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Self Challenge - Pam's 2016 Read-a-100-books
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Pam
(last edited Mar 02, 2016 07:40AM)
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Mar 02, 2016 07:39AM
Right, finished and post a review - Divide and Rule
- a different kind of YA fantasy, with a character who would probably be deemed too passive for today's market. A disturbing view of the corrupting influence of organised religion .... not trying to be controversial, that's the theme.
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Eep you don't half read serious books Pam haha
Elle, if you think those are serious, should read the one I just finished and reviewed - Dragons: An Introduction to the Modern Infestation. I bought it so long ago I clean forgot it was a spoof scholarly tome on the biology, sentience and history of dragons and how they had started devastating some parts of the world after people tried to use military force, and had now come into an equilibrium though a bit of a worry given the amount of livestock they ate when building up to breeding! I thought it was short stories then ... tee hee. Anyway it is like a very dry academic joke but there are some bits I liked mainly the spoof biographies of researchers in the field.
Aha! That does sound delightfully ridiculous :D
OK, have now finished and reviewed Millennial Women
. It turned out to be more a collection of a novelette (by Joan D Vinge) and a novel by Ursula K Le Guin, with about four short stories. Enjoyed the longer works, but didn't think much of the short stories.That took me straight on to a collection by Vinge which I realised contained her novelette, because it had the same name Phoenix in the Ashes. The rest of the book consists mainly of SF stories, one fantasy. Some of the stories were rather drawn out and slow, and I must say that the best is the title story which ironically I had already read in the Kidd anthology. The final story, Mother and Child, is quite interesting, but I must have read it previously as I used to have another Vinge book 'Firebird/Mother and Child' which I got rid of ages ago after reading it. Shows what a terrible memory I have!
I've definitely read a book more than once and not realised til it was embarrassingly too late. Case in point: Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I've read that three times now and each time I was convinced I hadn't read it before. Oops.
I have a really bad memory for what happened in books myself. If I really enjoyed something, I'll remember the main character and maybe a vague idea of what it was about! If it was average/OK I'll usually forget everything about it. Sounds awful I know. I have a better memory for TV programmes/films for some reason.
Well, quite enjoying the Lawrence so far. It seems aimed at a younger age group than the previous novels of hers that I've read, as none of the main characters have any kind of relationship or fancy another. So it comes across as the children being younger and they are definitely school children. One aspect of it is I'm sure non PC (the book was published in 1995) which I will mention in my review.
I, too, have an awful memory for books. Maybe it's cause I read a lot in the same genre and I get muddled? I do tend to remember books from other genres better than my 'main' love!
Me too. Which is good for if I fancy re-reading a book.This week I spotted an author I like having a free book, so I clicked on it so I could send the link to my work kindle friends. On reading the synopsis I had no recollection of it, so I thought I hadn't read that one. Well it was in my "Read" collection!!!
I'm getting worse for remembering book titles since reading on the kindle, as you don't see it every time you pick up the book.
Book titles I've always been okay with - authors on the other hand...
Finished and reviewed book 1 of the Llandor trilogy by Louise Lawrence - Journey Through Llandor
. As I've said, it's a bit non PC by today's standards. Already started book 2, The Road to Irriyan
Well, I finished book 2 and reviewed it - The Road to Irriyan and
yesterday, book 3, The Shadow of Mordican
. I'm not giving an Amazon link to the latter because I can't recommend this series at all, in fact I was very annoyed after reading the last chapter. I kept thinking it wasn't right; that the story could not possibly be concluded in the small member of pages left. Well it turned out to be the dampest squib I've read in a long time. It isn't often that I am left hacked off by a book, but this is one such occasion.
Now reading Watchtower by Elizabeth Lynn, book 1 in the Chronicles of Tornor series. She writes men's viewpoints well, and I really enjoyed the first 100 or so pages, but it has slowed down a bit since they arrived in the hidden valley.
As a 'light' relief, am also reading The Magical Worlds of Philip Pullman by David Colbert, which I'd forgotten I had but meant to read after finishing His Dark Materials, as that is what it is about (not Pullman's other books).
Actually after a few pages of the above, I've sidetracked myself onto a re-read of Toscanini's Fumble and Other Tales of Clinical Neurology, all sorts of fascinating stories about neurological disorders!
Finished and reviewed The Victoria Vanishes
, a return to form I feel, though The White Corridor wasn't as bad as the two preceding it. Now on volume seven, Bryant and May on the Loose.
And read and reviewed the Bryant and May - Bryant and May on the Loose
. Keeps up the standard achieved in the previous book.
Thanks Jud! Mind you, I don't get a lot of things done that I should do.I've slowed down ... as a kid I used to get through 4 library books a day!
I finished that trilogy recently. I found the last one a little disappointing but I enjoyed the series overall
That's interesting. I'm about three-quarters of the way through book 1 and found it a bit slow, in that until about page 250, the character doesn't wind up at the magicians' guild, having spent a lot of time moving from place to place to stay ahead of their search parties. Anyway, I'll keep on with it, but on the read so far, wasn't thinking I'd persevere after this trilogy (I have all 3 books).
Hate when I think I'm being clever by buying a complete series then discovering the first book is disappointing.
Maybe it was the second one I enjoyed the most then... I'm rubbish with series, I can never keep each book separate in my head. The third one was good until the "twist" which I found very clichéd, boring and a bit ridiculous but by that point I was so close to the end I wanted to see how things turned out
Patti (baconater) wrote: "Hate when I think I'm being clever by buying a complete series then discovering the first book is disappointing."Yes, I've always bought them then found out ... did that with Robin Hobb. I have a stack of those blockbusters and didn't enjoy series 1 though series 2 (Liveship Traders) is a lot better, however, have ploughed through just the first 2 so far because they are very very long.....
Jud (Disney Diva) wrote: "Maybe it was the second one I enjoyed the most then... I'm rubbish with series, I can never keep each book separate in my head. The third one was good until the "twist" which I found very clichéd, ..."Yes, according to someone who also reviewed book 1, books 2 and 3 are a lot better so I will carry on. Have already started book 2 The Novice.
Review for book 1, The Magicians' Guild
posted.
Read volume 2 of Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy, and posted a review The Novice
. A lot better than book 1, though the flaw really is the way the protagonist becomes too nice to defend herself properly even when she does have a warrior arts teacher to whom she can turn for help.
Now about to start The High Lord, third volume of the trilogy.After hearing from Jud, and also seeing it referred to in some reviews of volume 1 of the trilogy, I'm wondering what the twist is going to be that most readers don't appear to like. Is it that Sonea turns to the dark side? Or maybe Akkarin isn't as nasty as he appears and is doing it all for the public good, although forcibly mind reading Sonea and her protectors doesn't exactly seem ethical to say the least.
(Don't tell me by the way please!)
I still enjoyed the book but I wasn't keen on part of the development of the story (twist might be too strong a word).
I'm up to page 168 and so far not enjoying it as much as vol 2. Not keen on all the stuff about the thieves, Cery et al. Also, it looks as if Akkarin is now being humanised and even turned into a love interest - it was ominious that 2 girl pupils were discussing him in that light and saying he was only 33 or whatever. As Sonea is now coming round to his viewpoint, I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before she starts fancying him too .... oh crumbs.
I'll wait till you've read a bit more before commenting :o)
OK have made it to the end of part 1. It certainly picked up in tension, with her and Akkarin being 'rumbled' and put on trial. Will now see what happens in their exile, but I do think it is going to turn into a love story ....
... and sure enough! Haven't finished it yet but that part panned out exactly as I thought it would.
Yeah, I didn't like that turn in the story. It felt like she thought it's a man and a woman alone for a time so readers will expect this to happen but I don't think it sat right with the story or the characters. It tainted the book a bit for me.
Agreed Jud, just didn't make sense in the context of what had previously been almost an abusive relationship based on threats against Rothen (and she thought he might do something to her aunt's family too). So I didn't buy that he suddenly starts bidding to be a sympathetic character and recruiting her into his mission, let alone her actually falling for him and finding out he felt the same. This is the man who was livid and forced her out of the tunnels to face 20 bullies in book 2 and it seemed wanted her bullied to make her powers stronger. Would have been a much stronger book IMO if he was a nasty piece of work as shown in the first two Vols but was also the only hope etc and she had to end up helping him for the greater good even though she hated his guts!
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