of a variety of angel to do their bidding. Not everyone uses this ability for good. That's about all I have so far. 
• Just Last Night (egalley) by Mhairi McFarlane - I have read all of McFarlane's work. I will continue to do so. I cried a bit during this one already, but I don't think overall it will be a sad book. Disappointingly though, since this is not even out until May, I will have to wait for another book. I am open to suggestions for similar authors and titles.

 

 

Listening:

• Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan - After years of checking this book out to AP Psychology students I thought it was time to find out more. I've listened to just over an hour and the Susannah does not seem to have yet reached the apex of her illness, but she is devolving quickly into someone suffering from extreme paranoia, auditory hallucinations, and a mix of defiant and ego-centric behaviors. I am fascinated to keep listening to find out more.

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***Wht

2020 Reading Reflections and Favorites

Wanting to write a post about everything I read in 2020 made me grateful for my diligence in logging everything I read on Goodreads. I was able to pull up my 2020 challenge and look at all the books I read this year, including dates and a look at the cover. I have always told my students the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" applies in many situations as a metaphor, but not when talking about books. Artists, marketers, and salespeople count on book covers being engaging in order to sell them to us. I am highly visual, and almost never buy a book simply for its cover, but the cover does imprint in my brain and help me remember reading it and at least a bit about it, making a walk down book-memory lane much easier. 

 

 

 

 

Here they are - My 2020 favorite reads:

In roughly in the order I read them.

• Happier at Home (eaudiobook from the library) by Gretchen Rubin - I have found valuable takeaways in all of Rubin's books, but this one hit exactly where I needed it to, when I needed it to. It was particularly prescient because I was isolated at home starting in March, not too long after finishing this listen. I was able to incorporate some of her ideas that in turn helped make staying at home less fraught with anxiety.
• Almost American Girl (purchased book) by Robin Ha - While I read this one as soon as it arrived in our library in February, it was not until August that I had the opportunity to watch an online discussion between Ha and Malaka Gharib, author of the graphic memoir I Was Their American Dream hosted by One More Page Books, an independent bookstore in Arlington, VA.
• City of Girls (egalley) by Elizabeth Gilbert - This is a work of historical fiction that takes place in 1940s New York City in the glamourous-ish theatre world. It reminded me very much of Herman Wouk's Marjorie Morningstar with a young hero who longs to be New York theatre star. This year I also read Gilbert's Big Magic (non-fiction) about living a creative life. It just barely missed being on this list, though here it is I suppose. Ha!
• New Kid and Class Act (purchased books then gifted to my niece) by Jerry Craft - New Kid was the 2020 Newbery winner, the first for a graphic novel. Class Act is an equally thought provoking companion.
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone (purchased audiobook from Audible) by Lori Gottlieb - Gottlieb chronicles her therapy journey after a sudden break up, while also sharing details of therapy patients she is seeing. And interesting look at therapy from both perspectives.
• The House in the Cerulean Sea (purchased book) by TJ Klune. This might be my favorite read of the year. It is one of the books I specifically sought at the beginning pandemic related isolation. The story of Linus Baker and the magical children he is seeking to help was a perfect mix of humor, heartbreak, and fantasy. I want to read it again to savor all the delights of the family they all become.  
• Buzz Saw: The Improbable Story of How the Washington Nationals Won the World Series (purchased book) by Jesse Dougherty - One of my most missed 2020 activities was baseball. We are and have been Washington Nationals fans, which made 2019 the culmination of 14 years of hopes with our first World Series win. It was tremendously disappointing to be deprived of all the celebrations that should have come at the beginning of the 2020 season. Dougherty's book came to me just when teams were cancelling spring training and the season was put on hold indefinitely. I derived great comfort from reliving the triumphant season through this book. I also had the opportunity to hear Dougherty discuss writing the book in  a live Twitter talk.
• Kingdom of the Blind (purchased book) by Louise Penny - Penny's mysteries get better and more sophisticated with every book. This one was particularly satisfying because it finished out a significant story arc. There are two books after this one, which I have not read. I try to stay a bit behind her publications so I do not run out. I have one with me in FL to read soon.
• A Banquet of Consequences (elibrary book) by Elizabeth George - I have found mysteries a great comfort during the pandemic, perhaps for the way they end with the solving of the crime. I read 8 Lynley mysteries this year, but this was my favorite.
• The Goldfinch (eaudiobook from the library) by Donna Tartt - I loved Tartt's The Secret History, I was less enamored of The Little Friend. The Goldfinch was wonderful. I listened to it because I balked at sitting with such a long book. In retrospect I would have torn through it, probably faster than I was able to listen. I had to pause twice because the audiobook was due back at the library before I could finish. In the end, I was on edge for most of it after the initial disaster, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. It did, in spectacular fashion. I loved it.
• Magic Lessons (egalley) by Alice Hoffman - I saw the movie Practical Magic when it came out in 1998, having no idea it was based on a book, which I just read in 2019. I followed in 2020 with the others in the family of books, but this was my favorite, with its overtones of The Scarlet Letter.
• Untamed (eaudiobook from the library) by Glennon Doyle - This was my favorite non-fiction read/listen of the year. Doyle is amazing. She shares her own story in all her books, but somehow is also able to tap into the ways we all feel weak and not enough in our own situations, but then she offers badass wisdom to build us up. I like this one so much I also purchased this book to re-read and re-visit.
• Daevabad Trilogy (purchased books) by SA Chakraborty - Like I sometimes do, I rejected these books because they were too popular, everyone was reading them, I was going to be different. I am a fool because I LOVED them all. The benefit however of my stubborness is having been able to read all three books in a row without waiting. 
• The Year of Living Danishly (eaudiobook from the library) by Helen Russell - Having never lived outside the United States, I appreciated Russell's thorough exploration of her temporary (or so she thought) country. The book is organized by months, beginning when she arrives in January. She explores, in depth, 12 different facets of life in Denmark from work to motherhood to eating to winter to traditions. This detailed look at moving and living in another country was intriguing.
• The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (purchased book) by Garth Nix - I have raved about this one more than once. It was definitely ending up on this list.
• Return of the Thief (purchased book) by Megan Whalen Turner - While I really liked how Turner wrapped up this six book series, reading it was an important reminder that sometimes it is a good idea to re-read earlier books.
• The Witches are Coming (eaudiobook from the library) by Lindy West - I recently listened to Shit, Actually, West's most recent publication, but this one is so far my favorite of hers. I need regular feminist commentary in my life so I do not get complacent. 
• A Promised Land (purchased audiobook from Audible) by Barack Obama - I was so eager for this one, I pre-ordered the audiobook. I spent much of the book lamenting the loss of dignity and integrity in the White House. (I am looking forward to their return next week.) But I also learned about aspects of law making and running for office I had not known. 

 

What were your 2020 favorite reads?

 

Some 2020 Reading Reflections (based on all my reading, not just my favorites)

1. I need more diversity in authors, particularly in non-fiction. I don't feel I need to diversify in genre as I read:

• fantasy
• science fiction
• literary fiction
• historical fiction
• romance
• mystery
• non-fiction 

In all of the above I read adult as well as YA and some middle grade (mostly realistic). There were also MANY graphic novels and comics in my reading year. These tended to be memoirs, realistic, and fantasy. I will admit I avoid horror, thrillers, crime. They just take the intensity of a mystery up a notch too far for me. 

2. I want to try to tackle more of my TBR this year rather than jumping immediately to new publications. I make no promises about this one. If I decide however that I am most satisfied when I read newer releases, I need to cull my physical shelves of older books I may never get to. They should find a home with someone else.

 

What reflections do you have on your 2020 reading life? What are you looking forward to in 2021?

 

How to Incorporate Big Books into Your Reading Life or I Like Big Books

I love to read. I love to read books from many genres, though as you know I am particularly fond of time-travel science fiction and mysteries. (I'll write about fantasy favorites soon.) Despite my love of reading, reading, reading, I do no seek long books. I gravitate toward books that come in under 400 pages for the most part, but sometimes I am tempted by a story that is much longer. Sometimes, as happened in college, I am assigned something longer. Sometimes long books can be daunting even when the story is one I want to read because I think I will enjoy it. I have therefore read a number of LONG novels over my reading life and have some advice for those who may actively avoid big books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Take notes: Depending on how long the reading takes, it is possible for even the most attentive reader to lose track of significant details. Taking notes can take the form of separate notes with page numbers for reference in case you want to return to a plot point, character, or paragraph that seems important. Or you may opt to use sticky flags to mark pages that have been annotated in the book (No gasping necessary, it is ok to write in a book you own.), or on a sticky note. 
2. Break up the reading with shorter works in between: If you decide to read a big book in chunks, with other shorter works peppered in, it may be even more important to take notes to refer back to when picking the big book up again. While this is not my preferred method I have used it when I cannot give a big book the sustained attention it needs. 
3. Choose one long period of time to focus on one big book: If you have travel planned, bring just one long book to read on the entire trip. If your winters are cold and you are indoors and read lots anyway, use this time to focus on just one book. I usually do this in the summer time when we do not have school. I gain both time and increased concentration when I am not distracted by working all day. Pesky job.
4. Read with a friend or book club - If you read a big book with a friend or book club you may be more motivated to continue knowing there are opportunities for discussion as you read. Instead of meeting up or chatting just once about a book, a long book offers opportunities for multiple checks ins, which may be incentive to read regularly and a fun opportunity to socialize.
5. Read a book rather than an ebook - I feel much a greater sense of accomplishment when I see the pages go by than when I see the "15%" at the bottom of the ebook. This is personal to me, but it can also limit when and where I read since a big book is by definition unwieldy and not necessarily convenient for all reading settings.  

 

Some of the big books I have read over the years in no particular order:

• The first four books in the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel: I am not sure what about the first book prompted someone to recommend it to me as a young teen, but I read and loved them. This is not a series I will be rereading. I am not sure the investment of time would be worth it.
• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo: After seeing the musical on Broadway, I was bound and determined to read the book. It took me an entire summer. Maybe the summer after my junior year in high school. I do not remember. I loved it and am glad to have read it, even the extensive detail about the sewers of Paris.
• War and Peace AND Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: I read these for college courses. One was definately in a European literature class and the other was for my junior seminar. I am not sure which was which. I do remember War and Peace was during the fall semester of my junior year (along with a number of other novels) and I was not able to finish before the winter break, but I did finish!  Both are books I took notes while reading to be able to discuss details in class and keep all the Russian names straight.
• Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: Often the "books" of the Lord of the Rings series are split into three separate books. I did not read them that way. A friend who was appalled I had not read the books at age 29, bought me one big tome. (I had not read them because I was traumatized by Gollum after reading The Hobbit and watching the 1977 cartoon version.)  I had no idea they came any other way. It took me a few months because the beginning of the year in a teacher's life is often more hectic than later. I remember feeling lost after finishing since I had been immersed in Tolkien's world for so long. (This is often referred to as a book hangover.)
• The Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver (2003), The Confusion (2003) and System of the World (2004) by Neal Stephenson. These were a doozy. Theoretically, I would like to read them again one after the other. Realistically, I am not sure I have it in me until retirement.
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: This one was a recent listen for me. I had a paperback on my shelf on and off a few times, once from the library, once from a Little Free Library, and once from my father, but in the end I listened to it over many weeks of driving and I enjoyed it immensely this way. 

 

Big books in my future reading life:

Fall by Neal Stephenson

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

I think one of these will probably be in the mix during my winter break this year and the other in the spring or summer of 2021.

 

What big books have you read?

What I've Read - What I'm Reading - September 7, 2020

Life has been hectic recently. First was my birthday, then I moved. Moving was far more stressful than getting another year better. But amid the chaos I had the idea for a recurring post on Mondays. A "what I have read"and "what I am reading and listening to" post. I read quickly but depending on the books, some weeks I read an amazing amount and others I just make progress. This was a "make progress" kind of week. 

 

 

Read:

I finished Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George early in the week. As I have written, I love this series of mysteries, but have read the 5 most recent and then went into her earlier novels to catch up with the backstory I was missing. During the week, I was also had the opportunity to participate in a book event with Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton discussing Penny's most recent publication, All the Devils are Here. (The recording of this even does not seem to be available yet, but I will update the post with a link when it is.)

 

Reading:

On the 29th I went ahead and treated myself to a birthday book, The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. 
I devoured the first two in the series The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper. I love when I can read a trilogy or series without waiting for publication since I sometimes forget important details if there is too much time between books. This trilogy has been a reader's delight because the world building and characterization are a fantasy lovers dream. In addition to enjoying these as a reader, I have appreciated them for their artistry as I craft my own novel. 

Since I want to savor The Empire of Gold, I also started Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore. I appreciate how she is able to weave current issues into a historical romance. The story is swoony and political without being heavy-handed. I have Dunmore's next novel, A Rogue of One's Own in the queue on my Kindle from Net Galley to bring into my reading over the next few weeks. 

 

Listening:

I finished Lindy West's The Witches are Coming just in the nick of time before it was due back at the library. My politics align with hers so I spent time while I was packing shouting "hell, yeah" and "YES!" while I was listening.

Just as I finished, The King of Crows by Libba Bray popped into my library so i jumped in as I unpacked. This is the 4th and final book in the Diviners series, which I have enjoyed all the way through. This one is 21 hours of audio so i need to buckle down and listed regularly as I go about my day in order to finish before the audio is due back to the library on the 14th. 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

To travel in time, all you need is a book - about time travel.

What do the movies:

• Back to the Future (1985) and its sequels (1989 & 1990)
• The Terminator (1984)
• The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) AND
• Groundhog Day (1993)

                                                have in common?

They are all stories wholly or in part about time travel. When I searched for time travel movies I was overwhelmed by the number and shocked at how many I have not seen. Shocked because time travel is my favorite sub-genre of science fiction.  

Because this is a beloved sub-genre I have read far more time travel books than I have seen movies. 

For my reading life, the crown for Queen of Time Travel Writing is worn by two authors:

1. Connie Willis

The first I read by her was Doomesday Book (1993). The story introduced me to a group of Oxford students traveling from the 21st century. In this book, Kivrin travels to the 14th century to witness life in this harsh time. While there are moments of lightness, joy, and humor in all of Willis's books, I find her attention to historic detail to be my favorite element. I originally listened to this book, one of my earliest audiobooks (perhaps even on cassette) and it was an excellent way to experience this adventure.

I next read To Say Nothing of the Dog (1998). This one is meant to be and is hilarious. 

It has been far too long since I have read either of these, so they are on a list of books I intend to re-read. I don't re-read often because there aren't enough hours in the day for all the new books (the lament of avid readers the world over). But I will reread these.

The next I read was Firewatch (1984), a collection of short stories. I don't remember these as clearly as I would like, but the title story (1982) (or novelette, for which category it won both the 1982 Nebula and Hugo awards) (Willis has won many awards over the years, in a variety of science fiction categories.) is set in the same world as the novels I have discussed. 

This brings me to the two books I consider Willis's masterpieces: Blackout and All Clear. Both take place c. 2060 (Oh, how I wish time travel were a possibility this soon.) and during World War II. The stories are so intricately crafted that you HAVE to read them twice in order to suss out all of the brilliant hints and connections Willis peppers about. I feel confident I saw the outer web, but am fairly certain I missed at least some of the inner web. Both of these are on my current TBR shelf because I will be rereading them in 2020. I read them the first time when they were released in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Even just a year apart, I know I forgot or missed details I will catch when I read them back to back this fall. 

 

2. Jodi Taylor

I have read the first 8 titles in her The Chronicles of St. Mary's series: 

Just One Damned Thing After Another (2013)
A Symphony Of Echoes (2013)
A Second Chance (2014)
A Trail Through Time (2014)
No Time Like The Past (2015)
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (2015)
Lies, Damned Lies and History (2016)
And the Rest is History (2017)

I will read the others as well:

An Argumentation of Historians (2018)
Hope For the Best (2019)
Plan For the Worst (2020)
Another Time Another Place (April 2021)

While time travel is of course serious business, this series is also hilarious, romantic, thrilling, and altogether delightful to read. There is a regular cast of characters who are irresistible in their humanity which includes strengths, foibles, and passions all carefully wrought by Taylor. I rarely read this many books in one series. As a side note, Taylor's website says: "the Chronicles of St Mary’s series [is] the story of a bunch of disaster-prone historians who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel!"

There is also a spin-off series afoot that chronicles the adventures of the Time Police who do appear from time to time (pun intended) in the Chronicles of St. Mary's. 

I have read many more books featuring time travel, but I think a reader cannot go wrong starting with either of these two masters.

What are you favorite time travel books and movies?

A bit late to the Marissa Meyer party

I can admit it...I saw the book on the shelves...with that cover, that tantalizing cover.  You know the one, with the cyborg foot in the red shoe.  I wanted to buy it; just the cover screamed "You will love me! You will not be able to stop reading!"  But I resisted, for nearly two years.  Why did I resist?  Because I was NOT going to be sucked in by yet another series...another chance for an author to toy with me while I wait to discover the fate of characters (yes, fictional characters) I care about.  But I cracked.  With all the hype around Cress, the third book, in what will be a quartet, I simply could not take the pressure. 

Cress was released yesterday.  I finished reading Scarlet, the second in the series, moments
ago.  Even knowing the author is coming to DC next week, when I will buy the book at the signing, I am still tempted to run out to buy it NOW so I can find out what happens next. 

I have a serious problem, not because I have to wait a week for the book, but because I am addicted to books, and there are no help groups for this kind of addiction.  Instead we get together with friends and wine and call it a "book club," but really it's a group of enablers who say, "There's no such thing as 'too many books'."  or "Books are good for you."  or "I read that one, it was great!" And it's a never-ending spiral into book piles taller than even normal sized people, and the maximum number of holds at the library, and stories to fill your heart and mind with joy and sorrow and all that it means to be human. 

So yes, these books are fabulous.  Humans, after World War IV, are in conflict with the Lunars, a race living on the moon.  A race with incredible, manipulative mind powers.  In a world where it is possible to save someone's life with cyborg technology.  A world in which it is possible to save a princess until the time is right for her to emerge. 

So, I will read Cress next week, and wait patiently for 2015 and the release of Winter, the fourth book, but I won't like it and this time I am really breaking up with series books!

Books in DC

On one hand, my grand schemes to read a lot while living in DC have worked out, on the other, they haven't.  Maybe I should explain.  I have discovered that there is a lot of really awesome stuff to do in DC that does not involve books, though there is a bunch of book related stuff as well.  In my just over a week here, I have spent a great deal of time doing stuff and exploring the city and not necessarily reading books all the time.  But that is not to say that I have not done any reading or bookish type adventuring.

1.  I have been carrying a book with me everywhere so that on the Metro or if I just happen to see a lovely bench during my travels I am prepared for some reading.  This has also helped to justify my purchase over the years of various purses that really are bigger that what I usually prefer to carry.  Now a requirement is that a book fit in along with all my other exploring gear.

2.  On Wednesday I fulfilled a dream by going to the DC famous independent bookstore Politics and Prose.  The author was Joe Yonan a food writer for The Washington Post, the book is Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook.  I have made one recipe so far and have grand plans for a few more in the not too distant future. 

3.  I have read four books since I have been here, which is pretty good given how much time I have spent jaunting about when reading is not appropriate, like say while viewing the exhibits at the Corchoran Gallery of Art. 

     A.  Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe.  I always thought I was a fan of Jane Austen, but this book convinced me that at best I am just a liker...sort of.  It did make me want to re-read all her work and seek out a few of the more highly regarded film versions of her works.  I have always liked Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet and did find the version with Dan Stevens because I liked him in Downton Abbey.  There is also a Mansfield Park with Billie Piper of Dr. Who fame I have queued up.  This morning I also watched the first installment of a BBC version of Emma from 2009.  To continue, the book was a really interesting look into the world of people who truly love Austen's work and know it far better than I.

    B.  Superstar Babes by Narinder Dhami.  This one is a cute book in a series about three young teen sisters in London who get themselves into various scrapes.  This is the author who wrote Bend it Like Beckham, which I have not read (I saw the movie though.).  The other books, Bindi Babes, Bollywood Babes, and Bhangra Babes are equally charming stories appropriate for a middle school audience.  

    C.  Next was Doll Bones by Holly Black.  This was creepy, but not as creepy as I was expecting.  I acquired this book right after it was released, because after White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart, I have been wanting to read more of her work.  AND I just found out at the end of last week, that I am going to get to introduce Black when she comes to the National Book Festival in a few weeks.  (Yes, this is super-exciting and I am nervous and thrilled and a bit afraid I might act a fool in front of her.) She is coming to talk about The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, which I have pre-ordered to read in time for the intro.  I really felt that if I were going to introduce  her properly I better have read a few more titles.

   D.  Today I read Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters, who passed away August 8th.  She is the author of the Amelia Peabody series of mysteries as well, but I liked this one better than I did those.  I like mysteries a lot, but really enjoy ones I can finish quickly so I am not tempted to flip to the last page to end the suspense. The heroine, Vicky Bliss is an art historian, which means creepy castles, and lost artwork.  Just my type of mystery. 

4.  Today I visited Capitol Hill Books, a used bookstore near the Eastern Market.  The last time I was there it was impossible to look for anything because of all the people.  The shelves and their close proximity to each other makes browsing an adventure already so it was much more pleasant with only a few other patrons.  I picked up a few Terry Pratchett Disc World novels.  I have been planning for a while to jump into these and was chivvied along this path recently by Charlotte of Charlotte's Library who recently devoured these and whose opinions I regard highly.  

5.  Next up in non-fiction is a biography of Margaret Fuller by Megan Marshall who also wrote  The Peabody Sisters, a book that totally blew up everything I thought I knew about Transcendentalism.  I recently listened to Marmee and Louisa by Eve LaPlante about Louisa May Alcott and her mother in which Fuller was discussed so it seemed time when I ran across this biography to find out more about her. 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One was on my TBR list for a long time, then I took it off, then I put it on hold at the library, then I brought it home, then I took it back without having read it, then I finally checked it out on CD, then I listened to it, then I was in love.  If you were any kind of a geek/nerd/sci fi nut in the 80s you MUST read this book.  For some of you of course, this is old news and you are wondering what took me so long.  My answer is: I don't know!  

The audio-book is read by Wil Wheaton, and he was the perfect choice.  He barely sounds like Wesley Crusher at all and he is a geek himself and therefore hits all the inflections of video game playing and technology worship just right! 

The story is about Wade who spends his time searching for an Easter egg, a hidden item in a movie, TV show, or video game.  These are usually little inside jokes for the creator or writer that will only be noticed or understood by someone else "in the know."  This particular EAster egg is worth billions of dollars left by James Halliday as a "Willy Wonkaish" way to leave his company and fortune to a worthy person.  For years the world has focused on the quest which takes place in the OASIS a place much more pleasant than the world of 2044. 

The story is about honor, friendship, and love as much as it is about video games, and 80s movies and music.  It is truly a masterpiece integrating these elements around characters we love and root for and the evil bad buys we want to see defeated. 

Now I may have to get the book and read it again!

Summer Reading: Brain Candy or Lit-ra-chure

I seek out two different types of books in the summer. 

1.  Light reading that some would call "beach reading."  These are the books that are entertaining, often with a charming setting and a happy ending.  To that end I have already devoured Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams, Where Have all the Boys Gone?, and Amanda's Wedding, all by Jenny Colgan, a recent discovery of mine.  Additionally I have read Mr. Darcy's Dream by Elizabeth Aston, bittersweet by Sarah Ockler, and The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes, though honestly I read that one before the school year officially ended, but mentally I was there already.  I can honestly say I enjoyed each of these books and have an extensive line up of this sort of reading ready for July and August.  I set my expectations low, but thus far have been happy to have been told a good story by competent to excellent writers.  

2.  Literature,  the types of books that require all my concentration.  This summer I WILL read both Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, both of which have been on my shelf for an embarrassingly long time.  I also have a few by Salman Rushdie, both Midnight's Children that I am really looking forward to and The Satanic Verses.  Not too long ago I read Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, which I loved.  I have the sequel Winter of the World on deck for July as well as Pillars of the Earth.  These books are so chock full of characters and plot machinations that they need my full attention.  I also place non-fiction in this category.  I have trouble reading non-fiction sometimes as it does not always have the quick pace of a novel, but I pick subjects in which I am interested to keep me going.  I am currently two-thirds of the way through Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss.  The writing is excellent, exceeded only by the depth of research on the scary topic of processed foods. 

Fitting into neither the former category nor the latter are Legend by Marie Lu and The River of No Return by Bee Ridgeway.  These are not just entertaining, but also fodder for thought, but do not require quite the same level of intense reading as do Booker Prize winners Mantel and Rushdie.  Lu's book has a sequel to which I am looking forward, along with a bevy of other YA items I have been piling up in anticipation of summer.  I find that sometimes YA fits into the brain candy category and sometimes it does not.  I almost always like what I read in YA, but sometimes find the plots to be too predictable. 

 

Anyway, I wish a full shelf of summer reading for you all!

A Satisfying Ending

This holiday weekend I had time to read Reached by Ally Condie, the final book in the Matched trilogy.  I was worried I would not remember enough of Crossed to jump into the story, but I was ok.  I enjoyed the trilogy and look forward to whatever Condie will do next. 

As for Reached, I liked it.  There were no shocks, but I did not feel it was predictable either.  You may have noticed, I mention the "predictable" problem a lot.  I read a lot and value a unique story and/or concept.  I can live with repeated themes because I believe the number of these is finite.  The ways a writer gets there are infinite.  I appreciate a clever/unique/special approach.   I do also understand this is difficult to do and that is why I admire an author with a new idea. 

Condie wraps up the story of Cassia, Ky, and Xander in a satisfying way.  As with many YA novels each is searching for his/her place in the world and each comes a bit closer by the end of the novel.  It would be unrealistic for them to just find a niche and be content, but I believe we are meant to realize there is hope for all three.  Not all the characters fare as well, but this too is realistic.  I like a healthy dose of realistic mixed in with my dystopian fiction. 

Overall, this was an excellent trilogy, I would place it 3rd in line of series I have read recently and are complete; cannot judge until all the books are out:

1.  The Hunger Games

2.  The Maze Runner

3.  Matched

Some End of Summer (Sob) Reading

So, I have been reading furiously these past two weeks to get in all the books I wanted to read this summer.  I have managed to get through all but two of the middle school Virginia Readers Choice books so I can book talk them with the 6th graders during library orientation.  Besides those I have read Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones, The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner, The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty, The Kill Zone by James Dashner and am partway through The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields.  I read all of these for myself even though some of them are middle grade or YA novels.

Castle in the Air is actually the second book in the Howl's Moving Castle series by Diana Wynne Jones, but I got mixed up and read them out of order.  It turns out not to have mattered much because Howl and Sophie are not the main characters and do not put in an appearance until the last quarter of the book.  Their son Morgan is just born in this one and was a toddler in the 3rd book, House of Many Ways but that was the only significant confusion, though it wasn't, in reading them out of order.  Jones is a wonderful story-teller.  I have quite a few more of hers in my TBR pile.  They will be great for winter time in front of the crackling fireplace that does not work.  

 

The day James Dashners' The Kill Order came out I went out to get it.  Because it was also a rainy day, I read it the whole book.  I was excited to read more about the world Dashner created in The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure.  The story takes place just after the world has been changed by the sun flares.  Both the prologue and epilogue take place just before Thomas is dropped into the maze.  The book was exciting with many new characters and a close up look at the way the world deteriorated and much of humanity was overtaken by the Flare.  However, there really was not much in this book that we do not already know.  While I am glad to be "shown" what happened, rather than "told," about this time period, there is nothing really revealingly new, so it was a bit of a disappointment for me.  I am wondering if this is the last prequel book, or if we will get a closer look at Teresa and Thomas as they do whatever it is they do to help WICKED plan the maze and what they hope it will accomplish. 

Next, I read The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner.  I enjoy Weiner's books: they are always entertaining, generally realistic, and usually have a happy ending.  (There is nothing wrong with a solidly happy ending.)  I also like that they usually take place in the Philadelphia area.  This one did not.  I am going to give Weiner a pass on the location....this time.  The novel is the story of Ruth Saunders who lost both her parents and was seriously injured in a car accident when she was very young.  Since then she has lived with her grandmother, who raised her and then moved with her to California when Ruth wanted to try writing for TV.  The heart of this story is Ruth's chance to produce a show she has written.  If Weiner's details are correct, which I suspect they are, getting a TV show made is about 80% - right place, right time and 20% - talent, good writing, and quality show.  The novel is about family, love, and that ever important search-for-self.  While I could feel the happy ending coming a long way from the end, I really did not know how it would all work out and was carried along by my desire to see Ruth triumph. 

 

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty, is historical fiction about the 1920s silent film actress Louise Brooks, but Louise is not the main character, instead, Cora Carlisle, the chaperone is.  Using Cora in the setting of New York City, with a forward thinking and somewhat shocking future star, Moriarty illustrates the turbulence of the time.  Just after women have won the right to vote, before the end of Prohibition, and in the heart of a time when conservative, Victorian mores are getting dusty Cora must deal with this flamboyant and decidedly un-traditional teen.  Aside from caring for Louise, Cora has agreed to this trip in order to find out more about her own life which began in NYC before she was put on an orphan train and taken to Kansas.  While the story of Cora in NYC and after she returns to Wichita is plenty full of interest, the historical details are what drew me in.  I love a well-research snapshot of a time period. 

Finally, I began reading The Age of Desire by Jennie Fields yesterday.  It is historical fiction about the life of Edith Wharton, who is one of my all-time favorite authors.  It mainly covers the time in her life in 1907-1911 when her marriage was falling apart and she began an affair with Morton Fullerton.  I am not quite half-way through, but so far I appreciate the inclusion of actual letters between the two and between Wharton and others.  Though I know how it all turns out, I am drawn in by the author's imaginings of scenes between the two and the details about Paris, Wharton's writing, and her home, The Mount in Lenox, MA. 

YA Fabulous

I've been on a reading frenzy again without benefit of blogging, but now thanks to the wonder that is summer break I am back and ready to talk. 

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi  The main character here is Tool, the half-man who made a significant appearance in Ship Breaker.  I listened to Ship Breaker quite a long time ago, but I did not blog about it....though I am not sure why.  Ship Breaker is the 2011 winner of the Michael L. Printz Award, and well deserved it.  This book takes a close look at the groups fighting for eminence in this post apocalyptic world.  Nailer,"Lucky Girl," and Pima in Ship Breaker are parallel to Mahlia and Mouse in The Drowned Cities.  All these teens should be dating, studying in school, and going to proms, but instead they are fighting for their lives and livelihoods in a world that uses their peers as cannon fodder in a war that has no right or wrong side.  Tool, who features in both stories is a genetically engineered being part human, part animal.  Which side of him is predominant at any given time is what drives the story.  I have not figured out if this is supposed to have taken place before or after Ship Breaker, but I suspect, after.  Maybe?  (I recently purchased The Windup Girl as I am intrigued by Bacigalupi after two such fantastic YA titles.  I want to see what he does with adult fiction.)

Insurgent by Veronica Roth:  After I read Divergent I thought I would go crazy before I could read Insurgent.  Luckily I retained my sanity, and the book was well worth the wait.  The only problem was my inability to remember some important details from Divergent.  I will not make that mistake again and will most likely read the first two again before the third.  In this one Tris is back and the conflict between the factions is more intense.  While I like the dystopia concept I do wish there were more time in the world when it was still working before diving into the downfall of the society.  This series is ripe for a pre-quel. 

Hold Me Closer Necromancer by Lish McBride:  I really loved this humorous, horror novel.  Yes, you read that right funny and scary.  Sam discovers pretty early on that he is a necromancer, one who has power over the dead.  His family has kept this from him to protect him...this is really the only cliche and somewhat predictable part of the novel.  Because necromancers can steal each other's power by killing, Sam must watch out for Douglas the most powerful necromancer in the area and head of a council of other supernatural folks including fey and wolves.  This type of book series has exploded since "the book that shall not be named" made vampires cool, but this one is different.  It is well written, funny, with full characters about whom I am looking forward to finding out more in Necromancing the Stone due out in September.  

Timepiece by Myra McEntire:  I had held out a long time before I finally read Hourglass, but I found I could not resist the time travel premise.  I really liked Hourglass and its cover.  In fact, the cover is what I liked best about Timepiece though I have no idea what the covers have to do with story, especially as in this case, the book is narrated by Kaleb, so the idea that it is Emerson on the cover just does not work.  Even the title has little meaning this time, while "Hourglass" had a strong link to the characters.  I know there is a third book in the works, and I will need to read it to finish up the trilogy, but after this one I am not sure how interested I am.  There was so little true tension created and while I was rooting for Kaleb, as I should because he narrated, I did not feel any connection to the others who drew me in in the first book.  A bit disappointing overall.   

 

In my next post I will discuss The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale by Lynda Rutledge, my most recent adult fiction reads as well as That Woman by Anne Sebba about the life of Wallis Simpson. 

Frankenstein, Chimaera, and Wolves Oh My

In the spirit of full disclosure I must admit that I deeply disliked the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I realize it is one of the great works of classic literature, however that does not mean I have to like it.  I needed to read it to teach it to my AP English 12 students in September.  From the beginning, I thought Victor Frankenstein was an annoying whiner.  When he created the monster, then surprise surprise it all went awry all he could manage to do is whine about it.  "Oh, woe is me, I created a horrible, destructive monster, whom I have treated terribly and now all I can think to do about it is....NOTHING!"  All this being said, I really liked Kenneth Oppel's This Dark Endeavor, a prequel to Frankenstein.  It takes us back to Victor and his family when he was only 16 an just beginning to be interested in medicine and dark magic which were somewhat intertwined at the time.  Victor is a much more interesting and likable person as a teen than he will be as a whiny adult.  I look forward to the next installment in the series. 

I also read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor this weekend which turned out to be fantastic.  I wish that whoever writes book cover blurbs would do a better job....I cannot pinpoint exactly how they could be better, just better.  Actually what I would like is for the blurbs to stop making good books sound like they will be stupid.  I realize they do not want to give away major elements or key twist, but surely the blurb can more accurately capture a book's awsomeness without giving anything away.  The blurb on this book made it sound ridiculous, so why did I read it...because other bloggers I respect and often agree with about books loved it.  I did not love it, it reminded me too much of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices  series, and those I loved.  As much as I liked this one, the struggle here between angels and devils was just a bit less compelling, however, I would still recommend it without reservation. 

A very different experience was reading Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck.  I love his artwork and have bought quite a few books with his illustrations since The Invention of Hugo Cabret came along.  Hugo was so very unique that of course Wonderstruck cannot hope to replicate its groundbreaking-ness, but it is still a wonderful book.  The story is completely unique and the way he weaves the two stories together is masterful.  

As you can tell, I had a wonderful reading weekend.  Next up is Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James.  It has been at least a few weeks since there was any Jane Austen in my life (since I read The Mysterious Death of Miss Austen by Lindsay Ashford, a fictionalized account of the non-fiction possibility that Jane Austen was murdered.)  

Excellent books from my Cybils reading

Ok, so I have been a bit lax on my posting.  I have been so busy reading books for the Cybils, I have not been writing about books, but I am going to remedy that now.  If you know a middle grade reader who is into science fiction and fantasy, all of these books are good reads. 

The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True by Gerald Morris  This one is a nice retelling of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight."  It has some good messages about honor and honesty but is not off-puttingly moralistic. 

The Flint Heartby Katherine and John Paterson  In ancient times an evil man has a magical flint heart made that will harden his heart and bring him power.  100s of years after his death the heart is found and wreaks havoc in the human and faery worlds. 

 **Both of these books are for younger readers.  3rd - 5th grade I would imagine.**

Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier  More birds in this one as major characters, but a really interesting metaphor with Peter's eyes.  Peter is blind and therefore has excellent hearing and touch senses, but he finds sets of eyes that give him special powers.  This serves to remind us all about needing to see the world from different perspectives sometimes. Aside from the messages it is a rollicking good adventure story.  It would appeal to fans of Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord. 

The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty  This was an odd book and it took me awhile to decide if I liked it or not.  It takes place in NYC of the early 1900s, but not a NYC we know.  Instead it takes place in a world where people with magical ability are commonplace, but must keep their magic in check as not all forms of magic are legal.  This is where Sacha, the main character, comes in.  He has the ability to tell if someone, who may not be known to the authorities, has magical abilities.  He is therefore recruited by the police to become an apprentice inquisitor.  The story has great detail about New York of this time as well as various ethnicities and social classes which each have their own type of magic.  But once Thomas Edison and Harry Houdini come in I was less charmed.  This is a book with high interest for fantasy lovers, maybe boys especially, but I did not love it. 

Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby  Solveig is the king's daughter who finds she has great storytelling ability.  This however is not the focus of the story, though her abilities become increasing relevant as the tale progresses.  Solveig and her beautiful older sister Asa and her younger brother Harald have been sent away while their father the king is immersed in a war.  They anticipate returning home until their father's berserker warriors are sent to them for added protection.  When the enemy king arrives to carry Asa away as his wife, Solveig must leave her middle child insecurities behind and become a leader and storyteller.  It is really a wonderful story with much more depth and detail than this would indicate.  This ended up being one we put on our short list. 

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy  This book is chock full of historical details to temper the magic.  It takes place in London where Janie and her TV writer parents have just moved to avoid the House Un-American Activities Committee.  Janie becomes friends with Ben whose father is not a modern apothecary, but rather someone who protects and practices the old ways.  Together they endeavor to stop Russian nuclear activity and other nefarious goings-ons.  Interesting story with superb historical detail.

Dragon Castle by Joseph Bruchac  Bruchac writes a great deal using his Native American background.  This time he turns instead to his Czech roots and comes up with a wonderful piece of traditional folklore that he has adapted for this story. 

The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin  This is an interesting adventure in which the main characters find their way into a painting where there are layers of life going on beyond what is seen by visitors to the museum where it hangs.  An interesting concept that is reasonably well done.  I wish there had been a little less going on that was better developed, but ultimately it was a good adventure. 

The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud  I listened to this book and fell in love with Simon Jones' voice.  I also found myself seriously charmed by djinni Bartimaeus.  This is the 4th book in the series, but unlike the other three, it takes place in Bartimaeus' past with King Solomon in  Jerusalem.  I think therefore this novel can be read alone, but may be enhanced by having read the other three, which I have plans to do.  Bartimaeus is arrogant and sarcastic and clever, three of my favorite qualities.  In this story he tries to gain his own freedom from the evil magician Khaba while simultaneously trying to help Asmina steal the ring for her Queen.  A fun and quick read that I really enjoyed. 

The Coming of the Dragon by Rebecca Barnhouse As an adult familiar with the Beowulf story I really enjoyed how this story took off from the adventures of Beowulf. Rune is a young man when the dragon who is responsible for King Beowulf's death terrorizes the land.  Young readers will experience this story now and someday in a high school English class will remember and feel more comfortable with the Old English poem from already knowing some of the plot points.

Boy at the End of the World by Greg van Eekhout  When the boy wakes up he finds himself alone with a droid whose mission is to protect him.  Awakened from a deep sleep in an ark the boy must find other arks in order to restart the human population.  This is an interesting take on a world destroyed by humans leaving a legacy for other creatures and a new group of humans to fix.  There a some overtones of Wall-E here. 

The Only Ones by Aaron Starmer  In a world in which all but a few people have disappeared, a group of young teens struggles to discover what has happened and how to get everyone back.  This one has overtones of Lord of the Flies.

The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley  When she is only six, Molly is sent away from home to serve in the household of the king of Westria.  Molly's magical abilities show themselves when she polishes a silver bowl that gives her the ability to see visions of the past and future.  Molly finds herself helping the royal family break the curse that has plagued them for generations. 

Aliens on Vacation by Clete Smith "Scrub" visits his grandmother in her home where she runs a hotel for aliens on vacation on Earth.  Much hilarity and high jinks ensue as "Scrub" adjusts to this strange place while trying to maintain relationships with kids who have no idea what is going on with all of the strange visitors to their town. 

Cybils Short Lists Are HERE

Check out the Cybil short lists in all the categories, which have many fantastic books, though I am partial to the middle grade science fiction and fantasy choices.   

3 Cybils Books I REALLY Liked

These are three books I have read as a panelist for the middle grade science fiction and fantasy committee for this year's Cybils Awards. 

1.  Floors by Patrick Carman

Reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Floors is the story of Leo's quest for the four boxes left behind by the Whippet Hotel's inventor (yes, the inventor) Merganzer Whippit when he mysteriously disappears.  If Leo can find all the boxes before the hotel manager Ms. Sparks can stop him and take over the hotel herself. 

2.  The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky

Louise loves vintage clothes.  So much that when she receives an invitation to a special vintage sale she does not hesitate to go.  Marla and Glenda the shop's proprietors help her into a beautiful early 1900s gown which whirls her away to a voyage on the seas.  Louise returns to her life happy to be herself, but with a new appreciation for the lives lived in vintage clothes.  The illustrations add a wonderful layer to the story.  I also appreciate the light fantasy element after having read so many stories layered with magic and science fiction. 

3.  Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Of all the members of the royal family, only Princess Celie truly understands the castle and in return it cares for her when her parents disappear, leaving her, her sister Princess Lilah, and her brother Crown Prince Rolf alone to deal with the usurping Prince Khelsh.

Goliath - Scott Westerfeld

I loved Scott Westerfeld's trilogy that began with Leviathan, continued with Behemoth, and just ended with Goliath.  The steam punk combination of World War I, Darwinists and Clankers with teen protagonists is brilliant.  The artwork by Keith Thompson adds to the charm.  As much as I love description, I also appreciate an artist's rendering.  The illustrations were illustrative (ha ha) without being obtrusive.  All the better if the author approves the vision of his story presented by the artwork.  And as much as I dislike when movie studios get ahold of great books and ruin them, I think this trilogy would make fantastic, special effects laden films.  Just as the books are multi-generational, so too would be the movies.

So enough blathering.  The trilogy ended satisfyingly, for me anyway.  With the war heating up, this book was bound to be exciting as the Leviathan travels the world on what are essentially diplomatic missions that somehow always involve excitement for Dylan and Alek.

The creatures Westerfeld has created are fascinating in their talents and uses.  I find the Darwinists much more interesting than the Clankers.  When the ship gets to the US, the separation of the Clanker North and the Darwinist South is an interesting commentary.  It is certainly believeable the North would be Clanker with its industry being a key reason they won the Civil War.  However, the Darwinist South is based on the agrarian tradition of the South, but I am not so sure the religious traditions of the South would realistically allow for the genetic manipulation of creatures by humans.  This is a tiny little part of the story, but one I find intriguing.

Dylan/Deryn continues to be an admirable character.  Alek grows into a man in this novel.  Despite the time arc of the three books being only a few months, both of these young people change quite a bit.  Their sense of honor and the behaviors it inspires are realistic and I believe relevent to current generations of young people who cannot understand the patriotism of World Wars I and II, not the glory of these wars, but the way that nations came together to support what they believed was right.  Alek's struggles as a monarch in that world are significant and mold him right before the reader's eyes. 

This really is a wonderful series that does not drag on, but knows when to exit gracefully after a barking good adventure.

Flavorwire » A Brief History of Time Travel Literature

I LOVE time travel literature.  I just do, no explanation, no deep meaningful analysis, I just love people mucking about in other times than their own and wish I could do it myself.  

Read all about it!

via flavorwire.com

Crossed - Ally Condie

I was so anxious after I read Matched for Crossed to be released, luckily I calmed down because I had to wait almost a year.  Crossed did not disappoint.  It does feel like the middle book in a series, but it was a really good middle.  A few new characters were introduced who we know are going to be important before the story can be resolved.  Just as the first novel took place almost entriely in the Society, this one is almost entirely outside it.  This book has the same rhythm as the first.  A bit suspenseful, some action, but really a story of mixed perspectives (told by Ky and Cassia) on the Society and their mysteries activities, as well as the Rising and those who live between: neither a part of the Society nor part of the groups trying to rebel.  These are people who simply want to be left alone to live as normally as they are able.  Ky and Cassia must decide where they will fit if they want to be together and stay true to their beliefs. 

Cassia tends to be a character I like, but I do find her a bit selfish sometimes.  Ky is brave and strong, but vulnerable and kind just as we want in a romantic hero in a horrific situation.   I look forward to the third book with great hopes for Cassia and Ky.

The Maze Runner etc. - James Dashner

I loved this series....I may have liked it more than The Hunger Games series though I would probably have a pretty good fight on my hands if that information go out....so keep it to yourself.  I listened to The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, but was not prepared to wait for my library to acquire The Death Cure to find out the fate of Thomas, Minho (my favorite), Newt, Teresa, Brenda and the others.  The first book opens with Thomas waking up in a box from which he is soon released finding himself without a memory and surrounded by teenage boys. The premise of the protagonist in a new place with no memory that puts him on equal footing with reader is not new, but Dashner's dystopia (Inquirey: Why doesn't spell chcek recognize the word dystopia?) is certainly unique.  Before I read these, people had said they were similar to The Hunger Games books, but not so.  Outside of living in a dystopia a few other superficial details, I did not really see much they have in common.

As I am a purist, I do tend to get a bit upset when my core group of characters is infiltrated by a stream of newbies, which happened in both books two and three.  Luckily most of these characters fit well into the story and did not feel like "add-ins." There were some elements of The Death Cure (book 3) that did not thrill me, but I was more than satisfied with the ending.  There was no slow down and wrap up, Dashner kept the action and suspense high right until the very last moment. 

Cybils Nominations

The Cybils or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards nominations are open from now until October 15th.  I have been selected for the middle grades science fiction and fantasy Round 1 panel.  This means I get to read a TON of books, always a great responsibility to have, and recommend with my fellow panelists a few to proceed to the judging. 

Independent Book Stores in New England

I was lucky enough recently to take part of my summer vacation in New England.  Really we only made significant stops in Connecticut and Vermont, but that was enough to visit a plethora of independent book stores. 

Connecticut:

We stopped in a series of six small towns in Connecticut along Long Island Sound, not all of them have bookstores, but usually there was an antique store or two to sate my browsing needs instead.

Guilford - Breakwater Books: This was the first we visited.  It was small, but that is part of the charm of independent bookstores.  They had a relatively large children's section that had been stocked by someone with significant knowledge.  Overall there was a large variety with some new publications as well as older favorites.  I bought God on the Rocks by Jane Gardam.  This is an adult novel I have had on a wishlist, but have not found in person.  Certainly I could order it on-line, but I appreciated the opportunity to support a local bookstore. 

Madison - RJ Julia Booksellers: Next we made our way to this town.  By this time though it had started to rain and many of the main street shops had closed, but not this one.  I could have moved right in to this bookstore and stayed for the rest of my life, or more realistically until closing time.  It is a two story shop with a huge selection in a variety of well-chosen and organized categories.  The booksellers were fantastically helpful and friendly.  If I could stand the snow and find a job I would move to CT to live near this bookstore where I would be a regular.  Here I bought The God of the Hive by Laurie King which I reviewed the other day and The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books we Shared by Alice Ozma. 

Vermont:

Stowe - Bear Pond Books: I did not love this store.  It was not peaceful and was inside a larger and touristy Stowe store, but it did have a section of Vermont authors where I found Snowflake Bentley a Caldecott winning picturebook from Vermont illustrator Mary Azarian. 

Burlington - Crow Bookshop:  This shop was mainly a used bookshop with some new items.  There was a quite good picture book section where I found The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Gris Grimly.   We did not spend too much time here as it was a girls shopping trip and we were on the hunt for fashion!

Shelburne - The Flying Pig Bookstore: Here were more superb YA and children's sections.  I could have spent hours browsing, but this is rarely good for my wallet and usually upsetting to the people I am with who have less interest in just sitting and looking at books for hours.  I was on a mission this trip to find Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer, since there has been some controversy over it.  Sadly they did not have it, but the wonderful bookseller recommened Dairy Queen by Catherine Murdock, which I got along with The 10 PM Question by Kate De Goldi, and Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones. 

Johnson- Ebenezar Books (which does not seem to have a website).  Because this was a small shop I was able to give the whole place a good going over.  There was a nice selection, a mix of genres and interests.  I did not buy anything here because quite honestly I felt like I had already bought enough books to keep me busy for a while to add to my extensive collection of TBR titles. 

 

I also went to one library, in Waterbury, VT where they were having a book sale.  I did not purchase any books, but found a puzzle for 50¢, that upon completion turned out to have all the pieces...what a coup!

If you are an independent bookshop junkie and are traveling make a point to find a few shops to support!

 

3 books - Different and Good

A bit of a vague title, but there is no other way to talk about these three books at the same time because they are totally different.  What they have in common is that I read them this week and now have time to blog about them.

SOOOOO...

1.  Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson:  This is the first novel I have read by Tomlinson, but I heard so many good things about her books that I had The Swan Maiden on my TBR shelf anticipating that I would like Toads and Diamonds....which I did.  It took me a few chapters to really get in to the book because it moved so quickly through everything I already knew that I really could not see where the story would go.   Clearly the author did her job well since the book was not just a predictable fairy tale.  It is a fairy tale based on some old possibly Indian stories.  But the  premise is that Diribani and her sister Tana each receive a gift from a goddess.  One speaks flowers and gems, the other toads and snakes.  Neither girl is entirely sure what she is to do with her gift.  The sisters end up separated trying, as all teens do, to discover her place and the importance of her particular gift.  The book is a bit of a love story as fairy tales often are, though there is not much action.  It is a lovely story and I will be reading The Swan Maiden soon. 

2.  Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier:  I was only in about the third chapter before I came up to the computer to Google the author.  She is German and has a great many books published there, but I really only found this one in English.  There are two more books in this series, the next of which will not be available until spring 2012, which makes me sad.  I loved this book.  Time travel is my favorite type of science fiction.  Gwenyth has known about time travel for most of her life, but she and her whole family always thought her cousin Charlotte would be the one to inherit the time travel gene, and has therefore been preparing for 10 years to be able to fit in to the past.  Gwenyth meanwhile has had no preparation and is completely freaked out when she pops into the past on her way to the market.  Luckily she at least knows such a thing is possible and keeps her head reasonably well until she returns to her own time.  One of the best parts of the book is how "normal" Gwenyth is until the gene kicks in.  Because this is the first of a trilogy, we only skim the mystery surrounding the Circle of 12, the Count, other members of their time traveling family, and Gideon.  Gwenyth is really a fantastic heroine handling herself well even without having any idea how to behave in the past.  She does not let anyone push her around including her counterpart, Gideon who trained along with cousin Charlotte and is not necessarily thrilled about the switch.  I look forward to their continued adventures.

3.  The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: YES, I realize I am way behind as the 4th book in the series has just been released, but I assure you I will catch up quickly.  If you like fantasy, fantastical creatures, special powers, and weapons all wrapped up with some romance, you too will want to get out and find these books.  They take place in NYC, the center of all that is weird and unbelievable, in the present.  Clary, unlike Gwenyth, has no idea the world is not as she has always seen it, until the night she and her friend Simon visit a club where she witnesses three Shadowhunters dispatch a demon, all of which only she can see.  Things move pretty quickly after that as her mother and all of their possessions disappear, her mom's best friend abandons her, and she meets some pretty fierce bad guys.  I am not necessarily partial to female protagonists, but I do like them to be smart, tough, and a little bit vulnerable and Clary delivers.  (I do hate the name though, which is short for Clarissa, but I do not like that much either.)  No book is perfect, but as I try to read YA novels as a librarian, not my former English teacher self, with a thought to how my students will feel about it, I did not find any significant flaws in the story.  In fact, because I could not get the second book in the series (City of Ashes) from the library right away, I switched to the first book (Clockwork Angel) in Clare's next series, which is meant to be a prequel to the others, to tide me over. 

 

All in all a pretty dang satisfying week of reading!

The Brontes Do Sci Fi

I did know this actually, but it is interesting in any case:

Check Out the Brontë Sisters’ Early Science Fiction

2:30 pm Wednesday May 18, 2011 by Caroline Stanley

Did you realize that the Brontë sisters (and their brother, Branwell) wrote fantasy stories about a group of imaginary countries called the Glass Town Federation back when they were kids? Neither did we. Branwell and Charlotte invented the kingdom of Angria, while the younger two, Emily and Anne, created a world called Gondal. The resulting sagas, hand-written in incredibly tiny script, featured a mix of fictional and real-life characters, like the Duke of Wellington.

via flavorwire.com

Incarceron and Sapphique - Catherine Fisher

My first comment in reviewing these two books is that I was about to leave on a long flight to Austin and had about 30 pages left of Incarceron to read.  Practicality would say I should leave it behind to finish after returning 5 days later (It is quite a big hardcover book.).  The reader in me needed to know how it turned out.  So gentle reader, what did I do???

Obviously I took it with me, and finished it before the plane took off.  (You spend a lot of time in the plane on the ground.)   The only disappointment being having to wait until I got home to read Sapphique which I had left behind. 

The story begins by  switching back and forth between Finn and Claudia.  Finn is inside the prison, Incarceron and Claudia is the warden's daughter.  We flip as the two move inexorably toward each other.  Finn as it turns out, may be the lost prince Claudia's society needs to redeem themselves from the restrictions they have been living under since the Rage.  Claudia is the agent of change needed to make the society see the error of their ways.   Finn's entourage inclues his oathbrother Keiro; Attia, a former slave he has rescued, and a Sapient named Gildas.  Claudia has her own Sapient (a monk type tutor) named Jared, but few other allies.  

Each believes themselves to be in a prison.  Claudia in her manufactured world, and Finn in Incarceron, a literal prison, but the reader is led to wonder who really has it worse, those on the inside?  Or those Outside? 

The characters adhere to some pretty predictable types, but their adventures and the unpredictable nature of these worlds makes the stock characters feel comfortable instead of tired.  The action and strangeness of this dystopian society lend all the surprise the reader needs. 

Sapphique picks up precisely where Incarceron leaves off.  This is a two book set, not a trilogy, which is a nice change.  The second book is always such filler before the big "ta-da"  in the third.  Gratifyingly, the story does not end with a nice neat bow to tie it all together.  Just like the characters we wonder if they really will be better off now.  I like a book that ends with the reader having the same questions as the characters, because those questions are universal.