Find me on Goodreads!

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5916147
Here is a link to my profile.


This site is quite similar to librarything, but more free, and for a little while, I was able to participate in an online book club through it. But alas the attempt at finishing War and Peace fell through. Well, I have read other books since my last post there, let me tell you about it!


The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
A gift from an internet friend with excellent taste. This was a riveting, psychological mystery/horror/drama written in pre-Victorian era, cataloging increasingly disturbing events through letters and diary entries, similar to Dracula (which I had also finished within the past year.) Of course it suffered slightly from overly Dickensian descriptions, but once I settled in that language, it was very unputdownable.


In the Night Garden by Catherynne Valente
A book I bought at a library sale, another serpendipitous purchase. This is set in the form of a Scheherazade like girl telling a series of almost interwoven fairytales to a captivated young prince. Gorgeous poetic language, enchanting characters and adventures, written with a sense of childlike wonder mixed with dark humor.


Dune by Frank Herbert
One of the sci-fi books on my to-read list. Incredible world-building, with a touch of grossness, quite everything I enjoy in a sci-fi novel. I found the ending rather anticlimactic though, but the environment and action more than made up for that. I will forgo reading the rest of the series though, I am told it gets much weirder.


The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
A charming children's novel, with adorable illustrations, sensible morals and charming descriptions.


Doctor Who: the Doctor Trap by Simon Messingham
The story was all right, but the execution was rather amateurish. I would have rather seen this as an episode with the 10th doctor.


Snuff by Terry Pratchett
It's a Discworld novel with Vimes, what more needs to be said?

A few more books that I've read!

Okie, I really haven't been able to read much due to pharmacy school, but I'm gonna go ahead and record what I've read here. I've of course read the next Tiffany Aching book by Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight, wonderful as always. Other books I've read include more of A Song of Ice and Fire, more of the Wheel of Time, and also J.R.R. Tolkien's rendition of the Norse Edda, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. I've also started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, as well as Shadows Over Baker Street, an Lovecraftian/Sherlock Holmes anthology, but I've been too lazy to finish.


Here is a completely fictional novel I managed to finish while working at the army hospital.


By the Mountain Bound by Elizabeth Bear takes place in a re-imagined world straight from Norse mythology, in which Nordic gods and creatures are reincarnated as angels and Valkryries living amongst humans. The switching perspectives between Fenrir, a valkyrie, and an angel tell a dramatic story as a strange woman is rescued from drowning, and consequently unleashes an internal struggle that ends in tragedy. There are also undertones of romance, male-male and male-female, tasteful, well-written, though I found it a bit humorous at times. The characters themselves are rather realistic, perhaps a little idealized at times , but endearing overall. I may even read the rest of the series, Norse mythology I enjoy but it's always so DRAMATIC and well, cold. /Texan

Whoa, it's been a while! Sorry about that.

Well, I haven't had as much time to read now that I am in pharmacy school and working all summer, but I have managed to finish a few new books, which I shall record for my memory's sake.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, which I said I would never review, but I read it anyway. Vampire fiction is terribly cheesy at best. I admit there were a few good points with the novel, but the style of writing is still amateur, with a weird language quality I can't quite put my finger on.  The characters just barely tolerable, the plot as melodramatic and self-absorbed as a teen/young adult novel can be. Decent enough for the genre, but certainly not best-seller material. I shall never comprehend it.

Nation by Terry Pratchett, not part of the Discworld series and geared towards young adults, but still an exceptionally well-crafted exploration of what makes humanity and nations work.  A serious and brave young man, about to come of age when disaster strikes the world he knows.  A plucky young gel with a stubborn and clever mind.  Refugees coming together to rebuild their lives, only to face danger not from nature, but other humans.  Gripping adventure, sweet humor, and most of all, powerful metaphors that just make you think.  Loved it, of course.

I am starting on the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, a generous gift from a co-worker at CVS.  I am still continuing the Song of Ice and Fire series, as well as Discworld (with the latest being Unseen Academicals). I have finished The Naming by Alison Croggan, with a rather anticlimactic ending, and I have also read the third installment of the Doctrine of Labyrinth by Sarah Monette.

Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin is an epic fantasy quartet by a master author. I haven't read the fourth book yet, so this review is incomplete and just a placeholder entry.

So far, I find it dramatic and terrifying, full of cruelties I wish I hadn't read and skulduggery I couldn't have imagined. The series seems to have found a surge of popularity amongst my other friends (in and out of college), even though it's kinda old. I hear a TV series might be made which sounds exciting, although it would have to be HBO because there is much mature content.

Various intelligent young heroines

Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson
This imaginative novel explores the life of sweet Doucette, who lives in the shadow of her cruel and glamorous older sisters, wishing that she too could practice sorcery in the care of their aunt. The heroine then finds her own swan skin and soon discovers that her desire to become a sorceress would conflict with love. How she resolves this and becomes a stronger and wiser young woman is both harrowing and uplifting. A sweet story that does not flinch from the cruelty of the real world, but shows how one girl learned from this sad fact.

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
A sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, although I thought Castle in the Air was a sequel, too. Like those charming novels, this book is too clever by half, full of wacky hijinx, magical mayhem, and foolish yet still cerebrally enhanced characters. Howl had me cracking up so bad, even though he was a bit character, what a devil! Anyways, good times, just like Castle in the Air and what not.

Cassandra's Sister by Victoria Bennett

Cassandra's Sister by Victoria Bennett is a sweet and witty fictional account of Jane Austen's life as a young woman. Written in a style reminiscent of one of my favorite authors, but I found the prose light-hearted and manageable for the modern teen.

For those of you who are familiar with Austen's work, you would not be surprised at the description of dancing and fashion and eligible young gentlemen. Austen is as dramatic and intelligent and charming as any of her characters, so it tugs at your heart strings to see how she (probably) became a famously single female writer. I really like how the author subtly and cleverly postulates where Jane Austen might have gotten real life inspiration for her novels. A short and satisfying read, so intelligently and wistfully admiring of this author that I admire.

The Mistmantle Chronicles by M. I. McAllister

The Mistmantle Chronicles: Urchin of the Riding Stars by M. I. McAllister is a charming young adult novel about a brave young squirrel's meeting with destiny on an island kingdom. Obviously it is the first of many novels planned. You may find it quite similar to Brian Jacques' "Redwall" series, which I really liked up until the 9th or so book about pretty much the same thing.

Like Redwall, there are the typical British creatures such as hedgehogs, moles, squirrels and otters, who talk and wear clothes and do many human things. There is a lot of mythos very carefully described, although I don't believe the author intends any actual magic (other than animals talking). Unlike Redwall, the villains do happen to be squirrels, there being no vermin as of the first book. The characters are deceptively evil or cute and I adore the cute chapter illustrations. Nothing too amazing or unique, but still a wonderfully intense read.

The Snow-walker by Catherine Fisher

The Snow-Walker by Catherine Fisher is a teen novel in the form of a 3-part saga inspired by Norse mythology. In this novel, an evil sorceress from a frozen land has taken over a kingdom and sends 2 young cousins to deliver a message to her exiled and supposedly monstrous son. Basically, the cousins discover allies willing to help them fight the sorceress and there is much sorcery, mysterious events, soul-searching and travel to icy wastelands. The other two sagas deal with many of the same characters but bring the humble beginnings of the story to a glorious (yet still somewhat humble) end.

Overall, I enjoy the epic tone, interspersed with witty dialogue and charmingly realized characters who have a lot of spirit. Ancient Nordic culture is always fun to read about, even transposed to a fictitious setting. I had been meaning to check this book out and I am glad I did, there's really nothing I can say that's bad about this book.

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier is a gorgeous dreamlike fantasy for teens, remarkably realistic and lovingly researched. The cover is a beautiful, almost Baroque style painting with figures that almost match the characters describe. (You can't imagine how annoyed I am when the covers don't match the inside of a book!) The words are magical, spirited, sensitive.

This novel combines elements of fairytales, such as the Frog Prince and the 12 Dancing Princesses, with Russian mythology about vampires, faeries and of course, Baba Yaga. The story is told by the sensible one of the dancing daughters, as she tries to protect her sisters from the troubles that assail them during a long winter. These dangers include not only their domineering cousin, but also dark visitors from Fairyland, the vampire folk.

Overall, an enjoyable, intense and satisfying read, but for one disturbing fact that often shows up in historical fantasy novels. I won't mention it here for fear of spoiling a reader; not that it's terribly disgusting, but it's kinda predictable, perhaps? But my love for the story and characters overcomes this plot point, so I'm cool with it.