Books for October

[kiwiria.livejournal.com]

Deadly Design - Marion Moore Hills, 3/5, 329 pages
Deadly Design is a clever mix of history and suspense. As a non-American, I don't know much about American history, and appreciated this insight into the life and time of Thomas Jefferson. However, I did feel that the suspense part of the story lacked some polishing. Everybody seemed to have a motive and/or a secret to keep, and Millie was rather too obvious a wanna-be detective in her musings as she mentally evaluated each person's motivation.

Still, the history/suspense mix was well balanced and the mix worked well. The plot was interesting enough to keep me well entertained, and I finished the book in just a couple of days, undeterred by the fact that I hadn't read the first book in the series.

Dune - Frank Herbert, 4/5, Audiobook ~21hrs
I first started reading Dune in February 2007, but got stuck about 70-100 pages into it, and left it hanging. I always planned to finish it someday though, but just couldn't bring myself to pick it up again. Finally, last month I felt that it was time to finish it, and as I'd just found it as an audiobook, I thought I would try that way of getting through it instead.

Honestly, I don't think it's the book most suited for audio presentation, and I would probably have liked it better if I'd read it rather than listened to it, but this way I got through it, discovered that I enjoyed it, and am therefore more likely to pick it up again at a later stage.

I enjoyed all the characterizations and the intrigues. I did think that perhaps Paul was a bit of a Gary Stu in that he was constantly able to do everything he set out to, and that the ending was a bit abrupt, but when looking at the big picture, that didn't bother me. I appreciated that Frank Herbert didn't pull any punches, but killed off people I hadn't expected him to.

I got the audiobook from Audible.co.uk. It was read by (I think) 5 different people, which worked well, once I got far enough into the book to know the voices and tell them apart. Until then I would rather have had just one narrator and more of "he said", "she said".

But definitely a great book, and I'd recommend it to others who enjoy a good fantasy/sci-fi mix.

Royal Exile - Fiona McIntosh, 4/5, 480 pages
It seems that most fantasy books these days are part of a series. I guess there's so much that needs to be thought out in order to invent a fantasy universe, that it seems like a waste to only use it for one book, so they're turned into series instead. That in itself doesn't bother me, but it does get old when one constantly reads books with no real conclusion, because the plot continues in the next novel.

Royal Exile is such a book. Thankfully I'm familiar with Fiona McIntosh's writing, so I was forewarned that this might be the case before I started the book, and therefore didn't mind as much as I usually would. It also helped a lot that the book was absolutely brilliant, so I was completely drawn in by the universe and the characters. Royal Exile sets the scene magnificently. The characters are complex, and the complication without no simple resolution. I'm very interested in seeing what happens next.

The City of Dreaming Books - Walter Moers, 4.5/5, 456 pages
Walter Moers created a fascinating universe and stayed true to it all the way through. I'm not sure the plot is so spectacular on its own, but the story was made so by all the details and all the descriptions that he included. It took me awhile to get used to his way of writing, so I wasn't hooked from the very first page, but the further into it I got, the more quirky it became, and I just had to know what happened next.

The City of Dreaming Books uses the book media as a way of telling the story, and I'm always totally charmed by books that dare do that - e.g. write things with smaller font when people are whispering etc. So far I've only seen Walter Moers and Jasper Fforde do this efficiently.

Absolutely brilliant book. I laughed out loud more often than at practically any other book - not counting Douglas Adams obviously, but then he's in a category of his own, and honestly Walter Moers' humour often reminded me of DA.

The Power of a Praying Wife - Stormie Omartian, 2/5, 205 pages
For the first few chapters I was very impressed by this book, and I still think it's a brilliant idea, but I do think the author made some very troubling claims.

The first problem is that she assumes the husband is Christian too. Praying for your husband is even more important if he isn't saved, and Stormie Ormatian seemed to forget that aspect, which made me feel like I wasn't part of the target group.

The second thing I took issue with is in the chapter of praying for his sexuality. I have no problems with that, and agree with the importance of it, but Stormie claimed that if a wife didn't feel like having sex, she should just 'suck it up' (paraphrased), and if a husband didn't feel like having sex, there was a fundamental problem and they should seek councelling!

So a man is always a sex-fiend, and if he's not, there's something wrong with the marriage??? What a way to ruin a wife's self-esteem!

That said, praying daily for your husband (or wife) is not only a good idea, it's a necessity, and I liked Stomie's way of approaching it, by taking specific issues, specific aspects of his life and focusing on those. That's definitely something I'll continue to try to practise.

While My Sister Sleeps - Barbara Delinsky, 4.5/5, 318 pages
What I enjoy most about Barbara Delinsky's writing is that though she writes chick-lit, it's not fluff, and she actually dares take up very serious subjects.

I don't know if it's standard for her work, or just a coincidence that the two books I've read by her have both been coping with a loved one in a coma (this one and "Coast Road"), but they've handled it in very different ways, so I didn't feel like I was just reading the same book all over again. The characters were well fleshed out, and you got to appreciate - or at least sympathise with all of them. The story was very poignant - I had a hard time putting it down and it made me cry more than once.

I think I may have found a new author to add to my favourites.

Emissary - Fiona McIntosh, 3/5, 512 pages
Fiona McIntosh has a really bad habit of ending with a cliff-hanger, which gets rather tedious once you realise that all her books are like that. It's a shame too, because if it hadn't been for that, I would probably have rated this book higher than I did. The writing has improved from the first book in the series, and the characters are becoming much more complex. I enjoy Ana's no-nonsense way of handling Herezah, and found myself almost liking Maliz, now that he's abandoned all of Tariq's most annoying traits.

Fiona McIntosh isn't afraid of killing off her characters, but there was one death in this book that seemed completely pointless. I hope this will prove to be an "interesting assumption" and that the reasons will become apparent in the next book in the series. If not, then it was just plain cruel.

I still by far prefer the Valisar trilogy, but I will be keeping my eye out for the next (and perhaps last? I can't seem to get any certain answer) book in the Pecheron saga.

And Another Thing - Eoin Colfer, 3.5/5, 344 pages
The ultimate fanfiction. And I have to say, Eoin Colfer did a much better job than one could have feared. Following in the footsteps of as unique a writer as Douglas Adams is a thankless and probably intimidating job, but Eoin Colfer succeeded quite admirably in capturing his distinctive writing style.

Unfortunately. Eoin Colfer captured the writing style of Douglas Adams as he exhibits it in "Mostly Harmless", which has always been my least favourite of the trilogy, and definitely the weakest of the lot. Like in "Mostly Harmless", the plot of "And Another Thing" is pretty thin, but amazingly enough, like Douglas Adams, Eoin Colfer managed to carry it off through odd persona and witty commentary. I was gratified to find myself laughing out loud more than once. The only sections where Colfer fell a bit flat was in the Guide quotes, which lacked some of the spark of the original.

All in all a decent follow-up, even though of course nothing will live up to the original BBC broadcastings. However, if this is supposed to be The End(tm) I could have wished for it to be a happier one for Arthur.

And I did miss Marvin.

Gathering Blue - Lois Lowry, 4/5, 215 pages
I read The Giver earlier this year and absolutely loved it, so when I heard it had two companion books (Gathering Blue and Messenger), I naturally wanted to get hold of them.

I don't think it quite lived up to my expectations though. It was interesting, and I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't as mind-blowing as The Giver was. I think part of the problem was that it was presented as a companion novel, so I expected the same atmosphere as I'd found in The Giver and it just wasn't able to deliver. I think the plot was too simple in comparison.

Still, it entertained me, and I still want to get my hands on Messenger which seems to be a more direct continuation of this one than this was of The Giver.

Who Do I Talk To? - Neta Jackson, 4.5/5, 393 pages
Neta Jackson redeemed herself in this second book in the House of Hope series. I had been extremely disappointed by Where Do I Go?, because it ended on such a depressing note, and had seemed pretty pointless - using the entire book to get the main character down as low as she could get.

In Who Do I Talk To? it becomes apparent why Neta Jackson did this. I still think it's an extremely risky venture to write the first book in a series like that. If I hadn't already been introduced to her writing through the Yada Yada series, I think I would have given up on her then and there. As it was, it was with some reluctance I picked up the second book, and for once, I didn't start reading it immediately.

But thankfully the atmosphere was completely different. Still not as upbeat as in the Yada Yada series, but taking the topic into consideration, that would have been completely inappropriate. However, it was a lot more positive, and I ended up laughing and crying together with Gabby.

The characters were better fleshed out (especially Gabby's father-in-law) and I enjoyed getting to know them better, and seeing them interact with Gabby and her mother. And I LOVED the ending.

Still nowhere as inspirational as the Yada Yada series, Neta Jackson has "won me back", and I'll definitely be purchasing Who Do I Lean On? once it comes out... which unfortunately won't be until June 2010.

Evermore - Alyson Noël, 3/5, 301 pages
I couldn't put the book down - and it made me feel absolutely soiled.

Let me see if I can try to explain it.

My first impression was that it was a run-of-the-mill Paranormal YA - albeit a tad more Twilight-wannabe'ish than average - right down to the references to Wuthering Heights. However, the romantic love interest did not work for me at all. Edward's so-called 'stalkerish' behaviour never bothered me, but I got seriously creepy vibes from Damen, and I desperately hoped I was wrong in assuming he was intended as Ever's soulmate. It worked for me with Edward and Bella - it really didn't here.

What bothered me was Damen's utter disregard for Ever's opinions, how he kept lying to her (even if he felt it was for her own good), and how he could manipulate with her feelings. To me it reminded me far too much of Hush, Hush - another book that made me feel dirty for reading, and I'd be reluctant to recommend either to teenage readers - something I never had a problem with in Twilight.

I was absolutely fascinated by the start though, and wish Alyson Noël had spent more time dwelling on Ever's psychic abilities. I'd also have liked to see more of her interaction with her aunt, Sabine. I did think the plot line concerning Riley was well done though.

The 3rd star is for capturing my attention even at 2am halfway through a 24-hour Read-a-thon ;-)

Gifts - Ursula Le Guin, 2.5/5, 278 pages
Ursula Le Guin writes well, but the plot in this novel is just about non-existing. She spends 90% of the book setting the scene, so the actual story seems to be told in very few pages. Had it been a stand-alone book I wouldn't have understood the point of it at all, but as far as I can make out, it's supposed to be the first book of a longer series, so I guess this is more of an introduction than anything else.

I liked Gry and Orrec, but the other characters weren't described in any great detail, and it was therefore difficult to get a proper 'read' of them.

It was a quick read, and kept me well enough entertained, but certainly wasn't a pageturner in any sense of the word.

The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~16hrs.
A very dark (goth?) novel. In genre and atmosphere it reminded me somewhat of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, although they're nothing at all alike in plot.

I'm not entirely sure what I thought of the plot though. People seemed to die left, right and center, and not all of those deaths were properly explained. It almost felt like Zafón occasionally wrote himself into a corner, and didn't know how to get out again, so some threads were left hanging.

Still, it was a thrilling book that kept me guessing.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams*, 5/5, Audiobook
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams*, 5/5, Audiobook
I've read this series so many times I practically know it by heart, and can quote along with the narrator, but I still adore it, and it can still make me laugh. RIP, Douglas Adams.

15 books read, one of those non-fiction. Two rereads, and a total of 3831 pages.

Books total: 157
New books: 126
Non-fiction: 17
Pages total: 45.218

Book of the Month: "The City of Dreaming Books". Absolutely amazing.
Biggest disappointment "The Power of a Praying Wife". I'd expected more of it.

Comments

[moredetails.livejournal.com]

I love that you read so many books of different types because it gives me lots of ideas of things to read. :D

[kiwiria.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you think so! I love sharing book ideas with others :)