I just finished Chalice by Robin McKinley and started Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton.
McKinley is one of my favorites, but Chalice wasn’t what it could be.
Tooth and Claw is utterly bizarre. Barchester Towers with dragons.
Around the World in 80 Dinners: 50,000 Miles, 10 Countries, 800 Dishes, and 1 Rogue Monkey by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. And they did it almost entirely on frequent-flyer miles! Been through Bali and Australia; now they’re in New Caledonia with wicked colds.
Past Caring by Robert Goddard. It’s set in 1977. A disgraced professor is hired to find out what really happened to cause a rising star in the British cabinet member to drop out of public life in 1910. I think it’s very good. The political stuff is especially interesting, if confusing to an American who is accustomed to elections every four years.
I just finished Three Bags Full, which was recommended by a friend and I adored it. A shepherd is murdered, and his flock of sheep decide to solve the crime. I highly recommend!
Currently reading:
All Souls: A Family Story from Southie by Michael Patrick Macdonald, a personal memoir that takes place in the South Boston projects. It’s … okay so far, but I think my expectations might have been too high.
Dark Banquet by Bill Schutt, a pop natural history type book about bats and other creatures that feed on blood. So far I’m only up to the bats part, and it is interesting and also gross in a fun way. I think leeches are coming up. For some reason, I am really charmed by the pen and ink illustrations.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale, which I think is true crime Victorian style.
I found a hardback copy of Johnny and the Dead in a used bookstore, and am now working on that. As it turns out, I’ve been reading this series in reverse order. Springer sent me two new books to review, and I’ve started on the first, which is only 200 pages long versus the 800 pages of the last one.
I’m reading David Weber’s Honor Among Enemies. His exposition is dense, his political injections are full of strawmen, and his main character is a total Mary Sue, but I just keep coming back for more. It’s the space battles. Yep.
I started reading Wordy Shipmates Sunday, and I’ll probably have it done in a day or two. She’s a fun writer and I also find myself interested by the story and by what she sees in these people. The comparisons to modern poitics are a little predictable, though.
Tell me where it hurts. (Dr. Nick Trout.) A semi-autobiography in the style of Herriot-meets House-meets Someone else that I cannot quite put my finger on about a Veterinarian surgeon and his patients.
I read nearly 3/4 of the book in one sitting. Bursting into tears at the parts you are suppose to burst into tears about.
If you like a well written about animals story, this is good.
I haven’t finished it because I can’t bear to think about what happens to his first patient, Sage the German Shepard, who is iffy through out the entire book so far.
What was “off” with Chalice? It’s on my to-read pile and I’ve not heard much about it (except what’s on McKinley’s blog/message board which, of course, is complementary).
On a similar note, I just finished A Bone from a Dry Sea by Peter Dickinson. Intertwined stories about a girl sea ape four million years ago and a girl human at an archaeological dig finding bones from the sea ape girl’s life. The parallels between the girls emerged gradually, which was nice. Recommended for YA and people who need a break from Weighty Tomes and Themes.
I didn’t think I would like this but someone gave me an ARC of it so I thought I’d give it a go.
And I’m glad I did, because I loved it. I really hope the author writes a sequel.
It was a little too short and a little too flashbacky without actual flashbacks. X happens and then Marisol thinks about A, B, and C that happened before. Then Y happens and then Marison thinks about E, F, and G that happened before. The whole novel passes this way which gives it a very detached feeling and then the action seems abrupt.
Plus the word Chalice is in that short book about 3 frillion times.
ETA: But it’s worth reading! Don’t get me wrong. McKinley is capable of more, but it’s very entertaining.
I like these, too. I’m up to Ashes of Victory.
I’m almost finished with it. I’m not crazy about the plot, but I like his writing. I’ll probably read more of books.
OK, so I’m enjoying reading about their travels (they’re now in Singapore), but their self-reference to their conversations about food are just a little too much. About a noodle dish from a takeout stand:
“What a fantastic blend of flavors and textures, the seafood with the pork, crunchy with silky.”
“You’re right, a winner for sure. It speaks of a culinary sophistication way beyond the bounds of this humble setting.”
Shut the fuck up.
“What an astonishing blend of obscenity and elegance in your post. The ‘shut the fuck up’ adds a piquancy to the delicious sauce of your anger.” 
This is a popular book this month; I just finished this last night. I laughed out loud at certain parts, which surprised me in a book about Puritans.
The ending struck me as rushed. I’m interested to know what you think when you get there.
Now that is a useful book review.
Finally finished Blood Lite (it’s been on hold for about a week while I struggled to get fifteen free minutes of reading time…grrrr!) and I thought it was great. I was a little wary of stories with a blend of humor and horror, but IMO these all worked well.
Starting on The Big Necessity : the unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters, by Rose George. Only a few pages in and I’m already feeling guilty for being one of the people in the world privileged enough to have a toilet, but this is going to be a fascinating book.
I haven’t read Three Bags Full yet, but the book’s description suggests to me that it might have a common audience with The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde, which I read a few weeks ago. This is a police procedural in which Detective Inspector Jack Spratt investigates the murder of Humperdink (Humpty) Dumpty.
This is a second series for Fforde in which the premise is that the characters and situations in stories are, in some sense, real. I recommend his first series, the Thursday Next novels, starting with The Eyre Affair, without reservation.
In Over Easy, Fforde walks a fine line between the childish and the delightfully silly. He usually, but not always, comes down on the right side. I don’t think this was as strong as his Thursday Next novels, but it was good for a lot of snickers and had me laughing out loud more than a few times.
It’s official. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton has the weirdest premise of any book EVER.
I enjoyed the book, though. Weird doesn’t phase me!
A thousand curses on Patrick Rothfuss for The Name of the Wind. It’s been a long time since a book has kept me up at night with “Just One More Chapter” syndrome. I read it last weekend and loved it. Of course now I have to wait for months for the next in the series. Bastard.
Finished Three Musketeers. Enjoyed.
Added to my already ongoing reads are:
The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction by David Quammen, who is my boyfriend. (He doesn’t know it yet.)
The Far Side of the World by Patrick O’Brian
Just finished House of Cards (The Negotiator, Book 2) (Paperback) by C.E. Murphy. I mediocre urban fantasy, I like Murphy’s other stuff better.
I know most of my reviews say that the books are mediocre - the reason for that is that I often take away recommendations from these threads and so I am reluctant to give too high of praise to a book that was entertaining enough, but not outstanding.