One imperfect letter, one missing page

20. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (518)

Still my favorite of the HDM trilogy, several discussions about the books recently inspired me to reread it.

21. *The Black Sheep by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout (352)

Hey, a non-f/sf book! The Black Sheep is about a teenage girl who, in a moment of despair, writes a letter to a reality tv show (called "The Black Sheep"). The moment passes and she forgets about the letter, but she is picked to be on the show, which involves switching places with another teenage girl (in, of course, a radically different situation) for a month. Embarrassment, hilarity, frustration, romance, and more, follow.

I picked this book up because of the cover - no, really! It's all black with a white embossed outline of a sheep in the middle and it really caught my eye. The last time I read a book because of the cover, I was disappointed, but this was an entertaining if occasionally frustrating book.

22. The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint (368)

I bought this the last time I was at the bookstore. I've been wanting to reread it almost since I put it down the first time I read it, and there we go. It was pretty much as good the second time around as the first. It's an urban fantasy about a new girl (Imogene) coming to school and strange things start happening to and around her. But she's the type to go and figure out what the heck is going on, so she does, bringing her new friend Maxine with her.

22 / 110 books. 20% done!

8 / 75 *new books. 11% done!

6916 / 33000 pages. 21% done!

I'm waaay behind on updating, so there are going to be several posts in a row.

16. The Fuzzy Papers by H. Beam Piper (406)

I like this book - it's actually two books, "Little Fuzzy" and "Fuzzy Sapiens" - a lot. It's a combination of about the cutest aliens ever (think Ewoks, only cuter and less annoying) and an good story. It's horrible dated, of course, the technology and everything, but looking past that, it's an interesting story of meeting alien races. The one thing that strikes me every time I read it, though, is that (in the book) humans are so much more intelligent than any of the other races, it's practically insulting. But the Fuzzies...

There's a third book in the series, which I got for my dad a couple of years ago. I didn't like it as much - I think "Little Fuzzy" is definitely the best in the bunch, "Fuzzy Sapiens" is pretty good but not as, and the third one, whatever it's called, is definitely downhill from there.

17. Young Warriors: Stories of Strength by Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman, eds (312)

This is a short story anthology, so here's a review of each story:

The Gift of Rain Mountain by Bruce Holland Rogers
I like this story alright. In a way, it's a twist on the visit to the fairy realm or or land of the dead, where if you eat the food, you're there for a hundred years or are bound there forever or whatever. The kid is almost smart, but if he'd been completely smart, well, there would be no story, would there?

The Magestone by S. M. & Jan Stirling
This story I like - I've found I enjoy mermaid/water people stories when they're interesting, because the idea of people living under the ocean has such possibilities.

Eli and the Dybbuk by Janis Ian
This is fun, and very like the traditional Jewish or Yiddish folk tales that I've heard before in many ways.

Heartless by Holly Black
This...I've never quite understood this story. But the end is very emotive.

Lioness by Pamela S. Service
I like this story pretty well. I often enjoy well-written stories of women warriors, which this is.

Thunderbolt by Esther Friesner
This is an entertaining look at Helen of Troy from her perspective as the unimpressed - but not helpless - kidnap victim.

Devil Wind by India Edgehill
I like this one - it reminds me a little of The Secret Garden, which may just be because of the setting. It takes place in India and has to do with the friendship between an English girl and her Indian maid or servant. And magic, of course, and revenge.

The Boy who Cried Dragon by Mike Resnic
This one is just cute and funny and if anything reminds me of Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest books, a little.

Student of Ostriches by Tamora Pierce
I like this one, actually. It's entertaining to read about the background of one of the more fascinating minor characters from the Tortall universe, and also I liked the reveal at the end, because the first time I read it, I didn't realize who it was until the very end of the story.

Serpent's Rock by Laura Anne Gilman
I don't really remember much about this, so I didn't like or dislike it particularly, I guess.

Hidden Warriors by Margaret Mahy
I did like this, with the apprentice there and anther amusing reveal at the end.

Emerging Legacy by Doranna Durgin
Another one I enjoyed, Kelyn from this story reminds me some of Aerin from The Hero and the Crown.

An Axe for Men by Rosemary Edgehill
Not the biggest fan of this story, but oppression is oppression and when women are oppressing men, it's just as bad as men oppressing women, so my not liking it has to do with my feelings about the real world, not about how things are in the world of the story.

Acts of Faith by Lesley McBain
I liked this a lot, and at least it was a short story - I don't read books (fact or fiction) in this setting very often, because they're too stressful.

Swords that Talk Brent Hartinger.
"You want a quiet weapon, get a mace."
It's funny and smart in a "think before you act" sort of way. I enjoy this one, and it makes me think of a line from...A Wizard Abroad, where someone tells Nita that "it was a rare sword that didn't tell you its history, back in the old days" and suggested that it's not necessarily a good thing that weapons are so passive these days.

17 / 110 books. 15% done!

7 / 75 *new books. 9% done!

4827 / 33000 pages. 15% done!