Reading in Texas: October 2004

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Errr... I got busy & forgot to post

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I simply got so busy that I forgot to update this blog with the information on the books I've been reading. Here are the most recent books I've finished.

I'm still confused about why Barbara Delinsky chose An Accidental Woman for the title of this novel. There are two accidents which figure into the book. One is the snowmobiling accident which left Poppy Blake in a wheelchair and the other is a fatal hit-and-run that Poppy's friend Heather is accused of. I enjoyed the novel, particularly how the murder mystery is developed and solved. Liking these characters, I called up the reviews at Amazon.com and found that this book is a sequel to Lake News. Guess what book is now on my wish list?

Over Homecoming Weekend, Beth convinced me to check out the Stephanie Plum mystery novels by Janet Evanovich. I borrowed One for the Money from the Sanger Library and proceeded to start reading it on the airplane trip to Virginia last Wednesday. Between sleeping most of the way from Texas to Virginia and just getting busy visiting, I didn't finish this book until Sunday morning, the 24th. But, even though it took me a long time to read this book, I knew that I wanted to read the entire series and had already purchased the next book. (See below.)

As its title proclaims, this is the second book in Janet Evanovich's series starring Stephanie Plum. Two for the Dough starts just a couple of months after One for the Money, and Stephanie is still trying to learn the ropes in her new job as a bounty hunter. One thing I particularly like is that the stories have just enough threat and thrill to be exciting without crossing over to gory and explicit. And the balance between serious and comic is extremely well done. I definitely recommend this series to those who enjoy murder mysteries, particularly those with a female protagonist.

I picked up this book solely based on the author. I have never been disappointed by any of Sherri Tepper's science fiction novels, and when I stumbled across The Companions in the bookstore this past weekend, I knew it was one I just had to read. Of course, I had to wrest it from Jan's hands with a promise to mail it to her as soon as I finished it.

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Reading through the Library

The last 7 books that I have read came from the Sanger Public Library. I paid a short visit to the library yesterday, checked out four more books, and put a reserve request on two others. As I explained to someone, I'm busy reading my way through the library.

On Saturday, 16 October, I finished reading Broken Dishes by Earlene Fowler. This was the eleventh book 'starring' Benni Harper, an amateur sleuth and avid quilter. I reviewed the book in LiveJournal's 50 Book Challenge Community. Like others in this series, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to others who like murder mysteries with believable characters.

Killjoy by Julie Garwood was a very fast read — as evidenced by the fact that less than 24 hours passed between the time I started reading this book yesterday and completed it this morning. This book is somewhat of a sequel to Garwood's earlier novels Heartbreaker and Mercy Lead characters from the earlier novels have bit parts in Killjoy, giving a mild sense of continuity to this "series" — much like Catherine Coulter's FBI Series. I definitely enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series, which I shall request through InterLibrary Loan.

Friday, October 15, 2004

Two by Sue Grafton

In the last week, I read two of Sue Grafton's mystery novels. One turned out to be a re-read, but that's OK, I still enjoyed it. Now I"m ready to pick up her newest novel in the "Alphabet Series" as soon as I can locate it at my local public library.

"O" is for Outlaw was published in 1999, though the story is set around 1986. Grafton is taking a very slow pace through time for her character Kinsey Millhone compared to the time which passes for us readers. As I was reading the book, I realized that I had read it a year or so ago, but I continued reading since I was enjoying the story.

Fortunately, "P" is for Peril was not a re-read. For some reason, I found this book just a little confusing since there were three crimes, each with its own pair of villains. I'm still enjoying Kinsey Millhone and her mysteries, and look forward to picking up the "R" book from the library. (Yep, I've already read "Q" is for Quarry.)

Saturday, October 09, 2004

The Girl Next Door and The Dig

In The Girl Next Door, the female lead is determined to prove that her father did not murder her mother. The book jacket proclaims that this novel "showcases Patricia MacDonald at the height of her celebrated powers." Well, I'm not impressed. By page 11, I had figured out who the murderer was and therefore I was reading to see how MacDonald developed the plot and finally revealed what had happened 15 years earlier.

Now this book was more to my liking. The Dig is Alan Dean Foster's novelization of a game released for IBM PCs circa 1995. I found the story engaging, even though the plot had similarities to Arthur C. Clarke's Rama and the movie Armageddon.

Saturday, October 02, 2004

Angel-Seeker

Shortly after 1am, I read the last page of Angel-Seeker by Sharon Shinn, making it the first book to be logged for October.

Although this is the fifth book in Shinn's Samaria series, the story in Angel-Seeker follows immediately after that of Archangel, the first book. Remember that Archangel ended with the catastrophic destruction of the angel hold led by Rafael, resulting in the deaths of many of his followers, both angel and mortal. Gabriel had been elevated to Archangel and had set about rebuilding the hold. Now, a year later, Gabriel sends Obadiah to the new angel hold of Cedar Hills with the responsibility of reestablishing relationships with the Jansai, a people who are rigid in their customs and hostile to the angels.

Following a short, and unproductive visit with the Jansai leadership in their capital city of Breven, Obadiah is seriously injured during his flight back to Cedar Hills. He is found in the desert by Rebekah, a daughter of the Jansai whose customs forbid women from speaking to or even being seen by men not of their own family. Fortunately for Obadiah, Rebekah chooses to ignore the rules of her people and nurses Obadiah for several days until he is out of danger. Unfortunately for Rebekah, she and Obadiah discover a mutual attraction which will eventually put her in grave danger.

The third leading character in this novel is Elizabeth, the Angel-Seeker of the title. Angel-Seekers are young women who flock to the towns surrounding the angel holds in hopes of taking an angel as a lover and bearing an angelic child so that they will be taken into the angel holds and live a life of great luxury. One big problem is that few pregnancies result from these liaisons and the majority of babies are mortal rather than angelic.

This was a delightful book. I was glad that I had already read all the other books in this series so that I understood the political and cultural references in Shinn's story.

BookCrossing: books in transit

On Friday, I mailed off three books to people who had listed them on their Wish List. Two are heading to Canada, with the third going to a BookCrosser in Alabama.

Me Talk Pretty One Day was mailed to tiggmtl, Stephen Silverthorne, in Montreal, Quebec.
The Time Traveler's Wife was sent to MissQ, Suzie Shields McKillop, in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
The Diary of Mattie Spencer is going to cheesygiraffe, Cindi Kelley, in Florence, Alabama.