(no subject)
In no particular order, since keeping track of that is a bit much when I'm posting six to twelve books at a time. Averaging a book a day should theoretically only be possible when I'm actually taking the bus to work--I can't read and drive at the same time. But I seem to have managed it somehow the past couple of weeks. Oops.
7. Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood by Karen Maezen Miller
I had a quote from this that I wanted to post, but now I can't find it and I've already returned the book to the library. This book spoke to me in a lot of ways--I think I might want to reread it once the baby is born to remind myself to accept what comes and not to get attached to particular outcomes.
8. Replay by Ken Grimwood
This is not the kind of book I normally read, but it was really interesting. I think I added it to my bookswim pool based on a podcast or blog or something, and when it showed up I found myself sucked in in a way I didn't really expect. It was fabulous (and not dated at all IMO). If you like time travel or alternate realities, pick it up.
9. So You Want to Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
10. Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane
11. High Wizardry by Diane Duane
Awwww, YA fantasy novels. I wish I'd read these when I was a kid, but somehow I missed them at the time. I love Kit and Nita, though, and of course the idea that the people most likely to have the ability to become wizards are bookworms is attractive. There are several more books in the series; I'm interested to see how the burgeoning loveplot develops as the characters age. (Of course, the best part about High Wizardry is that Dairine has a computer to teach her magic--in 1990. Logo references abound.)
12. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
So much better than I was expecting! But then, I wasn't expecting a ghost story, or a mystery, just a fluffy chick lit romance. As it was, I got all three, with an interesting and likable protagonist and a romance that didn't make me want to throw the book at the wall. I would definitely recommend this, and I was impressed enough that I went and added the author's other books to my wishlist at the library. Yes, even Confessions of a Shopaholic.
13. Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
I'm trying to hold off on actually buying a copy of Kelley Armstrong's latest until it comes out in paperback, since most of the rest of my copies of her books are paperback, so it's fortunate that bookswim could provide me with the book temporarily. I'm glad to see Elena again, and it was interesting to see a new setting (Alaska!), but somehow I wasn't quite as thrilled by this book as I have been by her previous Otherworld books. Possibly it felt too cut off from the rest of the world she's built--I wanted more daily-life and less special-mission. Still four out of five stars, though.
14. Maybe Baby: 28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives by Lori Leibovich
I read this book on supercheesegirl's recommendation and it was wonderful. Certainly it has a lot of resonance to me as a woman who is pregnant and has made the decision to reproduce, but there's no shortage of essays from the opposite perspective, and I found both the variety of viewpoints and the implicit respect for other people's (possibly different) choices to be refreshing and fascinating.
15. Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table, a Collection of Essays from the New York Times by Amanda Hesser
ert bought me this for Christmas and I read it first partly because it was a paperback. It was delicious and funny and sad and I want to make all the recipes. It was significantly better than the last book of this flavor I read (Eating: A Memoir, by Jason Epstein), possibly because this was meant to feel like a collection of essays. Unfortunately, a couple of the essays felt unfinished when presented in the book, but for the most part the transition to book format from weekly guest column worked great.
16. Blood Price by Tanya Huff
17. Blood Trail by Tanya Huff
Oh, Tanya Huff. I do go back and read these once every year or two, and still love them, even if her writing has improved enough over the past couple of decades that there's a noticeable difference. It doesn't hurt that she's Canadian, just like my favorite person.
18. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo
Oh god why did I inflict this book on myself? It has a fine underlying premise (don't waste your time dating people who aren't that interested in you), but what a horribly sexist implementation. The worst part is that I knew it would be horribly sexist when I put it in my bookswim pool. I wish I could have the hour I spent reading it this afternoon back.
7. Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood by Karen Maezen Miller
I had a quote from this that I wanted to post, but now I can't find it and I've already returned the book to the library. This book spoke to me in a lot of ways--I think I might want to reread it once the baby is born to remind myself to accept what comes and not to get attached to particular outcomes.
8. Replay by Ken Grimwood
This is not the kind of book I normally read, but it was really interesting. I think I added it to my bookswim pool based on a podcast or blog or something, and when it showed up I found myself sucked in in a way I didn't really expect. It was fabulous (and not dated at all IMO). If you like time travel or alternate realities, pick it up.
9. So You Want to Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
10. Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane
11. High Wizardry by Diane Duane
Awwww, YA fantasy novels. I wish I'd read these when I was a kid, but somehow I missed them at the time. I love Kit and Nita, though, and of course the idea that the people most likely to have the ability to become wizards are bookworms is attractive. There are several more books in the series; I'm interested to see how the burgeoning loveplot develops as the characters age. (Of course, the best part about High Wizardry is that Dairine has a computer to teach her magic--in 1990. Logo references abound.)
12. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
So much better than I was expecting! But then, I wasn't expecting a ghost story, or a mystery, just a fluffy chick lit romance. As it was, I got all three, with an interesting and likable protagonist and a romance that didn't make me want to throw the book at the wall. I would definitely recommend this, and I was impressed enough that I went and added the author's other books to my wishlist at the library. Yes, even Confessions of a Shopaholic.
13. Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong
I'm trying to hold off on actually buying a copy of Kelley Armstrong's latest until it comes out in paperback, since most of the rest of my copies of her books are paperback, so it's fortunate that bookswim could provide me with the book temporarily. I'm glad to see Elena again, and it was interesting to see a new setting (Alaska!), but somehow I wasn't quite as thrilled by this book as I have been by her previous Otherworld books. Possibly it felt too cut off from the rest of the world she's built--I wanted more daily-life and less special-mission. Still four out of five stars, though.
14. Maybe Baby: 28 Writers Tell the Truth About Skepticism, Infertility, Baby Lust, Childlessness, Ambivalence, and How They Made the Biggest Decision of Their Lives by Lori Leibovich
I read this book on supercheesegirl's recommendation and it was wonderful. Certainly it has a lot of resonance to me as a woman who is pregnant and has made the decision to reproduce, but there's no shortage of essays from the opposite perspective, and I found both the variety of viewpoints and the implicit respect for other people's (possibly different) choices to be refreshing and fascinating.
15. Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table, a Collection of Essays from the New York Times by Amanda Hesser
ert bought me this for Christmas and I read it first partly because it was a paperback. It was delicious and funny and sad and I want to make all the recipes. It was significantly better than the last book of this flavor I read (Eating: A Memoir, by Jason Epstein), possibly because this was meant to feel like a collection of essays. Unfortunately, a couple of the essays felt unfinished when presented in the book, but for the most part the transition to book format from weekly guest column worked great.
16. Blood Price by Tanya Huff
17. Blood Trail by Tanya Huff
Oh, Tanya Huff. I do go back and read these once every year or two, and still love them, even if her writing has improved enough over the past couple of decades that there's a noticeable difference. It doesn't hurt that she's Canadian, just like my favorite person.
18. He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo
Oh god why did I inflict this book on myself? It has a fine underlying premise (don't waste your time dating people who aren't that interested in you), but what a horribly sexist implementation. The worst part is that I knew it would be horribly sexist when I put it in my bookswim pool. I wish I could have the hour I spent reading it this afternoon back.