snugglekitty | Entries tagged with books 2008

I picked this book up a while ago in a used bookstore because I like fantasy novels about women soldiers. I did not initially realize that it was an Arthurian fantasy. Call me a bad fantasy fan if you must, but I do not have a big thing for Arthurian legends, or for dragons for that matter. But I decided to read the book anyway, partly because I had read and loved Farthing, a newer book by Walton in the alternate-history creep-you-the-heck-out genre.

Sulien is sixteen when she is overpowered by a group of armed raiders, raped, and left to die. From this horrible incident, she is forged into a weapon of steel. When she sees a large party of warriors attacking a small group of horsemen, she doesn't hesitate to join the outnumbered side. And this brings her naturally into the service of Urdo, the High King who desires to unite the entire land. But the past is always with us. Can Sulien move beyond what has happened to her?

( A slight spoiler, a slight peeve. )

Debra Doyle reviewed this book as, "what The Mists of Avalon should have been." I think that this is a reflection of her interests as an author. I would not say this is the book TMoA should have been - for one thing, they were written in different times. For another, they have different things to say. TMoA is a feminist book. This is a book with a female main character. They are both about a land in turmoil between its pagan roots and its Christian future, but the interpretations of what that means are very different.

Some of the things I liked about this book are the believable characters, spirituality and magic that are present but not the focus of the story, the humor, and the lense through which Sulien views the world. The book is told from her perspective, and she is very often funny or sad without knowing it, such as when she is talking about Christianity or marriage.

This is not only a book for Arthurian enthusiasts. I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in the time period or enjoys military-focused sci fi in the age of horses and swords. Four stars. As a note, though it is very important to understanding Sulien's character, and not as graphic as it might have been, the rape scene may be triggering for some.

This was 2007's second Shakespearean thriller, along with Interred With Their Bones.

( A point-by-point comparison, a few spoilers but nothing major, based on my somewhat fallible memory. )

Jake Mishkin is not a very nice man. He can't stop chasing tail to save his marriage. And when a valuable manuscript comes into his posession, he may not even be able to stop chasing tail to save his own life.
Albert Crosetti has two loves - the cinema, and the other employee of the bookstore where he works, a beautiful but mysterious woman named Carolyn. He's a stand-up guy, but he's still living with his mom and hasn't had a date in... well, actually he's never had a date.
A long-dead soldier named Richard Bracegirdle may hold the key to a treasure that could make both of them rich forever, and his last letter has come into their hands. But the only other person who knew about this has been found tortured to death. Who are the bad guys? Who is hiding secrets? And does the treasure even exist?

( A quote I liked. )

This book is riveting. I also found the sequence of events plausible, and the characters very human. The manuscript passages are believable as well (and Dick Bracegirdle isn't any nicer than Jake Mishkin, and he's a lot less smart to boot). Overall I found this a very enjoyable read, and recommend it to fans of Shakespeare, historical novels, and The Da Vinci Code. Four stars.

This book is the sequel to the urban-fantasy, alternate-history title Magic Bites.

Formerly a freelancer, Kate, of violent upbringing and mysterious ancestry, now works as a liasion between the Order she no longer belongs to and the magical community she's never left. The werewolves owe her a favor, she has a place to live, and life is looking kind of okay. Then a routine collection of stolen property turns into a very big deal indeed, with a threatened girl, a missing coven, ominous flaring of the magical tides, and perhaps worst of all, impending nuptials for Kate's ex-boyfriend. Well, maybe not quite ex-boyfriend, but ex-something, and a girl has her pride, doesn't she?

I found it frustrating that Kate's heritage is not discussed further in this book. Or maybe it was just too subtle for me to pick up on. But I wanted to find out what her deal was, and I didn't. I was also a little frustrated that the plot was still so focused on weres - aren't there lots of other supernatural communities we could focus on, places for Kate to make new friends and enemies? On the other hand, the plot moved along quickly and I liked the ending a lot, as well as the moral debates within the book. Three stars - fans of urban fantasy should try this series.

I saw this movie six months ago or so. I didn't realize at the time it was based on a book. The movie was good but the book was even better.

Miss Pettigrew knows that this position is her last chance. Her hateful governess jobs are getting shorter and shorter and progressively less well compensated. If she cannot get this position, her long fall from prosperity will be complete and she will find herself out in the street. But Fate has a few surprises left in store for her. Everything changes when she meets her new employer, the whimsical, indecisive, and glamorous Delysia LaFosse. New doors will open, new possibilities will unfold, new sins will be tried - and for at least one day in her life, she will truly live.

This book is truly a delight. If you enjoy manners comedy, and the good ending well, you should pick it up immediately. Four stars.

This was the fourth book for my queer reading group. It's hard to believe that there are only two books left - Fun Home, which I have already read once but will re-read before the group meets, and Angels in America. I am undecided as to whether I should read the play first or watch the movie first with that. Has anyone done both, and if so, do you have any recommendations?

Craig has always wanted to find his birth mother. Now that he is an adult with a partner he loves (Jacobus called Job) and a career that fulfills him (performing and writing) he has time to search. Five years of struggle finally bear fruit, and he finds not just his birth mother, but a whole family that he never knew. But the culture clash when the urban queen meets the Seventh-Day Adventist straight folks may not leave anyone standing.

Fumbling Towards Divinity was somewhere in the middle of the books we've read so far in terms of my enjoyment. The book was readable, but the narrator was so annoying. So! Annoying! Here's a short quote from a letter to his birth sisters:

"I seek only to share with you the gift of insight as it has been given to me. Share it, I must, in order to keep it. If I do not share it, it will drive me mad.
Some of what has been revealed to me concerns what might be considered the subconscious, so I will certainly understand your initial rejection of much of what is written here.
But please return to it later, if you can. We much walk through grueling places, for we won't really know ourselves until we face the ugliness of it all..
I will understand it if you feel I am arrogant, condescending, or self-righteous; I am fluent in the languages of Judeo-Christianity, high art, academia..
My life is a metaphor for Christ's. Christ's life is a metaphor for mine..
It might help you to see that I am not perfect, do not pretend to be, and do not think that I am morally better than you just because I have clearer vision." p 271-272

Hoo, boy. So nice to see a guy sitting in judgement on women that he just met, telling them he knows what they need and they shoudln't resent him just because he sees things more clearly than they do. This kind of exemplifies the narrator's self-centeredness, unfortunately. He seems to think that other people exist primarily to set up his fabulous monologues. In his book, he always gives himself the last word. I wonder what those around him feel about the events described here. I bet they'd tell it differently. Maybe they'd tell it better. Two stars.

This is another book in my topical arc on women and alcoholism. It was recommended to me by a number of people. I really enjoyed the language and the personal quality of the story.

From the outside, Caroline Knapp's life looks fine. She has a good job as a journalist, a loving, if slightly odd, family, and a steady boyfriend (or sometimes two). But secretly, she is also having a passionate love affair with alcohol, one that gets more and more desperate as time goes by.

( A quote about AA. )

Most of this memoir is focused on Knapp's "active alcoholic" days, as she calls them. She does make a distinction between active and recovering phases of alcoholism. She only discusses her recovery in the last few chapters of the book. AA is what helped her, although she is not dogmatic about it and acknowledges that there are other ways to get sober (but AA is the only sobriety group she refers to in her appendix). There is much to connect with in this story - being part of a drinking culture in her twenties, feeling confused about what to do with her life, the death of her father, dramatic relationships with men, gradually worsening family issues, and a slowly growing sense that maybe alcohol is at least part of the problem. I found this story very easy to relate to. I recommend it for anyone interested in the memoir of an alcoholic or something readable about why women in particular drink. Three stars (a C+ in the new system).

One look at the cover, and I had to read it. How could I resist that handsome face, with his wise eyes and distinguished whiskers? Well, maybe you won't be able to either.

One freezing January night in Iowa, Vicki and her fellow librarians found a bedraggled kitten in their book drop. (Poor kitty poor kitty! Poor baby!) But it was a lucky day for that cat, because he spent more than a dozen years after that as the pampered and beloved library cat of the Spencer Library. His sweet face, heartwarming story, and lovable personality won him friends and admirers around the globe. But this is not just a random story about a cute cat - stories from Vicki's life and the life of her small town moving from decade to decade are woven in with it, giving it a strong context and greater relevance in the bigger picture.

Vicki Myron hit on a winning formula with this true story. Her anecdotes are charming but not too precious, and she makes her life, town, and cat real to the reader. This is an "Ohhhh!" book. It would make for great family reading, a good gift, or something nice to read when it's cold outside and you're not feeling all that. Three stars (a C+ in the new system).

*Specially included: a free picture of my own rescue cat.

For several years, I've been looking forward to a book that Lackey said she was planning to write about Baron Valdemar, the first Heralds, and the creation of Valdemar. It was supposed to be called Foundation.

This is not that book. It is a good book, a tasty treat of a book, but it is not that book. It is set during the founding of the Herald's Collegium, a few generations after Vanyel and Stefan lived.

Mags has spent his whole life working. He is told he is "Bad Blood," that he was found orphaned in a bandits' camp and this proves he is destined to be wicked. Every day he works in the mines, hunting for "sparklies." He shores up his portions to prevent cave-ins, and shares his food and rags with those smaller than him. If he finds enough sparklies, he gets a piece of bread with his thin broth. (Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a little over the top.) But then Heralds come to the Big House where the owner of the mine lives with his family. They are looking for a very special boy. Could Mags be the one?

This book is in the tradition of "classic Lackey." Recently Lackey has been writing some books set in Valdemar that have a YA feel to them - a bit less graphic violence and sex than her initial works - but overall read much like the books that some of us grew up on - the Last Herald-Mage trilogy, The Queen's Own. I think this is a vast improvement over some of her Valdemar books (like the Gryphon and Winds series). I found the book enjoyable and am curious to see where she will go with the inevitable rest of the series. Four stars (B- in the new system).

This book is the sequel to the very enjoyable series premiere Off Armageddon Reef. In the first book, humanity was utterly defeated by a relentless alien foe that refused to negotiate. In a desperate final attempt, a last colony of survivors was sent out. They were brainwashed to believe those starting the colony were archangels, and taught to fear change and technology. But the implacable, inhuman aliens will find them eventually...

Nimue Alban, once a soldier in the war against the aliens, has now been entirely reborn as Merlin Athrawes through a personality download. He serves as advisor and bodyguard to the king, and is considered a mystic by many. Only King Cayleb and a few of his most trusted associates know the truth - Merlin is a cyborg, brought back to life to save humanity from a terrible peril they have no idea exists. But the Kingdom of Charis is at war - not just with other kingdoms, but with a far worse enemy - the corrupt Mother Church Herself.

My feelings about the book can best be summarized with the following: "Enh."
It was definitely not as good as the previous book. It wasn't bad, but it just didn't engage my brain the same was the previous book did. Yes, it was engrossing, but something was missing. It all seemed too easy. So easy to tell who the good guys and bad guys are... Weber's casual One-True-Wayism about capitalism, patriarchy, democracy, and the US is just... really annoying at times, and it marred my enjoyment of the book in this case. Three stars, a C- in the new system.

I kind of want to just read a recap of future books in this series, rather than investing all that time.

This is a modern-day murder mystery set in Sweden. My girlfriend's father suggested that we would both like it. Both of us read it but neither of us did - alas.

Everyone is surprised when a business tycoon falls to his death from the balcony of his condo. They are even more surprised when it's discovered to be murder. Detective Inspector Huss, judo champion and mom, is one of the first on the scene. Now she and her colleagues must track down the truth, through fake identities, greed and adultery, drug abuse, and even a violent motorcycle gang. At home, things are scarcely less tense as one of Huss' teenage daughters starts playing in a skinhead band.

This book was atmospheric and moody. There was hardly any action. Some points of the plot were obvious early on, others seemed to come out of nowhere. Huss, as a policewoman who is very worried about whether she will turn into an overweight and unattractive older woman, did not strike me as especially interesting. I had seen this author compared to Fred Vargas, but I don't agree - Tursten's characters are never quirky and rarely funny. I was only a few hundred pages in when I just wanted it to be over. Unless you are from Sweden, or a real buff of international mysteries, I think you should give this one a miss. Two and a half stars (this would be a C- in the new system).

I saw this series reviewed in a book review community and decided to try it. I have always been a fan of YA fantasy.

Lucien is terribly terribly sick, from both the tumor in his brain and the chemotherapy that is battling it. Then his father starts to tell him about the magical city of Venice, and he starts to have incredibly vivid dreams about a city that both is and is not Venice.
Arianna's lifelong dream is to become a mandolier, but as a girl, she is forbidden. She hatches a cunning plot to sneak into the mandolier's school dressed as a boy. But her discovery of a foreign stranger will throw her plans into chaos.
Silvia, the Duchesse of Bellezza, is struggling to keep her city independent of the Reman Empire. But she has made a mistake that may prove fatal, both to herself and to her beloved home.

This book is good - engrossing and interesting, with a fine attention to detail. Those who like the idea of alternate dimensions and history should enjoy it. But Hoffman does not compare to other YA writers such as Robin McKinley, Sharon Shinn, and Dianna Wynne Jones. I recommend this book to those who have read YA fantasy exhaustively and want something new. For those who are new to the genre, I would suggest one of the other writers instead. Three stars.

This book was well-reviewed in the "romantic sci fi" genre. It is basically a space opera number. Sirantha Jax is one of the elite - a jumper - she can navigate the pitfalls of grimspace that must be faced for long-distance travel. But something went wrong with her last jump, and since then she is confined "for her own good" by the psych ward of the Corp she serves. Until March comes along. They hate each other at first sight and she has no idea what his motives might be for setting her free. So why does she have the feeling he sees right through her?

I must admit this book annoyed me. I'm surprised that Sirantha's martyr complex allows her to fit through doors. She blames herself for the accident she can't remember, that killed 83 people - that's understandable. But she also blames herself for the casualties incurred in the rescue mission that gets her out of prison (one she didn't ask for, help plan, or even know was happening). She blames herself for the casualties incurred in a landing on a hostile planet, even though no one told her what was going on or what needed to be done to protect the group and it wasn't her idea in the first place. I could go on with the blame examples but I wouldn't want to spoil the whole book. (Heh.) She thinks that she is clearly a "dark luck charm" and that it would be better for the whole world if she killed herself, but she's not selfless enough. Honey, you are far TOO selfless. Please, just get over yourself.

There is a way that this plot could have gone that would have been cool - Sirantha comes to realize that in fact, the whole fate of the universe does not rest on her shoulders and that she deserves to be happy. But it goes the other way. By the end of the book she is more convinced than ever that it is her job to keep everything from falling apart. She beats herself up for things she has no influence over. I just found it frustrating.

I can't really recommend this book. Two stars.

Meanna was a lady, unable to excercise her inborn gift of growing things. Wisp's past is mysterious - he knows how to do almost everything, but how did he get the whip scars on his back? Both have run away from their lives, their families, their homes. They want to create a new life together, but each of them has a secret.

The idea of this book was much better than the execution. It was sloppily done. There were a number of inconsistencies, and not enough was explained. I don't think this book will satisfy any but the most indiscriminating of readers. Two stars.

I picked this up while I was on vacation with

mrpet in Providence and got nervous that I was going to run out of reading material. (Surely I'm not the only one who does this? I finished Dexter in the Dark much faster than I expected, and... well... you know how it goes. Or maybe you don't.) It was a paperback with a quote from Jacqueline Carey on the front as well as the picture of a beautiful woman wearing Victorian gentlemen's clothes. What's not to love about that?

Christine lives in an artists' complex with her lover Jude and their friends. She tries to have a normal life, but she is haunted by the car accident that killed her beloved parents and permanently, painfully injured her body. Bad enough to have a lingering fear that Jude doesn't really love her - but recently the reccuring, oddly familiar nightmares featuring ravens have been getting to be just too much. Then she sees an old face from the past - a childhood friend who disappeared mysteriously decades ago. What will happen when Christine's past and Little May's new world collide?

This book started out okay and then just kept getting better and better. It is dark urban fantasy - but what makes it dark is not primarily monsters or supernatural elements, but the secrets that we humans hide from each other and ourselves. The plot gets more and more complicated as reality and fairy tale begin to mix, and then all the pieces are brought together in the end. The characters are deeply believable (and some of them are deeply creepy). This is a gorgeous book and one that I think says something new about dark fantasy. Five stars.

This is the sequel to the enjoyable Victorian mystery, And Only to Deceive. Lady Emily Ashton is now mostly recovered from the death of her husband Phillip. But when a friend of a friend asks for helping in clearing her maidservant of a double murder, new webs of deceit will be uncovered, old friendships will be tested, and Lady Ashton will find out that there are limits to how far you can go...

( A quote. )

I found this sequel enjoyable but not as good as the previous one. These books are not quite mysteries - they are more in the nature of romantic Victorian thrillers. I like them pretty well. My chief disappointment with this book has to do with the lack of an appendix, such as I seem to recall the first one having, explaining what in the book was true and false from a historical point of view. My chief enjoyment was the way that the main character grew throughout the book. Three stars.

I read this book for several reasons. One is that I was interviewed for it by the author (well, online, and it was a survey, but I did fill it out, and you get the idea). Another is that I try to stay current with new books on open relationships, for reasons that I'm sure are obvious to all of you. Those two are the reasons I started reading the book. The third reason came later, and I am not proud of it. I wanted to finish the book so that I could tell you all that it was bad and why I thought so.*

Open is basically an annotated memoir. Author Jenny Block tells the long and meandering story of how she came to be in an open marriage, with many asides and quotes criticizing monogamy and praising "openness" along the way. The introduction is the short version of the story, and each chapter is then introduced with another short paragraph from the introduction which summarizes it.

( All the Sordid Details. )

I wanted to like this book. The prose was good in places, and I did enjoy somewhat Block's story of how she got into an open marriage. But unless you feel you have been sitting around for years just waiting for someone to write another book on open marriage, I think you should give this one a miss. Two stars. (In the new system I would give this book a D+. I rolled my eyes a lot but I did finish it without throwing it once.)

*I don't really feel right saying, "This book is really bad but I didn't bother to finish it so I don't know for certain that it is bad all the way through." Strange, perhaps, but true.

Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me - Jim Kweskin

I first encountered Charlotte Kasl when I read her excellent book If the Buddha Dated, which is about holding onto yourself and being authentic in relationship practices. I chose this book to read just after I finished Face to Face, partly because it was strongly recommended as a women's take on AA and partly because I knew I liked her writing style.

How do oppression and hierarchical societies feed into alcoholism and other forms of addiction? Is a codependency model appropriate for survivors of abuse? What was the original intent of AA founder Bill W, and how is that spirit being honored or ignored today? How can a model of maturing spirituality help us to understand the recovery movement? Why are sexual relationships within a support group problematic? Does one size really fit all for addiction recovery?

This book is over ten years old, but the ideas in it are still considered radical by many. Kasl's holistic approach to addiction recovery centers on the individual, doing what works for you. In explaining how she came to create it, she also discusses what is problematic for many women about AA and traditional recovery. While parts of it are dated (most folks no longer use the term "consciousness raising," for example) there are still ideas in this book that I haven't seen discussed anywhere else. This is a must read for any woman with a substance addiction problem, and strongly recommended for any who are interested in a feminist critique of the recovery movement. Five stars. (In my new system I would give this an A-, because it does have some problems - but it is a life-changing book.)

(This is the third book in the series I'm reading for the queer book group.)

Exile and Pride is part memoir, part manifesto, part delicious prose. The author, Eli Clare, writes from per experiences growing up working-class, living with disability, coming out as queer, and recovering from sexual abuse. At the same time, sie situates per experience in historical, environmental, and economic contexts. Additionally, the poetic nature of Eli's other work is frequently apparent.

( A quote. )

Clare weaves these pieces into a seamless whole that at times made me gasp with wonder. For a short piece, the writer must choose depth or breadth. Clare chooses depth, looking at per own experiences both with a microscope and a telescope. Sie goes from intimate to political in a heartbeat with grace and flair. The gorgeous prose is what really ties this wonderful piece together.
Of course, choosing depth over breadth does have a downside as well. There are things I would have liked seeing this book - an exploration of invisible illness, discussion of modern media portrayals of race and class, further ideas about alternatives to a medical model of disability. But then this book wouldn't have been the short, powerful gem that it is. Four and a half stars.

Current Mood: thoughtful

I do not normally read novelizations, but this one was recommended to me by a friend. The best thing about it was the plot. I felt that the characterization of Horatio was not as good as it could have been. The other characters were fine. Three stars. It was better than most novelizations (tells you what I think of them, doesn't it?) but not worth going out of your way for.

Anne Perry is a well-known writer of Victorian mystery. I am a well-known lover of Victorian mystery (at least among my close friends, ha ha). So I decided to see what the fuss was about.

Charlotte always says exactly what is on her mind, to the distress of those around her. Emily will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Sarah and Dominic seem like the perfect couple - but are they? Edward is by turns loving and autocratic, while Caroline wants peace. Sound like the latest Hollywood drama? Actually, it is the backdrop for a creepy Victorian mystery.

The period details in this piece are perfect. It is slow to start, but once it gets going, you won't be able to put it down. Whodunit is an interesting question, but what makes this book fascinating are the interpersonal dynamics, which become strained, tense, and increasingly complex as the serial killer strikes again and again. Four stars, and I am planning to read on in the series. Those who enjoy period mysteries should give it a try.