Rec 3

Here's a pic of the last three books I've read:



I picked up the trade paperback of Jeal M. Auel's The Shelters of Stone at a neighbor's yard sale for fifty cents so definitely a bargain. I lent out my own copy a few years back and the borrower never returned it, so this was really a replacement buy. I also wanted to read it again before I order the final book to finish up the series (all I have left now to read is The Land of Painted Caves, book six.) This book really couldn't compete with my favorite, The Valley of Horses, but I thought the author did a good job moving the story along with it.

I paid full cover price ($28.95) for Bill Bryson's One Summer ~ America, 1927, a lively look at the historic folks and events of that particular season in our country. If you really like baseball and aviators and Presidents, you may find Bill will smash to bits most of your illusions about them. Still, he does so with his usual good-natured glee, and that in itself is admirable in its cheerful cheeky audacity and complete contempt for the history taught (past and present) to American kids. I also happen to think Bill Bryson is one of the finest writers of this century so doubtless I'm 100% biased.

Beautiful Sacrifice by Elizabeth Lowell was a remaindered hardcover I picked up for $5.98 at Barnes & Noble on my last trip into the city. This was a random buy; I was looking for something to read by an author I trust to deliver. The story was interesting, different, and well-written if somewhat outlandish and probably quite implausible. I've written a book with many elements like this one, only with Aztecs instead of Maya, so I felt right at home in the story and could personally appreciate the amount of research the author had to do to get it all right.

I'd recommend all three books as good reads for anyone who is interested in prehistorical fantasy, history, and/or romantic suspense.
What are the titles of the last three books you've read that you'd recommend to others? Let us know in comments.

3 Books + Giveaway

Just Read: The City & The City by China Miéville, trade paperback

Why I picked it up: The last time I read a book by this author was in 2001, at the RWA National Conference in New Orleans. At the time I thought his writing was unparalleled, but the story itself wounded me spiritually to the point that I later seriously considered giving up writing myself. I've actually compared that earlier book to a loaded gun that another writer can only point at their own face.

What I liked: My spirit must have gotten tougher over the years, or that first book was a one-off, because no particular wounding occurred this time around. The world-building was interesting, and the characters as exotic as I'd expected. I didn't feel like quitting writing after I read it, either, which seemed like a minor triumph.

What I didn't like: I didn't want to buy this book (I actually intended to buy his latest release, The Kracken, but the store didn't have a copy on the shelves, and after working up my nerve to read the author again I wasn't leaving empty-handed.) The complex politics the author found so fascinating about put me to sleep. Also while reading it I kept having fuzzy flashbacks to Martin Cruz Smith's brilliant Gorky Park, which I think I've read a couple million times. I don't know if it was the pseudo-Moscovita, the Renko-ish cop protag, or the gist of the overboiled plot, but my overall impression was Gorky Park on Pentobarbital with an LSD chaser. Finally, the ending, which ticked me off because the most interesting carrot that was dangled throughout the story magically went poof when I finally reached it. I don't like poofy carrot books.

Reading: A Wild Light by Marjorie M. Liu

Why I picked it up: I am an unashamed Hunter Kiss addict, so nothing could keep me away from Maxine and the boys. That and I figured I'd need one of Marjorie's stories after facing my own little book demons, and I was right.

What I like: The novel moves from page one, first like a big cat stalking in the shadows, onto ominous planes filled with menacing reminders of the past, and then it takes off. By the time I reached the third chapter I was so caught up in the startling unfolding of events I almost took it in the shower with me. In this series Marjorie writes prose that reads like poetry and invokes unforgettable imagery; the words dance through my imagination.

What I don't like: What happens in Chapter Two has me worried, especially the last couple of paragraphs, but I trust the author will eventually bail out Maxine and, by extension, me.

Will Read: 1491 ~ New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus by Charles C. Mann, trade paperback

Why I picked it up: Aside from an ongoing serious glom I've been having for nonfic on Mesoamerica, I've needed a nice chunky history fix and haven't been able to find anything new. I've read a few articles by Mann in some magazines and I liked the preface so much I read the entire thing while standing by the bookstore shelf.

What I expect to like: Seeing the Americas in the time we were not taught about in school, from a narrative that is free of the usual white trash litter of conquistadors, Mayflowerites, etc.

What I expect not to like: Judging by the preface, the author obviously has a lot of admiration and sympathy for his subject matter, which is not a bad thing when you're an advocate of protecting historical sites, exposing artifact black markets etc. In a nonfic book it can really skew the facts, but I have yet to meet a historian who can write without sticking his prejudices in every nook and cranny of the narrative.

I must share my Maxine jones with you guys, so in comments to this post name the book you're currently reading (or if you're in a reading slump, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Thursday, July 29, 2010. I'll select five names at random from everyone who participates and send the winners an unsigned copy of A Wild Light by Marjorie M. Liu. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

3 books

Just Read: Robin Hood: The Story Behind the Legend, novelization of screenplay by David B. Coe, mass market

Why I picked it up: A friend wants me to go see the movie because he's crazy about Ridley Scott films. I didn't like the last movie I saw by Ridley so I thought I'd at least see what the story is like first. Generally I enjoy most Robin Hood books because I like Robin Hood, period, but if anyone can ruin it for me, Ridley can.

What I liked: Russell Crowe on the cover certainly doesn't hurt. Some great fight scenes in this one. Novelizing a screenplay isn't a walk in the park; I think the author did a decent job of it

What I didn't like: The first four chapters, which were overwritten; I'd have cut them and started with chapter five. The characterization of Robin missed the mark for me, and I felt there were a lot of great story opportunities with the characters that were bypassed. The book often reads more like an epic fantasy than historical fiction; subconsciously I kept waiting for the dragons and orcs to show up.

Reading: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris, hardcover

Why I picked it up: I enjoy Charlaine's writing style so I usually buy her vampire fiction. Also, it's not difficult to pickup and follow the story even if I do miss a book or two, kind of a rare quality in a lengthy novel series (this one is book ten; last one I read was seven, I think.)

What I like: The writing, which is easy and fun and effortless. The protagonist continues to evolve in subtle ways. Eric is finally regrowing a heart, I think, and it seems Bill got his ass kicked again, which always cheers me up immensely (not a Bill fan.)

What I don't like: The cover art for this series has never worked for me; it's childish, annoying and it never suits the books. The first thirty-seven pages are mostly backstory or the protag's recovery from/reconciliation with the backstory, which is a bit more than Charlaine usually does (yet this is book ten, so I know she's hauling around a boatload of series backstory now.)

Will Read:The True Love Quilting Club by Lori Wilde, mass market

Why I picked this up: This was a random/new-to-me purchase to expand my reading horizons. Every now and then I make myself buy a book by an author I've never read so that I can try something different and not get into a reading rut.

What I expect to like: The quilting bits. It's kind of impossible to write a bad book featuring quilters and quilting.

What I expect not to like: The true love. Any time that phrase is invoked it sets off certain internal intelligence alarm systems. But nothing ventured, etc.

So what books have you guys read, are reading or plan to read in the near future, and why? Let us know in comments.

3 Books

Just Read: Broken by Shiloh Walker, trade paperback

Why I picked it up: In a word? Quinn. He was a secondary character (as well as the brother of one of the protagonists) in Shiloh's novel Fragile, and he stayed in my head long after I read that one.

What I liked: Quinn. The pace, the characters, the focus. Quinn. The slow unraveling of the mystery surrounding the female protag. Quinn. The clever plotting. Quinn. A huge twist, which if anyone gives away they should be flogged publicly while the author watches from a velvet settee as half-naked strapping young men feed her chocolates and rub her feet. Did I mention Quinn?

What I didn't like: The fact that the author got me with the end twist. I cursed like a PMSing witch on amphetamines when I reached that page, but then I had an entirely different ending figured out, and I hate to be wrong. Excellent twist, though.

Reading: Roadkill by Rob Thurman, mass market paperback

Why I picked it up: Because if I don't read Rob Thurman every couple of months I turn an ugly color of blue and drop like a stone. Wait, that's if I stop breathing. Okay, almost the same thing happens when I don't read Rob Thurman.

What I like: You know how in some series authors don't let their young protags age or mature, and after three or four books they start reminding you of the creepy kid vampire in those Anne Rice books? Or Dick Clark? Not happening with Cal Leandros; he is definitely growing up. And without giving away spoilers, let's just say that it is quite, ah, seismic.

What I don't like: The antagonist, aptly named Plague of the World. In my defense, I have a repressed immune system, and this guy is the stuff of my very real nightmares. But why read dark urban fantasy if it can't scare at least a little of the bejesus out of you, right?

Will Read: What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool, trade paperback reprint

Why I picked this up: Our blogpal Vanessa Jaye gets the blame (again); she wrote about it and it sounded like something I'd enjoy.

What I expect to like: All the parts about Austen. I also expect vampires, zombies and other mashup creatures will not be showing up in the text and oozing all over Austen.

What I expect not to like: All the parts about Dickens. It's a grudge thing; I still haven't forgiven him for that ridiculous opener he wrote for A Tale of Two Cities.

So what books have you guys read, are reading or plan to read in the near future, and why? Let us know in comments.

3 Books

This year I considered adding one of those "What I'm reading" sidebar elements to the blog, because I like to see what other writers are reading and I often don't get a chance to write as many recs as I'd like. The main problem is that I go through between fifty and seventy books a month, so all I'd be doing is changing it.

As a compromise I'll be writing a post now and then about three books from my TBR: what I've just finished, what I'm currently reading, and what's next.

Just Read: A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh, hardcover

Why I picked it up: Mary Balogh is one of two historical romance authors I still read, and is the sort of writer who could publish her grocery list and I'd happily buy it.

What I liked: This little jewel is a new spin on what she does best (classic Regency romance), wonderfully structured with great characters. The twist is such that I saw it coming but still found charming anyway; builds to an excellent conclusion.

What I didn't like: The book jacket, which is mainly evil yellow, but I took care of that by removing it.

Reading: Inked anthology featuring Marjorie M. Liu, paperback

Why I picked it up: I needed a Hunter Kiss fix, thank you, Marjorie.

What I like: Marjorie writes short stories as well as she does novels, and so far Armor of Roses is terrific (I'm reading first because I'm a brat that way, and I'm not rushing because I don't want it to end.)

What I don't like: I'm not crazy about anthos for the same reasons I won't ever again write for one: no choice over which authors are included, the quality of the writing is often a mixed bag, and sometimes the editing is just all over the place. That said, I'm pretty sure I haven't read anything by the other three authors in this one, so this is a good opportunity for me to test-drive them.

Will Read: The Daily Reader by Fred White, trade paperback

Why I picked this up: Fred White is the author of guided writing exercise how-to The Daily Writer, which despite all the literary content I liked and found quite useful.

What I expect to like: He manages to talk about writing from a literary perspective without insulting me the genre writer in the process, which I rarely find and greatly appreciate. Although this looks like another great big pile o' lit, I'm hopeful for a repeat experience.

What I expect not to like: I already dislike the cover (why so many evil yellow covers out there this month? I'm about to break out in hives.) And I haven't looked but I'm almost positive there's going to be a reference to Chekhov (Anton, not the Star Trek dude) and then I'll remember being forced to read and analyze The Cherry Orchard in ninth grade and have those inappropriate fantasies about punching out my English teacher again. Do we ever get over the damage done to us in high school? I wonder . . .