For the second week in a row, I’ve been in a one week, one book relationship. The first was a non-fiction book that I was having some issues with (I wasn’t liking it so much and found some of it annoying so it took me longer, even longer than my normal slow pace associated with non-fiction books because there were times I thought about winging it far from my being.) and the second week was consumed by an almost 800 page historical fiction tome that, well, it just took me a long time to read. I did enjoy it though so there are no complaints. 🙂
So what book was it? The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick. Last year, I read her Arthurian legend trilogy, Pendragon’s Banner, loved it so much I knew I needed to read more and when I saw this one, I bought it. Lately my restraint tactics which I practiced all last year in regard to buying books have been tossed casually into a black hole from which they will never ever return. Although, the new books are all ebooks so they aren’t taking up any physical space which is probably why I’ve kept at the buying the last few days with little regard for anything other than how much money is left on my gift cards. The answer to that is not much. I also picked up A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin (can’t wait for it!) and Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. I read two of his books last year and he’s becoming a favorite.
To show there’s more to me than just hitting the download button, I also stopped by the library (thanks honey for double parking and deftly avoiding a ticket) and picked up two books that I’m looking forward to reading. OK, one I already started…
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach. Mary Roach writes the funniest and most entertaining non-fiction books I’ve ever read and this is going to be the perfect one to get me back on the non-fiction wagon which I jumped off of in January. My second book is A Conspiracy of Kings by Meghan Whalen Turner. I thought, really believed, that I had finished this series last year but I didn’t and well, that needed to be fixed and now I have the final book and all is well.
I’m off now. My husband has informed me there is football stuff to be watched. Happy Sunday everyone and enjoy the game!
I’m about to finish The Woman in Black by Susan Hill. It’s a ghost story and while it has it’s conventional parts, it feels more like a slow moving thriller and it works wonderfully. She dishes out details slowly, building a lot of tension for the ending I know is coming. The best word to describe it would be atmospheric. It has long, lush sentences that evoke a foreboding for the horrible ending. It reminds me a lot of Shirley Jackson whose storytelling has the same feel. In case, you’re wondering how I know what’s coming — I read the end already.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I put this one on hold in the hopes that I would have it for Jenny’s Books’s Diana Wynne Jones Week but it didn’t arrive in time. I’m a few chapters in and enjoying it. This book has been on my list for so long and I was worried that I would be disappointed by it (you know that whole books living up to expectations complex) but it’s good and funny. I thought the main character was going to bother me but once I got to understand her a bit, she’s grown on me and now I find myself happily following her along on the strange little journey she’s taken to find her fortune.
The Thieves of Manhattan by Adam Langer. I will admit that I know nothing about this book. I took it home with me without even checking what it was about but I have a feeling I am going to love it. I read the first few sentences and was completely taken in. When I dropped the books on the table my husband picked it up and asked if he could read it too. Maybe it’s the stark cover or the title, I don’t know, but I can’t wait.
The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. Oh yes, now I get to found out what happens to Gen. You see, Gen is a Queen’s thief for a neighboring country and he’s managed to fall in love with the Queen of Attolia. Now, in the name of not giving it all away, I’ll stop there but I’m so looking forward to this one.
with its intriguing cover. It looks sad, depressing, and I’m not sure there is a happy or even a little less depressing end to the story but there was something that made me want to read it. It’s about brothers who live together on a crumbling upstate New York farm. When one dies the other two are suspected of murder.
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. I read The Thief a few months back and enjoyed it so on the library wait list I went for next two books in the series, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia. Unfortunately, The King arrived before the Queen so I took it off my list and waited patiently for the Queen to arrive which she finally did this week. The thief, Gen, is back and this time he’ll be stealing a man, a queen, and some peace to make it a hat trick.
Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones. This is for the Diana Wynne Jones Week being hosted by Jenny at 
The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn. I came across this one a few weeks ago and was thrilled to see it on the shelf. I’ve not read any of Raybourn’s books and I’ve read a few reviews that said this wasn’t as good as her other books but since I haven’t read them, I’m not worried. Ignorance can sometimes be a good thing when it comes to a new author. This one is about a woman named Theodora who abandons her life and heads to Rumania where rumors of vampires still run rampant. There are castles and counts and brooding noblemen and I’m guessing from the cover pic, some romance and heavy breathing as well. Not sure how I feel about that yet but we’ll see.
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti. I’ve been wanting to read this one for so long but never got around to adding it to the hold pile. I thought I’d take a shot and see if it might be available and, poof, there is was. It’s supposed to be gothic and spooky and richly imagined — OK, so that’s what the cover says and, yes, I fell for it. Abandoned as a small child, twelve year old Ren is missing his left hand, has no idea how he lost it, and has no idea who his family is. When a man appears at the orphanage claiming to be his brother, he convinces the monks to let him go with the man in the hopes that he will solve the mystery that is his life.
The Rosetta Key by William Dietrich. I was hoping for Napoleon’s Pyramids but this was all they had of Dietrich’s books so off the shelf it came. Thieves, sea voyages, armies, mysterious medallions, Egyptian scrolls…not sure what more can be added here but it sounds like a good summer read on a hot day by a lake.
Fire by Kristin Cashore. This is the companion novel to Graceling which I adored. It’s not a sequel and not exactly a prequel but I fell in love with the world Cashore created and couldn’t pass this one up when I found out the library had it. This one centers around the last remaining human monster named Fire.
The Divine Sacrifice by Tony Hays. This is the second book in Hays’s Arthurian mystery novel series. I generally don’t read many mysteries but I have been trying to branch out a bit. I enjoyed the first book, The Killing Way, and saw this one on the new releases shelf and decided to give it a try. In this sequel, the trusted counselor to King Arthur is off to Glastonbury Abbey to investigate reports of rebellion. Really, did anyone think I would pass up a book with King Arthur? 🙂
Benighted by Kit Whitfield. I recently finished In Great Waters by Whitfield, and while I won’t say that I loved it, there was something about her writing that made me want to read another of her books. While In Great Waters introduced the reader to a world of mermaid like beings, Benighted is a world full of lycanthropes. Yes, werewolves. I know, I know. More werewolves. I wasn’t sure either but after reading a few pages, this one looks good. My hopes are high.
Just Book Reading 