Beards, Black Birds, and Boom
It is three this time so I'm gonna save room on people's friends lists and put them behind a cut. I have also been to the public library for the first time in well over a year today. That would be due to the private Wick memorial library in my living room. They have self checkout now! I only ever get five books so that I can finish them well before the three week date and not absent mindedly get late fees. That said the five are never alike in genre unless I'm working through a series or something. I even got a book on cd for our drive to Vegas so next reviews should be interesting.
Thud by Terry Pratchett
A favorite author of many many people and with good reason. I happened to find one of his more recent works in Bookman's. This was as good as I have come to expect from Pterry. Granted the main figures in the book are the Watch, what with his books tending to be about certain groups. My favorites tend more towards the Wizards and the Witches but the Watch is still fun. In this it has to do with murder and the problems between trolls and dwarves that goes back centuries. I laughed out loud a few times and that is important with this kind of book. I'd really write a longer review but saying its a Pratchett book kind of covers it. If you are not familiar with Discworld then get out and become so. That is all.
Moonlight and Vines by Charles De Lint
Another nice find in the used bookstore. Its a collection of his short stories about Newford. Again, if you are not familiar with De Lint and you call yourself a fantasy bookworm, get thee to a bookstore. His blend of Native American, Gaelic, ummm just about any other mythology, all wound into urban folklore-esque stories is just so unique and great reads. They make you think about magic in the real world too. I admit to a preference with De Lint's short stories to his novels but both are great and this is especially one of my favorites of his collections. The story that got me this time, there is always one that pops out and its often not the same one on rereading, was the title one, Held Safe by Moonlight and Vines. Oh and his animal people ones! Crow Girls is in this collection and that is an important read for De Lint fans.
The Monkey-Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey
I had heard about him for a bit, in that he is a Southwestern personality/writer and very much a part of the conservation of the desert in all its beauty. When I read Neil Peart's travels in The Healing Road, he mentions reading Abbey and how much he liked it. So I have been keeping an eye out at the used bookstore. Lucky me, this fiction novel is the one Abbey is known for. The unlucky part is that I didn't like it much. The characters are interesting enough and I can see how it'd be more raw and scandalous than other things written at the time. Its the style that got to me and I ended up skimming to find out the plot points and the ending. The style is one that Stephen King does too for all that he can write well sometimes (From a Buick 8 is sooooo eerie and a wonderful horror novel). Its the plain wordiness. They use a long paragraph to tell me about a character when two or three sentences would do. Its the telling not showing of actions and thoughts. There are gems of nice language but they don't outlive the mass I have to wade through to get there. I guess after all the Tanith Lee and Harlan Ellison that is brief and a sock to the gut type writing, I'm spoiled and can't read the Tolkien, Anne Rice, Stephen King and now Abbey way of writing. Right now I am hoping his non-fiction which is he is also known for is a bit easier on my eyes because I really want to like it.
Lots more coming on the reading front folks so stay tuned!
Thud by Terry Pratchett
A favorite author of many many people and with good reason. I happened to find one of his more recent works in Bookman's. This was as good as I have come to expect from Pterry. Granted the main figures in the book are the Watch, what with his books tending to be about certain groups. My favorites tend more towards the Wizards and the Witches but the Watch is still fun. In this it has to do with murder and the problems between trolls and dwarves that goes back centuries. I laughed out loud a few times and that is important with this kind of book. I'd really write a longer review but saying its a Pratchett book kind of covers it. If you are not familiar with Discworld then get out and become so. That is all.
Moonlight and Vines by Charles De Lint
Another nice find in the used bookstore. Its a collection of his short stories about Newford. Again, if you are not familiar with De Lint and you call yourself a fantasy bookworm, get thee to a bookstore. His blend of Native American, Gaelic, ummm just about any other mythology, all wound into urban folklore-esque stories is just so unique and great reads. They make you think about magic in the real world too. I admit to a preference with De Lint's short stories to his novels but both are great and this is especially one of my favorites of his collections. The story that got me this time, there is always one that pops out and its often not the same one on rereading, was the title one, Held Safe by Moonlight and Vines. Oh and his animal people ones! Crow Girls is in this collection and that is an important read for De Lint fans.
The Monkey-Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey
I had heard about him for a bit, in that he is a Southwestern personality/writer and very much a part of the conservation of the desert in all its beauty. When I read Neil Peart's travels in The Healing Road, he mentions reading Abbey and how much he liked it. So I have been keeping an eye out at the used bookstore. Lucky me, this fiction novel is the one Abbey is known for. The unlucky part is that I didn't like it much. The characters are interesting enough and I can see how it'd be more raw and scandalous than other things written at the time. Its the style that got to me and I ended up skimming to find out the plot points and the ending. The style is one that Stephen King does too for all that he can write well sometimes (From a Buick 8 is sooooo eerie and a wonderful horror novel). Its the plain wordiness. They use a long paragraph to tell me about a character when two or three sentences would do. Its the telling not showing of actions and thoughts. There are gems of nice language but they don't outlive the mass I have to wade through to get there. I guess after all the Tanith Lee and Harlan Ellison that is brief and a sock to the gut type writing, I'm spoiled and can't read the Tolkien, Anne Rice, Stephen King and now Abbey way of writing. Right now I am hoping his non-fiction which is he is also known for is a bit easier on my eyes because I really want to like it.
Lots more coming on the reading front folks so stay tuned!