February Reading List

Viriconium by M. John Harrison. Started it in January, but never finished. More a collection of related novelletes than anything else. Well written, but dense, which made it hard to hold my interest on my commute. The ... I guess baroqueness is the word I want http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifto use, reminds me a lot of China Mieville. Who has a coming out. Which is a little weird. The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett. A reread. Pratchett's always fun. I suspect I would find this one funnier if I knew more about Australia. Myth Conceptions by Robert Asprin. I'd read another one in this series a long time ago (Myth-ing Persons, since I still own it), but I think the time when I would have really enjoyed this has passed. Ah, childhood days spent reading & rereading Xanth books.... To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust. I really enjoyed Brokedown Palace, so when I saw this on Brian & Becky's shelves, I picked it up. I did ask first. A good religious fantasy. I'd use a reference to "Sympathy for the Devil" here, since that what it is, in effect, but I think Brust uses the reference himself. This is all out of order and stuff, but I forgot to put down The Stupidest Angel, by Christopher Moore, which Greg lent me. A christmas story, with zombies. Not to mention a post-apocalyptic warrior woman, talking fruitbat, and a good way to create masochistic rats. Funny stuff, as always. Just finished The Book of Jhereg, which is more Steven Brust. Actually three books: Jhereg, Yendi, and Teckla. Not as good as the rest of his stuff I've read recently, but fun, and actiony. Plus, it's kind of interesting to be reading a fantasy main character who's, you know, married. And working at it.

January Reading List

New Year's resolution: keep a list of books I've read

1. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
• 4 sex scenes. I counted.
• Kar & the ladies say the other books in the series are better, so I might give them a shot.
2. The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
• At one point, one guy holding a sword says to another guy holding a sword "there can be only one...". Chapter 59.
• Interesting. Fun. Has a few bits that seem a bit repetitive (how many times do we need to be told about the splicers?).
3. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke
• good. A lot of different varieties of fairie stories. And I do like her sense of humor.
4. Specials by Scott Westerfeld
• satisfying conclusion to a trio of young adult novels. Young-adult novels, not young adult-novels. The distinction is important.
5. Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde
• the fourth Thursday Next novel (and it reads as if it were the last)
• fun literary humor. If science fiction bases its stories in science, then you could call this a combination of science fiction and literary fiction. (oooh. metafiction, that's a good word for it.)