christianreader | Kiwiria's October Reads (Reply)

Can I Have And Do It All, Please? - Christine Caine, 2.5/5, 153 pages
An okay book, but a bit of a disappointment as it once again reminded me that an incredibly passionate and inspiring preacher does not always make for an incredibly passionate and inspiring author, and at times it fell a bit flat. I'm afraid it's one of those books that in two days' time, I couldn't tell you which points she made.

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett, 2.5/5, 283 pages
Better than "The Light Fantastic", not as good as "Wyrd Sisters". I've never really taken to Terry Pratchett - he tries too hard to be funny, rather than letting it come naturally. This was no exception, so why I really liked both Granny Weatherwax (who wouldn't?!? ;) ) and Esk, I wasn't terribly enamoured by the book itself.

So 2/5 for the book itself - Granny Weatherwax adds the extra 0.5.

Beggars in Spain - Nancy Krauss, 4/5, 95 pages
I didn't realize until after I had started reading it, that this was published first as a novella and later as a full-length novel. It was completely by accident that I'd gotten hold of the novella rather than the novel - might as well have been the other way around.

But now that I have read it, I'm glad I read the novella. It was a brilliant story - engaging and thought-provoking - but I don't think it would have worked nearly as well as a full-length novel. The pacing would have been off, it wouldn't have been as tight nor - I think - as poignant.

As it was, I couldn't get the story out of my head and found it extremely well written and provocative (in a good way). I'm sorry Alice and Leisha never became close, but was glad to see that the ending opened for the possibility of that in the future.

The Grounding of Group 6 - Julian F. Thompson, 3.5/5, 290 pages
I read about this in "Shelf Discovery" by Lizzie Skurnick, and as the premise sounded absolutely fascinating, and the atmosphere like it would be similar to "Singularity" / "House of Stairs" by William Sleator, I immediately added it to my to-read list. Last week it finally arrived from Amazon.

I'd say it both lived up to my expectations and it didn't. The premise was indeed fascinating, and I thought Julian Thompson handled it well. Sure, you'd have to take a bit of a leap of faith to believe in the premise in the first place, but within the limits he set himself, he made it work. I'd love to have seen the letters to the Doctor though, or heard the other side of the conversations with the parents.

The atmosphere was nothing like William Sleator's books, but I'm not going to fault the book for something I dreamed up.

I know it was probably meant to be annoying, but I loved how Doctor turned everything he said into a song - I've SO been known to do that myself. I do try to limit myself though - I know it tends to annoy people more than amuse them ;)

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle - Eva Ibbotson, 3/5, 192 pages
I've wanted to read this for so long, that I can't even remember who recommended it to me in the first place any longer! Finally it became available through interlibrary loan, so I could get my hands on it, and wouldn't you know - I ended up being ever so slightly disappointed! Go figure. The story was decent enough, but much more of a children's book than I had expected, and while I liked the characters well enough, there were too many holes in the plot for me to really appreciate it.

Had I been meant as the target group I would probably only have rated it 2 stars, but since it's so obviously a children's book - and I can definitely see the appeal it would have for children - I've given it one extra.

Ship of Destiny - Robin Hobb, 5/5, 906 pages
I hadn't thought it possible, but I have to say that this trilogy is even better than the Farseer trilogy. I think it's possible that I just liked the characters better, and that the plots themselves are comparable.

My favourite part by far was seeing the various characters grow and mature. Malta especially of course, but also Keffria and to a part the Satrap. I think that is one of the greatest strengths of Robin Hobb's writing - the characters aren't static, and they aren't two-dimensional.

I'm sad to see the story end, but think I will wait until my next vacation to read the Tawny Man trilogy - the books are extremely gribbing, and it has been entirely too difficult to put them down to go to bed or get to work this past week. It'll be so much easier if I don't have such constraints.

Stone of Tears - Terry Goodkind*, 5/5, Audiobook ~39 hrs
I still love this series as much as I always did :) On my first read-through, this was actually my least favourite, because I didn't like all the pointlessness of getting Richard to the Sisters of the Light. Of course, I now know that it had to happen to set up the plot for the next books, and somehow don't mind as much. I do understand Richard's frustration with Sister Verna and Pasha though - they were insanely overbearing at times!

I really don't get why Kahlan didn't use her power against Prince What's-his-face and the wizard - that could have solved the conspiracy right there! But of course, then the prophecy wouldn't have come to pass.

Pectus' sten - Lise Bidstrup, 4/5, 250 pages
(The Stone of Pectus)
I was contacted by the author herself, asking me if I'd be willing to review this book. The premise sounded good, so of course I agreed. Fortunately I did not live to regret that decision ;-) The book arrived late one afternoon, and by the following evening I had finished it. It's a fun story, easy to read, and captures the attention of the reader, even when she - as in this case - is quite a bit older than the target audience.

Thankfully, in a well-written book that really doesn't matter. I enjoyed the plot, loved seeing the friendship grow between Isabell and Laus, and had my own private snigger at the names Lise Bidstrup had chosen for both the good and the bad supernatural creatures (the demons were called "Pravus" and "Ingratus" - once I saw that I was pretty sure it wasn't a coincidence that one of the good guys was called "Auxilius", and stopped to look up the rest :) ). I'm always relieved when I like a book I'm asked to review - it makes everything so much more comfortable :)

A Homemade Life - Molly Wizenberg, 4/5, 336 pages
Part essay-collection, part cookbook, I was greatly charmed by this book by Molly Wizenberg. Her essays were short and sweet, and fully explained to the reader, Molly's love of cooking and anything cooking-related. The recipes were unusual, and most of them sounded absolutely delicious. I've bookmarked pretty much half of them, to try out myself sometime.

Molly Wizenberg comes across as a charming and sociable person. I think I would like her :-)

Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles - Margaret Mahy*, 4/5, 96 pages
I first encountered Margaret Mahy in general and Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles in particular when Dad read this aloud to us back in 1990. Ever since then, the book has popped up my in thoughts on a regular basis, but I was never really able to find it anywhere, so I forgot about it again.

Then, when I was browsing Amazon.co.uk the other day, I found that it was finally available from Amazon Marketplace for a decent price, and naturally went straight out and bought it. To my great joy it arrived in the mail a mere 4 busines days later.

Great was my trepidation when I picked it up... would it live up to my expectations? I remembered it as a hilarious story with lots of mischief, but would my 32-year-old-self think likewise?

Fortunately the answer was yes. It fully stood the test of time and I left my husband much bemused by laughing out loud at more than one occasion, without being able to tell him exactly why.

My inner 10-year-old is much appeased.

Autumn Term - Antonia Forest, 4/5, 295 pages
I had this recommended to me because I mentioned loving books that take place at boarding schools, and fortunately the recommendation was spot on :-) I loved reading about Nick's and Lawrie's antics in Third Removed and especially thought the description of the play extremely well done - that is EXACTLY how it feels... right down to the melancholy and "day after blues". I think Antonia Forest must have had experience with acting herself, to be able to describe it so well.

A lovely cozy book, and the perfect accompaniment to a lazy afternoon.

The Fox Inheritance - Mary E. Pearson, 2/5, 384 pages
I read "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it, so I had high hopes for this sequel. Unfortunately it didn't even come close to living up to my expectations. There were aspects of it I liked - especially the Bot-driver Dot - but as a whole it just didn't work for me. The writing was spotty (not just "disjointed for a reason" like in book one), the transitions didn't really work, and though the book tried to lead up to the resolutions of two conflicts, neither were really satisfyingly resolved, as Mary Pearson used what most of all seemed like a deux ex machina to kill two birds with one stone.

It was intriguing enough to keep me reading, which is pretty much the only reason why it gets 2 stars rather than just one, but that's all I can say in its favour.

Heist Society - Ally Carter, 3.5/5, 304 pages
Fun, unassuming read. Nothing to blow you away, but an enjoyable book to bring on a vacation and a quick read. Obviously completely unrealistic, but I still enjoyed reading about the tactics and details of setting up a heist. Reminded me somewhat of If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon in that regard.

Dragonsinger - Anne McCaffrey*, 5/5, 240 pages
This is one of those books that would have been too short practically no matter how long it was. One of my very favourite books, and one of my introductions to the fantasy genre. I love the atmosphere it describes, and would love to experience some lessons at Harper Hall myself... even though I'd probably be more likely to be one of the clueless girls (although not as cruel I hope) than Menolly.

I love the lyrics that start off each chapter. Usually when books have lyrics or poems as introductions to chapters I just skip them, but here they seem an integral part of the book :)

It's a shame no more books have been written about Menolly's life at Harper Hall. I was so disappointed with Dragondrums, because I wanted to read more about Menolly - not Piemur.

Those of you who've read more Pern - are there any more books about Harper Hall at all?

Lioness Rampant - Tamora Pierce*, 4.5/5, 308 pages
I'd never noticed it before, but on this reread of the quartet, I realized that this is actually the weakest of the lot. Tamora Pierce tries too much in this book, with 4 different plotlines being twisted together. Because of this, it's by far the longest of the four. It doesn't make it bad though, just means it's not as tightly spun as the other three.

The Woman Who Rides Like A Man - Tamora Pierce*, 4.5/5, 216 pages
When I first read this quartet, I stopped after the two first books, because it just seemed wrong to me to read about Alanna when she wasn't still at the palace. I didn't realize that her adventures other places could be just as interesting to read. Fortunately I got over it, and now enjoy this book just as much as the rest of the series.

Lady Knight - Tamora Pierce*, 4.5/5, 406 pages
While I still love the book, I guess this is my least favourite of the quartet. Not that it's not well written, it just gets repititious at times, and could probably easily have been 50-100 pages shorter.

Third - Lorna Summers, 5/5, 965 pages
Third is one of those few books that I really cannot put down - forgoing sleep in order to read just a couple of more pages, not only on my first read-through, but in every subsequent reread. It's LONG (965 pages), but doesn't feel long, because I'm totally drawn in from the very first page. It's well-written, poignant, funny, devastating and just plain fascinating. Though I know what's happening quite well by now, I still alternatively laugh out loud and wipe my eyes while reading it. It's one of those books I keep returning to, every few years.