50 Book Challenge

19 down

2009-07-18T13:22:04Z

No Cry Potty Training by E Pantley

A very useful guide to kickstarting poty training.

PC & Kristin Cast - House of Night Series

2009-07-18T12:36:46Z

I think when I first started reading this series I had lower standards. Now almost everything about this series drives me insane.

They talk like they are about 6 years old. I couldn't name a single 17 year old that would ever say "bullpoop" or "boobies". The terms 'hateful' and 'nasty' get old quick.

And how could anyone miss that Damien and Jack are gay, and that the twins are twins??? The lame references to the gay couple and the way the authors have portrayed them as so stereotypical is disappointing. The number of times the twins refer to eachother as twin and/or the amount that Zoey explains them as twins gives me a headache.

I also think that Zoey needs to come to terms with the fact that she is a bit of a tart. I get that it's always nice when the main character 'gets the guy' - but EVERY guy??? Come on!! It's just getting a bit ridiculous at this stage. I'm so tired of her worrying about whether she is a skank or not.

All I can think is that this series has been written for a MUCH younger target audience than what Stephenie Meyer and Richelle Mead aimed for. I'm sending this series away to my 13 year old cousin so I never have to lay eyes on them again.

Book 77: The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

2009-07-18T10:05:36Z

Book 77: The Ghost Writer
Author: John Harwood, 2005
Genre: Gothic. Ghost story. Mystery.
Other Details: Paperback. 374 pages.

I had enjoyed John Harwood's second work, The Seance (2009 Book 17), and so sought out his award-winning début novel, which again is laden with Gothic elements with a metatexual aspect as late 19th century stories are interwoven with a modern narrative.

Gerard Freeman grows up in south west Australia in the late 20th century with his controlling mother, who is very secretive about her earlier life in England. He finds solace in his correspondence with an English pen friend, Alice, to whom he can confide everything. They both look forward to the time when Gerard will be old enough to visit England and they can meet. Gerard slowly begins to piece together his mother's past aided by the short stories written by his great-grandmother, Viola. These chilling tales of ghosts and supernatural events are embedded into the main narrative and provide Gerard - and the reader - with clues into the troubled history of his family. After his mother's death, Gerard finally travels to England in search of the elusive Alice and to learn more of his family. In the long-abandoned Hampstead house, which his mother inhabited years before, Gerard finally finds his answers.

I found this a haunting and highly satisfying tale weaving all the right ingredients of the Victorian Gothic into its modern narrative as well as Viola's stories. I was not surprised to read that Harwood is a poet and has taught English Literature at university level as there is a foundation of literary weight behind this and his later book. Its pace is quite slow as befits its homage to 19th century literature, yet I still found it hard to put down given its many twists and turns and disturbing elements. One reviewer described reading it as being similar to taking apart a Russian nesting doll and I'd agree that is so.

John Harwood: Meet the Author - Australian web page interviewing Harwood about the genesis of The Ghost Writer.

Book 04: Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)

2009-07-18T05:19:10Z

First line:

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

Summary: Case is a freelance hacker, a cowboy who hacks corporate Matrix accounts for the highest bidder. At least he used to be. When he tried to double cross his employers, they left him on his back with irreparable neurological damage. No longer capable of neurally jacking into the Matrix and unable to ply his trade, Case is on the verge of self-destruction when an enigmatic AI approaches with a Faustian bargain. How far will Case go to regain his skills - and how deep will the rabbit hole go?

Reaction: I'm not a visual thinker or reader. I rarely translate verbal descriptions into vibrant images when I read. From the very first sentence, Neuromancer was different. This book is the prototypical cyberpunk tale: It's set amid bleak corporate edifices and seedy neon-tinted bars. It's populated by amoral antiheroes, gangsters, mercenaries, and corporate thugs. It inspired countless novels and movies. The imagery from those movies, I suspect, is what's percolating up from my subconscious as I read. Chiba is full glittering corporate megastructures from Bladerunner. Cowboys inhabit a neon-lit underworld piped out of Hackers. The Matrix is imagined as a sharp-edged virtual world of clean vector graphics - the shiny lines of Tron stretching away into infinity. I'm too young to have experienced 80s sci-fi firsthand. I've seen some of the films and read some of the books. For me, reading Neuromancer was like uncorking a fine vintage - the most memorable images and themes of 1980s sci-fi distilled into one book.

That said, I'm not a huge cyberpunk fan. I much prefer modern hard sci-fi and space opera with transhumanist themes. Coming to the novel without any knowledge of the plot save the cyberpunk genre, I was pleasantly surprised to find both strong AI and human mind digitization/uploading as a means of survival beyond biological death (Neuromancer comes from both "neuro" and "necromancer"). Gibson's treatment of AI is liberal for its time: He does not condemn the computers despite their inhuman natures. It makes for an interesting comparison with Dick's treatment of the androids in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Despite their human traits, those androids' inhumanity is ample justification for their destruction.

I could ramble on for quite some time about this book. It has compelling imagery and a dark story. It also touches on themes and plot elements popular in current sci-fi. Go read it already!

Thumbs: Up

[Book 8] Death on the Nile, by Agatha Christie

2009-07-18T04:32:50Z

Title: Death on the Nile
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery
Themes: Whodunit, crime, infidelity, revenge, secrets, marriage, money
Book details: Paperback, 276 pages, this edition <3

My Rating: 5/5

Back cover summary:

A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR MURDER
Every woman on the ship envied her cool,
beauty, her obviously newly wedded happiness.
The men on board agreed she was alarmingly attractive but were equally impressed by her vast
fortune and her sharp eye for business
details. Only Hercule Poirot saw her for what she
really was...an irresistible incentive to murder.

Amazon Review:

Linnet Ridgeway has almost everything: youth, beauty, brains, and money. Then her best friend Jackie brings her handsome fiancé, Simon Doyle, to visit and asks Linnet to give him a job. Now Linnet and Simon are on their honeymoon, a cruise up the Nile. When Linnet is killed, Jackie is the obvious suspect, but she couldn't have done it. It seems like an insolvable crime, until the famous detective Hercule Poirot starts to investigate.

My Review:

First, how I got into Hercule Poirot: I've always liked Sherlock Holmes mainly, but the Detective Conan manga by Aoyama Goushou (Aoyama Gōshō) sometimes has little strips that talk about fictional detectives. Hercule Poirot was one. It got me interested, but it wasn't until I was in the movie section at the library that I grabbed one of the films (Hercule Poirot's Christmas). I enjoyed it pretty well. Then, we went to this big used bookstore that had a shelf -full- of Agatha Christie! To this day, I regret only picking out one book (Death on the Nile) instead of as many as I could afford, because we’re in a different state now. Anyway, so that's how I got into Hercule Poirot. I plan on reading the rest of the series as soon as possible.

On to the review.

I just finished the second reread of this book. I rarely turn right around and reread a book unless it was so good that I want to read it slower to take in the details. This would have been my third book read this year if I had posted the review when I first read it! I don’t know if ‘Death on the Nile’ has spoiled me for the rest of the Poirot books or not, but we’ll see – I’m reading the other ones I got recently next.

I loved all of the characters in this book. By the end, you felt like you knew a lot about them, and it happened over time – no info dumps. It was hard to even dislike the mother Otterbourne, though I certainly didn’t like her as a person.

I found myself enjoying Hercule’s character very much, even when he’s being self-important. It’s almost silly the way he is. It’ll be interesting to read the other Poirot books to see more sides of him. I was pleased to see that despite being a detective, he can still feel compassion for suspects like Rosalie, and Jacqueline.

I remember the first time I read it through; I was quite on the edge of my seat with who could have done it! It kept me guessing to the very end, which I very much enjoyed. The whole story kept me going back for more (hence me rereading). It was definitely engaging.

I also love the cover of the edition I have! It’s fun trying to guess who is who, and the artist who did this piece does very nice work.

In the first read, the end was completely unexpected to me. In a good way, after I got over my shock. I love when a book can do that!

I was really surprised when Poirot let Tim Allerton off! It was unexpected, but nice because I, like Poirot, wanted to see him and Rosalie happy (together). And Tim’s mom is awesome.

Cornelia was a very interesting character, and it was amusing watching Ferguson try to ‘woo’ her, if that’s what you’d call it. And Cornelia standing up to Marie Van Schulyer was a nice touch there at the end. I love that Cornelia doesn’t care at all that Bessner is ‘round’, and that she just knows he can teach her so much. With him, I felt that she could really grow as a person, instead of being stuck under Marie Van Schulyer’s shadow doing her bidding all the time.

Though what was with Poirot saying he'd hoped that Jacqueline would choose to commit suicide (because she was out of the reach of the law)? Was that 'normal' in that day and age? In any case, I know they were criminals, but I liked the idea of a lover's suicide. I didn’t sniffle the first time around, I don’t think (probably still too excited), but with the second reread I definitely did.

Books 22 & 23

2009-07-18T04:04:11Z

Title: Watchmen

Author: Alan Moore
Themes: Humanity, Superheroes, Good vs Evil

AMAZING. If you haven't read it, stop what you are doing and do so RIGHT NOW. I love comics and this graphic novel is simply outstanding. The material is something that will stay with you for a while long after you have read it, and keep you up at night. It gives an insightful view into the definition of "evil" and to what extent you could, or possibly should go to in order to help others, or help humanity as a whole.

Title: Developing the Leaders Around You
Author: John C. Maxwell
Themes: Leadership Development (duh)

I read this book for work, so I wasn't that into it in the beginning. Reading something when you are forced to read it is never as fun. This book did have good ideas for developing leaders and lots of helpful platitudes, but nothing extraordinary or groundbreaking. If anything, the scope was too wide to be very effective.

Book 03: All the Trouble in the World by P.J. O'Rourke (1995)

2009-07-18T03:56:16Z

First line:

"This is a moment of hope in history."

Summary: Libertarian P.J. O'Rourke sets out to ridicule the many Americans who embrace fashionable causes - overpopulation, famine, the environment, multiculturalism, etc. - without bothering to check their facts. In each case, he humorously contrasts the anxious claims of those fashionable worriers with his own "feet on the ground" experience. He recalls his experiences in war-torn Somalia (famine), the Amazon and Czechoslovakia (environmentalism), and Bosnia (multiculturalism) to emphasize Americans' relatively high quality of life and the factual distortions in many of their arguments

Reaction: I wanted to like this book. O'Rourke is a witty writer and I found myself chuckling at many of the passages in this book. He even makes a fair observation: Governments and NGOs sometimes adopt skewed perspectives and priorities that lead to unintentional harm. But the book never lives up to O'Rourke's bipolar thesis: In the introductory chapter, he criticizes Americans for whining about the state of the world despite their relative wealth. O'Rourke waxes Panglossian about how the present is the best time in history and suggests that Americans ought to stop their complaining. In the same chapter, he indicates that technocratic governmental solutions to big problems often fail to get results. But rather than suggest some grassroots libertarian solution, his response amounts to, 'We can't fix it so we my as well laugh at the absurdity.' Are we living in the best of all possible worlds or are laughing into the abyss? Which is it?

For all his humorous observations about absurd and appalling situations, O'Rourke's book amounts to so much whining. He points out all the mistakes he sees being made, but he offers no solutions - just sarcastic wisecracks.

Thumbs: Sideways

24_Le Ravissement de Lol V.Stein

2009-07-18T03:51:37Z

24 LE RAVISSEMENT DE LOL V. STEIN (THE RAVISHING OF LOL STEIN) Marguerite Duras (France, 1964)

One night at the ball, Michael Richardson left his young fiancée Lol Stein for another woman. Years later, and despite her being married, Lol finds herself in the middle of a new love triangle and her past is reenacted, only with different persons involved.

I love Marguerite Duras. This novel (novella) is short but very intense. She knows how to capture fateful moments and to express short-lived feelings.
Her writing style is unique and moving in ways I never fully understand. It is not the words she uses that are special but rather the way she puts them together in order to recreates life as we experience it every day. Yet many things remain unsaid because they are both beyond the readers and the characters' grasp. Her book is just as mysterious as life is.

I recommend Marguerite Duras (and especially The Lover) to all those who are in search of a new literary experience.

5/5

#42, 43, 44, 45

2009-07-18T03:38:24Z

With some of my birthday moneys, I got my hands on some Osprey books to study/enjoy/use in my roleplaying campaign. These included:

Osprey Warrior #118: Byzantine Infantryman: Eastern Roman Empire c.900 - 1204
Osprey Fortress #59: Crusader Castles in Cyprus, Greece and the Aegean 1191 - 1571
Osprey Fortress #74: Japanese Castles AD 250 - 1540
Osprey Campaign #198: The Samurai Invasion of Korea 1592 - 98

I find these series to have lots of information on all aspects of their topics not limited to artwork and photos of gear and terrain. I've been very happy with the Fortress series, especially, as it's been hard for me in the past to visualize castles and suchlike places.

50 Book Challenge 29 through 32

2009-07-18T00:31:36Z

Hopefully I can do the rest of these in a more timely fashion.

Number 29 The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, (238pgs) I bought this book because it has a unicorn on the cover and a small blip by J. K. Rowling that she's read it. It was an okay story, it's a bit of a victorian type fairy tale set in England. My problem with it was the very obvious Christian slant, being a pagan that doesn't really do much for me. If you can over look that it's a fun story.

Number 30 Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, (498 pgs) Yes this is the book from which the movie was made. I saw the movie and was intriqued, I read the book and was very impressed. The book is MUCH better than the movie. You get more into the character's heads and learn more about this world where vampires exist. I liked the freshness of the story.

Number 31 Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (292 pgs) This is the book on which the HBO series "True Blood" is based. I say based because there are a lot of changes HBO did to the book, which make the two very different. The series is much more campy, with the overwhelming cliches that it has in it, cliches which I think people unfamilar with some notions of the southern United States may not get or might find a turn off. Those things are missing in the books, (I'm reading the second one now), so what you get is more a mystery/romance than the soap opera that the TV series is. If you like the TV series you might like the books, if you don't like the TV series you still might lke the books.

Number 32 Dangerous Moonlight by Mel Keegan, (459 pgs) If you like stories featuring gay couples in a mystery, Mel Keegan is the master of this genre, and this book is a fine example of why. This story is set in England during 1727, it's a time of highwaymen, and fortunes lost or won on the turn of a card, there is corruption on every level and only those willing to take a risk will prosper. Into this background we have Nicholas Gray, bastard son of a wealthy merchant and Harry Trevellion, legitimate son of a man who lost everything. These two meet when Harry holds up the coach Nick is riding in and the plot runs from there, there is action, romance, danger, betrayal and loyality. A fantastic book and well worth the money.

32 / 50 books. 64% done!

Finished

2009-07-17T22:30:25Z

I am done early. My goal was to read 50 from 9/29/08 to 9/28/09. I'm at 50 more than 2 months early. Granted, I actually passed 50 a while ago, I just didn't count some of the books I read for various reasons. So, I'm pretty happy. I'll still keep a tally, though. See how many I can actually get through this year :)

46. Miracles Happen, by Mary Kay Ash

I got this book in my starter kit when I became a Mary Kay consultant, way back in November, and I decided it was time to give it a read. I was pleasantly surprised by it, and loved how she wrote about her dream company, and the company it is today. It really made me proud to be a part of it.

Genre: Nonfiction, memoir
Rating: 5/5 (though I admit, I'm slightly biased on this one)

47. The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks

I didn't like this one as much as other Sparks books I've read, and I tink it has a lot to do with the fact that this book wasn't very sad. I mean, I bawled when I read The Guardian, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle (and I vowed never to read him again after the last one, because it hit so close to home at the time). I barely shed a tear when I finished with this one. It's not that it wasn't good, it juts wasn't cathartic, like, at all.

Genre: Romance?
Rating: 3/5

48. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
49. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer

For some reason, I got a really strong urge to reread this series. Meyer might not be a good writer, but she certain writes a plot that you can get lost in, even if it is a bit cheesy.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating: 4/5

50. My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult

After waiting forever for this book to arrive via bookmooch, I finally just decided to request it from somewhere else, and I got it on Wednesday. After I finished New Moon, I decided I wanted to read this book too much to wait, and I'm really glad I did. It has a story that draws you in, makes you wonder what is truly the right choice for Anna, and it ended more in a way I would expect from Sparks. This is what I was missing when I read through The Lucky One.

Genre: General Fiction?
Rating: 5/5

50bookchallenge @ 2009-07-17T15:01:00

2009-07-17T20:01:36Z

Book #57 -- John Hodgman, The Areas of My Expertise, 255 pages.

This claims to be a complete almanac of all world knowledge, not a word of which is actually true. It is actually full of small blurbs, lists, articles, and charts on such fascinating topics as 700 Hobo Names, a brief time line of the lobster in America, jokes that have never produced laughter, and How to Write a Book: the fifty-five dramatic situations. This works best as a bathroom-reading book or something else to take in short bits, as reading too much in a row dulls the jokes. It is quite funny though.

Progress toward goals: 198/365 = 54.2%

Books: 57/100 = 57.0%

Pages: 14383/30000 = 47.9%

2009 Book List

cross-posted to 15000pages, 50bookchallenge, and gwynraven

27 Down, 23 to Go!

2009-07-17T18:23:51Z

Okay, everybody, so I'm totally proud of myself. Last year, I wanted to do the 50 Book Challenge, but managed to only get something like 9 or 10 books in (epic fail!). This year, I'm making up for it big time! I think I might actually make it to 50 books by the end of the year. P.S. I started this clock on 1/1/09.

1. "A Short History of Nearly Everything" - Bill Bryson
--A very apt title. This is a very dense book that sums up as much natural science and science-history as it can. It is wonderfully written, in Bryson's wry tone. I would read anything that's usually boring if Bryson wrote it. His writing style is just so engaging. He breaks down complicated ideas and processes for the layperson (which was him, before and during writing the book). You learn a lot and have fun doing it. Highly recommended.

2. "Naked" - David Sedaris
--There's nothing not to love about David Sedaris or any of his books. That's all I have to say.

3. "The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death" - Laurie Notaro
--I just realized that throughout much of her book, Notaro was trying too hard to be funny--like Kathy Griffin. I found those parts of the book horribly boring, totally unfunny and kind of obnoxious. There were hilarious parts, to be certain. I like her neurotic behaviors and ideas. They remind me of me.

4. "Predator" - Patricia Cornwell
--I do not understand why Patricia Cornwell is so widely heralded. Her lead character (Kay Scarpetta) is not overly likeable, and in fact, in this book, is really not the center of all the action. The basic plot was intriguing enough, and Cornwell knows how to write short, suspense-filled chapters...but the prose was not good. In fact, Cornwell is prone to writing awful, redundant sentences like, "Her black cape flowed around her, flowing black against the night sky." So, was it flowing and black, Patricia? Have you ever heard of a Thesaurus? You would never pass a high school English class with that kind of shitty writing.

5. "Choke" - Chuck Palahniuk
--Love. What's not to love about Palahniuk? Okay, his crass prose, I suppose. But, I find him, his stories, and his narrative styles refreshing and delightful. This is a story about a sex addict who pretends to choke on food in restaurants (which leads to people 'saving' him, which leads to them sending him money on a monthly basis). It's a much easier (that is, less horrifying) read than "Haunted."

6. "Citizen Girl" - Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
--Read while trying to find a job, and it was so realistic it was depressing. Also, the authors would drop plot points and pick them up later without informing the reader of what had happened in the meantime. It was like leaving a movie for 20 minutes in the middle, coming back, and having no one to tell you what happened while you were gone. Also, the main character is, I'm sorry to say, kind of a dumb pansy.

7. "Velocity" - Dean Koontz
--Very fast-paced, interesting book. Also, it is really fucked up sometimes. I read it because I thought it would be like the movie "The Saw." It was in a vague sense, but ended up having nothing to do with morals. It was a fun crime/mystery novel.

8. "Prep" - Curtis Sittenfeld
--Obnoxious character names like "Conchita Maxwell," "Cross Sugarman," and "Aspeth Montgomery." She also likes to switch typical gender-associated names with the sex of the character. For instance, one male character was named "Aubrey." Come on, Curtis. Seriously. What's wrong with normal names? You know who would never be at a snooty East Coast prep school? CONCHITA MAXWELL. Also....the main character sucks. She totally sucks. I was not sympathetic to her plight. I found her whiny and self-sabotaging (unapologetically so), and was not happy when anything good happened to her.

9. "The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America" - Bill Bryson
--Very funny and informative, like all other Bryson books. I waited with baited breath while he inched his way toward Wisconsin...and spent exactly two paragraphs on it. It took forever to get across. Boring, but pleasant. Thanks, Bryson. You spent more time discussing hotel stays in the Bumfuck Nowhere, Wyoming.

10. "When You Are Engulfed in Flames" - David Sedaris
--David Sedaris is my hero. Does anyone else get the sense that you just KNOW him and his family while reading his books? That's how good a writer he is. It's like sitting down and catching up when you read a new book of his. Amazing. Hysterically funny and altogether touching.

11. "Remember Me?" - Sophie Kinsella
--A rather formulaic pappy girlie girl novel about a dowdy woman who wakes up rich and perfect-looking with a hot husband, great job, and absolutely no memory of the last three years ....but I still enjoyed it. I read it in less than 24 hours, in fact. It's like watching a formulaic pappy girlie girl movie. You know exactly what will happen, but it's entertaining nonetheless.

12. "Confessions of a Shopaholic" - Sophie Kinsella
--Ugh. I just could not stand the main character. She's as dumb as a bag of hammers, and, frankly, could use professional help. Maybe it's because I'm kind of a tightwad sometimes, but I can't begin to fathom spending money like she does when she makes no money. She's so careless and stupid, it drove me crazy the whole book. PLUS, there is of course a "Mr. Darcy" character....that is, a smart and handsome, yet hard-to-read and jackassish. Does she get together with him? Well, what do you think? Because it certainly wasn't a surprise to me--the girl was a moron.

13. "The Time Traveler's Wife" - Audrey Niffenegger
--A wonderful love story that's both totally unique and cozily familiar. It does, in fact, involve time traveling, so the whole premise of a love story developing is really imaginative and fun to read. But the characters could be anyone, really. They were just so believable. Theirs was not a love story as written by a sap like Nicholas Sparks--it was about real love, real feelings and all of the messiness that tends to ensue.

14. "Schooled" - Anisha Lakhani
--This was a readable enough book.....all about a starry-eyed, enthusiastic, wet-behind-the-ears 24 year old teacher at a private Manhattan middle school who winds up in the lucrative tutoring business. The plot, as you might imagine, is overly simplistic. Also, it's filled with what I can only describe as Designer Label Porn a la "The Devil Wears Prada." It's fun, this Designer Label Porn, but it's just a cover for mediocre writing. It reminds me of a grown up version of those "Girl Talk" books that surfaced in the late 80's, i.e. "Today, Allison had her long, black hair up in a sleek pony tail, and was wearing turquoise earrings, because she's a Native American. She wore black stretch pants and a long blue sweater. Sabrina wished she could be glamorous like Allison." Seriously. It's the same thing.

15. "More Than it Hurts You" - Darin Strauss
--This was kind of a dense and oddly-put-together book. It's about a family whose mother potentially has Munchausen-by-Proxy, and might be intentionally harming her child. You know how I love psychodrama, so I was pulled into this story. About a quarter of the way through, the main plot drops in favor of going deep into the histories and personalities of secondary characters. It's jarring and not in a pleasant or exciting way. More a "What the....huh!?"-kind of way. But finally (and I do mean 'finally'...it takes a long time) you get everything tied together and the main plot progresses. It's pretty interesting overall. But I was kind of happy to be finished.

16. "The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green" - Joshua Braff
--LOVE this book. Love it. As you might imagine, it's about the thoughts of our young protagonist, Jacob Green. Jacob is about 10 years old when the book starts out, and it takes you through periods of his life up through age 15 or so. There's a major focus on his family interactions, namely that of his alternately smothering with love and verbally abusive father. It's funny, indescribably engaging, and at times, very tense. A totally unexpected page-turner, and probably not just because I'm interested in Judaism.

17. "Cujo" - Steven King (reread)
--I first read Cujo when I was a kid. It's far better when you read it as an adult. What I find interesting about this book is that as much of 60% of it has absolutely *nothing* to do with the dog. They talk about the effect a wife's affair has on her marriage, the advertising agency field, a son's nightmares. In the background, a dog gets bitten by a rabid bat, and occasionally, you see him get sicker until finally he kills. But even then, the main focus isn't on the dog. It's not until at least 70% of the way in that the major event begins to happen. I also love that the dog JUST has rabies and is a Saint Bernard (so, you know, it's hard to take down). There's nothing supernatural here. Just a big ass dog with rabies who won't back down, a car that doesn't work, an isolated town, and a very hot day. But you know what? That is freaking terrifying.

18. "The Kid" - Dan Savage (reread)
--I read this again because I'm in love with it as a book. It's a very fast read. Dan Savage is my other hero and is my gay boyfriend. I love his style of writing, which is simultaneously hilarious, touching, and horrifyingly un-p.c. This is about Dan and Terry's quest to adopt their son. The first time I read it, I remember laughing and crying at the same time. This time, I laughed a lot, and then cried at the end. Some things never change.

19. "The Gargoyle" - Andrew Davidson
--Other reviewers say "Just get through the first two chapters....they're very gross, very hard to read, but the book is better after that." Boy, are they right. The first two chapters describe a burn victim and his recovery in excruciating detail. I have a pretty strong stomach for watching gross stuff (like ER) and reading gross stuff (Hello, Palahaniuk), but there was one part in this book that got even me. So, beware. Other than that, it's billed as being an unbelievable epic love story that spans ages and cultures. This is true. Again, beware: It is not your average smooshy, lovey-dovey, lacey-frilly love story. Every love story told is fraught with something terrible. But it has a good message. I wouldn't go so far as to call the main character fully 'redemptive' as some reviewers have....but he is, somewhat. Things get better. Somewhat. Overall, a good read that I found engaging enough to rip through in a matter of days.

20. "The Commitment" - Dan Savage
--I love Dan Savage. I was really excited when I remembered that he had a 'new' book that I still had yet to read. This is about his debate on whether or not to get married to his longtime boyfriend, Terry. There was a lot of repeat background info that was a bit tiresome if you've read his other books, but it's necessary to catch up the uninformed reader. It was wonderfully funny. Dan Savage is such a gifted writer. I laughed and, as while reading "The Kid," cried. Such is the delight of reading his work.

21. "The Amazing Adventures of DietGirl" - Shauna Reid
--I felt obligated to read this book because of working at Jenny Craig. Shauna Reed lost over 150 pounds....first on Weight Watchers, then on her own. We all know how much I can get behind losing weight on your own, but 150+ is just super impressive. Shauna is really very funny and is a talented, interesting writer. I'd recommend this in general, but in particular to anyone with a significant amount of weight to lose.

22. "Memoirs of a Geisha" - Arthur Golden (reread)
--I adore this book, hence the re-read. The writing is particularly colorful and vivid, full of rich details that employ all the senses. The story is engaging and powerfully interesting. As everyone knows by now (especially since it was made into a movie), it is about a young girls transformation into one of the best geisha in Gion. A terrific story that I never wanted to put down both times that I read it.

23. "Trouble" - Jesse Kellerman
--A fun-but-dumb read. All about a young med student who saves a woman being stabbed in an alley. She winds up coming to him and they have a passionate love affair. But quickly, trouble starts brewing in all aspect of our hero's life! I know the plot twists were meant to be surprising, but they weren't. And I am a person who is terrible at guessing the outcome of stories and movies. So, that really says something. Nevertheless, I found it entertaining and disturbing enough to finish quickly. Also, all the medical stuff was like reading an ER episode, which I found very enjoyable. I did not, however, like Kellerman's canned interpretation of a highly intelligent female lead. She was one of the most horribly obnoxious characters ever invented.

24. "Queen Bees and Wannabes" - Rosalind Wiseman
--A book recommended by my fiance. It was the basis for the movie "Mean Girls." It's all about how to deal with the drama surrounding your teenage girl. I thought it would be more about the interactions between bitchy young girls, but it's more a guide for parents on how to deal with their bitchy teenage girl. It got a bit taxing to read because I do not have a teenage girl to parent (thank god). It would be an EXCELLENT book for someone who does have a teenage girl, though. Wiseman gives great pointers on how to create open dialogue with your daughter, and is funny to boot.

25. "Chasing Harry Winston" - Lauren Weisberger
--Okay. So, I knew this wouldn't be a great work of fiction when I saw the cover (a white fur-covered stiletto with three giant diamond engagement rings on the heel), but I really wanted a mindless read. And boy, did I get what I asked for. Weisberger is the author of "The Devil Wears Prada," which was infinitely better. The book is about three women ('best friends' who are just terrible to each other, but it's okay because they're like sisters!!!!) approaching 30 who make resolutions to change their lives in one way or another. This includes planning on sleeping with one man from each continent, dumping a sweet, considerate and respectful fiance for a jackass fling, and making friends with a parakeet with body dysmorphic disorder. No, I'm not kidding. All the characters are irredeemably shallow, stupid, neurotic, jealous and generally mean-spirited. It was like reading Sex and the City if all the SATC characters sucked 100% of the time.

26. "Hideaway" - Dean Koontz
--A husband and wife's car goes plummeting off a cliff into an ice-choked river. Wife survives, husband dies. Husband is brought back to life after being dead for 80-some minutes. All of this is very interesting and tense, of course, and then randomly, Koontz introduces a new narrator--the evil Vassago. Vassago is patently uninteresting for the first several chapters he narrates. I found myself aching for him to stop talking so I could get on with the interesting bits of the husband and wife's story. But eventually, the husband and Vassago are entwined in a most interesting (if not uber-repetitive) fashion. The story is very clever, but not until the last quarter or so. All about the struggle between good and evil, yadda yadda yadda. It was alright, but I wouldn't re-read it.

27. "Teaser" - Jan Brogan
--I picked this up randomly on a day when nothing in the library was appealing. It's a mystery/crime novel starring a plucky, tireless investigative journalist. Our journalist finds herself in a tangled web of child internet porn, drugs, and the dangerous criminals behind it all. It was actually REALLY great--very fast moving and interesting. Loved it.

Book 76: Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis

2009-07-17T16:49:17Z

Book 76: Crooked Little Vein: a Novel
Author: Warren Ellis, 2007.
Genre: Black Comedy/Satire. Conspiracy Fiction. Private Eye.
Other Details: Hardback. 280 pages.

My overall experience of Crooked Little Vein was that it was a graphic novel without the graphics. Probably a good thing too given much of its subject matter!

Michael McGill is your typical hard-boiled, burned-out private eye with the ability to attract all kinds of weird phenomena. Due to this he is approached by a corrupt White House Chief of Staff who wants him to locate a second "secret" United States Constitution, which had been lost in a whorehouse by Richard Nixon in the 1950s. This secret Constitution has mystical properties that will "make America beautiful again". McGill isn't at all sure he believes all this but he agrees to undertake the task, armed with a large expense account and some nifty gadgets. He is soon joined by college student Trix, who is writing a thesis on sexual fetishes. She serves as his guide to the seedier side of America as well as providing a voice to challenge the hypocrisy of those who have sent him on this quest, which will essentially limit freedom of choice. So begins a very strange road trip.

Crooked Little Vein is full of all kinds of weird characters and strange situations; though probably not one for the faint-of-heart given its descriptions of fetish porn and other strangeness. This aspect is mitigated by the fact that McGill, its narrator, is fairly squicked out himself; and Trix continually taunts him for being so 'vanilla'. Apparently the book was based on odd news items and disturbing pictures from the web that Ellis had found or been sent.

I have to admit that I found it hilarious, outrageous, deeply subversive and over much too quickly.

Read Chapter One .

And as the spotlights fade away.

2009-07-17T05:34:13Z

19) Super In The City by Daphne Uviller

One of my best friends sent this book to me in the mall while she was vacationing in the lovely state of Montana. All she said was "READ THIS NOW". Super In the City is one of those good chick lit books that really make you laugh and want to write down half of what the main character is thinking because all you can think about is "Yes! That's exactly how it feels!" It was a bit more sexual than I would have liked but at least it was more tasteful then other books I've read. Uviller's storytelling reminds me of Meg Cabot's adult books, characters that are easy to relate to, cad like men, that charming asshole women can't help but fawn over and a good mystery to keep you wondering what's happening next.

Books Six through Twenty-Eight

2009-07-17T05:06:15Z

Books Six through nineteen were mangas of Fullmetal Alchemist. A great comic with amazing characters and great story. Highly recommended.

20. Tea: Addiction, Exploitation, and Empire (Hardcover by Roy Moxham.

A very interesting look at the history of Tea and how it came to Europe, and, specifically effected Great Britain, India, China, and the rest of the world. It almost makes you not want to drink tea. The author actually ran a tea plantation in Africa during the 1960s and I would have liked to know how his experience there turned out.

21. iWoz by Steve Wozniak and Gina Smith

The autobiography of Steve Wozniak, who designed and invented the Apple 1 and the Apple II computers that started Apple Comptuers. His life is interesting and he goes into all kinds of details about his pranks, phone phreaking, working for HP, starting up Apple, his life in general. A fun and fast read- much recommended for anyone into technology, Apple, or computers.

22. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos

One of the most infamous books of the 1920s but a novel that is still current. It’s about woman, named Lorelei Lee, who travels through life in a breezy way just existing moment to moment. A fun book- it’s rather like reading many blogs the way it talks about what happens. Highly recommended.

23. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

A reread from when I was really small. I admire Dickens’s prose style and the way he makes characters. The characters are much better than the plot, but you can’t fault Dickens for that since this was only his fourth book. The ending is a bit predictable, but it is satisfying.

24. Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough

A great read about the most infamous bank robbers of American History: Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, The Barker Gang, Alvin Karpis and Baby Face Nelson. The book follows all of these infamous folk heroes in the peak of their careers and how the FBI rose to prominence thanks to their exploits. John Dillinger I liked, Alvin Karpis too- I wanted him to get away...the others, not so much. And I didn’t realize how much cross-country travel these folks all did and how many times they came to Reno and were all over Nevada. There’s a story or two in all that.

25. Beggars of Life by Jim Tully

An fascinating autobiography of a neglected writer. Jim Tully was famous before WWII and he wrote novels, biographies, and press releases for Hollywood actors for twenty years. Beggars of Life is the first book of his autobiography that describes his life on the road as a tramp during the 1900s. An exciting and well-written book worth reading.

26. Edgeworks Vol. 3 (The Harlan Ellison Hornbook & Harlan Ellison's Movie) by Harlan Ellison

Really two books in one: the first part are reprints of a column Ellison did in the 1970s for a couple different publications. Great stuff- funny, witty, urbane and perfect. So many great columns to mention- but I thought the series where he talks about his college days at Ohio State to be the best ones.

Harlan Ellison's Movie is the script for a spec movie Harlan was given to write a movie he wanted to, without limitations. It couldn't be made in the 70s and I doubt it could be made now. About a liberal hippie type who inherits a bank and decides to fight the system with the system. Amazing ending.

27. New York Giants: An Informal History of a Great Baseball Club by Frank Graham

I've been a Giants fan since 1988- and I know a lot about them. Graham's book is a great team history and talks about some of the best teams ever in baseball. This book only covers the Giants's history up through 1952, so it doesn't talk about the last Giant victory in the World Series, the move to San Francisco and forward. It does cover the origins of the team, the time of John McGraw from 1902 to 1933 (I'd read a book about McGraw for sure- he sounds like a hell of a guy) and his successors. It's well written and clearly stated and it explains Leo Durocher's quote of "last guys finish last"- he didn't say that exactly, but that's what he meant. Recommended to people who like baseball history or Giants fans.

28. A Day in the Bleachers by Arnold Hano

A piece of New Journalism written ten years before the term. Hano went to the first game of the 1954 World Series of the New York Giants versus the Cleveland Indians and described his entire day, before and during his six hours watching the game in the Polo Grounds's centerfield bleachers. And, he describes Willie Mays's amazing catch against Vic Wertz so well, that it's like you saw it yourself. Amazing writing with many, many quotable passages- it's so good that I'd recommend it to anyone who likes great writing, journalism, history, oral history or baseball.

[Book 7] Karneval volume 01, by Mikanagi Touya

2009-07-16T23:46:45Z

Title: Karneval
Volume: 01 (chapters 1-6)
Author: Mikanagi Touya
Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy
Themes: Fighting, special abilities, monsters/criminals
Book details: Manga, aprox. 195 pages

My Rating: 5/5

Baka-Updates Manga Summary:

Nai searches for someone important to him, with only an abandoned bracelet as a clue. Gareki steals and pick-pockets to get by from day to day. The two meet in a strange mansion where they are set-up, and soon become wanted criminals by military security operatives. When Nai and Gareki find themselves desperate in a hopeless predicament, they encounter none other than the country's most powerful defense organization - "Circus"!!

My Review:

It was hard not to be drawn to this art style. It walks a line between cutesy and gorgeous! And Nai is adorable, and we meet him first. By the time I got to the cool Gareki, it was a done deal.

As for the story...very intriguing, especially Karoku and Nai's story.

One of the best things is the characters though. I love them all! Circus is hilarious and brilliant.

Nai's naivety lends to many amusing moments, and Gareki, despite trying to maintain his cool and badass attitude, has his own funny moments. XP

Yogi of the circus is one of my favorite characters. He's the biggest comic relief, and he makes everything awesome (and sparkly, haha)!

...Oh, and you cannot forget the sheep! Hilarious little things, for being computers.

I can't wait to read more of this fabulous manga.

[Book 6] One Piece volume 01, by Eiichirou Oda

2009-07-16T20:46:19Z

Title: One Piece
Volume: 01 (chapters 1-8)
Author: Eiichirou Oda (Eiichirō Oda)
Genre: Adventure
Themes: Adventure, epic
Book details: Manga, aprox. 218 pages

My Rating: 5/5

Wikipedia Summary (includes spoilers):

The seven-year-old boy Monkey D. Luffy tries to join the pirate crew of the "Red-Haired" Shanks, but is rejected for being too young. Accidentally, he eats the Gum-Gum Fruit, which gives his body the properties of rubber and makes him unable to swim. When Shanks loses an arm to a sea monster while saving him, Luffy realizes his own weakness to the dangers of a pirate's life and gives up on joining Shanks' crew. Instead, he vows one day to surpass Shanks, to build up a crew of his own, and to become the next King of the Pirates. Ten years later, he sets out to sea, where he frees the young boy Koby from a slave's life in the pirate crew of Alvida, and saves Roronoa Zoro from being executed by the axe-armed Navy Captain Morgan and his son Helmeppo. With Zoro as his first crewman, he sets sail for the Grand Line, the sea where One Piece is supposedly hidden, and makes the acquaintance of the thief and expert navigator Nami.

My Review:

This is a reread, but it feels like the first time! One Piece is just so amazing. The thing about rereads is, you have a new understanding and insight into the things that happen, and you can even catch hints of things that influenced the future.

About the art: I remember when I first heard of One Piece, I was leery about trying it out because I thought the art was weird. Now? I can't understand why/believe that I even hesitated! The art gets better and better, and really grows on you.

Reading this makes me realize how much no one knew the real Zoro. I don't think he got to share that with anyone (after Kuina) until he met the Straw Hats.

Zoro's origin story is my second favorite one. I also find the Luffy + Zoro first interaction awesome. And Coby! To think of Coby and Helmeppo's future when seeing them now...

Books 14-16

2009-07-16T20:01:01Z

Escape - Carolyn Jessop
Amazon Link
Rating: 4.5
Genre: Nonfiction

Wow. That's really all I have to say about this book, but I'll try to do better than that. This is the story of Carolyn Jessop, a woman who was born into life in the FLDS - a radical shootoff of the Morman church. I of course want to point out that the Mormons have excommunicated these people and as far as I know do not practice any of the horrible things that are described here. I also want to say that I am not anti-polygamy in principle (don't shoot me, please) but the way these people are doing it is clearly not working at all.

This was a really interesting read for me, especially once I figured out that the husband who treated her so badly and that she'd taken her kids and run away from is the same guy who was running the compound down here in Texas that got raided last year for having the underage marriages.

Carolyn's story is heartbreaking, and a truly interesting read. I highly recommend it. I have to admit, it is so difficult to believe that things like this can be going on today! If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was one of those books about a false utopia, a fiction story about a place someone made up ... like "We" or "1984". And yet, it's real. Sometimes truth really -is- stranger than fiction!

We Should Never Meet: Stories - Aimee Phan
Amazon Link
Rating: 3.5
Genre: Historical Fiction

Another really interesting read. It is a grouping of stories told from different points of views, or many different characters of different ages who had something to do with the war in Vietnam, and in particular were impacted by Operation BabyLift - an effort to get many orphans out of Vietnam during the war and to places like the United States where they would (hopefully) be adopted.

The story follows some of the children who came to the USA - one who was in and out of foster homes her whole life and abused, two who had loving families but had different reactions to them, one who became a theif. It also follows a Vietnamese girl turned Catholic nun, a young vietnamese mother who had been raped by an American soldier and dropped her baby off at an orphanage, and an American volunteer in a Vietnamese orphanage... and I think I'm forgetting someone, but you get the idea.

All of their stories are intertwined, and sometimes it isn't until far later when you figure out the relationships. The story was great - I learned a lot about Vietnam and the problems there during the war, and operation BabyLift, and really felt like I could relate to the characters and understand them, even though I have obviously never been in such a situation.

Some of the writing annoyed me a bit, which is why I didn't give the book a 4 rating.

Love and Houses - Marti Leimbach
Amazon Link
Rating: 3
Genre: Drama/Girly-fiction

This book was... meh. I was intrigued by the blurb on the back, telling how the character had noticed that love and houses seem to correspond: when a couple begins searching for a new home because they feel like they need a change, this is usually a sign of the marriage falling apart. Of course, not if they are looking for a home because they have had a new child and need more space, or a child moved out and they need less, or they got a job transfer or something. But they just want a change of house/scenery. She also said "Marry in a bad market, divorce in a good one" -> ie, buy a cheap house for yourselves when you get married, and you can sell it for a lot more when you divorce.

I found the concept interesting. Sadly, I didn't feel like it got that much attention throughout this novel. Sure, she threw in a few things here and there about houses. But most of the references felt like they were very contrived - just put in there because she suddenly realized she hadn't said much about houses and didn't want to change the title.

Instead, the story was mostly the story of the main character, who is 7 months pregnant at the beginning of the novel, and her husband, who runs out on her shortly after the book begins. It's the story of how she reacts, why he did what he did, etc. Her talking to her friends, her friends talking to him... Parts of it were pretty good, and there were a lot of meaningful, quotable lines in the book. But overall... wasn't too exciting. And the ending pissed me off. And it didn't have much to do with houses except the main character liked them and liked to decorate and knew a lot about stuff like chimney cleaning and floor oiling. But nothing about how it corresponds to relationships, except I guess you have to put a lot of effort into both.

#10 - Julia Quinn - What Happens in London

2009-07-15T21:32:39Z

Book Review: Julia Quinn - What Happens in London

In What Happens in London, society belle Olivia Bevelstoke decides to spy on her neighbor, Sir Harry Valentine, after listening to her gossipy friends claim that he killed his fiancee. She's pretty sure that he didn't kill anyone, but she watches him from his window anyway--just in case. Despite Olivia thinking herself well camouflaged, Harry is well aware of her peeping Tom activities. Far from cooking up devious schemes, he is merely translating Russian correspondence for the War Office. Their first meeting does not go well--at first, they dislike each other. But after a few more chance meetings, they become friends, with Harry gifting Olivia with a gothic novel that she subsequently forces him to listen to while she reads particularly badly written passages. It is only with the arrival of a Russian prince who sets his sights on Olivia that Harry realizes that he loves her.

The middle of the book, unfortunately, was far more amusing than either the beginning or the ending. The prologue containing Harry's childhood reminded me way too much of the beginning of Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels (which I only managed to get halfway through and only picked up because a certain mathematics professor liked it). I usually do not read historical romances so I am curious--was this an homage to Chase or is beginning a book with the hero's childhood a well established convention in the genre that I was not previously aware of? Or, I suppose, a coincidence? At any rate, I wasn't very impressed. While it was a convenient device for the author to put in some character development, I'm not quite sure it was the best way to do it...(more)

Eastern Jewel

2009-07-15T19:54:13Z

Title: The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel

Author: Maureen Lindley

Genre: Novel

Plot: Eastern Jewel is a Chinese princess who is born towards the beginning of the twentieth century. Unmanageable from a young age, she is sent to live with an “adoptive family,” in Japan, where she is renamed Yoshiko and abused by her new family. Yoshiko loves her new country desperately, and when war breaks out she is prepared to do anything to assist her new nation in its fight against her old. This spy story takes a back seat, however, to the author’s primary focus – the fact that Eastern Jewel is a “partying princess.” Apparently from her jail cell Eastern Jewel cannot manage more introspection than to recall who she slept with and when.

Grade: D

Review: This book is written as though Eastern Jewel left behind a cache of writings that she penned from her jail cell, reflecting on her tumultuous life. I have read novels stemming from this premise in the past, and have often seen them have good results. To achieve this, however, the author must throw him or herself into the time period and lifestyle of their subject. Unfortunately, I do not get this impression when reading about Eastern Jewel. She remains just as elusive as ever, and I know no more about her than when I started this tome except that she had sex – a lot. By the time she makes the “revelation” that she is a sex addict, believe me, it will come as no surprise to you whatsoever. Important life events, such as being made president of the China Gold Mining Company as barely mentioned, just enough to make the reader say, “wait, what? that seems like it would be relevant.” I would think that a convicted spy would have something a little more interesting to say.

#41

2009-07-15T17:35:56Z

I just finished another Raymond Feist novel, this one from the library, called Rides a Dread Legion. This starts a new saga, though still set in Midkemia. The good part is that he introduces some new and engaging characters. The bad is that it's still another "oh, we must save the world" novels. Still, I got into this one much more rapidly and deeply than the one I finished just prior to this one, in the last couple of weeks, and I think that he's going to shift focus onto these new and interesting characters in the upcoming novels in this series. Not bad.

50bookchallenge @ 2009-07-15T09:27:00

2009-07-15T14:27:55Z

Book #55 - Candice Ransom, Time Spies: Secret in the Tower, 120 pages.

A cute little kids' book about three siblings who move into an old inn and find a magic spyglass that allows them to travel into the past. It's the first in a series, with this one dealing with the Revolutionary War.

Book #56 -- Linda Joy Singleton, Dead Girl Walking, 296 pages.

Amber Borden has a horrible sense of direction. She took a wrong turn at the Light during a near-death experience and instead of ending up back in her body, she's in the body of the most popular girl in school - who has apparently just tried to commit suicide. Now she has to try and switch them back, and maybe help out a classmate in the process. The Message: that you should judge people on the surface, is a little heavy-handed, but it's still a fun book, and the author makes a nod in the author's note at the end to Mr. Truepenny's Book Emporium and Gallery, which makes everything good in my book :)

Progress toward goals: 196/365 = 53.7%

Books: 56/100 = 56.0%

Pages: 14128/30000 = 47.1%

2009 Book List

cross-posted to 50bookchallenge, 15000pages, gwynraven

47 & 48

2009-07-15T11:25:07Z

47. A Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin - 1,216 pages (10/10)

This is one of my favourite all-time fantasy books. Because this book is so lengthy, it is difficult to give a succinct summary. Essentially, it continues the saga in a world vaguely reminiscent of The War of the Roses in Medieval Europe. Five kings are vying for domination over the land: Robb Stark, Balon Greyjoy, Joffrey Baratheon, Stannis Baratheon, and Renly Baratheon. All of the main characters are here: Jon Snow, Catelyn Stark, Tyrion Lannister, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Samwell Tarly, and of course, my favourite character: Danerys (Dany) Targaryen.

There are two new character point of views in this story. The first is Jamie Lannister, twin of Queen Cersei. In the previous two books, he is painted as a more or less one-sided villain. Not so in this book. His character deepens as he is dragged through the woods with his captor, Brienne of Tarth, an ugly maiden that he unwillingly forms a kinship with. The other new POV character is Ser Davos Seaworth, also known as "The Onion Knight" because he was knighted for smuggling onions to starving people under the former king's reign. His sections weren't quite as interesting to me, but he was an essential to discover what Stannis, one of the would-be kings, was up to.

The world has been set up in the previous books to the point where the characters have settled into their main story arcs. Beware, however: Martin has no problem sacrificing characters for the purpose of the story. It's actually refreshing to see, for it keeps the reader guessing if they don't have the ingrained assumption that the characters will make it after all and the story will end Happily Ever After. Thankfully, none of my favourite characters have died as of yet.

Martin is a gifted writer--he balances to many characters, so many details, and it's rare that the book drags. There are the neccessary overly political chapters, but even those manage to be peppered with enough humour or a spurt of violence to spice them up. It's difficult to truly dislike any of the storyarcs. I laughed out loud while reading; I wanted to throw the book across the room; I grew to love some of the character's so much that when one of their chapters came up I would mutter "yes!" under my breath.

Usually in reviews I try to point out the weaknesses, but it's hard to do with this book. This installment has much more action than A Clash of Kings and there's not the lengthy set-up of A Game of Thrones. Martin's written one of the best fantasy series out there. I just wish A Dance of Dragons would come out soon!

48. Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb - 809 pages (9/10)

I've been feeling nostalgic recently, so I decided to re-read the trilogy that sparked my soon-to-be-husband's and my relationship. He IMed me accusing me of bad taste because I ranked Terry Goodkind above Robin Hobb on a list of favourite authors on my blog. We argued and I did eventually realize that yes, Robin Hobb blows Terry Goodkind out of the water (to my credit, I was only 15 at the time).

The premise of this series sounds sort of silly. This is the first installment of the Liveship trilogy. Yes, this book is partly about talking ships. The Old Traders settled in Bingtown, a trading port close to the magic-filled Rain Wilds. Some settlers journeyed to the Rain Wilds and settled there, either finding or creating amazing goods. But all magic has a price. Those who live in the Rain Wilds eventually become horribly deformed and sequester themselves away from others. Yet the Old Traders of Bingtown were willing to go into debt for generations to purchase liveships; ships carved from wizardwood that eventually awaken into sentience. They are incredible vessels that can sail better, faster, and through more treacherous waters than any ship made of dead wood.

This series begins by introducing a variety of characters. Althea Vestrit is the main protagonist. She has grown up on the un-awakened liveship Vivacia, and cannot wait for the ship to awaken and their bond to be sealed. However, the Vivacia is taken from her just after she awakens, and Althea proceeds to do all she can to win her back, even if it means dressing as a boy on a slaughter vessel. Wintrow Haven is Althea's nephew, and was happily training to become a priest before he was forced to go back to his family and serve aboard the Vivacia so that she has a family member to comfort her as she becomes a slaveship to save the Vestrit family's failing fortunes. His sister, Malta, is a coniving brat desperate to become a woman before realizing what it entails (think Sansa Stark of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire but with a mean streak). All of the Vestrit family come into play.

What I really love about Hobb is that she does not have stock villains. Captain Kennit is an unscrupulous pirate who desperately wants to obtain a liveship and become King of the Pirates. He could so very easily be a one-dimensional, evil fellow, but Hobb deepens his character. He's a total sociopath, but he's so convincing that many come to love and be fiercely loyal to him. His adroit manipulating, unsometimes surprisingly helped by a small wizardwood charm he has around his wrist, makes readers question if he is as evil as he may appear to be.

The first installment introduces these characters and sets up many questions for the remaining two sequels to handle. While I don't like this series as much as her Farseer trilogy, the world of Bingtown, the surrounding islands, and the few glimpses of the Rain Wilds is a lush world. I don't love the characters as much as Fitz and the rest, but they are still characters that I've connected to enough to enjoy going back to visit them again.

Also, this might be slightly off-topic, but I've written a Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film review in my journal if you're interested :)

Book 02: Flatland by Edwin Abbott (1884)

2009-07-15T06:15:24Z

First line:

"I call our world Flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are privileged to live in Space."

Summary: Mr. A. Square is your typical four-sided polygon living in two dimensional Flatland. He doesn't want to challenge the status quo in his hierarchical society - the Circle priests have imprisoned people for less. But when a passing Sphere pulls A. Square into three dimensional Spaceland and allows him to view his planar world from above, he is compelled to tell his neighbors what he has experienced. Will he survive the consequences?

Reaction: Abbott's novella is billed as a satire of Victorian society, but I read it for its mathematical content. Mathematics and physics both abstract to higher dimensions from the three dimensional world we inhabit. It is easy to imagine a 2D plane in our 3D world or a 1D point on a 2D plane. But how are we to imagine a 3D space in a higher-dimensional hyperspace? Our brains are built to process data from a 3D physical world. Abbott explains how A. Square's 2D listeners might come to understand (if not visualize) an additional third dimension and how we might understand dimensions beyond the usual three.

The social commentary in the book hasn't aged as well as its mathematics. Abbott presents a world with a strict social hierarchy - the more sides in a polygon, the higher his status. Priestly Circles (who are secretly only many-sided polygons) rule over the rest. Sexism is evident from A Square's description of his society. Men are polygons and women are lines of infinitesimal width. Feminists will cringe a bit during A. Square's exposition, especially when they learn of the society's beliefs about physiognomy. Intelligence is considered to be proportional to the area of a person's body and women have infinitesimal area. Hmm. Misogyny aside, Flatlander society is opposed to dangerous new ideas and willing to stop their spread by imprisoning freethinking offenders (or doing worse). The society certainly sounds like a Victorian caricature (and I've never been very interested in Victorian literature). Oh, well. The math made it worthwhile.

Thumbs: Up