What I am reading: December 2009

These are a bit out of order as most of them were Kindle reads and already deleted off my list- more on a later post as to the Kindle itself:).

1. Already Dead by Charlie Huston- Amazingly good and a wion for Amazon's practice of giving out free e-books in the attempt to get serious new readers addicted to authors they may have not yet read. Noir vampire in the city. Great, great stuff.
   
2. Anne of the Island
3. Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery-- I now have all the Anne books sitting on my Kindle and expect I will have reread them all by the end of next month. I was distracted by The Five Little Peppers, though:).
   
4. Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe- I read this on the way to London, to get me in the mood.
   
5. Mossy Creek by Deborah Smith- Pleasant genre romance, short stories, wholesome.
   
6. All God's Creatures by Carolyn McSparren- Took me right back to my childhood, when I read every vet book and animal book I could get my hands on. A little rough in the writing, but the "memor" style novel of a female vet's life before female vets ere common, was interesting.
   
7. An American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson: This and the Harris below were the only books I actually purchased. Very funny and I have wanted to read this since I heard him discussing his life a bit on his talk show.
   
8. Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris- The next in Harris' Harper Connelly series. I am enjoying the character and relationship development and the premise (that after being stuck by lightning, the lead can "hear" the last moments of the dead when by their bodies). This was a big and surprising wrap-up of a major series plot line. I'll be interested to see where it goes after this because Harris could choose to use this as the series ender.
   
9. Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent: Nice cozy mystery. I'll probably pick up the next one if the price comes down a bit. I like to think of these as twofers- first one free, next cheaper than pb, makes two extremely gunstig books.
   
10. Once Bitten by Kalayna Price: I liked this enough to go out and look to see if the author had written others. Since she hasn't, I'm a bit surprised that Amazon chose it as a freebie, but I enjoyed this well-written vampire premiere anyway.

I'll try to finish all the other posts piled up in drafty mode, but gosh- it has been a crazy year end! And my Kindle addiction seems to have used up the time when I would normally be watching TV and blogging at the same time.

What I am Reading: November 2009

1. An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon: If you haven't been reading this series for the last, what, 18 years?, there's probably little to say. Most of my other books are boxed up and sitting in a storage unit in New York, so I can't go back to revisit them, as I often do when a new book in a long running series comes out. I enjoyed it and at 814+ pages in the British edition, that says something. This book was especially interesting to me as it was set in my home area and I enjoyed the immediacy of reading about events that I know well in an historical perspective. For those who might be intrigued, check out the wiki article and go from there. The concept is time travel through standing stones and other "holy areas", a well-used fantastic concept, but the novels are gritty, interesting, romantic, and well-researched. 
2. Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells: The first in a running trilogy that uses the concepts that vampires are one of the branches from Adam through Lilith and that all red hair is a sign of blood attachment to that root. The beginning of a war between the Vampires and the Mages, with some mention of the Faery. Interbreeding, divided loyalties, etc. A decent read a first sale for the author, I think she will get better and look forward to reading the next.
3. Venetian Dreaming by Paula Weideger: The author, a writer, falls in love with Venice. This is the story of her growing attachment to the city and most especially her love of the apartment she rents (in a palazzo) and her interactions with the noble owners and other members of "high- read rich" society in the arts and culture areas.  Very interesting in light of the current news especiall as regards her view of the "moos". Yesterday was my first German class of the semester and I spent far too much of the chatting with the Italian next to me about my love for his area of Italy (he's from outside of Venice) and we spent 10 minutes talking about the actual deployment of "the moos" and how the decision to build it was Mafia controlled.
4. The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett: Not certain if I've reviewed this before, but since I reread it, I'll mention it again. I love Terry Pratchett. I am never disappointed in one of his works and it is a modern tragedy that he is now a victim of early onset Alzheimers, becuase his command of language and humour are his life. I met him many years ago at an SF con in San Antonio, before I really understood how important his work was, and he was just as modest and funny and charming in person as one might expect from his works. This is a Discworld novel and I was grateful for every one of its 459 pages. Everyone had an opportunity for character development, with special emphasis on Vimes and Lady Sybil, Carrot and Angua, Nobby and Gaspode, and a deepening understanding of Uberwald and it's three-legged balancing act between dwarves, werewolves and vampires as Vimes is sent by the Patrician to Uberwald to act as Ank-Morpork's ambassador to the crowning of the Low King.
5. Dragon Actually
6. About a Dragon and
7. What a Dragon Should Know by GA Aiken: Terribly guilty pleasures. These are three slightly more graphic romance novels than I am used to— there's clearly been a change since the Mills&Boone years— but my gosh, these were fun. In each book there were multiple laugh out loud moments. The novels tell the stories of three brothers and how they each meet their mate, while interacting with a large and amusing family in a well-drawn out medieval period fantasy world.  The women are interesting, amusing, intelligent and with skills of their own. The gods occasionally stick their noses in. And the brothers (I can't say protagonists, because the women are really the stars) are dragons. Great, great fun for those interested in this genre of amusing romance. I hope that there are more forthcoming.
8. Me and My Shadow by Katie MacAlister: Another Silver Dragon novel, but closely tied in with Aisling, as she and Efrijim are secondary characters throughout the book.May Northcott, a doppelganger, develops into her own person in the paranormal romance. I definitely am seeing a turn to the romantic from the fantastic.
9. Chalice by Robin McKinley: I love McKinley's writing. Another re-telling of Buaty and the Best and yet different. I could almost hear the buzzing of the bees and feel the warmth of the sushile, golden as honey.
   

What I am reading: October 2009

1. My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme: Although I haven't seen the movie yet, I understand that it is a mix of Julie and Julia and this book. I read the former in ARC from the BEA and quite enjoyed it, but really, I love Julia Child. What a woman she was, larger than life in all ways. She came to Europe in her mid-30's and she really travelled and lived with a gusto as large as her frame. I had also ordered her "Mastering..." books before I left the US, but they were back-ordered, I'll pick them up next time over. This book only whetted my appetite to read ore of ehr works as well as to read a real biography, rather than a short memoir: what a long and loving and exciting life she lead.
2. Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs: the third in Briggs' Alpha and Omega series- a good read.
3. The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede: I really liked this. Basically post-Revolutionary expansionism, with Magic being wild and dangerous past the Mississippi
   
4. On the Edge by Ilona Andrews: This is a new series by the author, who is also three books into her Magic..., series, which I am also enjoying. It seems to bear out my belief that tropes run in groups: it's set. as the above book, on the edge between magic and not, although this book is in modern times. There is an "edge", the ribbon of land that runs between the never touching realms of magic and "the broken", where magic does not work. Rose is an Edger and she can move back and forth between the two, unlike most residents of the "real" realms. But she is also strongly talented with magic and that presents a lure to some. I really liked everything about her and her story: a strong, independent woman. The only thing I disliked was the effiminate woosiness of the depiction of the male lead on the cover, so please ignore that.
   
5. You Suck by Christopher Moore: I actually read the "prequel" to this, Bloodsucking Fiends, some time ago and although I liked it, I didn't enough to keep an eye out for more (by Moore). I picked this up in Barcelona and I do like it enough that my initial tepid response to Moore will have to be put aside and I'll keep an eye out for another. It's the continuation of the "love story" between C.Thomas Flood and the girlfriend who turns him. His friends are an issue, the ancient vampire who originally turned Jodie is an issue, and there is a giant shaved cat in this book as well.
   
6. Momo by Michael Ende: I was looking for The Neverending Story originally, in translation from the German, but this was what I found in Barcelona.Really quite timeless story of a girl and a race of grey men who attempt to stael time. Very good read.
   
7. Must Love Hellhounds by Charlaine Harris, Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook: Four independent novellas. I purchased this for the Andrews story and was very happy with it. It's an important piece of backstory to a secondary set of characters in her Magic... series. The Harris and Singh were ehh, the former a particular disappointment and the Brrok was quite interesting, though I'd never heard of her. If you read Andrews, worth buying the book for her story. Otherwise, buy an Andrews book and after you have read those and liked them, consider buying this book.
8. A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi: Obviously purchased as I was leaving Venice. I really enjoy this genre: the expat travel book, as it were. When it includes recipes, even better. I really enjoyed reading about Venice through de Blasi's eyes and was particularly amused when she mentioned of the track areas where we had wandered.  
9. A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi: I picked this up in Rome, as the Harris book on Pompeii was not finable in English translation. De Blasi and her husband move north, to Tuscany, as he undergoes basically a mid-life transition. As I understand, through looking to see if her herein mentioned Tuscan travel tour actually exists, there is a great deal of exaggeration in her "memoir". I don't care, though, because I enjoyed reading it.
   
10. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett: I pre-ordered this from the UK, of course. Wonderful book. I read it non-stop. The general theme being that one can change oneself, that one is not doomed to be what one was made to be, and that it is possible that society can understand and change as well. As a Jew in Europe, and especially in Germany, the theme resonates strongly. The world is not quite as easy as this, I think, but still: Pratchett's writing, the Unseen University, Vetinari.... Top form. And football as well, for those who care as opposed to myself, who looks at it only as a tool of the writing.
11. Wild Robert by Diana Wynn Jones: What happened here? A hard cover book that appears only to be the first few chapters of an actual novel? What a tremendous disappointment.

What I am reading: September 2009

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (tran. Lucia Graves): Wonderful book. I am so glad that one of my book clubs chose this. Very dense and reminiscent, strongly, of Dumas, particularly The Count of Monte Cristo. Particularly appropriate as it was set in Barcelona and I'll be there the first weekend of October.
   
2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow: I thought this was a charming epistolary novel. It made me think of childhood and Daddy Long Legs (the book, not the movie!). A quick read and for my book club- I loaned it to a friend from Manx and she says that it was irrtatingly clear that it was written by an American, so I look forward to hearing why she felt so and how she felt it might have been done differently. I was glad to read it though, and can recommend it.
   
3. The Shoe Tester of Frankfurt by Wilhelm Genazino (tran. Philip Boehm): Genazino has won several German literary awards and I'm not quite certain why. This book was originally called Ein Regenschirm fuer diesen Tag, or An Umbrella for this Day and it perhaps was more apropos when reading this lachrymose stream of consciousness novel. But it was extraordinarily tedious. 132 pages and it took me 5 days to force myself through it.
   
4. Curse the Dawn by Karen Chance: Another in the Cassie Palmer Pythia series. Well done, no falling off in quality at all, imho.
5. Spirits that Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman: Another good Hoffman read. A "normal" freshman at college discovers that her roommate is a member of a clan with powers. But Kim is not exactly normal: as an extremely talented artist, she's been targeted by anoter of the races that share the earth with humans, one that feeds on emotions and has become unhealthily addicted to negative emotions. Lots of fun.
6. Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce: A YA novel by a writer whose work I always enjoy. Done first as an audio book by FullCast Audio and written especially for that production, she later wrote the actual novel of the audio play. Enjoyable maturation story of a Sone Mage and a look at Stone magic and the threat of a volcano on an island. As I plan on seeing Pompeii next month, I enjoyed that aspect very much.
   
7. Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce: I have waited for a long time for this sequel to Terrier and I wasn't disappointed at all. Second in the 'Legend of Beka Cooper' I am really enjoying theis (adult) series about the growth of Rebakah from the slums into the Hounds (the King's "police" force) and the exploration of the society she lives in. I hope Mastiff doesn't take as long to arrive!
   

What I am reading: August 2009

1. You're so Vein by Christine Warren: Another in her series of Other books. This time Ava finally meets her match. Fluffy airplane read.
2. Storms Can't Hurt the Sky by Gabriel Cohen: I was reading this at the same time as The Lizard Cage and I found that to be a lucky chance. This book is sub-titled A Buddhist Path through Divorce and it has some relatively simplistic but readable descriptions and explanations of Buddhist thought. I ordered it not because I am contemplating divorce, but because the favorable reviews I read said that it was a very helpful guide to overcoming or dealing in a healthy way with, problems in relationships and I thought that would be a useful skill to start practicing. I found the book useful although shallow and it has definitely given me food for thought and the desire to continue reading, in a deeper way, on Buddhism.
   
3. The Trouble with Demons by Lisa Shearin: I really liked the first two, but I am finding what I consider to be anachronisms (using the term Miss) and modern attitudes and sentiments without an understanding of why they would exist in the magical, medieval milieu, too distracting.
   
4. The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff: Anew, fantasy, series. The protagonist is a witch from a family of witches and clan associated with rituals reminiscent of Wicca. Enjoyable and sets Alysha Gale up to star, with a supporting cast, in future books. Set in Calgary and I enjoyed the magic.
5. The Lizard Cage by Karen Connolly: A read for my book club, I just told a friend (and another blogger)that this is the best book that I have read so far this year. The context is mid-90's Burma, the protagonist is a political prisoner and the subject matter is dire, but the lyricism of the words lifted me through the narrative and allowed me to read without needing to stop and go away. The chapters were also very short: it seemed that when I reached a limit where I might otherwise have put the book down for a while, I reached a chapter ending that allowed me to take a deep breath and start again. I was reading it at the same time as the next book, and I think the understanding of Buddhism that I gained was helpful to me in understanding certain contexts within this book. I thought it was a very authentic and moving book.
6. A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (2002): This was more what I had been looking for when I read reviews of Hoffman that compared her to Zenna Henderson, although more modern and less classic in writing. Also interesting in the difference between a people lost here on this Earth from another and a "native race" of magic holdiners. Loved it. It's exactly the type of thing that I enjoy and better than the above noted Huff.
   
7. A Red Heart of Memories by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (1999): I had already read Past the Size of Dreaming (2001) (reviewed last month) and this is the book that led into that, where we meet Matt and Edmund (and they meet each other) for the first time. I like it and am rereading the sequel right now to settle the details that I missed (such as the "magic gold" and why it was gone) and am glad that I brought these all back from the US with me. Although I read the sequel without realizing that I needed to read the first book, I now know how important it was.

What I am reading: July 2009

1. Regenesis by CJ Cheryh: Wow. It was great. I put aside everything that I was supposed to be reading and just made my way through this sequel to 1988's Cyteen. Since my copy of that is, of course, back in the US in storage, I ordered a copy (in 1 volume and without the iconic Whelan covers) to reread before digging into the 585 page (and boringly covered) sequel. But I couldn't wait. I remember the original (I think I must have reread it two or three times) well enough that I just plunged into the sequel and I didn't feel the lack (although Cyteen is now waiting on my night table to be reread RSN). It's just classic Cherryh and I love it. The new Invader novel is somewhere much deeper in my TBR pile: this brought me back to the basics of why I used to love SF so much (and makes me sad- I read so much fantasy now because I just can't find enough SF to be passionate about anymore). My gosh. This is just great stuff. Genetics, cloning, birth labs, "reincarnation" through cloning and mind-tapes, societal engineering: this is what made science fiction so exciting and it still is exciting.
2. Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews: Sequel to Magic Bites and Magic Burns by a husband and wife team writing urban fantasy as Ilona Andrews. Their writing is improving and their story is as interesting and exciting as it has been. The concept is that waves "post Shft" of magic and technology sweep across the world, and that the protagonist, Kate Daniels, has abilities only partially known to her friends and allies. The plot keeps developing, the back story keeps filling out and I become more interested and invested in the characters each book.
3. Past the Size of Dreaming by Nina Kiriki Hoffman: This author was suggested to me (was it Amazon, was it someone's list?) as being similar in thought and flavour to Zenna Henderson, whose work I love (and which has been "copied" by others such as Alexander Keys). This novel- not so much (another I picked up more so), but I liked it very much. The background is of a world where magic lives, where it can be awakened, and where it operates in a hidden parallel with mundanity while also being "mundane" in itself, or natural. I like her writing and I like her "voice. I am sorry to see that most of her current work is short stories because they are so much harder to track down than novels. I will try to pick up the rest of her work while I am in the US next month. (I just popped over to Amazon, where I see she has a new novel out in a few months and I have ordered it.)
4. The Silent Strength of Stones by Nina Kiriki Hoffman: This is much more in the style of Henderson. YA, as most of Hoffman's work is. The protagonist helps his dad run a general store in a recreational area and gets his kicks watching the summer people and renters, but this time the family he watches is quite extraordinary: they have Magic and they don't enjoy his watching. But Nick is not ordinary either. This book is why I jave ordered the rest of Hoffman's work.
5. M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman: I saw Stardust recently and loved it and some others of Gaiman's works are sitting on my TBR pile, so I thought I would start with this, a collection of short stories primarily in the YA accessible range. In the preface, Gaiman mentions that Ray Bradbury chose his more YA stories to put into collections called R is for Rocket and S is for Space and that he asked permission to call this collection M is for Magic. I don't think the permission was required, but the conceit is lovely and brings back memories.
6. Nation by Terry Pratchett: I love Pratchett. A really good book. The protagonist is on his manhood journey when a tsunami destroys his entire homeland. He is the last. As others float up on his Island, the interactions are wonderful. A parallel world, with a few familiar faces. A good read. (This just won a Globe/Hornbook award and will debut as a play this year.)
   
7. Why we read what we read by John Heath and Lisa Adams: Interesting discussion of what Americans have been reading in the last decades. A bit frightening to see the change, which seems to actually be similar to the degradation of the national psyche as seen through the rise of Fox News and the declination of CNN.
   
8. Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi: A look at Scalz's last book through the parallel story of Perry's daughter Chloe. Well-done, was nominated for the Hugo this year. (edit: lost to Neal Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.)
   
9. Cyteen by CJ Cherryh: After reading Regenesis, I went to Cherryh's blog and have added her to my reader. I enjoyed rereading Cyteen and will probably reread Regenesis in a few months (to have read it after rereading Cyteen): I am glad to see that Cherryh thinks she might write another (without the 20 year wait). Cyteen was as good as I remembered it, but I think Cherry's writing now is even better and smoother.
   
10. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett:
11. tales of a fourth grade nothing by Judy Blume: While wandering around the Interwebs some time ago, I wandered through circuitous paths to Judy Blume's website. I really loved her work when I was young and I am looking forward to starting to share it with Things 1 and 2 soon. I picked this up and felt as if I had fallen into my childhood, Freaky Friday, Disney movie, Bewitched. I loved it and will pick up the rest of the (re-issued) series in the matching covers when I am in the US.
12. The Language of Bees by Laurie R King: Since King's last Martinelli book (her other, contemporary detective/police series) used the Baker Street Irregulars as a primary plot ingredient, it was like a warm-up to this, the next in her Mary Russell/ Sherlock Holmes series. I always enjoy them and this was interesting and brought in what will be interesting new series characters. For this first time ever, King has closed this with, really, a cliffhanger and I hope that I don't have long to wait for the sequel and to really get to meet the new characters.
    

What I am reading: June 2009

1. Fire by Kristin Cashore: pub date 9/09 ages 14 and up. This is a book that I got at BEA and it is wonderful. This is the first book I have read that makes me wish that I had picked up a second galley, because it's so well written, the world is so interesting, that I want to give it to others. This is listed as a prequel to Graceling, but when I looked up Graceling the description wasn't very interesting. Bad description! I will be ordering it this week and only hoping that the writing is as intense, the characters and world as exciting as that of Fire.
2. Night Huntress by Yasmin Galenorn: Next chapter in the three Fae sisters saga. I am still enjoying the story, but the level of graphic sex is just about to interfere with my enjoyment. It's not LKH, but I like my paranormal with more story.
3. Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong: This is the new series by the author of the Otherworld books. The protagonist is a hit-man, but she has a conscience, and was pushed into the career after being pushed past her limit as a policeman.
   
4. The Guinea Pig Diaries by AJ Jacobs: written by the author of The Year of living Biblically, this is a collection of essays detailing other experiments in living that AJ undertakes. I found it very funny and am passing it along to the spouse as an easy read that he can pick up and put down.
   
5. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson: A memoir of Bryson's youth in the 1950's and in Des Moines, Iowa. The best time in the world to be a white , male US citizen. Laugh out loud funny, even more so than his other also amusing works. (Or perhaps I just felt it more, in Berlin in 2009.)
6. Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong: #8 in the "Women of the Underworld" series. I enjoyed it, but I would recommend starting with Bitten and going from there.
   

What I am reading: May 2009

1. An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris: This is from another of Harris' series (not Sookie Stokehouse/TrueBlood) and it is an interesting one. The protagonist was struck by lightning and along with various chronic physical disabilities, she ained the ability to find dead people. Not to speak to or hear ghosts, but to feel the reverberations of their end of life. Ironically, she and her step-brother have not been able to find Harper's sister, who disappeared as a young girl from their broken and abusive home. This is the 3rd "Grave" book and I was surprised by a personal twist and enjoyed reading it: I like all of Harris' work.
2. Under Cover of Darkness ed. by Julie E. Czerneda and Jana Paniccia: It's always a crapshoot when one buys a collection. In this case, there were several authors whose work I expected to enjoy and the premise was an interesting one: tales about unseen powers operating in secret. But it palled. The Friesner in particular was so self-referential as to be cloying. I quite like the Tanya Huff and the Larry Niven, found the Durgin and the Pollotta interesting, and the rest a slog.
3. The Story Girl by Lucy Maude Montgomery: Not sure quite where I got this, not sure quite why. It looks like it was a freebie and therefore I am quite satisfied with it. A slight and picturesque novel by the author of Anne of Green Gables.
4. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama: I should have read this before Audacity of Hope because Obama has improved so much as a writer that it is a bit shocking to go backward. I did enjoy learning more about the President's background and the ideas and experiences that made him into the person that he is today and that formed te individual whose ideas I so greatly agree with.
5. Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong: A prequel to Bitten, this tells the story of the origin of Clayton and his childhood and the ascension of Jeremy as Alpha, as well as a short story about Jeremy's origins and antecedents. I enjoyed it.
6. Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer:This is probably what Big Love was based on. Elissa Wall was married against her will from a polygamous FLDS family at 14 and this is the story of her escape and her life. It makes the queasy feeling I sometimes get when watching the HBO series quite clear.That series makes me feel guilty because although the family we watch seems as if it should be allowable, but it exists on the fringe of horrible child abuse and psychological and physical repression of women and children: it's a form of slavery. By watching the glossy "outside" family, who ask why their exotic form of marriage should not be legal, we are blinded to the reality of the sexual abuse of women and children. Elissa was very strong and she lost her family: I am ashamed that this is allowed to exist in the US. If we had a stronger safety net and children's and women's rights, I think it would not.
7. The Chinese Alchemist by Lyn Hamilton: I like this series (my mother follows it), which has as a protagonist an antique dealer who through both her work and that of her SO, a RCP, comes into contact with unsavory elements and crime. She travels a lot on buying exhibitions and I find her stories interesting and intriguing as I read about different cultures, countries and antiques.
8. Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl: I love Roald Dahl. I think he was a totally cool person and I am sad that I never wrote him a fan letter, which I could have, because, like Heinlein, I was certainly old enough to do by the time he passed. However, I know that others did and I am glad. Everything Dahl wrote was wonderful. While I was in London in January, one of the things that I did was pick up new editions of his Charlie books and this- although I had previously read Boy, the first section of his memoirs, I had never read Going Solo, the seond. Makes me want to take a summer vacation in Norway and also makes me realize how very many of the anecdotes from his novels and short stories drew from his life experiences.
9. Find Me by Carol O'Connell: I have read O'Connell's Mallory series on and off for years, never terribly into it (too procedural for me, usually). I borrow them from my mom, who really does enjoy them. But this one was different.Although I once again didn't love the concept: serial child-killer, I enjoyed the actual and amazing character development and the exploration of Mallory's back story. If she develops in a more human way in the future, I might actually read the series.
10. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer: reviewed here.
11. Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett: Pratchett is one of my favorite writers. In the storage unit where the majority of my books live, I have more than one box of Pratchett hardcovers. I don't know how I missed this one, as it was originally published back in 1994. I picked it up in London when I got Nation (waiting TBR). This is Pratchett firing on all hysterical cylinders and using some of my favorite characters (Death, his grand daughter, Binky...) and I loved it.
    

Memorial day and thoughts of War

This is a day when I think about war. About death. About sacrifice. I think about patriotism and I think about nationalism and the difference between them. The song above, which I quite like and which showcases some real beauty and pathos relating to the USA, is an example. But it is also an example of the carelessness of some Americans in their thinking. If I lose everything but my family, I do still love the US, I do still know that there I have my freedom, but gosh- I think I would also love the freedom of knowing that I and my family will have a roof over our heads, schooling and healthcare. Western Europe (and Canada) has those things and in most cases, freedom too.

However, it is something to know that in the USA I have freedom from fear of anti-Semitism. In the USA, I am not afraid to turn my menorah to the outside window, to have mezzuzot on my doors, to send my children to schools without tall steel walls, pressure lock entrances and police guards.

That is what Americans have fought for and died for and helped to create throughout the world. We may have fallen below our own ideals, but we do still have those ideals. In a constant struggle between a desire for isolationism that would be so easy to justify by our physical separation from the rest of the world, and a desire to help the world to higher ideals of freedom and democracy, our armed forces have died for ideals and helped to produce freedom and democracy. I would not exist if it were not for the entry of the US into WWII, late as I find that entry to have been.

This weekend I hosted a book club. the book was March by Geraldine Brooks and I thought it was extremely well written and well researched. I also found it very topical, although the subject matter was the Civil War, questions common to all wars arose: Are wars worth fighting? Are the deaths that are part of war justified? Do the perhaps venal objectives of the political powers declaring the war diminish the ideals that the war may bring to fruition? It was very interesting to hear the differing ideas, from Britons, Americans and Germans. For me, it was very interesting to have this conversation on Memorial Day weekend, and to see how easily some feel that the evils of war negate the positives: I am not one of them.

My gratitude and admiration for all those who fought as our country needed, who stood up for the defenseless and abused, and my memory and condolences to the families and loved ones left behind.

What I am reading: April 2009

1. Your Hate Mail will be Graded by John Scalzi: A compendium of selection's from 10 year's of Whatever. Amusing.
   
2. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby: Already discussed. Wonderfully moving.
   
3. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova: Very interesting and intricate vampire story, harking back to the original archetype and Vlad Tepes. Mukti-layered and well-written, both epistolary and dramatic, moving back and forth through history with the overriding theme being research and puzzle solving. So much better than Dan Brown's tripe that they can't really be mentioned together.
   
4. Zen and the Art of Vampires by Katie MacAlister: with the sequel (in May) being Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang. Looks like a duology, which is always annoying- I like my frothy paranormal romances to be stand alone. But it was fast and funny, as I find all of MacAlister's work.
5. The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop: I loved her Black Jewels series and I always enjoy other novels set in that world.
6. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama: What a well-written book. I continue to be overjoyed that in this time, our President is an intelligent, well-read and thoughtful person. He has clearly read all the original works that I have, and far more. When he quoted from The Two-Income Trap (which quite clearly explains why we decided to move to Germany for a job) I felt as if someone finally understood what a trap America has become for the middle-class.
7. Red Thunder by John Varley: I really enjoy Varley's work. Like Scalzi, he reminds me of updated Heinlein juvenilia. I am only sorry that his output is so sparse: every few years is not enough.
   
8. March by Geraldine Brooks: for my book club. What a wonderful book. Well researched and well-written. I have Brooks' other works waiting on my TBR shelf, Little Women will be read tomorrow to help me fill in some of the background. (This novel is the story of Mr. March while he was at war, while Little Women was taking place, and March is based on Bronson Alcott- a fascinating man- as Jo and her family were based on LMA and her family).
   
9. The Last Frontier by Alistair MacLean: One can always rely on finding Bagley and MacLean in European used bookstores. This was an oldie and although not in MacLean's best period, at its cusp. I wonder if Americans without my background can actually understand the feelings were, if my age or younger? I also noted how lightly touched upon was the immediate past, with the emphasis being on current events in Prague and the repressed satellites.
10. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler: Well, it's a charming book but in my opinion a slight one. The most amazing thing was that Thomas M. Disch, a fascinating and interesting writer (just deceased) wrote a blurb for this novel: KJF should be immensely proud that her found her work worthy of his encomium.
11. A Bite to Remember by Lynsay Sands: Another paranormal romance. The Argenaus are a family of vampires, remembering that vampires were created by a nanotechnology experiment gone awry before the fall of Atlantis. Always a fun and frothy read and my goodness, what a contrast to The Historian above.
    

The TBR 2009 Challenge: April 2009

Although I am always reading a book, and generally one off my To Be Read list, I have missed posting in the past few months, I'm not quite certain why.

In this case, I am back from Holland, the girls are watching Sponge-Bob, I see that I should be posting today, and luckily I have just finished a book that I have been waiting and wanting to read for a while:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

I am certain that everyone has either heard of the story, or seen ads for the movie. I bought the book a while ago but loaned it to my mother and when she shipped it over to me here in Germany it did not make the top of my list, for some reason.
It's a very moving novel. Not just for the intrinsic story, which is heart-breaking, but the absolute and stark baeuty and clarity of the narration is astonishing. That this was composed and polished and created all in  Bauby's head, dictated letter by letter, tells one what an absolutely marvelous talent he was. It's a very simple story but the lucidity of the narration. the simple beauty, and the pathos, is what makes the reading worthwhile. I'm not certain that I will ever have the heart to see the movie, though: I find it easier to handle tragedy when I can lay it down and go away between chapters, to allow the sorrow to disperse.

What I am reading: March 2009

1. Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara
2. Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara
3. White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison
4. Many Bloody Returns edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P Kelner
   
5. The Final Solution by Michael Chabon: It seems that this may be the year for Sherlock Holmes pastiches. This one is a slight (125 large font pages) novel from an author whose style I enjoy. After 19 months in Berlin, I may finally be ready to start reading books that touch upon the Holocaust. This is the most fleeting of glances,and thus a gentle introduction,perhaps, to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas waiting on my shelf.

Otherwise it has been a very light month. With almost two weeks in the US and lots of travel time what I read this month was mostly magazines and newspapers: easily portable and easily recyclable.

What I am reading: February 2009

1. Cruel Zinc Melodies by Glen Cook: It's been quite a while since Cook has published one of his hard-boiled detective, Archie Goodwin pastiche set in a serious fantasy world. It was a great read and tied well into the series. It's a great relief to read a series whose author actually keeps track of and cares for the details of his creation and his characters.
2. Legacy by Jeanne C. Stein: Sequel to The Becoming, following Anna Strong's development after her involuntary change to a vampire, as she begins to deal with her change and how it affects her relationships outside her new paranormal environment.
3. Living with the Dead by Kelley Armstrong: Armstrong keeps changing this series up by following ancillary characters after completing story arcs.This is the second story starring Hope Adams as she comes to terms with her Chaos demon powers and we explore different abiities and peoples than we have explored before. Interesting look at a clairvoyant community that uses Roma archetypes.
4. Undead and Unworthy by Mary Janice Davidson: How can Ms. Davidson feel comfortable allowing her (hard back) novel to be priced at $23.50 US when she is using what appears to be double spaced 14 point type? I think this was actually a novella. I have seen this before, with her Fred the Mermaid books but this is over the edge. Although I am enjoying her light and frothy romances with Sinclair and Betsy, Queen of the Vampires, from now on all books by Ms. Davidson will be purchased in paperback. And if the point size and leading remain the same, I think I will only be buying used.
5. Wolfsbane and Mistletoe edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni Kelner: This is a collection of short stories (obviously with a werewolf and holiday season theme) that I am getting a bit late--- I pre-order books through Amazon in the US and my family kindly M-bags them to me when the collection gets large enough. It was vastly superior to the above book, was 50 pages longer, several square inches larger (!!!) and used standard size fonts and leading. There must have been more than twice as many words for the same price. And more interesting ones as well. I very much enjoyed the big bame stories by Charlaine Harris, Briggs, and Vaughan, a non-cover titled Karen Chance story, and also discovered what I thought was the best story: Fresh Meat by Alan Gordon, whose work I haven't seen before. That's the best part of a collection from someone who has done a good job as editor: meeting new authors whose work I can now seek out elsewhere.
6. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones: A charming edition by Harper Collins, with illustrations. Not quite a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, but another book in which Howl and Sophie appear and are developing characters. Although I was unhappy with the large type, at leat the lovely illos partially made up for it. Children's Fantasy.
7. The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King:published in 2006 by Poisoned Pen Press in the UK, I picked this up last month in London and greatly enjoyed it. I hadn't read one of King's Kate Martinelli books in some time (I miss my books, left behind in the US) and although I stay on top of her other Mary Russell (Holmes) series I had missed this one, which is a pity. In this book, King merges her two series in a fascinating way as a perhaps apocryphal piece of Holmesian and some discusiion of a modern-day group of Irregulars form the basis of Martinelli's case. An underlying theme is that of gay and lesbian marriage in both the past and the present. A moving book. While looking at Ms. King's website I see that her next Russell book will be out this year and I look forward to it.
8. Evil Ways by Justin Gustainis: Sequel to Black Magic Woman (which I read after winning it on Amber's blog), I picked this up in London as well. An interesting new series, pairing a supernatural investigator eponymously named descendent of Quincey Morris and his sometime partner, a white witch against various threats. Reminiscet of Kerr on occassion.
9. This Must be the Place by Anna Winger:Set in Berlin in 2001, I will discuss this at greater length in another post.
   

What I am reading: January 2009

I haven't been enjoying the format of putting up my reading list in the side-bar, so I am going to try leaving it as a post, which I will update as I read books. I am not certain if I will expand on the reviews or not. I'll start with a +/- to show whether I was glad to read it or not. (I think in the future I will date this the first of the month.) :

1. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga: Interesting. Well written. I am over reading stories set in India. Looking at the society is painful.+
   
2. The Uncommon Reader by Allan Bennet: Small but gem-like. What if the Queen discovered the joy of reading. A pleasure that is her own rather than belonging to the nation.+
   
3. Deep France by Celia Brayfield: Interesting. Odd racist comments float throughout. Perhaps par for the course for UK? Good recipes.+
   
4. French Dirt by Richard Goodman: too light. No substance. Facile.-
5. Swallowing Darkness Laurell K Hamilton: it's like a train wreck. Inside the "erotica" was a plot that I was interested in. 6 books later I'm just glad it's over.
6. Damien by Jacquelyn Frank: Paranormal romance. 4th in a series I have read since I got the first at an ABA a while back. Much better than the above, with an interesting world peopled by Demons, Lycanthropes, Vampires and Mistrals, existing as Nightwalkers away from the humans who are only peripheral to their existence.
   

The TBR 2009 Challenge: January

My to-be-read stacks are piled high, yet it seems that certain books keep falling to the bottom, while other, perhaps newer, perhaps more interesting, perhaps lighter books get read. So when Avid Reader had a challenge to read at least 1 book from that pile and post a review every month I was excited to join in. She has posted suggested genres, but I just grabbed one from down at the bottom of the pile. I think that I will need to make a more informed choice next time, though, or all my monthly reviews may wind up being a bit negative: there may be a reason that these books keep slipping down the list!

French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France (Richard Goodman 1991 reissued 2002) is one of the many expatriate books I have on my shelf. However, of all the ones that I have read so far this was the lightest, least interesting, least amusing and least informative of all the very many that I have read. The story of his year in France and his cultivation of a garden was just too facile for me. As an expat myself, as a gardener myself, as a lover of the south of France myself, I would have enjoyed a more in depth examination of any facet or occupation. Oh well. At least the 203 pp went as quickly as a more detailed 100. But it was much like popcorn- a quick carb rush, but not filling. Look to MFK Fisher, to Mayle, to Celia Brayfield's Deep France: A Writer's Year in the Bearn, which really dealt with being a foreigner and exploring a land and learning a culture (as well as some local recipes). This was Mr. Goodman's first novel, so I will guess that his work has deepened since then, but I won't be seeking it out.