52 posts tagged “2006”
Deliver us from Normal. Mixed feelings that spiralled down when I read
the excerpt from the sequel. She doesn't really know when to stop.
Regarding the Fountain was excellent, but turning it into a series was
not a good idea. I read the second one and can't bring myself to even
look at the others. The other graphic oriented books that she has
written, Letters from Camp and Trial by Journal are quite good with
excellent twists. The picture book was a good effort as well. Deliver
us From Normal, I think she really nailed an adolescent boy with social
issues. Her characterization was excellent. The parents' decision to
move after the incident with the daughter, I'm not so sure. And getting
screwed by the boat salesman? What flakes! I did enjoy it, those issues
aside. But then reading the excerpt, I thought, oh no! She really
doesn't know when to leave it alone. I know that for a number of years
now, the push has been for series. Easier to sell, easier to market
tie-ins. BUT, there is something to be said for an excellent
stand-alone book. Like Tangerine.
Wishful thinking that Kate and her sister come up with just one more cracker of a semi-graphic novel.
Originally posted December 8, 2006
Charlie Bone has been around for a while. Scholastic had a sale, so I
bought the first four. Scholastic is becoming quite dangerous!
I have read the first two. They are quite lightweight. Good for boys, I
guess. Girls will enjoy it, too. The aunts have no redeeming value and
I do still find it a bit confusing with Red King this and evil vs good
skipping generations that.
Not bad, but I won't pick up the next two until the "to be read" shelf has shrunk down to an actual singular shelf.
Originally posted December 8, 2006
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Umm, so I can't remember the name of the new Merrily Watkins/Phil
Rickman book. But it was good. Excellent, even! All right, I feel
enough of a dork to go look it up. It is Remains of an Altar. I was
introduced to Elgar in this book. In the U.S., we would really only be
familiar with the march Pomp and Circumstance which comes from the
piece Land of Hope and Glory. Elgar is also on the 20 pound note in the
England. Catholic, composer, slightly off-balanced. Not that I should
talk. I started looking stuff up about him on-line and before I knew
it, it was 3o'clock in the morning on a school night and I knew more
than I ever wanted about him. Though, I may still look for a good
biography. SO, Elgar is central to the plot and it's an excellent mystery to boot. If you haven't read Rickman before, I do recommend starting at the beginning of the series. You do get quite attached to the characters and have a much better understanding of them if you're not jumping into the middle. | |
| Originally posted December 8, 2006 | |
Where did November go? There weren't any breaks or holidays.
I have been reading, now I just need to remember what I read. Which is pretty much the purpose of this blog, writing it down so that I don't have to remember.
Argh! I hate when I do myself in. ;)
Originally posted December 8, 2006
After CrossBones, I wasn't sure about Kathy Reichs. Was it an
aberration or had she worn out? I picked up Break No Bones because I
really do like this series. I like the writing, the mysteries are good,
so I didn't want to think that Cross Bones was a sign of things to
come.
Break No Bones was excellent. Though I did peg the crimes before the
reveal. Bonus point for me. Excellent plot. Thank you, Reichs!
Originally posted November 4, 2006
This is December for one of my book clubs. I'm sure the other members
will have marvelous ways of relating the chapter titles to the plot
within, but I was too engrossed to pay much attention to that. By far,
one of the best debuts I've read in a long, long time! Pessl has
written a story that starts off good (not slow except relative to the
ending) and ends screamingly in a brick wall. My, but it splats good!
As excellent as I think it is, I would not recommend it to every single
person I meet. It will appeal to most people, but it may be a bit of a
slog for others.
I look forward to her next work. Physics was fab!
Originally posted November 4, 2006
Karin Slaughter is an airport novelist. She's the type of author whose
work I'll see in the newsagents at the airport, usually bypass and not
spend another thought on. She has a series that takes place in Georgia
(the state, not the country) and I don't like to pick books up in the
middle of the series (Mankell being an exception). Slaughter wrote
Triptych as a stand alone and the reviews were quite good. I was buying
the new releases of Rankin, Rickman, Tracy and Reichs (yes, there truly
something about that part of the alphabet) and Triptych came up
somehow, probably what other people are buying or as a recommendation.
I ordered it. And a couple of times, as I placed the order in August to
arrive in October, I nearly took it off the order. It didn't make much
difference in shipping charges to buy it or not, so I kept it, plus it
did sound good.
It was good. I was a little worried at first that she had created the
singularly most unsympathetic protagonist, but wow, Slaughter is good.
I don't think I'll deliberately skip over her books in the airport now,
but I'm not going to rush to Off the Shelf to start the series, either.
I'll just pick one up in the departures lounge.
Originally posted November 4, 2006
| I heart David Mitchell. Every book he has written I have enjoyed. I especially appreciated the return appearance of the spoiled brat from Cloud Atlas. I have one last book of his to read. The one he wrote before BSG. I've been saving it and I should have read it before this one, but Nikki loaned this to me and I needed to read it. I still have some new books and book club books to get through, so I will still save that third David Mitchell for a little while longer. | |
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Originally, posted October 29, 2006 | |
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Sue Cowley has written many books, one of which I have distressedly
mis-placed. I finally finished reading Surviving Your First Year
Teaching over the holiday. If I am accepted and enter this master's
program, I think it will be my new best friend. Cowley writes honestly and sympathetically. Her ideas are practical and useful. Cowley does have high expectations for beginning teachers, but provides the scaffolding to help them succeed. I won't say that I can't wait to put some of her ideas into practice, but I will probably read it a few more times in hopes of internalizing much of what she says. | |
| Originally posted October 29, 2006 | |
| The mother daughter team of P.J. Tracy have come out with another story, Snow Blind. More as a novel length PSA for domestic abuse than a thriller, the story moved quickly. A few twists, a few turns; not bad. I think the other ones were better. They have really moved away from the Monkeewrench team to focus on the two cops. Probably realized that tapping away at a keyboard isn't quite as sexy as field work. I look forward to the next one, this one seemed awfully short. | |
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Originally posted October 23, 2006 | |
