Books

[Stormpetrel]

Ooh, ooh! A sword! What kind, what kind?! *is excited by the idea of a sword in the forum* *winks* By the way Alla, what does the comment relating me to "Sharky" mean? *is confused, in a good way, she hopes...*

Bluesalamanders: Eh, in retrospect and considering your point of view, yeah, I guess the end of Sunshine was appropriate. However, it did leave me waiting for some sort of book be it prequel, sequel, or companion story. The Sunshine universe is an intruiging one that I would enjoy learning more about, regardless of how it is told. And Harri is also one of the characters that I enjoy most from McKinley's writings. For all that Aerin is cool, she's a tad too odd for me...*grins* And Sunshine is neat, although I'm more drawn to Con, and Colonel Deedham if I'm going to go ramble... *stops and looks at rambling post* Mayhaps I should stop, I think I've said enough nonsensical stuff for one night.

Okee-day, Dai'stiho and Zhai'helleva

[Gryphon]

Okay, I'll write down Sunshine. I saw it when it was in hardcover, but I didn't get it.

Ayayayya, I stopped reading the Preston and Child books after I had read five in a row from the library... Mt. Dragon, Still Life With Crows, Relic, Reliquary, Cabinet of Secrets, Rip Tide... oh, so over five. XD I didn't like Riptide.

Alla:
Storm: I almost thought that you were Sharky for a second.

Was it the avie?

Sharky is a member who is insane and in denial. I think it's because of the avatar... see, I hate it when two members have the same. XD I look at the avie before the username.

[Kathy Li]

Actually, I didn't like Sunshine as much as most folks, but I'm weird and very persnickety about vampires and food books. And heck, it won the Mythopoeic, so I'm obviously in the minority. I was, however, undeniably happy to see Robin McKinley publish a new book. She's always worth reading.

The one book of hers I always give folks a standard warning about, though, is Deerskin. You really want to be armed against some heavy-duty stuff going down if you pick that one up. A happy fairytale romance it ain't.

[alla]

Was it the avie?

Yep. Remember when you confused us, and then you changed it for me, so that the earth was a giant tumbleweed XD... hehe those were the days

*wields her short sword* Its nothing that special. Just a short sword, one handed thing. Ok, so its not so short. Its about 1m or so long. Think of it like a fencing sword (epee or something) but that actually looks like a proper sword. The balance is a little off, but that doesn't bother me.

[Peter Murray]

Originally posted by kli6:
...vampires and food books...

A combination which reminds me of a collection of recipes I've got somewhere. One of them needs a main ingredient of "one baby, about 12 pounds - breast-fed is best". I wish I knew where I put that booklet, I want to have another go at some of the recipes.

What? You're surprised I've got recipe books?

I was being accused of baby-eating some weeks back, for some reason. I can't remember why, now. I think it was something that came out of a chat.

spoiler: <span class="ev_code_white">Ok, so it was a joke recipe in the Transylvania section, and had a serious version which used a chicken instead, or possibly a turkey.
You'll be asking me next about the recipe for ladyfingers</span>...

[Angel_Star]

Oh dear. *slaps forehead* I'm fairly sure I've read Sunshine...but I can't remember what it was about. Anyone care to refresh my memory?

OoOo...swords. Andy asked if he could come over and bring his swords to scare off my "stalker". He sounded serious. *grin*

[Stormpetrel]

Yeah kli6, Deerskin is one that I hardly recommend anymore. Everyone I know that reads it finds it rather, ummm... unsettling? I think that's a good word. Disconcerting. Ooh... better than unsettling.

And for Angel_Star: Sunshine is a book about a woman who can "change" things into other things. She meets a vampire and they have a sort-of adventure. It's written in stream-of-consciousness (sp?) and is pretty long. It's told in first person from the woman's point of view, and is a fairly recent McKinley book. Need anything else, just holler. *smiles*


Alla, any kind of sword is neat, especially an epee, because so many good books have their characters weilding epees. Piers Anthony's series about Stile. (first book Split Infinity, second Blue Adept, and third Juxtaposition.) Amazing books.
Also Heinlein's Glory Road has the main character weilding an epee. I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them at moment... So epees are cool! *grin* Even if they do look more like short swords. My brother has a practice katana, it's neat, but not as neat as a sword! *grins foolishly*

Okay, I'm done.
Zhai'helleva and Dai'stiho!

[bluesalamanders]

I agree that Deerskin is an unsettling book. I happen to like it very much (not entirely sure why...), but I never recommend it to anyone, because of how, well, unsettling it is.

On the other hand, I disagree completely with the description of Sunshine. Since I can't write a good summery right now (tried...failed), I'm going to be silly and make this entry quite long by copy/pasting the review I posted a while ago on Amazon:

(start review)

Whether or not you like this book (regardless of how many other McKinley books you've read) seems to depend on if you like her new style. This book is not written in McKinley's ephemeral, fairy-tale-like style that is prevalent in the majority of her other books; this is a new style to go with a new world.

The world in this book is solid, it is THERE, and it feels so real that it can be difficult to come back to the real world once you've sunk into Sunshine's. One of the reasons for this, and one of the many reasons I enjoy this book so much, is the vast amount of detail that's written in, including fascinating tidbits about how the things that don't exist in our real world work - how different species of "demons" look and act, which ones can interbreed with humans and what happens when they do, which ones are all bad, and so on.

Sunshine herself is a more solid character than McKinley's other heroines. She doesn't want to be the heroine, she doesn't want anything exciting to happen, and she doesn't go out of her way to make anything happen; she just wants to be left alone to bake cinnamon rolls in her little corner of the world.

In some ways, this book reminds me of good science fiction writing; one of the most important aspects of good SF is the explanation of how the world works. In most other genres - including most fantasy - the reader already knows how things work, the laws of the universe and the species of animals or humans that will be included. The amount of explanation necessary in SF is so much more, because all of those things that are usually taken for granted are different and must be explained.

(end review)

I've talked to as many people who loved it as hated it. The people who hate it think it's dull and boring; the people who love it revel in the details. I've read it three or so times, and each time I do, I just can't put it down.

And re: Piers Anthony; I quite like his Immortals series (well, the first 5, anyway) but the other books I've read by him just bored me. I used to like a collaboration, Through the Ice, until I matured enough to realize how annoying the main character is and how incredibly sexist the character - and therefore the book - is.

[Angel_Star]

Ahh...Now I remember. Thanks, storm and blue. *grin* I really liked that book...

I haven't read any good books recently. Ever since I finished what's been published of the Wheel of Time series, I can't seem to find a book that measures up. *sigh* Ah well. Maybe I'll be able to spend some quality time at the library this summer.

[Wilf]

I am currently waiting until my exams are over, and then I am heading down to the local bookshop to buy me some books Unfortuantely, budgetry constraints, my lack of income, and the fact that my bank account will need some seroius deposits before it has zero pounds in it will limit the number I can buy.

[Kathy Li]

Public libraries, Wilf. Always a good alternative while you're saving up for that new book.

Angel_Star, dunno if it'll fit your needs, but one of the series that's usually mentioned whenever the Wheel of Time comes up is George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. It can get R-rated at some points, so more suitable for late teens, but I love it. The first book (The Game of Thrones) can probably be found at the library.

And, of course, there are always DD's Middle Kingdom books.

[Kathy Li]

Tui, didn't know if you knew, and this may frustrate more than help, but Neil Gaiman's going on a signing tour next month that includes Singapore, the Philippines, and Australia (no NZ, alas).

I find myself somewhat bemused that he's signing at a Kinokuniya in Sydney.

Piers Anthony rocks! both his Xanth series
(it will last 4ever, like more than 20 books in it)
and his incarnation series!

HP is a must..
Artemis fowl rocks! and i JUST found the newest book! YAY! opal deception.. oh and the supernaturalists (by same author)
LOTR- see what i put for HP
Mists of Avalon- awsome books, though realy sad, and i am too scared to pick up another book about king arthur *shudders*
Dragonlance books are good.. though ive only read two trilogies and have been creeped out
(however i get creeped out easily..)
Raymond E. Feist (sp?) has wrote some AWSOME books too..

Umm, all i can think of off the top of my head, how sad is that... will probably post randomly l8r

[Kathy Li]

I just got Connie Willis's Inside Job. $35 for a 100-page novella, and it was completely and utterly worth every freaking penny. Gods, I've missed reading a book written by her. This one's got mediums, skeptics, starlets, and H.L. Menken quotes, and the story is typical Willis: witty, insightful, surprising, and a joy.

Damn, I want her to write her Oxford History Department/London Blitz novel...

I have also read a draft of Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman wanted to say thank you for some fountain pens I've given him). It is amazingly fun, very much Neil channeling Thorne Smith and writing with charm and warmth, and only a few moments sliding into terror, ghosts, and creepiness. Mostly it's Jamaican spider-gods, karaoke, romance, singing, and silliness. Also way cool.

[Lisa]

I have several book-related questions and comments.

1. As you may know, I'm a member of a Teen Advisory Board at my library. We have the chance to go to a program in Baltimore called Books for the Beast. We'll see Patricia C. Wrede, author of the Enchanted Forest Chornicles. The only catch (for the Young Adults, at least; Adults have to pay $60 or something) is that we have to read ten books, five from each of two categories that we will participate in a discussion about. They give you titles of the books you have to read, so I don't have choices, but I still need advice on the second category. (I'm doing fantasy, obviously, as the first one.) Here are the titles for each category (basically, I'm asking if you've read the books, and if you liked them):

Suspense/Horror
Dead Girls Don't Write Letters - Gail Giles
Acceleration - Graham McNamee
The Secret Hour - Scott Westerfeld (Wierdly, I read this little more than a week ago.)
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray - Chris Wooding
GRAPHIC NOVEL: The Kindaichi Case Files: The Opera House Murders - Yozaburo Kanari

Real Life
Alt Ed - Catherine Atkins
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
Geography Club - Brent Hartinger (Heard of, from Tamora Pierce's site.)
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things - Carolyn Mackler (I actually want to read this. Strange behaviour for me.)
GRAPHIC NOVEL: The Freddie Stories - Lynda Barry

Non-Fiction
Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case - Chris Crowe
Hole in My Life - Jack Gantos
19 Varieties of Gazelle - Naomi Shahib Nye
How Angel Peterson Got His Name - Gary Paulsen
GRAPHIC NOVEL: Understanding Comics - Scott McCloud

Multicultural
Born Confused - Tanuja Desai Hidier
Life is Funny - E.R. Frank
The First Part Last - Angela Johnson
Cuba 15 - Nancy Osa
GRAPHIC NOVEL: Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

Historical Fiction
A River Between Us - Richard Peck (Highly recommended author by my English teacher.)
Dust - Arthur Slade
Milkweed - Jerry Spinelli (Highly recommended by my English teacher. Can you guess my teacher's favorite genre?)
The Edge on the Sword - Rebecca Tingle (Read, and very recently did a project on its sequel.)
GRAPHIC NOVEL: The Jungle - Peter Kuper (Is this the book about food quality in America in the 1920s? I've read part of the novel, if so...)

Fantasy
The Outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh: The Sign of Qin - L.G. Bass
Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling (Going to read, duh.)
Talking to Dragons - Patricia Wrede (Read)
GRAPHIC NOVEL: Fruits Basket, volume 1 - Natsuki Takaya (Ironically, I read this a couple days ago.)

It's so freaky how I've read so many of these recently.

2. Another strange coincidence: One activity my Teen Board is doing is on the 3rd of July, my older brother's birthday. The next one is on Aug. 19, my lil' sister's b-day.

3. My Teen Board has finally published its newsletter! I'm one of two editors! I have a review, a poem, and two logos I designed in there!

4. The Teen Advisory Board (TAB) has been very busy recently. We're going to be in a parade, and we're doing storybook characters. This means I have to dress up as a semi-easily recognizable person/thing (someone was a tree last year) that's kind of easy to do. Suggestions are needed. Current ideas:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
Darth Vader
Eowyn
Holly Short or Artemis Fowl
Jedi (Random)[/list]

5.

Kli:
I have also read a draft of Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman wanted to say thank you for some fountain pens I've given him).

Wha...? How...? *grumbling* When I'm published, I may send some of you guys advance signed copies. But that is SO COOL! I'm going to send fountain pens to J.K. Rowling now, and Scott Westerfeld, and...(list goes on forever).

6. Anyone read the Chanters of Tremaris Trilogy by Kate Constable? Preferably Alla...the books are all published in Australia, and only the first two are out here. Grr. Also on the topic of authors around there, Sherryl Jordan comes from New Zealand. Tauranga, specifically.

That's all for this topic. Oh, except my newest craze: Scott Westerfeld, the author of Uglies, So Yesterday, Midnighters, and some other excellent, thought-provoking books. I recommend him for anyone.