30 April 2011

What I am reading: April 2011

  1. Fatal Feng-Shui (2007) by Leslie Caine: I'd read a few of the prior mysteries in this series (how could I resist Death by Clutter?) and I enjoyed this one as well. Fluffy but fun, not a tremendous amount of character development, but an enjoyable read.(DTM)
  2. Oath of Fealty(2010) by Elizabeth Moon: I've waited an awfully long time for Moon to continue her fantasy series, started with Sheepfarmer's Daughter. Rather than Paks being the lead in this new trilogy, we follow Kieri Phelan in his new life. Great book. Can't wait until the next is out. Moon always has strong, interesting women (as well as male) characters and it's just a relief not to need to always be glossing over the lack of same. An author I generally look forward to reading and I've pre-ordered the next in the series.
  3. cross bones (2005) by Kathy Reichs: It's strange that I love the TV series Bones so much and yet had never read a book that it was based on. I'm a late comer to the series (it was in season 5 before I saw my first), so I'm also a late comer to the books. Not the gory series I had thought when I first read about a forensic anthropologist (before I'd heard of the series), this was an interesting dabble into the "Jesus family" controversy that I actually remember reading about almost a decade ago. Nice light read, with lots of interesting detail on the archeology and situation. And Brennan is much less "relationship challenged" in the book than in the series.
  4. The Stepsister Scheme (2009)
  5. The Mermaid's Madness (2009) by Jim C. Hines:A grown up take on some of the classic fairy tales. I preferred the 1st to the second, but I will probably still get the third.
  6. Juliet, Naked (2009) by Nick Hornby: Another ARC. An enjoyable light read. Does Hornby always do "chick lit" or is it called something else when it's a male writing it? I did like it, though:-). I've also just sold it on Amazon, which I also am glad of. (DTARC)
  7. A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life (2010) by Steven Kotler: This is not my general type of book, but it was a very interesting true story. The protagonist discovers a sense of enlightenment and transcendence while opening and operating a dog rescue operation. The cites were also interesting to read. I don't believe that all species are of equal value, but I do strongly believe that animals and all living beings do have the right to be treated humanely and with respect, even if we are using them as food sources and it was interesting to read some instances and discussions of how thought on these issues has changed and evolved, especially in the years since I studied biology and evolutionary biology. I'll pass this along to Alice. (DTARC)
  8. the imperfectionists (2011) by Tom Rachman: I'm not a huge fan of "interesting" type setting (except for that in The Stars My Destination) and so this book started with a mark against it for me, but as I read through it, I started enjoying the stories that were being told. The over reaching arc is the birth and life span of a newspaper and perhaps of journalism, told through the lives that shaped a specific overseas paper. (DT)
  9. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003) by Mark Haddon: This had languished on my shelf for so long that I did not realize that I had borrowed it from a friend, who saw it on my car seat when I was visiting and recognized it! I liked it. Strangely enough, also with the typography, but I really found this insight into the never named world of autism fascinating and I will research how accurate the portrayal was. Heart breaking and fascinating and moving. (Now I'll be able to send it back to A.)(DT)

The (M) stands for Mobipocket (the generic form of the file that Kindle Reads) as well as AZW and PRC, the other forms readable by Kindle. Let's leave DT as Dead Tree books. (And perhaps I should add M for books borrowed from my mother:).)I think it's clear what percentage of my reading is becoming e-format. The vast majority are also free, either as public domain or as promotional offers through Amazon and the other online sources I frequent. B stands for Baen, the best of the on-line stores by so many orders of magnitude there is no comparison.

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