What an absence it's been.
Forgive the great absence, dear readers, but I've been a bit slow reading this past month. I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month and so have been a bit distracted by my so-called novel.
In trying to remember what I have read recently, I had to go back and check to see the last book I updated on.
O my. I've finished Airhead by Meg Cabot, Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd, Blood Alone by James Benn, and I just finished Pride & Prejudice last night (book 5 of 6, woohoo!). I may or may not have read something else in between some of those, for I have them written down somewhere (just not anywhere convenient). I can tell you I started reading Savvy by Ingrid Law, but could not finish it. It had a wonderful story, but the voice of Mibs, the main character, drove me to distraction. On the thirteenth birthday of each member of her family, the person receives their savvy, or special talent. Her grandfather could create land (the family lived between Kansas and Nebraska on the land he created), her brother Fish had power over the rain, her other brother Rocket was electrically charged, and her mother did everything perfectly (even when she screwed up). Mibs is waiting for her savvy when her father is in a car accident. Her mother and Rocket are away from the family and so Mibs turns 13 with all the people in town she does not like. That's about as far as I got before I stopped reading because Mibs's "aw shucks" voice was entirely too distracting from the story. I know other librarians who have enjoyed the story and ordinarily I think I would too but I did not have the patience to attempt it.
Airhead, the first of a new Meg Cabot series, was a fluffy, interesting read. A supermodel, a normal girl, and a whole body transplant. I love that Cabot can mix the girly with the sci-fi and that Em learns it's not easy being a supermodel.
Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd is a story about Ireland in the 80s. Fergus finds a preserved child in the bog; a scientist comes to excavate (who happens to have a teenage daughter) and Fergus dreams/thinks about the child's past and her story. I like that Dowd did so well weaving the historical aspect with the modern day (modern day to the story that is). Fergus's older brother is in jail and joins a hunger strike in the prison and the whole family do what they can to convince him not to do it. It's a coming of age story but during a time and in a place that most US readers aren't familiar with it. I looked a little into the history of Ireland during the 80's so I would have a slight idea of what was going on when some of the political terms were mentioned. You can certainly read it without that, but it may not make as much sense.
Blood Alone by James Benn is the third Billy Boyle mystery. I may or may not have said it before, but I am not a big mystery fan. They're just not my types of books. But I have found two mystery writers I enjoy, James Benn being one. I don't know if it's the WWII setting that I enjoy, or the great way he develops characters, but I'm kind of dreading the end of the war because what stories will Billy have to share with us then? It's fall of 1944, I think, and the book begins with Billy having lost his memory. A fantastic series. I think he just keeps getting better.
Is it even necessary for me to mention Pride & Prejudice? There is something comforting about reading a book you're familiar with; it's nice to have a story that you know, you know what will happen, but it's still a pleasure and a delight to take that journey with the characters again. I love the story. I love watching Elizabeth change. I love watching Lydia frustratingly stay the same. I love thinking how different things might have been had Mr. Collins chosen Mary instead of Charlotte. I love the interactions and the social niceties and Lady Catherine and the Gardiners, and Jane and Bingley, oh it's just so wonderful. Only Persuasion remains for me to read this year. I like that book and it feels appropriate, saving it for last.
Forgive the brief reviews, but I just wanted to have something out there to be read. Currently reading The Glass of Time by Michael Cox, a continuation of a sort of his The Meaning of Night. I'm only 27 pages in, so I haven't too much of an opinion yet. But Cox has a great way of drawing a person in.
So until I update again (hopefully not a month later), I remain,
the Savage Librarian.
Have happy holidays, all.
In trying to remember what I have read recently, I had to go back and check to see the last book I updated on.
O my. I've finished Airhead by Meg Cabot, Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd, Blood Alone by James Benn, and I just finished Pride & Prejudice last night (book 5 of 6, woohoo!). I may or may not have read something else in between some of those, for I have them written down somewhere (just not anywhere convenient). I can tell you I started reading Savvy by Ingrid Law, but could not finish it. It had a wonderful story, but the voice of Mibs, the main character, drove me to distraction. On the thirteenth birthday of each member of her family, the person receives their savvy, or special talent. Her grandfather could create land (the family lived between Kansas and Nebraska on the land he created), her brother Fish had power over the rain, her other brother Rocket was electrically charged, and her mother did everything perfectly (even when she screwed up). Mibs is waiting for her savvy when her father is in a car accident. Her mother and Rocket are away from the family and so Mibs turns 13 with all the people in town she does not like. That's about as far as I got before I stopped reading because Mibs's "aw shucks" voice was entirely too distracting from the story. I know other librarians who have enjoyed the story and ordinarily I think I would too but I did not have the patience to attempt it.
Airhead, the first of a new Meg Cabot series, was a fluffy, interesting read. A supermodel, a normal girl, and a whole body transplant. I love that Cabot can mix the girly with the sci-fi and that Em learns it's not easy being a supermodel.
Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd is a story about Ireland in the 80s. Fergus finds a preserved child in the bog; a scientist comes to excavate (who happens to have a teenage daughter) and Fergus dreams/thinks about the child's past and her story. I like that Dowd did so well weaving the historical aspect with the modern day (modern day to the story that is). Fergus's older brother is in jail and joins a hunger strike in the prison and the whole family do what they can to convince him not to do it. It's a coming of age story but during a time and in a place that most US readers aren't familiar with it. I looked a little into the history of Ireland during the 80's so I would have a slight idea of what was going on when some of the political terms were mentioned. You can certainly read it without that, but it may not make as much sense.
Blood Alone by James Benn is the third Billy Boyle mystery. I may or may not have said it before, but I am not a big mystery fan. They're just not my types of books. But I have found two mystery writers I enjoy, James Benn being one. I don't know if it's the WWII setting that I enjoy, or the great way he develops characters, but I'm kind of dreading the end of the war because what stories will Billy have to share with us then? It's fall of 1944, I think, and the book begins with Billy having lost his memory. A fantastic series. I think he just keeps getting better.
Is it even necessary for me to mention Pride & Prejudice? There is something comforting about reading a book you're familiar with; it's nice to have a story that you know, you know what will happen, but it's still a pleasure and a delight to take that journey with the characters again. I love the story. I love watching Elizabeth change. I love watching Lydia frustratingly stay the same. I love thinking how different things might have been had Mr. Collins chosen Mary instead of Charlotte. I love the interactions and the social niceties and Lady Catherine and the Gardiners, and Jane and Bingley, oh it's just so wonderful. Only Persuasion remains for me to read this year. I like that book and it feels appropriate, saving it for last.
Forgive the brief reviews, but I just wanted to have something out there to be read. Currently reading The Glass of Time by Michael Cox, a continuation of a sort of his The Meaning of Night. I'm only 27 pages in, so I haven't too much of an opinion yet. But Cox has a great way of drawing a person in.
So until I update again (hopefully not a month later), I remain,
the Savage Librarian.
Have happy holidays, all.
Labels: jane austen, Meg Cabot, mystery, teen lit
posted by austentatious at 5:29 PM
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