So believe in streetwise angel, in booksmart devil.
Final book reviews from 2009! Cut for his AND her pleasure!
#38
The Codex
Douglas Preston
An exciting thriller from the team that I mentioned in an earlier update, except Preston is going solo on this one (but Child still had some input, based on the Acknowledgements from the author). Three brothers, who could not be more different, are challenged by their recently-deceased father’s will to work together in order to find his massive, priceless collection of art treasures that he has hidden away from them, along with his body. Naturally, the brothers decide to work AGAINST each other, and chaos ensues! It’s a rather exciting romp, and with some rather unexpected (and some, to be honest, really expected) twists.
This book has hints of Indiana Jones about it, and is a pretty good take on action-adventure reading. Although I will say, there were parts that I was a tad bored of the endless slogging through a tropical swamp with the incessant mosquitoes and such, but since that’s the way the characters are meant to have felt, I suppose that’s just good writing, heh. Recommended for thriller fans!
#39
Kushiel's Mercy
Jacqueline Carey
A re-read! In the interests of time, I think that I shall just refer you to this entry from 2008, mmmkay, my little sugar dumplings?
#40, #41, #42
Blood Brothers, The Hollow, The Pagan Stone
Nora Roberts
A traditional Nora Roberts trilogy, featuring handsome brooding men and a blonde, a brunette and a redhead, all with emotional baggage. This particular plot revolves around a demonic spirit, with blood ties to all of the main characters, who is about to unleash holy hell on their small town with a Salem-esque history. The "Sign of 7" trilogy refers to the seven generations between the original “Event” and the reappearance in 1977 (more 7’s), and every 7 years the demon gets stronger and the townspeople go nuts. It’s complicated. But entertaining! Naturally, there’s all the witty banter and perfect sex one comes to expect from Ms. Roberts, as well. Just so that the bloody details don’t get you too down.
Recommended for Nora Roberts and other romance-novel fans, but I doubt anyone else, especially with erudite tastes, would go near these books. However, they were entertaining reading over the Thanksgiving weekend!
#43
The Prestige
Christopher Priest
I had to read this book after renting the movie and loving it. I don’t know that I enjoyed the book as much, because the storylines are not being told in a consecutive time frame, but jumps around between a couple of different generations. Having seen the movie, I knew what to expect, and what to watch out for, in terms of key situations and words. I didn’t particularly care for the "later generation" story, which the movie left out. It’s a pretty good thriller, but it’s very ambiguous as to who is the villain, since the events are told from both sides. And we all know, every story has two sides to it! As someone who enjoys having a hero to root for and a villain to love to hate, sometimes this irritates me, but it’s just a personal preference.
A pretty good read, recommended for those who like “smart” books and thrillers that are not of the usual mold.
#44
The Red Tent
Anita Diamant
Highly recommended by friends who have read this, I picked it up at Powell’s over Thanksgiving. It’s the story of The Rape of Dinah from the Old Testament, and in a Marion Zimmer Bradley-esque way, retold from the female viewpoint. The titular "red tent" referred to the special tent that all of the women retreated to during their moontimes, and allowed them some separation from the menfolk. Dinah grew up in a very female-empowered environment this way, which lasted all her life, long after her "rape" and subsequent consquences by her brothers.
Definitely recommended! Men, I don’t think, would enjoy AS MUCH, but that’s not to say they couldn’t enjoy the new viewpoint. Fans of The Mists of Avalon and other such reads will also enjoy this book, I think.
#45
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown
AHAHAHAHAH this was crap. And I say that as a rather sheepish fan of The Da Vinci Code
Go watch some porn or pick your nose or make fire by rubbing sticks or anything else more productive than reading this book.
#46
The Crystal Cave
Mary Stewart
A variant on the Arthurian legends, this is the story of Merlin, as a young man unaware of his background in post-Roman Britain. Rather reminded me of The Skystone by Jack Whyte, but I don’t think I enjoyed it nearly as much. While Stewart appears to be a prolific author, she is also a prolific word-user. Meaning, that some of her descriptions were, shall we say, Tolkein-esque. Mountains, landscapes, bodies of water, forests, all described in loving and intricate detail. I like nature as much as anyone, but I felt like it rather dragged the story to the point that I was a little bored until we finally got to some dialogue.
This is the first in a series, but I don’t know that I have any particular interest in continuing on with the series. This is highly unusual for me, and should give an indication that I felt very "meh" about the book. Recommended, but not strongly.
#47
The Fourth Queen
Debbie Taylor
Oooh, harems! This is a story that seems to be a conglomeration of several myths/legends about a white woman in a Middle-Eastern harem. This particular one focuses on a Scottish lass, who is abducted by corsairs and sold to an Emporer in Morocco. But then there’s palace intrigue and after she is raised to the status of Queen (one of four), her life is in danger and what is a bare-footed, Scottish farmgirl to do? I did feel that some of the descriptions were really repitious, such as the detail about how gloriously fat the women were expected to be, and how hot the weather was, and so on and so on. It’s good to get the descriptions across, but I’m finding more and more that authors could maaaaaybe ease back on it. Naturally, my authorial friends are welcome to dispute this opinion, and I would open to hearing why.
Recommended for girly-girls, who want some brain candy, but I don’t think guys would really enjoy it. Kinda like the Nora Roberts books, heh.
#48
Sebastian
Anne Bishop
Now THIS is a book that I really DID enjoy! It’s the first non-Black Jewels book that I have read by Bishop, and I thought it was well done. It did take me a little while to figure out this world that she has built, because it really is unique and she takes her sweet time relaying the details to the reader - it’s not given to you right at the beginning. Sebastian is a half-incubus, with heart, and the world they all live in consists of both Light and Dark elements. Dark, of course, not meaning "evil," but merely its existance as the opposite of Light, and without Dark for contrast, there IS no light and vice versa - not all of the people realize this, in the world of Ephemera.
Highly, highly recommended, especially to fantasy fans. This is a world unlike any other that I have read about, and I really look forward to reading the sequel, Belladonna. For a unique twist in the fantasy genre, this is superb.
#49
Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen
I’d heard really good things about this book, and my mother’s book club read it recently, so I gave it a whirl. Set on a travelling circus act with dubious ethics during the Depression era, the story is told in flashbacks from the main character's eldery personage in a nursing home. He is a fiesty old man, and I want to be just like him, heh. There is a bit of a twist, if you can see it coming (I could, but was still enjoyable), and the circus background (and pictures! there's pictures!) is very interesting. One of the ways people got fired was being thrown off the train whilst going over a bridge. No pension!
Overall, an interesting book, but not really the most life-changing book I've ever read. (see ex: Kusheline books).
#50
King's Dragon
Kate Elliot
Review forthcoming in 2010!
I started my 50th book a day or two before the end of the year, and I've read it before, so I'm going to count it as "read" in 2009 (because I like nice even numbers), but I'll do the review of what I've read in the series thus far in 2010, since that's when it'll be finished.
This, then, brings me to...
The Final List
#1 Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die? - Tod Benoit
#2 A History of the World in Six Glasses - Tom Standage (book club)
#3 A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
#4 A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin*
#5 Pope Joan - Donna Woodfolk Cross*
#6 The Book of Shadows - James Reese
#7 LEED For New Construction Reference Guide Version 2.2 - U.S. Green Building Council
#8 The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet*
#9 Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land - John Crowley
#10 The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
#11 Snow White, Blood Red - Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
#12 Best Places: Seattle, 10th Edition - Shannon O'Leary
#13 Going Postal - Terry Pratchett
#14 Magic Kingdom for Sale - SOLD! - Terry Brooks
#15 The Black Unicorn - Terry Brooks
#16 Imperial Woman - Pearl S. Buck (book club)
#17 The Passion Parties Guide to Great Sex - Pat Davis
#18 The Dante Club - Matthew Pearl
#19 Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
#20 The Secret Supper - Javier Sierra
#21 Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
#22 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
#23 Pandora - Anne Rice
#24 The Black Jewels Trilogy (Omnibus) - Anne Bishop
#25 I Could Have Sung All Night - Marni Nixon (SAI convention book)
#26 Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey
#27 Little Men - Louisa May Alcott
#28 Jo's Boys -Louisa May Alcott
#29 Les Liasions Dangerouses - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (book club)
#30 Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
#31 The Cabinet of Curiosities - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
#32 Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - Gregory Maguire
#33 Julie&Julia - Julie Powell
#34 Princes of Ireland - Edward Rutherford
#35 The Alexander Cipher - Will Adams
#36 Sisters of the Raven - Barbara Hambly
#37 The Witching Voice - Arnold Johnston
#38 The Codex - Douglas Preston
#39 Kushiel's Mercy - Jacqueline Carey
#40 Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
#41 The Hollow - Nora Roberts
#42 The Pagan Stone - Nora Roberts
#43 The Prestige - Christopher Priest
#44 The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
#45 The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
#46 The Crystal Cave - Mary Stewart
#47 The Fourth Queen - Debbie Taylor
#48 Sebastian - Anne Bishop
#49 Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
#50 King's Dragon - Kate Elliot (started)
Some statistical breakdown, as per usual:
* 7 non-fiction, and therefore 43 fiction - last year was only 6 non-fiction, and a lot more books read in total, so this is a better percentage.
* 13 fantasy novels, 12 fictional history (or if you prefer, historical fiction), 6 thrillers, 4 classics, 1 short-story collection, 1 travel guide and 1 energy-efficient buildings manual, and only 3 romance novels, heh. Yes, I know this doesn’t add up to 50. I’m not including all of these here.
* Only 10 -rereads! I’m getting much better about reading NEW things (I have such a tendency to re-read my favorites to the exclusion of all else...). For the record, last year was 25, so that’s a pretty good leap.
* Topics ranged from sword’n’sorcery, erotic fiction and sexual health non-fiction, murderous thrillers, religion, gender roles, Arthurian legends, cultural identity, energy efficient buildings, and history as seen through a drinking glass.
* Most-enjoyed (and therefore, recommended!) books - A History of the World in Six Glasses, A Game of Thrones & A Clash of Kings, The Pillars of the Earth, Pope Joan, Snow White, Blood Red, Year of Wonders, The Shadow of the Wind, The Black Jewels Trilogy, the Kusheline and Naamah books, (OF COURSE), Sebastian, Les Liasions Dangerouses, The Red Tent
* Least-enjoyed books - The Book of Shadows, my LEED reference manual (yeah, it’s good stuff to know. Doesn’t mean it didn’t put me to sleep on a regular basis!), Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land, Pandora (seriously, I need to stop reading Anne Rice. I continually put them on this list), The Alexander Cipher, The Lost Symbol
I was slightly disappointed to have only (just barely!) read 50 books in a year, which seems low for me. But that LEED certification process took basically 3 months out of my life, so there went prime reading time. I am definitely going for 75 books again this year. So far, I'm only on my 3rd one, though!! But to be fair, all of the Kate Elliot/Crown of Stars series books are 800+ pages, and some parts don't move so fast. So I've read like 2,100 pages, which is the equivalent of nearly 7 romance novels, for comparison. Maybe this year, I'll do a book AND a page count tally... hmmm.
And now... onto 2010's 75 Book Challenge!
#38
The Codex
Douglas Preston
An exciting thriller from the team that I mentioned in an earlier update, except Preston is going solo on this one (but Child still had some input, based on the Acknowledgements from the author). Three brothers, who could not be more different, are challenged by their recently-deceased father’s will to work together in order to find his massive, priceless collection of art treasures that he has hidden away from them, along with his body. Naturally, the brothers decide to work AGAINST each other, and chaos ensues! It’s a rather exciting romp, and with some rather unexpected (and some, to be honest, really expected) twists.
This book has hints of Indiana Jones about it, and is a pretty good take on action-adventure reading. Although I will say, there were parts that I was a tad bored of the endless slogging through a tropical swamp with the incessant mosquitoes and such, but since that’s the way the characters are meant to have felt, I suppose that’s just good writing, heh. Recommended for thriller fans!
#39
Kushiel's Mercy
Jacqueline Carey
A re-read! In the interests of time, I think that I shall just refer you to this entry from 2008, mmmkay, my little sugar dumplings?
#40, #41, #42
Blood Brothers, The Hollow, The Pagan Stone
Nora Roberts
A traditional Nora Roberts trilogy, featuring handsome brooding men and a blonde, a brunette and a redhead, all with emotional baggage. This particular plot revolves around a demonic spirit, with blood ties to all of the main characters, who is about to unleash holy hell on their small town with a Salem-esque history. The "Sign of 7" trilogy refers to the seven generations between the original “Event” and the reappearance in 1977 (more 7’s), and every 7 years the demon gets stronger and the townspeople go nuts. It’s complicated. But entertaining! Naturally, there’s all the witty banter and perfect sex one comes to expect from Ms. Roberts, as well. Just so that the bloody details don’t get you too down.
Recommended for Nora Roberts and other romance-novel fans, but I doubt anyone else, especially with erudite tastes, would go near these books. However, they were entertaining reading over the Thanksgiving weekend!
#43
The Prestige
Christopher Priest
I had to read this book after renting the movie and loving it. I don’t know that I enjoyed the book as much, because the storylines are not being told in a consecutive time frame, but jumps around between a couple of different generations. Having seen the movie, I knew what to expect, and what to watch out for, in terms of key situations and words. I didn’t particularly care for the "later generation" story, which the movie left out. It’s a pretty good thriller, but it’s very ambiguous as to who is the villain, since the events are told from both sides. And we all know, every story has two sides to it! As someone who enjoys having a hero to root for and a villain to love to hate, sometimes this irritates me, but it’s just a personal preference.
A pretty good read, recommended for those who like “smart” books and thrillers that are not of the usual mold.
#44
The Red Tent
Anita Diamant
Highly recommended by friends who have read this, I picked it up at Powell’s over Thanksgiving. It’s the story of The Rape of Dinah from the Old Testament, and in a Marion Zimmer Bradley-esque way, retold from the female viewpoint. The titular "red tent" referred to the special tent that all of the women retreated to during their moontimes, and allowed them some separation from the menfolk. Dinah grew up in a very female-empowered environment this way, which lasted all her life, long after her "rape" and subsequent consquences by her brothers.
Definitely recommended! Men, I don’t think, would enjoy AS MUCH, but that’s not to say they couldn’t enjoy the new viewpoint. Fans of The Mists of Avalon and other such reads will also enjoy this book, I think.
#45
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown
AHAHAHAHAH this was crap. And I say that as a rather sheepish fan of The Da Vinci Code
Go watch some porn or pick your nose or make fire by rubbing sticks or anything else more productive than reading this book.
#46
The Crystal Cave
Mary Stewart
A variant on the Arthurian legends, this is the story of Merlin, as a young man unaware of his background in post-Roman Britain. Rather reminded me of The Skystone by Jack Whyte, but I don’t think I enjoyed it nearly as much. While Stewart appears to be a prolific author, she is also a prolific word-user. Meaning, that some of her descriptions were, shall we say, Tolkein-esque. Mountains, landscapes, bodies of water, forests, all described in loving and intricate detail. I like nature as much as anyone, but I felt like it rather dragged the story to the point that I was a little bored until we finally got to some dialogue.
This is the first in a series, but I don’t know that I have any particular interest in continuing on with the series. This is highly unusual for me, and should give an indication that I felt very "meh" about the book. Recommended, but not strongly.
#47
The Fourth Queen
Debbie Taylor
Oooh, harems! This is a story that seems to be a conglomeration of several myths/legends about a white woman in a Middle-Eastern harem. This particular one focuses on a Scottish lass, who is abducted by corsairs and sold to an Emporer in Morocco. But then there’s palace intrigue and after she is raised to the status of Queen (one of four), her life is in danger and what is a bare-footed, Scottish farmgirl to do? I did feel that some of the descriptions were really repitious, such as the detail about how gloriously fat the women were expected to be, and how hot the weather was, and so on and so on. It’s good to get the descriptions across, but I’m finding more and more that authors could maaaaaybe ease back on it. Naturally, my authorial friends are welcome to dispute this opinion, and I would open to hearing why.
Recommended for girly-girls, who want some brain candy, but I don’t think guys would really enjoy it. Kinda like the Nora Roberts books, heh.
#48
Sebastian
Anne Bishop
Now THIS is a book that I really DID enjoy! It’s the first non-Black Jewels book that I have read by Bishop, and I thought it was well done. It did take me a little while to figure out this world that she has built, because it really is unique and she takes her sweet time relaying the details to the reader - it’s not given to you right at the beginning. Sebastian is a half-incubus, with heart, and the world they all live in consists of both Light and Dark elements. Dark, of course, not meaning "evil," but merely its existance as the opposite of Light, and without Dark for contrast, there IS no light and vice versa - not all of the people realize this, in the world of Ephemera.
Highly, highly recommended, especially to fantasy fans. This is a world unlike any other that I have read about, and I really look forward to reading the sequel, Belladonna. For a unique twist in the fantasy genre, this is superb.
#49
Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen
I’d heard really good things about this book, and my mother’s book club read it recently, so I gave it a whirl. Set on a travelling circus act with dubious ethics during the Depression era, the story is told in flashbacks from the main character's eldery personage in a nursing home. He is a fiesty old man, and I want to be just like him, heh. There is a bit of a twist, if you can see it coming (I could, but was still enjoyable), and the circus background (and pictures! there's pictures!) is very interesting. One of the ways people got fired was being thrown off the train whilst going over a bridge. No pension!
Overall, an interesting book, but not really the most life-changing book I've ever read. (see ex: Kusheline books).
#50
King's Dragon
Kate Elliot
Review forthcoming in 2010!
I started my 50th book a day or two before the end of the year, and I've read it before, so I'm going to count it as "read" in 2009 (because I like nice even numbers), but I'll do the review of what I've read in the series thus far in 2010, since that's when it'll be finished.
This, then, brings me to...
The Final List
#1 Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die? - Tod Benoit
#2 A History of the World in Six Glasses - Tom Standage (book club)
#3 A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
#4 A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin*
#5 Pope Joan - Donna Woodfolk Cross*
#6 The Book of Shadows - James Reese
#7 LEED For New Construction Reference Guide Version 2.2 - U.S. Green Building Council
#8 The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet*
#9 Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land - John Crowley
#10 The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
#11 Snow White, Blood Red - Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
#12 Best Places: Seattle, 10th Edition - Shannon O'Leary
#13 Going Postal - Terry Pratchett
#14 Magic Kingdom for Sale - SOLD! - Terry Brooks
#15 The Black Unicorn - Terry Brooks
#16 Imperial Woman - Pearl S. Buck (book club)
#17 The Passion Parties Guide to Great Sex - Pat Davis
#18 The Dante Club - Matthew Pearl
#19 Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
#20 The Secret Supper - Javier Sierra
#21 Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
#22 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
#23 Pandora - Anne Rice
#24 The Black Jewels Trilogy (Omnibus) - Anne Bishop
#25 I Could Have Sung All Night - Marni Nixon (SAI convention book)
#26 Naamah's Kiss - Jacqueline Carey
#27 Little Men - Louisa May Alcott
#28 Jo's Boys -Louisa May Alcott
#29 Les Liasions Dangerouses - Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (book club)
#30 Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
#31 The Cabinet of Curiosities - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
#32 Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - Gregory Maguire
#33 Julie&Julia - Julie Powell
#34 Princes of Ireland - Edward Rutherford
#35 The Alexander Cipher - Will Adams
#36 Sisters of the Raven - Barbara Hambly
#37 The Witching Voice - Arnold Johnston
#38 The Codex - Douglas Preston
#39 Kushiel's Mercy - Jacqueline Carey
#40 Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
#41 The Hollow - Nora Roberts
#42 The Pagan Stone - Nora Roberts
#43 The Prestige - Christopher Priest
#44 The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
#45 The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
#46 The Crystal Cave - Mary Stewart
#47 The Fourth Queen - Debbie Taylor
#48 Sebastian - Anne Bishop
#49 Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
#50 King's Dragon - Kate Elliot (started)
Some statistical breakdown, as per usual:
* 7 non-fiction, and therefore 43 fiction - last year was only 6 non-fiction, and a lot more books read in total, so this is a better percentage.
* 13 fantasy novels, 12 fictional history (or if you prefer, historical fiction), 6 thrillers, 4 classics, 1 short-story collection, 1 travel guide and 1 energy-efficient buildings manual, and only 3 romance novels, heh. Yes, I know this doesn’t add up to 50. I’m not including all of these here.
* Only 10 -rereads! I’m getting much better about reading NEW things (I have such a tendency to re-read my favorites to the exclusion of all else...). For the record, last year was 25, so that’s a pretty good leap.
* Topics ranged from sword’n’sorcery, erotic fiction and sexual health non-fiction, murderous thrillers, religion, gender roles, Arthurian legends, cultural identity, energy efficient buildings, and history as seen through a drinking glass.
* Most-enjoyed (and therefore, recommended!) books - A History of the World in Six Glasses, A Game of Thrones & A Clash of Kings, The Pillars of the Earth, Pope Joan, Snow White, Blood Red, Year of Wonders, The Shadow of the Wind, The Black Jewels Trilogy, the Kusheline and Naamah books, (OF COURSE), Sebastian, Les Liasions Dangerouses, The Red Tent
* Least-enjoyed books - The Book of Shadows, my LEED reference manual (yeah, it’s good stuff to know. Doesn’t mean it didn’t put me to sleep on a regular basis!), Lord Byron's Novel: The Evening Land, Pandora (seriously, I need to stop reading Anne Rice. I continually put them on this list), The Alexander Cipher, The Lost Symbol
I was slightly disappointed to have only (just barely!) read 50 books in a year, which seems low for me. But that LEED certification process took basically 3 months out of my life, so there went prime reading time. I am definitely going for 75 books again this year. So far, I'm only on my 3rd one, though!! But to be fair, all of the Kate Elliot/Crown of Stars series books are 800+ pages, and some parts don't move so fast. So I've read like 2,100 pages, which is the equivalent of nearly 7 romance novels, for comparison. Maybe this year, I'll do a book AND a page count tally... hmmm.
And now... onto 2010's 75 Book Challenge!