Do you have a book you read in school that you swore was the worst book ever? Have you ever thought that maybe your teachers weren't out to torture you, and there may have been a method to their madness after all? Then the July Challenge is for you!

Details on the challenge can be found here...check it out, and join us!

80. Korgi Christian Slade (5/5)
( Read more... )
81. Heart-Shaped Box Joe Hill (3/5)
( Read more... )
82. A Wind in the Door Madeleine L'Engle (4/5)
( Read more... )
83. Spider-Man: Fairy Tales C. B. Cebulski, David Sexton (3.5/5)
( Read more... )
84. Flight Explorer, Vol. 1 Kazu Kibushi (4/5)
( Read more... )
85. The Hollow Kingdom Clare B. Dunkle (3.5/5)
( Read more... )

Title: A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories
Author: Robin McKinley
Year: 1995
# of Pages: 192
Date read: 4/20/2008
Rating: 3*/5 = good


Description (from back cover):

"Five heroines -- five tales of enchantment. . .

Lily. A woman with powers to heal, but no power of speech. Then she meets a mage -- a man who can hear the words she forms only in her mind. Will he help her find her voice?

Ruen. A princess whose uncle leaves her deep in a cave to die at the hands of the stagman. But when she meets the stagman at last, Ruen discovers fate has a few surprises in store for her.

Erana. As a baby, she was taken by a witch in return for the healing herbs her father stole from the witch's garden. Raised alongside the witch's troll son, Erana learns that love comes in many forms.

Coral. A beautiful young newcomer who caches the eye of an older widowed farmer. He can't believe his good fortune when Coral consents to be his wife. But then the doubts set in -- what is it that draws Coral to Buttercup Hill?

Annabelle. When her family moves the summer before her junior year of high school, Annabelle spends all her time in the attic of her new house -- until she finds the knot in the grain which leads her on a magical mission."

My thoughts:

I liked these stories of fantasy and discovery. I especially liked the stories of Lily and her search for her voice and Erana who learns where her true home is.

I am sooo happy that I've found such a marvellous community... I always wondered how many books can I read in a year, but never had an idea. Now thanks to this community I shal simply count them from this day on. And reviewing is what I adore.

The book I started reading two days ago (and haven't finished yet, in fact) is The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2007: Twentieth Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow and Kelly Link and Gavin Grant (ISBN: 9780312369422)

Well, to be honest, I am reading not this very book, but its Russian translation (ISBN 978-5-91181-510-3)

Rating (so far): 3/5
Actually I don't feel like to review this very book. It's okay, and several stories are really fascinating. But reading short stories is not my cup of tea (with several exceptions like Conan Doyle, O. Henry and some others)

19.The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle, read by Lily Rabe - Aryn Kyle has set herself a very high bar with this book, her first novel. It is a story of a family going through some tough times, nothing too extraordinary, told by the twelve year old youngest daughter. Of course our narrator sees herself at the center of this family, that's how twelve year olds think. But the reader will see how all the lives are falling apart, coming back together, and sometimes stagnating, while staying true to a young girl's voice. The sense of place (a small horse ranch in the desert) is so strong you can just about smell the leather saddles, the characters are fully fleshed out, even those that only appear on a few pages, and the plot takes some surprising, but very believable turns. The only negative was Kyle's female chauvinism. The women of this story act while the men react. The women are the instigators, the men are manipulated. There are a few exceptions to this, but it was noticeable enough I found myself wondering how the father could be so weak and oblivious and have raised daughters who think so well for themselves.

20. Speaking With The Angel, Edited by Nick Hornby - A collection of short stories written by friends of Nick Hornby at his request to raise money for an autism education program in England (and in the US if you buy the published in America version). The only requirement Honby gave his friends was that the stories be told in first person. With that broad of a brief, you're bound to get a variety of tone, plot, and of as in any anthology, quality. Colin Firth, for one, should never quit his day job. And Dave Eggars reminded me that writing as an animal will cause an immediate disconnect with the reader that is very difficult to overcome. On the positive side, a few of the stories are just down right good short fiction: Roddy Doly writes "The Slave", a sneaky little story that examines the difference between maturity and age; Giles Smith brings us "Last Requests", about person with a very unique job - preparing the last meals for death row inmates; and Irvine Welsh writes in the voice of a homophobe who finds the afterlife exactly what he wants it to be. It wasn't a surprise to learn Walsh was the author of "Trainspotting". Of all the pieces, my favorite was "NippleJesus", by Hornby himself, a "what is art?" story that shows that the question is more important than the answer.

21. Twilight by William Gay - This is a Southern Gothic horror story with the emphasis on people and place over action. That's more than enough to make this story a page turner of the highest calibre. A young man who probably thought his childhood was the worst thing that could happen to him finds himself mixed up with some truly evil men as a result of a question about his father's internment. In an attempt to find justice, he crosses paths with a county full of those sort of characters that make Southern Gothic stand apart from any other genre. The story cuts back and forth, not always smoothly, but when you get to the part that meets up with the beginning of the book, it's all too clear - and perfectly gruesome. Gay goes all out with the dialect and social customs of the region he's writing about, and they add to the "other worldy" aspect of this dark and violent tale. I can't wait to read more of what he's written!

13. This Night's Foul Work, Fred Vargas (work)

I can understand why Fred Vargas (who is female, btw) is a number one bestseller in France. I not only didn't figure out the killer, but I was *shocked* by who it was! I don't recall a mystery ever doing that to me before.

This is the second Vargas book we've published in the U.S. I'll say right now that I haven't read the first (yet), and it certainly didn't impair my enjoyment.

Commissaire Adamsberg has found two bodies that the Drugs unit is anxious to get their hands on--they had needle marks in their arms after all. But Adamsberg doesn't believe their murder had anything to do with drugs. Enter pathologist Dr. Ariane, who works with him to keep the bodies on his turf. Throw in the New Recruit, who speaks in verse (it's a family thing) and who seems to have some connection to Adamsberg's childhood, some bizarre stag murders (stag as in male deer) in Normandy and the fact that Adamsberg's new house is supposedly haunted, and you have one of the craziest sounding mysteries yet. But somehow, it all works, seamlessly so. Shockingly so. Reviewers often say that a mystery will keep you guessing, but honestly with this one, it's true. (Pub date: May 27)

14. Mad Kestrel, Misty Massey

Pirates and magic, what more can I say? I really enjoyed this book, which is a very good thing as I'm friendly with the author and it would have sucked if I hated it.

Kestrel's not your average first mate. She's got magic. Except it's not always such a good thing to have magic in her world--the nasty evil Danisobans take you away and enslave you if they sense you have magic, so Kestrel's been hiding it. And magic isn't supposed to work at sea anyway. She barely gives it a thought until her captain, Artemus Binns, is arrested for piracy and she's nearly sold to the Danisobans. And she is convinced the knave MacAvery is behind it all. But what she learns puts everything she thought she knew in a completely different light.

There's plenty of swashbuckling adventure, swordfights, ship battles--everything a gal could want in a pirate adventure!

15. The Dimension Next Door, Kerrie Hughes and Martin Greenberg (freelance)

A slightly better than average anthology. I had some factual issues with a few of the stories, but that's partly cause I'm nit-picky that way. (Pub date: July 1)

16. The Ruins, Scott Smith

There was no way that I, as a Druid, could avoid reading a book about a sentient plant. And I decided I would read the book before the movie came out. It took a bit of suspension of disbelief for a while, but then I sort of had to try to suspend all notions of reality. It wasn't awful, and it was actually pretty decent until I had to abandon reality in order to accept what was happening in the book. And as much as I think sentient plants are pretty nifty, I just don't believe that a plant could really accomplish everything this one did. Perhaps if the book had been tightened up a bit I would have liked it more. I was disappointed.

17. King's Shield, Sherwood Smith (freelance)

The third in the Inda series. Inda has come home, bringing with him Tau and Jeje, as well as his Venn lover. He must warn his boyhood friend, who is now king, that the Venn are planning to invade and that he has a good idea of how they're planning to do it. Evred, overjoyed in more than one way to see Inda again, immediately seeks his counsel and help in figuring out how to defend the Marlovan lands. The characters continue to grow, we learn more of the Venn and their dags (magicians), and there are definitely a few surprises in store. There aren't as many pirates as in The Fox, but then it's really hard to have pirates when the story involves land battles so I forgive the author on this. And I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment.

18. In the Woods, Tana French

I have to admit that I started reading this at work for the paperback edition, got completely hooked, realized I wouldn't have time to finish it, then e-mailed the editor begging for a copy, which she was nice enough to give me.

Rob Ryan is a detective in the Murder squad. It's where he felt he always belonged, what he always wanted to do, never having been very good in school. He and his partner, Cassie Maddox, are in the squad room one afternoon, playing Worms, when a call comes in. A young girl's been found at an archaeological site in Knocknaree. This is where the trouble begins. Only Cassie knows this, since Rob now goes by his middle name, but when he was a kid, Rob lived in Knocknaree. When he was twelve, Rob, then called Adam, and his two best friends went to play in the woods outside the estate (what we in the States would call a housing development). They were gone longer than usual, and when Adam came home, his shoes were full of blood. The other two were never found.

Rob is sure he can handle the case. Hell, it might even be related to his childhood and he might find out what happened back then. Or maybe it's not related at all and there'd be no problem at all. Cassie isn't so sure, but she trusts her partner to know what's best for him. And off they go.

It's a good and moody mystery, very evocative of Ireland. It took me right back there, especially as most of it was set in Dublin, which is one of the few place in Ireland I've been. Yet, amid all the moodiness, there are lines that will make you laugh your ass off. One of my favorites, and it's so very descriptive of a character's personality: "she had a Smithers-like passion for O'Kelly." Okay, the word could be obsession instead of passion--I'm too lazy to go look it up, but still, that tells you all you need to know about someone, doesn't it? In fact, I loved this book so much that when I went to turn a manuscript over to the editor, she mentioned she had bound galleys of the next book by the author and I actually put down Bonk to read it. And the next one (The Likeness, pub date July, coinciding with the paperback edition of this one) is even creepier.

Books 1-4
Books 5-8

9. Orlando. A Biography - Virginia Woolf

I have a problem with stream of consciousness-like techniques. Not that I don't like them, but I have a hard time reading them in English. And if I'm absent-minded for some reasons, it is even more difficult. Much to my regret, that was the case while reading Orlando. I'm sure that I didn't get all the twists und turns, and couldn't always recognize the historical scenery, which means that the irony was often completely lost on me. I nevertheless like the book. It is a delightful play with genre conventions, and tells in captivating scenes the life of a young man born in Elizabethan England who decides not to grow old and later turns into a woman. The book is a rich tale full of Russian princesses, seamen and oriental gypsies, and this is the way I read this book: as an intriguing, exotic tale. I'm certainly going to read this book again to catch all the things I've missed on the first read.


10. Masters of Italian Arts: Caravaggio - Eberhard Koenig

This was one of those small, nifty books with many many many pictures, which were the only reason I bought it in the first place. Then I thought: Why not give it a go and read the text as well? I should have known that this was a bad idea, given that the book costed around 3€. I don't know enough about Caravaggio or the historical and religious background of his pictures to tell if there were some major faults. Yet there were a couple of smaller things that perplexed me and made me think if the author was to be trusted. For instance he used completely wrong terms to describe a lute. Even if it is only a minor flaw, it wouldn't have been that hard to look it up, would it? Added up, the sum of these flaws spoiled the party, I was annoyed and couldn't wait to put the book aside. The next time I will only look at the pictures.


11. Maler Moerder Mythos - Various
in English, sadly spoiling the alliteration: Painter Murderer Myth

This was an anthology of stories revolving around one or more of Caravaggio's paintings, published on the occasion of the Caravaggio exhibition in Duesseldorf. It was a mixed if surprising reading, considering that the interesting authors disappointed me, whereas other authors seem to be a pleasing discovery. I loved the idea of Tanja Kinkel to let Artemisia Gentileschi visit all Caravaggio paintings in Rome before heading off to Florence. The anthology starts off with Ingrid Noll, who is described as the "grand dame" of the German murder mystery genre. If that is in line with reality, and if she always writes that way, the German murder mystery genre is in a sad condition. Historical fiction with characters speaking in the careless voice of today's teenagers annoy the hell out of me. Henning Mankell contributed a very, very weird poem which made me doubt if I'm ever going to read one of his novels. But the other stories definitely lived up to my expectations, providing a delightful mixture of rebellion, darkness, salaciousness and religiousness - that is, the recipe of Caravaggio's paintings.


12. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

This book spent half a year on being a pain in my ass. Not to mention my desperate search for decent secondary literature that was not in French, considering that I need ten minutes to figure out the meaning of a French sentence. I had to make a presentation on Madame Bovary, her life and her lovers. Flaubert's prose is of course quite wonderful, I admire his ability to create a scenery so vivid and colourful that you are under the impression to feel, smell, touch, see, hear it yourself. And his subtle characterization of a woman who's trapped in an unhappy marriage and tries to break out of her uptight environment by delving into adultery is wonderfully done. Sadly, I was annoyed with Emma for the major part of the book. As hard as I tried, I didn't like her, and couldn't get over a dislike that I can't really explain. She seemed to be so superficial and as middle-class as the rest of the characters, only that she tried to disguise it. The ending was heart-wrenching, though ...

#6: The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales, Edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling, Illustrations by Charles Vess, 26 stories, 523 pages, Fantasy anthology, hardback, 2007, Penguin Group, New York, 8/10.

Whenever Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling gather short stories for publication, it is worth reading. I believe this, and The Coyote Road just confirms its truth for me. The theme of this anthology is Trickster stories, and there is a wide variety of interpretations included in this book. It starts off with a very informative introduction regarding the Trickster figure in myth, and ends with long lists of related works that can be read on the subject. Each story is followed by a small blurb about the author, and a background on the story written by the author. ( Behind the cut, there is a list of the stories, authors, and a quick write-up on each )

6 / 50 books. 12% done!

Title: Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery and Fantasy
Authors: Dana Stabenow (ed), Donna Andrews, Simon R. Green, Charlaine Harris, Anne Perry, John Straley, Ann Bishop, Sharon Shinn, Michael Armstrong, Laura Anne Gilman, Mike Doogan, Jay Caselberg
Year: 2004
# of Pages: 286
Date read: 2/21/2008
Rating: 3*/5 = good


Description (from back cover):

"Investigations of a different kind... Conjured from the minds of today's most innovative authors, Powers of Detection features a dozen tales of mystery and fantasy, set in worlds where sleuths may wield wands instead of firearms - and criminals may be as inhuman as the crimes they commit.
From a magical boarding school murder to a courtroom where a witch stands trial, from ancient legends of Alaska and Egypt to stories featuring such familiar faces as Sookie Stackhouse and such familiar places as the Nightside, these paranormal procedurals reveal the mysterious behind the mystery..."

My thoughts:

These stories are a great mix of fantasy and mystery, with one having a science fiction motif. I liked Simon R. Green's story of a detective who solves his own murder in the Nightside (The Nightside, Needless to Say), Sookie Stackhouse's interaction with local fairies in Charlaine Harris's Fairy Dust and the sometime humorous account of an alien murder investigation in Mike Doogan's The Death of Clickclickwhistle.

A round 10 books felt like a good enough opportunity to post here again. :)
I review all the books I read but I fear a bit to put them in here, wondering if the length wozld be inappropriate etc. But I link to every review in this list. By the way - I hugeley enjoy reviewing and reading reviews and I'd love to add some more similarly inclined people to my friends list :)

01. Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness - Somewhat of a let-down
02. Cornelia Funke - Tintenherz (Inkheart) Beautiful and touching and wonderful
03. Banana Yoshimoto - Goodbye Tsugumi Interesting and insightful
04. Isabel Allende - Inés of my Soul Rich, luxurious language, spellbinding
05. Julie Orringer - How to Breathe Underwater Perfect shortstories
06. Ian McEwan - On Chesil Beach Touching, sensitive, deep and beautifully written
07. Samantha Power - "A Problem from Hell" - America and the Age of Genocide Shocking, recommended to anyone
08. Philip K. Dick - Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep? Completely fascinating
09. Ian McEwan - Saturday Zeitgeist personified
10. Haruki Murakami - The Elephant Vanishes Hard to access, but with traces of genious

My favourites so far would definitely be Do Androids dream of Elektric Sheep? , How to breathe Underwater and Inkheart.

11. The Reel Stuff (Expanded), Brian Thomsen and Martin Greenberg (freelance)

An anthology of science fiction short stories made into movies. This edition includes the stories that are the basis for The Thing, which was excellent, though it was impossible not to picture Kurt Russell as McReady (I know that's not how the movie character's name is spelled, but that's how it's spelled in the story) and Minority Report, which was also quite good. Definitely one of the better anthologies, but then there are reasons these stories were adapted--they're good!

Pub date: June 3

12. The Bone Parade, Mark Nykanen

Premise: a famous artist creates bronze statues by taking molds of people he's kidnapped and tortured as they're dying.

One would think this'd be right up my alley. Only it's not. So not. The writing was technically good. The characters were pretty two-dimensional, especially the women, and most especially Diamond Girl, who is obviously supposed to be some sort of intriguing psychopath in the making or suffer from Stockholm syndrome or something. As for Stassler, the artist, not only is he dispicable--he's a serial killer and they are (though very good authors can make you somehow find something sympathetic in a sick way about them), but there's nothing in the least intriguing about him. He's an arrogant bastard and it's impossible to believe that in his arrogance he hasn't actually slipped up.

Even seemingly random events (Lauren finding the Rottweiler Leroy for instance) are very obvious as plot devices as soon as they happen. And of course, the climax of the story is set during a violent thunderstorm. Torture, indeed.

Tales from the Secret City by Cryptopolis (2007)

General science fiction/fantasy anthology from a writers' group based in Austin, Texas. One of those frustrating books which has nothing bad, but plenty that's not quite good enough. I'll expand on that to clarify exactly what I mean: I got along with all the stories in the book; there was nothing I could I say I disliked; yet many of the tales lacked that extra spark that made them stand out. Perhaps I'm just very picky, but it was often the case that the authors had come up with good ideas, but didn't quite take them far enough for me.

Out of ten stories, I would say three were particularly good. In 'Dance of Life and Death', Sharon Casteel weaves a poignant tale about a society of sentient bugs (yes, really!). In Patrice Sarath's 'Ice', a hockey player wanders between reality and the world of the ballet Giselle (which are, at times, one and the same); finishing this story was like waking from a dream (that's the sort of feeling I'd have welcomed more often). Then there's 'Race to the Noonie' by Matthew Bey, which is plain weird (I don't mean that dismissively): representatives of the Patchwork Kingdom race against the Greys to reach the 'noonie', the cleft that will allow access to the underside of the flat world, and... oh, you'll just have to read the story -- but it works.

Title: Paingod and Other Delusions
Author: Harlan Ellison
Year: 1965
# of Pages: 178
Date read: 1/29/2008
Rating: 4*/5 = great


Description (from back cover):

"Robert Heinlein says, "This book is raw corn liquor-- you should serve a whiskbroom with each shot so the customer can brush the sawdust off after he gets up from the floor."

Perhaps a mooring cable might also be added as necessary equipment for reading these eight wonderful stories: They not only knock you down. . . .they raise you to the stars. Passion is the keynote as you encounter the Harlequin and his nemesis, the dreaded Ticktockman, in one of the most reprinted and widely taught stories in the English language; a pyrotic who creates fire merely by willing it; the last surgeon in a world of robot physicians; a spaceship filled with hideous mutants rejected by the world that gave them birth. Touching and gentle and shocking stories from an incomparable master of impossible dreams and troubling truths."

My thoughts:

Disturbing, poignant, thought-provoking - all terms to describe these intense stories about pain, struggle and courage. All except "Repent, Harlequin!" were new to me and I found some new Ellison favorites in The Discarded, Bright Eyes and Wanted in Surgery.

It's been desperately hard to find reading time lately. A new year, a new list starting from the very beginning.

1) Neverwhere: Author's Preferred Text by Neil Gaiman (Urban Fantasy, 382 pages)
It was with a lot of luck that I found a copy of this on the bargain rack at Olsson's in Dupont -- the very last one, in fact. I've been meaning to read this for ages but have been holding out in hopes of getting my hands on the Author's Preferred Text. So after many a year and hearing a number of my friends raving... it was marvelous. This was Gaiman's first novel but it was only from reading his later ones that I can see it. The language isn't quite as smooth as it is in American Gods, but the plotting. Oh the plotting! The worlds and characters that come out of that man's imagination! I must now watch the BBC miniseries. 4.5/5

2) Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link (Horror/Fantasy Short Story Anthology, 266 pages)
Rather brilliant, I'm sure, stories that were horror and/or fantasy themed, but in Link's attempt to be literary I'm afraid she lost me on a number of the tales. There were a few that I quite fancied (the Snow Queen one, in particular) but the ones that left me scratching my head outnumbered them. I recommend you give it a try, especially considering it's published free online under a Creative Commons License. Someone more sophisticated than me would probably appreciate it more. 3.5/5

3) Black Powder War by Naomi Novik (Historical Fantasy, 365 pages)
I must slow down in reading this series; I'm nearing the OD point. Very interesting storyline as usual, but the writing style is getting to me again and it was harder to overlook in certain scenes in this book. Still, dragons in the Napoleonic War is a rather unique idea. 4/5

My Goodreads Shelf

Mirrorshades - The Cyberpunk Anthology - Bruce Sterling (ed.) 239 pages.

I started reading this collection of short sci-fi stories just after New Years, and quickly came to the conclusion that:
1. I can't read collections of short stories because my brain can't handle the switching universe at the end of the chapter, and
2. I don't like cyberpunk (a sub-genre of science-fiction for those of you who didn't know).

It wasn't a genre I was familiar with, and it was interesting to read. I liked a few of the stories, and the assorted different ways that the future of Earth was depicted.
I don't think I'd read anything else in this genre, but I now have an understanding of where it fits into the broader context of sci-fi.

It's starting to look as though the only way I'll meet 50 books in the next week and a half would be going back through my YA collection (notably my oodles of Nancy Drew files and my Black Stallion books) reading about two of them per day. Which I wouldn't really be all that opposed to doing; we'll see when I get done with what I absolutely have to do.


31. Lifeless by Mark Billingham (crime)
Someone's been kicking homeless men to death, and the police can't seem to find any hot leads. That's when Tom Thorne suggests that he go undercover, joining the ranks of the homeless in the hopes that he'll find something out. What the police does end up finding out as they pursue the case, however, is more frightening than any of them could have imagined.

32. Buried by Mark Billingham (crime)
The son of a retired policeman gets kidnapped, and the kidnapping unit gets to borrow Tom Thorne for the investigation. But just barely do they manage to find out who may be holding the boy, before shit really starts hitting the fan. And it doesn't help that Thorne's back is giving him trouble or that the boy's father keeps sticking his nose into the police's business. In the process of looking for the kidnapper they also dredge up a few old murder cases, and the investigation of these cases turns out some really disturbing results...
Billingham at his best, really, it's right back at the quality of the first three D.I. Thorne novels, which is great considering how "blah" The Burning Girl was.

33. Gunsmoke är i fara (original title: Halfmoon Ranch 11 - Gunsmoke) by Jenny Oldfield (young adult)
Pony club books are always light reading, and almost a sub-genre of their own. While the plot twists in themselves may not be predictable, their nature doesn't really leave me surprised. In this book, a number of children have come to Halfmoon Ranch for Children's Week, and Kirstie makes friends with one particular bullied little girl who has a remarkable talent for riding. Enough so that she's offered the chance to ride the ranch's newest horse: Gunsmoke, who was badly treated by his previous owners.
Things are brought to a head, however, when the old owners decide they want Gunsmoke back, and the horse disappears along with his rider.

34. Trubbel på ridlägret by Eli B. Toresen (young adult)
One of those photo picture-book novel hybrid things that they make for people who haven't been reading very long. It was in my Pony Club package and I had nothing better to do so I read through it. Incredibly cheesy, with girl drama, backtalking and someone seeming to be out to get one of the riders at a two-week summer camp by mistreating her pony and shifting the blame onto her. Not exactly overly exciting reading, but probably appropriate for the target age group.
What really bothered me about the book was that all the photo illustrations look way too set up. I don't know if it's because they used a too good camera or if the girls just aren't good actors or what. Though I found it funny that the main character looks much like mioy in some of the pictures.

35. Fang Volume 3 edited by Alex Vance (erotic fiction/furry)
A close friend suggested I pick this up at a con I went to in November, as he had work in it. Turns out the publisher (Bad Dog Books) hadin't brought any copies with them to the con, so I ended up ordering two copies, one for me and one for my friend, online some time after I returned home. In a nutshell, Fang is a series of gay erotic short story collections. This particular volume had a fantasy theme, with varying interpretations from the different writers -- everything from stone-age-level tribal culture to Asian and Greek mythology alongside the more common sword and sorcery type works.
I didn't much care for some of the writers' styles, some had great sex scenes but started out with grating background information dumps, some just didn't mesh with me, but it was definitely worth the read as well as the money I spent on it; Vance did a good job of picking out quality fiction. Yes, it's smut, and it shouldn't be read expecting any less, but it's good smut which ought to account for something. Fair warning for those of you who may be interested, however: a few of the stories (I think three of the ten, but I could be misremembering) do involve not-exactly-consentual elements in different ways and to different extent, so if that bothers you or is likely to be a trigger, I'd steer clear of it.

57. No Rest for the Witches by MaryJanice Davidson et al. - paranormal romance - see the entire review

This is an anthology of four novellas. I liked three of them. The other one was, well, problematic.

"The Majicka" by MaryJanice Davidson - Davidson is one of those authors who writes in a very distinctive style--you either find her so grating that you want to throw the book out and take a bulldozer to it or discover that she's absolutely hilarious. I find her sarcasm amusing. This particular story is a wacky twist on the mentor/pupil cliche.

"Voodoo Moon" by Lori Handeland - An FBI agent is assigned to Devil's Fork, a small town right outside of New Orleans, to solve a recent rash of murders. The only catch is that all these murders seem to be locked-room mysteries with the only clues pointing to a local voodoo priest. I thought the concept was interesting, but the story itself could have benefited with the length of a full novel.

"Breath of Magic" by Cheyenne McCray - This story is part of a series. I really did not like this story. I find it hard to believe that the main characters could find the energy to get it on while there was a war waging in their city.

"Any Witch Way She Can" by Christine Warren - This is also part of a series, but in a way, it's more of a direct sequel to just one of those books (Wolf at the Door). Warren doesn't deal at all with the repercussions of time travel, and Miranda falling in love with one of the dinner guests went way too fast for my taste. But it was the heroine's interaction with her grandmother that saved the story from the mediocre. (more)

* * *

58. Ain't Myth-Behaving by Katie MacAlister - see the entire review

This book contains two novellas: "Stag Party" and "Norse Truly".

In this book, as in all of MacAlister's other books--be they paranormal, contemporary, or young adult, the author is once again revisiting the theme of American female tourist going off to a foreign country, falling in love, and most of the time making a fool of herself. MacAlister is also one of those authors who make it a habit of writing in first person--which totally doesn't work because all of her first POV characters sound the same. (more)

So I'm not going to make it to 250 books. First I went back to work for the first time in a decade, then seasonal depression hit, now I have a really bad cold! But I'm pleased with myself anyway! Here's the scoop on my last two books: 

75 Readings: An Anthology, edited by Santi Buscemi and Charlotte Smith, 2001, 454 pages.
Genre: essays
General Information: This is a textbook borrowed from my husband. He uses it in late highschool in his university-level classes; certainly many of the essays are difficult reading. They range in topic, style, but rarely in quality: they are excellent. That doesn't mean I liked them all, though! 
Personal Opinion: These essays were perfect for me when I was beginning a new job and tackling seasonal depression: short essays to read when I could manage a few minutes. As a Caucasian Canadian female, I was surprised how many of my favourite essays in the anthology were by African-American writers; I don't know what that says about my perceptions but the very fact of it I found interesting. Four of the excellent essays by African-American writers were Salvation by Langston Hughes; Grandmother's Victory by Maya Angelou; Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples; and Who Shot Johnny? by Debra Dickerson. Jo Goodwin Parker's piece What is Poverty? and Nancy Mairs moving essay On Being a Cripple were also favourites. Certainly this anthology has something for everyone and I highly recommend it. 

The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles, 1969, 366 pages.
Genre: British fiction, metafiction, postmodernism
General information: This excellent and much-loved [by me] novel takes place in the Victorian era, and focuses on the life of Charles Smithson, well-to-do young man affianced to Ernestina, a typical young woman of her age. When Charles meets Sarah, the spurned lover of the French lieutenant, his path becomes one not sanctioned by the morals of his era. 
Personal Opinion:  This is one of my very favourite books, and tempted me when I had [and still have, darn it!] a bad cold. Re-reading it was a joy. John Fowles used to be my favourite living author, but when he died in 2006 the title had to be removed, and this novel is my favourite of all of his works. This was the very first novel in which I encountered metafiction, in which the author and the process of writing the novel are part of the story, and I remember my joy upon first reading the metafictional passages back when I was a teenager. I can't recommend this novel strongly enough. My twentieth reading was as good as my first reading, and my joy undiminished. 

Currently reading: The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski.

215 / 250 (86.0%)

I got hooked on this great annual collection last year, and this year's installment was an excellent edition. Many, many authors were showcased, both known and unknown, and it certainly contains many of the best short stories and current event pieces around.

5/5

15,179/15,000 = 101.19% of the pages
56/50 = 112% of the books
90.68% of the way through the year

91. Kage Baker. Mother Aegypt and Other Stories. SF/Fantasy

I enjoyed this anthology of fantasy and science fiction stories. I especially liked "Nightmare Mountain" (myths of Eros and Psyche combined with an eccentric Californian), "Merry Christmas from Navarro Lodge, 1928" (changing the future from the past), and "Pueblo, Colorado Has the Answers" (alien manifestations and a time bubble). Rating: 3*/5 = good

92. Kevin Brockmeier. The Brief History of the Dead. Fiction

I enjoyed this bittersweet book about memory, family, friends, life and death and how just knowing people - even from a distance - makes a difference. I also liked the alternating chapters between the events in the City and Laura Byrd's struggles in Antarctica. Rating: 3*/5 = good

( Books 93-95 )

Progress

95 / 150 books (63.3%)

33,986 / 45,000 pages (75.5%)

32 / 50 (64.0%)

Ok, I've been remiss. This summer has been challenging, but I'm still over here reading. In fact, it's what's keeping me sane. So here goes...

Book #28 was Wideacre by Philippa Gregory. 

From the publisher:

Beatrice Lacey, as strong-minded as she is beautiful, refuses to conform to the social customs of her time. Destined to lose her family name and beloved Wideacre estate once she is wed, Beatrice will use any means necessary to protect her ancestral heritage. Seduction, betrayal, even murder -- Beatrice's passion is without apology or conscience. "She is a Lacey of Wideacre," her father warns, "and whatever she does, however she behaves, will always be fitting." Yet even as Beatrice's scheming seems about to yield her dream, she is haunted by the one living person who knows the extent of her plans...and her capacity for evil.

Sumptuously set in Georgian England, Wideacre is intensely gripping, rich in texture, and full of color and authenticity. It is a saga as irresistible in its singular magic as its heroine. 

Book #29 was The Favored Child by Philippa Gregory

From the publisher:

The Wideacre estate is bankrupt. The villagers are living in poverty and Wideacre Hall is a smoke-blackened ruin. But, in the Dower House, two children are being raised in protected innocence.

Equal claimants to the estate, rivals for the love of the village, they are tied by a secret childhood betrothal but forbidden to marry. Only one can be the favored child. Only one can inherit the magical understanding between the land and the Lacey family that can make the Sussex village grow green again. Only one can be Beatrice Lacey's true heir.

Sensual, gripping, sometimes mystical, The Favored Child sweeps the reader irresistibly into the eighteenth century, a revolutionary period in English history. This rich and dramatic novel continues the saga of the Lacey family started in Philippa Gregory's bestselling and enduringly popular Wideacre.

Book #30 was The Assault on Reason by Al Gore

From the publisher:

A visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism, and blind faith has combined with the degration of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason.

At the time George W. Bush ordered American forces to invade Iraq, 70 percent of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11. Voters in Ohio, when asked by pollsters to list what stuck in their minds about the campaign, most frequently named two Bush television ads that played to fears of terrorism.

We live in an age when the thirty-second television spot is the most powerful force shaping the electorate's thinking, and America is in the hands of an administration less interested than any previous administration in sharing the truth with the citizenry. Related to this and of even greater concern is this administration's disinterest in the process by which the truth is ascertained, the tenets of fact-based reasoning-first among them an embrace of open inquiry in which unexpected and even inconvenient facts can lead to unexpected conclusions.

How did we get here? How much damage has been done to the functioning of our democracy and its role as steward of our security? Never has there been a worse time for us to lose the capacity to face the reality of our long-term challenges, from national security to the economy, from issues of health and social welfare to the environment. As The Assault on Reason shows us, we have precious little time to waste.

Gore's larger goal in this book is to explain how the public sphere itself has evolved into a place hospitable to reason's enemies, to make us more aware of the forces at work on our own minds, and to lead us to an understanding of what we can do, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason and safeguard our future. Drawing on a life's work in politics as well as on the work of experts across a broad range of disciplines, Al Gore has written a farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking. 

Book #31 was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

From BN.com (as though it's needed):

Begun a decade ago and encompassing six shelf-bending novels, the seventh and concluding volume of the international literary phenomenon that is the Harry Potter saga comes to a bombshell-packed -- and oh so satisfying -- conclusion in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, arguably the most wildly anticipated release in modern publishing history.

As the novel begins, Harry, Ron and Hermione are on the run from Lord Voldemort, whose minions of Death Eaters have not only taken control of the Minister of Magic but have begun to systematically -- and forcibly -- change the entire culture of the magic community: Muggle-born wizards, for example, are being rounded up and questioned, and all "blood traitors" are being imprisoned. But as Voldemort and his followers ruthlessly pursue the fugitive with the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, Potter finally uncovers the jaw-dropping truth of his existence....

Undoubtedly Rowling's crowning literary achievement, this triumphant final installment not only answers any and all questions surrounding integral characters like Albus Dumbledore, Voldemort, Severus Snape, Neville Longbottom, and Draco Malfoy but also brilliantly deals with some decidedly adult themes -- mortality, faith, duty, honor, etc. -- with a lyrical simplicity that will touch the hearts of readers of all ages. ("Do not pity the dead...pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.") Rowling definitely saved the best for last in this saga; HP7 will exceed the expectations of even the most demanding Harry Potter fan -- a towering, transcendent end to an equally towering and transcendent series. Paul Goat Allen 

Book #32 was Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism edited by Daisy Hernandez and Bushra Rehman

From the publisher:

It has been decades since women of color first turned feminism upside down, exposing the '70s feminist movement as exclusive, white, and unaware of the concerns and issues of women of color from around the globe. Now a new generation of brilliant, outspoken women of color is speaking to the concerns of a new feminism, and to their place in it. Daisy Hernandez of Ms. magazine and poet Bushra Rehman have collected a diverse, lively group of emerging writers who speak to their experience—to the strength and rigidity of community and religion, to borders and divisions, both internal and external—and address issues that take feminism into the twenty-first century. One writer describes herself as a "mixed brown girl, Sri-Lankan and New England mill-town white trash," and clearly delineates the organizing differences between whites and women of color: "We do not kick ass the way the white girls do, in meetings of NOW or riot grrl. For us, it's all about family." A Korean-American woman struggles to create her own identity in a traditional community: "Yam-ja-neh means nice, sweet, compliant. I've heard it used many times by my parents' friends who don't know shit about me." An Arab-American feminist deconstructs the "quaint vision" of Middle-Eastern women with which most Americans feel comfortable. This impressive array of first-person accounts adds a much-needed fresh dimension to the ongoing dialogue between race and gender, and gives voice to the women who are creating and shaping the feminism of the future.