List of books I've read so far in 2007
This is part of a list I've been keeping for a few years. I've put books I was rereading in brackets (when I've remembered to list them at all). I give short comments for some, mostly to remind myself of what the book's about.
Elizabeth Moon, Engaging the Enemy [also Trading in Danger and Marque and Reprisal] The story of Ky Vatta continues to be compelling reading.
Gail Carson Levine, Fairest-nice retelling of Snow White-even further from original fairy tale than Ella Enchanted. Takes place in neighboring kingdom, Ayortha (Char visits Ayortha in Ella, doesn’t he?).
Gaits of heaven : a dog lover's mystery Conant, Susan, 1946- --most recent; Holly and Steve are married; murder in dysfunctional family of therapists.
Victory, by Susan Cooper-- Good mingling of lives of young girl who moved with family from England to New England and boy on Nelson’s ship.
Larklight, or, The revenge of the white spiders!, or, To Saturn's rings and back! : a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space Reeve, Philip. -a cross between Joan Aiken and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Quite good.
[Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity’s Death-delightful, cozy mystery and romance]
Midnight for Charlie Bone, Nimmo, Jenny [sound recording]-obvious similarities with Harry Potter. Some things are better.
[Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Fistful of Sky-third book about the Families first introduced in the terrific Thread That Binds the Bones]
The Looking Glass wars Beddor, Frank. Hm. Interesting.
Beowulf [sound recording] Heaney, Seamus. Very good.
The tenth power Constable, Kate, 1966- Third of trilogy that started with The Waterless Sea (see above). Haven’t read 2nd book.
A meeting at Corvallis, Stirling, S. M.
[Curse of Chalion; Paladin of Souls; Mairelon the Magician; Magician’s Ward]
Sword and sorceress XXI Bradley, Marion Zimmer.
[Grand Tour; Mislaid Magician]
Four British Fantasists: Place and Culture in the Children’s Fantasies of Penelope Lively, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones, and Susan Cooper, by Charles Butler [who posts on Suzette Haden Elgin’s Livejournal]. Quite good-so far I agree with most of his observations, although mostly he is presenting biography, not literary criticism. Occasionally illuminating-evidently Alan Garner had not read the Lord of the Rings when he wrote Weirdstone. Continues well argued and persuasive.
[Dorothy Sayers, Clouds of Witness, etc., Presumption of Death]
[Robin McKinley, Outlaws of Sherwood]
[Emma Bull, Finder]
[Nina Kiriki Hoffman, The Thread that Binds the Bones]
[Terry Pratchett, Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky]
[Susan Cooper, Dark is Rising, sound recording]
[Briggs, Dragon Bones, Dragon Blood]
Peters, Tomb of the Golden Bird, sound recording
Miracle, and other Christmas stories Willis, Connie.
A drowned maiden's hair : a melodrama Schlitz, Laura Amy. Quite good story of a spunky orphan, spiritualism, a bereaved mother, a deceitful but charming medium
Atherton : the house of power Carman, Patrick. Interesting, but perhaps too reliant on gimmicks designed to appeal to teens (secret codes to websites, etc.)
James Alan Gardner, Expendable (Festina Ramos gets sent to planet where Explorers have been disappearing with loony Admiral Chee), Vigilant (narrator’s father was hero doctor of earlier Oolom plague; world-soul starts talking to her after she joins the Vigil), Trapped (quest on left-behind, non-technological Earth involves Explorers, nanites, etc.), Radiant. I read Commitment Hour some time ago and really liked it, but hadn’t gotten around to reading any more Gardner until now. Very enjoyable; not Bujold-good, but good.
[Hogfather]
[Dark Lord of Derkhelm, Year of the Griffin]
Charles De Lint, Blue Girl
Diana Wynne Jones, Hexwood
Charlotte McLeod, Vane Pursuit-amusing mystery.
Lois MacMaster Bujold, The Sharing Knife: Legacy-yay!
[Pratchett, Witches Abroad]
[Bujold, Hallowed Hunt, audiobook]
[Bujold, Paladin of Souls, audiobook]
Charlotte MacLeod, The Resurrection Man Art detectives in Boston
Barbara Hambly, Circle of the Moon-Ancient Egyptian-type society and landscape; men can no longer work magic but women now can. Sequel to Sisters of the Raven, which I haven’t read yet but I see that we have on the shelf.
Cokie Roberts, Founding Mothers [well, I've started it]
The family trade Stross, Charles. Interesting parallel worlds/alternate histories, but rather gory.
The hidden family Stross, Charles.
Unsolicited / a booklover's mystery Kaewert, Julie. It grew on me; now that I’ve finished it, it reminds me a bit of Dick Francis and a bit of the Aunt Dimity mysteries.
Before & after getting your puppy : the positive approach to raising a happy, healthy, & well-behaved dog Dunbar, Ian, 1947- Hm. Some good advice and techniques, but read the caveats in many reviews on Amazon. Too apt to promote the excluded third fallacy (“if you don’t get this absolutely right the first time and always, your dog will die, abandoned, at the pound!”); too alarmist. But actual training advice seems good-positive reinforcement, motivate with kibble.
Alison Croggon, The Naming (1st Book of Pellinor)-Way too derivative from Tolkien-style (which is mostly competent but not perfect), phrasings, settings, situations, events, over and over again evoke The Lord of the Rings (let’s see, we’ve had (under other names) the Barrowdowns, Black Riders, a dark lord, Lothlorien, Galadriel, Rivendell, Rangers, and lots of momentary turns of phrase straight out of Tolkien). And at the beginning at least the characters displayed too much angst, inconsistencies (one character is gentle and considerate of the girl’s feelings-except suddenly when he’s impatient and brusque for no apparent reason). But in spite of all this I am enjoying it.
Dick Francis, Under Orders-3rd Sid Halley
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-really quite good; satisfying ending to the series. She does some things in the final volume that redeem issues I had with the previous one.
Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief-rereading-I made my daughter read these and she is loving them-we’re trying to analyze why these books, which are more than poignant-perhaps heart-wringing-are not angsty, and I think it’s because Gen does not overreact-if anything, he underreacts. We see what he does, we’re not told about how he is feeling.
[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (reread after seeing movie); Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]
Austenland : a novel Hale, Shannon-rather fun wallow in Austen’s characters both for the reader and the protagonist, smitten with Colin Firth’s Darcy, who goes to an Austen-themed resort for 2 weeks to get her fantasy hero out of her system.
[Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle]
[Jane Louise Curry, Poor Tom’s Ghost]
[Jones, Ogre Downstairs]
Caddy ever after McKay, Hilary.
Indigo's star McKay, Hilary.
Firebirds-short story anthology
Hilary McKay, Saffy’s Angel (first of Casson family books), Dog Friday, Amber Cat, Dolphin Luck (three books about Robin and his mother and their neighbors the Robinsons-rather younger than the Casson books, but also quite good).
Ann Coburn, Glint-linked stories of girl’s brother’s disappearance in modern British town and fantasy heroine the siblings used to pretend. Reasonably good, but doesn’t make as much use of the link as it could. Interesting idea of lighter-than-air, gathering-energy-from-the-sun dragons in fantasy world.
Permanent Rose McKay, Hilary
Dead as a doornail Harris, Charlaine
Definitely dead Harris, Charlaine
The tell-tale horse : a novel Brown, Rita Mae
An ice cold grave Harris, Charlaine
All together dead Harris, Charlaine.
The world is flat : a brief history of the twenty-first century Friedman, Thomas L. [well, I read some of it before it was due at the library]
The wrath of Mulgarath [sound recording] DiTerlizzi, Tony.
An unwilling bride [sound recording] Beverley, Jo.
White night : a novel of the Dresden files Butcher, Jim
Emma Bull, Territory-very good, but not as engaging as War for the Oaks. The West of Wyatt Earp with subtle magic.
Patricia Briggs, Blood Bound-sequel to Moon Called
[Bujold, Spirit Ring]
Diane Duane, Wizards at War
Diana Wynne Jones, A Sudden Wild Magic
[Chamber of Secrets-book on tape]
[Prisoner of Azkaban-book on tape]
Geoffrey Trease, Snared Nightingale--I'm liking it a lot
Elizabeth Moon, Engaging the Enemy [also Trading in Danger and Marque and Reprisal] The story of Ky Vatta continues to be compelling reading.
Gail Carson Levine, Fairest-nice retelling of Snow White-even further from original fairy tale than Ella Enchanted. Takes place in neighboring kingdom, Ayortha (Char visits Ayortha in Ella, doesn’t he?).
Gaits of heaven : a dog lover's mystery Conant, Susan, 1946- --most recent; Holly and Steve are married; murder in dysfunctional family of therapists.
Victory, by Susan Cooper-- Good mingling of lives of young girl who moved with family from England to New England and boy on Nelson’s ship.
Larklight, or, The revenge of the white spiders!, or, To Saturn's rings and back! : a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space Reeve, Philip. -a cross between Joan Aiken and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Quite good.
[Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity’s Death-delightful, cozy mystery and romance]
Midnight for Charlie Bone, Nimmo, Jenny [sound recording]-obvious similarities with Harry Potter. Some things are better.
[Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Fistful of Sky-third book about the Families first introduced in the terrific Thread That Binds the Bones]
The Looking Glass wars Beddor, Frank. Hm. Interesting.
Beowulf [sound recording] Heaney, Seamus. Very good.
The tenth power Constable, Kate, 1966- Third of trilogy that started with The Waterless Sea (see above). Haven’t read 2nd book.
A meeting at Corvallis, Stirling, S. M.
[Curse of Chalion; Paladin of Souls; Mairelon the Magician; Magician’s Ward]
Sword and sorceress XXI Bradley, Marion Zimmer.
[Grand Tour; Mislaid Magician]
Four British Fantasists: Place and Culture in the Children’s Fantasies of Penelope Lively, Alan Garner, Diana Wynne Jones, and Susan Cooper, by Charles Butler [who posts on Suzette Haden Elgin’s Livejournal]. Quite good-so far I agree with most of his observations, although mostly he is presenting biography, not literary criticism. Occasionally illuminating-evidently Alan Garner had not read the Lord of the Rings when he wrote Weirdstone. Continues well argued and persuasive.
[Dorothy Sayers, Clouds of Witness, etc., Presumption of Death]
[Robin McKinley, Outlaws of Sherwood]
[Emma Bull, Finder]
[Nina Kiriki Hoffman, The Thread that Binds the Bones]
[Terry Pratchett, Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky]
[Susan Cooper, Dark is Rising, sound recording]
[Briggs, Dragon Bones, Dragon Blood]
Peters, Tomb of the Golden Bird, sound recording
Miracle, and other Christmas stories Willis, Connie.
A drowned maiden's hair : a melodrama Schlitz, Laura Amy. Quite good story of a spunky orphan, spiritualism, a bereaved mother, a deceitful but charming medium
Atherton : the house of power Carman, Patrick. Interesting, but perhaps too reliant on gimmicks designed to appeal to teens (secret codes to websites, etc.)
James Alan Gardner, Expendable (Festina Ramos gets sent to planet where Explorers have been disappearing with loony Admiral Chee), Vigilant (narrator’s father was hero doctor of earlier Oolom plague; world-soul starts talking to her after she joins the Vigil), Trapped (quest on left-behind, non-technological Earth involves Explorers, nanites, etc.), Radiant. I read Commitment Hour some time ago and really liked it, but hadn’t gotten around to reading any more Gardner until now. Very enjoyable; not Bujold-good, but good.
[Hogfather]
[Dark Lord of Derkhelm, Year of the Griffin]
Charles De Lint, Blue Girl
Diana Wynne Jones, Hexwood
Charlotte McLeod, Vane Pursuit-amusing mystery.
Lois MacMaster Bujold, The Sharing Knife: Legacy-yay!
[Pratchett, Witches Abroad]
[Bujold, Hallowed Hunt, audiobook]
[Bujold, Paladin of Souls, audiobook]
Charlotte MacLeod, The Resurrection Man Art detectives in Boston
Barbara Hambly, Circle of the Moon-Ancient Egyptian-type society and landscape; men can no longer work magic but women now can. Sequel to Sisters of the Raven, which I haven’t read yet but I see that we have on the shelf.
Cokie Roberts, Founding Mothers [well, I've started it]
The family trade Stross, Charles. Interesting parallel worlds/alternate histories, but rather gory.
The hidden family Stross, Charles.
Unsolicited / a booklover's mystery Kaewert, Julie. It grew on me; now that I’ve finished it, it reminds me a bit of Dick Francis and a bit of the Aunt Dimity mysteries.
Before & after getting your puppy : the positive approach to raising a happy, healthy, & well-behaved dog Dunbar, Ian, 1947- Hm. Some good advice and techniques, but read the caveats in many reviews on Amazon. Too apt to promote the excluded third fallacy (“if you don’t get this absolutely right the first time and always, your dog will die, abandoned, at the pound!”); too alarmist. But actual training advice seems good-positive reinforcement, motivate with kibble.
Alison Croggon, The Naming (1st Book of Pellinor)-Way too derivative from Tolkien-style (which is mostly competent but not perfect), phrasings, settings, situations, events, over and over again evoke The Lord of the Rings (let’s see, we’ve had (under other names) the Barrowdowns, Black Riders, a dark lord, Lothlorien, Galadriel, Rivendell, Rangers, and lots of momentary turns of phrase straight out of Tolkien). And at the beginning at least the characters displayed too much angst, inconsistencies (one character is gentle and considerate of the girl’s feelings-except suddenly when he’s impatient and brusque for no apparent reason). But in spite of all this I am enjoying it.
Dick Francis, Under Orders-3rd Sid Halley
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-really quite good; satisfying ending to the series. She does some things in the final volume that redeem issues I had with the previous one.
Megan Whalen Turner, The Thief-rereading-I made my daughter read these and she is loving them-we’re trying to analyze why these books, which are more than poignant-perhaps heart-wringing-are not angsty, and I think it’s because Gen does not overreact-if anything, he underreacts. We see what he does, we’re not told about how he is feeling.
[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (reread after seeing movie); Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]
Austenland : a novel Hale, Shannon-rather fun wallow in Austen’s characters both for the reader and the protagonist, smitten with Colin Firth’s Darcy, who goes to an Austen-themed resort for 2 weeks to get her fantasy hero out of her system.
[Jones, Howl’s Moving Castle]
[Jane Louise Curry, Poor Tom’s Ghost]
[Jones, Ogre Downstairs]
Caddy ever after McKay, Hilary.
Indigo's star McKay, Hilary.
Firebirds-short story anthology
Hilary McKay, Saffy’s Angel (first of Casson family books), Dog Friday, Amber Cat, Dolphin Luck (three books about Robin and his mother and their neighbors the Robinsons-rather younger than the Casson books, but also quite good).
Ann Coburn, Glint-linked stories of girl’s brother’s disappearance in modern British town and fantasy heroine the siblings used to pretend. Reasonably good, but doesn’t make as much use of the link as it could. Interesting idea of lighter-than-air, gathering-energy-from-the-sun dragons in fantasy world.
Permanent Rose McKay, Hilary
Dead as a doornail Harris, Charlaine
Definitely dead Harris, Charlaine
The tell-tale horse : a novel Brown, Rita Mae
An ice cold grave Harris, Charlaine
All together dead Harris, Charlaine.
The world is flat : a brief history of the twenty-first century Friedman, Thomas L. [well, I read some of it before it was due at the library]
The wrath of Mulgarath [sound recording] DiTerlizzi, Tony.
An unwilling bride [sound recording] Beverley, Jo.
White night : a novel of the Dresden files Butcher, Jim
Emma Bull, Territory-very good, but not as engaging as War for the Oaks. The West of Wyatt Earp with subtle magic.
Patricia Briggs, Blood Bound-sequel to Moon Called
[Bujold, Spirit Ring]
Diane Duane, Wizards at War
Diana Wynne Jones, A Sudden Wild Magic
[Chamber of Secrets-book on tape]
[Prisoner of Azkaban-book on tape]
Geoffrey Trease, Snared Nightingale--I'm liking it a lot