2005-01-02 - 1:02 p.m.
September
*=recommended
Joanne Trollope: Brother and Sister
The title sounds a bit incestous, but it's actually about adoption. I liked it - an easy read.
Alice Hoffman: Blue Diary *
I've never read Alice Hoffamn before, and I like the way she writes - dreamy and lyrical. I liked this story as well, the way it explores what lies inside people.
Tracy Chevalier: The Lady and the Unicorn
I didn't enjoy this as much as her earlier works, as I couldn't really say why. I didn't connect to the characters as much, I suppose.
Gabriel King: The Knot Garden
A fantasy book I picked up because of the cover - it centered around cats, and while I finished it and thought it was OK, I can never really get into fantasies that revolve around the inner life of cats.
Joanne Harris: Coastliners
I liked the picture she created of a lonely dying town, and I liked the story, but it didn't draw me in completely. I found something about its structure irritating, but couldn't really put my finger on it.
Rebecca Sparrow: Girl Most Likely
This probably comes under the category of chick-lit - shock horror! But it's funny, so I forgive it, and the love story is rather sweet.
Hannah Hinchman: A Trail Through Leaves *
A really beautiful book about journalling, mixing how-to's with longer articles about the needs behind the impulse to write and draw in journal style. Lovely.
Tom Holt: The Portable Door
Tom Holt can be a bit formulaic, but I quite like him. I always end up comparing his humour to Pratchett's though, and he always comes up wanting. However, he's enjoyable, despite that.
Greg Bear: Darwin's Children
Cool idea on the back, which was why I picked it up - however, the story scattered all over the place, and kept jumping years at a time at different places. I was disappointed in it.
Terry Pratchett: The Truth
I love this one - the character of Otto especially is fabulous.
PG Wodehouse: Ring for Jeeves
This was alright, but it's Jeeves without Bertie, which I don't like as much.
October
Mercedes Lackey: Exile's Valor
I enjoyed this - sometimes I'm just in the mood for a bit of trashy fantasy that isn't going to drive me mad with its badness, and Mercedes fits the bill. I quite like her Valdemar books. This seems to be a new one, and I thought it rushed the conclusion a bit, leaving us hanging for the sequel.
Sara Douglass: The Nameless Day
I remember liking this when I read it for the first time - the concepts and ideas, if not the writing. This time, I just thought it was silly, overly dramatic and clunky. I was quite bored.
November
Terry Practchett: Going Postal
The new Discworld novel. I enjoyed it, but didn't get that glorious sense of delight that I do with some of his books. However, it was extremely funny and had some great new characters - everything you expect from Pratchett, but not one of his best, I think.
Terry Practchett: Hat Full of Sky *
This one is a sequel to The Wee Free Men, and is written more for a young adult audience, in that the heroine is 11. It was utterly delightful - the Wee Free Men are a fabulous creation. I loved it. Pratchett's witches are probably the closest to my heart of his characters, so any book that includes them is sure to be one that I adore.
Daniel Handler: The Basic Eight
I picked this up because of the cover, and became quite engrossed in it. It's written diary-style, all about cool teenagers, delusions, and murder. I was quite caught up in the voice, and enjoyed the little revelation at the end, as it made me flick back through the story looking for clues.
Joanne Harris: Jigs & Reels
Short stories - some are enjoyable, but most I found dull and rather clumsy. I think they're mostly old stuff dug up for publishing, which would explain the clumsiness. Not very enjoyable.
Mercedes Lackey: Owlflight; Owlsight; OwlKnight
These books are like my short lived addiction to marshmallows. Fun, gooey and sweet, and after three of them I'm tired of the taste.
Peter Cook: Tragically, I Was an Only Twin
If you're a fan of British comedy, this is fun for flicking through, and having a giggle at some of the sketches. However, I then got out a video of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore doing some of the sketches enclosed, and almost died laughing. They're far far better in person.
Susanna Clarke: Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell *
I really loved this book. It's a fantasy novel, with fairies and magicians and England, written in a kind of Jane Austen style language - quirky, funny, and dark all at the same time. I adored the characters. And can't express exactly why I liked it any more than that. It probably wouldn't appeal to people who don't like fantasy, I imagine. Apparently she's writing a sequel - hoorah!
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