Book Logging

[the_rck]

Buchan, John. Greenmantle - I bounced off this Project Gutenberg book. I tried dipping into it at various different points and just couldn't connect. I think it was the cognitive disconnect of a rip roaring, World War I, espionage adventure set in Turkey. I have the impression that the book was written during the war. There was no sense of the terrible cost of the war or of where the world would be at the end of the war. It was all fun and heroics and bravery. I just couldn't.

Burnett, Frances Hodgson. Emily Fox-Seton - I had actually read this Project Gutenberg book before, years ago, probably at least twenty year ago. I'd have sworn, though, that it had a different title. Maybe the subtitle was more prominent on the volume I had. I didn't keep it, so I can't know. At any rate, it the story of a truly impoverished gentlewoman. She runs errands and does small tasks for whoever will pay her and often goes hungry. One day she receives an invitation to a summer house party to assist the elderly hostess in keeping things running smoothly. Much good fortune proceeds from that.

Burnett, Frances Hodgson. Land of the Blue Flower - I only finished this Project Gutenberg story because it was short. Burnett was trying to deliver a moral lesson but just succeeded in making me feel bored. The story felt empty of characters and events.

Doctorow, Cory. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom - I made it about a third of the way into this Project Gutenberg download and realized that I simply didn't care. I wasn't even curious to know who murdered the narrator. I think I was somehow alienated from understanding the society in which everybody was functioning. I couldn't connect.

Duane, Diane. Wizards at War - I ended up skipping around in this a lot. I simply couldn't face it head on. I like the characters. I enjoy the universe. I just find the process of the story, especially a story of this length, difficult, stress inducing. The stakes in this novel feel higher than in any of the previous novels, and I didn't deal well with that. I managed probably about half the book.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword - I had great fun reading this. I believed in the family dynamics, and I liked all the details of Orthodox Jewish life. There was enough adventure to keep me interested. The pig harassing Mirka was amusing, and I loved the troll. It was just scary enough. I was left with enough questions to crave a sequel. This is another one I'd like to get Delia to read. Pity she won't take recommendations from me.

McCall Smith, Alexander. Akimbo and the Crocodile Man - This time, Akimbo learns about crocodiles while working with a scientist who studies them. There's some adventure when their boat is destroyed.

McCall Smith, Alexander. The Right Attitude to Rain - I'm still not connecting as well to the books in this series as I'd like. I'm really tempted to stop reading them. I probably will. Life is too short to keep going with a series that isn't fun. I have the next book in the series at home right now, but I don't know that I'm going to read it.

Norton, Andre. The Gifts of Asti - This is a Project Gutenberg 'book.' By length, I'd call it a short story. It's a story Norton published as Andrew North. I found it interesting because the main character is a woman. It also has that streak of mysticism that runs through some of Norton's work, the one that takes a science fiction setting and shades it into fantasy. The main character is the last priestess of the god, Asti, who flees into the wilderness when the city her temple adjoins falls to barbarians.

Piper, H. Beam. Last Enemy - I ended up skimming most of this because I found the action sequences boring (I find action sequences generally boring, so this isn't necessarily a flaw in the story). Once again, I had problems with Piper's politics. I'm definitely left leaning, and he's decidedly not. The culture where the story was set was interesting but barely sketched in. They have evidence for reincarnation and a major political split between those who believe a soul can chose its next reincarnation and those who believe it can't. The evidence for reincarnation has led to a different attitude toward suicide and murder. I just wish I'd found the story more interesting. This was a Project Gutenberg book.

Vernon, Ursula. Dragonbreath - I need to see if I can persuade Delia to try this. I think she'd enjoy it. Of course, anything that I recommend to her tends to be rejected out of hand. Maybe if I just keep it lying around for a while… Danny is a young dragon. He can't yet breathe fire. He attends a school that sounds pretty ordinary apart from being filled with talking reptiles and amphibians. The adventure of the book comes in when he needs to do research for a paper on the ocean and thinks the library is the boring way to go.

Walden, Mark. H.I.V.E.: Dreadnought - I want the next book, please. This one ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, and I want to know how it resolves. Of course, the next book isn't out yet, and it'll be a while before the library gets it. I'll just have to wait. This series, for those who don't know, is about a bunch of kids at a super secret boarding school for budding criminals that's run by a giant criminal organization. The main characters are all the best in their particular areas of expertise, and they have adventures opposing other criminal organizations, evil plots to dominate the world and so on. It's great fun.

Comments

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

I adore Greenmantle. It was written while Buchan was on active duty in the war, so yes, it's a product of its time and place. But it's swoonworthy in the very end. That scene! Always makes me happy and excited.

[the_rck]

Maybe I'll give it another try, based on your recommendation.

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about Wizards at War. The stakes were higher than before, and I was quite concerned for all involved! :S

[the_rck]

Well, we know that Duane will kill off characters, so while she probably wouldn't end the universe, the characters weren't safe. I wish I could have managed more of the book.