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Book binge
Aug. 7th, 2007 10:38 pmNow that I'm no longer having to squeeze 18 page job applications into my schedule in between the AM shift and the PM shift, I'm finally starting to work into my accumulated pile o' bookage.
So far:
I'm halfway into Emma Bull's "Territory" which I like despite being very very uninterested in Western stories in general. Oddly, it's sort of reminding me of some things I really like by Barbara Hambly, I'm not sure why. I think it might be the Chinese gentleman - I think it might be bringing Hambly's "Bride of the Rat God" to mind for that reason.
I'm finally starting "Stalkers and Shooters: A history of Snipers" which I borrowed from the library for the first 70 pages, which overview military marksman pre-1700. It's making me want to re-read "By the Sword" - the fencing one, not the Mercedes Lackey one.
I tore through Jacqueline Carey's new Kushiel book ("Kushiel's Justice"), Elizabeth Hoyt's "The Raven Prince" and Rachel Caine's "Thin Air" this weekend. These were all safe-bet type books for me, meaning that I'd read a previous book by the author or I'd picked up the book based on a trusted recommendation. The Hoyt book surprised me by being very funny, but still engaging, which I think is a difficult trick for a period romance to pull off.
"Thin Air" entertained me because it had the whole "main character with amnesia" thing, which I'm now starting to peg as "excuse for a lot of exposition on character relationships that will allow new readers to enter the series comfortably without alienating old readers." I don't know if lots of authors do this, but it reminded me very much of Charlaine Harris's "Dead to the World" - getting to bring people up to speed on all sorts of character relationships in a compact way that feeds a storyline.
I bought a coffee table book of maps from the 1400-1800s, with lots of 1600s maps in it, which is now propped in front of my book case. I re-read a volume of Stormwatch and another of The Authority, both by Warren Ellis.
There may have been a few other small books that slipped through the cracks this weekend. I'm not sure. I'm hoping to finally read the Aphra Behn book (which I've had out for a long time) this week. Professional female writer and international spy-lady of the 1600s. Yay!
So far:
I'm halfway into Emma Bull's "Territory" which I like despite being very very uninterested in Western stories in general. Oddly, it's sort of reminding me of some things I really like by Barbara Hambly, I'm not sure why. I think it might be the Chinese gentleman - I think it might be bringing Hambly's "Bride of the Rat God" to mind for that reason.
I'm finally starting "Stalkers and Shooters: A history of Snipers" which I borrowed from the library for the first 70 pages, which overview military marksman pre-1700. It's making me want to re-read "By the Sword" - the fencing one, not the Mercedes Lackey one.
I tore through Jacqueline Carey's new Kushiel book ("Kushiel's Justice"), Elizabeth Hoyt's "The Raven Prince" and Rachel Caine's "Thin Air" this weekend. These were all safe-bet type books for me, meaning that I'd read a previous book by the author or I'd picked up the book based on a trusted recommendation. The Hoyt book surprised me by being very funny, but still engaging, which I think is a difficult trick for a period romance to pull off.
"Thin Air" entertained me because it had the whole "main character with amnesia" thing, which I'm now starting to peg as "excuse for a lot of exposition on character relationships that will allow new readers to enter the series comfortably without alienating old readers." I don't know if lots of authors do this, but it reminded me very much of Charlaine Harris's "Dead to the World" - getting to bring people up to speed on all sorts of character relationships in a compact way that feeds a storyline.
I bought a coffee table book of maps from the 1400-1800s, with lots of 1600s maps in it, which is now propped in front of my book case. I re-read a volume of Stormwatch and another of The Authority, both by Warren Ellis.
There may have been a few other small books that slipped through the cracks this weekend. I'm not sure. I'm hoping to finally read the Aphra Behn book (which I've had out for a long time) this week. Professional female writer and international spy-lady of the 1600s. Yay!
