|
Books I'm Currently Reading:
The Art of Napping by William A. Anthony- This is just a funny little book about the importance of napping in your every day life. There are funny little terms like "naptitude" and "nonapapology." This book will teach you everything from napping pride to napping strategies. It does make you pretty tired when reading it.87 pgs. I recommend it.
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley- I haven't gotten too far in this book yet, but it looks promising.Bradley takes the tales of King Arthur and tells them through the women's eyes. She's an excellent writer and the reviews are too. If you're into those classic tales of Arthur you should definitly buy this book if you haven't already. 876 pgs. I recommend this book.
The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins- I bought this book in a used bookstore and apparently it's one the rarest of Wilkie Collins's books so I don't know if you'll be able to find it. It's a mystery about a "socially and morally questionable event, from which all incidents derive, and towards which all characters inevitably move," says the back of the book. I can't really explain it better myself without ruining the plot for you. The book is about a secret that was written into a letter, but never delivered. Instead it rests in an abandoned part of a mostly abandoned house for years. When it is finally discovered, trouble ensues. 359 pgs. I recommend it.
Never After by Rebecca Lickiss- I also got this in a used bookstore, but I wasn't as lucky with this find. It's a fantasy novel about a castle full of sleeping people and three sleeping princes, the witch who enchanted the castle, another prince who wants to undo the spell to wake a beautiful girl he found sleeping inside, the tomboy cousin of his who must prove she is a princess to kiss the princes and undo the spell, and the wizards who were hired to help out. It's not really all the good, the writing is ok, nothing special. I'm still reading it because it's nice to read when you feel like reading something very light and simple. Other than that I don't think it has that much to offer. 261 pgs. I don't recommend it unless you're in the mood where you just want to read something simple.
The Essential Bordertown edited by Terri Windling and Delia Sherman- This is an anthology with stories by all different authors about all the different creatures that live in a place called Bordertown. It's called this because it is the city between the world of magic and the regular world, but you can only find it if you're looking for it. Most people there are runaways that came to live on the hard streets of Bordertown to escape their past. There are gangs, clubs, crazies, and whether or not your magic works is sheer luck. It's good if you feel like reading a fantasy novel that isn't about how pretty the magical world is. 379 pgs.You have to be in the right mood to read it, but I recommend it.
The Vampire Lestat- Anne Rice.
This is the second book in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles She is an incredible writer and really makes the story come alive. Through Lestat, she raises many questions and leaves it to the reader to answer them. A very dark but interesting book, I recommend it.
Books I've Read:
I was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block- This book is what made me never read another young adult book ever again. Young adult books move slowly and usualy the plots aren't as complex as adult books, but this one was just terrible. I read this book about 3 years ago, I had a gift certificate for a bookstore and made the horrible mistake of judging this book by it's cover. It has a very pretty blue fairy on it, so I (stupidly) bought it. It's about a girl named Barbie who's forced to be a model and her teenage troubles. She has a little fairy friend that hangs out with her named Mab, and she's not sure if Mab really exists. I read it awhile ago so I can't remember all of the specifics, but I do remember feeling like I wasted my time reading it. 186 pgs. I DO NOT recommend it.
Fire Bringer by David Clement Davies- This is a pretty good book about a deer named Rannoch who is born in a time of chaos. An evil deer is taking over all the herds accross Nova Scotia, and building an army that can beat any other deer because of it's unnatural fighting strategies. There is a prophecy about this time, it's about a deer who could save all the other deer from this Lord. Rannoch finds himself trying to fulfull this prophecy, and he struggles to travel to the mysterious and far away land to the north to find Herne's Herd. There are many little adventures along the way and overall it's a pretty good book. 498 pgs. I recommend it.
Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind- I have mixed feelings about this one. The book itself is pretty good, but the series is long and once you get far into it it gets worse and worse. Richar Cypher, an ordinary woodsman, is given the position of Seeker and The Sword of Truth. Against his will, he is forced into the world of magic when all he wants is to go home. With long time friend, Zedd, and newfound friend, Kahlan, Richard must defeat Darken Rahl, classic evil trying to take over the world guy.There are a few twists in the story and a bit of a romance. Overall, as I said before, the story is good, but beware! Don't get addicted and sucked into the series! By the third book you will be bored out of your mind, but if you insist on not listening to me, the next book is titled Stone of Tears, then there's Blood of the Fold(the boring one), Temple of the Winds, Soul of the Fire, and finally the forthcoming Faith of the Fallen Hope you like it more than I did (talk to my friend Jean)! 836 pgs. I recommend it.
Dreamside by Graham Joyce- This book has an interesting plot. It's about some experiments with lucid dreaming and a few college kids. They learn how to control their dreams and test how far they can go and what they can do in these dreams before the dream breaks and they wake up. Soon this group of kids figure out how to meet in their dreams and learn too much. The dreams haunt their waking lives and they separate out of fear. They grow up trying to forget what happened, but the dreams return. They decide the only way they can get these dreams to go away is reunite and face their fears.I thought this book was very interesting and I defintily recommend it. 254 pgs.
Shadow by K.J. Parker- I just finished reading this book a few weeks ago. It's part of a trilogy that I can't wait to read. It's confusing and interesting. I know I couldn't write a review without spoiling the plot so I'll just write what was on the back:
"A man wakes in the wilderness, amid scattered corpses and inquisitive crows. He has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. The only clues to his former existence lie in his apparent skill with a sword and the fragmented dreams that permeate his sleep.
"The evidence of his past must lie somewhere, but masquerading as a God in the company of the mysterious Copis seems an unlikely place to start looking. Yet as their journey leads north answers begin to emerge. Each one points to a riddle far more complex than he could ever have imagined and a truth he may not wish to believe" Yeah, the back of the book definitly catches your attention.There's lots of gore, blood, violence, and all that good stuff plus some confusing dreams and philosophical questions added in just to make it that much better. 572 pages. I definitly recommend it.
Pattern by K.J. Parker- This is the sequal to Shadow, but I'm afraid it's nowhere near as good. It was painful to read becuase all I could do was compare it to the first book. Almost nothing happens in this book, and unless you're really into blacksmithing you'll most likely find this book a bore. The author spent about seven pages describing in great detail how some people built a house, and there's plenty more where that came from. I only finished this book (that kept dragging on and on) so I can move on to the third one, in hopes it will be better. 568 pages. I don't recommend it.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams- If you like the movie Airplane, then I think you'll like this book. It's about how the Earth is destroyed to make room for a freeway bypass. Arthur Dent and his best friend and alien, Ford Prefect, hitchhike onto a passing spaceship in time to be saved. This book is pretty funny if you like quick stupid jokes.It's a fast read and could take only one day to read if you really want to finish it quickly.214 pgs. I recommend it. This book is the first of four in a series, so if you like it you can also read: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life, the Universe, and Everything, and So Long and Thanks for all the Fish.
Well, that's all. Remember, more books on the way all the time!
|
