bluesalamanders 2013.1

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Discussão75 Books Challenge for 2013

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bluesalamanders 2013.1

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1bluesalamanders
Dez 25, 2012, 11:03 am

2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
2011.1, 2011.2, 2012.1, 2012.2

Based on the past few years, here are my goals for 2013:

Total books: 150
Pages: 40,000 (and some amount of audiobooks)
New books: 75
Non-fiction: 5

Numbers subject to change without notice, management makes no guarantees, etc, etc.

I mainly read science fiction and fantasy of all kinds, including a lot of young adult books, a handful of straight fiction, and very little non-fiction (5 is a hopeful estimate; it's generally more like 2-3). I love conversation about the books I've read and recommendations for future reading.

Key:
*Asterisks denote new-to-me reads
^Carrots denote non-fiction

Welcome!

2drachenbraut23
Dez 25, 2012, 4:43 pm

Hello blue, I see that you read mainly science fiction and fantasy a genre I enjoy myself quite a bit *smile*. I am very curious what you will read this year.

Happy New Year!

3Kassilem
Dez 25, 2012, 4:55 pm

Here I am again this year to lurk. I'm going to attempt to talk more often too :) Happy Reading!

4bluesalamanders
Dez 25, 2012, 7:56 pm

Hi, drachenbraut! I'm curious to see what I'll be reading this year, too.

Hey, Kassilem - I too tend to be a lurker, mostly just posting on my own thread, so I get it. You're always welcome here, though!

5drneutron
Dez 26, 2012, 9:14 am

Welcome back!

6leahbird
Dez 26, 2012, 1:43 pm

Yay, new threads for 2013!

7foggidawn
Jan 1, 2013, 8:57 am

Happy New Thread!

8norabelle414
Jan 1, 2013, 10:01 am

Happy New Year Blue!

9bluesalamanders
Jan 1, 2013, 3:11 pm

Happy New Year, foggi, nora!
Happy New year, everybody!

10beserene
Jan 1, 2013, 4:43 pm

Hello blue. Happy New Year/Thread and all of that. It's nice to have a fresh start -- I look forward to seeing your reads this year. :)

11calm
Jan 2, 2013, 6:03 am

Hi blue - good to see you again this year:) Hope you have a great year.

13ronincats
Jan 4, 2013, 11:16 am

Starred you the other day, but now I'm dropping in to leave a message. What the message is other than that I am here again for another year, I'm sure I don't know!

14lunacat
Jan 4, 2013, 1:29 pm

#13

What an inspiring, touching and meaningful message ;)

15bluesalamanders
Jan 4, 2013, 6:15 pm

*sniff* Aw, you guys! I can't tell you how much these comments mean to me. ;)

16bluesalamanders
Editado: Jan 11, 2013, 4:54 pm

Finished Book 1: *The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater read by Will Patton
The Raven Cycle, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 11h8m

Blue (I am disposed to like any character named Blue, of course) is the daughter of a psychic, in a family of psychics, although she herself is not one. Blue has two rules: Stay away from boys, because they're trouble, and stay away from Raven boys, because they're bastards. Yet somehow she's drawn into an intricate mystery involving ley lines, a dead Welsh king, and four Raven boys.

I wasn't sure about this book at first because as interesting a character as Blue is, it seemed she was right about the Raven boys. Except slowly, as she (and we) spent more time with them, they all turn out to be more than they seem. Also, the writing is excellent; Stiefvater's writing gets better with every book, and Raven Boys is no exception.

It is very much the first book in a series. There is no cliffhanger, but there is also some major plotlines that aren't resolved, and others kick off around the time the book ends. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Will Patton as reader was adequate but not spectacular. He did a variety of accents well, but the different voices he used for Blue's mother and aunts (for example) were distracting at times.

17TinaV95
Jan 6, 2013, 12:52 am

Added The Raven Boys to my wish list!

18alcottacre
Jan 6, 2013, 3:09 am

Happy New Year, Blue! It looks like your reading year is off to a good start. I am adding The Raven Boys to the BlackHole. Thanks for that recommendation.

19Tanglewood
Jan 6, 2013, 7:08 pm

I saw your comments on the Mistborn series on another thread and thought I'd pop over (although I liked the 3rd book more than you did). I've been looking at Raven Boys and her Scorpio Races trying to figure out which one to try. After your review, I'm leaning towards Raven Boys although I don't think I'll use one of my audible credits for it ;)

20bluesalamanders
Jan 7, 2013, 4:01 pm

I got Raven Boys from the library :) I'm sure it would also be very good to read from text, my library just happened to have the audiobook. I really liked Scorpio Races, too, although I thought (and many people disagree with me) that the beginning was pretty slow.

21MickyFine
Jan 11, 2013, 3:15 pm

Thanks for delurking on my thread, Blue! Came over to visit yours and will definitely be keeping tabs on what you read. Raven Boys has been on my radar for a while (I follow Maggie Stiefvater on Twitter) but it's nice to see a good review. :)

22bluesalamanders
Jan 11, 2013, 4:23 pm

Welcome, Micky! I don't do Twitter, but I read Maggie's blog. Raven Boys was really good - I wish the sequel was out already!

23bluesalamanders
Editado: Jan 11, 2013, 5:29 pm

Finished Book 2: Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
The Immortals, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 7h54m

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, though she does have a tendency to pound the reader over the head with the idea that something bad had happened in Daine's 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.

I love Full Cast Audio. They do wonderful recordings, with just enough sound effects and fantastic voice actors.

24bluesalamanders
Jan 11, 2013, 5:30 pm

Finished Book 3: Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce read by Margaret Strom
The Immortals, book 2
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 7h30m

Daine's wolf pack from her former home asks her to talk to humans 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 books. Although the main characters are (as usual in Pierce's books) just a touch too good to be true, Daine grows and learns 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.

Margaret Strom is an inconsistent reader. Often she's fine, even pleasant to listen to, but she also mispronounces words and pauses at odd times, especially during dialogue, which sounds awkward or even changes meaning. I recommend the Full Cast Audio version instead.

25bluesalamanders
Jan 11, 2013, 5:31 pm

Finished Book 4: Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce read by Margaret Strom
The Immortals, book 3
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 7h48m

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).

Margaret Strom is an inconsistent reader. Her odd pronunciation of some words, including common names like Alanna and Gary, threw me out of the story. I recommend the Full Cast Audio version instead.

26bluesalamanders
Jan 11, 2013, 5:34 pm

Finished Book 5: Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce read by Margaret Strom
The Immortals, book 4
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 7h42m

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.

I'm not fond of Margaret Strom as a reader. I would prefer the Full Cast Audio version, but this is what I have.

5 / 150 books. 0% done.
1 / 75 *new books. 0% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
0 / 40000 pages. 0% done.
Audiobooks: 1d18h2m

27fairywings
Jan 11, 2013, 8:16 pm

I love your reviews Blue, I will be on the look out for these books now.

28Kassilem
Jan 11, 2013, 8:38 pm

I always liked that series. :) Glad you liked them

29bluesalamanders
Jan 11, 2013, 9:48 pm

27 fairywings - Thank you! I hope you enjoy them if you read them.

28 Kassilem - I've been a fan for a long time. Immortals isn't my favorite of her series, but it's good.

30beserene
Jan 12, 2013, 1:21 am

Holy cow, look at you go! I'm just going to go back to that one book I have started now...

31bluesalamanders
Jan 12, 2013, 5:58 am

Audiobooks are easy for me, beserene. Also I've been pretty down for the past week, so it's been especially easy for me to play computer games and listen to books I've read before.

32fuzzi
Editado: Jan 13, 2013, 11:08 pm

::delurking::

Just wanted to encourage you!

:D

“It vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone.”

33TinaV95
Jan 14, 2013, 10:05 pm

Just what I need -- another series! :) Added #1 to my WL!

34lunacat
Editado: Jan 15, 2013, 6:25 am

Posted message on wrong thread, apologies!

35ronincats
Jan 15, 2013, 7:34 pm

I enjoy all of Pierce's Tortall books, and like rereading them too.

36quinaquisset
Jan 20, 2013, 7:24 pm

Dropping by to say hello. And lots of agreement, that I love the Full Cast Audio, and prefer Pierce's other series (although Beka's series is now below Immortals for me.)

37bluesalamanders
Jan 20, 2013, 7:45 pm

Aww, I love Beka's series! It's not perfect, but then none of them are.

My least favorite is Aly's. I actually haven't reread the Trickster books in years and don't know when (or if) I will again.

38bluesalamanders
Editado: Jan 25, 2013, 1:16 pm

Finished Book 6: *Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Young Adult, Fantasy, Dead Tree: 349p

I was going to writing a review of this, but then I had a migraine all last weekend and then a cold all week and...yeah, that's not going to happen. Suffice it to say I really liked this book a lot and will absolutely read more of Okorafor's books.

39bluesalamanders
Jan 25, 2013, 1:20 pm

Finished book 7: Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 5h51m

Finished book 8: Tris's Book by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 2
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 5h17m

Finished book 9: Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 3
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 5h20m

Finished book 10: Briar's Book by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 4
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 5h42m

10 / 150 books. 0% done.
2 / 75 *new books. 0% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
349 / 40000 pages. 0% done.
Audiobooks: 2d16h12m

40markon
Jan 25, 2013, 1:24 pm

Just stopping by to wave hello - didn't realize Maggie Stiefvater had a new book out, I'll be watching for it.

Hope your migraine & cold go away soon!

41fuzzi
Jan 25, 2013, 3:58 pm

Sal, sorry to hear you've been sick. :(

42bluesalamanders
Jan 25, 2013, 11:50 pm

Thanks, markon, fuzzi. My dad says "if you treat a cold, it lasts 7 days and if you don't treat it, it lasts a week". I'm starting to feel better now and I should be fine in a couple of days.

43ronincats
Jan 26, 2013, 12:02 am

I've been neglecting you as I've had stomach flu all week. I'm getting better, as I hope you are as well. The Circle of Magic is series is definitely aimed at a younger audience. I enjoyed it, then donated it to my elementary school library.

44bluesalamanders
Jan 26, 2013, 12:12 am

Oh, roni! That sounds awful. I'm glad you're getting better.

45bluesalamanders
Fev 1, 2013, 6:29 pm

Finished book 11: Street Magic by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
The Circle Opens, book 2
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 7h13m

Finished book 12: The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
The Circle Reforged, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 15h30m

Finished Book 13: Magic Steps by Tamora Pierce
The Circle Opens, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Dead Tree: 264p

I always start the year off with big plans for reviewing everything. See how long that lasts?

46bluesalamanders
Fev 1, 2013, 6:35 pm

January Round-Up

Overview:
13 finished books, 0 abandoned books
613 pages, 3d14h55m

Adult/YA/J:
13 YA, 0 Adult

Genre:
13 Fantasy, 0 Science Fiction
0 Fiction, 0 Non-Fiction

Format:
2 Dead Tree, 0 Graphic Novel
11 Audiobook, 0 eBook

Author/Editor gender:
13 female, 0 male

New or Old:
2 new reads, 11 rereads

Series:
12 in series, 1 standalone

47fuzzi
Fev 1, 2013, 8:49 pm

Great start!

48bluesalamanders
Fev 2, 2013, 5:48 am

Thanks, fuzzi!

49ronincats
Fev 3, 2013, 12:55 am

Good start indeed--although I can't help but note your genre spread is rather narrow. :-D

50bluesalamanders
Fev 3, 2013, 9:03 am

Genre spread? How about author spread! It was a month full of migraines and colds, so I spend a lot of time listening to audiobooks, and it was just easiest to keep listening to more books by the same author instead of branching out.

I am reading a new fiction (not f/sf) book right now, if that helps :)

51Whisper1
Fev 3, 2013, 9:11 am

ugh..another migraine sufferer. There are many of us -- too many of us. Migraines are nasty buggers that impact on all areas of our lives, our relationships, our jobs, and the complexity of living with pain.

I hope you feel better soon!

52bluesalamanders
Fev 3, 2013, 12:05 pm

51 Whisperer1 - I never realized how many people got migraines until I started getting them, a few years ago. They're much more common than I ever would have thought (unfortunately for us). Same with kidney stones, actually...

I'm doing ok now, thankfully.

53fuzzi
Fev 3, 2013, 4:24 pm

Sorry to hear about your migraines: my mother, both of my sisters and my daughter all have suffered from them. I was blessed, the migraine 'gene' skipped me, but I do have somewhat chronic sinusitis.

54TinaV95
Fev 5, 2013, 6:52 pm

I'm sorry about your migraine.... I'm a fellow sufferer :(

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on The Circle of Magic series.

55bluesalamanders
Fev 5, 2013, 10:59 pm

Tina - My thoughts on the Circle of Magic series become more complicated every time I read them, it turns out.

In some ways, they're not as good as the Tortall books. Each book tends to have several overlapping plots, each equally important but none getting a satisfying amount of page space. The series suffers from an excess of coincidence, as in this character is walking by a random shop at a particular moment or that character was punished by being sent on a journey she never would have gone on, so they just happen to be in the right place in exactly the right time for no real reason. There is always an adult (generally an older mage) who thinks they know best and has to be proven wrong. And so on.

But...plot isn't really the most important thing with these books, I've come to realize. Settings and characters are far more important, and more interesting. It's one of the most diverse series I've ever read, chock full of people of different races and cultures and classes, as well as different sizes and shapes and orientations. With four students and four teachers as the main characters in the first few books (plus dozens of minor characters), there is a lot of room for diversity - certainly much more than the Tortall books, and not used simply as a plot point and exoticized or patronized in the unfortunate ways that other cultures sometimes are there.

And while I'm always disappointed that some important events take place off-page, one of the great things about the series is how all the characters grow and change throughout the books.

(Apparently I have a lot of thoughts. :)

56TinaV95
Fev 6, 2013, 5:29 pm

Wow! That is a lot of thoughts! So I'll follow up with two questions...
1. Did you enjoy them?
2. Do you recommend the series?

57bluesalamanders
Fev 6, 2013, 10:26 pm

1. Yes.
2. That's not an easy question, but - to simplify my answer enormously - yes :)

58TinaV95
Fev 7, 2013, 11:23 am

Hahaha! Ok -- I will give the first one a try on ye ol' wish list!

59ronincats
Fev 7, 2013, 1:15 pm

I found the first 4 books in the Circle of Magic series to be aimed at a younger audience than the Tortall books. The protagonists are younger and the goals are simpler--if finding out who you are and what you can do can be called simple. Then in the second 4 books, each of them grows quite a bit. Finally, when they are reunited in The Will of the Empress, the teen angst is there in full force and it is definitely a YA, not a children's book. I agree with you, blue, the diversity of the populations is a big plus.

60bluesalamanders
Fev 7, 2013, 8:44 pm

58 Tina - Hey, I wrote out a big long answer for #2 and then deleted it - just for you ;)

59 Roni - Agreed, the series definitely has a younger feel than most of the Tortall books.

61TinaV95
Fev 11, 2013, 9:14 pm

Thanks ;)

62Copperskye
Fev 12, 2013, 12:11 am

Another migraine sufferer checking in...there are definitely a lot of us here...

63bluesalamanders
Fev 13, 2013, 10:42 am

Finished Book 14: Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Enchanted Forest Chronicles, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Dead Tree: 212p

Finished Book 15: *Velveteen vs the Junior Super Patriots by Seanan McGuire
Adult, Science Fiction: Superhero, Dead Tree: 200p

Velveteen vs is a set of funny, charming, and occasionally poignant stories of Velma Martinez (codename Velveteen), a superhero with the power to animate toys, who walked away from Super Patriots, Inc. and is just trying to live her own life. Unfortunately for her, Marketing doesn't let go that easy.

Recommended if you like - I don't even know, just recommended. The stories are also available online here. They're terrific.

15 / 150 books. 10% done.
3 / 75 *new books. 4% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
1025 / 40000 pages. 3% done.
Audiobooks: 3d14h55m

64MickyFine
Fev 13, 2013, 2:41 pm

Glad you're enjoying some fun reads. :)

65bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 4, 2013, 5:41 pm

Finished Book 16: *Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Young Adult, Fantasy: Fairy Tale, Dead Tree: 306p

Dashti is trained as a lady's maid and meets her lady, Saren, on the day she is to be imprisoned for seven years for refusing her arranged marriage. Together they are sealed into a tower, and it's up to Dashti to keep them alive and sane.

This is a retelling of a fairy tale that I am unfamiliar with, presented as Dashti's journal including both text and drawings. It's a great story. Dashti is a wonderful character and it's refreshing to read about a character who doesn't magically become beautiful at conclusion. Saren is a more difficult character but still achieves a degree of growth by the end.

66MickyFine
Fev 17, 2013, 7:34 pm

Hmm, that one's piqued my interest. What's the source fairy tale?

67bluesalamanders
Fev 17, 2013, 9:14 pm

Maid Maleen? I've never heard of it, but apparently it's one of Grimm's.

68MickyFine
Fev 17, 2013, 11:03 pm

>67 bluesalamanders: Huh. The name doesn't ring a bell but I've probably read it at some point. I'm terrible with the names of the more obscure fairy tales in the Grimms' collection.

69bluesalamanders
Fev 17, 2013, 11:17 pm

I looked it up on wikipedia, I guess the gist of it is the princess and her servent(s) are locked in a tower for 7 years for wanting to marry the wrong prince. When they escape, the kingdom is destroyed, so they go to the prince but the princess has crippling self-doubt and sends her maid Maleen in her place. Maleen marries the prince (pretending to be the princess) and the prince won't accept the real princess after having married Maleen.

Book of a Thousand Days departs from the fairy tale in details (including adding whole new sub-plots and placing it in a pseudo-Mongolian setting) but the overarching plot seems basically the same.

70quinaquisset
Fev 18, 2013, 12:39 am

I've just recently found the Velveteen Vs. series also. (I believe there are three more unwritten installments to finish out the series. The later stories are available on McGuire's blog.) I'm enjoying the twists and turns she thinks up, and the female friendships, and the superhero worldbuilding.

71bluesalamanders
Editado: Fev 25, 2013, 4:09 pm

Finished Book 17: *The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
Inheritance Trilogy, book 1
Adult, Fantasy: High, Dead Tree: 408p

I picked this book up because Jemisin will be at a con I'm going to. It was a fascinating story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

72bluesalamanders
Editado: Abr 13, 2013, 5:40 pm

Suddenly I have a stack of books I need to read, which are luckily mostly books I also want to read (otherwise it would be unlikely to happen).

Library books:
Timeless by Gail Carriger DONE
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer DONE
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger DONE

Books by authors who will be at that con I mentioned:
Machine by Jennifer Pelland DONE
Moonwise by Greer Gilman
Among Others by Jo Walton DONE

Books lent to me by a friend:
A Cup of Normal by Devon Monk
The House of Discarded Dreams by Ekaterina Sedia
By Honor Betray'd by Debra Doyle and James Macdonald

It's going to be a busy few weeks, I guess.

73ronincats
Fev 25, 2013, 7:09 pm

The Carrigers are quick and fun, and Among Others by Jo Waltonis excellent and not too long. I just finished my first Devon Monk--pretty typical urban fantasy. Haven't read that Sedia but liked what I've read of hers so far. And the Doyle and MacDonald is space opera. Have fun!

74quinaquisset
Fev 26, 2013, 1:30 am

I think I know which northeastern con you are going to next month...have you been there before? I wonder how much the authors are featured.

75bluesalamanders
Fev 26, 2013, 8:31 am

73 roni - I've liked everything by Carriger and most everything by Walton that I've read so far, so I'm enjoying Timeless and looking forward to the rest. Ditto Sedia and the first two Doyle/Macdonald books. I haven't read anything by Monk before, it's just a book my friend thought I'd like.

74 quinaquisset - I haven't been to any cons before. I too am wondering how much the authors feature. I'm hoping (because it's not listed on the schedule anywhere).

76bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 4, 2013, 5:41 pm

Finished Book 18: *Timeless by Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate, book 5
Adult, Fantasy: Steampunk, Dead Tree: 386p

As a review of the 5th book in the series, this contains spoilers for previous books.

Alexia and her daughter are summoned to Egypt to meet the oldest living vampire, the queen of the Alexandria hive. Hijinks ensue, secrets are revealed, Alexia and Conall fight, Genevive acts suspiciously, Ivy behaves surprisingly sensibly, gadgets, balloons, werewolves, vampires, and so on.

Timeless has what may be both the most intricate and best-written plot in the Parasol Protectorate series. The characters are also great, with everyone growing and changing as befits their character and circumstance. The Alexandria Queen is formidable as well, for all she must speak through a translator.

77MickyFine
Fev 27, 2013, 2:42 pm

Glad you liked the conclusion to the series. :)

78quinaquisset
Fev 28, 2013, 1:15 am

Vericon is primarily a gaming con, but probably a good place to get your feet wet. I'm going to Readercon in July, which is the most literary of the New England cons (and Patricia McKillip! Yea!)

79fairywings
Fev 28, 2013, 4:16 am

Oh I'm glad you enjoyed Timeless. That's my next one to find.

80bluesalamanders
Fev 28, 2013, 8:10 am

78 quinaquisset - Gaming as in video or board? I'm only going because a friend invited me, it's unlikely I'd go to something like this alone, even with the lure of Tamora Pierce and other authors I love.

Which is not to say that I don't want to go to cons. I totally do! I'm just shy. Also Readercon's panel this year doesn't particularly thrill me (not a fan of McKillip, I have to day).

79 fairywings - If you enjoyed the rest of the series, it's well worth it. At least as good if not better than all of them. I didn't realize it was the final book, which MickyFine pointed out, but it is a good ending for our main characters without making it seem like the whole world stops once their story is done (which sometimes happens).

81humouress
Mar 1, 2013, 6:12 am

Hi, blue! I haven't visited for a while, and there's a treasure trove of book bullets waiting for me. Though I haven't read Tamora Pierce in a while, I've just started Tortall and Other Lands, a short story collection.

82bluesalamanders
Mar 2, 2013, 7:16 am

February Round-Up

Overview:
5 finished books, 0 abandoned books
1514 pages, 0d0h0m

Adult/YA/J:
2 YA, 3 Adult

Genre:
4 Fantasy, 1 Science Fiction
0 Fiction, 0 Non-Fiction

Format:
5 Dead Tree, 0 Graphic Novel
0 Audiobook, 0 eBook

Author/Editor gender:
5 female, 0 male

New or Old:
4 new reads, 1 rereads

Series:
3 in series, 2 standalone

83MickyFine
Mar 2, 2013, 5:35 pm

Very respectable stats, Blue. I've been keeping track of the gender of authors I read this year and I've been surprised at how many more male authors than female authors I've read so far. I was positive it would be skewed the other direction.

84fuzzi
Mar 2, 2013, 5:42 pm

Hmm, I never thought of checking the gender % of the books I have read...

85bluesalamanders
Mar 2, 2013, 11:50 pm

They're interesting stats, aren't they? I'm sure mine would have skewed more male in the past (especially in high school, when I read a lot of "Golden Age" science fiction), but I don't think it would ever have been primarily male. My favorite authors have almost always been female - for example, I've been reading Tamora Pierce, Robin McKinley, and Diane Duane for around 20 years. Patricia Wrede. Diana Wynne Jones. Ruth Chew was a childhood favorite, and Zilpha Keatly Snyder.

I've actually been surprised at how few male authors I'm reading. I mean, last year I read 125 books by female authors/editors and only 29 by male authors/editors! And several of those were co-authored/edited with females. I don't deliberately avoid male authors (in fact John Scalzi is a favorite as well), but I clearly do seek out female authors. It's not a conscious decision, but I can't say I'm sorry for it.

86ronincats
Mar 3, 2013, 12:04 am

For me, 53 out of 172 books were written by males in 2012. That's 31% as opposed to 23% for you, blue. I thought my nonfiction might be skewed toward male authors, but it was 50/50.

87fuzzi
Mar 3, 2013, 8:11 am

I've read so many by CJ Cherryh, Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, Laurie King and Sharon Kay Penman that I've probably cancelled out all the Louis L'Amour books I've read... ;)

88bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 4, 2013, 5:40 pm

Finished Book 19: *Machine by Jennifer Pelland
Adult, Science Fiction, Dead Tree: 308

Celia has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. While waiting for a cure, her body is put in stasis and her brain is copied into a bioandroid duplicate. The body is supposed to look and feel exactly the same, to let her live a normal life while she waits - but from the moment she wakes up in her new body, her life is anything but normal.

This book reminded me in some ways of Skinned by Robin Wasserman. Both books deal with potential consequences of putting a human mind into a new body. One of the most interesting differences is that in Skinned, Lia feels detached from her new body and everything around her and does the things she does in order to feel, while in Machine Celia feels too much and deliberately seeks detachment.

I didn't quite buy the speed of the plot. Most of the book takes place over the course of only a few weeks, and it didn't make sense to me that, for instance, Celia would drop into depression and then instantly start scouring the net for information. Depression is paralyzing, not motivational. Also, there was a lot of sex.

It was an interesting book, but not one I would go out of my way to recommend.

89bluesalamanders
Mar 4, 2013, 5:43 pm

Finished Book 20: *Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
Finished school, book one
Young Adult, Fantasy: Steampunk, Dead Tree: 307p

Sophronia Temminnick is more interested in machines than fashion and etiquette, so she's concerned when her mother packs her off to finishing school to - apparently - learn to be a lady. However, with an airship as a school, immortals for teachers, and classes in poisoning alongside classes in dance, it isn't quite what Sophronia was expecting.

Etiquette & Espionage is great fun and absolutely charming. I can't wait for the sequels!

20 / 150 books. 13% done.
8 / 75 *new books. 11% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
2740 / 40000 pages. 7% done.
Audiobooks: 3d14h55m

90bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 9, 2013, 7:32 am

Finished Book 21: *Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
The Lunar Chronicles, book 2
Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dead Tree: 452p

I really liked Cinder, the first book in the series. I was less enamored with Scarlet, though I'm not even entirely sure why. The characters were interesting - Cinder is back, little Iko reappears, and I like Scarlet and Wolf, two new main characters. Not so much Thorne. But something about the story just didn't grab me the way the first book did.

91bluesalamanders
Mar 12, 2013, 7:10 pm

Finished Book 22: Soulless by Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate, book 1
Adult, Fantasy: Steampunk, Audiobook: 10h48m

Alexia Tarabotti is "soulless", a preternatural, whose touch cancels the supernatural abilities of werewolves and vampires. This ability gets Alexia into trouble, as well as out of it.

I like this book immensely. Although it is a romance and it is obvious from the beginning the direction the story will take in that department, it isn't only a romance and there is a whole other storyline going on while the romance part happens alongside it. Alexia is fantastic and her interactions with the other characters are wonderful - her playful banter with Lord Akeldama, her verbal sparring with Lord Maccon, her sarcastic yet patient conversations with her friend Ivy.

I didn't love everything about the book. For example, the frequent references to Alexia's "ampleness" and apparent unattractiveness were tiresome. She's big, I get it - and while I love reading about main characters who aren't of the standard thin-and-pretty set, I don't need to be reminded of it in every other paragraph. Also, there was rather more explicit sex than I expected.

The good certainly outweighs the bad, however, and I've enjoyed the whole series.

92bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 12, 2013, 7:11 pm

Finished Book 23: Omnitopia Dawn by Diane Duane
Omnitopia, book 1
Adult, Science Fiction, Dead Tree: 360p

It's a great book, I forgot how much I enjoyed it since I first read it.

93ronincats
Mar 12, 2013, 7:15 pm

I've had Omnitopia Dawn in my tbr pile for a couple of years now. I keep forgetting it is there. Knowing that you really like it will move it up the stack.

94bluesalamanders
Mar 12, 2013, 8:58 pm

Woo! I have the power!

Really, it's fantastic. I'm not much of a gamer (well, not much of a video gamer) but DD clearly loves it and wants to share the best parts, the friendship and camaraderie, the joy in creation and sharing one's creation, the thrill of the adventure. Those are all things I can understand. A lot of other things happen, too, but I particularly enjoy the parts that take place in the game. That's a game I would love to visit!

Also, some of her main characters are painted as genuinely good people, without being either saccharine or "hiding" it with lots of sarcasm, which is a refreshing change of pace from other books I've read recently (but not altogether surprising, given the characters in her other books). Not that I don't like sarcasm and sassy characters - I do - but variety is a good thing.

95ronincats
Mar 12, 2013, 9:12 pm

You HAVE read Ready Player One, haven't you?

96bluesalamanders
Mar 12, 2013, 9:37 pm

Nope. It's on my TBR list, though.

97MickyFine
Mar 13, 2013, 2:28 pm

>91 bluesalamanders: If you read the rest of the series, be prepared to read 2 and 3 close together.

98bluesalamanders
Mar 13, 2013, 2:59 pm

97 MickyFine - Oh, I've read the whole series. I just happened to have that one on audiobook when I felt like listening to an audiobook. But thanks :)

99bluesalamanders
Mar 13, 2013, 4:53 pm

Finished Book 24: *Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire
InCryptid, Book 2
Adult, Fantasy: Urban, Dead Tree: 333p

Fun times. I love McGuire's books. Her human characters are great fun and the nonhumans (or, in this series, cryptids) are fantastic.

100MickyFine
Mar 13, 2013, 5:28 pm

>98 bluesalamanders: Excellent. That cliffie in book 2 is pretty terrible for a first time reader. :)

101ronincats
Mar 13, 2013, 7:36 pm

I have to pick up Midnight Blue-Light Special soon! I've been tied down with house-cleaning prep for my mom and sister's visit all week, but want to take my sister up to Mysterious Galaxy while they are here next week and will get it then.

102bluesalamanders
Mar 14, 2013, 12:46 pm

100 Micky - I don't remember that, actually, but I think I read (or listened to) them all pretty much one right after another. But again thanks! I always appreciate warnings of cliffhangers.

101 roni - I don't know what Mysterious Galaxy is, but it sounds neat!

103MickyFine
Mar 14, 2013, 5:29 pm

>101 ronincats: No problem. :)

104bluesalamanders
Mar 15, 2013, 10:11 am

Finished Book 25: *Among Others by Jo Walton
Young Adult, Fantasy, Dead Tree: 302p

This is a world where faeries live, and ghosts exist, and magic happens. But it's hard to tell, because it isn't a flash-bang sort of magic, but a subtle twisting kind. Like if you want an industrial plant to stop polluting the land - this would be a spoiler, except it happens at the very start of the book - you cast a sort of spell, and then last week the decision was made to close it down. But if you hadn't done anything, that decision wouldn't have been made. It's impossible to tell what sort of ripples are caused by that kind of magic.

I love Morwenna, the main character. She reminds me in some ways of myself at that age (without the familial complications and physical limitations), devouring books after book, mostly science fiction and fantasy. Books are better, more reliable companions than people, and then of course finding people to talk about those books with is amazing. Among Others is Morwenna's journal and in it she talks openly about her life, her family, her friends, and of course her books. Her life revolves around her books and her reading.

I don't think you have to have read the books she discusses to enjoy Among Others (I haven't read them all), but it certainly helps to be familiar with fantasy and science fiction from the 70s.

25 / 150 books. 17% done.
11 / 75 *new books. 15% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
4187 / 40000 pages. 10% done.
Audiobooks: 4d1h43m

105humouress
Mar 15, 2013, 10:30 am

>104 bluesalamanders:: I've seen Among Others recommended a lot around here. Looks like one I'll have to get.

106ronincats
Mar 15, 2013, 4:24 pm

I enjoyed Among Others a lot too.

Mysterious Galaxy is an indie bookstore that carries science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mysteries only. ;-)

107bluesalamanders
Mar 15, 2013, 4:35 pm

105 humouress - I recommend it! It's lovely.

106 roni - Oh my! That sounds like a fantastic store.

108TinaV95
Mar 15, 2013, 6:30 pm

You've been doing some wonderful reading!!

109quinaquisset
Mar 24, 2013, 2:45 pm

I'm still waiting to hear how the con went, when you get time.

110bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 24, 2013, 9:58 pm

It was fantastic! I met Tamora Pierce and Seanan McGuire and Jo Walton and NK Jemisin, all of whose books I love, as well as Jennifer Pelland and Greer Gilman, whose work I am less familiar with. They were all lovely. Tammy is a bit imposing. The panels were all really interesting, about worldbuilding and constructing character identity and supernatural and nonhuman characters in fiction. I have a long list of new authors and books to add to my TBR list based on recommendations made during various panels.

I bought two more of NK Jemisin's books and I won a copy of Lifelode by Jo Walton in the charity silent auction.

The last thing we did was go to the Sassafrass concert this afternoon. I'd never heard of them before, but they were pretty great. They premiered some new songs, so those could have been a bit more polished, but they were still really terrific. The last song they did is called Somebody Will and it gave me chills, actually gave me chills, which almost never happens. It's a beautiful song. There's a video of it (not the performance from today of course) here.

111ronincats
Mar 24, 2013, 10:14 pm

I am simply green with jealousy. It all sounds fantastic!

112norabelle414
Mar 25, 2013, 8:20 am

Argh I am so jealous of you right now!!

113bluesalamanders
Mar 25, 2013, 8:50 am

It was so much fun! I wish you all could have been there too.

114humouress
Mar 25, 2013, 11:20 am

Sounds wonderful! I'm glad you made the most of it for us.

115quinaquisset
Mar 26, 2013, 12:55 am

I'm glad you had a good time! And Lifelode is a great win!

116bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 30, 2013, 11:51 am

Finished Book 26: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games, book 1
Young Adult, Science Fiction, 374p

Finished Book 27: The Android's Dream by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction, 394p

ETA: Rereads, love them both.

Currently reading:
The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin
Rosemary & Rue by Seanan McGuire

117ronincats
Mar 30, 2013, 12:05 am

And what did you think of the Scalzi?

118bluesalamanders
Mar 30, 2013, 6:56 am

I love it. I love most of Scalzi's books.

119bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 31, 2013, 7:54 am

Finished Book 28: Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
October Daye, book 1
Adult, Fantasy, 346p

Another reread. (Migraine+migraine meds means I can't concentrate on anything new today.)

Love this series!

120ronincats
Mar 30, 2013, 1:00 pm

I think The Android's Dream is probably my favorite Scalzi! I love how he plays around with all the standard tropes.

Sorry to hear about the migraine. Hope the meds kick in quickly.

121bluesalamanders
Editado: Mar 31, 2013, 7:54 am

Finished Book 29: A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire
October Daye, book 2
Adult, Fantasy, 377p

I still think this is the weakest of the series, but it's not as blatant when they're read in order (the first time I read this series, I didn't have this book until I'd already read books 3-6).

122bluesalamanders
Mar 31, 2013, 1:25 pm

Finished Book 30: An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire
October Daye, Book 3
Adult, Fantasy, 354p

I love this book. It's one of those rare books that can make me worry about the main character every time I read it, even though I know what's going to happen, even though I know there are more books in the series.

30 / 150 books. 20% done.
11 / 75 *new books. 15% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
6032 / 40000 pages. 15% done.
Audiobooks: 4d1h43m

123bluesalamanders
Mar 31, 2013, 1:30 pm

March Round-Up

Overview:
12 finished books, 0 abandoned books
3907 pages, 0d10h48m

Adult/YA/J:
4 YA, 8 Adult

Genre:
7 Fantasy, 5 Science Fiction
0 Fiction, 0 Non-Fiction

Format:
11 Dead Tree, 0 Graphic Novel
1 Audiobook, 0 eBook

Author/Editor gender:
11 female, 1 male

New or Old:
5 new reads, 7 rereads

Series:
9 in series, 3 standalone

124bluesalamanders
Abr 1, 2013, 12:32 pm

Finished Book 31: Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire
October Daye, Book 4
Adult, Fantasy, 372p

Finished Book 32: *Simon's Cat in Kitten Chaos by Simon Tofield
Simon's Cat, book 3
Early Reviewer
Adult, Fiction: Humor, Graphic Novel: 240p

Adorable and laugh-out-loud funny, as expected. If you're familiar with the Simon's Cat youtube videos, then you know what to expect in this book - and it doesn't disappoint. If you're not familiar with them, check them out! You won't regret it.

125MickyFine
Abr 2, 2013, 2:30 pm

Oh how I love Simon's Cat. :)

126bluesalamanders
Abr 2, 2013, 5:55 pm

Me too! I was so excited to get the book, and now I'm showing it to all my friends. It's great.

127bluesalamanders
Editado: Abr 3, 2013, 8:24 am

Finished Book 33: One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire
October Daye, Book 5
Adult, Fantasy, 354p

I love this series. I'll be very sad when I finish Ashes of Honor (today or tomorrow, probably) and I'll have to go to another world.

128bluesalamanders
Abr 4, 2013, 9:49 am

Finished Book 34: Ashes of Honor by Seanan McGuire
October Daye, book 6
Adult, Fantasy, 368p

129ronincats
Abr 4, 2013, 11:50 pm

YOu are just blowing through the Toby Daye books! I already have the next one, Chimes at Midnight, pre-ordered from Amazon, even though it is not out until September 3.

130bluesalamanders
Abr 5, 2013, 7:39 am

Roni - I can't waaaaait!

131bluesalamanders
Abr 5, 2013, 10:26 pm

Finished Book 35: Redshirts by John Scalzi
Adult, Science Fiction, 314p

Reread. Copied from previous review:

Ensign Andrew Dahl has been assigned to the Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union. He's thrilled, until he starts noticing strange things, like how everyone tries to avoid going on away missions and how on those away missions, someone always dies horribly - but always someone of lower rank. Never the Captain or his three top officers.

This book is amazing. Scalzi is lovingly poking fun at classic sci-fi television, making Redshirts in many ways a light and funny read. In other ways, it is a mindbendingly twisty and super-meta read. It is full of characters who are easy to care about put in situations that may not be believable but are at least entertaining (for the reader, anyway). The three codas bring the story to an unsurprising but nonetheless wonderful conclusion. Highly recommended.

35 / 150 books. 23% done.
12 / 75 *new books. 16% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
7680 / 40000 pages. 19% done.
Audiobooks: 4d1h43m

132bluesalamanders
Abr 5, 2013, 10:29 pm

Well, that was awesome. Cathrynne Valente was in Exeter, NH this evening, so a friend and I went to see her. She read the first two chapters from book 3 in the Fairyland series. I got some books signed and spoke with her for a couple minutes (she seemed really nice). Neat!

133leahbird
Abr 5, 2013, 11:35 pm

The Valente reading has me SERIOUSLY jealous!

134bluesalamanders
Abr 5, 2013, 11:55 pm

She was great! So much fun. And I got a book signed for my sister as a surprise gift :D

You know, I need to start thinking up questions to ask at these things. I'm terrible at coming up with them on the fly, and it's always super awkward when someone says "Ok, do you have any questions?" and nobody raises their hand.

135ronincats
Abr 6, 2013, 12:53 am

That WAS awesome, Blue!!

136quinaquisset
Abr 6, 2013, 9:51 am

I never have good questions either. Glad you got to see her though.

137bluesalamanders
Abr 7, 2013, 7:22 am

It's tough, isn't it? I can probably come up with something if I think about it for a few days in advance, though, or maybe I can post here and ask for suggestions.

138norabelle414
Abr 8, 2013, 7:21 am

I always manage to think of a question as soon as they're done taking questions.

139MickyFine
Abr 9, 2013, 3:00 pm

Envious of getting to hear book three.

140bluesalamanders
Abr 9, 2013, 7:59 pm

I haven't actually read book 2 yet, so...I think it may have been a bit spoilery for me? But oh, well. Somehow I'm ok with that ;)

141MickyFine
Abr 10, 2013, 3:01 pm

They're awesome enough that being a bit spoilery is totally fine. Although you should definitely pick up book 2 sooner rather than later.

142bluesalamanders
Abr 10, 2013, 3:21 pm

I have it, actually, I just haven't read it yet. My book group is reading Circumnavigated in June, so I'm putting it off until then.

143bluesalamanders
Editado: Abr 13, 2013, 8:18 am

Finished Book 36: *The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
Inheritance Trilogy, Book 2
Adult, Fantasy: Epic, Dead Tree: 420p

Set some ten years after The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms begins in Shadow, the city where godlings and humans live side-by-side while the humans try to figure out the new order of the world. Oree, a blind artist who sees magic, gets caught up in some...theological debates, as it were.

I am not the biggest fan of epic fantasy, but Jemisin's books draw me right in. The worldbuilding is wonderfully solid, as are the characters, and her plots just keep moving along. Love this series.

144macsbrains
Abr 12, 2013, 11:46 am

>143 bluesalamanders: I just read this trilogy last week and was pleasantly pleased by them. I liked The Broken Kingdoms the best of the three, though most of the people I've spoken to liked the 3rd one best. That may be because I anticipated the outcome of the 3rd book very early on and so it was not such a revelation for me.

145MickyFine
Abr 12, 2013, 10:17 pm

>142 bluesalamanders: Sounds like a good plan. :)

146ronincats
Abr 12, 2013, 10:42 pm

I certainly enjoyed that series as well, blue. I've read the first of her next duology, which is quite different in tone, and have the second here in the tbr pile. She seems quite an original voice in the fantasy field.

147bluesalamanders
Abr 13, 2013, 8:25 am

144 macsbrains - I haven't read the third one yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I would have bought it when I got Broken Kingdoms but the bookstore only had that one.

145 Micky - It's hard, though! I mean, I have this huge TBR pile already, but mostly they're books that I want to read sometime, not books that I want to read right now. I'm not used to putting off reading the books I want to read.

146 roni - The Killing Moon, right? I'm halfway through that, but it hasn't grabbed me the way her Inheritance trilogy does and I keep starting other things instead of finishing it. I definitely agree about her original voice in the fantasy field, though.

148MickyFine
Abr 13, 2013, 10:26 pm

Well you could always read it now and then just re-read it for your book club. That would also be a plan I could get behind. :D

149bluesalamanders
Abr 14, 2013, 9:59 am

I try not to read the same book twice in one year :)

150ronincats
Abr 14, 2013, 6:06 pm

But sometimes it is simply inevitable, right?

151bluesalamanders
Abr 15, 2013, 7:50 am

Sometimes it is, definitely.

152bluesalamanders
Abr 22, 2013, 7:32 pm

Finished Book 37: Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, read by Wil Wheaton
Adult, Fantasy, audiobook, 8h49m

Finished Book 38: Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce, read by Susan Denicker
Beka Cooper, book 2
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, 18h7m

I was hesitant to include these, as I slept through parts of them, but I've read (and listened) to them both before and I can't really concentrate on text right now.

Why, you ask? Because I'm having a kidney stone procedure - yes, again - later this week. But that means that I get to take lots of prescription pain and anti-nausea medication until then (and even more afterward). Which is very bad for the concentration, let me tell you. Also for the social life, as I've had to cancel almost all my plans starting last Friday and going for the next two weeks. Because I can't drive and just about everything I do involves not just driving but highway driving. Gah.

I'm currently listening to Master and Commander, which is different. The reader is great, anyway. Any recommendations for audiobooks? Since it seems that will be most of my entertainment for the next couple of weeks. Oddly, I'm more open to different genres in audiobook than I usually am on paper, so as long as it isn't really gross, religious, or badly written, I'll consider it.

153ronincats
Abr 22, 2013, 8:29 pm

So sorry to hear about the kidney stone problems, blue! But I'm no good for audiobook suggestions as I can't stay focused on them even unmedicated!

154foggidawn
Abr 23, 2013, 2:15 am

#152 -- Have you read/listened to the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer? Or the Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer? Or Enchanted by Alethea Kontis? All of those are narrated by Katherine Kellgren, my favorite audiobook narrator, and I think you would like them. Enchanted, particularly, is right up your alley.

155bluesalamanders
Abr 23, 2013, 8:26 am

I haven't listened to or read any of those. I'll check them out, thanks! Simon Vance is my sister and my favorite narrator :) He does the Temeraire books by Naomi Novik and also the Master and Commander book I'm listening to currently.

156norabelle414
Abr 23, 2013, 9:00 am

>154 foggidawn: I second anything narrated by Katherine Kellgren. She is THE BEST. I love the Bloody Jack series (and there are 8ish of them so it'll keep you occupied for awhile) and The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series.

157humouress
Abr 23, 2013, 1:46 pm

Sorry to hear about your kidney stones. I hope it all goes well.

I'm afraid I can't contribute on audio books, as I haven't tried any, yet.

158leahbird
Abr 23, 2013, 9:39 pm

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is FANTASTICALLY read by Jim Dale. Highly recommend.

159alcottacre
Abr 23, 2013, 9:39 pm

*waving* at Blue

160bell7
Abr 24, 2013, 8:03 am

The Ruby in the Smoke and others in the series by Philip Pullman are excellent on audio, read by Anton Lesser.

Also, I second The Night Circus and the Bloody Jack series.

161MickyFine
Editado: Abr 26, 2013, 5:07 pm

Stephen Fry reads Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and I hear rumours that Richard Armitage has read a couple Georgette Heyer audios. :)

162bluesalamanders
Abr 28, 2013, 6:17 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions! I've added just about everything to my library wishlist. I'm still working my way through Master and Commander, but The Night Circus got me through a mostly sleepless night a couple days ago.

Finished Book 39: Mastiff by Tamora Pierce
Beka Cooper, book 3
Young Adult, Fantasy, Dead Tree: 608p

Finished Book 40: *The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, read by Jim Dale
Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 13h40m

40 / 150 books. 27% done.
13 / 75 *new books. 17% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
8708 / 40000 pages. 22% done.
Audiobooks: 5d18h19m

163leahbird
Abr 29, 2013, 9:14 am

What did you think of The Night Circus and the wonderful Jim Dale?

164bluesalamanders
Abr 29, 2013, 9:34 am

I really liked it. Thanks for the suggestion!

165humouress
Maio 3, 2013, 11:35 am

They all sound delicious. This bears investigation. ;0)

166quinaquisset
Maio 4, 2013, 11:11 pm

Late to the thread--sorry about the kidney stones! Hopefully you're most of the way through the recovery period. I did a brief stint of audiobooks, the best one I got was the last of Charlie Stross' Laundry series--The Apocalypse Codex. A mashup of spy story and Cthulhu.

167bluesalamanders
Editado: Maio 7, 2013, 3:59 pm

(Belated) April Round-Up

Overview:
10 finished books, 0 abandoned books
2676 pages, 2d3h23m

Adult/YA/J:
2 YA, 8 Adult

Genre:
8 Fantasy, 1 Science Fiction
1 Fiction, 0 Non-Fiction

Format:
6 Dead Tree, 1 Graphic Novel
3 Audiobook, 0 eBook

Author/Editor gender:
7 female, 3 male

New or Old:
3 new reads, 7 rereads

Series:
7 in series, 3 standalone

168bluesalamanders
Editado: Maio 7, 2013, 4:03 pm

Finished Book 41: *Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde, read by Elizabeth Sastre
Thursday Next, book 2
Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 11h23m

Finished Book 42: The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde, read by Elizabeth Sastre
Thursday Next, book 3
Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 12h13m

Oddly, I think this may be the only Thursday Next book that I've read before (or maybe I read the first two and just don't remember anything about them).

Finished Book 43: *The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, read by Elizabeth Sastre
Thursday Next, book 1
Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 9h18m

I listened to these books out of order because I got them from the library and the first one wasn't available right away. There's enough backstory integrated into each book that it didn't matter too much.

Finished Book 44: The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley
Young Adult, Fiction: Historical, Dead Tree: 278p

Finished Book 45: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
Temeraire, book 1
Adult, Fantasy: Historical, Dead Tree: 384p

Reread for book group.

45 / 150 books. 30% done.
15 / 75 *new books. 20% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
9370 / 40000 pages. 23% done.
Audiobooks: 7d3h13m

169bluesalamanders
Maio 11, 2013, 10:22 am

So, I really love that I can borrow audiobooks (and ebooks, although I haven't yet) from my local library. But there are some arbitrary limits that are really frustrating. For one, there is a limit to 3 items at a time. Seriously, three! For two, you can't renew, even if there are no holds, which means that if you run out of time for an audiobook ad have to check it out again, your place is lost (unless there is a way to save it that I haven't found yet). And for three, if you check out a WMA format audiobook, you can't return it before the due date. And some audiobooks are only available in WMA format.

So although I have finished all three audiobooks that I have checked out, they won't be "returned" until the 12th, the 15th, and the 17th. Which means I can't check out anything new until tomorrow, and since the I want to check out the next book in the series, which will almost certainly also be in WMA format, I'll have to wait until the 15th and 17th to check out the following books (at which point I'll be done with that series and hopefully whatever I move on to will be available in MP3, which can be returned as soon as you finish it - because wtf logic?).

170leahbird
Maio 11, 2013, 2:02 pm

Are you using Overdrive? Sounds like all the fun weirdness of Overdrive. I guess the library sets the limit because mine is 15. But yeah, the other stuff sucks. I can't listen to WMA but when browsing on my phone it's not always clear that's what it is so sometimes I get stuck with them just sitting there. Annoying. I think you can return them from the webpage but not from a mobile device... can't remember exactly.

171bluesalamanders
Maio 11, 2013, 2:18 pm

Yes, it's Overdrive. There is absolutely no way to return them, with my library. They have all the weirdest settings; I've talked to my sister (who is a librarian) and she kept saying "try this, try that" and nothing worked, because apparently my library thinks its patrons are idiots. I shouldn't be surprised, really.

172leahbird
Maio 11, 2013, 4:15 pm

Oh super boo!

173thornton37814
Maio 11, 2013, 4:32 pm

Which device are you using to read your books? Are you using the Overdrive app on the device or transfer method?

For example, I generally download the audiobooks to my iPhone using the Overdrive app. This is how to do it: http://help.overdrive.com/article/0335/How-to-return-a-downloaded-title-using-Ov.... I sometimes, however, transfer them with iTunes. It's a completely different method then.

174bluesalamanders
Editado: Maio 11, 2013, 6:17 pm

I don't have an iPhone or any similar device. I can only download them onto my computer.

The 3-book limit is my library's choice but look here, it says "Note: Due to our agreements with publishers, WMA titles cannot be returned before the lending period is up." Overdrive (and/or the publishers) are just dumb. Or mean.

175humouress
Maio 12, 2013, 10:22 am

I haven't had a problem about not being able to return them early partly because I've only borrowed 2 books so far, and at different times, and because I didn't read them until they were almost due. :0) But I thought I caught a glimpse of something about returning them (my library uses Overdrive, too). I'll look out next time I borrow an e-book; I'm planning to do so soon.

But maybe the 3 book limit is because people can't return them early, so books are stuck with people until the loan period is finished, whether they want to return them or not; so the library doesn't want to prevent other borrowers reading books, too?

176bluesalamanders
Maio 12, 2013, 12:33 pm

I dunno. The can't-return-WMAs-early is an Overdrive policy (MP3s can be returned whenever), while 3-books-only is my library's policy; other libraries have limits of 10 or 15 books.

177norabelle414
Editado: Maio 13, 2013, 7:59 am

I use OverDrive from two different libraries, so I definitely know that library policies can be different. One library lets me "check out" 5 books at a time, for up to 2 weeks each. The other lets me "check out" up to 10 books at a time, for up to 3 weeks each.

The "can't return WMAs early" thing is one of the (many) reasons why I only use mp3s from OverDrive. WMAs suck :-/

178bluesalamanders
Maio 13, 2013, 9:11 am

I choose MP3s when they're available, but many of the audiobooks I've wanted to listen to recently have only been available in WMA. *sigh*

179bluesalamanders
Editado: Maio 14, 2013, 7:06 am

So I recently made a new friend who is a librarian and I mentioned my frustration at the 3-book-limit when I saw her yesterday. It turns out that it's not simply arbitrary and there is a reason for it. As I understand it now, all 160 libraries in the state share the same pool of of electronic media.

So....that does make sense, then. It doesn't make the interaction of the book limit and Overdrive's WMA policy any less frustrating, though.

180norabelle414
Maio 14, 2013, 8:43 am

>179 bluesalamanders: Ahhhh. Maryland does that too - all of their libraries share the same OverDrive site.

181humouress
Maio 14, 2013, 9:30 am

I borrowed my e-book, and there is something on the website page that says you can return it early. However, I'm not quite sure what a WMA is, and though I intended borrowing it so I could read it on my iPad (which would, presumably, entail using Overdrive), I seem to have managed to download it on my laptop's browser. I still can't work out what I should have done.

:0/

182norabelle414
Maio 14, 2013, 9:38 am

>181 humouress: WMA is a file format for audiobooks. It stands for "Windows Media Audio"
In order to read your ebook on your iPad you will need to either a) plug your iPad into your computer and transfer the ebook file from your computer to your iPad, or b) download the OverDrive app onto your iPad, open the app, and download the ebook directly to your iPad. (Option b is the easier way, in my opinion)

183bluesalamanders
Maio 14, 2013, 10:01 am

180 norabelle - Yeah. I guess I understand; a lot of things are different out here since these are much smaller states than where I'm from (my sister is a librarian back in Michigan).

181 humouress - I haven't tried to borrow any ebooks yet, just audiobooks. I'm glad norabelle was here to help you with that!

184bluesalamanders
Maio 16, 2013, 9:12 am

I just got a couple of (long-needed) new bookcases and now I'm trying to figure out how to arrange my books in them. This is proving to be a surprisingly difficult task!

185ronincats
Maio 16, 2013, 4:08 pm

But fun...a lot of fun!

186bluesalamanders
Maio 16, 2013, 6:04 pm

Fun, and somewhat appalling. In rearranging my books, I grouped my TBRs in one place and, well...this happened:



Those are my TBRs. The top shelf is two deep.

What I need to do (but didn't) is take a hard look at all those books and see if I really care about reading them. Some of them I definitely will. Some of them...I'm not sure. Maybe I don't care so much.

187ronincats
Maio 16, 2013, 7:02 pm

That's ALL? Really? I've got at least 4 times as many...maybe I don't want to go there.

I tried zooming to see what books you had there, but then the words got blurry. Saw a couple of Sagans and a set of Aliens.

188bluesalamanders
Maio 16, 2013, 7:23 pm

I generally try to only buy books that I already know I like, so it was kind of a surprise. I have gone to some Friends of the Library sales and cheap used bookstores in the past few years though, so...

Top row (only the front): The Robber Bride, Vampire Detectives, Contact, Oath of Fealty, I see by my outfit, Red Mars, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Dawn, 5 Star Trek books, the Foundation trilogy, King of Elfland's Daughter, Nightfall, Robot Dreams, Deathbird Stories, and Again, Dangerous Visions, vol 1.

Second row: Time Cat, Mammoth book of seriously comic fantasy (which isn't that funny so far), The name of the wind, another Star Trek, The Inexplicables, Third Force, a bunch of Alias tie-in novels, and some sideways books I can't read from this picture (I'm in the other room ;)

Bottom row: James Tiptree Jr biography, A cup of normal, The house of discarded dreams, Ranger's apprentice, something by Keith Lauder that I can't read, Dreaming down under, Will Grayson Will Grayson, Beggars in Spain, Edenborn, Through the Wardrobe, Space Chronicles, Dreaming metal, Stormdancer, Searoad, Gun with occasional music, Ophelia, Strange Dreams, X-Men Empire's End, Firebirds soaring, The Stainless steel rat, and The cat who walks through walls.

189bluesalamanders
Editado: Maio 16, 2013, 7:26 pm

Oh, and if you've read Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane - up on top of the bookcase is Ed. Next to him is the Grey Teddy Bear (it never got a name, for some reason) and the tan and brown stripey thing is a cat that belonged to my grandmother

190ronincats
Maio 16, 2013, 7:52 pm

The Robber Bride, The Name of the Wind, Dreaming Metal are all in my tbr pile as well. The middle one is waiting for the series to be finished before I read it.

Time Cat and The Stainless Steel Rat and Ranger's Apprentice are quick and light reads. If the Oath of Fealty is the Moon one, it's very good, continuing the Paksennarion books, but if it's the Larry Niven one, I haven't read it.

And of course I've read Deep Wizardry--neat!

191bluesalamanders
Maio 16, 2013, 8:07 pm

I started Name of the Wind awhile ago and got bogged down. I may or may not go back to it. Oath of Fealty is the Moon one; a friend gave it to me, although she said it might not make sense since I haven't read the rest of the series.

My sister gave me Ed after my first boyfriend dumped me. He (Ed) just appeared on my bed in my dorm room and has been comforting me ever since. Ed is one of my favorite characters in Young Wizards, which is one of my favorite series - which just goes to show how well she knows me!

192bluesalamanders
Editado: Maio 16, 2013, 8:28 pm

Finished Book 46: Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich, read by Lorelei King
Stephenie Plum, book 15
Adult, Mystery: Humor, Audiobook: 6h18m

Finished Book 47: *Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich, read by Lorelei King
Stephenie Plum, book 16
Adult, Mystery: Humor, Audiobook: 5h57m

Finished Book 48: *Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich, read by Lorelei King
Stephenie Plum, book 17
Adult, Mystery: Humor, Audiobook: 6h22m

Finished Book 49: *Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich, read by Lorelei King
Stephenie Plum, book 18
Adult, Mystery: Humor, Audiobook: 6h12m

Finished Book 50: *Notorious Ninteen by Janet Evanovich, read by Lorelei King
Stephenie Plum, book 19
Adult, Mystery: Humor, Audiobook: 6h4m

These are ridiculous, but fun.

50 / 150 books. 30% done.
19 / 75 *new books. 20% done.
0 / 5 ^non-fiction. 0% done.
9370 / 40000 pages. 23% done.
Audiobooks: 8d10h6m

193TinaV95
Maio 17, 2013, 11:22 am

192.... I really enjoy the Stephanie Plum series too. Next up for me is #15. I love the audio versions bc of Lula's character. Totally agree with your take of "ridiculous but fun". Echoing that & adding they are a great diversion!!

194quinaquisset
Maio 17, 2013, 12:43 pm

I really enjoyed the James Tiptree biography. She had a fascinating life.
And hooray for wizarding whales.

195bluesalamanders
Maio 17, 2013, 2:36 pm

193 Tina - You're right, Lula is great, especially in the audiobooks. Also Grandma Mazur.

194 quinaquisset - I've heard great things about it, it definitely sounded fascinating. I borrowed it from a friend who's moving (along with a few other books) so I should probably move those to the front of the TBR line.

196Cobscook
Maio 20, 2013, 8:17 pm

I've just read through your entire thread and I can see we like very similar books. Not only that but I also suffer from migraines....so I thought I would say Hi!

I will also encourage you to check out the Bloody Jack audiobooks. I am on the third one and they are great fun.

I read and loved both The Name of the Wind and its sequel Wise Man's Fear but if you don't really love epic fantasy I can see that they might not be your cup of tea.

I look forward to following along with your reading from here on out.

197bluesalamanders
Maio 21, 2013, 9:10 pm

Welcome, Cobscook! My sympathies for the migraines. I wouldn't wish them on anyone (except maybe this guy I used to know who didn't quite believe they existed, because he'd never had a headache. I might wish one on him, just so he'd understand.).

Thanks for the Bloody Jack recommendation! It's on my library TBR list, so I'll get to it sooner or later. I'm not hugely fond of epic fantasy, though, so I'm not sure if I'll be returning to Name of the Wind.

198humouress
Maio 22, 2013, 10:27 pm

I suppose I have a thing for epic fantasy. The Name of the Wind is one of my favourites, and I can't wait to get my hands on Wise Man's Fear - though I think I'll have to go back and re-read the first one, now.

Some good recommendations on that bookshelf!

199bluesalamanders
Editado: Maio 28, 2013, 11:30 am

Finished Book 51: Bloodshot by Cherie Priest
Cheshire Red Reports, book 1
Adult, Fantasy: Urban, Audiobook: 11h16m

Finished Book 52: Hellbent by Cherie Priest
Cheshire Red, book 2
Adult, Fantasy: Urban, Audiobook: 10h36m

Rereads (or re-listens). I enjoy these fairly light and humorous urban fantasy (with vampires and occasional other fantastical stuff; without sex or romance, which is a nice change).

200Kassilem
Maio 29, 2013, 1:34 am

I personally really liked Will Grayson Will Grayson. It's a fairly quick read, and Green is a pretty good writer while Levithan is a favorite of mine.

I certainly know what you mean about saying you'll only buy books you know you like and will reread and then realizing you have all these other books that you haven't even read yet. I realized what I was doing when I moved across the country and had to pack all my books into boxs and carry them around. So now I only buy books if I've already read them. I'm still trying to get through the books I still own that I bought at book sales years ago and haven't touched since. It's definetly feels like a chore sometimes. :)

Anyways, happy reading!

201bluesalamanders
Maio 29, 2013, 10:30 am

I glanced at that bookcase of TBRs this morning and found 4 books to get rid of. It doesn't seem like a lot (it isn't a lot) but it's that many fewer to think about. Plus, one is a book I started awhile ago and haven't been able to convince myself to pick up again, so there's that not hanging over me anymore too.

(There are at least two more "I read part of it and want to want to pick it up again" books that I haven't yet managed to entirely give up on yet, but they'll likely be the next to go.)

I also started Will Grayson awhile back, but the stylistic quirkiness made it hard going. That's one I definitely will return to at some point, though, because I really like both authors.

202bluesalamanders
Maio 29, 2013, 12:49 pm

Finished Book 53: *Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
Young Adult, Fantasy, Dead Tree: 375p

Slow to start, but enjoyable overall.

Abandoned: The Mammoth Book of Seriously Comic Fantasy edited by Mike Ashley

I obviously have a different sense of humor from the editor and authors, because I found most of the stories I read "mildly amusing" at best. Only a few were especially funny and some were offensively bad.

203quinaquisset
Maio 29, 2013, 11:56 pm

I've got an entire shelf of books with bookmarks where I left them off, that I still think someday I'll get around to finishing. I don't think I've looked at that shelf for a year.

204bluesalamanders
Maio 30, 2013, 7:40 am

Oh, yeah, I have way more than those three I mentioned. They're just the ones I'm thinking about right now: Name of the Wind and Spook Country because I wasn't enjoying them much and I'm not sure if I care enough to try again, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson because that one I do want to try again sometime.

205bluesalamanders
Maio 31, 2013, 7:37 am

Finished Book 54: *Don't Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear edited by Jody Lynn Nye
Adult, Science fiction and fantasy anthology, Dead Tree: 306p

This book is subtitled "The mother of all anthologies" and it is, unsurprisingly, full of stories about mothers (in one way or another). There are overbearing mothers, disappointed mothers, controlling mothers, and at least two AI-run-amok mothers; I wish there were more good/nice/loving mothers, but maybe it's harder to make that dramatic. As with all anthologies, there are a mixture of stories, some good, some less so. My favorites were by Elizabeth Moon and Diane Duane.

206bluesalamanders
Editado: Jun 2, 2013, 7:26 am

May Round-Up

Overview:
14 finished books, 1 abandoned books
1043 pages, 3d13h39m

Adult/YA/J:
2 YA, 12 Adult

Genre:
7 Fantasy, 1 Science Fiction
6 Fiction, 0 Non-Fiction

Format:
4 Dead Tree, 0 Graphic Novel
10 Audiobook, 0 eBook

Author/Editor gender:
11 female, 3 male

New or Old:
9 new reads, 5 rereads

Series:
12 in series, 2 standalone

207bluesalamanders
Jun 2, 2013, 7:25 am

Finished Book 55: *^The Legs are the Last to Go by Diahann Carroll, read by Diahann Carroll
Adult, Non-fiction: Memoir, Audiobook: 7h51m

Carroll's stories were interesting enough and of course she is a pleasure to listen to, but I don't usually read memoirs and this didn't change my mind about the genre.

55 / 150 books. 37% done.
22 / 75 *new books. 29% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
10051 / 40000 pages. 25% done.
Audiobooks: 8d10h6m

208bluesalamanders
Jun 2, 2013, 7:37 am

Finished Book 56: Daja's Book by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 3
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 5h20m

Finished book 57: Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
Circle of Magic, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 5h51m

I forgot that I already read these earlier this year, but whatever. I had a bad few days and needed some comfort reading, which these supplied perfectly.

I feel like I'm way behind the number of books I usually have read by now in a year, and checking the past few years I am in fact 5-15 books behind where I was this time in the past 4 years. Huh. Interesting. I guess that's not way behind, but unless I choose to read a bunch of very short/quick reads, I doubt I'll catch up. I mean, I'll definitely get 75 books but it's not likely I'll get near my 150 goal.

209foggidawn
Jun 2, 2013, 7:58 am

I'm having a slow reading year, too -- I've only read about half as many books as usual.

210bluesalamanders
Jun 2, 2013, 8:06 am

It's not that I haven't been reading a lot, you know? I have. Just, a lot of it doesn't count for this.

211humouress
Jun 2, 2013, 12:30 pm

>210 bluesalamanders:: Depends how you count it ;0)

212macsbrains
Editado: Jun 2, 2013, 1:05 pm

I just went two and a half weeks without reading anything at all so my 150 goal is shot also. May and especially June are always bad months for me for reading (often only 1 or even 0 books). The onset of hot weather makes my brain deflate.

213bluesalamanders
Jun 3, 2013, 6:12 am

211 humouress - Well, if I downloaded the fanfic onto my ereader and got a page count (some of it was definitely novel-length) then I could totally count it :D

212 macsbrains - Yeah, the heat is not helping. That is another part of why I've been listening to audiobooks the past few days, because it requires almost no effort and this weekend was very uncomfortably hot. Now it's just uncomfortably humid. *sigh*

214bluesalamanders
Editado: Jun 5, 2013, 3:32 pm

Finished Book 58: *Empathy Games by Nigel Fairs
Doctor Who: Companion Chronicles 3.4
Young Adult, Science Fiction, Audiobook: 1hr

This is more of a short story than a book, but it's standalone, so I guess it counts.

Finished Book 59: *Alias: Disappeared by Lynn Mason
Alias prequel series, book 3
Young Adult, Fiction, Dead Tree: 203

Sydney is on a solo mission that leaves her isolated and vulnerable as the people around her start dying.

Mediocre. Sydney still seems immature. Noah still seems out-of-character. The tech guy was Marshall in all but name.

215bluesalamanders
Jun 5, 2013, 3:36 pm

Finished Book 60: *Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
Adult, Science Fiction, Dead Tree: 319

Adapted from the short story "Of Mist, Grass, and Sand". I really like both the short story and the book.

60 / 150 books. 40% done.
25 / 75 *new books. 33% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
10573 / 40000 pages. 26% done.
Audiobooks: 8d22h17m

216ronincats
Jun 5, 2013, 10:48 pm

McIntyre's writing is so great!

217bluesalamanders
Jun 6, 2013, 12:12 am

I agree! I've read (or tried to read) other late-70's feminist SF that really didn't hold up the way Dreamsnake does. It's not perfect, of course, nothing is, but it's an enjoyable story without being too "rah, men suck!" like some tend to be.

218quinaquisset
Jun 8, 2013, 1:48 pm

I'm curious now, which ones didn't you like?

219bluesalamanders
Jun 9, 2013, 1:42 pm

I don't remember offhand, but there is a whole list of books and short stories from that time (I think it's that time, I'm really bad with dates) that are all "men suck, men are evil, men are the cause of all the world's problems". They often have all-female worlds or societies with civilized women and barbaric men, that sort of thing.

220bluesalamanders
Jun 9, 2013, 1:43 pm

Finished Book 61: The girl who circumnavigated Fairyland in a ship of her own making by Catherynne M. Valente
The Girl Who, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Dead Tree: 247p

One day, the Green Wind on his flying Leopard visits a young girl and offers to take her to Fairyland. September, bored with washing dishes and waiting for her mother to come home, agrees immediately and climbs on board, losing one shoe in the process. This will be important later.

This book is charming, hilarious, adorable, and just loads of fun. There are also wonderful illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

221MickyFine
Jun 9, 2013, 2:17 pm

>220 bluesalamanders: Glad to see the book has found another fan. The second book is just as charming. And happily, there's a third book coming out in October. :)

222bluesalamanders
Jun 9, 2013, 4:40 pm

Micky - I have the second book, I just don't want to read it before my book group this week. I'll probably read it next week. I saw went to a signing with Cat a couple of months ago and she read the first chapter of the third book :D

223MickyFine
Jun 10, 2013, 2:21 pm

Ah yes, I remember you talking about that. :)

224Cobscook
Editado: Jun 11, 2013, 1:50 pm

I keep hearing about The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Some reviews make me want to read it and some make me feel as if I won't like it. My fear is that it is too whimsical for me....did you think it was whimsical?

225MickyFine
Jun 11, 2013, 2:06 pm

It is the definition of whimsical in my book. Good litmus test: if you like Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland, the books are worth a try.

226leahbird
Jun 11, 2013, 3:54 pm

Yeah, it's definitely whimsical but dark and twisty too, more Alice than Peter in my opinion. And very, very good.

227bluesalamanders
Editado: Jun 11, 2013, 5:24 pm

Cobscook, I agree with Micky and leah, it is very whimsical. It doesn't overwhelm the plot or characters, though - my problem with Mieville's Un Lun Dun (a similar book in many ways) was that the whimsy in the worldbuilding made the characters drab and the plot predictable. That isn't the case with Circumnavigated.

228humouress
Jun 11, 2013, 6:59 pm

Ooh - I've got Circumnavigated on my pile from the library. I've just seen so much enthusiasm about it.

229Cobscook
Jun 14, 2013, 11:18 am

Ok good to know. I think I will pick that one up from the library. That way, if I don't like it, no harm done!

230bluesalamanders
Jun 16, 2013, 8:12 am

Finished Book 62: Blood Price by Tanya Huff
Blood series, Book 1
Adult, Fantasy: Urban, Dead Tree: 272p

Supernatural crime novel. The Blood books are always fun, sexy, and enjoyable fluff reads.

Finished Book 63: Blood Trail by Tanya Huff
Blood series, Book 2
Adult, Fantasy, 304p

This book has interesting werewolf pack dynamics, with, of course, the Henry/Vicki/Mike dynamics mixed in. I enjoy it - this whole series is nice sexy fluff reading without being over-the-top.

231bluesalamanders
Editado: Jun 17, 2013, 12:03 pm

Finished Book 64: *The Human Division by John Scalzi
Old Man's War, book 5
Adult, Science Fiction: Anthology, Dead Tree: 431p

The Human Division is a collection of related short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

One thing Scalzi excels at is getting the to reader care about all kinds of characters in all kinds of situations - including, sometimes, right before they die in unexpected and/or creative ways. In The Human Division, this sorrow is balanced by the humor and cuteness and various other things. I liked every story in the book.

232bluesalamanders
Jun 16, 2013, 11:40 am

Abandoned Book: Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

I downloaded the audiobook of this from the library and deleted it after less than an hour. The writing is just not my style; it seemed every other sentence had some extraneous adjective or quirky wording that made me cringe. I just couldn't deal with X number of hours listening to that.

233ronincats
Jun 16, 2013, 12:41 pm

I have to agree with you on Grimspace. And while I like Scalzi, I don't know if I want to be led to care for someone right before they die...

234bluesalamanders
Jun 16, 2013, 5:32 pm

Fair enough. They're good stories, though, and my thought - after it happened - was that it's not like he hasn't done it before (you've read Redshirts, so you know) and at least he handles it better (in my opinion) than Joss or Moff. Maybe it's not fair to compare books to tv shows like that, but that was my initial reaction.

235beserene
Jun 19, 2013, 1:40 am

Just popping by to say hi... and YAY for the Valente book. Glad you liked it. I adore her. :)

236beserene
Jun 19, 2013, 1:45 am

Also, I promise not to tell your sister that you stole her copy of Dogsbody. Unless of course she is here on LT, in which case... oops.

237bluesalamanders
Jun 19, 2013, 3:58 am

Yeah, I love Circumnavigated. I may read the second one now - but my book group last week got canceled, so the whole point of not reading it right away has been put off. Argh.

My sister is in fact on LT but she doesn't read Talk. :)

238bluesalamanders
Jun 19, 2013, 4:07 am

Finished Book 65: The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce read by Full Cast Audio
The Circle Reforged, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 15h30m

After abandoning Grimspace, I still wanted to listen to something, and didn't feel like hoping the next new one might be something I would like.

65 / 150 books. 43% done.
26 / 75 *new books. 35% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
11827 / 40000 pages. 29% done.
Audiobooks: 9d13h47m

239TinaV95
Jun 20, 2013, 12:07 am

I'd like to add that I am not a fan of Alice, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland anyway. Just finished #2 tonight in fact. Go for it!

240bluesalamanders
Jun 27, 2013, 2:06 pm

Finished Book 66: Blood Lines by Tanya Huff
Blood series, Book 3
Adult, Fantasy, 271p

Finished Book 67: Blood Pact by Tanya Huff
Blood series, Book 4
Adult, Fantasy, 332p

Finished Book 68: Blood Debt by Tanya Huff
Blood series, Book 5
Adult, Fantasy, 330p

241beserene
Jul 1, 2013, 11:49 am

Tanya Huff's books keep showing up in various ways, but I've never read her -- not that I remember, anyway. I'm interested to know if she is worth the read.

242bluesalamanders
Jul 1, 2013, 5:34 pm

I love the Blood books and the sequel trilogy, the Shadow books. They are vampire detective stories, except the vampire isn't the detective, he's the sidekick. I haven't read enough of her high fantasy to comment on that.

243bluesalamanders
Jul 1, 2013, 5:35 pm

Finished Book 69: The Sagan Diary by John Scalzi
Old Man's War (set between Ghost Brigades and Last Colony)
Adult, Science Fiction, Audiobook: 1h18m

This is a lovely and moving book; it makes me smile, it makes me laugh, sometimes it has even made me cry. The insight into the mind of Jane Sagan, and into the lives of the members of the Ghost Brigades, is really amazing.

The audio and text are available online for free.

244bluesalamanders
Jul 1, 2013, 5:37 pm

June Round-Up

Overview:
15 finished books, 1 abandoned books
2709 pages, 1d12h50m

Adult/YA:
10 YA, 5 Adult

Genre:
9 Fantasy, 4 Science Fiction
1 Fiction, 1 Non-Fiction

Format:
9 Dead Tree, 0 Graphic Novel
6 Audiobook, 0 eBook

Author/Editor gender:
12 female, 3 male

New or Old:
5 new reads, 10 rereads

Series:
13 in series, 2 standalone

245ronincats
Jul 1, 2013, 8:12 pm

Nice stats, Blue! I probably need to add the series info.

246bluesalamanders
Jul 2, 2013, 7:05 am

Thanks, Roni! I think I added it after reading a couple of threads where people were asking for standalones. I don't read a lot of them, as it turns out; maybe it's that I like series, or maybe the kinds of stories I like just come in series, I couldn't say.

247bluesalamanders
Jul 2, 2013, 7:28 am

Mid-Year Round-Up

Overview:
69 finished books, 2 abandoned books
12462 pages, 11d7h35m

Adult/YA/J:
33 YA, 36 Adult

Genre:
48 Fantasy, 12 Science Fiction
8 Fiction, 1 Non-Fiction

Format:
37 Dead Tree, 1 Graphic Novel
31 Audiobook, 0 eBook

Author/Editor gender:
59 female, 10 male

New or Old:
28 new reads, 41 rereads

Series:
56 in series, 13 standalone

This is really interesting, because this is showing trends that I either didn't realize - I clearly read more fantasy than science fiction, or at least I am this year - or that I know are unusual - the amount of audiobooks I'm reading this year is definitely not normal for me. I'm also not sure if I usually read an even number of YA and Adult books. I would have expected more YA.

The gap between female and male authors/editors is surprising. Over 80% of the books I read are by women. I like that one.

I'm less happy that well over half of my reading so far this year has been rereads, but there are reasons why that is the case.

248Cobscook
Jul 2, 2013, 8:33 pm

Everyone is doing their mid-year stats....I feel so lazy! I enjoy reading everyone else's though.

Sometimes rereads are necessary in life I say. When my life gets too stressful and overwhelming, I head straight for my comfort reads.

249MickyFine
Jul 7, 2013, 1:48 pm

I'm all for re-reading. I'd say at least a quarter of my re-reading in any given year is re-reads. So feel no guilt. All reading is good reading. :)

250bluesalamanders
Jul 7, 2013, 4:29 pm

Finished Book 70: *The girl who fell beneath Fairyland and led the revels there by Cathrynne Valente
Young Adult, Fantasy, Dead Tree: 258p

Led The Revels is every bit as wonderful, charming, and whimsical as Circumnavigated.

70 / 150 books. 47% done.
27 / 75 *new books. 36% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
13018 / 40000 pages. 33% done.
Audiobooks: 9d15h5m

251bluesalamanders
Editado: Jul 7, 2013, 4:30 pm

Finished Book 71: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Jenna Fox Chronicles, book 1
Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dead Tree: 265p

Reread for this week's book group. There's a lot I didn't remember about this book. When I first read it, I was mostly focused on Jenna's story and her relationship with her parents, and less on the details around it, but on rereading I noticed other things. For example, science is both good and bad in this book, both the cause of problems and the way to try to deal with them. That seems much more realistic to me than the "progress is evil" message that is sometimes presented. Also, it struck me that there really is no "bad guy", with the possible exception of Dane, who isn't a "bad guy" so much as an annoyance. Everyone, everyone is just doing what they think is best.

I like this book, although (or maybe because) Jenna's inner dialogue is a bit eerie at times, and while I plan to pick up the sequel at some point, it works easily as a standalone.

252bluesalamanders
Jul 16, 2013, 6:26 pm

So I've been watching a lot of Mark Reads videos this year and it occurred to me that I've listened to a lot of full books that way. In fact *counts* I've listened to at least 11 whole books that way so far. I haven't been counting them as books read, because it didn't occur to me to (and they're not official audio editions or anything) but...maybe they count? What do you think?

253foggidawn
Jul 16, 2013, 7:34 pm

Sure, why not? :-)

254bluesalamanders
Jul 17, 2013, 9:04 am

Finished Book 72: Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones, read by Gerard Doyle
Chronicles of Chrestomanci, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, 7h07m

Finished Book 73: The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones, read by Gerard Doyle
Chronicles of Chrestomanc1, book 4
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook, 9h04m

-----

A bunch of the following books were read by Mark Oshiro of Mark Reads and they're all out of order from when I actually listened to them (except Page and The Ordinary Princess, which I finished yesterday), but whatever. Also, I took the lengths from the official audiobooks because it was easier than adding up the times in a bunch of youtube videos.

Finished Book 74: Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce, read by Mark Oshiro
Song of the Lioness, book 1
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 5h17m

Finished Book 75: In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce, read by Mark Oshiro
Song of the Lioness, book 2
Young Adult, Fantasy, Audiobook: 5h

75 / 150 books. 50% done. Woohoo!
27 / 75 *new books. 36% done.
1 / 5 ^non-fiction. 20% done.
13283 / 40000 pages. 33% done.
Audiobooks: 10d10h26m
Este tópico foi continuado por bluesalamanders 2013.2.