Book Logging
Jul. 24th, 2009 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI'm almost caught up on book logging. I've got fewer than a dozen titles left, at least until I read more.
As always, I welcome discussion, even of (perhaps especially of) the titles of which I've currently got nothing to say.
Browne, N.M. Basilisk - This one turned out to be too grim for me. I knew it by the end of the first chapter, but I read more because it was the only book I had with me. It's a distopian fantasy set in a city with a rather Orwellian regime. The first chapter had references to rape (not that the character seemed to think of them that way. That would have required a bit more reflection. She just responded to the experience in ways that made me connect the dots).
I may not have read enough for it, but I didn't like any of the characters I encountered. Peeking at the end didn't help at all.
Corda d'Oro 2-3 - I'm so pleased the library got more of this series! I'm enjoying the music even though I know nothing of music (having a point of view character who also knows very little helps). I think that I prefer Nodame Cantabile to this series, but it's by a narrow margin, and things could shift.
Flint, Eric and Virginia DeMarce. 1635 The Dreeson Incident - I'm not sure what this book should have been called, but I think the title was a poor choice. Even with my habit of reading from both ends towards the middle, I spent a lot of time waiting for the Incident and think it would have been better not to focus attention there.
Like many of the novels in this universe, the book suffered from the cast of thousands. There were bits in there that I'd have cut because they were small references to characters who didn't do anything important in this story, just sort of checking in. I think I tracked most of the important characters, but I kind of gave up on the minor villains and cameos. This is not a book that can be read as a standalone. It would be too confusing.
I still enjoyed the book. I like the hope in this series. There are still a lot of unlikeable characters, people who're stupid or nasty or even evil, and sometimes they score points. They just don't win for long. I don't find some of the world building utterly convincing, but I can go along with it even when the optimism doesn't fit my view of the world.
Flower of the Deep Sleep 1-2 - I was a bit surprised that this story wrapped up in two volumes. I think it had the potential to deepen and lengthen.
The heroine's sister has fallen into a sleep from which she can't be awakened. The heroine is dealing with that and with the presence in her home of two young men who she might marry (I'm a little unclear on this. It's said that she's betrothed to both, but I don't think anyone ever suggested that she marry both of them. Even if I think that would be a more interesting story).
The heroine has the ability to see the future but not to change the future that she sees. Both young men also have special powers. The three of them try to figure out what's going on, to rescue the heroine's sister and to keep anyone else from falling ill in the same way the sister has.
The potential of the story isn't utterly wasted, but I still think it could have been more.
Hana Kimi 21 - It's been so long since I last read this series that I've forgotten most of the supporting cast. I may go back and reread it now that the library has it. I'm glad to see that the romance is heading toward something happening. I hope I don't hate the resolution of it.
Her Majesty's Dog 11 - I don't think I actually understood portions of this volume. I'm not sure how much of that was my not remembering details from past volumes and how much was this volume not being as solid as a final volume needs to be. It's been a while since I read it, but I seem to recall being frustrated by the amount of time spent on the uncle's past. It wasn't very interesting.
I still love the series.
Hunter x Hunter 21-23 - Does this series ever become interesting again? I'd like to see some character development instead of power ups. I also would prefer not to be seeing so much of the atrocities committed by the villains. I really don't need to know that.
Kekkaishi 1-7 - I really should have something to say about this, but.... I haven't found it hugely memorable so far even though I have enjoyed it.
Kushner, Ellen. The Golden Dreydl - I should start keeping a list of occasions when I get annoyed at a book for being exactly what it's supposed to be because, really, being annoyed at a kids' book for being a kids' book is kind of like being annoyed when water is wet.
In this case, I kept wishing for more depth of characterization, more complications in the story, more information, more everything. I wanted that from a kids' book that didn't, as I recall, break 200 pages. What was there wasn't bad. It was just pitched at eight year olds.
The book is about a Jewish girl who envies her friends who celebrate Christmas and who wants nothing to do with Hanukah, labeling it babyish. She ends up going on a magical journey to help (details here become fuzzy. Please excuse if I misremember) the daughter of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba who is (I think) a dreydl.
LaFevers, R.L. Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris - I still find Theodosia an engaging character in this second book about her. She's practical in a way that ends up being very funny. She once again has to prevent ancient Egyptian artifacts being used to cause the fall of the British Empire, and she manages with style.
Land of the Silver Rain 2-3 - I don't like any of these characters. I own two more volumes, but I'm not sure I'm going to read them. I'm interested in the story, but.... My reading time is limited enough that I don't want to spend a lot of time and effort on people I don't like at all.
Li Ling Po 1-3 - Leaping into a long flashback in the second volume seems a poor decision to me. I was just starting to feel comfortable with the characters and to think maybe they were becoming interesting when I was suddenly faced with a completely different set of characters pretty much all of whom must be Doomed. I don't know how much longer that flashback will go on, but I don't want to read more of it and can't help thinking that the author could have found a more graceful way to impart the backstory of the magical artifacts at the center of the story.
I have five more volumes in hand. I believe that's one short of the complete set. Right now, I'm uncertain whether or not to go forward with the series. The doom hanging over the characters repels me. I don't want to go there. If I were sure that it would end soon, I might push on, but I'm not at all sure. Has anybody out there read the series?
Magic Tails - This is a mixed bag of fairy tale retellings with cats at the center of the stories. Some of them I quite enjoyed while others weren't my sort of story.
Mamoru the Shadow Protector 1 - This manga is silly. I had fun reading it but did also have time to start thinking about the logistics. Members of Mamoru's family protect members of the heroine's family. What happens when one of the protectors gets sick? There seems to be one person in his family for each of the people being protected. What happens when somebody dies? How did his mother come into the business?
Not that any of those questions matter. The manga is humor with Mamoru protecting the heroine (whose name I've quite forgotten as it's not in the title) and her not noticing anything going on at all.
Mamotte! Lollipop 1 - Again, I had to put aside questions. In this case, I was wondering if mystical objects get digested. The heroine accidentally swallows the object that is the McGuffin for a group of wanna be mages, and they're looking at months of trying to keep control of her so that they can pass the test they've been set.
This is another largely silly series. The two mages who spent the most time with the heroine are, of course, cute guys with attitudes. I don't expect anything serious in later volumes, but I suppose I could get a surprise.
Mar 12-14 - It's probably a bad sign that part of my brain is dancing around in glee, singing, "I'm almost done!" at the realization that I've only got one more volume to read. It's not that the series is actively bad. I'm just bored by one fight after another. I want to see how matters get resolved. I really hope thing do get resolved. Otherwise, that inner voice will start snarling.
Naruto 30-41 - We're still enjoying the series. I'm wishing for less time spent on Sasuke as he's dull. I'd like to know more about other characters.
Norton, Andre. Sea Siege - I made a strong effort to finish this as I've enjoyed many of Norton's books, but this one defeated me. I got an icky feeling about it very early on, icky as in 'This is reading as racist as hell. WTF?' Some of my reaction may simply have been a knee-jerk dislike of phonetic renderings of dialect, but there was a lot about the natives of the (fictional and-- I think-- Caribbean) island being innately lazy, innately not very bright, innately superstitious, etc., and that was fairly explicitly linked to race.
Pity. I'd packed this one for the trip thinking it would at least be fun.
Some manga I read on which I've no (remembered) comments:
Alive 5-6
Beauty Pop 7-8
Beet the Vandel Buster 12
Elemental Gelade 9
Fullmetal Alchemist 17
Gin Tama 6-7
Good Witch of the West 6
Goong 3
Hoshin Engi 4-7
Kitchen Princess 7-8
Law of Ueki 12
Mushishi 4
Nodame Cantabile 7-11
O-Parts Hunter 11
One Piece 19-20
Ouran High School Host Club 11
Rave Master 24
Shaman King 17-18
Sugar Sugar Rune 4-7
Trinity Blood 6
Tsubasa 18
Zombie Loan 3
As always, I welcome discussion, even of (perhaps especially of) the titles of which I've currently got nothing to say.
Browne, N.M. Basilisk - This one turned out to be too grim for me. I knew it by the end of the first chapter, but I read more because it was the only book I had with me. It's a distopian fantasy set in a city with a rather Orwellian regime. The first chapter had references to rape (not that the character seemed to think of them that way. That would have required a bit more reflection. She just responded to the experience in ways that made me connect the dots).
I may not have read enough for it, but I didn't like any of the characters I encountered. Peeking at the end didn't help at all.
Corda d'Oro 2-3 - I'm so pleased the library got more of this series! I'm enjoying the music even though I know nothing of music (having a point of view character who also knows very little helps). I think that I prefer Nodame Cantabile to this series, but it's by a narrow margin, and things could shift.
Flint, Eric and Virginia DeMarce. 1635 The Dreeson Incident - I'm not sure what this book should have been called, but I think the title was a poor choice. Even with my habit of reading from both ends towards the middle, I spent a lot of time waiting for the Incident and think it would have been better not to focus attention there.
Like many of the novels in this universe, the book suffered from the cast of thousands. There were bits in there that I'd have cut because they were small references to characters who didn't do anything important in this story, just sort of checking in. I think I tracked most of the important characters, but I kind of gave up on the minor villains and cameos. This is not a book that can be read as a standalone. It would be too confusing.
I still enjoyed the book. I like the hope in this series. There are still a lot of unlikeable characters, people who're stupid or nasty or even evil, and sometimes they score points. They just don't win for long. I don't find some of the world building utterly convincing, but I can go along with it even when the optimism doesn't fit my view of the world.
Flower of the Deep Sleep 1-2 - I was a bit surprised that this story wrapped up in two volumes. I think it had the potential to deepen and lengthen.
The heroine's sister has fallen into a sleep from which she can't be awakened. The heroine is dealing with that and with the presence in her home of two young men who she might marry (I'm a little unclear on this. It's said that she's betrothed to both, but I don't think anyone ever suggested that she marry both of them. Even if I think that would be a more interesting story).
The heroine has the ability to see the future but not to change the future that she sees. Both young men also have special powers. The three of them try to figure out what's going on, to rescue the heroine's sister and to keep anyone else from falling ill in the same way the sister has.
The potential of the story isn't utterly wasted, but I still think it could have been more.
Hana Kimi 21 - It's been so long since I last read this series that I've forgotten most of the supporting cast. I may go back and reread it now that the library has it. I'm glad to see that the romance is heading toward something happening. I hope I don't hate the resolution of it.
Her Majesty's Dog 11 - I don't think I actually understood portions of this volume. I'm not sure how much of that was my not remembering details from past volumes and how much was this volume not being as solid as a final volume needs to be. It's been a while since I read it, but I seem to recall being frustrated by the amount of time spent on the uncle's past. It wasn't very interesting.
I still love the series.
Hunter x Hunter 21-23 - Does this series ever become interesting again? I'd like to see some character development instead of power ups. I also would prefer not to be seeing so much of the atrocities committed by the villains. I really don't need to know that.
Kekkaishi 1-7 - I really should have something to say about this, but.... I haven't found it hugely memorable so far even though I have enjoyed it.
Kushner, Ellen. The Golden Dreydl - I should start keeping a list of occasions when I get annoyed at a book for being exactly what it's supposed to be because, really, being annoyed at a kids' book for being a kids' book is kind of like being annoyed when water is wet.
In this case, I kept wishing for more depth of characterization, more complications in the story, more information, more everything. I wanted that from a kids' book that didn't, as I recall, break 200 pages. What was there wasn't bad. It was just pitched at eight year olds.
The book is about a Jewish girl who envies her friends who celebrate Christmas and who wants nothing to do with Hanukah, labeling it babyish. She ends up going on a magical journey to help (details here become fuzzy. Please excuse if I misremember) the daughter of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba who is (I think) a dreydl.
LaFevers, R.L. Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris - I still find Theodosia an engaging character in this second book about her. She's practical in a way that ends up being very funny. She once again has to prevent ancient Egyptian artifacts being used to cause the fall of the British Empire, and she manages with style.
Land of the Silver Rain 2-3 - I don't like any of these characters. I own two more volumes, but I'm not sure I'm going to read them. I'm interested in the story, but.... My reading time is limited enough that I don't want to spend a lot of time and effort on people I don't like at all.
Li Ling Po 1-3 - Leaping into a long flashback in the second volume seems a poor decision to me. I was just starting to feel comfortable with the characters and to think maybe they were becoming interesting when I was suddenly faced with a completely different set of characters pretty much all of whom must be Doomed. I don't know how much longer that flashback will go on, but I don't want to read more of it and can't help thinking that the author could have found a more graceful way to impart the backstory of the magical artifacts at the center of the story.
I have five more volumes in hand. I believe that's one short of the complete set. Right now, I'm uncertain whether or not to go forward with the series. The doom hanging over the characters repels me. I don't want to go there. If I were sure that it would end soon, I might push on, but I'm not at all sure. Has anybody out there read the series?
Magic Tails - This is a mixed bag of fairy tale retellings with cats at the center of the stories. Some of them I quite enjoyed while others weren't my sort of story.
Mamoru the Shadow Protector 1 - This manga is silly. I had fun reading it but did also have time to start thinking about the logistics. Members of Mamoru's family protect members of the heroine's family. What happens when one of the protectors gets sick? There seems to be one person in his family for each of the people being protected. What happens when somebody dies? How did his mother come into the business?
Not that any of those questions matter. The manga is humor with Mamoru protecting the heroine (whose name I've quite forgotten as it's not in the title) and her not noticing anything going on at all.
Mamotte! Lollipop 1 - Again, I had to put aside questions. In this case, I was wondering if mystical objects get digested. The heroine accidentally swallows the object that is the McGuffin for a group of wanna be mages, and they're looking at months of trying to keep control of her so that they can pass the test they've been set.
This is another largely silly series. The two mages who spent the most time with the heroine are, of course, cute guys with attitudes. I don't expect anything serious in later volumes, but I suppose I could get a surprise.
Mar 12-14 - It's probably a bad sign that part of my brain is dancing around in glee, singing, "I'm almost done!" at the realization that I've only got one more volume to read. It's not that the series is actively bad. I'm just bored by one fight after another. I want to see how matters get resolved. I really hope thing do get resolved. Otherwise, that inner voice will start snarling.
Naruto 30-41 - We're still enjoying the series. I'm wishing for less time spent on Sasuke as he's dull. I'd like to know more about other characters.
Norton, Andre. Sea Siege - I made a strong effort to finish this as I've enjoyed many of Norton's books, but this one defeated me. I got an icky feeling about it very early on, icky as in 'This is reading as racist as hell. WTF?' Some of my reaction may simply have been a knee-jerk dislike of phonetic renderings of dialect, but there was a lot about the natives of the (fictional and-- I think-- Caribbean) island being innately lazy, innately not very bright, innately superstitious, etc., and that was fairly explicitly linked to race.
Pity. I'd packed this one for the trip thinking it would at least be fun.
Some manga I read on which I've no (remembered) comments:
Alive 5-6
Beauty Pop 7-8
Beet the Vandel Buster 12
Elemental Gelade 9
Fullmetal Alchemist 17
Gin Tama 6-7
Good Witch of the West 6
Goong 3
Hoshin Engi 4-7
Kitchen Princess 7-8
Law of Ueki 12
Mushishi 4
Nodame Cantabile 7-11
O-Parts Hunter 11
One Piece 19-20
Ouran High School Host Club 11
Rave Master 24
Shaman King 17-18
Sugar Sugar Rune 4-7
Trinity Blood 6
Tsubasa 18
Zombie Loan 3
