imperfectletter | Entries tagged with scott westerfeld

119. *Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Leviathan, book 2
Juvenile, Steampunk/Alternate History, 481p

121. *Pegasus by Robin McKinley
Pegasus, Book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, 397p

ARC from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Sylvani, king's daughter, is preparing to be magically bonded to a son of the king of the Pegasi, as is required by the treaty between their kingdoms. To everyone's shock, at the ceremony it turns out that Sylvani can mindspeak with her bonded pegasus. Which is impossible. Except it isn't.

I was concerned about how McKinley would be able to put the pegasus - froo-froo fantastical creature to the extreme - into a serious novel. There was no need to worry, though; McKinley's nonhuman characters have always been at least as well developed as the humans. The Pegasi are amazing.

I read this knowing that it was Part 1 of an as-yet-unfinished tale, and McKinley mentioned on her blog that the ending is unsatisfying, so I knew what was coming. But I was still surprised and upset at the cliffhanger where the story stops. I loved the book, but I expect the next time I read it will be right before Book 2 is released, whenever that will be. I can't wait.

121 / 160 books (76%)
59 / 80 *new books (74%)
3 / 7 ^non-fiction (43%)
32402 / 48000 pages. (62%)
Audiobooks: 54h19m

(#120 left out because there are two #64s)

fiveforsilver

106. *Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Leviathan, book 1
Juvenile, Steampunk/Alternate History, 448p

Alek, the young heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run after his parents are assassinated. Deryn has disguised herself as a boy in order to join the British air fleet. Although they're on opposite sides of a war that's just beginning, this is the story of how they meet.

It is also the story of giant mechanical monsters and enormous genetically-engineered creatures, with which the war will be fought.

Not surprisingly, Leviathan is a fun read with great characters and vivid worldbuilding, aided by Keith Thompson's stunning illustrations. While I was expecting a young adult book and the writing and plotting lean more towards juvenile, it's an excellent book and highly recommended as the first in the series.

107. Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce
Protector of the Small, book 4
Young Adult, Fantasy, 409p

107 / 160 books (67%)
56 / 80 *new books (70%)
3 / 7 ^non-fiction (43%)
28356 / 48000 pages. (59%)
Audiobooks: 54h19m

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14. The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld
Sequel to Peeps
Young Adult, Science Fiction, 286 pages

Not quite as good as Peeps, but a fun and solid story with striking characters.

15. *The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforder
Thursday Next series, book 3
Adult, Fantasy, 375 pages

16. *My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
Young Adult, Fiction, 403 pages

17. *Nation by Terry Pratchett
Adult, Fantasy, 367 pages

I can't say I particularly cared for this book. I read it because I saw the play with some friends and they said the book was better. Well, yes, the book was in fact better than the play.

18. Lythande by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Adult, Fantasy, Short Stories, 237 pages

Anthology of short stories about Lythande, a woman who must stay disguised as a man or lose her sorcery and her life. I used to really like this book, but now I only really like the last two stories.

The Secret of the Blue Star
A look at how difficult it can be for Lythande to have to hide the truth from everyone.

The Incompetant Magician
Lythande performs a task for a fellow magician in exchange for a remnant of her past. The story itself isn't very interesting, but the end is kind of sweet.

Somebody Else's Magic
Lythande's secret is threatened when she aids a dying woman and is bound by somebody else's magic. A frustrating story with disgusting attitudes toward women and a weird ending.

Sea Wrack
Lythande decides to help a fishing village rid itself of a murderous mermaid. Not terrible, but again there are some odd attitudes toward women, or rather girls.

The Wandering Lute
Lythande attempts to disenchant a lute and has amusing adventures on the way. There is a sequel story, The Gratitude of Kings, that isn't in this book. I like both stories; there are several entertaining characters and situations.

Looking for Satan by Vonda McIntyre
This story isn't told from Lythande's perspective but that of Wess, a girl from the north who has come south with her companions to find their kidnapped friend Satan. They meet Lythande in the city and Wess and Lythande strike up a curious relationship. It is without question the strongest story in the book and far and away my favorite.

19. *Revenge of the Judoon by Terrance Dicks
Young Adult, Science Fiction, 102 pages

The Doctor promises Martha an adventure-free vacation. Not surprisingly, things don't go as planned.

This was a surprisingly solid story for so short a book. A quick and fun read.

19 / 160 books. 12% done!

7 / 80 *new books. 9% done!

0 / 7 ^non-fiction. 0% done!

5006 / 48000 pages. 10% done!
Audiobooks: 9h03m

fiveforsilver

114. ^*Mind-Rain by Scott Westerfeld (ed) (out of order) (240) YA/NF

Essays and short stories related to Westerfeld's Uglies series. They were really fascinating to read, including some totally different perspectives on the characters. For example, who is the real hero of the series: Tally or Shay? It was a great read, including the two short that were the inspiration for the series.

115. *Saga by Conor Kostick (334) YA/SF

Sequel to Epic. A secret probe has arrived on New Earth, which excised Epic from their computer system and installed another game, Saga. The people of New Earth are becoming addicted to Saga like a drug. Can Eric and his unusual new friends save two worlds?

Saga was quite different from Epic; although it was set in the same universe, it was almost entirely set within Saga and the main characters are NPCs, or characters from the game. It's a good book, I liked it nearly as much as I liked Epic.

116. Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (212) YA/Fan
117. Searching For Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (242) YA/Fan
118. Calling On Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (244) YA/Fan

119. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (546) A/Fan

I felt like rereading this and I lent my copy to my sister, so I read it at the bookstore over the course of a few weeks. I really like it.

120. *^Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from The New York Times by Mark Bittman (330) NF

Technically I didn't read every word of this, but I skimmed every recipe and marked all the ones that looked interesting. I have various dietary limitations, so a lot of recipes are difficult to adapt or even just impossible for me, but this cookbook has lots of recipes that I plan to try. It's also fun that all the recipes (supposedly) take about 30 minutes to make, or if they take longer, it's "largely unattended".

121. The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman(122) YA/Fic

121 / 150 books. 81% done!

67 / 75 *new books. 89% done!

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

34524 / 45000 pages. 77% done!
Audiobooks: 26h30m

Currently reading:
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (started a while ago, haven't gotten very far yet)
Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear (almost done, having trouble getting through the last few pages)

I said I wouldn't buy any books this month, and I haven't, but it was easier this month when only one book that I want came out. Not buying books is going to get harder starting next month when all the new books I desperately want start coming out.

fiveforsilver

Final books of July (yeah, I'm a bit behind) :

107. *Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (403) YA/SF-Fan-Fic

Short stories about geeks and nerds of various stripes. Some of them are more-or-less realistic, some of them aren't realistic at all, most of them are hysterically funny. Authors include MT Anderson, John Green, David Levithan, Garth Nix, Cythia Leitch Smith, and Scott Westerfeld.

108. *Fathom by Cherie Priest (384) A/Fan

For an unknown purpose, a sort of earth elemental convinces a man to build a tower in a specific place. In pursuit of a way to awaken her father (Levithan), a kind of water goddes takes a drowning girl and changes her into something new. The girl's cousin is turned into a statue and set in a garden near the shore for reasons which we don't find out until much later.

The book follows a number of different threads and it's not obvious until far into the story how they relate and who is good or bad.

Actually, it's never entirely clear, but if I were a human living in that world, I know who I would want to win.

It's rare to find a book where not having answers is as fascinating as having them would be. But in this book, in which very little has concrete explanations and most of the characters aren't human (even if they once were), the story is more important than the explanations, and I loved it.

109. *Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich (320) A/Mys

Hey, more standard Stephanie Plum. Lots of crazy grandma in this one, a little more Morelli than Ranger as I recall, and some amusing computer geeks to add to the weird.

110. *Doctor Who: The Pirate Loop by Simon Guerrier, read by Freema Agyeman (2:20) A/SF

This one was odd (well, they're all odd, aren't they?) but fun.

110 / 150 books. 73% done!

61 / 75 *new books. 81% done!

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

31248 / 45000 pages. 69% done!
Audiobooks: 26h30m

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59. *Imaginary Friends edited by John Marco and Martin H. Greenberg (320) A/F/SF

I liked some of these stories a lot and thought some of them were just ok; I didn't actively dislike any of them. The writing is consistantly good through all the stories and authors. The unique takes on the idea of the imaginary friend was, for the most part, fascinating. I don't remember ever having an imaginary friend when I was young; it may be that a person who does will see this book in a different way, although very few of the stories have what one traditionally thinks of as a child's imaginary playmate.

60. *Love is Hell by Melissa Marr, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier, Gabrielle Zevin, and Laurie Faria Stolarz (263) YA/F

Five stories of supernatural teenage love and angst:

Stolarz's Sleeping with the spirit is about a girl whose family moves into a haunted house, who then starts dreaming about a ghost. Slightly creepy but also moving.

Westerfeld's Stupid perfect world describes a future utopia where automated devices prevent anything bad from happening and everything is perfect, except during a two-week period when students practice "scarcity" to teach them about history. A fantastic story (as expected from Westerfeld), good from start to finish with some fascinating concepts played out in such a short time.

Larbalestier's Thinner than water is a village-and-fey story. Kept my interest but not my favorite.

In Zevin's Fan fictions, a girl falls in love with boy nobody else ever meets. Didn't make much sense, which is reminiscent of the book of hers that I readthe writing is strong and the characters are sympathetic, but the plot seems incomplete.

And lastly, Marr's Love Struck is about a girl and a selkie (or, selchie). Again, strong from start to finish. You're never sure quite what's going on or who to trust, just like the main character.

61. *The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn (256) YA/science fantasy

Warning: Review contains spoilers.

The next step beyond drivers' licenses and credit cards: a personal bar code tattooed to your wrist.

The government, the media, food production, schools, the internet, pretty much everything you can think is controlled by one corporation - Global-1 - and now they want to control people, too. The bar code tattoos are the next big thing, making everything from hospital visits to shopping transactions that much easier. But how do you know what information is in your file, who has access to it, and what they do with it?

I had high expectations for this book, both from what I had heard about it and from the description I read. Unfortunately, instead of being a tense SF book, halfway through it turned into a weird mix of paranormal and science fiction that just didn't mesh well. Throw in some bad science (the old "we only use a small percentage of our brains" rubbish and some fundamental misconceptions about adaptation and evolution) and it was hard to know quite what to think.

The basic premis is solid and the story could be fantastic: Kayla is about to turn 17 - the age when people are first allowed to get the bar code tattoo - but she isn't excited about it. When her parents got theirs, suddenly her dad's job started went south as he was passed over for expected raises and promotions, and he started getting depressed and drinking. Her mom became irritable and distant. Everyone Kayla knows who gets the tattoo seems to change, or something to do with them changes.

Kayla eventually discovers that the bar codes contain, among other things, a person's genetic information: her dad's file contains references to potential for scizophrenia, depression, and alcoholism, and obviously his employee had had access. She also learns that her mom - a maternity nurse - had discovered that "genetically inferior" children were being killed before they even left the ward. Kayla refuses to have the tattoo and joins Decode, the resistance movement.

Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Right up until they bring in the telepathy and telekenesis and premenotions, the Native American shaman, and the people trying to contact aliens with their minds. These things drastically decrease the effect of the story, as well as bringing up the previously mentinoed bad science. "Adaptation" and "evolution" don't happen in a few years (or even less) simply because people don't live with the rest of society anymore, and they don't happen to individual people anyway. And we already use all of our brains.

Overall, I was disappointed with this book. A story that could have been very interesting and address real issues being faced today got lost in the pseudoscience and mysticism, which was jarring and seemed out of context. I will not be rereading or recommending this book.

61 / 150 books. 41% done!

33 / 75 *new books. 44% done!

1 / 10 ^non-fiction. 10% done!

18188 / 45000 words. 40% done!

fiveforsilver

First books of November:

131. Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (212)

Old favorite. Picked it up when I wasn't feeling well.

132. *Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (192)

Nick sees his ex walking toward him and asks the girl standing next to him if she'll be his girlfriend for five minutes. Norah sees someone she hates walking towards her and decides to take him up on it. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the same person...

My sister recommended this book to me and I really enjoyed it. It alternates chapters between Nick's perspective and Norah's perspective - and they aren't just one after the other, they overlap a little, or sometimes a lot, so you get to see what each person is thinking about the same situation. Which is really interesting when, for example, they're having a conversation and one of them thinks it's going really well and the other is wondering what the heck is going on. The voices of both characters felt very genuine, very real.

133. ^*Bogus to Bubbly by Scott Westerfeld (224)

I'm classifying this as non-fiction even though it's about half non-fiction and half fictional non-fiction. In Bogus to Bubbly, Westerfeld talks about how he came up with the idea for his Uglies series and for various things in the books, including the slang, the names, and the technologies. He also includes "instruction manuals" for some technologies, like the hoverboards, and "history" passages, such as how future generations would view what happened in the books. It was an interesting, if quick, read.

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

Another old favorite, sequel to Dealing with Dragons.

135. The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld (304)

Sequel to Peeps, or at least, a related book that happens at a later time. It's about different characters and a different aspect of the vampire parasite. I like it, but Peeps is far superior.

136. *Star Wars: Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover (410)

This book was fast-moving and action-packed. It was dark and intense, with many deaths and frequently no clear right or wrong answers - even the questions were unclear, which is often true in moral dilemmas. The setup made sense, some of the characters had interesting stories and motivations, and the end worked and was satisfying, even if it wasn't exactly a happy ending.

It all seemed a bit heavy-handed, though. I can't really remember any happy or funny or even really very neutral scenes in the book - almost the whole thing is depressing, stressful, angry, horrifying, or some combination. Anything positive gets cut off pretty much before it starts. And it also seemed to happen rather fast, although granted there is a lot that happened prior to the beginning of the book - the setup I mentioned - that we only hear about.

137. Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (244)
138. Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (255)

Third and fourth books in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. The first two are definitely my favorites, but I like all four, and Morwen in particular (main character of Calling, along with her cats) is a wonderful character.

138 / 150 books. 92% done!

66 / 75 *new books. 88% done!

6 / 10 ^non-fiction. 60% done!

37287 / 40000 pages. 93% done!

fiveforsilver

These are books that I'm not going to finish, for one reason or another:

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland (137/unfinished)

LibraryThing Early Reviewer book

I tried, I really did, but I gave up maybe a third of the way through. I just don't care. I don't care about the main character, the two men she's intensely attracted to I find repulsive, and nothing is happening. Also, I really don't care if their world is overrun by evil fallen angels. I gave the book to a coworker who may appreciate it more than I do.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (audio/unfinished)

I love this book on paper, but the lady who is reading it has an uncomfortable, grating voice, especially when she's reading someone else's dialogue besides Tally. It got to a point where I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I don't know how someone with a voice like that got into the business, frankly.

Knave of Dreams by Andre Norton (audio/unfinished)

Once again, I tried, but this book really lost me from about the first chapter, in which the main character learned a whole new language in about two days, without any magical or scientific aide. Sorry...no.

He (the main character) is also rather an idiot. Ok, I grant that he's been thrown into a new and strange situation, but he has a tendency to jump to some very odd conclusions on the one hand, but at other times get exactly the right conclusion on half the information. I give up.

Currently reading (and loving):
The Magician's Ward by Patricia C. Wrede
The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia

fiveforsilver

88. *The Professor's Daughter by Joann Sfar (64)
Graphic Novel, recommended to me by my sister. Beautiful illustrations and a fantastic, hilarious story. I recommend it to pretty much anyone.

89. *Doctor Who: Pest Control by Peter Anghelides, read by David Tennant (2h24m)
The Doctor and Donna land on a planet being colonized by the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. It's the middle of a war. But who is the real enemy?

Overall I found this a predictable and not terribly exciting story. It's always fun to listen to David Tennant read, though.

90. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (304)
Reread. Without question one of the best YA vampire books. Westerfeld is a superb author.

91. *Torchwood: Hidden by Steven Savile, read by Naoko Mori (2h16m)
Naoko Mori has a lovely voice, but the story didn't make much of an impression. I didn't write a review immediately after I listened to it and now I don't remember what it was even about.

92. Soul Music by Terry Pratchett (373)
This is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, Discworld book. I love Susan and Death of Rats is fabulous.

92 / 110 books. 84% done!

43 / 75 *new books. 57% done!

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

26157 / 33000 pages. 79% done!
Audiobook time: 17h40m

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!

blue_ant

48. How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer
Although a lot of soccer/football fans I know didn't really like this book, I did. It did seem disjointed, but I think it worked for the style that Foer was going for. I enjoyed his anecdotes and the brief histories that he provided. I did think the book was lacking, but it wasn't meant to be a comprehensive look at the history of soccer. I think it's good, especially for people who aren't familiar with the sport.

49. Specials by Scott Westerfeld
I love Scott Westerfeld and I really loved this book. It's the sequel to Pretties and it's just fantastic. One thing I did that I'm glad I did was wait a week before reading this. Uglies and Pretties were such strong books with lots of depth, that I needed time to process them. So, when I finally got to Specials, I had a good handle on my feelings. I loved Specials as much as I loved the other two, and I can't wait to read Extras. Westerfeld continues to impress me.

50. Earthcore by Scott Sigler
Another Sigler audiobook. This was the first one he did, so there are a few errors, but over all, it's really fun to listen to. This one did not end quite the way I expected, but it was quite a fun thing to listen to. I want to listen to more, but it's hard because I not only feel like I'm cheating on actual hard copy books, but I want to know what happens and I can't listen right away all the time. Whereas with paper books, I can read at my own pace. But, over all, Sigler does a good job promoting audiobooks.

50 / 120 new reads. 42% read!

blue_ant

45. Ancestor by Scott Sigler
My first audio book and it wasn't really an audio book. It's something called a podio book, which is basically a book produced like a podcast. I'm listening to another one of his books at the moment. But back to Ancestor. This is a fantastic book, a science fiction story about genetics gone crazy. It has a nice, healthy twist of a love story and some characters are utterly brilliant (both the good and the bad guys). I throughly enjoyed reading it, even if I felt like I cheated on books when I finished. I know I'm weird. But, yeah. The voices are good, if a little weird. My only complaint is that one of his characters is described as fat throughout the novel. I don't know if this would have bothered me so much had I not been listening to the book, but it bothered me a little. Though perhaps not as much as it could have, because it was clear Sigler has affection for all of his characters.

46. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
I finally read the second book in this series. I really liked Uglies, but I have to say that Pretties is better. While it is just as frustrating, I can let that pass because of the circumstances of Tally. I like the new characters we're interested in and I love how Tally is so conflicted and flawed and blames herself. She's extremely strong, while at the same time being quite weak. I am excited to read Specials, which is the third book in the series. Westerfeld has proved once again to be a fantastic writer and storyteller.

47. The Trouble With Poetry: And Other Poems by Billy Collins
The thing about Billy Collins is that I love him. Well, his poetry at least. I love the way he writes, the way he evokes images. And I love the way he reads his poems. Here are my favorites from this collection:

You, Reader, The Peasants' Revolt, Theme, Eastern Standard Time, Flock, Special Glasses, The Lanyard, Genius, The Student, The Order of the Day, The Flying Notebook, and Evening Alone

47 / 120 new reads. 39% read!

blue_ant

17. Dark Days (30 Days of Night, Book 2) by Steve Niles
Not much to say about this one. It's better than 30 Days of Night, maybe not scary either, but more interesting. I liked the characters a lot and I liked the Matrix-like things that went on. I especially liked the tiny love story that happened at the end. Cliché, but well done.

18. Inferno: New Tales of Terror and the Supernatural by Ellen Datlow
I meant to make a list of the stories in the collection that I liked best, but to be honest, they were almost all good. Which really says a lot about the book, because for the most part I hate short story collections. There were a couple that were just heart breaking, but some of them were really quite beautiful. I found that the quality of writing was quite high and I was pleased with what I'd read when I finished it. Though the subtitle mentions tales of terror, they aren't overly scary. It's definitely more in the supernatural vein, but really quite enjoyable. Kind of like high class X-Files, without tales to solve and no Mulder and Scully.

19. China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power by Rob Gifford
This is non-fiction and I rarely read that kind of thing. But I'm going to say right there that this book was quite awesome. I loved it and read it more closely than almost anything I've read in a lot time. It was not only well written, but the story was compelling. Gifford told of his trip along Route 312 (from Shanghai to Kazakhstan) and the people he met. I liked how he educated us as he told his stories. I do think that that was partly the purpose of the book, but unlike so many other non-fiction books, I did not once feel like I was being lecture. I also quite liked the end, when he talks about his ideas for the future of China and what paths he thinks he the country could and/or should go down.

It was also nice to see that a good NPR correspondent sounds just as fantastic on paper as he does on the radio.

20. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
It was a long time coming, but I finally read and finished this book. I'll be honest, I loved it. It was quite well written (though it's Westerfeld, so I'm not surprised at all). I am really torn, because I want to read Pretties now, but I have other things I need to read first. There was one thing that frustrated but and I might have said something like 'TALLY, just tell him the truth!' But I do see what Westerfeld was doing and it didn't take away from the novel in any way. And perhaps that was the intended reaction for the part of the book that made me say it. I am eagerly looking forward to the next books.

20 / 80 new reads. 25% read!

blue_ant

11. Selling Out by Justina Robson
As with Keeping It Real, Robson continues to mix a little science fiction with fantasy and romance. She effortless creates worlds (since there's not just one) that the reader can drift between along with Lila Black, our heroine. This sort is a bit darker than the first book, there are more deaths and more dangers, but somehow Robson manages to keep the humor throughout the book. One of the surprising things was that we had a few unexpected reveals, and as trite as Robson could have been (Lila having to go to Demonia to get to Hell), she manages to avoid it. I really enjoyed reading it and I look forward to the next book in the series.

12. 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles
I read this so I didn't have to go see the movie. I have to confess, this was a huge disappointment. I was completely bummed by the way the graphic novel ended. I have placed an ILL request for the sequel, but I don't hold out much hope. Also, I still have no desire to see the movie.

13. The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld
I was really, really excited about reading this one. I loved The Risen Empire and I think it would have been fun to read the books together. Taken separately, it would seem amazing how well Westerfeld managed to keep the plot and characters together. But since it was originally published as a single work, it's not that hard to imagine. As with the first book, I loved the characters (especially the Captain and the Senator -- which, I know, was the point). There isn't really much to say about this, except that it was a good ending to the "series" (since it's only two books).

13 / 80 new reads. 16% read!

fiveforsilver

3. A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley (192)

The Healer
This may be my favorite story in a book where I like them all. It's about Lily, a girl who is born without the ability to speak. She has the Gift of healing and earns her place in the village and countryside where she grows up, but she can never forget what she doesn't have. Everything changes when she meets a mage who can mindspeak. This takes place in Damar.

The Stagman
Ruen's parents died when she was a baby and her uncle is to be Regent until she is of age, but of course he doesn't want to give up the power. Instead of just sending her away, he leaves her to die at the hands of a monster, who instead saves her. Ruen frustrates me, because she's so totally passive most of the time, but given her upbringing I guess it makes sense. I do like the end, though. This is also set in Damar.

Touk's House
Erana is adopted by a witch and grows up with her and her half-troll son Touk. She has to go away before she can realize what she has to return to. I like Erana, she's smart and persistent.

Buttercups
Another one of my favorites, I read this story in a new way after reading recently how McKinley and her husband met. Pos's first wife died years ago and he never considered marrying again until he met Coral, a young woman new to the town. Then he began to doubt, as the difference in their ages and his lack of wealth made him more and more uncomfortable. What will happen when disaster strikes - and who will cause it?

A Knot in the Grain
This story is in a totally different vein and it always seems odd to me, coming after four high fantasy tales. It's sort of a pre-urban fantasy story - it's not urban in the sense of big city and so on but it is set in modern times and has a very different feel than the others. Anabelle's family moves the summer before her junior year of high school and, partly as a protest, she picks the attic to be her new room. Something happens that even she doesn't expect when she finds the knot in the grain.

4. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (312)

Just as much fun the...third time around, I think. Although I admit I skipped the short chapters about parasites. I read them all the first time through; I don't need to read them again. Ew.

4 / 110 books. 4% done!

2 / 75 *new books. 3% done!

1163 / 33000 pages. 4% done!

blue_ant

01. The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld
This was the first of his adult books that I'd read. It was a little odd to read, because I forgot that he likes to alternate points of view, but I had no trouble following the characters. One of the things I loved about this book was that some of the points of view were totally unexpected (like the house) or important events being written from the point of view of people who weren't sure what was going on. One of the best parts of this book was the completely unexpected and amazing love story. I cannot wait to read the second book.

02. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
I don't usually like young adult coming of age novels, unless they are science fiction/fantasy. But once again, they realistic fiction books turn out to be something really quite extraordinary. This is the story of war, though we're never quite sure with whom the English are fighting, and the story of how Daisy ends up in England for the war. It's sort of dream of consciousness, in a way, but well written in other ways. I did cry at the end, but I cry at a lot of things. It's very different from Life As We Knew It, which is what it's most often compared to, but just as good, I think. It's kind of the kid in a disaster situation, only this Rosoff's book is much more without adults than Pfeffer's.

2 / 80 new reads. 3% read!

Current Music: Doris Day - Teacher's Pet

fiveforsilver

145. The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun (192)

Instead of his beloved crime beat, Qwill is given an assignment about interior design from the newspaper. But (as usual) it all goes awry when something goes wrong at every home that is photographed. Also, the introduction of Yum Yum.

These are light, pretty sweet books, even with the murder and occasional mayhem.

146. So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld (225)
147. Extras by Scott Westerfeld (417)

I really like these books - I need to buy some more Westerfeld next year.

148. *Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones (256)

I remembered where it was - I lent it to my sister. I must've finished it, but the end must not have been particularly memorable. All in all it was a hilarious book, though.

149. Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood (293)
150. *The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (499)

At the time I'm posting this, I haven't quite finished either of these, but I am nearly done with both and will finish them today.

Final stats:

(I have two books numbered 71)
151 / 150 books (101%)
72 / 70 *new books (102%)
49196 / 50000 pages (98%)

fiveforsilver

Originally posted in October of 2007 in

fiveforsilver:

126. *A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (403)

It was ok. I think I missed something, though, because I don't know what the title has to do with the story. It seemed like a story of what might have happened to Sara Crewe or Mary Lennox if magic had been real in their worlds, but their stories are far more magical. Maybe my expectations are too high - most of the YA books I have read recently have either been old favorites (which means all sorts of authorial sins can be forgiven) or new favorites with an inspiring level of writing ability (such as Scott Westerfeld). I expected the writing to be more lyrical; it was too flat for the times and places and events that were being portrayed.

Also, while many things were left unexplained at the end of the book, the events within it were tied up neatly. This left me with a vague curiosity about some things (what was the Order? why was that boy chasing Gemma? what are the Realms and what will happen to that girl now?) but no desire or need to read further in the series.

This is a classic case of 'don't judge a book by its cover'. The cover art is beautiful, and the title brings great expectations, and neither quite lives up to its promise.

Last books of October:

127. Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce (320)
128. Page by Tamora Pierce (288)
129. Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce (409)

Rereads. Inputting data into LibraryThing's Common Knowledge made me want to read these again.

Fist books of November:

130. *So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld (225)

I think this was Westerfeld's only YA book that I hadn't read (because I couldn't find it before). It is an excellent book, as usual. It reminded me of William Gibson's Pattern Recognition (both are about advertising and people who see advertising in ways that the rest of us don't).

131. Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce (403)

Also a reread, ditto above. However, I should put the Trickster books away for a while - a very long while - because lately Aly's Mary Sue-ness is so irritating that I can barely enjoy all the things I do like about these books.

132. *It's the Little Things: 300 Simple Ways to Indulge Yourself by Amy Collins (300)

I picked this up randomly at a library book sale earlier this year or last year. I put off reading it because (once I got it home) I was afraid it would be stupid or annoying. To my surprise, there are a lot of good suggestions and it is calming to just sit down and read a few pages from it.

133. Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce (444)

Yeah, I skimmed quite a bit while rereading this. Aly really started to irritate me.

134. *Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith (310)

In a world where vampires and werewolves (and so on) are real (if not accepted), Quincie's uncle is starting a vampire-themed restaurant. Then bad things start happening to the people connected with it.

The first half of this book is fairly blah. It's all setup for what happens in the second half of the book. The second half is much more interesting, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. There are twists that aren't normally found in the vampire books (at least, not the ones I've read).

( spoilers )

135. *Little (Grrl) Lost by Charles de Lint (271)

Another YA urban fantasy by Charles de Lint. This is an updated version of the Littles or the Borrowers -type of story, it's really a cute story with as much urban as fantasy. I didn't love it like I loved the Blue Girl, but I liked it.

136. The Android's Dream by John Scalzi (394)

Reread. Hilarious book. I can't wait for the sequel.

137. *Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff (396)

First book in the Smoke Trilogy, sequel to the Blood books. More vampire Henry Fitzroy. So far (I'm halfway through book two) they're just as much fun as the first series, although I miss Vicki and Mike.

137 / 150 books (91.3%)

66 / 70 *new books (94.3%)

44,775 / 50,000 pages (89.5%)

fiveforsilver

Originally posted in October of 2007 in

fiveforsilver:

Last books of September:

113. *You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing by John Scalzi (319)

This is a book on writing - mostly the business of writing, as opposed to the act or art of writing (though there's some of that, too). Actually, a lot of the business aspects and ideas aren't field-specific. Some of them are, but there are also lots of good general home-business, self-employed kinds of advice. Also, it's just plain good, entertaining reading.

114. *Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (629)

Book three in the Twilight series. These books are getting better as they go along - the writing, the character interaction, and so on. I still don't think they're particularly good, but Eclipse is definitely better than the previous two. As with those, however, I have read it once and have no interest in ever reading it again.

115. *Blood Price by Tanya Huff (272)

Book one in the Blood series, a supernatural crime novel. I was not expecting a whole lot from this book, so I got just what I wanted: it was fun, a little sexy, and an enjoyable fluff read.

116. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (212)

Cimorene hates being a 'proper' princess, so she runs away and volunteers to be princess for a dragon. This is an old favorite, a sort of fantasy/fairy tale parody or whatever you want to call it. It's a wonderful little book, a quick read with great characters and a fun story.

Wow it's been a while since I've updated. This is since the beginning of October.

117. *Blood Trail by Tanya Huff (304)

This was another book with interesting werewolf pack dynamics, with, of course, the Henry/Vicki/Mike dynamics mixed in. I enjoyed this book - this whole series is nice sexy fluff reading without being over-the-top and I like it a lot.

118. *Blood Lines by Tanya Huff (271)

Creepier than the previous books, but still an enjoyable read.

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

A book of fantasy short stories, two of which are related to the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. More fun, light reading. I particularly like Roses and The Lorelei.

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

The only book from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles that I could find at the moment. These books have always been some of my favorites, fairy tale parodies with great main characters and fun stories.

121. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley (247)

Rereading one of my (many) favorite McKinley books after the disappointment of Dragonhaven.

122. *Extras by Scott Westerfeld (417)

And he does it again! I just love Westerfeld's YA books. Extras was fantastic, a wonderfully detailed society, great characters, a part in the middle that actually made me gasp out loud with surprise. The twist at the end caught me totally by surprise, but was totally appropriate to the characters and the world. Just perfect!

123. *Blood Pact by Tanya Huff (332)
124. *Blood Debt by Tanya Huff (330)

I can't really say much about these without lots of spoilers. The twist at the end of Pact surprised me, though maybe it shouldn't have. But I like how it played out in Debt.

125. The Woman Who Rides Like A Man by Tamora Pierce (253)

I was adding info to the Common Knowledge thing on LibraryThing and it made me want to read these books again.

I decided to raise my challenge rates after all, mostly for aesthetic reasons. The over-100% meters were starting to look pretty ugly.

125 / 150 books (83.3%)

61 / 70 *new books (87.1%)

41,015 / 50,000 pages (82.0%)

Currently Reading:
Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce

fiveforsilver

Originally posted in September of 2007 in

fiveforsilver:

Last two books from August:

101. *Evolution's Darling by Scott Westerfeld (290)

I got this book from the library because I love Westerfeld's YA science fiction and fantasy books. This, I didn't like so much. I couldn't really connect with the characters, I didn't really care about them. It didn't have anything to do with the fact that one of them is an artificial intelligence - I've read numerous other books with AI characters that I liked or loved. This seemed more like an exercise in how many weird things could be packed in one short novel. And there was a lot of sex. Really strange sex.

I did very much like the end of the book, but it didn't make up for the rest of the weirdness.

102. *Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (643)

I read really liked this book. I enjoyed the unusual kind of magic in this fantasy world, the dynamics between the characters, and the mystery in the plot - they're fighting against something they don't really understand and don't know how to fight. It's also very well-written.

(I left the original of the above entry in place here because there are a couple of comments from the author of Mistborn there :)

103. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (312)

Great book. The writing is excellent, the story is intriguing, and the characters are believeable. It's fun to read a different take on the vampire myths.

Midnighters Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
104. The Secret Hour (383)
105. Touching Darkness (439)
106. Blue Noon (505)

I like these books - I just love Westerfeld's writing style and ability to create distinct, believeable characters in unique settings. Well, ok, the high school setting isn't exactly unique, but the secret hour certainly is.

107. *The Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint (289)

This book was disappointing. I read de Lint's urban fantasy The Blue Girl earlier this year and thought it was wonderful, so when I was at the library, I picked up another of his books. This one is high fantasy, though, not urban, and it is...just...blah. Everything is Standard Fantasy; Standard Fantasy main character, Standard Fantasy plot devices, Standard Fantasy help along the way. It's just boring.

107 / 100 books (107.0%)

50 / 50 *new books (100.0%)

34,953 / 30,000 pages (116.5%)

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