I read Deerskin, by Robin McKinley, on my way back to the States after my vacation this November. A more different book - stylistically, thematically, worldly - than Changeless, I do not think I could have picked, even had I tried.

( Deerskin )

In early November, Doyle and I went on a Mediterranean cruise, from Barcelona to the West coast of Italy, and the Southern coast of France. It was lovely, aside from the monstrous jetlag. I took pictures of Chateu d'If, and am trying to figure out how to put words on a 100x100 icon such that they're legible ( Read more... )

If you're wondering why these things are taking so long, blame Dorothy Dunnett and Francis Crawford of Lymond. Blaming Lymond in particular seems to be a time-honored tradition, so you'd only be joining in. Otherwise, the book binge continues! Once again, spoilers in the discussion of series books, but nothing major.

( 3. Chronicles of Elantra (the Cast in books) by Michelle Sagara )

My brain wanted to go on vacation for most of December. It is unfortunate that it only really got its wish on the 24th, but even before that I wasn't accomplishing much because I was binging on books. Series, really, because I don't think there's one that I've read that's entirely stand-alone. This post is going to be Part I of an ongoing series ( Read more... )

How, oh how, have I passed almost 27 years (yes, I know I'm a baby) and not truly learned to appreciate Leonard Cohen until Saturday night, I shall never know. That mistake, however, has been corrected ( Read more... )

At Readercon almost two years ago, sdn pulled me over after a panel and said "You like Megan Whalen Turner? Megan loves Elizabeth Wein. You should read Elizabeth Wein." (Henceforth: eegatland.) Ok, I said ( Read more... )

Apparently all the talk of slash and yaoi annoyed matociquala away from reading reviews. Which is a shame, I think, because I believe in positive reinforcement. And this might be my favorite of her books to date.

I'll try not to let the OMG!SQUEEEE!!! and drool overrun as I type, but no promises.

I wasn't going to get Carnival until after the New Year. ( Read more... )

I've been feeling slightly sick of late, and thus more than slightly lethargic. So this afternoon I put my new Persuasion DVD in and watched.

I can't really nitpick at all. I loved it, not with the same passion one loves Pride and Prejudice, but with a softness that comes from it being a quieter, more mature love story. I loved the wardrobe ( Read more... )

One of the weird things about this book is how long it's taken me to really figure out what I think of it. In fact, it wasn't until I was sitting at the sushi bar two hours ago that it hit me.

For me, Blood and Iron, is a problem book. matociquala has previously stated that it's a story told from the point-of-view of a villain, and that might cause people ( Read more... )

Ursula Le Guin has an odd effect on me. I begin reading expecting to have difficulty with the story - it'll be too "hard sf" (more on what constitutes that in another entry, perhaps), or too dated, or I don't know what. It probably stems from my inability to truly get into reading A Wizard of Earthsea - on the surface it reads as perhaps a bit ( Read more... )