Latest reading
Amazingly enough, it hasn't been even a month since my last book post, but I did say I would try to make these a bit more often so I don't have that kind of an enormous backlog to wade through :).
31. Ekaterina Sedia (ed.): Running With the Pack
This was a good, solid werewolf themed anthology with stories by some familiar names, like Carrie Vaughn, Laura Anne Gilman, and C. E. Murphy, and some with not so familiar names.
32. Juliet Marillier: Wildwood Dancing
This novel uses material from familiar fairy tales, like The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince to tell a story of family, friendship, and romance.
Jena and her four sisters live in their father's estate in Romania. Since childhood, the five sisters have visited Faerie every full moon. These trips are a secret, but they have offered the girls a lot of joy and amusement. Though they do are well aware of the perils of associating with the people of the other kingdom.
Their father is ill and has to make an extended trip to take care of his business matters and to get treatment for his illness. The girls are left to take care of matters, but they are soon overrun by their cousin Cezar who is well on his way to becoming a petty despot.
This was a nice book, but for some reason I just couldn't get into it for the longest time and at times felt like I had to struggle to finish it. Mayby I just wasn't in the right kind of mood?
33. Anupama Chopra: King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Secuctive World of Indian Cinema
This is an entertaining and informative look into the Bollywood film industry mirrored through career of Shah Rukh Khan, often called King Khan, who can induce mass hysteria around the world.
The book follows his life from childhood to the present, and there are plenty of fun and interesting anecdotes about his work, but there is also some hard data about the changes in the industry.
The book is very readable and fun look on the media persona of Shah Rukh Khan while also giving some insides to the real man as well.
34. Peter O'Donnell: Last Day in Limbo and (35.) Cobra Trap
Fun, fast-paced adventure story starring Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin. There are also various cameo appearances by several characters that have been introduced in other book in the series. With the acquisition of this book and Cobra Trap I finally have all the Modesty Blaise novels in my library :).
Though I should say that CB is a collection of short stories, including the last ever Modesty/Willie story. Reading the story was made even more poignant with the knowledge that Peter O'Donnell passed away recently.
Other stories took place in various places in Modesty's career, from the early The Network days to the time they had retired and were helping out Sir Gerald Tarrant and the British intelligence service.
Since I read this book right after Limbo, I was amused to note that Danny Chavalle made a brief appearance in one of the stories and was given the watch that in the other book played a key role in convincing Modesty that he was still alive. It seemed the story took place right before he got stuck in Limbo.
36. Nora Roberts: Keskipäivän polte [High Noon]
Phoebe McNamara is a hostage negotiator who during a work situation meets Duncan Swift who owns the bar where one of his (former) employees is threatening to jump off the roof. There is clear mutual attraction and they quickly become romantically involved.
Phoebe and everyone close her is, however, under threat from a mysterious figure who seems to bear her a grudge from something that happened in the past.
I read this at my mother's, since she'd gotten it through her book club. It was perfect Summer reading with and entertaining mix of romance and suspense.
37. Akimine Kamijyo: Samurai Deeper Kyo, vol. 37/38 (manga)
And finally we come to the end of Kyo and his companions' journey. The final fights are impressive as always and I like how the group plays together to win over the big bad. This was a very satisfying ending to a wonderfully entertaining series.
31. Ekaterina Sedia (ed.): Running With the Pack
This was a good, solid werewolf themed anthology with stories by some familiar names, like Carrie Vaughn, Laura Anne Gilman, and C. E. Murphy, and some with not so familiar names.
32. Juliet Marillier: Wildwood Dancing
This novel uses material from familiar fairy tales, like The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince to tell a story of family, friendship, and romance.
Jena and her four sisters live in their father's estate in Romania. Since childhood, the five sisters have visited Faerie every full moon. These trips are a secret, but they have offered the girls a lot of joy and amusement. Though they do are well aware of the perils of associating with the people of the other kingdom.
Their father is ill and has to make an extended trip to take care of his business matters and to get treatment for his illness. The girls are left to take care of matters, but they are soon overrun by their cousin Cezar who is well on his way to becoming a petty despot.
This was a nice book, but for some reason I just couldn't get into it for the longest time and at times felt like I had to struggle to finish it. Mayby I just wasn't in the right kind of mood?
33. Anupama Chopra: King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Secuctive World of Indian Cinema
This is an entertaining and informative look into the Bollywood film industry mirrored through career of Shah Rukh Khan, often called King Khan, who can induce mass hysteria around the world.
The book follows his life from childhood to the present, and there are plenty of fun and interesting anecdotes about his work, but there is also some hard data about the changes in the industry.
The book is very readable and fun look on the media persona of Shah Rukh Khan while also giving some insides to the real man as well.
34. Peter O'Donnell: Last Day in Limbo and (35.) Cobra Trap
Fun, fast-paced adventure story starring Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin. There are also various cameo appearances by several characters that have been introduced in other book in the series. With the acquisition of this book and Cobra Trap I finally have all the Modesty Blaise novels in my library :).
Though I should say that CB is a collection of short stories, including the last ever Modesty/Willie story. Reading the story was made even more poignant with the knowledge that Peter O'Donnell passed away recently.
Other stories took place in various places in Modesty's career, from the early The Network days to the time they had retired and were helping out Sir Gerald Tarrant and the British intelligence service.
Since I read this book right after Limbo, I was amused to note that Danny Chavalle made a brief appearance in one of the stories and was given the watch that in the other book played a key role in convincing Modesty that he was still alive. It seemed the story took place right before he got stuck in Limbo.
36. Nora Roberts: Keskipäivän polte [High Noon]
Phoebe McNamara is a hostage negotiator who during a work situation meets Duncan Swift who owns the bar where one of his (former) employees is threatening to jump off the roof. There is clear mutual attraction and they quickly become romantically involved.
Phoebe and everyone close her is, however, under threat from a mysterious figure who seems to bear her a grudge from something that happened in the past.
I read this at my mother's, since she'd gotten it through her book club. It was perfect Summer reading with and entertaining mix of romance and suspense.
37. Akimine Kamijyo: Samurai Deeper Kyo, vol. 37/38 (manga)
And finally we come to the end of Kyo and his companions' journey. The final fights are impressive as always and I like how the group plays together to win over the big bad. This was a very satisfying ending to a wonderfully entertaining series.