Bah, etc.
I tell you,after watching staff members decorate the Children's room, the Teen room, the front desk, the window with trees and bows and pretty wrapped packages, after dealing with laser scanners with reindeer horns and Santa hats, I am this close to putting up a book display centered upon "Atheism, Fuck Yeah!"
Of course, when I groused to my fellow librarians that for ten years now I've been eagerly waiting for the lawsuit over spending taxpayer money on promoting sectarian religion, as always I received frowns and cold shoulders and "my Jewish / Muslim / Hindu friends just luurve their Christmas trees!"
Well, pal, I may be a Christian, who loves her Christmas tree (starting December 24th and not one day sooner), but I desperately wish that there were just one refuge from the relentless barrage of Holly Jolly Capitalism.
And so I remain a voice crying in the wilderness...
Anyways, here's what I've been reading:
Fiction
Queen of Dragons by Shana Abe.
This series just keeps getting better. The hero is our usual domineering alphole (and worse, one of those "Woe is me, burdened with tragic responsibility of absolute rule!"types), but the heroine makes up for him. I really regretted the insta-love fated mates more than ever, as Maricara kicks ass and takes names in a proper dragon queen fashion; but fortunately, this installment was much less about the romance and more about the ongoing plot arc, as the dragon-hunters invade Darkfrith and start taking hostages. I didn't even mind the cliff-hangerish conclusion, and am moderately enthusiastic for the next installment. B+
Open Season by Linda Howard.
Another in my mini-glom of “librarian romances,” but not terribly “librarian-ish”. Nice to see a modern romance perpetuating the “prissy old maid librarian” stereotype, with a side order of “repressed Wild Girl underneath her starch.” Ah, well, at least our heroine was computer-savvy. For the rest of it, the hero was dull, the suspense was not, the villain did practically everything but twirl his mustache and kick puppies. Meh. C.
A Kiss at Midnight, by Eloisa James.
First in her “Fairy Tales” series. I’m a sucker for fairy tale retellings, so I hunted this one up even by being unimpressed with the second in the series. As the title suggests, this is a pretty much straight-up Cinderella story (sans magic) set in a vaguely Regency-ish England. But the history is all wallpaper, and the characters make for thin glue. I suppose I appreciate that the heroine had a reason for allowing herself to be bullied, and didn’t wait around passively for her prince; and the dialogue was full of frothy snark, quite up to James’s usual standard. But the lack of any real villain, or tension, or chemistry between the leads left this pretty forgettable. C
A Lot Like Love by Julie James.
Let me say up front I’m not too fond of contemporary romances, but I’m a hopeless Julie James fangirl. Her snappy dialogue makes me laugh; her heroines are never doormats or Too Stupid To Live; and whether she’s writing about the law, computers, Hollywood or wine, I always get the feeling she knows her stuff. This one isn’t my favorite of her books; I’ll confess that the constant pop cultural references annoyed me, Jordan gives off more than a whiff of Poor Little Rich Girl and Nick is pretty much an unreconstructed Cro-Magnon. Yet the plot was suspenseful and made sense, and I am hooked by the heroine’s blatant sequel-bait brother. And call me shallow, but that dress on the cover is gorgeous. B
Heroes at Risk by Moira Moore.
Oh, Lee and Taro, how I adore you; I could cheerfully spend hundreds of pages just watching the two of you stumble into and out of crises while simultaneously snarking at and lusting over each other. Which is good, since that's pretty much all that happens here, again. Plotting isn't Moore's strong suit, but the overall arc of the series is slowly coming into shape, as the political intrigues get even more twisty and the underlying magic of the world unfolds unexpected ramifications. Oh, and one or two scenes of truly swoon-worthy romanticism from Taro. *sigh* A-
All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen.
Oh, how can I resist? Twelfth Night crossed with The Importance of Being Earnest, with a yummy steampunk gloss. It's gimmicky, it's shallow, it is absolutely over-the-top, and yet it somehow hangs on to the end by the power of its sheer glorious audacity. Far more fun than it has any right to be. A
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.
Yes, yes, I know I am the last one on the bus for this one. But can you blame me? A big fat fantasy novel with a truly unique magical system, pulling out every trope in the catalogue and turning it inside out and upside down. Plus a crackerjack caper plot with pitch-perfect larger than life characters; obviously this is a book designed to break my heart, by raising expectations that cannot possibly be met.
And they weren't met. They were surpassed. A+
Non-fiction
That crumpled paper was due last week: helping disorganized and distracted boys succeed in A and life by Ana Homayoun.
I see a lot of these parenting manuals cross my desk every month, but this is the first one I have ever checked out. Homayoun’s observations are dead accurate, but also non-judgmental; her suggestions for developing organizational and coping skills are specific, practical, and don’t call for more money or energy than your average parent can summon. But do they work? Jury’s still out on that one; check for updates in the months ahead. (B, with a possibility of being upgraded to an A if things work out.)
Graphic Novels
Dengeki Daisy Vol. 2-6. by Kyousuke Motomi.
Why am I even bothering with this? Ridiculous premise and every trope in the shojo manual; and for a storyline that relies on computer hacking, surprisingly technically illiterate. Yet I am for some reason addicted to its over-the-top emo angst… Eh, it’s decent brain-dead bathtub reading. B-
Audio Books
What's So Funny? by Donald Westlake, read by
Well, if I'm in the mood for caper novels, nobody will scratch that itch like Dortmunder & Co. This is a late entry in the series, and characterization seems a little … off, somehow. Perhaps it's because the gang is operating under commission this time (to steal a priceless gold chess set out of an impregnable vault); perhaps it's because we know everybody and their quirks so well that nothing is a surprise; perhaps it's because the level of quirkiness has to keep being ratcheted up; but fer cryin out lout, John actually smiles a couple of times in this one. Machts nichts, even on an off day, Westlake is ten times the fun of practically any other author. A
Of course, when I groused to my fellow librarians that for ten years now I've been eagerly waiting for the lawsuit over spending taxpayer money on promoting sectarian religion, as always I received frowns and cold shoulders and "my Jewish / Muslim / Hindu friends just luurve their Christmas trees!"
Well, pal, I may be a Christian, who loves her Christmas tree (starting December 24th and not one day sooner), but I desperately wish that there were just one refuge from the relentless barrage of Holly Jolly Capitalism.
And so I remain a voice crying in the wilderness...
Anyways, here's what I've been reading:
Fiction
Queen of Dragons by Shana Abe.
This series just keeps getting better. The hero is our usual domineering alphole (and worse, one of those "Woe is me, burdened with tragic responsibility of absolute rule!"types), but the heroine makes up for him. I really regretted the insta-love fated mates more than ever, as Maricara kicks ass and takes names in a proper dragon queen fashion; but fortunately, this installment was much less about the romance and more about the ongoing plot arc, as the dragon-hunters invade Darkfrith and start taking hostages. I didn't even mind the cliff-hangerish conclusion, and am moderately enthusiastic for the next installment. B+
Open Season by Linda Howard.
Another in my mini-glom of “librarian romances,” but not terribly “librarian-ish”. Nice to see a modern romance perpetuating the “prissy old maid librarian” stereotype, with a side order of “repressed Wild Girl underneath her starch.” Ah, well, at least our heroine was computer-savvy. For the rest of it, the hero was dull, the suspense was not, the villain did practically everything but twirl his mustache and kick puppies. Meh. C.
A Kiss at Midnight, by Eloisa James.
First in her “Fairy Tales” series. I’m a sucker for fairy tale retellings, so I hunted this one up even by being unimpressed with the second in the series. As the title suggests, this is a pretty much straight-up Cinderella story (sans magic) set in a vaguely Regency-ish England. But the history is all wallpaper, and the characters make for thin glue. I suppose I appreciate that the heroine had a reason for allowing herself to be bullied, and didn’t wait around passively for her prince; and the dialogue was full of frothy snark, quite up to James’s usual standard. But the lack of any real villain, or tension, or chemistry between the leads left this pretty forgettable. C
A Lot Like Love by Julie James.
Let me say up front I’m not too fond of contemporary romances, but I’m a hopeless Julie James fangirl. Her snappy dialogue makes me laugh; her heroines are never doormats or Too Stupid To Live; and whether she’s writing about the law, computers, Hollywood or wine, I always get the feeling she knows her stuff. This one isn’t my favorite of her books; I’ll confess that the constant pop cultural references annoyed me, Jordan gives off more than a whiff of Poor Little Rich Girl and Nick is pretty much an unreconstructed Cro-Magnon. Yet the plot was suspenseful and made sense, and I am hooked by the heroine’s blatant sequel-bait brother. And call me shallow, but that dress on the cover is gorgeous. B
Heroes at Risk by Moira Moore.
Oh, Lee and Taro, how I adore you; I could cheerfully spend hundreds of pages just watching the two of you stumble into and out of crises while simultaneously snarking at and lusting over each other. Which is good, since that's pretty much all that happens here, again. Plotting isn't Moore's strong suit, but the overall arc of the series is slowly coming into shape, as the political intrigues get even more twisty and the underlying magic of the world unfolds unexpected ramifications. Oh, and one or two scenes of truly swoon-worthy romanticism from Taro. *sigh* A-
All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen.
Oh, how can I resist? Twelfth Night crossed with The Importance of Being Earnest, with a yummy steampunk gloss. It's gimmicky, it's shallow, it is absolutely over-the-top, and yet it somehow hangs on to the end by the power of its sheer glorious audacity. Far more fun than it has any right to be. A
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.
Yes, yes, I know I am the last one on the bus for this one. But can you blame me? A big fat fantasy novel with a truly unique magical system, pulling out every trope in the catalogue and turning it inside out and upside down. Plus a crackerjack caper plot with pitch-perfect larger than life characters; obviously this is a book designed to break my heart, by raising expectations that cannot possibly be met.
And they weren't met. They were surpassed. A+
Non-fiction
That crumpled paper was due last week: helping disorganized and distracted boys succeed in A and life by Ana Homayoun.
I see a lot of these parenting manuals cross my desk every month, but this is the first one I have ever checked out. Homayoun’s observations are dead accurate, but also non-judgmental; her suggestions for developing organizational and coping skills are specific, practical, and don’t call for more money or energy than your average parent can summon. But do they work? Jury’s still out on that one; check for updates in the months ahead. (B, with a possibility of being upgraded to an A if things work out.)
Graphic Novels
Dengeki Daisy Vol. 2-6. by Kyousuke Motomi.
Why am I even bothering with this? Ridiculous premise and every trope in the shojo manual; and for a storyline that relies on computer hacking, surprisingly technically illiterate. Yet I am for some reason addicted to its over-the-top emo angst… Eh, it’s decent brain-dead bathtub reading. B-
Audio Books
What's So Funny? by Donald Westlake, read by
Well, if I'm in the mood for caper novels, nobody will scratch that itch like Dortmunder & Co. This is a late entry in the series, and characterization seems a little … off, somehow. Perhaps it's because the gang is operating under commission this time (to steal a priceless gold chess set out of an impregnable vault); perhaps it's because we know everybody and their quirks so well that nothing is a surprise; perhaps it's because the level of quirkiness has to keep being ratcheted up; but fer cryin out lout, John actually smiles a couple of times in this one. Machts nichts, even on an off day, Westlake is ten times the fun of practically any other author. A