tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25346986974653203092024-02-02T12:08:17.354-08:00Hedgie and Moonshot Love to ReadTwo sisters, both alike in literacy,
In fair Midwestern cities, where we read our books,
From ancient tomes to new bestsellers....
Hedgie and Moonshot love to read!
Welcome to our blog. Hedgie and Moonshot are two sisters who, you guessed it, love to read. We read some pretty interesting books, some really great books, and some awful stinkers. On this blog, we'll share some thoughts about what we're reading, what's good or bad about it, and whatever else we might feel like saying.
Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-82951258250680211792017-07-16T07:20:00.001-07:002017-07-16T07:20:02.052-07:00Easy Ways to Reduce Trash and Energy Use<h3>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Get your cloth napkins that only get used on Thanksgiving and Christmas out! Or if you really want to preserve your fancy ones for special occasions, there are tons of inexpensive ones on Amazon. Or maybe you have some unused tablecloths that you could cut up. (I do, tell me if I should send you one.) Or you could find some at Goodwill, or a garage sale. Yeah, you have to wash them, but aren’t you doing the laundry anyway?Here’s a picture of mine. I’m particularly fond of the chili pepper ones. (I admit I did a bad job of hemming some of these. My mom is looking at this picture and saying “Doggone it, I taught her better than that!”)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpoCraNsDZ9z6W9Dt2YjXMiJq7v-s_wxe_Bg4qZNuP4jXTTp9bJJR6Xrgq-m9zJlKUdigPAkrGcgIsWqb7OH1eAG7-YGUg_hGAZvucnY2BQCSvUFwpcT_eGustsmEhS17jlRAL2_K41Oq/s1600/napkins.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpoCraNsDZ9z6W9Dt2YjXMiJq7v-s_wxe_Bg4qZNuP4jXTTp9bJJR6Xrgq-m9zJlKUdigPAkrGcgIsWqb7OH1eAG7-YGUg_hGAZvucnY2BQCSvUFwpcT_eGustsmEhS17jlRAL2_K41Oq/s320/napkins.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>2) Reduce use of paper towels</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I had a whole drawer full of dish rags that hardly ever got used. It’s not hard to reach for one of them to wipe the counters or clean up a spill. I also cut up some raggedy old towels to make some rags just for cleaning. Or again, lots of cheap cloth towels on Amazon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>3) Make sure you’re recycling everything that you can.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s easy to overlook things that can be recycled - some of the ones that I tend to forget are toilet paper rolls and toothpaste tubes. Look for information about what materials are accepted by your city recycling service (if you live in a city that picks up recycling along with trash). Olathe’s list is here: <a href="http://www.olatheks.org/home/showdocument?id=1300"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">http://www.olatheks.org/home/showdocument?id=1300</span></a>. Johnson County Recycles is also a great local resource. <a href="https://www.jocogov.org/dept/health-and-environment/environment/recycling/in-the-bin"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">https://www.jocogov.org/dept/health-and-environment/environment/recycling/in-the-bin</span></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Plastic shopping bags, bread sacks, and produce bags can all be recycled in the bins for shopping bags grocery stores. Just start a ‘bag of bags” in a corner of your kitchen and haul them to the store with you once a month or so. Here’s a picture of my little recycling center in a corner of my pantry. The blue bin is for glass (to take to RippleGlass), then my bag of bags, then a basket for dirty cloth napkins, dish rags, and dish towels. The big garbage can for cardboard, metal and plastic is right behind me.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkYaSYdNqX7e08AAGpn7QzVv-gcZnDToUuc71T_Akf3No9TMgqeJums3Ij6yFjc18JX8emRLLzafdyjbdJXDJm8yXZHDObOA6rb9ITXymyOUzvz9rDYxGsQTPY4yCIIwLJ4lRd-WuClEE/s1600/recycling.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlkYaSYdNqX7e08AAGpn7QzVv-gcZnDToUuc71T_Akf3No9TMgqeJums3Ij6yFjc18JX8emRLLzafdyjbdJXDJm8yXZHDObOA6rb9ITXymyOUzvz9rDYxGsQTPY4yCIIwLJ4lRd-WuClEE/s320/recycling.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>4) Stop using plastic baggies as much as you can.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Using reusable shopping bags has become pretty common (and you can recycle plastic shopping bags when you do get them), but what about other kinds of plastic bags? I’ve been using mesh produce bags when I go grocery shopping, instead of the plastic produce bags available at the grocery store. I admit I was a little apprehensive the first time I approached a cashier with my mesh bags, but I’ve done it several times now and no one’s batted an eye. And you can trade out Ziploc bags and sandwich baggies for reusable containers. (The one that you do use can be washed out and reused many times, and recycled with your other plastic bags too, if you just rip the zip-top off.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>5) Don’t take straws or lids for drinks in restaurants.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">If you’re not taking a to-go cup with you, why do you need a lid? If you are taking a refill with you, pour it in your water bottle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>6) Use reusable cups for coffee, and water bottles instead of buying bottled drinks.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I know Starbucks will gladly make your coffee in a travel mug - they actually have a corporate goal to serve more drinks in reusable cups. I have to think the other coffee chains will too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>7) Line-dry your clothes.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">String a clothesline, or use a drying rack (this is the one we <a href="https://www.amazon.com/EWEIS-HomeWares-Stainless-Clothes-Drying/dp/B0149VSJ76/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1500065649&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=drying+rack&psc=1"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">use</span></a>). You save money on your electric bill and your clothes don’t shrink. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>8) Replace your incandescent lightbulbs for LED bulbs.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I know LED bulbs cost more than other types, but they use a fraction of the electricity of incandescents. We bought two LED bulbs a month until we had replaced all the bulbs that get used regularly in our house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>9) Install a programmable thermostat</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">If your house is empty during the day, turn the A/C or heat (depending on the season) down when you leave every morning. And turn the heat down at night during the winter, when you’re all snuggled up in bed anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>10) Compost your food scraps and yard waste.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Ok, I know I promised this would be a list of easy things, and this one does take a little bit of work, and maybe a little money to get started. But it’s really worth it! There are many websites and books that go over all the ways to get started composting, what to put in your bin and what not to put in your bin, how to harvest your finished compost, etc. So I’m not going to recreate all their good work here. Or I’ll gladly talk to you about how I do it, if you want. I’ve been composting in a tumbler bin I bought online since January (I am that pigheaded woman who decided to start composting in the middle of winter) and I’m looking forward to having black gold to add to my garden next spring. </span></div>
Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-43140760791680073962015-01-31T10:06:00.001-08:002015-01-31T10:08:43.383-08:00The Best Stuff I Read in 2014<style>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">I
know I've committed the </span><span style="font-size: large;">cardinal sin of blogging by not having any new posts
for the last nine months. I apologize most abjectly. I was too busy
reading numerous excellent books, some of which I shall share with you
below. (Same disclaimer as last year: these are the best books I read in
2014, but they weren't necessarily published in 2014.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Times;">(1)
<i>After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall</i>, by Nancy Kress</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">This
dystopian time-travel yarn weaves three storylines together. In one,
after Earth has been ravaged by a series of ecological disasters, a handful of
children and adults are saved by a race of kindly aliens, who build the Shell
for them to live in while the Earth recovers. The Shell is a sealed,
sterile environment that the aliens endowed with the bare necessities for human
survival, and a device that lets one person at a time travel into the past to
collect supplies. Since there are only a dozen or so people in the
Shell—not nearly enough for a breeding population—one of the supplies that the
time travelers try to collect is, to put it baldly, children. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">The
second storyline is set in the present day, and describes the efforts of an FBI
consultant who is developing an algorithm to predict the next in a series of
unexplained kidnappings. When her algorithm starts to work, she starts on
a collision course with the time travelers (who, you may have figured out, are
the perpetrators of said kidnappings).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">The
third storyline is that of the Earth itself and the changes the planet
undergoes. I can't write too much about this one without major
spoilers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">This
story stuck with me for a long time after reading it. The emotions are
convincing and the characters are realistic. The point-of-view the first
storyline is told from is hard to read - he's a teenage boy who's lived his
entire life circumscribed by the Shell, the few people living in it, and their
needs for survival. Unsurprisingly, he has some anger issues and a limited
understanding of normal relationships. Being a mom of a young child myself,
the kidnappings are fraught with anxiety and ambiguity for me. Reading
them was a weird mix of "Go go go! Humanity has to survive!"
and "GET YOUR HANDS OFF THAT CHILD YOU MONSTER!" But isn’t that
a mark of good storytelling, when you’re uncomfortable reading a book but still
unwilling to put it down? Overall, it's a quick but interesting and
satisfying read.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">I
should mention that <i>After The Fall</i> won Nancy Kress a Nebula award. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Times;">(2)
<i>Tooth and Claw</i>, by Jo Walton</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">This
is an easy book to summarize: take a Jane Austen novel and replace all
the characters with dragons. And I mean real dragons, who fly and breathe
fire and rip their prey apart with bloody abandon— these dragons haven't been
given the “sparkly vampire” treatment. But at the same time, they’re
civilized dragons with a complex social and political structure. In the
same way that many type of human success are measured in wealth, in this dragon
society success is measured in length—that is, how many feet long a dragon has
grown from nose to tail tip. And the only way for dragons to grow is to eat
other dragons usually after dying of natural causes. (Note the “usually” there and recall I said
these are real dragons.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">This
story starts with the death of the dragon Bon Agornin, and how his body is
divided up among his children for consumption. There's one son in the
clergy, one who works in the city, a married daughter, and in the tradition of
all Victorian novels, two younger daughters who need to make successful matches
of their own. Agornin's son-in-law, who is really quite unpleasant, takes
more than his share of the body on some pretext, which of course then lessens
the other children's shares and subsequent social and career prospects.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">If
you like the novels of Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope, I think you'll enjoy
this book. If (like me) you've loved the idea of dragons since reading
Bilbo match wits with Smaug at a tender age, I <i>know</i> you'll like this book. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Times;"> (3) <i>The Crane Wife</i>, Patrick Ness</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Times;">The
Crane Wife</span></i><span style="font-family: Times;"> is a retelling of the Japanese
folktale about an injured crane who, when helped by a human, repays that help
by becoming human and weaving her own feathers into beautiful cloth to sell. In
Patrick Ness's version, George Duncan discovers a great white crane in the
backyard of his house in London. He takes the arrow out of the crane's
wing and watches her fly away. The next day, George's rather humdrum life
is turned upside down by the entrance of the mysterious Kumiko into his print
shop. The story of George and Kumiko's developing relationship is cut with bits
of a fable about the Destroyer and the Forgiver, that try to illustrate bigger
truths about the nature of relationships. Or maybe about the dual sides
of everyone's own psyche - to be 100 percent honest, I'm not sure I quite
grasped the allegory of this book. But I enjoyed trying to figure it
out. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"> (Disclaimer: Googling to find a cover image
for this book, I've discovered some rather mediocre reviews of it. Hmmm, guess
not everybody liked it. You'll have to decide for yourselves.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Times;">(4)
<i>A Corner of White</i>, Jaclyn Moriarty</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">This is the first book in a series called the Colors
of Madeline. It tells a story of
two worlds; the real Cambridge, England, and the imaginary kingdom of
Cello. In Cambridge, the main character
is Madeline Tully; in Cello, it’s Elliot Baranski. Both Madeline and Elliot have missing
fathers, Madeline because her mother left her husband, and Elliot because his
father is believed to have run off with another woman. (Whether or not he really did is a bit of a
mystery.) Madeline and Elliot start
history’s longest-distance penpal relationship, trading letters through a crack
in reality. They’re both likable
characters (Elliot a little more so than Madeline); basically good kids, trying
to negotiate the perils of adolescence and their feelings about their broken families.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">What made this book stand out to me was Cello; it’s
a charming little fantasy land, full of details that give it life and
character. Cello’s political issues are
sketched out in a series of newspaper dispatches written by the kingdom’s two rather
silly princesses, who are on a tour of the region. The color storms are an original idea; storms
of certain colors can cause everyone in the area to feel a specific emotion
intensely. Red causes people to be angry,
for instance, which as you can imagine, is a bit dangerous. Elliot believes that his father was abducted
by a rogue Purple, rather than running off as everyone else believes (it’s
never quite explained what a rogue Purple actually looks like). The people of Cello are fairly realistic
characters, with strengths and weaknesses, virtues and faults (not often found
in fantasy, which I admit can tend toward black and white thinking). It’s a fun, easy read and I’m looking forward
to the publication of the next book in the series.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Times;">(5)
<i>The Rithmatist</i>, by Brandon Sanderson</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">The start of a new series by the excellent Brandon
Sanderson, <i>The Rithmatist</i> is the
story of Joel and his thwarted desire to be a Rithmatist, a magician who can
draw chalk pictures and make them come to life.
Joel is the son of the now-deceased chalk-maker at Armedius Academy; he
and his mom are allowed to continue living at the school on a kind of
sufferance, and Joel is allowed to attend classes with the Rithmantic students. More than anything, Joel wants to be a
Rithmatist and defend the American Isles from the wild Chalkings on the
frontier in Nebrask. He knows everything
there is to know about Rithmancy, and would be one of the best….if he only had
the inborn talent that would let him do the magic. Alas, there’s not a hint of it in him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">One day, students at Armedius start disappearing,
and through series of coincidences that persist despite all the adults’ efforts
to keep him out of it, Joel is drawn into the investigations. He forms a friendship with Melody, another
Rithmantic student who has the talent Joel lacks, but zero desire to do
anything with it. As you might guess,
they form an unlikely team and mysterious events ensue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">I know what you’d say to me at this point: “Hedgie, this is clearly derivative of every
other YA quest story ever published! Can
you say ‘riff on Harry Potter?’” And my answer would be: “Yup! Who cares?
It’s still a good story; it has some original, clever details and an
engaging mystery; and you’ll have fun reading it.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Also, let me digress a bit on the subject of Brandon
Sanderson. His big talent, the thing
that I think makes him stand out in the field of current fantasy writers, is
that he comes up with these fantastic systems of magic. I’ve read probably a dozen or so of his
novels, and in only of those did I find the magic to be a bit weak (<i>Warbreaker</i>; it’s still a good read even
with this fault). If you like your
irrational, impossible magic to operate by clearly defined rules (like me), hop
over to Brandon Sanderson.com and poke around his bibliography. And then come back here and finish reading!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Times;">(6)
<i>Shades of Grey</i>, by Jasper Fforde</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">There are two authors I’ll admit to being a fangirl
of: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
(naturally) and Jasper Fforde. Fforde’s most
popular series, about Thursday Next, has so many things to love: time travel,
characters from <i>Jane Eyre</i> and <i>Great Expectations</i>, absurdly complex
plots, villians so evil not even their own mothers could love them. They’re books for people who love books; go
find <i>The Eyre Affair</i> to start the
series. I’ll be waiting here when you
come back to thank me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">But here I’m supposed to be talking about Mr.
Fforde’s new series, which starts with <i>Shades
of Grey</i>. (Please do not confuse this
with that horrible slice of misogyny <i>Fifty
Shades of Grey</i>; they’re not the same thing at all.) In Chromatacia, social order is defined by
how high you can see on the color spectrum.
Red is outclassed by yellow, followed by green, blue, and purple. Those unfortunate souls who can see only
shades of grey are at the bottom, as sort of an untouchables class. Everyone in Chromatacia knows that there was
some terrible event in the recent past that caused people to have limited color
vision and that resulted in the current extremely regimented social order and
authoritarian government. But nobody
seems to know what actually happened. In
<i>Shades of Grey</i>, Eddie Russet is
hoping to start his career in the Color Control Agency. Eddie’s first mission is a courier job to the
remote village of High Saffron. Little
does Eddie know, he’s embarking not only on a journey, but on an investigation
into the aforementioned mysterious event, and possible government conspiracy
and cover-up. Oh, and he meets an
Interesting But Unsuitable Girl along the way.
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">I’m waiting impatiently for the next book in the
series, <i>Painting by Numbers</i>, to be
published. (June 2016?!? I’ll never make it.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">(7) The Curiosity, by Stephen Kiernan</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Fans of the TV show <i>Sleepy Hollow</i> would enjoy this book; it starts from a similar,
albeit less mystical, premise. Judge
Jeremiah Rice has been frozen in the Artic shelf ice since 1906, until Dr. Kate
Philo and her team carve him out of a glacier.
It happens that Dr. Philo is in the Artic looking for samples of
flash-frozen small sea life; she’s part of a research team developing
cryogenics techniques. Dr. Philo takes
Jeremiah back to their lab and revives him (of course). I know the science here is probably a little
dubious; just suspend your disbelief and enjoy the story, ok? Inevitable questions about the ethics of
using humans as research subjects and claims of scientific hoaxing rise as
Jeremiah’s fame grows.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">There are a lot of things to like about this
book. I like that one of the two main
characters is a successful female scientist, and that she takes her career
seriously – she doesn’t immediately sacrifice her reputation or scientific
ethics for the chance at fame or love. I
like the ethical questions that come up – when someone’s life is saved by
experimental science, what is that person’s obligation back to the science that
saved them? At what point does research
become exploitation? But the thing I
like best about this book is Jeremiah.
He’s a realistically drawn gentleman of the early 20<sup>th</sup>
century (at least he is to me; I admit I don’t have first-hand knowledge). There are just enough humorous,
fish-out-of-water moments as he encounters the wonders of the 21rst century to
be pleasant. And that element isn’t
overdone; he’s able to grasp that computers and cell phones are applications of
the same science that people were working out in his own time, not magic. (I
always find it insulting to the people who came before us when time travel
stories make them out to be cretinous rubes.)
The primary story, about Jeremiah’s revival and what happens to him, is
interesting and well-paced. The
secondary story, about the gentle romance between Jeremiah and Kate, is also
really well done. The author doesn’t
dismiss the fact that while Jeremiah’s wife has been gone for decades, from
Jeremiah’s perspective he just left her on the docks a few weeks ago. <i>The
Curiosity is p</i>art <i>The Time Traveler’s
Wife</i> and part <i>Jurassic Park</i> (or
maybe<i> Encino Man</i> is a closer
parallel), and wholly enjoyable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">(8) <i>N0S4A2</i>,
by Joe Hill</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">I don’t usually read horror novels; I’m as surprised
as anybody that <i>N0S4A2</i> is in this
list. At the beginning of the story, Victoria (Vic) McQueen is a young girl –
maybe 10 or 12—who’s just discovered she has an unusual ability. She can find missing things by riding her
bicycle to a rickety covered bridge, and when she crosses that bridge she ends
up where the missing thing is. Of
course, for the rest of the world the bridge was torn down years ago. Obviously, riding a bicycle across a nonexistent
bridge to magically find missing things is not a thing that normal, sane people
can do. And dealing with her unusual
talent takes a toll on Vic and her family, finally tearing her parents apart
and landing Vic in a mental health facility as a teenager.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">The villain of the piece is Charles Talent Manx, a
kind of vampiric creature who can transport children in his 1938 Rolls-Royce
Wraith to Christmasland, where he absorbs their youth or life or whatever you
want to call it to keep himself eternally alive. Manx is definitely a Thing That Should Not
Be; allow me to give you this mental image:
fishhook teeth. Shudder. Anyway, Manx and Vic clash on one of her
trips across the bridge. Being the
butt-kicking kind of lady she is, Vic manages to take Manx out, putting him in
a kind of coma for a decade or so. She
goes on to live an unhappy sort of life, partnering up with a good man called
Lou and having a son with him, whose name I’m sorry to tell you I cannot remember. But the kid is right in Manx’s age range when
the story picks up again, and of course he manages to come back from the dead
and target Vic’s son.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">I think the thing I love about this book is Vic –
she’s so broken but at the same time, so brave and determined to do what’s
right. Despite her faults and
weaknesses, Vic is nobody’s victim; she’s determined to be a good mom and as
good a partner to Lou as she can. At
times this was a hard book for me to read – I sometimes have to put books down
if the plots feature children in danger.
(I read big chunks of this one with “It’s only a story, it’s only a
story” on an endless loop in my head.)
But it’s a fast-paced read (hard to achieve with over 700 pages) and
obviously I found it compelling enough to finish. If you’re in the mood for a scary story,
screw up your courage and give <i>N0S4A2</i>
a try.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">(9) <i>The Queen of the Tearling</i>, by Erika Johansen</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Kelsea Raleigh Glynn has lived all of her 18 years
in a cottage in the forest, with just her two foster parents for company. Until the day some royal guards arrive,
saying it’s time for her to go be Queen of the Tearling. Kelsea knew this day would come eventually;
she wears an enormous sapphire pendant that marks her as the heir, and has
received a royal education from her foster mother. Kelsea did not know that she
would also be stepping into a mystery surrounding her mother’s life and death,
an unsuitable love interest, threats from the conquering kingdom next door, and
assassination attempts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">This is an excellent, classic coming of age/quest
story. The best thing about it, I think,
is Kelsea herself. Despite her
uncertainties and inexperience, she has a natural gift for leadership. It’s interesting to read her internal
thoughts and worries about what the hell she’s gotten herself into, and then
watch that talent lead her through various events. Another thing I love about Kelsea is that
she’s plain. And I don’t mean “I think
I’m plain because I have no self-confidence but really I’m GOOOORGEOUS” (I’m
looking at you, Bella Swan). She’s too
tall and too broad to fit the usual parameters of femininity; her eyes and hair
are of average brown, neither sultry or sleek; she has no cheekbones to speak
of. And naturally, she’s kind of
insecure about her plainness; Kelsea wishes she were beautiful and worries
about who is going to be interested in a girl who looks she does. It was a refreshing change of pace from the
parade of beautiful, sloe-eyed, slender waifs that populate a lot of fantasy
worlds. Kelsea is an ordinary girl,
doing extraordinary things by dint of wits and courage. And I like that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">10) <i>The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden</i>, by
Catherynne Valente</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">The absolute BEST thing I read in 2014 was the fabulous
Catherynne Valente’s first Orphan Tales book.
For those of us who remember the vocabulary from high school lit class,
it’s a frame tale, a story within which the characters tell their own stories. Think <i>The
Canterbury Tales</i>, or <i>Hyperion</i> by
Dan Simmons for a 20<sup>th</sup> century example. (<i>Hyperion</i>
is one of the best books I’ve read that I totally didn’t get, at all. You guys go read it too and come back and
explain to me, ok?) Anyway, in this
garden outside the Sultan’s palace there’s an orphan girl. She has to live to live out in the garden,
because the people who live in the palace think she’s a demon. They think she’s a demon because she has
thousands of tiny words tattooed on her eyelids; nobody knows how they got
there. One night the Sultan’s heir dares
to come out the garden and start talking with the orphan girl. They strike up an unlikely friendship and she
starts telling him the stories tattooed on her eyes, which are, of course, the
stories that make up the bulk of the book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">The sheer number and originality of the stories in
this book are stunning. (I’m currently
reading the sequel and it rises to the same level.) There are some completely original elements –
dog monks, the Leucrotta (I’m still not sure what it is), the Papess, living
Stars as incarnated demigods. And there
are some familiar elements – witches, princesses, sea monsters and their ilk-
but done in original ways. As you read
farther in the book, you start to realize that the stories are interwoven –
character A from this story is character B from the next, but recognized from
another perspective. I wanted to draw an
organizational chart to illustrate the relationships among the stories, but
restrained myself. (I Must! Keep!
Nerdiness! To-A-Minimum!) Valente has created a complex, complete
mythology, with a definite style and atmosphere of it’s own. It’s as distinct and recognizable as say, the
Wheel of Time universe, or Middle Earth.
There appear to be only two books in this series, which is a pity; I
could keep reading them forever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">Go forth and read, my friends.</span></div>
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Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-30692771915844044392014-03-10T17:26:00.001-07:002014-03-10T17:26:19.643-07:00
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<i>Gone Girl</i>, by Gillian Flynn</h2>
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I put this book on my holds list at the library with great
reluctance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was immensely popular,
and I usually hate immensely popular books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They make me sad for America – this is what we think is great literature
these days, guys? Sparkly control-freak vampires and neurotic pseudo-intellectuals?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Candy-fluff romance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eeeeew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And at first blush, this sounded like chick-lit to me...unhappy wife, rough spot in the marriage. Blah blah blah. But <i>Gone Girl</i> actually deserves its hype. </div>
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<br /></div>
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On the morning of their anniversary, Nick Dunne comes home
from work to find his wife, Amy, has disappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are signs of a struggle in their home,
but no ransom note, no clues to a kidnapper, are forthcoming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the days pass, the police’s suspcions come
to rest more and more squarely on Nick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The book slowly unravels from a whodunit, to a whatisit, ending in a
whoa-wait-what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Told from Amy and Nick’s
alternating perspectives, the reader slowly becomes aware that both of them have
unexpected secrets and motives for the events set in train that anniversary morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s engaging, original, and has a couple of deliciously
horrifying twists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Stop reading here if you don’t want to know any further details
of the plot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come back and read the rest
of this post after you finish the book if you want to know more about what I
thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously, spoilers ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>STOP NOW!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal">
SPOILERS</h2>
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</div>
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Still with me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The thing I liked best about this book was how you didn’t
know who was telling the truth for half the book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You start off with Nick’s perspective on
discovering the disappearance and the disorder in the house, but you feel like
he’s not quite telling you everything he knows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He definitely doesn’t confess to being guilty of whatever happened to
his wife; but he does paint himself as a basically decent guy, and Amy as
shrewish, controlling woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you start getting Amy’s perspective through
her past diary entries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she tells
the opposite story; she’s the one who’s trying to make their marriage work in a
difficult situation, but Nick becomes increasingly distant and hateful, to the
point that she’s afraid for her safety with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So for the first half of the book, you’re reading along and thinking “Which
one of them do I believe?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you get
to the second half of the book and all becomes clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The intricacy of the plot revealed in this
second half of the book is pretty amazing; I couldn’t have come up with it in
fifty years of trying.</div>
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Another thing I really liked about this book was the sheer
evilness of the villain, when s/he was revealed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I’m about to give away something big; stop
reading here if you don’t want to know.) I read a post on Gillian Flynn’s
website about one of her earlier novels, in which she explained how keenly she felt the lack of really intrinsically evil females in literature, who aren't bad because they were jilted and out for revenge, or because daddy didn't love them enough, or what have you. She wanted to write about women who were bad just because they were bad, like Hannibal Lector or Nurse Ratchet or...or...Emperor Palpatine, for Pete's sake. I haven't read Gillian's other novels (although they are on my list), but I have to say that in the case of <i>Gone Girl</i>, she succeeded.</div>
Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-42791060272965915602014-01-27T17:25:00.002-08:002014-01-27T17:25:46.465-08:00<h3>
The Chaos Walking Trilogy, by Patrick Ness</h3>
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<h3>
</h3>
<br />
Patrick Ness is a fairly recently discovered author for me, and he's fast becoming one of my favorite YA writers. His Chaos Walking series, including <i>The Knife of Never Letting Go</i>, <i>The Ask and The Answer</i>, and<i> Monsters of Men</i>, is one of the best YA science fiction trilogies I've read in quite a while. And I say that only have read the first two (I'm impatiently awaiting the arrival of the third title in my holds list at the local library).<br />
<br />
All three books are set on New World (which is relatively Earth-like, but definitely not Earth). The story begins in the small village of Prentisstown, where inexplicably, there are no women, and all the surviving men have been cursed with telepathy. They can all hear each other's thoughts, all the time, involuntarily. You can't hide your own thoughts, and you can't keep from hearing other men's thoughts. They call the resulting omnipresent buzz of thought "Noise."<br />
<br />
The main character is a young man called Todd Hewitt, who is about to turn fourteen and thus become an adult in the eyes of his society. In fact, Todd is the last boy in Prentisstown, because of the aforementioned lack of women. A traumatic turn of events forces Todd to flee the town with only his dog. As he journeys away from everything he knows, he encounters two beings: an alien, and a girl.<br />
<br />
When Todd meets the alien, we learn that the cause of the Noise among men was a virus released by the native dominant species of New World (called the Spackle by the human settlers because of their characteristic vocalization). We hear the old, old story - humans arrive in a new place, discover that place is already claimed by others, and set about taking over the place by violence. The humans won the war, but the Noise virus was the Spackles' last great attempt at fighting back. Telepathy is the Spackles' normal method of communication, by the way; their ability to vocalize sounds is limited.<br />
<br />
When Todd meets the girl (Viola), he realizes that she is the first of the second wave of settlers heading to New World. Viola and her family were in a scout ship coming ahead of the main body of settlers, but their ship crashed, killig everyone aboard except Viola. Viola and Todd set off toghether to find Haven, a semi-mythological paradise town, Todd in hopes of finding a new home, and Viola in hopes of warning the oncoming colonization ships of the situation on New World. They are pursued by the Mayor of Prentisstown, who quickly develops into a complex and well-realized villain. The Mayor wants Todd to see him as a father figure, but Todd hates him for his misdeeds during the Spackle War. Viola eventually finds her own nemesis, Mistress Coyle, who opposed the Mayor during the Spackle War and does again during the present conflict.<br />
<br />
And conflict there is, in spades. The Mayor is no longer satisfied with Prentisstown; he wants to be President of New World, and he's starting the takeover with the town of Haven. The people of Haven, of course, are having none of that; they're familiar with the Mayor's action during the Spackle war and quickly set up resistance to his occupying army.<br />
<br />
There's a lot more to the story here that's I"m trying not to give away. Instead, let me talk about some of the things I think make these books so great. First, they deal with really hard questions. When is it justified to kill in defense of yourself or your own? When does defense become aggression? How far would you be willing to go to depose an evil leader? These are questions that adults wrestle with, and I really like the way Ness presents them to his audience. The situation - in the far future, on a different planet - is just removed enough pre-teens and teens might be able to consider it dispassionately; but on the other hand, the characters are easy to relate to, allowing readers to put themselves in Todd and Viola's shoes.<br />
<br />
The second thing I really like about these books is the relationship that develops between Todd and Viola. They have the beginning of a shy, gawky, devoted love for each other. And it's actual love - concern for the other's well being, putting your partner's needs above your own - not the instant attraction "oooh, he's handsome let's fall in bed" reaction that so many love stories default to these days. And, call me a prude, I like that I'm 2/3s done with the series and there are no signs of their relationship turning physical. Todd and Viola actually take time to get to know each other and be sure of their feelings and their future. Trust me on this - I'm a veteran of 15 years of love and 11 years of marriage built on just such a start. <br />
<br />
The only caveat I'll offer here is that these are YA books. Personally, that doesn't turn me off; a good story is a good story, regardless of the exact audience the publisher aimed it at. But I can see how some adult readers would be turned off by the YA label. Also, I know that reading a dialect turns some people off - think Huck Finn. I thought the dialect Ness invented was well done - it fit the people who were supposed to speak it, if you ask me - but there it is.<br />
<br />
I've just picked up third book in the trilogy as I finished composing this post and am devouring it at great speed. I'll post an update if the ending is a stinker, but I don't think it will me. <br />
<br />
P.S. While I'm on the subject of Patrick Ness, let me also drop a recommendation for his <i>When A Monster Calls. </i>It's Ness's vision of an idea from Siobhan Dowd, who sadly died from cancer before she could write it. Dark, funny, painful, and devastatingly accurate; anyone who has lost a loved one to a lingering illness would recognize themselves in this book.<br />
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<br />Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-4572391586873684042013-12-26T11:46:00.001-08:002013-12-26T11:46:56.434-08:00The 10 Best Things I Read in 2013I thought I'd close out the year with a list of the ten best books I read in 2013. Note that these are books I read in 2013, not books that were published in 2013. Also, look, I learned to post images!<br />
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<h4>
<i>Room</i>, by Emma Donoghue</h4>
<i>Room</i> is the story of a woman and her five-year-old son, Jack, who have been trapped in one small room his entire life. It's told from Jack's point of view, and it's the best job of an author authentically impersonating a child's voice I've ever encountered. <i>Room</i> is a harrowing read at times - Jack is in moderate danger at one point - but well worth it. It's an authentic, original, and engaging story.<br />
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<h4>
<i>Wool</i>, by Hugh Howey</h4>
Ah, science fiction! My first love. If you're interested in reading Wool, look for an omnibus edition - it's split into several parts that would be tedious to have to track down separately. It's a post-apocalyptic tale of a siloed society - literally. Everyone in the world lives in an underground silo, because the environment outside the silo has become too toxic for human life. They grow their own food, pump and refine their own oil at the base of the silo (their power source), and manufacture everything they need. And this society has existed for at least a few hundred years. As you can imagine, the silo is starting to break down. <i>Wool</i> is about what happens when people start to question whether they really can't go outside. I'm reminding myself in the course of writing this to put the two sequels, <i>Shift</i> and <i>Dust</i>, on my to-be-read list. <br />
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<h4>
<i>House of Leaves</i>, by Mark Z. Danielewski<i> </i></h4>
<i>House of Leaves </i>is one the strangest books I've ever read; I couldn't put it down. I actually first encountered it about 12 years ago - my now-brother-in-law was enthusiastically recommending it. I flipped through it, noted the weird page layouts, page-long footnotes, and variously colored text, and put it aside. If only I had read it then! In part it's the story of a man who discovered a physically impossible room in his house - a door appeared one day in an external wall, leading into a cavernous space that didn't exist from the outside of the house. And in part it's the story of a possibly crazy old man who documented the story of the man with the crazy house. And in part, it's the story of the young man who is going through the effects of the old man (who dies near the beginning of the book) discovering the story of how the old man discovered the story of the impossible room. The young man is <i>definitely</i> crazy by the end of the book - perhaps driven to that state by his examination of the documents. Parts of it are nigh-unreadable - the old man's story is dense with academic and philosophical discussions. I'll tell you a secret - I skipped those parts. You don't need them for this to still be a compelling story. It was also interesting to me because, like an medieval illuminated manuscript, the text itself and the layout of the pages helps to tell the story. The last thing I'll say about <i>House of Leaves</i> is that it's the best kind of horror story - you never see the monster, and nothing is ever really explained.<br />
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<h4>
<i>Mirror Kingdoms,</i> by Peter S. Beagle</h4>
Mirror Kingdoms is a collection of the best short fiction of Peter S. Beagle. I'm sad to say that I never read anything of Beagle's prior to this, although his best-known work, <i>The Last Unicorn</i>, has been on my to-be-read list forever. (I know, I know, how dare I call myself an SF&F fan having never read Beagle? Send an angry mob with feathers and tar.) The stories cover a range of subjects, genres, characters, and perspectives; the only thing they all have in common is that I loved them. (Particularly "Lila and the Werewolf.") Don't make the same mistake I did (and am frantically rectifying) by missing out on this fantastic author.<br />
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<h4>
<i>Cloud Atlas</i>, by David Mitchell </h4>
So, in general, I don't like post-modernist novels. They're typically overwrought and not as clever as the authors think they are. <i> Cloud Atlas</i> actually lives up to it's hype. It consists of six different loosely connected narratives, ranging from a tale of adventure on the 19th century Pacific, to a far-future technocracy in which cloned slaves are the moral issue of the day, to a post-apocalytic Hawaii where the natives have reverted to their folkways after the demise of advanced, technological society. You get the first half of five stories first (sometimes stopping in the middle of a sentence to switch narratives), then the whole of the sixth story, and then the second half of the first five stories. I won't say anything about the ways in which the stories are linked, because I think recognizing the connections and parallels is part of what made this book so enjoyable. Two warnings: the dialect of the post-apocalyptic Hawaiians is atrocious. Just do your best to get through it. Second, the abrupt switch in narrative is jarring the first couple of times; contain your confusion and just keep reading. All will be made clear and delightful.<br />
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</h4>
<h4>
<i>A Year of Biblical Womanhood</i>, by Rachel Held Evans</h4>
I have to admit that I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I approached it with some indifference; what could it have to tell me, a life-long churchgoer with 20 years of Sunday School and bible studies under my belt, about what the bible says makes a good woman? And, as I thought, there wasn't anything surprising about the parts of the Bible that Rachel used to conduct her experiment. Rather, it was her reaction to and thoughts about how those rules could and should be applied in modern life that were interesting. I liked how she corresponded with faithful women of other traditions, and how she described certain (often overlooked) Biblical heroines. Rachel had a thoughtful, balanced approach to interpreting the "rules" that the more extreme Christian sects insist on applying literally. On top of that foundation, she adds her humor, including some funny glimpses of her relationship with her husband, who was not all comfortable with his role as "lord and master" in Rachel's experiment. It's an interesting and worthwhile read, even for those of us who thought we had already heard everything there is to say about being a Christian woman.<br />
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<h4>
<i>Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore</i>, by Robin Sloane </h4>
This book is what would happen if Dan Brown decided to write one of his thrillers set, not in Europe, but in Silicon Valley, and to incorporate lots of 21rst century technology. (Oh, and miraculously develop talent, cause Brown's kind of a hack if you ask me.) <i> Mr. Penumbra</i> tells the story of a down-on-his-luck web designer, who happens into a job clerking at a small, independent San Francisco bookstore (the eponymous Mr. Penumbra's). But all is not what it seems to be; the store only has a few regular clients and they never buy anything. Rather, they borrow thick texts of unintelligible gibberish. "Why?" you may ask. You'll have to read this delightful combination of 100-year old mystery (complete with a secret society!), timeless romance (just a little of that), and usage of spanking new (literarily speaking) technology to find out. Bonus: you get a fascinating look at the inner workings of Google (the company, not the search engine) as well as a mini-lecture on Renaissance printing technology. It's a fun, easy, fast-paced read. My one complaint is that I'm not sure that the method by which the mystery is ultimately solved really works out...but you'll have to decide that for yourselves.<br />
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<h4>
<i>Unveiled: The Secret Lives of Nuns</i>, by Cheryl L. Reed </h4>
This is the one book on this list that I picked simply because it contained so much interesting information I did not previously know. For instance, did you know that not all nuns wear habits anymore? Did you know that not all nuns take life-long vows? That the proper term for a community of nuns, or the building where they live, is a monastery, not a convent? That some orders of nuns still practice flagellation (beating themselves) in expiation of the sins of others? That still other orders of nuns practice perpetual adoration of the Eucharist (that is, 24-7-365, someone is praying before a Communion wafer)? Those last two really boggled this Protestant girl's mind. This book is chock-full of factual information such as I've described above, plus thoughtful discussions of what nuns are and should be, and interviews with sisters about what they do, why they do it, their relationships with each other and with Catholic church authority, why they became nuns...on and on and on. It was fascinating.<br />
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<h4>
<i>The Speed of Dark</i>, by Elizabeth Moon</h4>
<i>The Speed of Dark</i> is told from the perspective of an autistic man, Lou, in a near-future society where autistic people have become a large enough fraction of the population that social structures have been put in place to support them. (I mean, much better and more effective social structures than we have in place to assist disabled people now.) New techniques for correcting the cause of autism in utero have been developed, which means that there are no more autistic people being born. Lou is of the last generation born before those techniques became widely available. Lou lives independently in his own apartment; drives a car; has a small circle of autistic and non-autistic friends; and supports himself by working at a job that his autism makes him uniquely talented for. Told from Lou's perspective, the story explores how autistic people see themselves, how society sees them, and the resentment that some "normal" people have toward any accommodations made for those different from themselves, and which group of people are really handicapped by their ways of thinking. An experimental procedure has been developed that might - might - cure autism in adults; and Lou's boss is considering forcing his autistic employees to take it or be fired. Following Lou's thoughts about the cure is fascinating - he goes from "Can I really be forced to take this cure?" (he can't, not legally), to "Why should I take this cure? Autism is part of who I am." to "Maybe I should do it after all?" This brilliantly written book gave me a lot of insight into autism and autistic people. And I believe Elizabeth Moon has an autistic child, so I'm inclined to view her as an authoritative source. An excellent, thought-provoking read.<br />
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<h4>
<i>The Republic of Thieves,</i> by Scott Lynch</h4>
The final book on my list is the third in the <i>Gentlemen Bastards</i> series. If you are a fan of swashbuckling high fantasy, I'm telling you - go get them all, right now. They're set in a elegantly realized, complex world that reminds me of medieval Italy - little persnickety city-states that are constantly sniping at and trying to one-up each other - with just enough fantastical details thrown in to satisfy the reader. Magic works, but it's not overused; and additionally there's real magic and then there's alchemy (which is kind of like chemistry, but less logical). There's also a long ago race - the Eldren - who left behind amazing structures of unbreakable Elderglass; but where they went and why they left is a total mystery. (I think the author is finally winding the story around to telling us more about the Eldren in the fourth book, which I really cannot wait to read one minute more.) Beside the setting, these stories are peopled by wonderful rogues with hearts of gold and clever tongues. Please read these complex, original, inventive, entertaining books, so that Scott Lynch keeps writing more of them!<br />
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That's it! I hope something in my list caught your eye. Happy reading and Happy New Year!<br />
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Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-82789558463266992032013-12-08T18:42:00.001-08:002013-12-08T18:43:09.580-08:00The Black Jewels Trilogy, by Anne Bishop<style>
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The Black Jewels Trilogy – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows</i>, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Queen of the Darkness</i> – is actually the
work that gave me the idea to write this blog, many moons ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It took me about five years to actually do
something about creating this blog – yup, I’m slow.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the thing I want to talk about regarding
the Black Jewels books is what I’m going to call unrealized potential.</div>
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First, a little background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The books are dark fantasy (definitely not for kids and also not for a
lot of adults).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They're set in the universe
of the Blood – a subset of people who are able to use magic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of the Blood’s strength in using magic
is determined by the color of the Jewel they wear, from White, the weakest, to
Black, the strongest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Jewels serve
as a reservoir of power that their owners can draw on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Blood are also able do magic
independently of their Jewels – stuff like communicating mind-to-mind and
“vanishing” objects into some kind of personal pocket universe for handy
storage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Blood are a female-dominant
society – women are heads of their families, and their government is series of
territorial courts that are each ruled by a Queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are three castes into which each gender
falls – Warlords, Princes, and Warlord-Princes for men, and Queens, Black
Widows, and Priestesses for women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
a Queen wears Black Jewels, she may become the ruler of all the Blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the Blood, regardless of gender, are
incredibly temperamental; they always seem to be riding a razor edge between
fairly normal and insane killing rage (more on that in a minute). There's a lot more interesting details to the world of the Blood - the kindred, the three Realms, the dragons - that I won't get into here because to do them justice would require several paragraphs.</div>
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So anyway, the trilogy (and the books that follow it) tells
the story of Janelle, who is the only person in the history of the
Blood to wear Black Jewels as a child; and Saetan, Daemon, and Lucivar
SaDiablo, all Warlord Princes who wear, respectively, Black, Black, and
Ebon-gray Jewels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saetan and Daemon are
the only men ever to wear Black Jewels; the three of them are the most powerful
living men in their society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Jaenelle’s
time, the Blood have been infected by a creeping social taint that is turning
their normal gender relations, and the checks and balances that keep this
powerful and temperamental race from destroying themselves, upside down. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Men are willing to subvert and dominate the
normally more-powerful women by any means necessary, and women are willing to
use any available method to protect themselves from these predatory men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust between the sexes is gone, and the
social and moral contract that they live by is rapidly decaying into
anarchy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Janelle has the power to create
change for the better in Blood society; but the problem is that she doesn’t
really want it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t want to be
Queen or rule a court, but she can’t set her inherent power aside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isolated from, feared, and misunderstood by
most of her people, Jaenelle’s power is both trap and freedom for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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So if I’ve done a good job of describing the premise of this
book, and you have a taste for this kind of sweeping fantasy, you’re probably
pretty interested in getting your hands on these books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you should; they’re worth reading. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Fair warning – one of them describes sexual
abuse of several children. I don’t want to be accused of sending anyone out
unprepared.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they could be so much
better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s where we come to my
complaint about unrealized potential.</div>
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In the universe she created for the Blood, Anne Bishop
achieved an interesting, layered world with it’s own culture, history, and
problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She came up with a compelling
story idea – an unusual child growing into a woman, desperately wanting love
and friendship but set apart by the very qualities the make her special.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there’s an epic problem to solve – how to
save the Blood from themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the
way she went about telling this story is, well...crummy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She overshot passion by a mile and landed
smack in melodrama.</div>
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For one thing, everything, EVERYTHING in Janelle’s world is influenced
by (1) sex and (2) violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently
a man can’t say hello to a woman in this world without it being taken as a
prelude to rape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the Blood’s
mind-to-mind communication is described, it’s always in terms of “spear
threads” and “distaff threads.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guess
what the “spear” symbolizes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
only read “Saetan sent to Daemon, spear-to-spear, ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where is Janelle?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Protect the
Lady!’”</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so many times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Daemon is so incredibly sexy that women
will risk their lives for the possibility that he might be willing to hop in
bed with them, despite his literally murderous temper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t care how hot you are, guys, a little
nooky isn’t worth getting my head ripped off because you’re feeling cranky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sex, sex, sex – that’s what the Blood spend
90% of their time thinking about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
gets boring, frankly.</div>
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For another thing, I’m not impressed by temper tantrums,
which seem to be the Bloods’ main method of communication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a scene in one of books where a group
of men who are all connected to Janelle in one way or another are meeting for
the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re all trying stake
their claim on Jaenelle and show that they belong in her inner circle of
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One makes some kind of lame,
getting-to-know-you joke to another; the second guy’s response is “I’ll accept
any challenge a male wants to make!” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The conversation doesn’t even really make
sense.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The actions and traits that the
author seems to want to us to accept as being confident and masculine are the
very ones that I would describe as insecure and childish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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So there’s my summation of the Black Jewels books – great
world building, good concept, good characters (in theory), full of potential,
but poorly executed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jaenelle is one of
the few <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> powerful female
characters I know of in the fantasy genre, whose power is inherently her own,
not conferred on her by who her father or husband is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think of the Rowan, from Anne McCaffrey’s
series of the same name, for a sci-fi parallel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jaenelle and her story deserved to be written better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d love to see another author – say, Juliet
Marillier or Jacqueline Carey – rewrite the Black Jewels trilogy, or write independent
stories set in the universe of the Blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If only that wasn’t completely impossible because of various copyright
laws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A girl can only dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-53771383912514983872013-11-18T19:02:00.002-08:002013-11-18T19:02:15.289-08:00Quick Reviews of Other Books I've Been Reading<i>The Real Downtown Abbey</i>, by Fiona Carnarvon<br />
Being a fan of the show Downton Abby, I thought I'd give this book a try. It's written by the current Countess of Carnarvon; she and her husband own and live in Highclere Castle (the estate that is used to film Downton). The first third of the book was very interesting, telling the story of the fourth Countess, whose history parallels some of the characters and events in the TV show. The second third of the book bogged down a bit - the bits about the Countess' involvement in nursing World War I solders were interesting, but much of this section retold the general sweep of the war and was only distantly connected to Highclere. The last third of the book picked back up, recounting how the fourth Earl worked with Howard Carter to open Tutankhamun's tomb. Worth reading if you're a Downton watcher, but keep your expectations moderate.<br />
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<i>A Tale of Sand</i>, by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl.<br />
I hated this book, not to put too fine a point on it. It's a graphic novel based on a screenplay that Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl wrote many years before Jim's death, but it was never picked up for production. It's an absurdist tale of a man dropped into desert landscape and forced to run for his life for no particular reason. And the twist at the end is dreadfully predictable. (It could be that I'm judging this harshly because I've never been able to like surreal, absurdist literature; maybe if that's your cup of tea, you'd like <i>A Tale of Sand</i>. But it wasn't for me.)<br />
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<i>Among Others</i>, by Jo Walton<br />
<i>Among Others</i> tells the story of Welsh teenager Morwenna Phelps, whose twin sister was recently killed under mysterious circumstances and who has been packed off to boarding school. Morwenna is: (1) left with a permanent limp from the same accident that killed her sister, (2) an avid reader of science fiction, and (3) able to see and talk with fairies. I enjoyed it a lot, not only for Morwenna's story but also for the myriad references to classic works of SF. Having been a nerdy girl who loved to read and had easy access to a vast collection of fantasy and SF (my dad's), I could easily identify with Mori. It's an engaging story and Mori's voice rang very true to teenage life (at least, as far I remember). The only thing I didn't like about this book was Mori's stereotypical relationships with her parents; her mom was a vague fount of evil and her dad was a distant, absent, only partially involved figure. "My parents don't love/don't understand me" has only been done a few thousand times. But overall it's a very enjoyable book, especially for those of us who grew up on Asimov, Le Guin, McCaffrey, Zelazny, and Heinlein. In fact, there's the test I'll suggest for whether you should read this book; if you're familiar with at least four of those names, read it.<br />
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<br />Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-4006475704035421872013-11-17T18:20:00.000-08:002013-12-08T18:44:16.663-08:00The Girl Who Cirumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catheyne M. ValenteSo, Catheryne Valente has this series - five books planned, through published to date - about September, a girl from Nebraska who is transported to Fairyland once a year and has an adventure there. The titles all start with "The Girl Who..." and conclude with some act performed in Fairyland. Oh, how I love this series. I hope that someday it take a place alongside The Chronicles of Narnia as one of English literature's best examples of the "child has adventures in a magical world" theme. However, I seriously doubt that it will. Let me tell you why.<br />
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The Fairyland the Catheryne Valente has created is a singular place. Fairies, reindeer, Winds, living machines, stifling bureaucracy, and djinni who live unstuck from the normal movement of time are all found in Valente's made-up world. And somehow, she makes them all fit. This Fairyland doesn't have a single unifying theme (except maybe unfettered imagination); it doesn't have a logical set of rules (you kind of make them up yourself as you go along); and sometimes the magic looks a lot like science. Or maybe the science looks a lot like magic. Anyway, it's a delightful place, wonderfully realized, unlike any other Fairy realm I've encountered before.<br />
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And September, the Girl of the title, is an extraordinary main character. She is snatched away from her ordinary late-1940's Nebraska home and embarks on her first adventure with hardly a backward glance. She is bold, and daring, and smart, and thoughtful, and caring. She has a romantic interest, but their relationship develops with subtlety and care; there's no love-at-first-sight Disneyfication here. She struggles, and has doubts, and the occasional selfish thought. And that's why I think these books, however wonderfully written they are, won't ever reach the heights of Narnia or Harry Potter; September is just a little too real to fit what most people want from a fairytale. And similarly, Valente's Fairyland itself isn't a saccharine fantasy of unicorns and rainbows; there is real trouble, real fear, real danger, and real courage in Fairyland and in September and her friends.<br />
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I hope, if you have some space in your reading list, and you like a good children's story that also appeals to adults, you'll give Fairyland a try. My favorite character is the Ell, the literate wyvern who believes his father was a library. An excellent dragon if you ask me; Ell could hold his head up next to Smaug and Temeraire with pride. <br />
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Hey, speaking of Temeraire...I'll have to put his series on the list for a blog post. Go look him up if you can't wait!<br />
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<br />Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2534698697465320309.post-24313929906321961372013-10-31T17:37:00.000-07:002013-10-31T17:37:53.302-07:00At the Mouth of the River of Bees - Kij Johnson<h2>
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For the inaugural post on H&MLTR, I’m going to review
Kij Johnson’s collection of short stories, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At
the Mouth of the River of Bees</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
read her novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fox Woman</i>
a few years ago and loved it, so I was excited to come across more of her
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She often writes about Heian
Japan, which is a fascinating time period and culture. </div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">At the Mouth of the
River of Bees</i> shows Kij Johnson’s depth and breadth as a writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found every one of the stories included
original, creative, and engaging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Four
of the stories reflect her interest in Heian Japan and other Asian cultures
(“Fox Magic,” “Chenting, in the Land of the Dead,” “The Empress Jingu Fishes, “
and “The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Many of the stories involve animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But those are about the only similarities I can find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The settings of the stories range from the
real world, to ancient Earth societies, to totally invented fantasy worlds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tone, voice, and structure of each story is
different; some read like fairy tales, one reads like a Edwardian gentleman’s
diary, and “The Man Who Bridged the Mist” is almost a novella. </div>
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Synopses of a couple of my favorites from this collection
(it was hard to choose):</div>
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<ul>
<li>“26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” – Aimee inherits a monkey act
from a random stranger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twenty-six
monkeys of varying ages, sizes, and species perform tricks in the show, with
the finale being all of them piling into a bathtub and disappearing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The monkeys reappear after every show,
trailing into the tour bus where they and Aimee live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where do the monkeys go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do they get back?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>“The Cat Who Walked a Thousand Miles” is the story of a
young cat living in ancient Tokyo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
her home is destroyed by one of the great Tokyo fires, she sets out on the
Tokaido, the great road that ran from Tokyo all the way to the northernmost
prefecture of ancient Japan, looking for a new one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a charming little adventure story,
convincingly told from a cat’s perspective.</li>
</ul>
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<li>Finally, “The Man Who Bridged the Mist” tells the story of
an engineer sent to a rural area of his country to build a bridge over a river
of mist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s a water river below the
mist, but the mist dissolves everything it touches except the fish that live in
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This long story chronicles his slow absorption
into the community of the area, the building of the bridge, and the effects
that the bridge has on both sides of the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can’t even really say what struck me so much about it; it was just a
charming and well-written story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I didn’t realize how much longer it was than the other stories in this
book until I looked back at the table of contents and noticed the page numbers.</li>
</ul>
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There are few short story collections that I can honestly
say I like every single story in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recommend it with no
reservations.</div>
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Hedgiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01599630512253469798noreply@blogger.com0