Been nostalgia trippin’
43. Trolls in the Hamptons – Celia Jerome
44. Talking to Dragons – Patricia C. Wrede
45. Arsenic and Old Paint – Hailey Lind
46. A Thoroughly Modern Princess – Wendy Corsi Staub
#43 is first of a new series. I thoroughly enjoyed it, yet the high didn’t last long. I finished it at least a week or two ago, and I haven’t felt that burning urge to know what happens next. Maybe I’m reaching burnout again? 
Finished the EFC again. These books seriously present a reading order dilemma of Narnia proportions. If you read the chronological book 4, the first one published, you get spoilers for the other three books. If you read the other three first, you spoil the surprise in the fourth. Although, if you’re genre savvy, it’s probably not much of a surprise. I first read it in middle school, so I don’t remember my initial reactions.
Finished book 4 of the art forger mysteries. Good series, but I’m kinda glad that’s done with. I’m beginning to form the opinion that series about amateur sleuths shouldn’t go on for too many books. After a certain point, it starts getting kind of ridiculous. (How many times can a non-law enforcement related person trip over a body before it gets stupid? That’s the question.)
#46 was cute, but not especially outstanding. Be honest: was there anything that happened in that book that a reader couldn’t predict?
….God, I am being SUCH a downer today. If any authors stumble across this today, I am SO sorry. They’re fine works, I’m just a cynical brat. 😦
Posting my mental song lyrics isn’t going to work this time.
39. The Internet is a Playground: Irreverent Correspondences of an Evil Online Genius – David Thorne
40. Calling on Dragons – Patricia C. Wrede
41. The Dark and Hollow Places – Carrie Ryan
42. Working Stiff – Annelise Ryan
Ooo look, same last names! No relation, I’m sure. (Actually, I believe one of them’s a penname.)
I had mixed reactions to #39. Some of the entries were absolutely hilarious, and others made me distinctly uncomfortable, because let’s face it, the guy’s basically trolling folks, and while many of them heartily deserved it, a couple didn’t. I can’t remember the last time a book made me love it and hate it at once. Now, that’s an accomplishment.
Still working through the Enchanted Forest reread. Book four is still sitting on my bed, unopened. I keep giving priority to the library books. ^^;
#41 is the breathtaking conclusion to the Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy. At least I think it’s the end. This batch of characters…their story’s done, yeah?
#42 was different. I don’t think I’ve ever read an author so willing to injure and humiliate her protagonist. Bravo. 😀 I’ll be looking for, and forward to reading more of Mattie Winston’s adventures. (First name guesses: Mathilda, Matricia, Matthew, Mathematics, Matrimony….gah, how awesome would it be if it was Matrimony? 🙂
Get outta my mind
36. Me, Myself, and Why? – MaryJanice Davidson
37. Dealing with Dragons – Patricia C. Wrede
38. Searching for Dragons – Patricia C. Wrede
So this week I read an utterly unique start of a series (YES!) from MJD. And it occurs to me I should stay away from the “New releases” section of the library, because then I have to wait a year for the next installment. T_T
I’m also rereading the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which I last read back in high school. Very fun books. Amidst all the new stuff on my list, I do like to go back to old favorites once in awhile. Especially because now I finally have the entire series for my very own. ❤
Bleh
35. An Uninvited Ghost – EJ Copperman
This one’s been up on the “Completed” board for awhile now, since I usually like to post things in batches and haven’t finished much else. I did just finish reading the Scott Pilgrim comics, though. (Saw the movie first, a few days ago.) They were okay. I never found myself laughing out loud, but it was pretty amusing. I think I prefer the movie simply because it’s so much more kinetic.
Nothing much else going on. I can sorta feel myself entering another emotional “death spiral” at this point in time. I really need to get out and do something interesting. Not feel so useless.
Time Marches On
30. Night of the Living Deed – EJ Copperman
31. Blood Oath – Christopher Farnsworth
32. Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan’s Game Centers – Brian Ashcraft
33. The President’s Vampire – Christopher Farnsworth
34. Buttercream Bump Off – Jenn McKinlay
Time marches on, and I keep forgetting to update with things I’ve read. #34 was finished about a half hour ago, the others are already a week or two old. Whoops.
Why is it I’m always listening to Bat Boy while I post…?
20. Dragon Weather – Lawrence Watt-Evans
21. The Dragon Society – Lawrence Watt-Evans
22. HeartSick – Chelsea Cain
23. Dragon Venom – Lawrence Watt-Evans
24. Sweetheart – Chelsea Cain
25. Evil at Heart – Chelsea Cain
26. The Night Season – Chelsea Cain
I kept putting this post off for days, and thus, my intended writeup kept morphing. I was entirely prepared to gush for paragraphs last week, since it’s been so long since I’ve read a good epic fantasy. I’d first read Dragon Weather probably around ten years ago, and back then had no idea it was part of a trilogy. Sometime last year I just randomly thought of the book I’d read so long ago, something about dragons and revenge and people that had a zillion nicknames. (Really, that’s what I remembered most about it.) I looked it up and learned the story continued, so I’d put the series on my wishlist where it languished for several months before I finally found a lull in my reading and felt ready to undertake a “big” series. Man, oh man. I was entirely pleasantly surprised to find that even though I’d read the book once, I remembered so very little of the plot, and the twists and turns were as exciting to me as they probably were ten years ago. And this time, the story continued.
Lately I haven’t read as many fantasy novels as I used to; I remember in middle and high school they were just about all I read, and to revisit them was satisfying in so many ways. Checking my list from last year, scifi and fantasy are definitely underrepresented genres, and I think I’d like to change that. It feels a little like going back to my formative years, back to when it felt like magic could be real.
HeartSick, up there in between books two and three of the Obsidian Chronicles, was read because I had to wait a few days for my library to get Dragon Venom from another library. As you can see from the followup, I love the series ridiculously. I actually heard about the series from a forum post where someone was looking for books/movies/media about complicated Hannibal/Clarice type relationships. (There’s a trope for that.) I finished The Night Season the other day, and now I’ll probably have to wait a year or more for another installment. Sigh.
That’s all folks.
No one calls, no one claims, so we put them down and never learn their names
18. Where’s My Jetpack?: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived – Daniel H. Wilson
19. The Devotion of Suspect X – Keigo Higashino
Before anyone starts wondering about the subject line, it’s just lyrics that happened to be in my head right at this moment.
And I know I haven’t been commenting much on the books themselves. If I say nothing, you can safely assume I liked it.
Freaking weather
13. Gamer Girl – Mari Mancusi
14. Fool – Christopher Moore
15. Defending Angels – Mary Stanton
16. Married with Zombies – Jesse Petersen
17. Flip this Zombie – Jesse Petersen
I know I haven’t been posting much. I hit a bit of a reading slump a couple of weeks ago. It may or may not have ended after reading both #16 and #17 from start to finish within the last 24 hours. (Not an exaggeration. I checked them out around 2:55 pm yesterday and finished the second one about fifteen minutes ago. Had a nap from six to ten pm last night and have been annoyingly awake since then.)
I think I need to take a short break from Christopher Moore’s wonderful novels because, while they are wildly entertaining and I have loved every one, they are also somewhat dense reading, and reading them sorta slows my momentum. I need to recuperate a bit with some quick mysteries, maybe start on that pile of light novels that has been sitting around for awhile. I’ve got more zombie books that I haven’t started yet either. I dream of the day when every book on my shelves has been read.
Father forgive me, it has been three weeks since my last post…
9. Bloodsucking Fiends – Christopher Moore
10. Lamb – Christopher Moore
11. A Dirty Job – Christopher Moore
12. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove – Christopher Moore
Or something like that. In addition to reading through CM’s entire catalogue (just a few left), I’ve also been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender and Chuck. So I’ve been busy.
Goober Golf 