Hosted by LaLa in the Library
Wow, this is a long time in coming so there are SO MANY BOOKS to talk about! Let's see....
First and foremost you should check out the blog post that Lindsey compiled out of our #DOTFReadAlong thoughts, because she did an AWESOME job! It's a work of art, I swear. And I can at least say that Daughter of the Forest was 75% of the reason I got out of my reading slump. (Who knew that reading like 15 picture books a day saps out any willpower to read books of your own?) The other 25% goes to:
I have officially FINALLY finished my very first graphic novel! Much thanks to the girls over at The Book Wars as they're the ones who sent the book my way. I was at work when this came in and I immediately put down Daughter of the Forest, ripped the package open and devoured it in like an hour. And then continued reading Daughter of the Forest. Have I mentioned having the most boring job in existence has some great perks? In any case Zita the Spacegirl was pretty much everything I could have ever wanted. The artwork was like if you mushed Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, etc.) with Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), and it's basically like someone went down a checklist of all the things I really, really want in my stories.
1. Adventure
2. Sci-fi/fantasy world
3. Friendship as a focal point
4. Lovable genius/rogue
5. Diversity
6. Robots
7. Aliens
8. Giant Mice
Yes this is exactly what I would have on my list. Like word for word. I kind of REALLY want to bring it for the kids, but I think there are parts that might be too scary for the four-year old. So it looks like I'll be waiting on that. Speaking of, we're almost done with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe! I've decided on From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler for the next book as it's perfect for a much needed break from potential emotional minefields AND it has the added benefit that I'm pretty sure the seven-year old won't have read it. Which means he won't spoil things (I'm not sure we've ever made it a week before he loses all his spoiler points) and I'll have the satisfaction of making HIM be the one who doesn't know things! Mwahahaha!
In other news, Jacqueline Carey remains queen of everything. I read Dark Currents immediately after ending my slump and god she's so amazing!! Can someone else please read her?! (Actually Stephanie if you read this I think this series of hers is up your alley) Style-wise this series is reminiscent of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series, so expect lots of supernatural fun. Which makes it even more impressive. The Kushiel series, which I've mentioned many, many times (SOMEONE READ THIS PLEASE SO I CAN FANGIRL WITH YOU) is most often compared with Game of Thrones. (Except, you know, way better.) How is it possible that both of these stories came from the same woman?! Part of what I love about Carey is what you can expect from her: diversity in pretty much any way possible. Trans, cis, gay, BI!!!, straight, races of all sorts. And it's so effortless! It's not like she spends pages hammering it in, it's just a quick mention here or there and it makes a WORLD of difference. Plus she's got a great relationship with her mom, and her bff plays an active part in her life. So. You know. Hitting all the things on my check list quota once again.
And I finished off the week with Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men. Guys...HOW HAVE I NOT READ THIS BEFORE?! My best friend from high school gave me this....actually I think I may still have been in high school when he gave me this. I have moved it with me from state to state...and still never read it. I don't know why it took me so long to read it...(I think it may have been his attempt to get me to love R.A. Salvatore which was just never happening. But by the time he introduced me to Harry Dresden, I should have started trusting him more by now!) It's everything I never knew I needed in my life. It's like Diana Wynne Jones meets Douglas Adams, and HELLO THAT IS LIKE MY CORNER OF BOOKISH THINGS. It's like my reason for being. Or at least blogging. But you know, same difference. Anyway, I feel like an idiot for putting it off so long. Luckily I know he gave me another Terry Pratchett novel I just have to find it (...it might be in a suit case since I haven't seen it as of yet), and I am going to remedy this until-now-undiscovered hole in my life.
Uhhhh, I totally would have suggested Wee Free Men, but I assumed you have read it! So good!!
ReplyDeleteDid you say GIANT MICE? It looks cute. I still am not feeling the graphic novel thing. I liked the one and only one I read, but I sent it to my cousin because I knew he would appreciate it more. One that does intrigue me I saw in the Best of 2013 GR voting. I think it was called Fables, have you heard of it? I read the first Discworld book The Colour of Magic a loooooooong time ago. I bought it because it was in the 50% off bin at B&N, and I had vaguely remembered someone mentioning it was good. I loved it, but always forget to look for the other books. I need to get the title of the second book and write it on my notepad app. Have you seen the BBC Christmas mini-series Hogfather? It is based on Discworld. Thanks for TMTing! :D
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've seen Miyazaki, DOTF, Bill Watterson, Dianna Wynne Jones and Douglas Adams in the same post! Just two or three together would have made me so happy, but this - this post - it's too much! It's too good! xD I love you already for we have the same corner of bookish things :')
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you were in slump and glad you are out of it! DOTF is pretty darn great so I can see how that would help. The GN you read sounds awesome! I would also put those 8 things on my list though maybe swap Aliens and Giant Mice. The Carey also looks intriguing but *in tiny voice* I didn't love Kushiel's Dart and in fact put it down with like 50 pages to go and never finished it. I'm a horrible person. It was a long time ago and I don't remember exactly what happened - the writing was good and I was digging the story and then something happened....Anyway, I don't think that would stop me from picking up another of her series. Finally, I have always felt guilty because I have tried and failed to read the first Discworld book many times. I just couldn't get into it but lately I've been hearing that it is recognized as a weak book and that in this one case it is okay to start midseries - Horrors! Anyway, Wee Free Men gets mentioned A LOT as folk's favorite so I should check it out especially if you liked it.
ReplyDeleteI know, it's exactly what I think most people would have assumed I would have read by now haha!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm super picky about mine, hence never having finished one before. I thought you might be tempted by the giant mice bit hahaha! And I haven't read Fables, but only because they were always checked out at my library - but what with being fairy tale/folk lore characters, it's something I DEFINITELY want to read!
ReplyDeleteOoh! You know what? I'm pretty sure the other book he gave me was The Colour of Magic! Perfect, looks like I'm starting with first Discworld books all over the place. I haven't seen Hogfather, but it sounds like I'm going to have to find a copy!
Aww, this comment made me all tingly and warm inside! But yeah, these are all basically my favourite things ever haha. Do you have a blog? I'd love to check it out if you do (particularly because I don't meet too many people who are in the same corner as me!)
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to see that you finished your first graphic novel. I love graphic novels so much. I don't think I've heard of DOTF so I am going to go and check out that post about the book. Sounds like you guys had a fun time, wish I would've joined along.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the four-year old has become a picture book fiend, so I think reading that many picture books AND the chapter book at dinner just totally drained me haha. Have you read any of her other books? I can't remember if I know that or not. And yeah, the giant mouse may have been the best thing about the whole book lol!
ReplyDeleteI imagine it might be related to the sex part of it? I could be wrong about that though. Phedre is a submissive, and it gets pretty heavily (and at times graphically) into BDSM, which isn't my kink so it definitely took me aback when I first started reading it. But I liked the rest of the story so much that I plowed through and eventually the sex scenes stopped making me flinch haha! I definitely think her other series is up your alley though - it sounds a lot like GAH. What's the name? It's a paranormal series you've recommended to me. (I think it's paranormal? Is Ilona Andrews an author that is ringing bells on this? She just popped into my head but I'm not positive that's right)
Yeah technically this book is the thirtieth book in the Discworld series, but it's like it must have more than one series within the series? Because it's also a first book haha. It all gets very confusing to me (a la the Pern books)
I'm hoping the library I'm at since my move will have a good selection of graphic novels (my hopes aren't high. The YA section is a mess, and I feel like I judge how many anime/gn's I see at a library on how good/bad the YA section is) because I'd love to experiment with more so I can hit my stride there. I'm always open to suggestions! (Although I haven't had ANY luck with superheroes. Looks like it'll only be on-screen stuff for me on that front!)
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of fun! I don't typically do read-alongs because I'm so bloody awful at keeping to a schedule, so I was pleasantly surprised that I actually DID do it haha!
I wasn't bothered by the sex. I think it was another one of my eccentric character feels. I felt like something happened with Phedre's character that pissed me off. I should probably give it another try sometime. Ilona Andrews is definitely a UF author I really like so if it's like those I'm in:0)
ReplyDeleteHer other series (Agent of Hel) is what I imagine Ilona Andrews is like - I still haven't got my hands on her! (Although I broke down majorly on the library ban. They didn't have any Ilona Andrews on ebook though. I heading the library tomorrow and I'm on a big paranormal/urban fantasy kick so I might see if they have one of her books in!)
ReplyDelete