May and June books read
Backdated again.
18) Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett - Death is always fun. :)
19) Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett - the way the various fairy tales were worked in was a lot of fun, though I didn't quite think that working in the Voudon matched up very well.
20) Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike - Wonderful backstory for Hamlet. Explains how they wound up in that situation, in a believable way that, yes, leaves each character the hero of his own story.
21) Otherland: Sea of Silver Light by Tad Williams - this story is still way too long, though I did like the end. Am glad I read it, but gladder still to be done.
22) The Escher Twist by Jane Langton - a whimsical, frothy, fun mystery. Perhaps too stylish, but that's a matter of taste. Quick and light.
23) Black Heart, Ivory Bones edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling - fairy tales for modern adults. Not the best entry in the series, but I did like some of it.
24) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - in some ways I very much preferred this to the first two Austen books. The plot doesn't depend on the protagonists acting stupidly and painfully against their own interests. The peripheral characters are for the most part less dislikable. The major complaint I have is that the end of the book is rushed, and that the last chapter is all telling, just when we got to the part that I wanted to see shown. But overall, not bad.
Am now on my re-read of Harry Potter.
18) Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett - Death is always fun. :)
19) Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett - the way the various fairy tales were worked in was a lot of fun, though I didn't quite think that working in the Voudon matched up very well.
20) Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike - Wonderful backstory for Hamlet. Explains how they wound up in that situation, in a believable way that, yes, leaves each character the hero of his own story.
21) Otherland: Sea of Silver Light by Tad Williams - this story is still way too long, though I did like the end. Am glad I read it, but gladder still to be done.
22) The Escher Twist by Jane Langton - a whimsical, frothy, fun mystery. Perhaps too stylish, but that's a matter of taste. Quick and light.
23) Black Heart, Ivory Bones edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling - fairy tales for modern adults. Not the best entry in the series, but I did like some of it.
24) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - in some ways I very much preferred this to the first two Austen books. The plot doesn't depend on the protagonists acting stupidly and painfully against their own interests. The peripheral characters are for the most part less dislikable. The major complaint I have is that the end of the book is rushed, and that the last chapter is all telling, just when we got to the part that I wanted to see shown. But overall, not bad.
Am now on my re-read of Harry Potter.