a little list of the stuff i've been reading of late
I think I should go by date, but I'm not sure I'll be able to remember accurately, plus I've been starting more than one book concurrently of late. Bad me. Well, it's mostly accurate, actually, and in the future it will be entirely. all the time. I swear it. Okay, I'll shut up now--I don't know who I'm kidding.
ok, so i've been lagging behind with the whole utah move, and i've gotten little of anything done so far as i can tell. i've read one, count it, one book in the past week, and that was a young adult book. i never finished A Prayer for Owen Meany, which was looking pretty good. darn me. i'm so behind. i don't know where the library around here is, either, so i don't know if i'll ever catch up. oh misery! *sigh*
6/19/01-Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey.
I read this book again for maybe the sixth time since it's one of the few things available in the local library that is of any interest. *sigh* Utah is lame. In any case, I've always liked this series because I love Talia.
The thing is that while i was reading this book I was feeling rather a bit emotional for some reason, so I cried three times and came close another six times. Rather sad, isn't that? Anyhow, the book is a fairly good one. The characters are good, the plot moves well... It's a good book, but not overly intellectual. Just a nice way to pass time. (Although not that much time when you've read it five times before. I was averaging 140 pages an hour this time through. *sigh*)
B+ It's a pretty darned good book, but somehow doesn't stand out.
6/20/01-Arrow's Flight by Mercedes Lackey.
Of course I launched right into the second book after the first one, but I haven't got the third one yet. *pout*
Anyhow, the second book is on the same level as the first. I really enjoyed it, but that's always the case when I'm fond of the characters. Mercedes Lackey is another author who is consistently good, but not brilliant, for the most part. I really enjoy her books immensely, though, since her characters are so good. Also she does a good job of having many different kinds of characters. They aren't all endless refinements on each other.
That said, this series isn't especially worth reading six times. *sigh* stupid Utah libraries without books in them.
B+ just like the last one.
6/9/01-Squire by Tamora Pierce.
I had to read it, young adult or not. I've been keeping up with all of Tamora Pierce's stuff since she's been one of my favourite authors since grade school. This one I actually bought. In hardcover no less. I justtified it by telling myself I'd need something to read on the plane. Not that it took a signigicant amount of my time up. *shrug*
So this book is the third in the series which follows Keladry, the first girl to openly try for her shield in however many years, whatever. I liked this book just because I have such a soft spot for the characters. I had already anticipated one of plot turns of the book from reading the last book, but I was still so happy to see it happen. I'm just a sentimental cheeseball.
In any case, the characters were enjoyable, but fairly standard for the author, I think. I always enjoy books like the ones in this series because they give you characters that you identify with and like, then they give you bad odds on the character, then they show the character surmounting them and becoming strong and confident. This sort of progression uses the same elements that make me so fond of role playing games. I'm not in it for the role playing, I'm in it because I enjoy the concept of characters becoming progressively more intelligent, strong, wise and graceful. I just secretly wish I could do it, too. =Þ
Well, anyhow, the book was cute and amusing. Obviously not too thought provoking, but a nice way to pass time.
B+ I thought it was pretty darned good for a young adult book. I'd just be better off if I was actually a young adult.
5/31/01-The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett.
I tried to read this book about a year or so ago, but found it uninteresting and didn't get too far. I have no idea what changed in a year, since this time I found it was entertaining as the rest of Pratchett's novels. Perhaps it is merely that the beginning of the book isn't as engaging as it could be. I enjoyed the book, which was rather brief, and was divided into four parts. It seemed that the parts could have been read seperately, but somehow continuity was maintained nonetheless.
In any case, I felt it was necessary to read this one since I've been reading a lot in the discworld series of late, and this is the first book. In retrospect, though, it didn't really shed any vastly illuminating light on the series. Discworld books seem to be just as good when they aren't read chronologically, yet it's not as though each book repeats endless explanations. I don't know how he did this, but good job, Mr. Pratchett.
B-. Wasn't as funny as later books in the series.
5/30/01-The Truth by Terry Pratchett.
It was highly entertaining and had a recurring theme of root vegetables--bonus! This man is a master at making even the smallest threads come together in meanful and clever ways. Really enjoyable book.
The only thing I was hoping for was for the phrase, "The Truth Shall Make Ye Free," to become bastardized once more into "The Truth Shall Make Ye Fred." Well, I was just being weird again.
This wasn't the best of the novels I've read by the author, but he really shows his brilliant style. There were some great lines in the book, and I felt compelled to write some down. Reincarnation enjoys a joke as much as the next philosophical hypothesis.
A-. Really enjoyable, but not absolutely the top.
5/27/01-Intrigues (the first book of The Blending Enthroned) by Sharon Green.
This was a book I had already read, but didn't recall well. She also just released the second book in the series, so I thought I'd reread this one before going on.
I've always enjoyed the characters the author paints, but I continually find her treatment of the characters and her philosophies to be absolute cheese. Perhaps all this is somewhat reminiscent of romance novels, considering I recently discovered on our library's database that she writes those, too. I shouldn't be surprised--this stuff is rather, um... fluffy.
In any case, it was a nice break, and I do enjoy seeing the characters progress. That's always one of my favourite things about books.
I think that after having read all five books of the blending, I was already pretty much expecting if not the actual snares in plot and character interaction, then at least the exact nature of them. I think the author has gotten rather bogged down in this series, and I wish I could read more of her older ones, as those seemed at least somewhat different and interesting.
C. It wasn't bad, per se, it just wasn't much of anything else, either.
5/26/01-Maskerade by Terry Pratchett. (good word, it feels odd to spell that so incorrectly)
Yet another discworld book. This one was not funny. I don't think I laughed so much as once, which is highly unusual for a Pratchett book. The characters and plot were interesting, and the book went at a decent pace, but with this author I expect humour and its absence just made me vaguely frustrated. I think perhaps the only reason I enjoyed the book to the extent that i did was because it was on opera, so I related at least somewhat.
The book was well-written, concise and with an overall thread of consistancy pulled through as usual. It was a good book, and if i hadn't been expecting more, I would have just said it was well enough and had done with it. As it is, it's bothering me! Well, at any rate, I quite liked the characters, most of which I hadn't seen before, and overall I did enjoy the book. (Minus the niggling of my mind in the background saying, "what? this isn't funny! what??")
C+. I just can't let it get a good grade when compared wtih the rest of his works.
5/23/01-The Book of Night With Moon by Diane Duane.
Amusingly enough this book was recommended to me (or something like that) the day after I read it. It was engaging and just sort of adorable and--awww! How cute! All of the protagonists are cats, and I have an enormous soft spot there, so maybe that's why I thought the book was so heart-warming or whatever and--aww! Aren't you darling!
I think one reason I like this book so much is that I fell in love with the main character, Rhiow. She was really clever and had great personality and--aww!! I want a kitty! The book was clever and fast-paced, but when I reflect on it, mostly my mind gets mushy and just basically says, "aww!! kitties!" This isn't really helping me. Look at you! You're pretty, yes you are!!
Okay, I'm done now.
A. For good characters, orginality and--awww!!! kitties!!
5/20/01-The Skies of Pern by Anne McCaffrey.
Yet another in the dead, but still kicking, Pern series. I liked this one well enough, but really, aren't we done yet? I think my problem was that I'm feeling too relationship-oriented lately, so the whole development of the romance between F'lessan and (what's her bloody name again?) just didn't have enough focus for me. I was reading and thinking, "who fracking cares about the stupid meteor or what have you? Let the whole planet die! I want to see them get together!" When I'm in moods like this I shouldn't even bother with books. Well, I did find that the plot wasn't always quite smooth enough for my tastes. Or maybe that was because I was rushing some of the boring parts without the romance. *sigh* Shoot me, I should have read a bad romance novel. Argh.
I would consider that maybe I should read this again when I'm feeling more normal, but really, what's the point? It is yet one more bloody Pern book. They're not as trashy as Piers Anthony's Xanth series, but by and large they are still just momentary disctractions.
S. Yeah, that's right, I'm being noncommittal. It'd be unfair for me to actually grade for previously stated reasons.
5/19/01-The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, and translated by... argh. I need to look again. I also tried to read bits of the writings of Chuang Tzu, but lemme tell you, that was not working.
The Tao is a beautiful thing, and I'm very happy I've finally gotten to read through the whole thing. Only problem is that I need to buy it and read through it much more slowly. Something like one chapter a day with lots of pensiveness and meditation.
I almost felt I understood too quickly, and I'm afraid I missed something. I don't know if I should feel that way, though, since the concepts of the Tao are ones of simplicity and acceptance. =Þ Great, I really need more work at feeling the Tao.
I think at this point I consider myself one who wants to be Taoist, but so far is just not any blammed good at it. If I can work this out better, I think I will truly be a more complete and happy person. Just give me a few decades. *sigh*
N/A. The Tao that can be rated is not the eternal Tao. (Or, as Jenna would say, "the taco that can be rated is not the eternal taco." An eternal taco? ewww!)
5/18/01-The Wrestler's Cruel Study by Stephen Dobyns.
What a book. This was a real change for me, and I found it refreshing. There were a lot of very interesting philosophical ideas presented here, and I think I need to read it again so that I can try and sort it all out.
The book was engaging, but not the easiest to get through for some reason. Many of the twists of the plot were somehow personally satisfying to me, and all of the characters grew and changed appreciably throughout the novel. I found that to be really wonderful.
The hero, Michael Marmaduke, or Marduk the Magnificent, was not one I related to at all, and yet he was still someone I appreciated. I don't think the person he became at the end of the novel was honestly a better person, and I wonder if the author felt he was or not. It was an interesting conversion, basically seeming to be the trade in of purity and innocence for strength and self-conviction. That's oversimplifying though, darn it. Somehow I didn't feel it was as much a progression as a lateral move in character.
The odd little plot devices, like the continually migrating coin, the gnostic street gangs, and the continually reappearing incidental characters were excellently done and made me grin. I got some kind of obscure satisfaction out of them; it was almost like understanding a literary inside joke. I really felt it was an excellent book, and I want to puzzle it out some more, then have a discussion, so I can get in deeper.
A. Good, solid grade for winning over my heart and my brain while staying completely outside my usual genre.
5/18/01-Pegasus in Space by Anne McCaffrey.
Well, I'm stepping back up to the plate, no more YA books for now. I enjoyed this book, and I've always appreciated how Anne McCaffrey slips in all these oddball vocabulary words without having them seem out of place. I've begun to think that some of her books are better sources of SAT words than the stupid books you can buy.
Back to the topic. I really have a soft spot for Peter Reidinger, for some unknown reason, so I enjoy reading about his successes. I also liked the new character, Amariyah. Characters have always been good in her books, though.
The thing that strikes me about this author is how close she comes to writing fantasy novels. I've read that she really dislikes being stuck in that category, and is very careful to give all her ideas some sort of scientific backup. She's also very good at not bogging down the story in legitimation, but still, it seems like this stuff comes so close to fantasy that it doesn't make much of a difference. In this novel she manages to have something that's practically a miracle occur through some unlikely application of psychokinesis. I just get a bit skeptical. Oh well, still good plot and pacing.
B+. Not life changing, you know, but enjoyable.
5/17/01-Magic Steps by Tamora Pierce.
Yes, my brain is taking a vacation. Stop laughing at me.
This was another one I read simply because I wanted to become better acquainted with Sandry. In this book she actually has a spine, go her/me! =Þ (No, I am not psychotic, that was a joke. Hey! Stop backing away!)
Well, in any case, I don't think this book is even as good as her last series with these characters. We're all going downhill fast. Maybe it's just that the newly introduced character really didn't strike me as much. He's awfully... blah. He has no personal motivation, it seems to me. Either that, or he was squashed. He is supposed to have a passion for dancing, (dork!) but he really seems as though he couldn't care less. He just whinges a lot. Oh man, he's evil me. Argh.
This book doesn't seem to really be conclusively targeted to one age. It's not complex in plot or philosophies or anything at all, really, but it brings up death, sickness and old age in disturbing views. The gruesome murder parts are not really all that appropriate if this is a genuine YA book.
C+. It just doesn't seem that interesting.
5/16/01-Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce.
Yes, this is dreadfully simplistic and juvenile, but I read it, so I may as well stick it here.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Tamora Pierce, as she was the first author I ever really enjoyed. I started her Lioness series in fourth grade, I think, and I've been reading and re-reading those ever since. This particular series isn't really as good, but still has some great elements to it.
I think I reread this book because I wanted to remember again exactly who Sandry was, since it seems she's who I'm becoming. You know what? Sandry is bloody awesome. If I really am becoming like her, then bloody well good for me.
In any case, all of the characters in this book have depth and interest. The plot is not insanely brilliant, but it's a YA book, so whaddya want? Personally, I enjoy the book because of the tone. It's nice to read something with such a positive feeling every once in a while.
B+. This is my grade for my jaunt back to adolescence. =Þ It only scores so high because it's not my adolescence; it's Sandry's.