May 19, 201115 yr Dusty... Thanks for the recommendation on Feed. Really enjoyed it and can't wait for the next book on June 1st.
May 19, 201115 yr Really glad you liked it. Finished The Reckoning. Started The Gathering. More tweeny stuff, but I'm enjoying it. Not as much as Women of the Otherworld stuff, but still enjoying it well enough. Can't wait for Spellbound, though. Read The Touch of Twilight (Vicki Petersson), started City of Souls. I don't know -- she keeps painting herself into corners, so I'll finish the Zodiac series, but don't think I'll read anything else by her.
May 24, 201115 yr Finished the Gathering -- realized I was about 80% through the book when nothing major had happened yet -- she made up for it in the last 20%. Lots happened.Read The Touch of Twilight (Vicki Petersson), started City of Souls. I don't know -- she keeps painting herself into corners, so I'll finish the Zodiac series, but don't think I'll read anything else by her.I'm going to have to take this back -- even though she spends way too much time explaining things away that are only confusing because she introduced the idea, and there are characters that seem a little too deus ex machina for my tastes -- well, not so much deus ex machina, but ... they only seem to be there as a writing device -- I.E. Warren -- knows stuff when it needs confirming, but doesn't tell it until it's figured out by the protagonist, so it's not written from a omniscient point of view. That said -- strangely compelling. There's a lot to like about her. The whole second entry into Midheaven thing -- superb. Builds up this confidence going in, and ... doesn't spell out the deflation, but lets the actions speak for themselves. So yeah, I'll keep reading her.
May 25, 201115 yr Finally finishing The Corrections. Can't believe how strong it is. Next up, Super Sad True Love Story. .
May 30, 201115 yr gifted hands by dr ben carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at johns hopkins med at 33. grew up in the ghetto and rose to that position at 33. doubt ill be able to put the book down tonight without finishing it. rarely have i come across something so simple yet so thought provoking. the guy came from nothing and ive pretty much all but squandered all my opportunities.
June 14, 201115 yr Deadline (Mira Grant, Newsflesh Trilogy, Volume II) -- holy shit, she doesn't waste any time. I guess it makes sense -- in a post-zombie-apocalypse world, people die, but ...Jesus. I'm going to amend my earlier statement, although...not really. She does two things really well -- love, and grief. (Grief only works if you had love.) One of the things that she did really well in the first book -- and she appears to be keeping up the pace -- is that you felt every death. I mean, really felt it. You mourned characters you barely met...because you hadn't gotten the chance to get to know them, but you knew from what little you did get to know that you did. not. want. them. to die. Fuck. Also, she has an entirely tangential character named, "The Monkey". I shit you not.
June 20, 201115 yr I Errol Morris: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/did-my-brother-invent-e-mail-with-tom-van-vleck-part-one/?hp Note the cool Grado reference.
June 22, 201115 yr I started reading The Saga of Seven Suns series by Kevin J Anderson in April. I've been reading the books for free as eBooks from my local library, and I'm on book 6 of 7 right now. It's really enjoyable, and I'm going to be sad when I'm all done with them all and have to find something else to read. Anyway, I went to put a hold on book 7 only to discover that the library only has the first 6 books as eBooks, and book 7 is an audiobook only. Fortunately it's only $7.99 from the nook bookstore.
June 25, 201115 yr Feed. It's supposed to be that book school kids can enjoy that I can't recommend due to language.
June 25, 201115 yr Finished Deadline -- in some ways, better than Feed. You know, one of the other things that she does well is that breathless things-never-stop quality. Sorta like D.O.A. And I should mention -- the Whedonisms make sense after my second trip to Oakland/San Francisco -- I discovered while I was out there that she contributed to a book called Whedonistas -- women writers inspired in one way or another by Whedon. No shit. I can think of worse influences to have. She's easily my favorite new discovery -- yes, more than Richard K. Morgan. Started Cheat the Grave, Vicki Pettersson.
June 25, 201115 yr Catching up on my Culture novels. Read Look To Windward and Matter on the plane, then Surface Detail last night when I couldn't sleep. Suffering a bit of Banks bloat.
June 30, 201115 yr is it in Aramaic? No, its just the pg-13 rating type stuff, middle school just isn't like high school with catcher in the rye. I'd recommend it to a high school freshman. The subject of the relationship and illness hit a little close to home with me personally and left me pissed at the main character who really is worthless until it doesn't really matter. Not a happy ending and a depressing viewpoint on the future. It was not nice to finish on my birthday. Edited June 30, 201115 yr by manaox2
July 7, 201114 yr Finished Cheat the Grave -- outstanding. She's surprised me twice, hard, in the last two books, doing things that I've never witnessed in other authors. Not quite Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire good, but still very good. But if you're bothered by nitpicks, stay away -- there are some huge ones. To me, it's worth the ride. About to start The Neon Graveyard: The Final Sign of the Zodiac.
July 7, 201114 yr This is what I just finished reading. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson Jon Ronson books are delightful, though, they are made much more so if you have heard him speak and can read them in his voice. I don't think this one is quite as good as the last two, but still a fun read. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness Dovetails with my own research, so nothing I didn't know, but still good that people are starting to talk about this topic. Half Empty by David Rakoff The thinking man's David Sedaris. Also probably not as good as his last two, but still good.
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