Books from September

Here's what I read in September:

1. GUARDIANS OF THE WEST by David Eddings (454 p.)
2. KING OF THE MURGOS by David Eddings (368 p.)
3. DEMON LORD OF KARANDA by David Eddings (422 p.)
4. SORCERESS OF DARSHIVA by David Eddings (406 p.)
5. SEERESS OF KELL by David Eddings (399 p.)--The second series with the cast of the Belgariad, sequel to the "original" story of Garion and his friends. This is fun, entertaining, good fantasy. Not dark or challenging, but not overly simplistic, either. Just . . . enjoyable, even if it's not quite as good as the Belgariad that came before it. Still, none of his other series have ever resonated with me like these have, so it's always good to revisit.

6. ENDER'S SHADOW by Orson Scott Card (467 p.) Pretty much the story of his classic "Ender's Game," but from a new perspective, that of Bean, the smallest, smartest soldier at Battle School. Now, this kicks off a series that follows Bean through his adventures after the war, but really, I don't like any of them as much as this. This, and Ender's Game, are the core, and it doesn't get better for sci-fi than these two.

7. KNITTING CLASSIC STYLE by Veronik Avery (138 p.) Basically a book of knitting patterns, but oh, one of the best new books of patterns I've seen in a while. Great designs.

8. CONFLICT OF HONORS by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
9. AGENT OF CHANGE by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
10. CARPE DIEM by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
11. PLAN B by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (330 p.)
12. I DARE by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (467 p.)--These five basically make up the core series of the Liaden series. Truly excellent sci-fi "space opera," but so, so good that's almost an insult. Great world, great writing, a completely distinctive "voice," which is a rare thing for books writtren by a team, and just a series I keep going back to again and again. There's a reason these authors are in my "top 10" list. Oh, and their books are available as e-books, too, AND they're publishing Fledgling, an online book, chapter by weekly chapter, too

13. A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeline L'Engle (211 p.) It just seemed entirely appropriate to re-read this childhood favorite this week, in memoriam, as it were. This is the best, the very best, of her books (although her memoirs are darn good, too). Or at least, I think so--Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace trying to tesseract with Mrs. Which, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Whatsit, all while trying to rescue Meg's father . . . and let's not forget Aunt Beast. Such a great book, and if it doesn't feel quite so original as it used to, that's because it's been "copied" so many times since it was written back in the 60s. But really, there's a reason for that. It's the best of its kind.

14. LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES by Shirley Jackson (241 p.) A memoir by the author of The Lottery that just makes me laugh outloud. Raising children in New England in the 50s, her tone of voice is priceless, and I just adore this book. I even remember an excerpt in one of my high school literature texts about sending her son off to kindergarten, when he'd come home and regale his parents with stories about how awful Charles had been today . . . but when they went to parent-teacher night, they found out there was no Charles in his class . . . I'm telling you, out-loud giggles. In fact, the "voice" a lot of times, reminded me of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, don't ask me why, as there was nary a stitch of knitting in the entire book.

15. HAWK'S GRAY FEATHER by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (382 p.)
16. OAK ABOVE THE KINGS by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (388 p.)
17. HEDGE OF MIST by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (420 p)--Another good series, this time, a take-off on King Arthur, set in the far off, outer-space kingdom of Keltia . . . which immediately makes it sound absolutely awful, but it's truly not. It's beautifully written, wonderfully imaged, and almost always can make me cry....

18. DRAGONHAVEN by Robin McKinley (342 p.) A new book by one of my favorite YA authors--and hers are few and far between, so that I've had this pre-ordered for months and months now. In this one, we have an earth almost exactly like our present-day earth, except there are dragons, an endangered species. Jake lives with his father at Smokehill, a national park dedicated as a sanctuary and walking a fine line between legislations that make it a crime both to harm a dragon and to actually aid one. Then, when Jake finally gets permission from his father for his first night out camping alone, he comes across a dying dragon and a recently-killed poacher . . . and a near-death baby dragon, which no-one had ever seen before. Ever. And then, of course, everything changed . . . although, there was still that pesky law that saving the life of a dragon was a federal offense . . .

19. DEAD HEAT by Dick Francis & Felix Francis (342 p.) And another torch passes . . . this book, the newest in a long line of British horse-racing-related mysteries, is co-written by the author and his son, and while a decent-enough read, it doesn't quite have the feel of a "true" Dick Francis mystery. All the elements were there--the decent protagonist, the horse racing connection, the love interest, the unravelling of the hidden plot, the life-and-death confrontation . . . it's all there, and yet, it just didn't have the resonance that I wanted to be there, like his voice was being obscured by another voice--one that knew the tune but didn't have the depth of quality to give the story its due. A perfectly adequate book, and better than no new Dick Francis book at all, but still . . . it just wasn't the same.

20. TWISTED SISTERS KNIT SWEATERS by Lynne Vogel (142 p.) Everything you need to know about designing a sweater, more or less . . .

21. THE WHISTLING SEASON by Ivan Doig (345 p.) It was pure chance that I picked this up--the description on the back was extremely, frustratingly vague, but it came with so many exemplary blurbs I decided to take a chance, and I have to tell you, it was excellent. Written as a memoir, it tells the story of a widowed-father and his three sons who answer an ad in 1909 for a housekeeper to come from Chicago to Montana. She doesn't come alone, though, she brings her brother, who steps in as the school teacher when the one they have elopes. That gives away more than enough of the plot, and I don't want to risk saying any more, but it was a beautiful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story was framed by glimpses into what Paul (the narrator) was doing in 1953(?) when he was telling the story, just as Montana's school board is about to close all one-room schoolhouses... Really. Excellent.

22. THE WILDER SISTERS by Jo-Ann Mapson (364 p.) One of my favorites of Mapson's, and much more.... encouraging.... than her Bad Girls Creek series. Rose Wilder, having lost her cheating husband in a car accident is working and falling for the local vet, who in turn is getting regularly drunk because his cheating wife has left him. Lily Wilder, on the other hand, has had enough of her high-pressure job as a medical equipment sales person--not to mention her bad choices in men--and takes off for the family ranch on the spur of the moment, where she and Rose meet up and patch up a quarrel . . . And that's all just in the first couple of chapters. It's an evocative book, in that it very much evokes the time and place of its setting (1990s New Mexico), and the story of the women's struggles is so well-done. Mapson is really such a good writer . . . it's such a shame her Bad Girls Creek books were so darn depressing (grin).

23. MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT by Ann Patchett (357 p.) As magical and perfect as her Bel Canto was, this is the book of Ann Patchett's I keep going back to. As the book opens, Sabine is mourning the loss of her partner, Parsifal the magician, and then she gets the shocking news from the lawyer--Parsifal has been lying all these years . . . the family that he said died in a car crash in Connecticut when he was a child was, in fact, still alive and well in Nebraska . . . and nothing whatsoever like the family he'd described. Wanting to know what could possibly have made him break so completely with his family, she accepts their invitation to Nebraska . . . Just . . . a beautiful book. Her writing is beyond wonderful, and for whatever reason, this story touches me. Love it.

24. COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CREATING A WEB PAGE by Paul McFedrie (369 p.) Pretty self-explanatory, wouldn't you say?

25. DECEPTION OF THE EMERALD RING by Lauren Willig (448 p) Third in her "Pink Carnation" series, which is adding new "spies" to the Scarlet Pimpernel pantheon of Napoleonic-era spies. Framed by telling the stories of a modern-day graduate studet digging through archives, each book tells a spy story/romance--kind of "fluffy" compared to more serious fiction, but definitely entertaining and diverting.

26. MYSTIC AND RIDER by Sharon Shinn (440 p.) First in her "Twelve Houses" series of fantasy books. It's a true, classic fantasy kind of outline--a quest, sword fights, magic . . . but it's a very well done classic style fantasy, and her writing never disappoints me. The fourth (and final?) book of the series is due out in November (on my birthday, nonetheless), so I figured it was a good time to refresh my memory of the first three....

Comments

[Donna]

I'm an Eddings fan, too. More so the two Belgariad series than the others. I met my other half through an Eddings group :)

[Julie]

I bought Knitting Classic Style just on the basis of the few patterns I'd seen on Ravelry and really it's a gorgeous pattern book.

[Chris]

I didn't know that Robin McKinley had a new book out!

[minnie]

sigh. you always end up maxing out my queue at t he library! i'm only allowed to put 40 in my queue! i will have to come back to this post when i've got it whittled down a bit more.

and i'm actually listening to "a wrinkle in time" in the car, and it's FASCINATING! my only gripe? it's read by the author, and her voice as meg is grating. somehow i would never have imagined the character as so whiney if i'd just read the book. oh well, i'm still enjoying it!

[Teyani]

I always enjoy reading your reviews. thanks
Madeline L'Engle is one of my daughters' and my favorites also - I think we read every single book of hers out loud, and then recently my oldest (now 24) asked for her own personal copies of all those books. She's fabulous.

[Julie]

Ah -- I haven't read any Eddings in ages. Maybe I should go scour the bookshelves and think about reading one of his series again. Have you ever read Clarke's Rama series? I love it and have read it several times.

[Deborah]

So you read 26 books this month. That's almost a book a day!!! I am amazed, and in awe, at how fast you read. I like looking at what you've read. I see many books that I have read years ago and look closely at the ones I haven't to see if it would interest me. You are another one of my "Book Club" sources.

[lisa]

Whoa! You read a LOT of books! And you've gotten far on your sweater!

[Judy G.]

You really read a lot this month! Is this a regular amount for you? I fall asleep when I read (and yes, that's even sitting up)unless it's a knitting book or magazine.

[amy]

I need a new job. I think I had time to read three books in September. And I'm a librarian.

[Carrie K]

I'm sensing a theme.....dang, I've got Magician's Asst in my TBR shelves & haven't read it yet. The Ivan Doig book sounds like a good read.