63-65

[fiveforsilver]

First books of June:

63. Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (242)

Mendanbar (the young King of the Enchanted Forest) decides to go for a walk one morning and ends up on a quest in which he encounters Morwen (a witch), Cimorene (a dragon's princess), Telemain (a magician), and a variety of other unlikely individuals. Second book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, full of more fairy tale parodies, and a lot of fun to read.

64. *The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer (267)

This is a rather dystopian SF book with some fantasy elements. A boy escapes from an orphanage/testing facility and is thrown into a world he barely understands, and then even stranger things happen after he almost dies.

Not my favorite book ever, but it was an interesting read. The writing felt kind of frantic, which fit the storyline. I found part of the ending surprising.

65. Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (244)

The wizards steal Mendanbar's magic sword, so Morwen, Cimorene, Telemain, Kazul, and a couple of Morwen's cats (and a rabbit...sort of...) go adventuring to steal it back.

I like this one a lot; the characters interactions are amusing and the cats sound just like you'd expect cats to sound.

65 / 110 books. 59% done!

27 / 75 *new books. 36% done!

3 / 10 ^non-fiction. 30% done!

19511 / 33000 pages. 59% done!

66-68

[fiveforsilver]

66. *Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn (416)

The first three of Zahn's Star Wars books are still the best, but the others are enjoyable as well. I think there might be another one coming out, too.

67. Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. wrede (255)

Daystar's mother melts a wizard, gives him a magic sword, and sends him on a quest, all in the same day. But...she doesn't tell him what the quest is for. Part of his quest is figuring out just what he's supposed to be doing.

Not my favorite book in this series, but fun nonetheless.

68. *Pattern Recognition by William Gibson (367)

Technically this was a reread, but I remembered nothing but a few names from the first time I read it. I liked it.

68 / 110 books. 62% done!

29 / 75 *new books. 39% done!

3 / 10 ^non-fiction. 30% done!

20549 / 33000 pages. 62% done!

69

[fiveforsilver]

69. Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede (234)

Short story anthology:

Rikiki and the Wizard
A cute story about a clash between a pompous wizard and an animal god, with the wizard's daughter thrown in for good measure. Who do you think turns out to be the cleverest one?

The Princess, the Cat, and the Unicorn
Princess Elyssa decides to go adventuring with the support and help of her family (to the frustration of the kingdom's advisers, since they live in a kingdom where fairy tale things never go quite right). But what does the palace cat lead her to the Unicorn Pool?

Roses by Moonlight
This is a more serious story and one of my favorites. It's set in modern times and it's about two sisters and what kind of relationship they have - and more importantly, what it could be.

The Sixty-Two Curses of Caliph Arenschadd
Another funny, cute story. The main character is a young girl whose father is adviser to the Caliph (a sort of king). The Caliph is also a wizard, and when he gets angry at someone, he curses them and their immediate family off his list and it's up to them to figure out how to break it. But what can they do about an unbreakable curse?

Earthwitch
A story about love and relationships as much as about magic and war. This is an excellent story, where a few carefully chosen words conjure up an unwritten saga.

The Sword-Seller
It's all about flaws and mistakes. One man does something out of desperation and doesn't think - or doesn't want to think about - the consequences, and the ripples effect people he knows and people he doesn't.

The Lorelei
Another modern story. I like this one a lot. A school trip to Germany and a couple of kids go up against a magical creature.

Stronger Than Time
Something went wrong in the curse of Sleeping Beauty and nobody woke her up, and now everyone who tries to dies. Can a prince and a woodcutter together succeed? It's a sweet story, and sad. I like it.

Cruel Sisters
This is a sad and serious story. The middle princess, Meg, has always tried to play peacemaker between her sisters Anne and Eleanor, but their rivalry and hatred for each other is beyond her influence as they grow older, and is also somehow invisible to everyone else. Until the younger sister steals the suitor of the elder without so much as a thought. And then the two sisters take a walk by the river...

Utensil Strength
I'm pretty sure this is the reason I bought this anthology to begin with - it's an Enchanted Forest story, with Cimorene and Mendanbar and so on. An enchanter was in the process of making the Ultimate Weapon when his wife stormed into his workroom waving her best frying pan around. The spell fixed itself to the pan and suddenly instead of the Sword of Doom, he's stuck with the Frying Pan of Doom, which nobody can hold without a potholder. In order to find the wielder of the Frying Pan of Doom, Cimorene and Mendanbar decided to hold a tournament - but to include a bake-off, so all the contestants will have to touch the Frying Pan in the process. It doesn't quite go as planned, of course, but everything turns out well, and they still have the bake-off, too. The winning recipe - Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake - is available in the back of the book.

69 / 110 books. 63% done!

29 / 75 *new books. 39% done!

3 / 10 ^non-fiction. 30% done!

20783 / 33000 pages. 63% done!

70-74

[fiveforsilver]

70. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (425)
71. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld (370)
72. Specials by Scott Westerfeld (372)

Got the box set for my birthday. I adore these books.

73. Extras by Scott Westerfeld (417)

74. The Last Slice of Rainbow by Joan Aiken (144)

74 / 110 books. 67% done!

29 / 75 *new books. 39% done!

3 / 10 ^non-fiction. 30% done!

22511 / 33000 pages. 68% done!