56 posts tagged “2005”

Another story from Will Kingdom/Phil Rickman. I love how he brings back characters from other books. The story was okay, and I didn't guess who the killer was until I was told. It didn't have the chill factor of some of his other books, but getting the backstory on some of the characters I had read about in other books was great. Perhaps I should have started with this one; it was still a pleasant whiling away of time.
Originally posted December 3, 2005

That's three hours of my life that I'm never going to get back. I've written about Dean Koontz before. I really liked his earlier works, but now I'm thinking I need to go back and re-read some of them.
Life Expectancy, there's no frisson, no tension. It's a very black and white book. There is good and there is evil. You know who is who. And because it's Koontz, you know that the heroes will always walk away at the end.
That said, there were a few good twists in there and the premise of the prophecy of the five days was good (can't think of the word I want). But, I don't think that I could even recommend this book for a long airplane ride.
Originally posted December 3, 2005

SO, I think P.B.Kerr either reads my blog or Djinn and Tonic was just too obvious. The next book in the Children of the Lamp series, the Blue Djinn of Babylon, was a good read. I think I missed a bit at the end because we never find out if that one boy's pimples clear up. Oh, well. I'm sure it will be covered in the third installment. Not a bad adventure, though if you couldn't see the plot device with the mother coming, you wouldn't notice the Mack truck bearing down on you, either. Ah, the joys of reading a children's book as an adult. This one is sure to be as much of a hit as the previous. A great time was had by all!
Originally posted November 18, 2005

Castles in the Air by Judy Corbett is a non-fiction book that gives new meaning to sweat equity. She and her then-boyfriend (they're now married) bought a castle in Wales and set up about its renovation, mostly by themselves.
Some of the writing is a tad over-done. I read it and was reminded of my own really crappy writing. Even those paragraphs here and there that make you want to gag (already returned it to the library, so I can't quote for yo) can't diminish the excellent story of Gwydir's rescue from the ravages of time. The ghost/possession was a little much, but I would be the last one to deny its plausibility.
If you're into architecture/non-fiction about stately homes or people who have a lot of grit, it would be a nice reading for an afternoon.
Originally posted November 10, 2005

A little bit of fluffiness rarely did any harm. The sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia, the creation of this book renders it a bit more fascinating than otherwise. Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer wrote this book and the other in a series of letters to each other. The main characters are cousins and the first book was almost entirely correspondence. The Grand Tour is told through Kate's diary and Cecy's deposition. A better, more understandable mystery than the first (or perhaps I read it more slowly). Quite enjoyable!
Originally posted November 7, 2005

An excellent series of letters directed to Catholics between 18 - 35. Not really, anyone could read it, but the ones who will benefit the most are in the above demographic. While this might seem a narrow population for a book, it is good to bear in mind that Catholicism is the largest single religious faith out there.

Weigel expects a certain level of knowledge from his readers and gives them a start on learning more about their faith. His approach takes his readers to physical locations of importance to Catholics, but he leaves it up to you to learn more about them. It's really a taster book. Have a sample of this person't life, a taste of that place.

I look forward to reading other books by him. I think I will read the Cube and the Cathedral next.
Originally posted November 6, 2005

A writing duo who has a series about Samurai Japan. And they're mysteries. Really enjoyable, even if I pegged who the "mysterious warrior" was the second time he appeared in the book (The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass; 4th in the series). The books are loosely (very loosely) rooted in fact, but are good mysteries which provide a tiny peep into 18th c. Japan. Pre-teen/adolescent boys are the target audience.
Originally posted October 28, 2005

A long, tough slog through 500 years of history. This was recommended to me by another librarian. Maybe it's a book that i wasn't in the mood for, maybe I wasn't ready to read this book, I don't know. I'm pretty sure that it wasn't just me skimming through some parts, but the author never gives us the name of the main character/narrator. We know that it's the name of her mother's mother, but we never find out what it is. I hate amateur plot devices like that. Blech. And it's over 600 pages. Not that long is bad. Not at all, just that this book could have been shorter. I'm a terrible critic, I wouldn't recognize a need for a better editor if it bit me in the nose. Consider my nose well and truly bit.

At any rate, the idea that the timing of it was primarliy post-WWII and 1970s Europe was pretty cool. Unfortunately, it seemed that the author got all her information about these places from guidebooks.

I don't know why I'm being so hard on this book; I'm probably being grossly unfair. It's not even a strictly linear plot, so normally that would be a point in its favor. I'm just so bored with stories about people who have money and education in excess. I'm bored that even though it's set up in a way that jumps around almost way too much, it doesn't seem like it needs to be that way. It could easily have been told in a beginning, middle, end kind of way. Maybe I just totally missed the deeper meaning. But everyone fell in love with the right person and was reunited with their family at then end. Ah, all's well that end's well.

I would suggest reading it, but it's such a long slog through that it's best for an airplane or hospital stay. It's descriptive enough that you do get into the novel, but unfortunately, I couldn't stay there for long stretches at a time.
Originally posted October 28, 2005