bluesalamanders 2011

2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Happy new year! And now it's time to start the new challenge thread, and my first time in the 75 group. Based on the past few years, here are my goals:

Total books: 150
Pages: 43000
New books: 75
Non-fiction: 5

Numbers subject to change without notice, management makes no guarantees, etc, etc. I tend toward science fiction and fantasy, including a lot of young adult books, with a handful of straight fiction and a few non-fiction (5 is a hopeful estimate).

*waves* Sci-fi, fantasy and YA? Me too! Starred, and looking forward to seeing what you read this year.

Hi blue, I've got you starred.

Hi welcome to the group.

I'll be following your thread too :)

Blue! Welcome to the group!

Happy New Year, Blue!

Hi! Wow! More comments in one day in this group than I get in a week in the other! Thanks, everyone :D

Hey, girl, glad to see you moved over here to join us! I'll be checking in on your thread again this year.

Welcome Miss Salamanders, I'll be checking your thread out as well. There are a few sci/fi, fantasy & YA lovers in this group.

Welcome to the group, Blue!

We have 'What Are You Reading Now' threads listed on the wiki for fantasy & sci fi as well as YA threads if you want to check out what other people are reading in those genres.

Happy new year! I too am looking forward to your posts, since I am one of the many readers of sff and ya around here. Glad to meet you!

>8 bluesalamanders: Yup, this group will spoil you for any others!

Happy New Year, Blue, and very happy to see you here in the 75er Uni...-verse or -versity, either one is apropos.

Looks like we share a fair few YA, fantasy & sci fi books. Got you starred.

Happy New Year!

Good to see you here - looking forward to following your reading this year!

Blue!! I have your thread starred!

Finished book 1: *The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Adult, Fantasy, 530p

The story of a boy who starts out an orphan and becomes a thief, but that's hardly the bare bones of it. There are intricate heists, alternating present and past storylines, fascinatingly intertwining plotlines...

The Lies of Locke Lamora was a gift from a friend, for which I'm grateful as I don't think I would have picked it for myself. The writing is excellent, the characterization, pacing, everything. It is dense and took me quite a bit longer than a book this size usually does, but it kept my interest throughout. On the down side, I did find it unpleasantly gory at times, though not out of place in the story, and most of the females who appeared were plot points more than characters.

Regardless, The Lies of Locke Lamora is a good read and highly recommended, and I've heard the sequel is even better.

1 / 150 books. 0% done.
1 / 75 *new books. 1% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
530 / 43000 pages. 1% done.
Audiobooks: 0h0m

Gave up on: Exploring Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials by Lois H. Gresh
Young Adult, Non-Fiction

I love the His Dark Materials trilogy and I'm interested in reading an analysis of it. However, this book was obviously the wrong choice. I was first turned off by the author's assertion that "we tend to take for granted that our religions are good; that those who fight religion may not be so good", which I take issue with on several levels. Secondly, I was annoyed by the author's repetition of and refusal to challenge or even really discuss Pullman's insistance that His Dark Materials is not fantasy but "stark realism", which Pullman apparently defines as "telling a story about a realistic subject (...) using the mechanism of fantasy". This is patently ridiculous, as all good fantasy novels do the same thing; calling it realism when there are witches and talking bears is wishful thinking. Gresh finally lost me entirely when I tired of the false modesty peppered throughout the text. I like accessible writing, but including things like "(and I, a mere writer)" and openly admitting to not understanding portions of the novels is not the way to engage a reader.

Considering giving up on: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore
Adult, Satire

While this has been recommended to me as a hilarious book by many people, I'm maybe 60 pages in and I'm finding it closer to "occasionally mildly amusing, but mostly kind of pointless". Does it start slow, or should I give up now?

#19: I need to read that one! It has been sitting on my nightstand for far too long. Thanks for the reminder, Blue!

ETA: I have never read Moore's Lamb, but I read his Fool recently. I think my sense of humor does not mesh well with Moore's and am sorry I wasted my time finishing the book.

Glad I'm not the only one, alcottacre! Lamb has been so highly recommended to me by so many people, I was beginning to think I must be missing something...I'm glad I didn't actually spend money on it.

I hope you enjoy The Lies of Locke Lamora, I certainly did!

Thanks!

Great start to the year! I am quite impressed with your goals and wish you all the good luck for accomplishing them.

Thanks, maggie!

Hello bluesalamanders!

I am intrigued by your library and will soon look into The Lies of Locke Lamora thanks to your comments. Good luck with your goals :-)

Good review of Exploring Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials! You should post it on the work page; I went looking to give it a thumb and there's hardly any information there.

Thanks, _Zoe_! I was a little hesitant to do so since I didn't get very far into the book before I stopped (around 20 pages) but the whole book is less than 200 pages, so really that's a significant percentage. I've added it now.

26 mrsrjd - Hi there! And thank you, too. It's a great book, I hope you like it.

I also thought you did a great job reviewing Exploring Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. It sounds like a book I would have picked up before reading your review, so I'm very glad to hear your thoughts on it. I'll give your review a thumb too :)

Thanks, dk_phoenix! I'm sure there are much better books that analyze the trilogy somewhere, I just happened to come across this one. I'm glad at least to save other people the waste of time.

Congrats on the hot review :)

#20: I'm a big Christopher Moore fan myself, but I can certainly understand that he's not everyone's type of funny. I'd say if you're not already laughing until you're crying, you're not going to and it's probably best to put it down and give up on Moore. There's plenty of us out here to love him. :)

I loved The Lies of Locke Lamora - one of my favorite recent books! I feel the lack of women in the book too - the theme carries out through the second as well, although there are promises that we'll meet the elusive Sabetha one of these days.

I don't think the second book was quite as good (the setting and caper aren't as engaging, and you feel the lack of some characters), but it was still very solid and I enjoy Lynch a whole lot!

31 _Zoe_ - Whoa! Thanks!

32 scaifea - I may try one or two others, since I have a bunch on my eReader, but yeah. I think you're probably right.

33 Aerrin - I never used to notice it, you know? And I've always read a lot of books with female characters, so it always sort of balanced it a little. But these days I notice a lot more whether there are actual female characters or not. So far Sabetha is a plot point, Nazca was almost an interesting character until she became a plot point...I'm starting to hear mixed reviews of the sequel, but I'm looking forward to making up my own mind :)

Welcome to the 75 challenge group for 2011.

Thanks, Whisper.

> 34 Yeah, it's something that stands out to me more in books - and movies and television shows - as I get older.

I think that you'll like the sequel given what appealed to you here. I look forward to seeing what you think!

Hi I absolutely loved what you had to say about The Lies of Locke LaMora. I am reading and loving it now. I too probably wouldn't have found this book except for a recommendation from a friend on LT.

Thanks, DeltaQueen! It's interesting how that happens sometimes, isn't it?

I'm having trouble figuring out what to read now. I keep picking up books, reading a few pages, and losing interest. Even old favorites aren't keeping my interest. Bah!

Bah indeed! I hope your reading funk goes away soon, Blue.

>40 bluesalamanders:: When that happens to me, I usually turn to a children's book -- short enough that you are into it before you know it and it's over before you start to get bored. And a lot of times it gives me a taste for something, so I move right into the next book. Just a suggestion.

42 beserene - That's a good idea. I've sort of gotten into The Hero and the Crown, an old favorite from way back, which is YA, but I think I have J or even kids books around somewhere (unusual for me, since I don't interact with many children). Or maybe Griffin and Sabine, which is pretty short. Hm.

Finished book 2: The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye
Fantasy, Juvenile, 112p

By tradition, all the fairies are invited to the christening of Amethyst, the seventh princess. Most of them give traditional gifts of Wit, Charm, etc, but Crustacea (fairy in charge of water) decides to stir things up and makes her Ordinary. So, along with being witty and charming and healthy and courageous, Amy has mousy hair and grayish-brown eyes and freckles! Plus she prefers climbing trees and playing in the forest over spending time with her very un-Ordinary sisters.

I was having trouble concentrating on anything longer, so I grabbed The Ordinary Princess, which I loved as a kid. For the most part, the story still holds up. It's sort of a parody of the Disney fairy tales where all the princesses are blonde and blue-eyed and useless (which Amy's sisters, who we never really meet, apparently are).

It's a charming story about a princess who doesn't want to wait around to meet her prince (and maybe doesn't even want to get married at all!) and instead runs off to have some ordinary adventures. Reminiscent of Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede; Amy and Cimorene would probably be great friends.

2 / 150 books. 1% done.
1 / 75 *new books. 1% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
642 / 43000 pages. 1% done.
Audiobooks: 0h0m

Lovely! I adored Dealing with Dragons and its successors when I read them last year, so I think The Ordinary Princess will be just my sort of thing. Good job finding a book for me whilst you were looking for something to get into. :)

I think The Ordinary Princess would be my thing too. Thanks for the mention, Blue!

I've never read The Ordinary Princess, but I adore the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, so on the list it goes!

I hope you all like it! It is a younger book than the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, but it's a really cute story.

Finished Book 3: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
Young Adult, Fantasy, 292p

Aerin-sol, daughter of the Damarian king and his second wife, is practically an outcast at court. Between her pale skin and red hair, her clumsiness and bad temper, and the fact that her royal 'Gift' hasn't appeared, only a few people still acknowledge her. Then she discovers an ointment which is proof against dragon fire. With its help, she establishes her place in court, but to save her country and her people, she must go up against Maur the Black Dragon, an evil sorcerer, and her own inner demons.

This was the first McKinley book I read and it introduced me to my now-favorite author. The story-telling in this book is wonderful; McKinley's forte is description over dialogue and action and here there is plenty of it. There are several convoluted sequences that can be difficult to follow - including the timing at the beginning of the book - but at the end of the day, it does make sense and perhaps it adds to Aerin's own confusion about her life.

3 / 150 books. 2% done.
1 / 75 *new books. 1% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
934 / 43000 pages. 2% done.
Audiobooks: 0h0m

I love that book! It was my favorite favorite when I was a teen - although I think I prefer The Blue Sword now. I reread both of them I think last year. They're some of my most ragged-worn comfort books.

You can probably tell I like it a lot. ;)

#49

Hear hear for the love of McKinley. I chop and change between my favourite being The Hero and the Crown or The Blue Sword but always settle for The Blue Sword as my ultimate one. Mine are also extremely battered and worn, and often get read when I'm feeling ill or tired.

Just chiming in to share the love! Yeah, The Blue Sword always just barely edges out The Hero and the Crown for me, too. I've replaced it at least once due to condition (falling apart).

Aerrin - I never doubted that you were as big a McKinley fan as I am :)

Lunacat - Honestly, Sunshine is my favorite these days, but I still adore Hero (obviously :) and The Blue Sword and most of her other books.

ronincats - I've had to get second copies of some of them, too. At least four that I can think of, and I need a new copy of Beauty since I can't find my old one (argh!).

I've never read Sunshine - in fact, I don't even own it sadly. And I'm not allowed to acquire any new books for a long long time. Feel sorry for me?? lol

>54 lunacat: What about acquiring used books? ;)

#55 They would count as new....new to me! Basically no books are allowed through the front door until at least one of my bookshelves has been read. :(

>56 lunacat: That is some impressive willpower! I used to make goals like that, but they never got anywhere. Now I'm reduced to a general "read more books off my shelves" approach.

I understand the point of that rule, I just don't think I could keep to it myself. Too many of my favorite authors are putting out new books every year right now.

I think if I did have it, though, I would dispose of a lot of books that I'm not all that likely to read and am keeping because of "just maybe".

I finally managed to dispose of some unread books for the first time in December, and it was a huge relief to me even though it was a tiny fraction of my unread pile. I'd definitely recommend it if you're feeling burdened by your TBRs. Although my case was probably more extreme than usual, hitting upwards of 800 unread books at its worst....

Wow! Yeah, I just have few dozen. There's definitely some I should get rid of, though, and some I should just stop waiting for the mood to strike and read already.

It isn't my rule....it's my housemate's rule. She's not a reader AT ALL and doesn't see the 'point' of having so many tbr books.

My books enter my room here in shifts....I have a LOT of books still at my mum's house waiting to be read, a good 2 ceiling to floor bookcases full, plus the books of hers I want to read, and the bookcase here is 3 big shelves with others stacked up around.

Sadly I can't really argue, as I live here paying minimal rent, and I eat the main family meals and only buy snacks, lunch and treat food for myself.............thankfully she did relent about gift books over Christmas, but now the limit is back.

>61 lunacat: Eee, I don't know if I could handle a housemate like that. Even gift books only allowed at Christmas? Maybe you can somehow convert her to reading ;)

The vast majority of my books, both read and unread, are at my parents' house too. I've resolved that I should take 10 unread books from there each time I visit, to encourage myself to get through more of my own books. We'll see how that goes.

Be cautious of storing books at mother's house, my mom got rid of all my books that were there because she "forgot" that I had said no, no, you can't get rid of them all, I need to go through them first :(

I don't know if I could deal with a housemate like that either! Although I don't know if I could deal with any housemate, really, I'm a pretty solitary person most of the time. But rules like that would drive me bonkers.

Sunshine is worth breaking the rules for! Or at the very least making a library run for.

Finished Book 4: Nine Princes in Amber by roger Roger Zelazny
Adult, Fantasy, 119p

A man wakes up with amnesia and wounds that have healed faster than humanly possible. He escapes the hospital where he's being held and tricks people giving him help and information, but he realizes that he's in over his head when seemingly impossible events keep happening around him. He eventually reveals his mental state to his brother, who then suggests a way to regain his memory.

It's been a long time since I last read this book and I'd forgotten that the women in it were so utterly useless. I remember them being unimportant, but I didn't remember the dichotomy of most of the men being superhero tough and most of the women being pathetic. That was very disappointing. Also, the writing was nowhere near as good as I remembered, the dialogue was bizarrely inconsistent, and the plot really doesn't make that much sense.

It's not a terrible book, but it's just not what I remember. Sometimes old favorites should just stay memories.

4 / 150 books. 3% done.
1 / 75 *new books. 1% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
1053 / 43000 pages. 2% done.
Audiobooks: 0h0m

Hurrah for McKinley-love!

Not so hurrah for Zelazny. Like many here, I have a book sickness, but Zelazny's Amber series went out my door without even being finished. So many things out there that are better. Nice review, though. :)

>61 lunacat:: Lunacat, you are a better and braver soul than I. Were I in your shoes, I would be seeking a new situation -- nobody comes between me and my books.

Thanks, beserene :) I used to love the Amber books, particularly the first one. I'm so disappointed that I can read the first Saddle Club book 20 years later and it's still an enjoyable story (I helped my mom go through books in her classroom a few years ago), but I put this aside for 5 years and the suck fairy got to it. *sigh*

On the other hand, his A Night in the Lonesome October is still fun. Perhaps because it doesn't take itself so seriously?

The suck fairy! OMG, you just made me snort!

I do think that Zelazny is better when he doesn't take his work so seriously -- and some of his short fiction is beautiful ("The Engine at the Heartspring's Center" for example) -- but I don't think he's ever going to be a favorite for me.

I didn't come up with it, I forget where it's from, but it's apt, don't you think? It was this perfectly good book and then one day, the suck fairy came along and zapped it and now it sucks! ;)

I love it. Jo Walton, an author whose work I very much enjoy, apparently wrote a whole blog post about the concept: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/09/the-suck-fairy

And here I was, ignorant of the whole thing. Thanks for letting me in on it! :)

Hmm... I have a Zelany anthology here with all the Amber books in it. I borrowed it from my father but haven't read any of it yet. I wonder what my reaction will be to it since I've never read any of his work before.

I read Lord of Light and was unimpressed. I read Princes decades ago and can't remember what I thought of it. It's on the 1001 Fantasy list though and I'll need to at least get through the first one to complete the list. I'll be sure to bracket it with some good books.

beserene - That's right! And there was a discussion in The Green Dragon last year, that's where I heard about it.

dk_phoenix - Yeah, I have the Great Book of Amber, too, that's what I read Nine Princes out of. I guess I should really just get rid of it now.

Morph - I'm ambivalent about Lord of Light. Looking at my review, I guess I kind of liked it, but I also thought it didn't make a whole lot of sense. I probably voted for Nine Princes for the 1001 Fantasy list since I hadn't read it in a while and remembered it as better than I now think it is.

I'll be interested to know what you think when you and dk_phoenix think when you get around to reading it.

I like Sunshine a lot too, Aerrin.

I picked up an omnibus edition of the Amber books for free. I read the first couple and didn't like them that much back when they first appeared, but thought I might try them again as a more mature reader. Maybe not...

The Nine Princes of Amber was the first fantasy series I read as a child and I loved it. I was toying with re-reading it this summer. Now, I think no. I don't want to know if the suck fairy got it.

Tanglewood, Roni, yeah, I would definitely recommend giving it a pass. I'm disappointed - I have fond memories of the series, too - but I'm not going to bother reading any further and I've added my copy to the donate pile.

Yay, finally caught up with you. Thread read, star lit.

Finished Book 5: *The Door Into Fire by Diane Duane
Adult, Fantasy, 332p

There are so many things going on in this book, it's hard to simplify it into a quick summary. On the way to get his friend and lover Freelorn out of trouble, Herewiss meets Sunspark, a fire elemental. Instead of going home after rescuing his friends, Herewiss leads them all to a place where he might be able to learn to use Flame, another kind of magic.

There is a great conversation between Herewiss and Sunspark when they first meet. Sunspark is so far from human that concepts like sex and death and friendship don't make sense to it and they spend a page or so talking in circles around each other, which really gets across the otherness of Sunspark. Unfortunately, the longer it spends in Herewiss's company, the more human it's thoughts and emotions get, so it's a less interesting character later on.

I liked the book, but it is obviously the first in a series because it's just setting things up for future events without much closure at the end.

5 / 150 books. 3% done.
2 / 75 *new books. 3% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
1385 / 43000 pages. 3% done.
Audiobooks: 0h0m

#78

Sounds like one I'd enjoy but I'll wait for much more of the series before I keep an eye out for them - I'm not starting any more disappointing or unfinished series!

79>

Don't start this one, then. People have been waiting for the final volume, The Door into Starlight, for fifteen years. It will in all probability never be finished. (I like the books, and would generally recommend them; there's reasonable closure at the end of the third book. But if you don't like unfinished series, this is one to stay away from.)

This isn't a new series, actually it's out of print. There were three published books; that, The Door Into Shadow, and The Door Into Sunset. I think there were supposed to be two more but they either haven't been written or weren't published and it's been decades so I doubt it will happen.

I have all three books (thanks to my sister, yay!) and I'll probably read them all this year, so we'll see how complete a story they are, I guess.

ETA: Heh, I got distracted in the middle of writing this and lorax got to it first, and with better info :)

Definitely not a series for me then! I shall look forward to seeing what you think of them, and take it from there. Especially if they are out of print, so maybe not so easy to find.

Hi, just came accross your thread. Out of the five books that you've read so far, three are ones that have been on my shelves to read for a while now, The Lies of Locke Lamora, The Hero and the Crown and Nine Princes in Amber. I've heard nothing but good things about McKinley so will hopefully be getting to that one sometime this year, also the Lynch. Too bad the Zelazny didn't live up to your memory of it. I'll still give it a try to see what I think, especially since it's pretty short, should be a quick read.

lunacat - Not that easy to find, no, my sister had to order them from abebooks for me.

staci - Welcome! I definitely recommend Locke Lamora and Hero. Not so much Nine Princes, obviously, but if you read the reviews mine is not the only opinion :)

While several of us have been waiting for the fourth book for those decades, The Door Into... series does actually attain closure at the end of the third book--it's just that we love that world so much we want more, more, more! I love the characters.

ETA Maybe I'll do a reread of the series for Fantasy February--it's been a while and I do enjoy them so.

#85

Dammit, now you've made me really want to read them, and I doubt I'll be able to find them cheaply. *sigh*.

Finished Book 6: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Young Adult, Fantasy, 248p

When Harry's father dies, leaving her with no inheritance and no chance of marrying, she must go live at the desert outpost where her brother is stationed. She falls in love with the desert, and when she unexpectedly ends up living with the native Damarians, she loves them as well.

I loved this book growing up and I still do, although now that I'm an adult, I have to grasp tightly to my suspension of disbelief for about the first quarter of it. At least until I get past Harry not really getting all that upset about being kidnapped (Corlath saying that he had no choice because his Gift made him do it doesn't make it better).

Except for that - which would probably bother me a lot more if I read it for the first time today - I do love this book and I reread it frequently.

6 / 150 books. 4% done.
2 / 75 *new books. 3% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
1633 / 43000 pages. 4% done.
Audiobooks: 0h0m

This is one of my all time favorite books. I am a total sucker for Harry and Corlath's love story and I adore the nomadic society McKinley creates.

I think when I was young, there was something so powerful in the way she wrote Harry's discovery of herself and the place she belonged when she had always felt awkward and out of place in her 'real world' for those of us who were bookish and quiet. I wonder if that's part of why it sticks with me. I mean, I know I desperately wanted to be Harry at 13!

#87: Love your stats, Blue.

I had never read The Blue Sword until I joined LT. I really enjoy it.

Finished Book 7. Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, read by Wil Wheaton
Adult, Fantasy, audiobook, 8h49m

"We have seen The Blob, and it is us."

A race of friendly aliens want to introduce themselves to Earth. They're wary of our political figures, and besides, political figures only represent countries; American movies go out to the world. So, they decide to get an agent.

Agent to the Stars was Scalzi's first novel, written to see if he could do it, and he posted it on his website for people to read for free (where it is still available). It's is a hilarious book with great characters (including, or maybe especially, the aliens) and a fun story, and it's also unexpectedly moving at times. Wil Wheaton, who narrates the audiobook, is a fantastic reader.

7 / 150 books. 4% done.
2 / 75 *new books. 3% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
1633 / 43000 pages. 4% done.
Audiobooks: 8h49m

#90: Thanks for letting me know that the novel is available on Scalzi's website, Blue! I enjoyed his Old Man's War series, so I would definitely like to read Agent to the Stars.

You're welcome! It's a great read, I absolutely love it, I don't usually read books on the computer but the first time I read Agent was on his website. It's, erm, less serious than the OMW series, more along the lines of The Android's Dream, really. I a fan of all his books, though, honestly.

Well, almost. I didn't love The God Engines. *shrug*

I have not read The Android's Dream yet, although I do own it. I guess I better get around to reading it one of these days!

I definitely recommend it! It's another fantastic book, very funny, great characters, great aliens, etc. Scalzi does fantastic aliens, but I'm sure you know that already.

Yep!

>90 bluesalamanders: That one sounds like fun. I don't think I'll actually read it on his website, but I may look out for a physical copy.

_Zoe_ - I wasn't sure it was available (when I got my physical copy, they didn't rerelease it right away so it wasn't available after it sold out) but I checked the Tor website and they're selling it, so I assume other places are too.

I love Old Man's War and Scalzi's blog (I find so many fantastic books there!), but somehow I have never been motivated to grab his other books - I have no idea why! I'll have to look this up.

Hi There

I'm compiling a list of birthdays of our group members. If you haven't done so already, would you mind stopping by this thread and posting yours.

Thanks.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/105833

Finished Book 8. *Dreadnought by Cherie Priest, read by Kate Reading
The Clockwork Century, book 3
Adult, Steampunk, Audiobook, 13h24m

I hit my head yesterday afternoon, so I spent most of yesterday evening and today laying down with ice packs and listening to this audiobook.

Dreadnought is the third book in the Clockwork Century series, a steampunk alternate history world in which (for starters) the US Civil War has dragged on for decades. While it does take place after the events in Boneshaker and Clementine, it is unnecessary to have read the previous books to understand and enjoy this one.

Mercy Lynch, a nurse at a Confederate hospital in Virginia, receives two pieces of bad news in one day. The first informs her that her husband, a soldier, is dead. The second informs her that her father is dying, and she decides to take the long trip by dirigible and train from Virginia to Washington in hopes that she might see him before he goes. The trip turns out to be a little more exciting than Mercy anticipates.

Priest is a phenomenal author. Her books even induce me to read about the fictional creature I dislike the most (zombies) and while there were a few passages I could have lived without, the violence isn't gratuitous. Mercy is a great character and I hope Priest writes about her again, as well as the other characters she introduced along the way.

I wasn't thrilled with the end of the book - it was abrupt and left hanging questions that had been asked from the very beginning - but the point of the story is the journey, not the destination.

8 / 150 books. 5% done.
3 / 75 *new books. 4% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
1633 / 43000 pages. 4% done.
Audiobooks: 21h73m

Well, I suspect the reason for the sudden stop is that there's a sequel coming to tie all the threads from the various books together. :)

Good to know, thank you. That doesn't change how I feel about it, though. I just don't like that kind end to a book. I once never bothered to read the sequels to a book I otherwise liked, because the ridiculous cliffhanger irritated me so much. That one was a bit more extreme, though (seriously, it ended with a main character getting stabbed, and you didn't know if he was dead or alive. not cool!).

Finished Book 9. ^*Death from the Skies! by Phil Plait, Ph.D.
Adult, Non-fiction, 307p

A Very Brief History of the Universe

In the beginning, there was nothing.
Then there was everything.

Subtitled "The Science Behind the End of the World...", Death from the Skies! is a book describing (in sometimes terrifying detail) all the ways that the universe is trying to kill us. Gamma-ray bursts, black holes, solar flares, asteroids, the myriad ways that things outside of Earth can destroy us.

Also, just how phenomenally unlikely it is for any of those to happen any time soon. They're all going to happen. Just not in a time scale that we need to worry about. Mostly. Anyway, there's even a chart in the back!

It's entertaining to read (for all it's also incredibly creepy) and written in a conversation style that I find accessible and enjoyable.

9 / 150 books. 6% done.
4 / 75 *new books. 5% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
1940 / 43000 pages. 5% done.
Audiobooks: 21h73m

#103: That one sounds interesting! Thanks for the recommendation, Blue. I will see if my local library has a copy.

Finished Book 10: *The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
Young Adult, Fiction, 277p

Bianca is hanging out at a club her friends love and she hates when Wesley, another student at their school, sits next to her. He explains that he wants to hook up with one of her friends, so he decided to ingratiate himself with her, their DUFF - designated ugly fat friend.

I pretty much hated about eighty percent of this book. It was like watching a bad romantic comedy. Wesley was a jerk, Bianca lacked self-control (which was either because she's supposedly fat or because her dad was an alcoholic or both), her friends were clueless, and the rest of the cast were cardboard cutouts.

The last 50 or so pages started to become more interesting, with some character development, growth, depth - and then the typical romantic comedy ending. Ugh.

10 / 150 books. 7% done.
5 / 75 *new books. 7% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
2217 / 43000 pages. 5% done.
Audiobooks: 21h73m

I've heard everything from "this book is AMAZING" to "this book is crap, I'm not surprised the author is 16" (or 18? either way, still very young) about that one. I'm torn on whether to read it or not. Maybe I'll do the library thing. Hmm.

#105: That does not sound like one for me at all. I hope your next read is a better one for you, Blue!

106 dk_phoenix - 19, I think? Not sure either, but yeah, very young and I wasn't surprised when I was told that either. It really is the plot of Every Romantic Comedy Ever, with almost nothing interesting done with it.

107 alcottacre - It really isn't the sort of thing I usually read either! But it was on my TBR list due to having (supposedly) a fat protagonist, which is something I find interesting (except it didn't seem like she actually was fat, so...) and then my sister recommended it. Of course, after I read it, my sister told me she didn't actually think I'd like it, she just wanted someone to talk to about it. Heh.

Finished book 11: No Such Thing As Dragons by Philip Reeve
Juvenile, Fantasy, 186p

A mute boy is hired to squire for a con-artist dragon killer.

There's a surprising amount of death for such a short book. I didn't get the point of the story.

11 / 150 books. 7% done.
6 / 75 *new books. 8% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
2403 / 43000 pages. 6% done.
Audiobooks: 22h13m

#108: Of course, after I read it, my sister told me she didn't actually think I'd like it, she just wanted someone to talk to about it.

Isn't that just like a sister? lol

Usually she recommends books she thinks I'd actually like! As far as I know, this was a first.

Well, I guess there is a first time for everything!

Finished Book 12: Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones, read by Gerard Doyle
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, 7h07m

Cat and his sister Gwendolen (who is a powerful witch) go live with Chrestomanci after their parents die. Cat does his best to stay out of trouble while Gwendolen does the opposite.

I love this book from start to finish. The characters are interesting, the setting is fantastic, and the story is thoroughly enjoyable. Even the minor characters are well-formed with recognizable personalities.

12 / 150 books. 8% done.
6 / 75 *new books. 8% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
2403 / 43000 pages. 6% done.
Audiobooks: 27h20m

Finished Book 13: Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, 212p

Cimorene hates being a "proper" princess, so she runs away and volunteers to be princess for a dragon.

This is an old favorite, a wonderful little fairy tale parody. It's a quick read with great characters and a fun story.

13 / 150 books. 8% done.
6 / 75 *new books. 8% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
2615 / 43000 pages. 6% done.
Audiobooks: 27h20m

Finished Books 14: The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones, read by Gerard Doyle
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, 9h04m

Finished Books 15: Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book 2
Young Adult, Fantasy, 242p

Finished Books 16: Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book 3
Young Adult, Fantasy, 244p

16 / 150 books. 11% done.
6 / 75 *new books. 8% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
3801 / 43000 pages. 9% done.
Audiobooks: 36h24m

I enjoyed The Enchanted Forest Chronicles when I read them last year. I am happy to see you are liking them too, Blue!

Yeah, they've been favorites of mine for years, particularly the first couple.

Wrede is a fantastic writer... love her work.

#117: Cool! I had never read any of the books in the series until last year. I particularly liked books one and four.

Interesting! The fourth is actually my least favorite. It's still cute, but I didn't feel like rereading it this time around.

Have you seen Book of Enchantments? It's a collection of short stories by Wrede, two of which are set in the Enchanted Forest.

Just weighing in on the Wrede books: I also love the first one, but I didn't care all that much for the fourth -- just didn't do it for me, not as clever as the first three, I thought. Book of Enchantments I enjoyed; the Cimorene/Frying Pan of Doom story is the absolute best and makes the whole collection worth reading.

Blue, while I enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle and its two sequels, I have never read any of Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci books. Would you recommend the series as a whole?

beserene - Utensile Strength is great, isn't it? I also particularly like Roses by Moonlight and The Lorelei. My review of the book (which is brief reviews of each story) is here.

I didn't love Howl's Moving Castle but I know a lot of people who like both. I wholeheartedly recommend the Chrestomanci series!

#120: My local library does not have Book of Enchantments unfortunately.

123 alcotteacre - Can you ILL? Back when I used the library (sadly I moved to a place where the local library is terrible and also a serious pain to get to), I used to ILL lots of books.

Currently I consider the bookstore my library, which some people disapprove of but since I reread books frequently, I consider reading a book once the "taste" of it that other people consider reading a few pages or a chapter.

#124: Yes, I can do ILL, but it is a royal pain to do so. :/

125 alcottacre - Aw, that's too bad!

Book of Enchantments is a hard one to find, unfortunately. I've never seen it at any library or bookstore.

I found my copy at a used booksale and I have since other used copies since, I think, but not new ones. Perhaps it's out of print?

Just checked -- it's available on Amazon, so not out of print after all.

I'll add to the love for the Enchanted Forest Chronicles -- favorites of mine for years! I particularly love the first and the third.

127>

There are hundreds of copies on bookfinder starting at $3.50 for used, and new copies starting at $6.00. I wouldn't call that hard to find.

I found a copy of The Book of Enchantments on PBS, so I have one on the way!

I hope you enjoy it!

Have you read any of Jane Yolen's books? Since you like the fantasy elements of Patricia C. Wrede, you might also enjoy Jane Yolen.

Whisper1 - Yes, I've read some of Jane Yolen's books, including the Pit Dragon trilogy which I quite like. I keep meaning to pick up more.

Chiming in on the Enchanted Forest Chronicles discussion to share an amusing anecdote.

I had a very frustrating evening last night because I somehow managed to misplace my copy of Searching For Dragons at some point between lunch and dinner. I was 3/4 of the way through and had intended to spend the evening finishing it. Instead, I spent the evening running around my house asking all of my family members if they'd seen a book with two people on a flying carpet on the cover.

Found it today and happily finished it. All is right with the world again. :)

135 - Ahahaha, that's a great story. I do that all the time - it's amazing how many places in a one-bedroom apartment there are for a book to hide, actually...

I love the carpet, it makes me chuckle every time.

Finished Book 17: *Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones, read by Gerard Doyle
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, 7h53m

Finished Book 18: *Varjak Paw by SF Said
Juvenile, fantasy, 255p

"Varjak Paw is a Mesopotamian Blue kitten. He lives high up in an old house on a hill. He's never left home, until his grandfather tells him about the Way - a secret martial art for cats. Now Varjak must use the Way to survive in a city full of dangerous dogs, cat gangs, and the strangest of all, the mysterious Vanishings."

Varjak Paw is an absolutely adorable book. It's written for a younger reader, but it's a fun quick read - it took me about an hour and a half - for an adult too.

18 / 150 books. 12% done.
8 / 75 *new books. 11% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
4056 / 43000 pages. 9% done.
Audiobooks: 44h17m

I've been lax about reviewing. All Tamora Pierce's books are Young Adult Fantasy.

Finished Book 19: First Test by Tamora Pierce, read by Kate Reading (I think)
Protector of the Small, book 1
Audiobook 5h15m

I was not a fan of this reader. Her voice was a little harsh and when she did dialogue, it became harsher still. Also, her interpretation of Keladry was far too emotional.

Finished Book 20: So yesterday by Scott Westerfeld
Young Adult, Fiction, 225p

Finished Book 21: Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce, read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 1, 5h51m

Finished Book 22: Tris's Book by Tamora Pierce, read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 2, 5h17m

Finished Book 23: Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce, read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 3, 5h20m

Finished Book 24: Briar's Book by Tamora Pierce, read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 4, 5h42m

Finished Book 25: Magic Steps by Tamora Pierce, read by someone
The Circle Opens, book 1, 5h16m

Finished Book 26: Street Magic by Tamora Pierce, read by Full Cast Audio
The Circle Opens, book 2, 7h13m

I've figured two things that have always bothered me about the Circle books. The first is something that I can't avoid in audio when I might skim when reading it: physical descriptions of characters. Unless it's germane to the plot, I don't need to know the height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin tone, clothing details, and ethnicity of every new character that enters the story. In fact, most of the time I don't want to know, and I'm going to forget it anyway, and it's a boring waste of words to include it in one big chunk like that.

The second is that I feel like I've missed a book, like there's one somewhere that I haven't read, in which Tris figures out her braids and Sandry gets a real handle on fabric and Briar tattoos his hands. And probably something Daja does, too. Because those are all very important events that occur in the ephemeral time between the Circle of Magic series and the Circle Opens series, and we only ever hear that they happened or see the effects. We never actually see them happen. And that bothers me.

The other problem that I've always had (and known about) with the Circle books is that there's too much plot packed into too few pages. Nothing gets as much space as it ought to.

However, with the Full Cast Audiobooks, it was all less problematic (except the character descriptions, which are more so when you can't just skim them). I enjoyed the audiobooks much more than I ever enjoyed actually reading the books, and I look forward to them finishing the Circle Opens series.

26 / 150 books. 17% done.
8 / 75 *new books. 11% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
4281 / 43000 pages. 10% done.
Audiobooks: 84h47m

Finished Book 27: Young Warriors, edited by Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman
Young Adult, Fantasy, Anthology, 312p

The Gift of Rain Mountain by Bruce Holland Rogers
I like this story alright. In a way, it's a twist on the visit to the fairy realm or land of the dead, where if you eat the food, you're there for a hundred years or are bound there forever or whatever. The kid is almost smart, but if he'd been completely smart, well, there would be no story, would there?

The Magestone by S. M. Stirling & Jan Stirling
This story I like - I've found I enjoy mermaid/water people stories when they're interesting, because the idea of people living under the ocean has such possibilities.

Eli and the Dybbuk by Janis Ian
This is fun, and very like the traditional Jewish or Yiddish folk tales that I've heard before in many ways.

Heartless by Holly Black
This...I've never quite understood this story. But the end is very emotive.

Lioness by Pamela F. Service
I like this story pretty well. I often enjoy well-written stories of women warriors, which this is.

Thunderbolt by Esther Friesner
This is an entertaining look at Helen of Troy from her perspective as the unimpressed - but not helpless - kidnap victim.

Devil Wind by India Edghill
I like this one - it reminds me a little of The Secret Garden, which may just be because of the setting. It takes place in India and has to do with the friendship between an English girl and her Indian maid or servant. And magic, of course, and revenge.

The Boy who Cried Dragon by Mike Resnick
This one is just cute and funny and if anything reminds me of Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest books, a little.

Student of Ostriches by Tamora Pierce
I like this one, actually. It's entertaining to read about the background of one of the more fascinating minor characters from the Tortall universe, and also I liked the reveal at the end, because the first time I read it, I didn't realize who it was until the very end of the story.

Serpent's Rock by Laura Anne Gilman
I don't really remember much about this, so I didn't like or dislike it particularly, I guess.

Hidden Warriors by Margaret Mahy
I did like this, with the apprentice there and anther amusing reveal at the end.

Emerging Legacy by Doranna Durgin
Another one I enjoyed, Kelyn from this story reminds me some of Aerin from The Hero and the Crown.

An Axe for Men by Rosemary Edghill
Not the biggest fan of this story, but oppression is oppression and when women are oppressing men, it's just as bad as men oppressing women, so my not liking it has to do with my feelings about the real world, not about how things are in the world of the story.

Acts of Faith by Lesley McBain
I liked this a lot, and at least it was a short story - I don't read books (fact or fiction) in this setting very often, because they're too stressful.

Swords that Talk Brent Hartinger
"You want a quiet weapon, get a mace."
It's funny and smart in a "think before you act" sort of way. I enjoy this one, and it makes me think of a line from...A Wizard Abroad, where someone tells Nita that "it was a rare sword that didn't tell you its history, back in the old days" and suggested that it's not necessarily a good thing that weapons are so passive these days.

27 / 150 books. 18% done.
8 / 75 *new books. 11% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
4593 / 43000 pages. 11% done.
Audiobooks: 84h47m

Finished Book 28: The Android's Dream by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction, 394p

The Android's Dream is a humorous science fiction story about a man and a woman, along with aliens, sentient computer programs, made-up religions, various government agencies, a visit to a mall, a space cruise, and, of course, sheep. The first chapter is rather crude humor, but don't let that throw you; it is a hilarious and wonderful book.

28 / 150 books. 19% done.
8 / 75 *new books. 11% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
4997 / 43000 pages. 12% done.
Audiobooks: 84h47m

I got a big kick out of The Android's Dream--I'm glad you enjoyed it.

This is like the 5th time I've read it, I absolutely love it. I'm glad you like it too ;)

Finished Book 29: *Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce
Young Adult, Fantasy, Anthology, 369p

This is an interesting anthology. Half the stories are set in Tortall, one is urban fantasy, and one is fiction (not fantasy). The other three don't seem to be set in Tortall or Emelan, but are in similar types of fantasy settings.

Student of Ostriches (Tortall)
I like this one. It's entertaining to read about the background of one of the more fascinating minor characters from the Tortall universe.

Elder Brother (Tortall)
This story is based on a line in one of the Immortals books, which said that when Numair used a Word of Power to turn another sorcerer into a tree, somewhere on the other side of the world, a tree into a man. I was always vaguely curious what happened to that poor former-tree, and it was interesting to find out.

The Hidden Girl (Tortall)
A continuation of Elder Brother, from a different perspective. Okay, but not my favorite story.

Nawat (Tortall)
This story was upsetting and I didn't particularly like it, although part of that is probably because I don't especially like the Trickster books.

The Dragon's Tale (Tortall)
This is an adorable story about the young dragon, Kitten, and was absolutely my favorite.

Lost (Tortall)
A moving story about a talented young woman who just loves numbers. The darkings are always fun characters.

Time of Proving
Cultures clash when a young woman from a small village meets a scholar from a magical city. Short and not memorable.

Plain Magic
Humorous twist on the "sacrifice a virgin to the monster" story.

Mimic
This was an odd one. It felt a bit off for most of the story because it seemed like I was supposed to recognize the animal that was being described, but I could never work out what it was supposed to be. But then that turned out to not matter after all.

Huntress (urban fantasy)
More than a little creepy. I'm not sure if I liked it or not.

Testing (fiction)
Testing is fiction (not fantasy) and semi-autobiographical. It is interesting, but seems out of place in this anthology.

29 / 150 books. 19% done.
9 / 75 *new books. 12% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
5366 / 43000 pages. 12% done.
Audiobooks: 84h47m

I checked in to your thread yesterday afternoon, when I was midway through the same book. Quickly went away again to finish the book and now am back and reading what you said about the stories. I think we are pretty much in agreement!

I wasn't terribly fond of this anthology overall. I do like short stories, or at least I used to, but I only really liked two or three of those. Short work is not Pierce's strong suit.

I just read this the other day, I'm usually a bit wary of short story anthologies since sometimes I only like 2 or 3 of the stories but I reckoned that with it being by Tammy I'd be alright. But I agree with your view on several of the stories - The Time of Proving was just a bit odd and so short I didn't really know what to make of it, Huntress was uber creepy and completely different to anything I've read by Tammy, and I adored the story about Kitten and Lost.
I actually really like the Trickster books so despite Nawat's story showing how crow-like he really is in thought I did like that one.
Now we just gotta wait for Mastiff *sighs impatiently* October better come quickly!

I really liked the Trickster books the first time I read them, I just found they didn't stand up to rereads like her other books. Aly is too perfect and a lot of other (really great) characters are just wasted so she can do everything.

I'd say I liked 5 of the stories - Student of Ostriches, Elder Brother, The Dragon's Tale, Lost, and Plain Magic. I didn't care for The Hidden Girl, Nawat, Time of Proving, and Huntress. I'm neutral about Mimic and Testing. If I reread it, I'll probably just pick and choose and read only the ones I like.

Finished Book 30: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, read by Alan Cumming
Young Adult, Steampunk, Audiobook, 8h18m

Finished Book 31: Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld, read by Alan Cumming
Young Adult, Steampunk, 11h22m

Gave up on: Coyote Ugly by Pati Nagle
Adult, Anthology, Various genres, ebook
Early Reviewer

I got about two-thirds of the way through this book before I gave up. The writing is okay, I even liked a couple of the stories, but the complete mishmash of styles, settings, and genres gave me literary whiplash every time I turned a page. Everything is mixed together randomly with no logical sequence or theme to bring them together.

31 / 150 books. 21% done.
9 / 75 *new books. 12% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
5366 / 43000 pages. 12% done.
Audiobooks: 4d8h27m

Finished Book 32: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 1
Adult, Mystery, 191p

Jim Qwilleran, crime reporter, is unceremoniously dumped onto the art beat where he finds strange things and stranger people.

While it's interesting to see how Qwill and Koko first meet, the plot is lacking and the characters haven't developed yet. Not recommended as a starting point for this generally charming series.

Finished Book 33: The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 2
Adult, Mystery, 192p

Qwill is shifted from the art beat to the paper's new interior decorating magazine, which is much more exciting than it initially sounds.

As with "The Cat Who Could Read Backwards", this is a fun look into the history of Qwill and his feline companions but the plot leaves something to be desired. However, the characters are more fully realized and we begin to see the kind of role the cats will have in Qwill's life.

Finished Book 34: The Cat Who Turned On and Off by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 3
Adult, Mystery, 272p

Now a feature reporter, Qwill starts out doing a holiday piece on antiquing and ends up investigating a series of suspicious deaths.

Although I prefer the books set in Pickax, this is enjoyable enough and introduces several recurring characters.

34 / 150 books. 23% done.
9 / 75 *new books. 12% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
6021 / 43000 pages. 14% done.
Audiobooks: 4d8h27m

A dear friend of mine, who recently died of pancreatic cancer, and I shared a love of the Cat Who series. I loved the series with the quirky people and cats.

I was introduced to them by my grandmother. Most of the books in the series that I have were hers, actually. I usually just pull one at random off the shelf, but this time I decided to start from the beginning...and I've realized that I don't have the full set. She did, so either I missed some of her books or they're packed in a box somewhere. Maybe I'll check the nearby used bookstore *sigh*

I think those books may be one of the things that cemented my love of cats from a pretty early age, even though we never really had any pets.

#151 -- I have the whole Cat Who series, or at least the first 20-some-odd. The Cat Who Turned On and Off is my favorite of the early (pre-Pickax) ones (though The Cat Who Saw Red is a close second), though I agree that the ones set in Pickax are generally better. I've been severely disappointed with the last few that have been published, though -- it seems to me that the quality is declining.

I'm more of a dog person than a cat person, but I do like cats -- and I love Koko and Yum-Yum.

I have 20, I think, and there are 10 that I don't have (plus a few companion books I'm curious about). I'm not sure how much I care about the most recent ones - I agree, they are definitely of declining quality - but I'm missing a few of the early ones like Saw Red and Played Brahms and I definitely want those.

Finished Book 35: *Chicks in Chainmail edited by Esther Friesner
Adult, Fantasy, Anthology, 299p

Chicks in Chainmail is an anthology of stories mocking or satirizing the titular cliche. It is supposed to be fluffy and humorous, but I found less than half of the stories at all amusing and the rest either uninteresting or, more often, appalling. I've never read a book with so many rape jokes. I've also never read a book with so many misspelled words and other typographical errors.

35 / 150 books. 23% done.
10 / 75 *new books. 13% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
6320 / 43000 pages. 15% done.
Audiobooks: 4d8h27m

Just chiming in to say that my husband is working his way through The Cat Who books, and I've been curious about them - now I know I need to start reading them too!

They're lovely light reading, just don't expect heavy plots or deep anything :)

>154 bluesalamanders: I have never found Friesner to be all that amusing. She's got a couple more books on the same themes--I think you can probably skip them. The titles are the cutest things about them.

roni -

Yeah, there are two sequel anthologies that I'm definitely going to give a pass. There were a few stories that I really liked, but in general most were more offensive than funny. Which seems to defeat the purpose of the anthology, but what do I know...

It's not the first book I've read that didn't live up to its title. A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters is another one that sounds better than it is.

Finished Book 36: *Torchwood: Department X by James Goss, read by Kai Owen
Adult, Science Fiction, audiobook, 2h14m

Finished Book 37: *Torchwood: Ghost Train by James Goss, read by Kai Owen
Adult, Science Fiction, audiobook, 2h18m

Finished Book 38: *Doctor Who: The Relics of Time, The Demon of Paris, A Shard of Ice, Starfall, and Sepulchre by Paul Magrs, read by Tom Baker
Demon Quest 1-5
Adult, Science Fiction, audiobook, 5h37m

I forgot that while I was sick last week, I listened to a few audiobooks. The Torchwood books were pretty good. Demon Quest was kind of ridiculous.

38 / 150 books. 25% done.
13 / 75 *new books. 17% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
6320 / 43000 pages. 15% done.
Audiobooks: 4d18h36m

You've managed to make me wonder when the next season of Torchwood will be coming our way. *goes off to check*

Back to say - no new Torchwoods on the horizon but Dr. Who is coming back 4/23! Less than a month!

New Torchwood is coming out July 8th. It's going to be weird...I'm nervous about it. I loathed Children of Earth.

Blue, I love the variety of your reading list. But I am dying to know what you thought of Westerfeld's two steampunk books -- did I miss that? They are in my stack, but I haven't gotten to them just yet.

Thanks beserene! Sometimes I feel like I walk a narrow path of books I'm interested in reading, so having it called a variety is nice :)

No, I didn't post reviews of those books here. I think I find it harder to write reviews of audiobooks than of written books for some reason, so I didn't get around to it and finally just listed the books and moved on.

My previous review of Leviathan is here. I liked it a lot, although I thought it was a bit younger than Westerfeld's other books (more Juvenile than Young Adult, although still enjoyable for all ages clearly since I enjoyed it). It's also very much the first book in the trilogy - the end isn't a cliffhanger, but it didn't wrap up any of the big plotlines.

My opinion of Behemoth is much the same, it was a lot of fun, great characters and story and everything. As with Leviathan, it's definitely not a standalone, it's very much "book 2" and waiting for Goliath to come out later this year.

The steampunk sf aspects of both books are fantastic. The audiobooks are read by Alan Cumming, who is, not surprisingly, wonderful to listen to.

I will say that by listening to Westerfeld's Leviathan and Behemoth, you miss the stunning artwork throughout the books. The drawings are REMARKABLE!

I did forget to mention the fantastic artwork, you're right! I read Leviathan the first time, so I saw it. I'll read Behemoth at some point (I'll probably reread both when Goliath comes out, actually).

Oh, the artwork is awesome. I got to hear Westerfeld speak at a local library a while back and he showed some of the images on a screen, and some of the original sketch ideas - wow. I would love to have prints of some of those. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Blue!

I finished up Leviathan on a plane today. The artwork was really impressive, even on the iPad!

beserene - I heard Scott speak, too, He's great, isn't he? He was touring with Robin Wasserman, author of the Skinned trilogy (also good books) and it was a thrill to meet both of them, hear them talk, get books signed. I would love prints of that art too, I love it.

drneutron - isn't it great? It isn't absolutely necessary (the audiobooks work fine without it) but it really adds another dimension to the story.

He was great, I totally agree. I went in with few expectations and was really blown away by how personable and funny he was. And justine larbalestier, his wife, was there, so it was so cool to get her to sign the anthology I'd bought - Zombies vs Unicorns.

I wish I could have seen Justine too! I really liked her books How to Ditch Your Fairy and Liar.

I tried to read Zombies vs. Unicorns, but I really hate zombies so I didn't get very far in it.

> 170 I'm sure team Unicorn would just tell you to skip those pesky zombie stories and just read the unicorn ones ;)

171 Tanglewood -

I'm sure they would :)

Finished Book 39: *Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik, read by Simon Vance
Temeraire, book 4
Adult, Historical Fantasy, Audiobook, 11h7m

These books are amazing. Empire of Ivory is often very sad, although there were also parts that made me laugh out loud. Simon Vance does a wonderful job reading.

Finished Book 40: *Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik, read by Simon Vance
Temeraire, book 5
Adult, Historical Fantasy, Audiobook, 10h26m

Another fantastic Temeraire book. I found this book much more upsetting that previous books and have put aside the series for now. Vance again does a wonderful job reading.

Finished Book 41: *The Sarah Jane Adventures: The White Wolf by Gary Russell, read by Elizabeth Sladen
Young Adult, Science Fiction, Audiobook, 1h9m

Sarah Jane takes Luke to the country to investigate a town full of people with missing memories. Clyde and Rani follow them to help out.

A short, unexciting story, light on plot, though a bit heavy-handed on message.

41 / 150 books. 27% done.
16 / 75 *new books. 21% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
6320 / 43000 pages. 15% done.
Audiobooks: 5d17h18m

I remember Victory of Eagles -- it upset me too. The series is wonderful, but so emotional, which I did not expect when I began it. At least the next book -- while still tumultuous and at some points downright scary -- has more positive notes, in the long run (just so you know). Still, I don't blame you for setting it aside, perhaps at least until more books are out -- I hear there are supposed to be nine in total.

Nine?? Wow. I don't usually go for epic series like that, but something about this one drew me in when others held no interest.

I have plenty of other things to read in the meantime, including a few ER and MG books I'm catching up on now.

Not catching up, Blue, but hopefully I will be able to keep up with you the rest of the year :)

Finished Book 42: Blood Price by Tanya Huff
Blood series, Book 1
Adult, Fantasy, 272p

A supernatural crime novel. The Blood books are always fun, sexy, and enjoyable fluff reads.

Finished Book 43: Blood Trail by Tanya Huff
Blood series, Book 2
Adult, Fantasy, 304p

This book has interesting werewolf pack dynamics, with, of course, the Henry/Vicki/Mike dynamics mixed in. I enjoyed it - this whole series is nice sexy fluff reading without being over-the-top.

Finished Book 44: *Changeling by Nancy Jane Moore
Adult, Fantasy, ebook, 62p
Early Reviewer

A girl dreams of an impossible city.

I didn't quite understand the point of this novella. The characters were flat and unlikeable, the explanations for events were unsatisfying, the horrible things that happened to the main character didn't add much, if anything, to the story.

I like the idea of the story, but the execution didn't move me.

44 / 150 books. 29% done.
17 / 75 *new books. 23% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
6958 / 43000 pages. 15% done.
Audiobooks: 5d17h18m

Too bad about Changeling. I will give that one a pass!

Finished Book 45: *Doctor Who: Short Trips, Volume 1
Finished Book 46: *Doctor Who: Short Trips, Volume 2, both by various authors and read by various narrators
Adult, Science Fiction, Anthology, Audiobook, 6h36m

A mixed bag, as with most anthologies, with some good stories and some less good. It's interesting to hear tales about such a wide variety of Doctors and companions told one right after another.

Finished Book 47: The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 8
Adult, Mystery, 256p

Finished Book 48: The Cat Who Sniffed Glue by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 9
Adult, Mystery, 288p

The mystery in this book doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and the answer sort of comes out of left field, but the rest of the story is as fun as any other Cat Who book.

Finished Book 49: *The Lexical Funk: a triumph of words (the little ebook edition) by Daniel Clausen
Adult, Fantasy (?), Anthology, ebook, 48p
Member Giveaway

Meandering, over-written stories with little plot and less characterization. Possibly of interest to someone who likes style without substance, as it is certainly quirky.

49 / 150 books. 32% done.
20 / 75 *new books. 26% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
7550 / 43000 pages. 17% done.
Audiobooks: 5d21h54m

Too bad about The Lexical Funk. It looks like one I might have enjoyed.

You still might - it looks like a lot of people did, if you read the reviews. It just wasn't to my taste.

Finished Book 50: *The Secret History of Fantasy, edited by Peter S. Beagle
Adult, Fantasy, Anthology, 379p

I read most of this awhile ago and just finished it up. I don't remember much about the rest of the book, but the last few stories and essays are great. One essay goes into the Harry Potter phenomenon - why that series became so popular when better books with similar themes languish in obscurity - and another discusses the divide between genre fiction and so-called literary fiction.

50 / 150 books. 33% done.
21 / 75 *new books. 28% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
7929 / 43000 pages. 18% done.
Audiobooks: 5d21h54m

Finished Book 51: The Cat Who Sang for the Birds by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who... series, book 20
Adult, Mystery, 272 pages

Finished Book 52: Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher
Dragon Chronicles, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, 242p

Finished Book 53: *Flight of the Dragon Kyn by Susan Fletcher
Dragon Chronicles, prequel
Young Adult, Fantasy, 213p

Finished Book 54: *Sign of the Dove by Susan Fletcher
Dragon Chronicles, book 2
Young Adult, Fantasy, 211p

Dragon's Milk was a book I loved when I was younger. I only recently learned that it wasn't a stand-alone novel and ran across these three at a used bookstore. I wish I had known about the sequels as a kid, as I think I would have appreciated them more then, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

54 / 150 books. 36% done.
23 / 75 *new books. 31% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
8867 / 43000 pages. 21% done.
Audiobooks: 5d21h54m

I was sure my grandma had a full set of Cat Who books, and I recognize these titles, but I didn't remember anything about the stories.

Finished Book 55: *The Cat Who Saw Red by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who... series, book 4
Adult, Mystery, 183p

Qwill runs across an old flame, now married to a moderately successful artist and an artist herself. He moves into the artist boarding house where they live as he begins his newest beat, reviewing restaurants. After several mysterious deaths and disappearances, Qwill can't help investigating.

The Cat Who Saw Red, referring to an unusual red pottery glaze invented by one of the boarders, is a quick read and a typical Cat Who story, with some characters rushing in and out of Qwill's world over the course of the book and some there to stay.

Finished Book 56: *The Cat Who Played Brahms by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who... series, book 5
Adult, Mystery, 256p

Restless with his job, Qwill takes a vacation to Moose County to stay in Aunt Fanny's cabin by the lake. Qwill is introduced to many Pickax and Moose County locals and solves a murder in the process.

This is the first we hear of Aunt Fanny and the only time we get to meet her, which is too bad since she's a charming character. Her vivacity is echoed in later books in many of the octogenarians and nonagenarians Qwill meets later in the series.

Finished Book 57: *The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who... series, book 12
Adult, Mystery, 275p

When Qwill moves into his remodeled apple barn, he hosts a party after the latest theater production. After everyone leaves, he finds the unpopular director murdered outside.

Qwill and Poly have some problems in this book, and it's kind of frustrating and sad. Not my favorite of the series.

57 / 150 books. 38% done.
26 / 75 *new books. 35% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
9581 / 43000 pages. 22% done.
Audiobooks: 5d21h54m

I read most of the Cat Who series when I discovered them back in the 1990s and kept up with them for awhile, but I finally lost interest in them. They just weren't as charming as they once were.

#185: I was pretty much the same with the Cat Who books, Lori.

That's fair. It's not the world's best or most complex series and the newer ones certainly aren't as good as the older ones. But I still love them...I used to always read them at my grandma's house and most of the books I have were hers, so it's all very nostalgic for me.

I have probably held on to my copies of the books more out of nostalgia than anything else, Blue, so I understand. The Cat Who series was one my mother and I used to read simultaneously and then talk about.

I read library copies of the books. I do still own the "Cat Who" cookbook that I purchased on a bargain table though!

Finished Book 58: *Catfantastic III edited by Andre Norton and Martin H. Greenberg
Adult, Fantasy, Anthology, 319p

Anthology of cat-related fantasy stories.

As much as I love real-life cats, it seems I don't often like cat-related fantasy and science fiction stories very much and this book is no different. A few of the stories were amusing, but mostly I didn't care for them at all.

Finished Book 59: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Young Adult, Fiction, 249p

Sara Crewe is the adored young daughter of a wealthy English officer serving in India. When he finally decides to send her to a London boarding school, it's hard on them both, but Sara is a resilient and charming child and does well there. When her father dies and she is reduced from favored student to ill-treated servant, her resilience and her talent for "pretending" become more important than ever.

I've loved A Little Princess since I was young. If I read it for the first time now, I probably wouldn't care for it much; Sara is practically a paragon, Miss Minchin is a little over-the-top, and many of the minor characters are rather one-dimensional. But it's still a lovely book that I enjoy just as much every time I read it.

Gave Up On: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Young Adult, Fiction

I've been hearing about this book for years, so when I saw it at a used bookstore I decided to give it a try. It's certainly possible I would have liked it when I was a kid, but as it is there were too many characters, too much going on, and none of it was particularly interesting.

59 / 150 books. 39% done.
27 / 75 *new books. 36% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
10099 / 43000 pages. 23% done.
Audiobooks: 5d21h54m

I stuck with The Westing Game and finished it but, like you, think I would have liked it more as a kid.

I love A Little Princess too. Never read The Westing Game. I have a couple of the Catfantastic anthologies, but I'm just not a short story person--too uneven, and some too spooky for me!

I used to absolutely love short stories - seriously, I used to collect SF short story anthologies, I had dozens and dozens - but I've lost a lot of my taste for them. I'm much pickier about what I read these days, and anthologies with multiple authors are just too hit-and-miss. I don't usually buy them anymore unless there's a specific story I want to read. I don't even remember where that Catfantastic book came from, I probably picked it up at a used bookstore or something.

I feel the same way about cat stories. I love cats but I feel like fantasy stories about them are too cheesy. I have a book called Magicats! sitting on my shelf and I just cannot bring myself to read more than the first few pages.

Yeah, it's like the fantasy stories about cats use all the silly stereotypes that people who don't know anything about cats believe, so I spend too much time rolling my eyes to actually enjoy the stories. I might have enjoyed some of these stories more before I'd ever had a cat, because there was a lot I believed that was wrong.

Finished Book 60: *Clementine by Cherie Priest, read by Dina Pearlman and Victor Bevine
Adult, Steampunk, Audiobook, 5h46m

Finished Book 61: *The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente
Yound Adult, Fantasy, 256p

I don't remember where I heard about this book, but I can imagine putting it on my TBR list because of the title alone. And the cover.

One day, the Green Wind on his flying Leopard visits a young girl and offers to take her to Fairyland. September, bored with washing dishes and waiting for her mother to come home, agrees immediately and climbs on board, losing one shoe in the process. This will be important later.

This book is charming, hilarious, adorable, and just loads of fun. There are also wonderful illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

Finished Book 62: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Adult, Fantasy, 643p

An untrusting young thief with unusual abilities joins a rebellion.

Mistborn is an excellent book. I enjoy the unusual kind of magic in this fantasy world, the dynamics between the characters, and the mystery in the plot - they're fighting against something they don't really understand and don't know how to fight. The end is a little melodramatic, but everything is wrapped up enough so I am comfortable reading this as a stand-alone book, since I didn't care for the sequels.

Finished Book 63: *The Sarah Jane Adventures: Wraith World by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, read by Elisabeth Sladen
1h19m

63 / 150 books. 42% done.
30 / 75 *new books. 40% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
10998 / 43000 pages. 26% done.
Audiobooks: 6d4h59m

I already have Mistborn on my tbr pile, but the Valente book goes directly onto my wishlist!

Good choice, roni! It's a pretty quick read - it just took me a couple of hours - but it's darling.

I'm a bit behind on my reviews, but I wanted to share this picture of the cupcakes I made for my birthday party today:

Is it your birthday then? Happy, Happy Birthday! Hope you have a great party celebrations.

I have the Valente book on hold at the library--I think I'm second in line.

What ARE those cupcakes, anyway? They look delicious, but...enemy aliens?

It was my birthday last Sunday, but I had the party today since a lot of my friends were busy last weekend. The cupcakes are Daleks, which are in fact enemy aliens on Doctor Who :D

I loved that Valente book! It was just utterly adorable and charming. I hope you like it too!

I MUST share with you yesterday's post on Austenprose--I had no idea!

Friday Funnies: Pride and Prejudice and Dr. Who
17 June 2011 by Laurel Ann (Austenprose)
LOL! The movie trailer of the 2005 Pride & Prejudice is a YouTube phenom. It has been mashed up into so many other movie combinations: Harry Potter, Sailor Moon, Robin Hood, Vampire Diaries, Star Wars, Anastasia, North and South, and hundreds of others, that it is mind boggling. Check out this hilarious mash-up of P&P and Dr. Who. Whatever will they think up next?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdxsjq_SQds&feature=player_embedded

Happy Friday everyone. Break out the Austentini’s!

I need to get hold of The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. It looks terrific! Thanks for the recommendation, Blue.

ETA: Happy Belated Birthday!

Thanks, roni, and oh lord, hahaha, that was absolutely hilarious!

alcottacre - I hope you enjoy it! It's a great book. And thanks :)

Finished Book 64: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Adult, Fantasy, 592p

This was a reread and looking back at my previous review, I obviously enjoyed it more the first time. I still liked it this time, but the characters, instead of being fascinating and distinct, seemed extreme almost to the point of caricature. There are characters whose personalities changed beyond recognition in very short periods of time. And parts of the unique and otherwise fascinating magic system unfortunately don't make much sense.

I would still recommend this book, just not as strongly as I used it.

Finished Book 65: *Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction, 301p

With permission from the estate of H. Beam Piper, John Scalzi reimagined the story of Jack Holloway and Little Fuzzy.

This is the first book by Scalzi that found uneven. I loved the beginning and the end, but I didn't care for middle, when Jack was an ass to everyone for different (and apparently fluctuating) reasons. But it's a quick read and as I said, the beginning and end are great. I also recommend Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper, which has been a frequent reread for years.

65 / 150 books. 43% done.
31 / 75 *new books. 41% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
11891 / 43000 pages. 28% done.
Audiobooks: 6d4h59m

Currently Reading: Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Currently Listening To: A Soldier in Time by Nicholas Courtney

I read a really interesting review and contrast of the old and new stories, by someone who preferred the original but had really good reasons for it. If I can remember where I found it, I'll post it here. Hope you like Sunshine as much as I do.

I'd definitely be interested to read other views on it. I like the idea of the reboot, and I usually love Scalzi's writing, but something about this just didn't click for me.

Sunshine is pretty much my favorite book. I reread it at least once a year :)

Found it! Thank heavens for the "history" function, huh?

http://bnreview.barnesandnoble.com/t5/The-Speculator/Fuzzy-Nation/ba-p/5067?sour...

Let me know what you think of it.

That's really interesting! Thanks for the link. I agree with everything in that review, especially regarding the character changes. In the original book, I liked Jack Holloway and a lot of the other characters. In Fuzzy Nation, I didn't care for him at all and it's true, the other characters were much more black-and-white. And while I did like the big reveal at the end in Fuzzy Nation, I think I prefer the gradual build-up in Little Fuzzy.

Finished Book 66: ^*A Soldier in Time written and read by Nicholas Courtney
Adult, Non-fiction, Audiobook, 3h (approximate length)

Memoirs of Nicholas Courtney, best known for his recurring role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart on Doctor Who.

It's a fairly straightforward and (presumably) factual account of Courtney's life, focusing mainly on his career acting on stage and screen, with occasional digressions into personal relationships and thoughts and feelings about past events.

I imagine it might be rather dry to read to oneself (if it were available on paper), but hearing Courtney himself read it was amusing and enjoyable.

Finished Book 67: Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Adult, Fantasy, 405p

Sunshine is a reluctant heroine who would rather bake cinnamon rolls than kill vampires.

The world McKinley created for her is so fascinating (and terrifying) that I love reading about it and learning all the snippets of information that come up along with the story - what different kinds of demons are like (physically and socially), how using magic can effect the user, how Sunshine started baking in the first place, etc. These details make the world seem more solid and believable.

Sunshine has become one of my favorite books, and each time I read it I get something else out of it.

Finished Book 68: Terrier by Tamora Pierce, read by Susan Denicker
Beka Cooper, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, 15h3m

Terrier is a fun, fast-paced story about Beka Cooper, a former street urchin who is training for Dog (police) work. It's set several hundred years before the other Tortall books.

The book is set up as Beka's journal but reads like a first-person novel, and as with many of Pierce's heroines, Beka has special features and abilities which help her on her chosen path (icy blue eyes that people find disconcerting, magical talents that are useful and unique). It's an enjoyable book, though not without flaws, and a good set-up for the sequel Bloodhound, which is an excellent book.

Finished Book 69: *Uptown Local and Other Interventions by Diane Duane
Young Adult, Fantasy, Anthology, ebook, 662p (approximate; ebook had pagination issues)

A collection of short stories by Diane Duane, including two stories set in the Young Wizards universe.

As much as I love Duane's other books, I wanted to love this, too. But there's a reason she's published dozens of novels and few short stories: short stories are simply not her forte. The ones in this anthology not bad, the title story in particular is fun, but I would recommend this book only to dedicated fans.

Finished Book 70: Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce, read by Susan Denicker
Beka Cooper, book 2
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, 18h7m

As much as Kel (Protector of the Small) is still my favorite Pierce heroine, Bloodhound is the best book so far in the Tortall series, if not the best Pierce has ever written. Bloodhound is well-written with believable and interesting characters, a strong and intriguing plot, magic used occasionally and not as a constant crutch - and Pierce is not afraid to put characters in real, even deadly danger as fits the plot and setting.

I do have two minor technical issues with the book. The first is that, as with Terrier, Bloodhound is supposedly a journal but reads like a first-person novel. This doesn't really detract much from the book, though. The second is to do with the coles (counterfeit coins). The way it's implied that they're made wouldn't work, and also no "silver paint" could match real silver well enough to fool suspicious people. The latter probably wouldn't have come up if I wasn't so impressed with how Pierce dealt with metalworking in the Circle series, but as it is I was disappointed with that.

Those two things aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend the series to anyone who likes a fun fantasy read with a bit of crime drama mixed in.

70 / 150 books. 47% done.
33 / 75 *new books. 44% done.
2 / 5 ^non-fiction. 40% done.
12958 / 43000 pages. 30% done.
Audiobooks: 7d17h9m

I just finished reading Wizards at War and The Wizard of Mars, which have been in my tbr pile. July Juveniles and YA challenge motivated me to power through the 1100 pages. Do the two stories in the anthology add anything significant to the series? And now you can join the rest of us in waiting for Mastiff to be published!

They're peripheral. Uptown Local is a fun little Nita-and-Kit story (I'm bored. I'm bored, too. Let's go pester Tom and Carl!) and Theobroma is about chocolate. Did you hear, she finished the first draft of the next YW book? It's going to be called Games Wizards Play.

Terrier and Bloodhound are both rereads (I put an asterisk next to new reads) but yes, I am totally sitting here waiting for Mastiff :D

#211: I need to get that one read. It has been in the BlackHole far too long!

I've had Sunshine on my TBR pile for ages. One of these days....

I've also been holding off on Terrier because I wanted to wait until the whole series was finished, but I think it's close enough now, so I'll probably read it this summer.

Alcottacre, Zoe,

I adore Sunshine but it's not for everyone, a lot of people I know who've read it didn't care for it, mostly because they don't care for McKinley's writing style (and I see why, I guess, but I love it). I hope you two like it!

I couldn't resist reading Terrier and Bloodhound right off (then rereading them once or twice). One nice thing about Pierce's books is that there's never a cliffhanger or anything like that at the end. I really dislike cliffhangers at the ends of books.

#219: I really dislike cliffhangers at the ends of books.

I am with you there, Blue!

220 alcottacre - Right? I understand a cliffhanger at the end of a weekly tv show, because you want to give people something to talk about and pull them back next week and so on and so forth, and a week isn't all that long to wait. Even a cliffhanger at the end of a tv season, I don't like it, but I can understand it (as long as you know you're going to be renewed!).

But a cliffhanger at the end of a book? There's a minimum of a year before the next book comes out, sometimes two or three. A cliffhanger ending on a book doesn't hold the excitement or interest for that length of time, so I tend to forget about it or lose interest - or deliberately decide I want nothing to do with the series anymore.

I'm glad they're rare, or I would be a lot more interested in spoilers!

#221: I see far too many cliffhangers in books these days, especially the young adult books. I understand an author wanting to garner readership, but to me, it cheapens the relationship between author and reader if the author feels the need to pull the reader's strings like that. Just my two cents.

I haven't run into that many in YA. The only one I recall was in The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, which infuriated me and turned me off the whole series, so I never bothered to read the sequels (my review was all about the GIANT STUPID CLIFFHANGER and I had to go back and edit it later, heh).

There is a cliffhanger in Pegasus by Robin McKinley, but that's technically the first half of the book and she made it quite clear that there was going to be a cliffhanger because that was apparently the only place she could find to chop the story in two.

But these days if I hear a book has a cliffhanger, I tend to skip it or at least wait until the series is done before reading it, so it could be that I don't run into them because I manage to deliberately avoid them.

The most recent example that I have read is Rachel Caine's Morganville vampires series. I think that of the 6 books in the series I read, all of them ended on a cliffhanger of some sort. Very frustrating. I finished the main story arc and then quit reading the series at that point.

Finished Book 71: *Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Juvenile, Fantasy, 320p

A boy falls after his baby sister into a secret world under New York City.

Not a bad story, but I wish the protagonist was a little older. I had trouble suspending disbelief at the things he did with the age he was.

Finished Book 72: Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper
Adult, Science Fiction, ebook, 136p

A human living on another planet adopts an animal that turns out to be more than just an pet.

This is a book I have always liked. I admit that part of that is possibly due to the fact that the aliens are adorable little two-foot-high Ewok-like critters. I also just enjoy the exploration of first contact between humans and the new alien race, and the study of the alien culture. I mean, how do you deal with an intelligent species that's approximately the size of a baby, and just as cute?

The book is also nearly 50 years old at this point, so it's amusing to see those sort of retro-futeristic ideas of technology and social customs (no cell phones or internet, of course, but lots of smoking and "cocktail hour").

Finished Book 73: *Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
Young Adult, Fantasy, ebook, 318p

A country girl moves to the city and is befriended by the prince and the queen, one of whom isn't what they seem. Fairy tale bits mixed in.

I wanted to like this more than I did. But between the constant emphasis on looks and the silly way that people would sing instead of speaking, I had trouble even finishing it. I like musicals, but it just doesn't have the same effect on paper.

I did like the original world Levine created (singing aside), and I was especially interested in some of the nonhuman characters. It might have been more interesting if it had been used with its own story instead of trying to twist it to fit the fairy tale retelling.

73 / 150 books. 49% done.
35 / 75 *new books. 47% done.
2 / 5 ^non-fiction. 40% done.
13732 / 43000 pages. 32% done.
Audiobooks: 7d17h9m

I would have hated the cliffhanger at the end of Never Let Me Go, except that immediately following the end of the book there was an ad for the sequel that revealed far too much information. I'm not sure what they were thinking. I would have rushed to read the next one, but as it was I didn't much care.

I also try to wait until the sequel has been published before reading a book that's reputed to end in a cliffhanger.

That's awful! That's like when they show the "next week on (tv show)" immediately after an episode, and basically give the whole plot. No, I have no idea what people are thinking when they do that.

I wait on books with cliffhangers now, but I read the Knife of whatsit before anyone I knew had read it, so there was no way for me to know.

>228 _Zoe_: Wait...there's a sequel to Never Let Me Go?

>230 bell7: Oh, no, that was a typo. It was supposed to say The Knife of Never Letting Go.

>227 bluesalamanders: I felt the EXACT same way about Fairest. It was a super disappointing follow-up to Ella Enchanted, which was so good. The way the characters talked about ugliness vs. beauty was really strange.

>231 _Zoe_: haha OK that makes so much more sense now. I was pretty sure Never Let Me Go didn't leave much room for a sequel...

232 norabelle -

I've been hesitant to read Ella Enchanted, since Fairest was the first book by that author that I've read (and the movie was...not great). Maybe I will check it out.

#226: I enjoyed Little Fuzzy when I discovered it through LT a couple of years back :)

235 alcottacre - Did you read any of the sequels? There are several, some written by Piper, some not, but I particularly recommend Fuzzy Sapiens. The original copy of Little Fuzzy I read was actually an omnibus edition that included both and for a long time I didn't realize they were separate books.

#236: I did read at least one of the sequels, I know, but not sure of the title. I did not read any of the sequels not written by Piper, that I do know.

Finished Book 74: A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley
Young Adult, Fantasy, short stories, 192 pages

I like this better than Door in the Hedge (another anthology of Mckinley's short stories) - the stories here are more concrete, the characters are more realistic and easier to relate to.

The Healer
This takes place in Damar.
This may be my favorite story in a book where I like them all. It's about Lily, a girl who is born without the ability to speak. She has the Gift of healing and earns her place in the village and countryside where she grows up, but she can never forget what she doesn't have. Everything changes, however, when she meets a mage who can mindspeak.

The Stagman
This is also set in Damar.
Ruen's parents died when she was a baby and her uncle is to be Regent until she is of age, but of course he doesn't want to give up the power. Instead of just sending her away, he leaves her to die at the hands of a monster, who instead saves her and brings her to find her destiny.

Ruen frustrates me, because she's so totally passive most of the time, although given her upbringing I guess it makes sense. I do like the end, though.

Touk's House
Erana is adopted by a witch and grows up with her and her half-troll son Touk. She has to go away before she can realize what she has there to return to. I like Erana, she's smart and persistent.

Buttercups
Another one of my favorites, I read this story in a new way after reading how McKinley and her husband met. Pos's first wife died years ago and he never considered remarrying until he met Coral, a young woman new to the town. Then he began to doubt, as the difference in their ages and his lack of wealth made him more and more uncomfortable. What happens when a most unusual disaster strikes - and who caused it?

A Knot in the Grain
This story is in a totally different vein and it always seems odd to me, coming after four high fantasy tales. It's sort of a pre-urban fantasy story - it's not urban in the sense of big city and so on but it is set in modern times and has a very different feel than the others. Anabelle's family moves the summer before her junior year of high school and, partly as a protest, she picks the attic to be her new bedroom. Something happens that even she doesn't expect, though, when she finds the knot in the grain.

Finished Book 75: *A Curse As Dark As Gold by Elizabeth Bunch
Ebook, Young Adult, Fantasy, 246p

The new look at the Rumpelstiltskin folk tale (never one of my favorites) was interesting, but the way Charlotte completely and continuously refused to accept any help from her husband was frustrating throughout the story.

Finished Book 76: *Doctor's Orders by Diane Duane
Star Trek: TOS 50
Adult, Science Fiction, 291p

Through a series of more-or-less unconnected events - a mission to study new alien life, a conversation with the Captain, and an unexpected encounter with a hostile ship - Doctor McCoy is in command of the Enterprise when they come under attack.

Generally I don't read tv tie-in books, but Diane Duane is one of my favorite authors, so I decided to give it a try - and I'm glad I did. This is not only an enjoyably Star Trek story; it's also simply a good book. The aliens are fantastic, as they generally are in Duane's books, and the characterization of the Enterprise crew seems spot-on. I did skim through some of the battle scene toward the end, but that was due to a lack of interest, not a lack of quality.

Certainly recommended to people who enjoy Star Trek, especially if you happen to be a Diane Duane fan as well.

76 / 150 books. 51% done.
37 / 75 *new books. 49% done.
2 / 5 ^non-fiction. 40% done.
14461 / 43000 pages. 34% done.
Audiobooks: 7d17h9m

Congratulations on hitting 75 - and beyond!

Ditto! Congrats on reaching the 75 book mark, and you are on a roll. I liked the Robin McKinley book too. And I really like Diane Duane's writing--especially her Door Into... series but also her Young Wizards series, but since also I don't read Star Trek books either (or other tie-in books), I've never read any of hers either. Have you read Omnitopia Dawn yet? I'm toying with making it book #100, but the first page didn't turn me on last night. ;-)

Congrats on reaching 75!

Congrats!

alcottacre, Zoe, newt - Thanks!

Roni - I love the Young Wizards series, but I'm a bit stalled on the Door Into books. They're okay, but they're not my favorites. I need to pick up the second one again and keep reading it sometime.

Yeah, I don't generally read tie-in books (with the exception of Timothy Zahn's Star Wars books) but I found a stack of Duane's Star Trek books at a used bookstore a few weeks ago, so I grabbed them all. Apparently it's just up her alley, especially with the aliens - she does nonhuman intelligences so well, and I definitely caught echoes of some of familiar YW characters and themes. I'm looking forward to reading the other books.

I read Omnitopia Dawn last October when it came out. I remember checking out the New SF section in the bookstore and just standing there, staring at the book, rereading the author over and over again, then checking the back flap to make sure it really was her, because I hadn't heard anything about a new book coming out, heh. I liked it a lot, although not so much that I've read it again yet. I believe there's a sequel planned; I'll probably reread it when that's coming out.

Congratulations, Bluesally! You Did It! and its only August. Good reading time left in the year.