One imperfect letter, one missing page

I wanted to post this before the year ends. I'll put in the final tallies later.

160. The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones
Young Adult, fantasy, 480 pages
Chrestomanci series

161. The Boy Book by E Lockhart
YA, fiction, 224 pages
Sequel to The Boyfriend List

More fabulous writing from Lockhart.

162. The Boyfriend List by E Lockhkart
YA, fiction, 229 pages
Prequel to The Boy Book

Roo (Ruby Oliver) has had a difficult month. Her boyfriend dumped her for her best friend, all her friends stopped speaking to her, and a very embarrassing piece of paper was copied and distributed around her entire school - the boyfriend list. It was homework for her therapist. It was a list of every boy she ever kissed, went on a date with, or did anything else even remotely approaching boyfriend territory.

I just love Roo's voice in this and The Boy Book. In this book, each chapter is one name from the list and along with the present-day story of how she's in therapy, dealing with her former friends and crazy parents, and trying to move on, we also get the back story on each guy, and the story of the falling-out with her friends. There are at least three timelines twisting around each other, but it reads effortlessly.

162 / 162 books. (original goal: 150)

83 / 83 ^new books. (original goal: 75)

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. (fail)

48039 / 48039 pages. (original goal: 45000)

151. Sorcery and Cecelia, or the enchanted chocolate pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevemer
YA, historical fantasy, 326 pages

152. *Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones
Young Adult, fantasy, 393 pages
Chrestomanci

I thought I read this once before (and really, really liked it) but I remembered almost nothing about it. I liked it this time, but I think I'll need to read it another time or two before I really get what was going on.

153. Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
Young Adult, fantasy, 534 pages
Tortall (Beka Cooper)

154. *The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevemer
Young Adult, historical fantasy, 326 pages
sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia

155. Terrier by Tamora Pierce
Young Adult, fantasy, 563 pages
Tortall (Beka Cooper)

156. Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction (humorous), 365 pages

157. The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce
Young Adult, fantasy, 539 pages
Emelan

157 / 157 books. 100% done!

80 / 80 *new books. 100% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

46429 / 45000 pages. 103% done!

141. Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce
Young Adult, Fantasy, 409 pages

142. *Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link
Adult, Fantasy, Short Stories, 389 pages

There is some wonderful imagery and ideas in these stories, but Link has a problem with endings. The stories either sort of fade away or just stop with no resolution. And the final story, the titular story, was a great idea with a twist that surprised me and I really wanted to liked, but it was ruined at the end by an annoying patronizing moralistic bit directed at the reader, who the author clearly thinks must be too stupid to realize the clever thing she just did there.

Overall, like I said before, I wanted to like these stories, but there were only one or two that I cared for and I don't plan to read any more of her work.

143. Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey (176)
144. Dragonsinger (240)
145. Dragondrums (193)
Young Adult, Fantasy

Remember what I said about being patronizing and thinking readers are stupid? I've always thought McCaffrey had that problem, too. This trilogy are the only Pern books that I like, and them just barely, since even they have the same issues. The same things are explained over and over again, or in ways that really seem to be talking down to the reader. I like the story and some of the characters, but I often consider ways that I would rewrite sentences or whole paragraphs to make them sound better.

I'd still like a fire lizard, though.

145 / 150 books. 97% done!

74 / 75 *new books. 99% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

41655 / 45000 pages. 93% done!

November

136. The Last Colony by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction, 320p

137. Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi
Young Adult, Science Fiction, 416p

138. *Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Young Adult, Fiction, 371p

Micah lies almost constantly, to almost everyone. This is her attempt to tell her story without lying.

In many ways, this book was exactly what I was expecting. In other ways, it wasn't what I was expecting at all, and I feel struck by a sort of mental whiplash caused by trying to figure out and keep track of what was true and what wasn't.

It is skillfully written and utterly fascinating.

138 / 159 books. 87% done!

73 / 75 *new books. 97% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

39580 / 45000 pages. 88% done!

Audiobooks: 26h30m

129. *Fledgling by Octavia Butler (320)

I liked this book, the worldbuilding and characterization were very thorough and the plot was captivating. There were some aspectes of the story that were disturbing, though I suppose that is hardly surprising given the author.


130. The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley (216)

Anthology of short stories by Robin McKinley. They're all beautifully written and none of the stories are particularly tense (sometimes to the point of being anticlimactic, unfortunately).

The Door in the Hedge
The kingdom borders the fairy land and the occasional infant boy and teenage girl are kidnapped by the faeries. Nobody expects the beautiful, accomplished (though surprisingly not Mary Sueish) princess to be taken, because the faeries have always before been careful not to end families, and she is the only one. But, of course...

The writing, the language of the story is typical fantastic beautiful McKinley. I used to like this story - at least, the first half of it - but this time reading it, I couldn't help but wonder about all the unanswered questions. Why do the faeries have to steal children? Why do the people living in that kingdom stand for it? Neither is adequately, convincingly explained and if you really think about it, it's horrifying.

Even so, there really are no "bad guys" in this story, and it just sort of meanders along from start to finish. Unfortunately, though, the resolution doesn't really make much sense or explain things.

The Princess and the Frog
This story is much better - we're dropped into the middle of a conflict of wills where an evil smiling wizard or mage or what-have-you is slowly, insidiously taking over the kingdom from the inside. The princess is spunky and holds her own as well as she can, and the frog is great. Once again the climax leaves a little to be desired, though.

The Hunting of the Hind
The princess in this story is one of my favorite fairy-tale princesses. She is reminiscent of Aerin from The Hero and the Crown, the all-but-forgotten daughter of a king's second marriage who nonetheless loves her country and her family. For her beloved brother, she embarks on a quest that a dozen men have already failed at.

As with the other stories, I like the first half of the story but the second half doesn't quite live up to it. There is too much love at first sight as a replacement for plot and the climax is wanting. Also, I always thought there was more chemistry between Korah and Sellena than between any other pairing.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses
The twelve princess dance holes through their slippers every night and a retired soldier takes the challenge of finding out how and why.

Definitely the strongest story of the bunch, start to finish. There are a few unexplained bits, but overall it works. This is my favorite story in the book.

130 / 150 books. 87% done!

72 / 75 *new books. 96% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

36846 / 45000 pages. 82% done!
Audiobooks: 26h30m

126. *The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Glittering Storm by Stephen Cole, read by Elisabeth Sladen (1:11)

Sarah Jane catches an old woman burgling her house early one morning, looking for gold. Not surpririsingly, it all leads back to aliens.

A fairly light story, so far as the Whoverse goes, which is to be expected in the Sarah Jane Adventures. It was fine. I enjoyed it. Not much else to say, really.

126 / 150 books. 84% done!

70 / 75 *new books. 93% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

35478 / 45000 pages. 79% done!

124. *Ash by Malinda Lo (272)

Ash lives with her father near a forest which is known for the fairy tales told about it. Few believe those tales anymore, but Ash's mother is one who does and after she dies, Ash begins having experiences that make her believe as well.

I enjoyed this book, though not as much as I had hoped. It's a retelling of the story of Cinderella, but unlike most fairy tale retellings I've read, the plot diverges from the familiar tale and becomes something very different. The plot and the writing style were quite good, the few characters that we got to know well were intriguing, and I liked many of the departures Lo made from the fairy tale.

Part of my problem with this book is the details that were left out. There were parts of the story that were missing - important characters that we learned almost nothing about - vital scenes that we didn't see. This gave the whole thing a slightly disjointed feel. In the reverse of so many books today, an additional ten or twenty pages could have added a great deal without harming the integrity of the story.

Also, part of the reason I originally picked this book up was because it was supposed to be "a lesbian retelling of Cinderella (...) in Ash’s world, homosexuality is entirely normal. People are more likely to be heterosexual, but nobody blinks when they see a same-sex couple." (Lo) I thought that was an interesting idea. Unfortunately, unless I missed something, it wasn't until half if not two-thirds of the way through the book that anybody saw or even mentioned a homosexual couple, Ash's new friend in the city never considerd the possibility that she might not be looking for a husband, and Ash's ambitious sister never considered flirting with any wealthy women. While nobody commented when they did see homosexual couples, nothing else seemed to support it being a normal part of life. This aspect of the story was tacked on after most of the story had already been written, and unfortunately it shows by not being particularly well integrated into the rest of the tale.

124 / 150 books. 83% done!

69 / 75 *new books. 92% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

35280 / 45000 pages. 78% done!

Audiobooks: 26h30m

122. *Torchwood: The House That Jack Built by Guy Adams (256) A/SF

People keep dying in strange ways at a house that Jack used to own.

The plot is creepy and interesting and none of the minor characters are safe (although like most books of this kind, the main characters never seem to be in any real danger). Unfortunately, everything is a bit rushed and the resolution is not especially satisfactory.

The writing was ok for the most part, but the oddest mistakes kept popping up, like missing commas that totally changed the meaning of a sentence (or more often just made no sense whatsoever). I don't know if it was a writing problem or an editing problem, but either way, it was distracting.

Overall, the book is rather like a Torchwood episode - enjoyable but not really what I'd call good - except without the things that make the tv show so much fun (the actors, the witty banter, the special effects). Only recommended if you really like Torchwood.

122 / 150 books. 81% done!

68 / 75 *new books. 91% done!

5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!

34780 / 45000 pages. 77% done!

Audiobooks: 26h30m

111. *Roar by Emma Clayton (496) YA/SF-Fan

Ever since the "animal plague", the world's population has been crowded in the northern third of the Earth, with the Wall separating them from the dangers of the south. For a while, all were equal, but then the rich decided to build a second layer above the cities, which made the already cramped and uncomfortable lower level even worse, dark, disgusting, and unhealthy. But when people find out the Secret, everything will change.

I love both fantasy and science fiction, but they don't always blend well, and this is another book that I think would have been better if it had been straight science fiction instead of a mix. The writing was very good and the plot, while not new, was generally well done. But once it left science fiction and veered into fantasy, it became a lot less interesting.

112. *Side Effects by Amy Goldman Koss (144) YA/Fic

Teenager Isabella Miller is diagnosed with cancer.

Funny, sarcastic, and painful. It's not too graphic, but you still get the gist of what she's going through, from the frustration at the begining when everyone talks around her and forgets to talk to her, to the horrible side effects of the chemo, to having to deal with everyone else's coping methods along with figuring out her own.

It's a quick read but it's very moving and the voice rings true.

113. *Epic by Conor Kostick (366) YA/SF

Erik Haraldson lives in two worlds. In the real world, on New Earth, he works on a farm with his parents, where they use both solar panels and wood-burning stoves, tractors and donkeys, an odd juxtaposition of the old and the new. He also lives in Epic, a fantasy MMORPG with virtual reality interfaces that nearly every person plays. It is within Epic that business transactions and governmental issues are handled, disputes are settled, and the economy functions.

Then, of course, things start going wrong. I really liked this book, it turned out to be much, much more interesting than I expected it to be. I do have three minor quibbles: there were almost no female characters in the book and the ones that did exist were unimportant and practically invisible; a major battle near the beginning was completely omitted; and the end wrapped up too quickly. But regardless, it was a fun and enthralling SF story.

113 / 150 books. 75% done!

64 / 75 *new books. 85% done!

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

32254 / 45000 pages. 72% done!
Audiobooks: 26h30m

104. *Doctor Who: Ghosts of India by Mark Morris, read by David Troughton (audiobook) (2:29)

The Doctor and Donna wind up in India. They meet Ghandi and a couple of aliens who may not be quite what they seem.

It was odd to have Ghandi as such an important character in the story. The climax of the story was more than a little weak. Donna tends to be a much louder presence in the books than Rose was, but it's hard to tell if it's because she's a stronger character or just because she's louder.

105. *Doctor Who: Martha in the Mirror by Justin Richards, read by Freema Agyeman (audiobook) (2:37)

Martha and the Doctor end up unexpectedly at some peace negotiations where things don't go quite as planned (of course).

I very much liked this story. It is both a little confusing and a little predictable at times (funny how it manages that) but it all pretty much works and I really enjoyed the end.

106. *Doctor Who: Sick Building by Paul Magrs, read by Will Thorp(e) (audiobook) (2:10)

The Doctor and Martha go to rescue a human colony from the Voracious Craw.

I liked this book from the beginning to - but the end was a joke, wasn't it? There's a real end floating around out there somewhere that I just missed, right? The end just plain stupid.

106 / 150 books. 71% done!

57 / 75 *new books. 76% done!

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

30141 / 45000 pages. 67% done!
Audiobooks: 24h10m