Reading Through June 1

Completed this Week:

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
***1/2
 The Curse of Chalion was an impulse buy when it was a Kindle Daily Deal one day...a few months ago? I had started it...gotten maybe a chapter in and was dreadfully bored and put off. When I had nothing else to read at work, I started plugging away at it again...and was amazed at how enjoyable it was. This books has interesting, dimensional characters, good (if stereotypical fantasy/medieval European-esque) worldbuilding, and a plot that kept me guessing. Overall, this book is about maneuvering in politics, spiritual power, and loyalty. I would recommend it, and I'm probably going to read more by Bujold.

The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling

***

I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan. When a friend loaned me A Casual Vacancy I had serious doubts. I found the book rather forcibly "dark/grisly." With all that said. I enjoyed Rowling's newest novel immensely. Well. Maybe not "enjoyed" because it was terribly depressing; but it was an excellent read and went by very quickly for being just shy of 500 pages! This little examination of a small town after the death of a local Council member is fascinating. It hosts a wide cast of characters ranging in ages, interests, and personalities. The Casual Vacancy isn't about small town politics so much as it's about the everyday wars people wage. Children against adult, rich against poor, etc. I would recommend it.

Scheherazade's Facade edited by Michael M. Jones

**

I ordered this anthology of short stories of "gender bending, cross-dressing, and transformation" because it contains a new Tanith Lee story. But of course I found them all rather enjoyable. I found it odd that the over whelming theme was of men/boys "transforming" into women. I had expected a wide range of...well...gender-bending antics! I did enjoy the collection; but the stand-out stories were: "The Secret Name of the Prince" by Alma Alexander, "Keeping the World on Course" by Tanith Lee, "Treasure and Maidens" by Sarah Rees Brennan, and "Lady Marmalade's Special Place in Hell" by David Sklar.

Tenterhooks by Ada Leverson

***

Tenterhooks follows Love's Shadow where we are introduced to Edith and Bruce Ottley; she the perfect wife, and he a completely absurd hypochondriac (and more). This second installment follows a brief affection between Edith and a certain new friend introduced to her and her husband's circle. He is madly in love with Edith, and she is clearly devoted to her husband and two children...come what may. I didn't read this for plot, I read this for the delightful insight into "well off" London in the early 1900s, for the witty banter, and the absurdities of Bruce...you really must read them to understand how ridiculous it is.

The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne

this novel will have it's own review since I received it through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. Look for it!

Reading Through 2012-2

Completed This Week:

God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible by Adam Nicolson
****
This meandering piece of popular non-fiction paints a picture of early Jacobean England. While the title may lead you to believe that it is in fact about the writing of the King James Bible, it is actually about an era, a context for, the creation of the King James Bible. It's fascinating. Nicolson describes social, political, and religious customs and debates.
Little is known about the Translators who created the King James Bible using previous English Bibles in addition to Hebrew and Greek originals (now recognized as corrupted copies). But Nicolson provides the context, and what little personal and political information that is available is placed within a general framework.
Nicolson essentially argues that the creation of the King James Bible was possible because of the atmosphere of the new succession-the hope for unity and peace. He also gives King James VI a more positive spin than most historians, painting him as a troubled, eccentric, but ultimately well-meaning, intelligent, and hopeful ruler who wished to give Britain a unity an sense of community that it did not possess.
Overall, if you like nonfiction, Renaissance or British history, or even Biblical histories then I would recommend God's Secretaries.

Everlost by Neal Shusterman
***1/2
While last Friday I admitted to having a difficult time getting into Everlost, today I have completely changed my mind. After trudging through the first few (admittedly brief) chapters) I found myself rather enthralled with this first book in the Skinjacker trilogy.
This is the story of Allie and Nick, two strangers who die in a car crash and then lose their way into the light (at the end of the tunnel). They find themselves reborn into a limbo that admits only children (aged 16 and under it seems) called Everlost, and are accompanied by a young boy who has isolated himself in a forest.
Nick and Allie are determined to escape, and leave the forest to eventually discover more of the Everlost-which is nearly parallel to, but intersecting with, the living world.
They stumble across leaders and monsters slowly uncovering more of Everlost, and what it means to be forever lost there...

Moses: A Life by Jonathan Kirsch
***
Another non-fiction title, and also concerning the Bible! I think I quite enjoy non-fiction now that I've graduated from school.
Moses is a historiography that is part clever interpretation and part scholarly discussion that revolves around the Biblical figure of Moses.
I love historiographies, which are basically scholarly summaries of past scholars/trends in scholarship to determine what a certain topic was thought of at different points in time. In this case, the story of Moses is showcased and different opinions over the centuries regarding Moses are discussed in depth in Kirsch's monograph. Naturally, a large part of this book discusses the different authors of the Bible (may I recommend this?) and the stories found in the Bible itself. Kirsch does seem a bit repetitive in Moses, and some points are frustratingly redundant but I think that the overall effect of the book is positive.
Moses is thought-provoking and entertaining, so I recommend it.

Currently Reading:

Blade of Fortriu by Juliet Marillier

This is the second novel in the Bridei Chronicles. I didn't love the first one, but am compelled to read the second since I love Marillier's Daughter of the Forest and Cybele's Secret. This may take me a while to finish, but I did start it...

Amazon says: "Loyalties are tested and truth must be distinguished from dangerous lies in the gritty second book of the Bridei Chronicles (after 2005's The Dark Mirror), set in a land resembling early Scotland. Hoping to gain the support of nearby chieftain Alpin of Briar Wood in the fight against the invading Dalriada, King Bridei of the Priteni sends an offer and a bride: Ana, a fosterling "hostage" from the distant Light Isles raised in his court. Bridei's personal bodyguard and spy, Faolan, accompanies Ana on the arduous journey, saving her life and struggling to control his growing feelings for her. When problems arise at Alpin's rude court, Ana secretly finds solace with Alpin's mysterious brother, Drustan, long believed to be insane, who has been imprisoned for the murder of Alpin's first wife. Skilled world-building and characterization set Marillier's historical fantasy at the head of the pack."

Reading Through 2012-1

Completed This Week:

Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst
***
This is a surprising read, a bit fantastic and urban fantasy-esque, but centered around the (local for me) very real town of Colma, CA. Colma is a massive graveyard town where the rich of San Francisco have historically buried their dead (since space is at a premium in the City). Enter our protagonist, a new cop who patrols the town on the night shift. But the graveyards of Colma aren't so quiet, and the dead are in need of a hero.
You were probably expeccting a ghost story. But it's not, it's a police/life story with failed romances, friendships, injuries, self-doubts, and lingering mysteries about past officers. Really the ghost story is only concluded implicitly, through a typed up incident report.
Dorst writes an interesting story, and I rather liked how under-emphasized the unusual (ghosts) was...but it did leave me with questions (someone give me the details on Root, please, I know what it does...but want to know more). I would recommend if you are looking for a spiced up police story or a subtle ghost story.

Oh, I've also read that they may be making this into a film?

March by Geraldine Brooks
***1/2
If you've read Little Women you may remember the absence of the March father, as he was away bringing God to the Yanks during the Civil War. Geraldine Brooks has provided us with a rather breathtaking story for this largely fictional character.
I was very impressed with the research evident in the writing of this novel. The Marches were an idealized form of Louisa May Alcott's real family, and so researching her family seemed to be a starting point. Brooks also researched the Civil War as well as the customs and thoughts of the day. She paints such an interesting picture of the times that the novel sucked me right in and didn't let me go until I finished the last page.
While I loved the atmosphere and world, I rather despised Mr. March...such an idealistic, pompous, naive person. This book definitely hasn't encouraged me to reread Little Women! I love a flawed protaganist, but I found him rather insufferable. I also struggled with the portrayal of the Civil War being solely centered around slavery/emancipation...it's a lovely and simplistic way to characterize it, but not an accurate portrayal of why the South succeeded. So it was painful to read a book about an intellectual who only focuses on that one aspect of the war.
Nit-picking aside, I highly recommend this novel! Though be warned, there are bloody battle scenes and I cried at least once in the reading.

Currently Reading:

God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible by Adam Nicolson

I'm only one hundred pages in, but I've loving it so far!

Amazon says: "A network of complex currents flowed across Jacobean England. This was the England of Shakespeare, Jonson, and Bacon; the era of the Gunpowder Plot and the worst outbreak of the plague. Jacobean England was both more godly and less godly than the country had ever been, and the entire culture was drawn taut between these polarities. This was the world that created the King James Bible. It is the greatest work of English prose ever written, and it is no coincidence that the translation was made at the moment "Englishness," specifically the English language itself, had come into its first passionate maturity. The English of Jacobean England has a more encompassing idea of its own scope than any form of the language before or since. It drips with potency and sensitivity. The age, with all its conflicts, explains the book."

Everlost by Neal Shusterman

I'm having a hard time getting into this one, has anyone else read it? What do you think?

Amazon says: "Nick and Allie don’t survive the car accident, but their souls don’t exactly get where they’re supposed to go either. Instead, they’re caught halfway between life and death, in a sort of limbo known as Everlost: a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist. It’s a magical, yet dangerous place where bands of lost kids run wild and anyone who stands in the same place too long sinks to the center of the Earth.

When they find Mary, the self-proclaimed queen of lost souls, Nick feels like he’s found a home, but Allie isn’t satisfied spending eternity between worlds. Against all warnings, Allie begins learning the “Criminal Art” of haunting, and ventures into dangerous territory, where a monster called the McGill threatens all the souls of Everlost.

In this imaginative novel, Neal Shusterman explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between."