One imperfect letter, one missing page

20. The Cat Who Played Post Office by Lillian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 6
Adult, Mystery, 262 pages

21. *Angelmass by Timothy Zahn
Adult, Science Fiction, 531 pages

I've been told that Zahn's regular science fiction books are better than his Star Wars books, but I didn't think this was. I would have preferred more focus on fewer characters, maybe a few less random plot devices, and the twist at the end to make more sense or be more meaningful.

22. *The God Engines by John Scalzi
Adult, Fantasy, 136 pages

It's hard to say anything about this book without revealing the whole story. It's a kind of fantasy/science fiction mix. There is space travel using captured gods to power the ships and prayer and rituals have tangible effects, but things may not be quite as they seem.

This was an interesting book and well-written as always, but definitely not one my favorites Scalzi books.

23. The Cat Who Blew The Whistle by Lillian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who, book 17
Adult, Mystery, 311 pages

In some of the later books, things just start getting kind of ridiculous, and this is one of those. Everything seems rushed, there is so much going on that seems important but only happens in the background, and the characters - the reason I enjoy reading this series - take a back seat to moving the plot (such as it is) along. Not one of her best.

24. *Judge Sn Goes Golfing by John Scalzi
Android's Dream series, book 2 (chapbook)
Adult, Science Fiction, 32 pages

Short story. Judge Sn golfing and gets interrupted by people trying to assassinate him (repeatedly). Hilarious.

24 / 160 books. 15% done!

10 / 80 *new books. 13% done!

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

6278 / 48000 pages. 13% done!
Audiobooks: 9h03m

End of May:

67. Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce (344) YA/Fan

Daine's wolf pack from her former home asks her to talk to the humans in their new territory about the destruction of the land, the water, and the hunting grounds in the new valley they have moved to, but it turns out that the situation is much different - and much worse - than anyone could have guessed.

Wolf-Speaker is one of my favorite Tortall book. Although the main characters are (as usual in Pierce's books) just a touch too good to be true, Daine grows and learnes and makes mistakes throughout the story and people besides her play roles vital to the plot. I particularly like Maura, a young noblewoman who is terrified but brave, and Tkaa, one of the immortals that Daine meets and befriends.

68. Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce (384) YA/Fan

Daine and her friends are sent to Carthack, to meet with the Emperor. Daine's duty is to see if she can heal the Emperor's pet birds and otherwise to stay out of trouble, but unfortunately for her, the god-touched don't have a choice about where and when they're called on to intervene.

Emperor Mage is another thoroughly enjoyable Tortall story. The Immortals series really improves with each book. I love Daine's interactions with the gods and how she chooses to use her borrowed power in a way that reflects her so very well (and which is not precisely the way she is expected to use it).

69. Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce (338) YA/Fan

Daine and Numair go up against a group of magical creatures of a kind they've never seen before and when it turns out that neither Daine's wild magic nor Numair's Gift can effect them, rescue comes from a surprising direction. But now they're stuck in another realm while war threatens Tortall.

There are a lot of new and interesting characters introduced in this last book in the Immortals series, including various gods, dragons, and other immortals and magical creatures, and Daine's prejudices against Stormwings are tested. The realm of the gods itself is an intriguing place to read about, with different rules from the moral realm and wonders and dangers all its own. It's a fitting end to the series.

69. Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn (404) A/SF
70. *The Seven Towers by Patricia C. Wrede (336) YA/Fan
71. Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (320) YA/Fan

71 / 150 books. 47% done!

39 / 75 *new books. 52% done!

2 / 10 *non-fiction. 20% done!

21768 / 45000 pages. 48% done!

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!

Originally posted in March of 2007 (multiple posts combined) in fiveforsilver:

34. *New Moon by Stephanie Meyer (564)

I read this at the bookstore yesterday afternoon. The writing was better than in Twilight; the diaologue is quite good. I did think the friendship between Jacob and Bella worked well but then went far too quickly from a renewed friendship to best friends and it was uncomfortable every time she referred to him as that, but other than that, I thought the story progressed nicely.

Overall, and unusually, I thought this second book, New Moon, was better than first.

35. Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson (266)

I recently reread The Door in the Hedge and A Knot in the Grain, so I decided to reread McKinley's third anthology as well.

This one is rather hit-and-miss. There are some stories that I liked a lot (Mermaid Song by Dickinson and The Sea-King's Son and A Pool in the Desert by McKinley) and some that I didn't like as much (Sea Serpent and Kraken by Dickinson and Water Horse by McKinley).

36. Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn (404)
37. Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn (439)
38. The Last Command by Timothy Zahn (467)

I really like these books. I recently re-watched the original Star Wars trilogy (sans additions) and I generally feel like reading these books after I watch those. I think Zahn really captures the feel of the universe and the characters. I need to look into some of his non-SW science fiction, which I've heard is as good or better.

39. *Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (534)

I liked this book a lot. It was a little slow to start and, as I recall, the last quarter or so was the most interesting and exciting part, but the rest of it was good as well. I'm trying to get the sequal, Inkspell, from the library, but it hasn't been available whenever I've tried.

I partially read a book that I'm not counting - I borrowed Melusine by Sarah Monette from the library the other day because nothing I was looking for was available (in transit, processing, checked out, damaged: Thursday was not a good library day for me...), I saw it, and recognized it from some people on LT talking about how much they liked it. I, on the other hand, hated it. I disliked it from the very first page and by page 19, I absolutely hated it. I tried, I swear, I tried to give it a decent go before giving up, I tried at least to get to page 50, but I got stuck somewhere around page 37 and I haven't been able to bring myself to open it again. It went back to the library today, when I got the books listed below.

39 / 85 books (45.88%)
23 / 50 *new books (46.00%)
12580 / 30000 pages (41.93%)

Currently reading:
Helm by Steven Gould

Up next (because they're library books that will have to be returned):
The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint
Ecstasia by Francesca Lia Block
Expanded Universe by Robert Heinlein

Originally posted August 16, 2006 in fiveforsilver:

60. *Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton (267)

For the second time, reading a blog made me want to read the blogger's books. Unfortunately, my library only has this one, but I'll request Dancing Barefoot sometime. The book is excerpts from his early blogging and expanded stories about what he'd written about then. Wil talks about some very emotional subjects in this book; some stories brought tears to my eyes and a number of the stories made me laugh out loud (quite a feat for any written text).

61. *Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn (416)
62. *Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn (720)

The Hand of Thrawn books, sequels to The Thrawn Trilogy, in which Zahn ties up a lot of the loose ends from the trilogy. There were a few spots that were a little confusing and a few places where the way things tied up seemed just a bit strained, but overall I like the books very much.

63. Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce (320)

Book 1 of The Immortals Quartet
Even in a world filled with magic, Daine Sarrasi's gift with animals stands out, and between her unusual gift and having to hide the secrets from her past, it's easier for her to connect with animals than people. It takes time (and some gentle and not-so-gentle coaxing from friends and mentors) for Daine to come to trust her new acquaintances.

I really enjoy these books and always like the strong women characters that Pierce writes, but she does have a tendency to do things like pound us over the head with the idea that something bad had happened in her past, long before we find out what it is. A few fewer - or more subtle - mentions of how she can't trust these new people with her secret because they'd surely hate her would have been just as effective, if not more so. But things like that aside, it's a good story and a fun, easy read.

* New reads

63 / 100 books (63.0%)

15 / 30 new books (50.0%)

23,552 / 50,000 pages (47.1%)

Currently reading:
Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (I got stalled maybe a third of the way through this...hopefully I'll get started up on it again.)

Originally posted March 11, 2006 in fiveforsilver:

Yesterday, I joined two new communities, one about counting the number of books you read in a year, and the other about counting the number of pages in the books you read. I actually joined a number of other new communities yesterday, too, but those are the active ones and I posted already in them. I spent this morning before work trying to remember what I had read since the beginning of the year.

Some of these are possibly books I read last year and not since the beginning of this year, but that's ok. I'm sure I've forgotten a few books that I did read this year.

I have been stuck in a rut recently. Frustrations in college (among other things) and sheer laziness come together, and I spend most of my reading time rereading books I've already read and liked. Not that I didn't do that anyway, but I've been worse about it recently that I used to be. Moving on to new things always holds the possiblity that I might not like it (you all know I'm not the adventerous type anyway) and I dislike wasting my time on things - I - dislike, so I have the stupid habit of just not trying them in the first place.

So anyway, along with counting pages and books, I'm also going to try to keep track of how many of them are new books. New to me, anyway.

The default of the communities are 50 books and 15,000 pages in one year, but I'm already at 19 books and over 7,500 pages, so I decided to up those numbers a bit. Here are my first 19 books, including my thoughs on most of them.

Anyway, not in order of reading, just the order I thought of them.

1. First Test, Tamora Pierce (206)
   
2. Page, Tamora Pierce (288)
   
3. Squire, Tamora Pierce (380)
   
4. Lady Knight, Tamora Pierce (409)
   
   These four books are a completed set in a fantasy series about a girl becoming a knight. Pierce's Tortall books (this series, the Immortals series, and the Lioness quartet) are some of my favorites for light reading, not because I have any illusions about the quality of the work (many if not all of the heroines are Mary Sues, for example) but because if you can look past those flaws, they are enjoyable books about strong female characters in fantasy settings, which is something I have always loved. The character in these books, Keladry, has become my favorite of Pierce's characters, possibly because she doesn't have any innate magical abilities and has to figure out everything without that kind of help, unlike all the other protaganists.
   
   
5. *Young Warriors, ed. Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman (312)
   
   An anthology of short stories about, surprisingly enough, young warriors. I read it a couple of months ago, when I first bought it, so I don't remember that much about it, but that the stories are interesting, drawing from a wide variety of cultures and mythologies and using them in sometimes unexpected ways.
   
   
6. *The Will of the Empress, Tamora Pierce (539)
   
   The most recent book in a different series by Pierce, the Circle books. I enjoyed it well enough, but I don't think the Circle books are generally even as well conceived as the Tortall series.
   
   
7. Trickster's Choice, Tamora Pierce (403)
   
8. Trickster's Queen, Tamora Pierce (444)
   
   The most recent books in the Tortall series. Another strong female character - with magic. Aly is possibly more a Mary Sue than any of the other heroines, but even so, I find these books enjoyable and often hilarious. The spying and intrigue remind me at times of what used to be one of my favorite tv shows, Alias.
   
   
9. Heir to the Empire, Timothy Zahn (404)
   
10. Dark Force Rising, Timothy Zahn (439)
    
11. The Last Command, Timothy Zahn (467)
    
    These three Zahn books are Star Wars books. Essentially authorized fanfic, but Zahn is a well-known author in his own right and these are really very good books. They take place following the original three movies and deal with both the personal lives of the characters we know - Han and Leia are married and expecting twins, Luke is worrying about how he's going to eventually teach the twins to be Jedi while trying to juggle government work and trying to find time to teach Leia to be a Jedi, C3P0 is wandering around getting in the way... - and the struggle of the New Republic to both solidify its existance and beat back the still-defiant Empire at the same time. Zahn does a wonderful job of making the characters sound and feel like older versions of the movie characters.
    
    
12. The Outlaws of Sherwood, Robin McKinley (278)
    
    Robin McKinley's (as she puts it) "historically unembarrasing" Robin Hood tale. While Robin is of course the main character, this book focuses also on other characters in his band of outlaws. This story delves more into how the dynamics of the band itself work, with real people - instead of caricatures - as the members.
    
    
13. Sunshine, Robin McKinley (389)
    
    One of my favorite books, Sunshine is a departure from McKinley's previous work. She loaded on the description and the background and the rambling, but I love it. It is not a fairy tale, like many of her other books - it is an alternate universe current-time vampire novel.
    
    
14. *Legends II: Dragon, Sword, and King, ed. Robert Silverberg (401)
    
    These five stories/novellas are all parts of larger things. Since I have read none of the other series that they each belong to, I can say that they do stand alone, but I presume there are many parts that would make more sense to someone who knows the background and history of each story's universe. They were fine. I didn't find any of the stories spectacular, but I enjoyed all of them enough to finish read them, too.
    
    
15. Lythande, Marion Zimmer Bradley (237)
    
16. The Gratitude of Kings, Marion Zimmer Bradley (112)
    
    The first is a book of short stories, the second is a short story in a single book, all about the same person - the Blue Star mage Lythande. Lythande is a female who is forced to go disguised as a male as punishment and to keep her powers. It doesn't specifically say, but I assume that women are not allowed to study to be a Blue Star mage, which is why Lythande disguised herself as a man to gain admittence.
    
    
17. *Chocolat, Joanne Harris (306)
    
    In truth, I liked the movie better, though that is possibly because I saw the movie long before I read the book. It was fascinating, however, to recognize the changes that were made - one character from the book that was split into two characters in the movie and so on. The book is darker, more unhappy and depressing, and the ending is not as clear. Of course this isn't bad, and it's not surprising that a movie would change these things, but even knowing that, I still liked the movie better.
    
    
18. Mutants, ed Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, & Charles G. Waugh (256)
    
    An anthology of science fiction stort stories about different kinds of mutants - natural mutations from a boy who has wings to a horse built like a cheetah, unnatural mutations like a gengeneered child or people altered to live on Mars. One theme in many of the stories is that changes in the physical body might cause unexpected changes in the mind as well.
    
    
19. *Bloodchild and other stories, Octavia Butler (213)
    
    A collection of short stories and essays by Butler, some of which I'd read before, most of which I hadn't. I picked it up at the bookstore yesterday because I needed something to read and wanted something of hers - I have read so much fantasy and sci-fi that I can't keep track of authors names, so I didn't know if I had or hadn't read anything by her.
    
    *New (to me) books
    
    

    7,766 / 50,000 pages (15.5%)

    
    
    

    19 / 200 books (9.5%)

    
    
    

    5 / 50 new books (10.0%)