So, I did finish Lord of the World. I enjoyed it, but I'm not quite sure about the end; it was left a little open and I'm not fully sure what happened. I have the general idea and a few ideas as to the specifics, but nothing exact.
I then decided that I wanted to read The Midnight Tunnel: A Susanna Snow Mystery by Angie Frazier next - it sounded as if it would be somewhat like the "Mandie" books by Lois Gladys Leppard which I'd enjoyed immensely and it would be a quick read so that I'd still have time to read the next book club book before we meet on Thursday. Both of my assumptions were right with this book and I'm thoroughly hoping for more to come; based on the subtitle for this one, I highly suspect there will be more. I was not very impressed with Zanna's uncle, the famous Bruce Snow (Boston's Sherlock Holmes)- he seemed more interested in a big show of effort and success than in finding the truth.
I have now started Gail Godwin's book, Evensong; I hadn't known much about it when I started it - just that it was about two Presbyterian ministers (a husband and wife). I'm quite enjoying gettting to know the two of them and am eager to see where they go from here (I'm about 1/3 of the way through, so far). I'm often somewhat reminded of Jan Karon's "Mitford" series with this book, and keep thinking that Margaret and Adrian Bonner should be Episcopalian, like Fr. Tim from Jan Karon's books - I just have to remember that they're not. As a side note, when looking up Margaret's name (she's the narrator, so her name isn't mentioned as often as some of the other characters' names), I just learned that she's the title character from another one of Gail Godwin's books - Fr. Melancholy's Daughter, so now I'm going to need to read that as well; and this might lead to me reading much of Gail Godwin's work in general. These people feel very real and that is, I think, what makes it so easy for me to know them and to want to learn more about them - sometimes I think I'd like to have a chat with them myself.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sort of slow reading period
I'm still working on Lord of the World, but haven't gotten too much farther into it - I'm still only about 1/3 of the way through it. It's been a busy several days and I found that another book I had checked out is due soon and someone else had reserved it so I couldn't renew it. It was book 4 in a series and I needed to read book 3 first (this was checked out already when I found book 4). I decided to quick add these first so I didn't have to bring them home again.
First I read, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus by R. L. La Fevers. Theodosia is a young girl who can see/feel the ancient Egyptian curses attached to the artifacts that come into her parents' museum, and she removes them. In the process she has met with a few groups of people who know about the artifacts and the reality of their power. One group hides these away, a second wants to use them to bring chaos to the world, and a third is harder to describe - something of a religion and she turns out the be the goddess for it - they're a bit weird. In this one she (along with her brother) find a green tablet that although the group that hides artifacts away for safekeeping says it's worthless and harmless, lots of people - some from the other two groups and another for whom she doesn't know quite the motives - seem willing to do anything to get their hands on it. This was quite entertaining - as were the first two in the series. Sadly for a good part of the first third to half of the book I wasn't quite sure if I'd read it already or not. Parts of it were quite familiar, but the farther in I got the less sure I got that I had already read it - by the end I knew I hadn't.
Book four in the series is Theodosia and the Last Pharoah. In this book Theodosia travels to Egypt with her Mother to learn more about her past, help on-site with an excavation she's already researched a bit, and to (secretly) return the green tablet from the previous book. She learns much - and seems to stumble into new dig sites. This book left me a bit uncertain as to whether there will be more in the series or not. I would like there to be; there is definitely more that could happen and more about her life we could learn (she is only 11 - almost 12 at the moment), but it almost felt as if this were the end. I guess I'll have to wait and see.
First I read, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus by R. L. La Fevers. Theodosia is a young girl who can see/feel the ancient Egyptian curses attached to the artifacts that come into her parents' museum, and she removes them. In the process she has met with a few groups of people who know about the artifacts and the reality of their power. One group hides these away, a second wants to use them to bring chaos to the world, and a third is harder to describe - something of a religion and she turns out the be the goddess for it - they're a bit weird. In this one she (along with her brother) find a green tablet that although the group that hides artifacts away for safekeeping says it's worthless and harmless, lots of people - some from the other two groups and another for whom she doesn't know quite the motives - seem willing to do anything to get their hands on it. This was quite entertaining - as were the first two in the series. Sadly for a good part of the first third to half of the book I wasn't quite sure if I'd read it already or not. Parts of it were quite familiar, but the farther in I got the less sure I got that I had already read it - by the end I knew I hadn't.
Book four in the series is Theodosia and the Last Pharoah. In this book Theodosia travels to Egypt with her Mother to learn more about her past, help on-site with an excavation she's already researched a bit, and to (secretly) return the green tablet from the previous book. She learns much - and seems to stumble into new dig sites. This book left me a bit uncertain as to whether there will be more in the series or not. I would like there to be; there is definitely more that could happen and more about her life we could learn (she is only 11 - almost 12 at the moment), but it almost felt as if this were the end. I guess I'll have to wait and see.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Another Posting Delay
So, I was going to post something last Tuesday, but ended up not having time, and since then it's been a bit crazy around here.
In the middle of reading Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?, I quickly read through Wizardology: the book of the secrets of Merlin by Dugald Steer. This is part of the -ology series (i.e. Dragonology, Monsterology, etc.) and is as fun as the rest of them that I've read. I had a hard time finding one of the objects hidden throughout the book, though. I was just about to give up on finding the Cloak of Invisibility when I happened to glance at it. The copy I read was clearly well-used/loved; some of the moveable bits didn't work so well anymore, but I could tell still what was supposed to happen with them.
I did finish Steven Tyler's book on Thursday - I had a good bit of time between my shifts at work. I mostly enjoyed it, and learned a lot. As with the rest of the autobiographies I've read, now I'd like to have a conversation with Steven Tyler about some of what he wrote, but, also as usual, I rather suspect that won't happen (but at least he's still alive, so it's slightly possible). I was a bit sheepish to find that when he spoke of his daughter Liv, he meant Liv Tyler from Armageddon and The Lord of the Rings movies. Also I hadn't known that "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from Armageddon was an Aerosmith song/recording.
I decided to quick read the next two books in a fun series that I started a month ago or so. The first one I read was I So Don't Do Make-up and the second was I So Don't Do Famous (the first two books in the series are I So Don't Do Mysteries and I So Don't Do Spooky). These books, by Barrie Summy, are about Sherry (Sherlock Holmes Baldwin) and her Mother, an ex-cop ghost, who work together to solve mysteries as a part of the Academy of Spirits. In the third installment of the series, Sherry's make over birthday party runs into trouble with some sabotaged make-up. Sherry is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery before more people get hurt. In the newest book, Sherry wins a contest and gets to go to L.A. for the award ceremony - at which yet another celebrity is robbed; it's part of a crime spree. In this I rather guessed who the culprits were early in the book (although not the why or how and such). Also, while there, her Mom is determined to solve the mystery of Marilyn Monroe's death. These were some fun quick books and I'm slightly disappointed that there won't be any more in the series - I'd read more if they were written.
After I finished those, I decided I'd better read the book for the Lemmings book club next Sunday, and since I wasn't quite ready to go to bed yet, I started it late Friday night. We're reading Persepolis (in two volumes, or one big volume) by Marjane Satrapi. This is an autobiographical graphic novel. Marjane grew up in Iran and then when fairly young was sent to Austria for school because it would be safer. The books are about her experiences there, and then also a few years later after she goes back home. I still haven't decided what grade I'd like to give the book, but I suppose I ought to give it a pretty good grade because I stayed up till 2 or 3 in the morning to finish it.
From there I moved to one of the books Andrea Mariani gave me, The Lord of the World by R. H. Benson. So far I'm enjoying it pretty well, although there are parts that make me wonder if it is translated to English from another language or not (apparently not). Also, early on I had to check and see when it was published because there were some major historical events not mentioned (WWI and WWII) and the Roman Catholic Mass (and at least many prayers) were still in Latin. It was published in 1908, though so both of those are understandable. I'm not yet very far into it - too much else has been going on (as I already mentioned). Driving to and from Chicago to help move my brother back to college for school ate lots of time - especially when I was navigator for much of it. Oh well, I look forward to seeing what's going to happen. Oh and as I'm reading it, there's talk of this mysterious "Felsenberg (I don't remember the exact name off hand) working for the Masons. With all of the mystery surrounding him, I've been reminded of The Stealers of Dreams by Steve Lyons. In this Doctor Who book, there's a mysterious rebel leader that no one knows about and few have even met him - the character in this book almost sounds like the character in this other book I've already read. I'll have to see how right (or wrong) my initial impression is.
In the middle of reading Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?, I quickly read through Wizardology: the book of the secrets of Merlin by Dugald Steer. This is part of the -ology series (i.e. Dragonology, Monsterology, etc.) and is as fun as the rest of them that I've read. I had a hard time finding one of the objects hidden throughout the book, though. I was just about to give up on finding the Cloak of Invisibility when I happened to glance at it. The copy I read was clearly well-used/loved; some of the moveable bits didn't work so well anymore, but I could tell still what was supposed to happen with them.
I did finish Steven Tyler's book on Thursday - I had a good bit of time between my shifts at work. I mostly enjoyed it, and learned a lot. As with the rest of the autobiographies I've read, now I'd like to have a conversation with Steven Tyler about some of what he wrote, but, also as usual, I rather suspect that won't happen (but at least he's still alive, so it's slightly possible). I was a bit sheepish to find that when he spoke of his daughter Liv, he meant Liv Tyler from Armageddon and The Lord of the Rings movies. Also I hadn't known that "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from Armageddon was an Aerosmith song/recording.
I decided to quick read the next two books in a fun series that I started a month ago or so. The first one I read was I So Don't Do Make-up and the second was I So Don't Do Famous (the first two books in the series are I So Don't Do Mysteries and I So Don't Do Spooky). These books, by Barrie Summy, are about Sherry (Sherlock Holmes Baldwin) and her Mother, an ex-cop ghost, who work together to solve mysteries as a part of the Academy of Spirits. In the third installment of the series, Sherry's make over birthday party runs into trouble with some sabotaged make-up. Sherry is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery before more people get hurt. In the newest book, Sherry wins a contest and gets to go to L.A. for the award ceremony - at which yet another celebrity is robbed; it's part of a crime spree. In this I rather guessed who the culprits were early in the book (although not the why or how and such). Also, while there, her Mom is determined to solve the mystery of Marilyn Monroe's death. These were some fun quick books and I'm slightly disappointed that there won't be any more in the series - I'd read more if they were written.
After I finished those, I decided I'd better read the book for the Lemmings book club next Sunday, and since I wasn't quite ready to go to bed yet, I started it late Friday night. We're reading Persepolis (in two volumes, or one big volume) by Marjane Satrapi. This is an autobiographical graphic novel. Marjane grew up in Iran and then when fairly young was sent to Austria for school because it would be safer. The books are about her experiences there, and then also a few years later after she goes back home. I still haven't decided what grade I'd like to give the book, but I suppose I ought to give it a pretty good grade because I stayed up till 2 or 3 in the morning to finish it.
From there I moved to one of the books Andrea Mariani gave me, The Lord of the World by R. H. Benson. So far I'm enjoying it pretty well, although there are parts that make me wonder if it is translated to English from another language or not (apparently not). Also, early on I had to check and see when it was published because there were some major historical events not mentioned (WWI and WWII) and the Roman Catholic Mass (and at least many prayers) were still in Latin. It was published in 1908, though so both of those are understandable. I'm not yet very far into it - too much else has been going on (as I already mentioned). Driving to and from Chicago to help move my brother back to college for school ate lots of time - especially when I was navigator for much of it. Oh well, I look forward to seeing what's going to happen. Oh and as I'm reading it, there's talk of this mysterious "Felsenberg (I don't remember the exact name off hand) working for the Masons. With all of the mystery surrounding him, I've been reminded of The Stealers of Dreams by Steve Lyons. In this Doctor Who book, there's a mysterious rebel leader that no one knows about and few have even met him - the character in this book almost sounds like the character in this other book I've already read. I'll have to see how right (or wrong) my initial impression is.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
A flurry of Wednesday reading
After posting Wednesday (and getting back home to the then current book) I proceeded to finish it. Ruby Red was a lot of fun, even if I was able to predict some of the details (slightly) earlier than they were actually revealed. Also, in looking at the book more, I discovered why Amazon.com listed two authors and the book cover only listed one - it was translated from German by the second author listed. One disappointing thing about the book is that it's part (book 1) of a series (trilogy?) that somewhat leaves you hanging and the next book doesn't come out until next year - darn wait. Oh well, I do that for enough other books, I'll just have to do it again. If I'd read just a few pages more before the last post, I'd have known how they knew that the time-traveling "gene" skipped her; although the explanation of how they got it wrong didn't come until much later.
After I finished Ruby Red, I skipped momentarily what had been the next book in my stack so that I could read the shorter (probably (and actually) faster) Fr. Andrew Greeley book I had checked out. It's called Star Bright! and is a wonderful little book - everyone should read it! I felt a bit odd reading a Christmas story in August, but the book was so much fun that I didn't care. It's about this South-side Chicago Irish young man, a student at BC (Boston College) who also takes one class at Harvard, who meets a young woman (Russian mystic), a Harvard art student and their encounters together - the way they change each other and those they encounter. It reminded me a bit of his book Irish Gold - the story of how Nuala met Dermot. Reading this book reminded me just how much I enjoy Fr. Greeley's books, and that I need to read more of them - there are at least a dozen or two novels of his that I haven't read yet. This is a travesty that must be remedied shortly.
Having finished that, I started what had been the next book in my list Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?; it's Steven Tyler's autobiography. I first decided to add my name to the wait list at the library for this because 1) I liked the title and 2) after watching him as one of the American Idol judges I was intrigued to learn more about him - all I knew at that point was what I saw on the show. I've been finding a lot in the almost 100 pages I've read so far that cause me to laugh - he's a vary humorous guy - and even more that makes me smile because I can so hear him say that! At this point in the book he's only just barely formed Aerosmith - and just wrote their first song.
The order in which I'll be reading the next few books in my stack might (probably will) end up changing. Last night at the end of School of Community, Andrea Mariani gave me two books he thought I would enjoy (one of which I've already read, and did enjoy, but will read again because it's come up so often since I last read it) - thanks again, Andrea - and we have tentative plans to meet and discuss the books when he gets back from Italy.
After I finished Ruby Red, I skipped momentarily what had been the next book in my stack so that I could read the shorter (probably (and actually) faster) Fr. Andrew Greeley book I had checked out. It's called Star Bright! and is a wonderful little book - everyone should read it! I felt a bit odd reading a Christmas story in August, but the book was so much fun that I didn't care. It's about this South-side Chicago Irish young man, a student at BC (Boston College) who also takes one class at Harvard, who meets a young woman (Russian mystic), a Harvard art student and their encounters together - the way they change each other and those they encounter. It reminded me a bit of his book Irish Gold - the story of how Nuala met Dermot. Reading this book reminded me just how much I enjoy Fr. Greeley's books, and that I need to read more of them - there are at least a dozen or two novels of his that I haven't read yet. This is a travesty that must be remedied shortly.
Having finished that, I started what had been the next book in my list Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?; it's Steven Tyler's autobiography. I first decided to add my name to the wait list at the library for this because 1) I liked the title and 2) after watching him as one of the American Idol judges I was intrigued to learn more about him - all I knew at that point was what I saw on the show. I've been finding a lot in the almost 100 pages I've read so far that cause me to laugh - he's a vary humorous guy - and even more that makes me smile because I can so hear him say that! At this point in the book he's only just barely formed Aerosmith - and just wrote their first song.
The order in which I'll be reading the next few books in my stack might (probably will) end up changing. Last night at the end of School of Community, Andrea Mariani gave me two books he thought I would enjoy (one of which I've already read, and did enjoy, but will read again because it's come up so often since I last read it) - thanks again, Andrea - and we have tentative plans to meet and discuss the books when he gets back from Italy.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
I've returned
Well, technically I never physically left, but I am going to start keeping this blog again.
It's been so long since my last post that I highly doubt I could ever remember the title of each book I've read since the last post (to be honest for a long while, that was part of why I didn't start up again somewhat early in the break - and then the longer the break was, the easier it was to continue with that pattern). I don't plan to even try commenting much on most of them - although some may get mentioned every so often.
Walking to church this morning, I finished The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards. It is a BBC book/Doctor Who series book (starring Billie Piper as Rose Tyler and Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor) and a fun, quick read. The title and theme somewhat reminded me of The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, but for the most part, the plots of the two don't match. Now that I've started watching the new Doctor Who shows, I'm quite enjoying reading the related books. If I like a character, whether from a book, movie, tv show, or whatever, I'm always happy to meet them in other formats as well - although sometimes I will complain about differences (i.e. ways the new format got it wrong - even if the new format was officially first (Temperance Brennan)).
Immediately after finishing that, I started to read Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier and Anthea Bell. I don't remember what exactly compelled me to read the cover flap in the first place, but I was hooked almost immediately. This book sounds as if it will be a combination of The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffinegger) and A Discover of Witches (Deborah E. Harkness) with a bit of Sabrina the Teenage Witch or Twilight thrown in (the last two for age references more than anything). Gwyneth's family has visited the past often, but she has been told that the trait skipped her so she hasn't been trained for it at all. Then, it turns out she's the one who time travels as she suddenly finds herself appearing in the past (I haven't actually gotten this far yet - she still believes her cousin Charlotte is the one who will be travelling). I'm only ten or so pages in so far, but already I can't wait to read more - and wish I'd brought the book with me for now! Oh well, I'll be back home soon.
It's been so long since my last post that I highly doubt I could ever remember the title of each book I've read since the last post (to be honest for a long while, that was part of why I didn't start up again somewhat early in the break - and then the longer the break was, the easier it was to continue with that pattern). I don't plan to even try commenting much on most of them - although some may get mentioned every so often.
Walking to church this morning, I finished The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards. It is a BBC book/Doctor Who series book (starring Billie Piper as Rose Tyler and Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor) and a fun, quick read. The title and theme somewhat reminded me of The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, but for the most part, the plots of the two don't match. Now that I've started watching the new Doctor Who shows, I'm quite enjoying reading the related books. If I like a character, whether from a book, movie, tv show, or whatever, I'm always happy to meet them in other formats as well - although sometimes I will complain about differences (i.e. ways the new format got it wrong - even if the new format was officially first (Temperance Brennan)).
Immediately after finishing that, I started to read Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier and Anthea Bell. I don't remember what exactly compelled me to read the cover flap in the first place, but I was hooked almost immediately. This book sounds as if it will be a combination of The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffinegger) and A Discover of Witches (Deborah E. Harkness) with a bit of Sabrina the Teenage Witch or Twilight thrown in (the last two for age references more than anything). Gwyneth's family has visited the past often, but she has been told that the trait skipped her so she hasn't been trained for it at all. Then, it turns out she's the one who time travels as she suddenly finds herself appearing in the past (I haven't actually gotten this far yet - she still believes her cousin Charlotte is the one who will be travelling). I'm only ten or so pages in so far, but already I can't wait to read more - and wish I'd brought the book with me for now! Oh well, I'll be back home soon.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Another Delay
Yet again I focused more on actual reading than on keeping this updated. So here goes another marathon post.
I finished The Doctor Digs a Grave pretty easily (although I did stay up until 2am to finish it). I quite enjoyed it and have plans to find the next book in the series soon. It was easy to read, hard to put down, and the characters were quite likable as well.
The next day I started Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead - this is the fifth Vampire Academy book. I mostly enjoyed it - although it seems again that people are giving Rose too hard a time. Also, I agree with her and some of the other characters - the new rule change is NOT a good idea. I was extremely annoyed with the way the book ended - it's just like An Echo in the Bone - every things left hanging, unresolved. The only benefit to that is that it seems to guarantee another book in the series. Again, I stayed up late trying to finish the book (around 2am with eighty or ninety pages left, I voted I just wasn't going to make it). So I finished it on Tuesday morning instead.
Right after finishing that I moved to The Making of the Pope 2005 by Andrew Greeley. This was mostly a fascinating book. Fr. Greeley got a bit repetitive at times, but I suspect that was related to the nature of the book, as mostly journal-type entries. To an extent I suspect I should have read his other "conclave" book first, but, once I'd started this I figured I'd finish it. Although Fr. Greeley seemed initially unenthusiastic about Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope, by the end he may have changed his mind a bit. I would enjoy speaking with him about this, now that he's been Pope for 5 years. Often Fr. Greeley's comments about JPII disagreed with my own experience, but I enjoyed seeing a new perspective on it. It would be interesting to be able to see what would have happened if he'd been more what people were expecting when he was elected in 1978. I did quite enjoy the sociological job description for the Pope that Fr. Greeley spoke of - "a hopeful, holy man who smiles."
Having finished that (again pretty quickly - again staying up later than I should have) I moved to Fr. Greeley's other Pope book, The Making of the Popes 1978: The Politics of Intrigue in the Vatican. This was also an interesting book to read. I had more difficulty in understanding all of Fr. Greeley's comments to the extent I'd been able to with the first one of these I'd read - I didn't know/remember what JPI's name was before becoming Pope - although I did figure it out partway through the first conclave story - Albino Luciani (sp?). I rather wonder what life/the Church/my faith experience would have been like if he hadn't died so quickly (I also wonder if the rumor's of poisoning are accurate). I was surprised by Fr. Greeley's description of Cardinal Wojtyla. Fr. Greeley says he's a large man, with broad shoulders - football linebacker type. I'd never gotten that impression myself, even in the photos of him as a young man - maybe it's the in person part that changes that, or maybe my impression was just incorrect.
In the middle of reading that, a book I'd learned of from the two Pope books arrived from the ILL office, so I quickly read it first. It was shorter and I knew I'd be able to finish it in time to return it to the library the next day. Women I've Met is a collection of Fr. Greeley's poetry. I'd read some of the poems in his autobiographies already, but I still enjoyed them much - I'm thinking of buying my own copy of this book, but as it's no longer in print, I have to decide where to get it.
After finishing both of those, I moved on to a second Robin Hathaway book, Scarecrow: A Mystery. I'd found this at the same time I got the other one - this one's from a different series, though. I enjoyed this one at least as much as the last one, and possibly even more. I don't remember if there're more books in this series or not yet, but I seriously hope there are.
I quickly finished that book and moved on to Piers Anthony's Key to Survival, the fifth and presumably final book in the ChroMagic series - the author's note at the end left a possible (but not entirely probable) hint of a coming sixth book. I enjoyed the story pretty well, although as with a few other series I've read, I think the first book was my favorite. A lot of time passed between this book and the previous one - almost 20 years. I mostly guessed who the Makers were before Havoc and the others figured it out, but not as early as Piers seems to think people will claim to have known it (I figured it out in the middle of the book, but had no clue in the other books). I'm not sure anyone could accurately say they knew all along, as we hadn't heard of the Makers until this book.
In the middle of reading this book, I read a shorter book I'd found at the library: Letters from the Inside by John Marsden. The story was about the meaning of friendship, and one way it can form - not the normal way. It was quite interesting getting to know both girls, but at times I wanted to know more than what they were sharing in their letters (the book is a collection of the letters they wrote back and forth to each other). Although it is in keeping with the format of the rest of the book, I really wish we'd been told exactly what happened to the one of them (I can't remember her name for sure) - I kept expecting that the other girl (I can't remember her name for sure either) would get a letter from someone else telling her what's up, but that never happens.
I'm now reading Ted Dekker's newest (? - at least new-ish) book, The Bride Collector. So far the book is quite intriguing, although the one character is a bit disturbing to read about - his mind is rather strange at times. The main character is working on a serial killer case they're calling the Bride Collector - a man who's been killing women and gluing them to the wall (he also drills into their heels and drains all of their blood). I presume the killer will be caught, but because of the rain, I'm not that far into the book yet. I look forward to finishing it, though - I want to know what happens.
I finished The Doctor Digs a Grave pretty easily (although I did stay up until 2am to finish it). I quite enjoyed it and have plans to find the next book in the series soon. It was easy to read, hard to put down, and the characters were quite likable as well.
The next day I started Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead - this is the fifth Vampire Academy book. I mostly enjoyed it - although it seems again that people are giving Rose too hard a time. Also, I agree with her and some of the other characters - the new rule change is NOT a good idea. I was extremely annoyed with the way the book ended - it's just like An Echo in the Bone - every things left hanging, unresolved. The only benefit to that is that it seems to guarantee another book in the series. Again, I stayed up late trying to finish the book (around 2am with eighty or ninety pages left, I voted I just wasn't going to make it). So I finished it on Tuesday morning instead.
Right after finishing that I moved to The Making of the Pope 2005 by Andrew Greeley. This was mostly a fascinating book. Fr. Greeley got a bit repetitive at times, but I suspect that was related to the nature of the book, as mostly journal-type entries. To an extent I suspect I should have read his other "conclave" book first, but, once I'd started this I figured I'd finish it. Although Fr. Greeley seemed initially unenthusiastic about Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope, by the end he may have changed his mind a bit. I would enjoy speaking with him about this, now that he's been Pope for 5 years. Often Fr. Greeley's comments about JPII disagreed with my own experience, but I enjoyed seeing a new perspective on it. It would be interesting to be able to see what would have happened if he'd been more what people were expecting when he was elected in 1978. I did quite enjoy the sociological job description for the Pope that Fr. Greeley spoke of - "a hopeful, holy man who smiles."
Having finished that (again pretty quickly - again staying up later than I should have) I moved to Fr. Greeley's other Pope book, The Making of the Popes 1978: The Politics of Intrigue in the Vatican. This was also an interesting book to read. I had more difficulty in understanding all of Fr. Greeley's comments to the extent I'd been able to with the first one of these I'd read - I didn't know/remember what JPI's name was before becoming Pope - although I did figure it out partway through the first conclave story - Albino Luciani (sp?). I rather wonder what life/the Church/my faith experience would have been like if he hadn't died so quickly (I also wonder if the rumor's of poisoning are accurate). I was surprised by Fr. Greeley's description of Cardinal Wojtyla. Fr. Greeley says he's a large man, with broad shoulders - football linebacker type. I'd never gotten that impression myself, even in the photos of him as a young man - maybe it's the in person part that changes that, or maybe my impression was just incorrect.
In the middle of reading that, a book I'd learned of from the two Pope books arrived from the ILL office, so I quickly read it first. It was shorter and I knew I'd be able to finish it in time to return it to the library the next day. Women I've Met is a collection of Fr. Greeley's poetry. I'd read some of the poems in his autobiographies already, but I still enjoyed them much - I'm thinking of buying my own copy of this book, but as it's no longer in print, I have to decide where to get it.
After finishing both of those, I moved on to a second Robin Hathaway book, Scarecrow: A Mystery. I'd found this at the same time I got the other one - this one's from a different series, though. I enjoyed this one at least as much as the last one, and possibly even more. I don't remember if there're more books in this series or not yet, but I seriously hope there are.
I quickly finished that book and moved on to Piers Anthony's Key to Survival, the fifth and presumably final book in the ChroMagic series - the author's note at the end left a possible (but not entirely probable) hint of a coming sixth book. I enjoyed the story pretty well, although as with a few other series I've read, I think the first book was my favorite. A lot of time passed between this book and the previous one - almost 20 years. I mostly guessed who the Makers were before Havoc and the others figured it out, but not as early as Piers seems to think people will claim to have known it (I figured it out in the middle of the book, but had no clue in the other books). I'm not sure anyone could accurately say they knew all along, as we hadn't heard of the Makers until this book.
In the middle of reading this book, I read a shorter book I'd found at the library: Letters from the Inside by John Marsden. The story was about the meaning of friendship, and one way it can form - not the normal way. It was quite interesting getting to know both girls, but at times I wanted to know more than what they were sharing in their letters (the book is a collection of the letters they wrote back and forth to each other). Although it is in keeping with the format of the rest of the book, I really wish we'd been told exactly what happened to the one of them (I can't remember her name for sure) - I kept expecting that the other girl (I can't remember her name for sure either) would get a letter from someone else telling her what's up, but that never happens.
I'm now reading Ted Dekker's newest (? - at least new-ish) book, The Bride Collector. So far the book is quite intriguing, although the one character is a bit disturbing to read about - his mind is rather strange at times. The main character is working on a serial killer case they're calling the Bride Collector - a man who's been killing women and gluing them to the wall (he also drills into their heels and drains all of their blood). I presume the killer will be caught, but because of the rain, I'm not that far into the book yet. I look forward to finishing it, though - I want to know what happens.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Too much delay!
I can't believe I've let posting be delayed this long - I have so much to add.
So I did finish Happy are the Meek and enjoyed it much. It's been so long, I don't have much memory of what all happened - which is actually rather sad. I do know that I enjoyed it - and I still really like Fr. Blackie (and would like to meet him). The story did end happily with two couples getting together and with no more deaths. I was surprised by who actually killed the husband (I've forgotten their names - and admittedly regret that) but it does make sense with the rest of the clues in the story. My heart went out to many of the characters - they've gone through quite a bit of trouble - so they're due some happiness! I look forward to reading the next book in the series (even if I don't remember which one is next for sure).
After I finished that I started Charles de Lint's newest book (in a way) Eyes Like Leaves. It was a fascinating story touching on lots of myths/legends/what-have-you from all over. Near the end of the book I was trying to figure out how/if it connected with Riddle of the Wren, which I read a long time ago. I would like to meet these characters again sometime - so hopefully there's more to come. My only real complaint with the story has more to do with the particular copy RPL has than with the story itself. The book is listed as having a Bonus Materials section for Part Four - the copy I read did not have this part, even though it was mentioned in the table of contents and in the author's note. However, the story itself was wonderful - and I'd recommend to everyone! I can understand why it didn't get published when it was written, and am glad that the "real world" (so to speak) stories CdL wrote exist, but I'm also quite glad that this got published too!
In the middle of reading this, another book by Angie Sage that I'd had on hold at the library came in for me, so I quick read it - it only took about an hour, at the most. It was Araminta Spookie 1: My Haunted House. Araminta lives with her aunt and uncle in their huge house, but one day she learns that her aunt has decided to sell it so they can move elsewhere - all after one more battle with the boiler. In Araminta's mind, this is the worst thing that could ever happen, so she does everything she can to sabotage the sale. Although an easier read than the other Angie Sage books I've read, it was still quite enjoyable and I will read more of the books soon.
Having finished both of those, I moved to a book I found while shelving. I'd actually been shelving a different book by Naomi Ragen but was intrigued by both of them (this one just a bit more than the other). The Ghost of Hannah Mendes tells the story of one Spanish Jewish woman who became one of the richest and most powerful people in the 16th century (might be 15th or 17th) and some of her descendants as well. We learn her story as they learn her story while they search for remnants of the document she wrote about herself, while finding true love, faith, and happiness along the way. I liked a couple of comments from one character a lot. First she was talking about interfaith marriage and compared it to mixing cuisines for the soul. When kids are raised as both Christian and Jewish, it's like asking their souls to survive/withstand the same thing as asking one's stomach to survive eating Hungarian, French, and (something else I can't recall) cuisine at the same time. It just doesn't work that way. She also, near the end of the book, commented that one's ancestors are with one and big family events because their DNA/cells are a part of one's own body/DNA.
Having finished that, I moved to her other book The Covenant which was about both the current conflict in the Holy Land and about the Shoah (Holocaust), especially what happened in Auschwitz. Although I'd expected the other book to be better, I actually preferred this one, I think. They're both pretty good, though. I was intrigued by all of the interconnectedness that showed up here, but it was almost a bit unbelievable.
After these two books I was able to move to the beginning books in a series I've been wanting to read for awhile now. I started with Ilona Andrews' books Magic Bites and Magic Burns. These stories are sort of a vampire hunting story, but with many twists and turns. I was somewhat reminded of the Twilight series though, because of the apparently typical animosity between vampires and werewolves (or as their called in the series shapechangers - because their not all wolves). The history of the stories is quite fascinating. Sometimes what we'd currently call normal technology works, but sometimes it doesn't - when their are magic shifts. I thoroughly enjoyed the books and look forward to learning more about Kate Daniels and her life and world.
Next I started a book by Julie Klassen (I've read another of her books - that's actually what drew me to this book initially - the cover reminded of the other book). The Silent Governess brings to life the role of governess in England at one point (I don't remember the exact time frame for the story - possibly at least almost victorian times - I think actually a bit later though). This was really rather similar to Jane Eyre in many ways, but not quite. Throughout the story I wanted to know more and more about each of the characters and the plot in general. It was hard to put the book down. I rather knew that the two main characters (again, it's still been rather too long since I read it, I've already forgotten their names) would get married by the end of the book - or at least I sincerely hoped they would.
Wait, I read two shorter books before I started that one; first I read Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers by Angie Sage. This book rather gave general background for the world of the Septimus Heap series. It was a quick, enjoyable read. The other shorter book I read was Don't Hurt Laurie! by Willo Davis Roberts. this little story about domestic child abuse was quite touching - it had me in the all-out, headache-inducing tears that some books bring me. My heart ached for Laurie and all her doubts and troubles. I'm glad that she finally found the courage to share what was happening to her, and found people who she could trust about it.
Then, I read Andrew Greeley's first novel, The Magic Cup. This was a retelling of the Irish version of Arthurian legend. Even if it didn't have the connection to reality that most of Fr. Greeley's books have, I still quite enjoyed it. It didn't actually need as much reality - but it did have some - just with a much older period of reality than I usually find in his books. I suspected that Brigid was going to be Cormac's princess/future wife - but that's not too impressive a guess as Fr. Greeley hinted at it enough. Cormac was an interesting man who I could perhaps quite enjoy (he rather reminds me of Dermot Coyne from other Greeley novels as well as Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series) meeting/knowing. Brigid reminded me of myself at times too - although, I suppose I find bits of me in many fictional characters.
In the middle of reading that book, while at work, I found a couple of cute kids books that I just had to read. They were A Girl and Her Gator and A Boy and His Bunny. These books were about two siblings that woke up to find they had animals one their head/in their hair, and discovered what they could do with these new additions to their appearance. There appears to be a third book in the series about a boy who finds himself atop a bear, but I didn't get to read that one.
After finishing these, I started Harry Kraus, M.D.'s book The Six-Liter Club. I also found this book quite interesting - there was a fair amount of action that occurred, but there was also lots of character development as well. Camille is now going through a difficult time. She thought she'd made it into the "boy's club," but is starting to discover what she's lost/had to deny to get there. At the same time, she begins to be haunted by events from her childhood in the Congo. As with Brigid from The Magic Cup, I found myself identifying with Camille in many ways. Often in the book I really wanted to slap her boyfriend, I think his name was Mark, but Camille and Tina learned what he was up to, and it all worked out.
I'm now reading The Doctor Digs a Grave by Robin Hathaway. This is another book I found by shelving a different book by the same author. So far the story is entertaining, but I'm really not that far into it. Mostly they've found a possible murder victim - at the very least her freshly deceased body was dumped in a shallow grave, but we don't yet know why. I look forward to finishing the story soon, but probably not before I next stop past the library - especially after spending so much time here working on the update. Soon, though.
So I did finish Happy are the Meek and enjoyed it much. It's been so long, I don't have much memory of what all happened - which is actually rather sad. I do know that I enjoyed it - and I still really like Fr. Blackie (and would like to meet him). The story did end happily with two couples getting together and with no more deaths. I was surprised by who actually killed the husband (I've forgotten their names - and admittedly regret that) but it does make sense with the rest of the clues in the story. My heart went out to many of the characters - they've gone through quite a bit of trouble - so they're due some happiness! I look forward to reading the next book in the series (even if I don't remember which one is next for sure).
After I finished that I started Charles de Lint's newest book (in a way) Eyes Like Leaves. It was a fascinating story touching on lots of myths/legends/what-have-you from all over. Near the end of the book I was trying to figure out how/if it connected with Riddle of the Wren, which I read a long time ago. I would like to meet these characters again sometime - so hopefully there's more to come. My only real complaint with the story has more to do with the particular copy RPL has than with the story itself. The book is listed as having a Bonus Materials section for Part Four - the copy I read did not have this part, even though it was mentioned in the table of contents and in the author's note. However, the story itself was wonderful - and I'd recommend to everyone! I can understand why it didn't get published when it was written, and am glad that the "real world" (so to speak) stories CdL wrote exist, but I'm also quite glad that this got published too!
In the middle of reading this, another book by Angie Sage that I'd had on hold at the library came in for me, so I quick read it - it only took about an hour, at the most. It was Araminta Spookie 1: My Haunted House. Araminta lives with her aunt and uncle in their huge house, but one day she learns that her aunt has decided to sell it so they can move elsewhere - all after one more battle with the boiler. In Araminta's mind, this is the worst thing that could ever happen, so she does everything she can to sabotage the sale. Although an easier read than the other Angie Sage books I've read, it was still quite enjoyable and I will read more of the books soon.
Having finished both of those, I moved to a book I found while shelving. I'd actually been shelving a different book by Naomi Ragen but was intrigued by both of them (this one just a bit more than the other). The Ghost of Hannah Mendes tells the story of one Spanish Jewish woman who became one of the richest and most powerful people in the 16th century (might be 15th or 17th) and some of her descendants as well. We learn her story as they learn her story while they search for remnants of the document she wrote about herself, while finding true love, faith, and happiness along the way. I liked a couple of comments from one character a lot. First she was talking about interfaith marriage and compared it to mixing cuisines for the soul. When kids are raised as both Christian and Jewish, it's like asking their souls to survive/withstand the same thing as asking one's stomach to survive eating Hungarian, French, and (something else I can't recall) cuisine at the same time. It just doesn't work that way. She also, near the end of the book, commented that one's ancestors are with one and big family events because their DNA/cells are a part of one's own body/DNA.
Having finished that, I moved to her other book The Covenant which was about both the current conflict in the Holy Land and about the Shoah (Holocaust), especially what happened in Auschwitz. Although I'd expected the other book to be better, I actually preferred this one, I think. They're both pretty good, though. I was intrigued by all of the interconnectedness that showed up here, but it was almost a bit unbelievable.
After these two books I was able to move to the beginning books in a series I've been wanting to read for awhile now. I started with Ilona Andrews' books Magic Bites and Magic Burns. These stories are sort of a vampire hunting story, but with many twists and turns. I was somewhat reminded of the Twilight series though, because of the apparently typical animosity between vampires and werewolves (or as their called in the series shapechangers - because their not all wolves). The history of the stories is quite fascinating. Sometimes what we'd currently call normal technology works, but sometimes it doesn't - when their are magic shifts. I thoroughly enjoyed the books and look forward to learning more about Kate Daniels and her life and world.
Next I started a book by Julie Klassen (I've read another of her books - that's actually what drew me to this book initially - the cover reminded of the other book). The Silent Governess brings to life the role of governess in England at one point (I don't remember the exact time frame for the story - possibly at least almost victorian times - I think actually a bit later though). This was really rather similar to Jane Eyre in many ways, but not quite. Throughout the story I wanted to know more and more about each of the characters and the plot in general. It was hard to put the book down. I rather knew that the two main characters (again, it's still been rather too long since I read it, I've already forgotten their names) would get married by the end of the book - or at least I sincerely hoped they would.
Wait, I read two shorter books before I started that one; first I read Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers by Angie Sage. This book rather gave general background for the world of the Septimus Heap series. It was a quick, enjoyable read. The other shorter book I read was Don't Hurt Laurie! by Willo Davis Roberts. this little story about domestic child abuse was quite touching - it had me in the all-out, headache-inducing tears that some books bring me. My heart ached for Laurie and all her doubts and troubles. I'm glad that she finally found the courage to share what was happening to her, and found people who she could trust about it.
Then, I read Andrew Greeley's first novel, The Magic Cup. This was a retelling of the Irish version of Arthurian legend. Even if it didn't have the connection to reality that most of Fr. Greeley's books have, I still quite enjoyed it. It didn't actually need as much reality - but it did have some - just with a much older period of reality than I usually find in his books. I suspected that Brigid was going to be Cormac's princess/future wife - but that's not too impressive a guess as Fr. Greeley hinted at it enough. Cormac was an interesting man who I could perhaps quite enjoy (he rather reminds me of Dermot Coyne from other Greeley novels as well as Jamie Fraser from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series) meeting/knowing. Brigid reminded me of myself at times too - although, I suppose I find bits of me in many fictional characters.
In the middle of reading that book, while at work, I found a couple of cute kids books that I just had to read. They were A Girl and Her Gator and A Boy and His Bunny. These books were about two siblings that woke up to find they had animals one their head/in their hair, and discovered what they could do with these new additions to their appearance. There appears to be a third book in the series about a boy who finds himself atop a bear, but I didn't get to read that one.
After finishing these, I started Harry Kraus, M.D.'s book The Six-Liter Club. I also found this book quite interesting - there was a fair amount of action that occurred, but there was also lots of character development as well. Camille is now going through a difficult time. She thought she'd made it into the "boy's club," but is starting to discover what she's lost/had to deny to get there. At the same time, she begins to be haunted by events from her childhood in the Congo. As with Brigid from The Magic Cup, I found myself identifying with Camille in many ways. Often in the book I really wanted to slap her boyfriend, I think his name was Mark, but Camille and Tina learned what he was up to, and it all worked out.
I'm now reading The Doctor Digs a Grave by Robin Hathaway. This is another book I found by shelving a different book by the same author. So far the story is entertaining, but I'm really not that far into it. Mostly they've found a possible murder victim - at the very least her freshly deceased body was dumped in a shallow grave, but we don't yet know why. I look forward to finishing the story soon, but probably not before I next stop past the library - especially after spending so much time here working on the update. Soon, though.
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