Books I have read...

Been a long time since I updated this...

I read the first five of George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series. Loved them, but can't wait until the next comes out. I have also started Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series. I am almost done book two and I quite like them. They fit nicely into my junk food reading. I also read Michael Ondaatje's new book, The Cat's Table. It has Ondaatje's consistently good writing but I was not wowed. There have been much better books from him in the past. It can't just be good prose. I wasn't as engaged with the characters as I usually am. I am surprised it has gotten as much acclaim as it has. I think part of that is people being caught in the Ondaatje adulation. I love his writing. I will read every book he writes, but I will also admit when some are better or worse than others. I also read the most recent in the Margaret Petersen Haddix Sent series. A nice continuation of the series there. I am not sure where she is going to go with it though. For a while the time-jumping got very confusing. I wonder what the 10 year olds thought? I bought the first Among the Hidden book and I am anxious to add the others from that series (also by Haddix). I liked them and want to see where it will go. There are more. I will have to do a re-con to list them. It has been a while since I posted.

And a few more kid-lit options...

I picked up 3 books in a series by R. L. LaFevers from the library last weekend: Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris and Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus. They centre around the 11 year old daughter of 2 Egyptologists living in London just prior to WW II. Theodosia is precocious and somewhat gifted in Egyptian magic and sensitive to discovering and removing curses from relics. I quite like the series, as it combines history and mythology with a sense of humour and a sense of adventure. I am just into the third book and I figure it will get me through this week.

Grown Up Reading!

I just finished Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. It took me a long time, but it was worth it. I love Kay. This book might have been a better choice for the summer when I have more time and less other reading to do, but like i said, it was worth it. It took me a while to get everyone straight. There are a lot of characters with their own story lines that converge and twist, but the detail is impressive and the individuality of each character is created beautifully. Kay's writing is lovely and I do like that he is Canadian. I know, what does it matter when you are reading a book, but it seems to matter to me...

I also read Elizabeth George's This Body of Death. I love her writing and although I do not like who he is currently taken up with, I understand the need for solace. Poor Barbara Havers... I thought something was going to happen there with the neighbour.

I also picked a few from her...

I was drawn to Margaret Peterson Haddix's Found and then read Sent and Sabotaged. You might wonder, why all this young readers stuff? Well, I spend an hour and a half in the children's section of the Stanley Milner Library every Saturday with Gibson while Oliver is in Drama class, so I have been prowling the shelves. I really like this series. I think it is good for the 9-13 year old set. Interesting, real, historical without being boring. I highly recommend! I had read the 39 Clues set (all except number 10 - I have yet to get into that one) and Haddix wrote one or two of them, so the name was familiar.

More Young Reader's Stuff

I also picked up Ingrid Law's Savvy. It was a fun little adventure. Well-written and interesting and it had a neat voice to the narrator. I will keep an eye out for more of her stuff.

A Little While Ago...

I read some stuff that I picked up at the library - young readers stuff. I picked up Frances Hardinge's books Gullstruck Island and Fly By Night. Quite liked both of them. Then picked up another and discovered it was Gullstruck Island under a different name.