Weekly Geeks: Book Podcasts

Wow, it’s a long time since I did a Weekly Geeks post – or much of anything at all on the blog really. But this was a topic that I felt I could make a useful post about, so here I am.

Dewey worded it this way, "find and review a link to a book podcast." I'm modifying this just a bit and am asking you to share with us a podcast you love, preferably book related, but not necessarily so. Give us the link, of course, and share with us details about that podcast and why you enjoy it so much. If you have a couple or three favorites, share them all!

I’ve skimmed around the blogs that have responded and neither of my favourite book podcasts have shown up, so I’m going to share them here.

• Dragon Page: Cover to Cover
  Your hosts, Mike and Mike, cover fantasy and science fiction, with author (and occasionally publisher) interviews, book reviews, commentary, feedback and a library section. Both are very into ebooks and developing technologies, so those are often discussed which, personally, I find fascinating. I don’t always agree with them, but they’re always interesting to listen to.
• Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing
  As the title suggests, another SF podcast, although fantasy is equally covered. Your host, Sean, has recently moved and taken on a new job, so episodes are currently sporadic, but always worth the time it takes to listen.

I also listen to a bunch of other podcasts that are not book related and two good ones are Astronomy Cast, which is excellent and Cadmium2 where three friends discuss British Cult TV and Film (with a particular focus on classic Doctor Who) amidst a fair bit of banter and laughing. These two are very different, the first fairly formal and the second definitely not, but both are very enjoyable.

So cute

I just think this is really cute. I love the turtle. Marcus has a soft toy turtle (although his is pink) so I may be biased. I am not, however, bored. I just love the picture.

Reading posts for October

It’s taken me several hours, but I have finally got all my reading posts for the year sorted out and up to date. I was trying to reuse the layout of an earlier month in Live Writer when I updated and I’ve finally worked out that doing it that way meant I actually overwrote the earlier post. I now know that I need to start a new post and copy and paste instead.

Then I had where my reading challenge lists and my monthly lists didn’t match up. Now they do. I realise this doesn’t bother anyone on the entire planet except me, but since this is my blog, I needed to get it all fixed.

So finally, here’s my measly reading stats for October.

October 2009 Reading

1. Harrowing the Dragon – Patricia A. McKillip
   Fantasy; eBook; 7/10
2. To Ride Hell’s Chasm – Janny Wurts
   Fantasy; Library Book; 6/10
3. Harmony’s Way – Lora Leigh
   Breeds, Book 8; Erotic Romance; eBook; 7/10
4. The Changeover – Margaret Mahy
   YA; Paranormal; Library Book; DNF
5. Angels’ Judgement in Must Love Hellhounds – Charlaine Harris et al. 
   Guild Hunters, Book 1.5; Urban Fantasy; 8/10

Best book of the month = Harrowing the Dragon
Biggest disappointment of the month = To Ride Hell’s Chasm

October Reading:
Books read this month = 4
DNFs this month = 1
10/10 reads this month = 0
New reads this month = 4
Rereads this month = 0
paper books : eBooks = 2 : 2 = 50% : 50%

October Challenges Progress:
100+ Reading Challenge = 3
Support Your Local Library Challenge = 1 (Stage 1 Completed 3-04-09)
Romance Reading Challenge = 1 (Challenge Completed 25-02-09)
YA Reading Challenge = 0
eBook Reading Challenge = 2 (Challenge Completed 24-02-09)
Patricia A. McKillip Reading Challenge = 1 (Challenge Completed 5-10-09)

October Non-Challenges Progress:
SF/Fantasy books read = 4
Audiobooks listened to = 0

Cumulative Totals – October 2009

2009 Reading:
Books read for 2009 = 81
DNFs for 2009 = 10
10/10 for 2009 = 9
New reads for 2009 = 67
Rereads for 2009 = 8
paper books : eBooks = 39 : 36 = 52% : 48%

2009 Challenges Progress:
100+ Reading Challenge = 76
Support Your Local Library Challenge = 21 (Stage 1 Completed 3-04-09)
Romance Reading Challenge = 17 (Challenge Completed 25-02-09)
YA Reading Challenge = 8
eBook Reading Challenge = 35 (Challenge Completed 24-02-09)

2009 Non-Challenges Progress:
SF/Fantasy books read = 49
Audiobooks listened to = 6

Completed 2009 Challenges
Once Upon a Time III Challenge = 7 (Books Component Completed 22-04-09; Challenge Ended 20-6-09 with A Midsummer Night’s Dream unwatched. Result = Failed, but only just)
Patricia A. McKillip Reading Challenge = 3 (Challenge Completed 5-10-09)

September 2009 Reading

Okay, after messing up posting the August reading list, can I get September right? Maybe if I wait until November to post it.

1. Memory and Dream – Charles de Lint
   Newford, Book 5; Urban Fantasy; eBook; 8/10
2. Does Anything Eat Wasps – New Scientist
   Non-Fiction; Library Book; 8/10
3. Seeing Eye in Strange Brew – Patricia Briggs et al
   Paranormal Romance; Library Book; 8/10
4. Silent on the Moor – Deanna Raybourn
   Lady Julia Grey, Book 3; Mystery; Library Book; 7/10
5. Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze – New Scientist
   Non-Fiction; Library Book; 7/10
6. The Shadow Queen – Anne Bishop
   Black Jewels, Book 7; Fantasy; 10/10
7. The Long Run – Daniel Keys Moran
   The Continuing Time, Book 2; SF; eBook; 7/10
8. Hunting Ground – Patricia Briggs
   Alpha and Omega, Book 2; Urban Fantasy; 8/10
9. To Say Nothing of the Dog – Connie Willis
   SF; 7/10
10. The Little White Horse – Elizabeth Goudge
    Children; Audiobook; Reread; DNF
11. The Mummy Case – Elizabeth Peters
    Amelia Peabody, Book 3; Mystery; eBook; 7/10

Best book of the month = The Shadow Queen 
(love this series, love this book, love the world and love the characters)
Worst book of the month = 
(nothing bad enough to call “worst”)
Biggest disappointment of the month = The Long Run or To Say Nothing of the Dog
(both were still good reads, but expected to like them more than I did)

September Reading:
Books read this month = 10
DNFs this month = 1
10/10 reads this month = 1
New reads this month = 10
Rereads this month = 0
% paper books : % eBooks = 70 : 30

May Challenges Progress:
100+ Reading Challenge = 9
Support Your Local Library Challenge = 3 (Stage 1 Completed 3-04-09)
Romance Reading Challenge = 0 (Challenge Completed 25-02-09)
YA Reading Challenge = 0
eBook Reading Challenge = 3 (Challenge Completed 24-02-09)
Patricia A. McKillip Reading Challenge = 0

May Non-Challenges Progress:
SF/Fantasy books read = 6
Audiobooks listened to = 0

Geographical Restrictions

I am so TIRED of not being able to buy the books I want because of geographical ebook restrictions. I used to get angry about it, but now I’m just tired.

In the last two days, there have been four books I wanted to buy and couldn’t because of where I live. Two I wanted enough to order from my local specialty store that imports books, but that was only because their catalogue arrived the same day and those two were in there. Otherwise I just wouldn’t have bothered. As it is, there go two lost sales. And it easily might have been four.

I’m sick and I’m always tired, lately close to exhausted. My eyes are getting older and more tired. Paper books are just getting harder and harder for me to read. I can lie down on my bed and read on my iPhone and I can adjust the text size, the text colours and it’s small and it’s light. Even then, sometimes it’s too much effort to hold it up and I give up and put on a podcast or some music.

Reading is HARD for me these days. I’m a life-long avid reader, but now it’s HARD. Why do publishers have to make it harder?

It’s an effort for me to get organised enough to go out to the bookstore or the library. And then I have to find the energy to do it. And then I have to cope with the paper books anyway. If publishers keep making it harder and harder for me to get their books (and more expensive, because with the exchange rate and import costs to consider, paper books are much more expensive than ebooks here) I’ll just give up. They won’t be selling me their books.

And I can see myself, a life-long reader, gradually stopping reading.

Now that’s just SAD.

I finished a challenge!

Wow, I did it! I actually completed a challenge. The other day I finished reading Patricia A. McKillip’s Harrowing the Dragon, a collection of short stories. In doing so, I read my third book of hers for the year and completed Lennth’s challenge. My updated challenge post is here.

I have to admit this was far from my favourite on McKillip’s works. I think she’s better at full length novels than short stories.

I usually love McKillip, but a lot of these stories failed to completely satisfy. I think a lot of the problem is that the endings tended to feel weak to me; the stories built beautifully, the writing was lovely and then they just kind of ended. My favourites were "The Stranger" and "The Lion and the Lark" and I think part of that is because the endings were stronger. But I'm left with the feeling that McKillip writes better at the longer length than the shorter one.

All the same, I enjoyed the experience. I’m not really one for anthologies full of stories by different authors, but reading this collection by McKillip and Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint earlier this year I’ve discovered that I’m more likely to enjoy a collection by a favourite author where I know I already enjoy their world(s) and writing style.

Harrowing the Dragon
Patricia A. McKillip
7/10

Qualifies for: 100+ Reading Challenge, Patricia A. McKillip Challenge, eBook Reading Challenge

I’ve actually managed a few book comments over on my GoodReads entries lately, so I shall endeavour to add this to the blog over the next few weeks. It’s school holidays here and having Marcus at home for two weeks solid (well 1½ so far) has really knocked me over.

August 2009 Reading

Edited yet again: I think I see where I've messed up. I suspect I just overwrote the July reading post with the August reading post. It is already past my bedtime, so I'm going to leave the mess as it is for now an try to fix it all up tomorrow. Sorry everyone.

Better late than never when it comes to posting this. At least it isn’t quite the end of September yet.

ETA: I didn't realise I'd already posted this (I think, I'm quite confused about the whole thing now), but I've added a few small comments and the month's one DNF to the list, so I'll post it again as a new post anyway.

Another slow month for me, but I am reading, which is the most important thing.

1. Angels’ Blood – Nalini Singh
   Guild Hunters, Book 1; Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy; 10/10
2. The Invisible Ring – Anne Bishop
   Black Jewels, Book 4; Fantasy; eBook; Reread; 10/10
3. The Stars Blue Yonder – Sandra McDonald
   Seven Sisters, Book 3; SF; Library Book; 9/10
4. Diamond Star – Catherine AsaroSkolian Saga, Book 13; SF; 10/10
   Review here
5. Scales of Gold – Dorothy Dunnett
   House of Niccolo, Book 4; Historical Fiction; DNF
   I still want to read this, but it just isn't what I can manage at the moment, so I'm marking it as a DNF and I'll go back to it some other time.
6. Glory in Death – J. D. Robb
   Eve and Roarke, Book 2; Futuristic Mystery; Reread; 8/10
7. Swan for the Money – Donna Andrews
   Meg Langslow, Book 11; Cozy Mystery; Library Book; 7/10
8. Break No Bones – Kathy Reichs
   Temperance Brennan, Book 9; Mystery; eBook; 7/10
9. Silent in the Sanctuary– Deanna Raybourn
   Lady Julia Grey, Book 2; Historical Mystery; eBook; 6/10
   ** spoiler alert ** I find myself vaguely unstaisfied by the ending, as one character seems to have "gotten away with it". While kind of realistic, it doesn't feel right. I wonder if this will ever be mentioned again or just let drop. I hope it gets resolved.

August Reading:
Books read this month = 8
DNFs this month = 1
10/10 reads this month = 3
New reads this month = 6
Rereads this month = 2
% paper books : % eBooks = 5 : 3

May Challenges Progress:
100+ Reading Challenge = 8
Support Your Local Library Challenge = 2 (Stage 1 Completed 3-04-09)
Romance Reading Challenge = 0 (Challenge Completed 25-02-09)
YA Reading Challenge = 0
eBook Reading Challenge = 3 (Challenge Completed 24-02-09)
Patricia A. McKillip Reading Challenge = 0

May Non-Challenges Progress:
SF/Fantasy books read = 4
Audiobooks listened to = 0

How to spend a rainy school holidays day

Marcus and I decided that, since it is raining on and off and he’s pretty tired, the best way to spend the first “real” day of the school holidays is to have a snuggly day at home. He’s tucked up in a chair with a blanket and cushion and seems very happy just to lie there. Since he’s usually such a bundle of energy, if he wants to rest, I’m going to let him do so.

Blah

I'm not sure that it feels like it, but my health has made some progress. I had the most awful anxiety as a side-effect of the anti-depressants. After I tried to tough it out until it went away, the doctor and I eventually agreed I needed some anti-anxiety medication to get me through it. Now I have a mild, annoying but not incapacitating anxiety sitting at the bottom of my stomach.

The only possible upside to the anxiety was that since I couldn't relax, I was keeping up with keeping the house tidy and various jobs around the place. Now the anxiety is reduced, I've calmed down a lot and now I'm just tired and flat and blah from the depression. Sadly, that means the laundry pile has got bigger and Marcus' mess is starting to accumulate. I guess there are positives and negatives to everything.

I'm not stitching at all. I've been putting the odd stitch into The Bookshelf from Little House Needleworks but it doesn't really count of stitching at all in my book. I've altered some of the authors' names to ones that are more familiar to me than in the original and I'm going to change one of the book titles. I have never been able to read Wuthering Heights and after some comments I've heard about it, I don't think I ever will. So the scene of a house beside a wild sea will be changed to something else. I know what, I just have figured out how I'm going to do the wording (feel free to guess, but no prize for a correct answer I'm afraid).

Speaking of Little House Needleworks, I see the designer has started up a blog and is revealing snippets of her new release to be called The Library. I'm being suitably teased and have just added her to my feed reader so I don't miss out of anything. It's here for anyone wanting to take a look.

I am doing some reading, although not with as much enthusiasm as I would like. Back in March, a friend gave me the book Do Polar Bears Get Lonely? for my birthday. It's a compilation of answers to questions posed in New Scientist's Last Word column where readers ask strange and/or interesting questions and other readers answer them. I thoroughly enjoyed the book - even if I didn't understand all of it and probably forgot most of it. Dave picked up the other two from the library, Does Anything Eat Wasps? and Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? and I am enjoying those, having already finished the first one and started on the second. (For the record: No, polar bears don't get lonely being solitary animals and all sorts of things eat wasps including fish, frogs, many types of birds and other wasps.)

I have also stared Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn. I wasn't blowled over by the first two in the series, but I did enjoy reading them, so I shall give it a go.

Sticking with books, I updated two of the widgets on my sidebar today, to use the provided GoodReads versions for "Current Books" and "Recently Read". Using GoodReads means I don't have to manually update either. Especially, I don't have to constantly find and upload book covers of my current reads. GoodReads does it for me and that makes my life a lot easier.

I've been in a Doctor Who phase as I work through the anxiety, and have been listening to a lot of podcasts (I'm especially enjoying Cadmium2's story by story casts from the beginning, although I'm only up to The Space Museum, while they are about thirteen episodes ahead of me). I've also listened to a few Big Finish audio plays, mostly from the Eight Doctor range, as Paul McGann remains my favourite doctor, despite his very short time in the role.

I've been very slowly watching Torchwood: Children of Earth over about the last 10 days. I watched episode four today and I hope to finish it tomorrow, although that will depend on just how my day goes. I had been warned about the bad thing that happens in episode four, so at least I wasn't shocked and could just appreciate the way they played it all out. I thought it was a lovely ending in a very-sad-lovely kind of way. Now just one more hour to watch.

So all in all, I'm no longer terribly anxious, but remain flat and blah with a general feeling of not-rightness. Still the specialist told me it took me 14 months to stabalise last time, so I just hope it doesn't take that long this time, as it's only been a bit over four.

Okay, time for me to head for bed. Early nights and the best sleep possible are my friends right now.

Trip Down Memory Lane

On Friday, Marcus brought this book home from school for weekend reading. I’m pretty sure I remember reading books like this when I was at school and learning to read.

I checked the copyright date and it was 1968. I started school in 1974, so that would be about right.

While I’m not sure that I remember this particular book, I was reading the titles on the back cover and I definitely remember reading The Hungry Lambs and I think The Stars in the Sky. They were big, fat hardcover books with a whole lot of stories in them and I can almost see them in my mind’s eye all these years later. The other titles sound familiar too.

At least they were new when I read them. Not so much now. But the stories were still perfectly fine for reading practise. I did have to explain what “Primers” were (first year at school now has the original title of “Year 1”) and also what a penny was as we don’t even have one cent coins any more (our smallest coin here in NZ is 10 cents), but everything else was fine. Okay, so the pictures were a little dated, but that’s okay.

Does this count as recycling?

Diamond Star by Catherine Asaro

Wow, I’m actually trying to write a book review. I haven’t done that in months and months, but we’ll see how it goes.

Catherine Asaro is my favourite author and her Skolian series, of which Diamond Star is the latest chapter, is my favourite series. However, I often get incredibly anxious about reading her books, sometimes putting it off for months, and I’m never been completely sure about why. I am coming to the conclusion that it is a combination of the fact that I really connect with these books, meaning I tend to have a very intense reaction to them, and the fact I find her bad guys particularly nasty, so that the more they feature in a book, the more anxious I feel about reading it. But I love the books. The characters speak to me and I really respond to them. I care about them all and want to know what happens to them. If I was a writer (which I’m not, and certainly wouldn’t ever be one of Catherine’s talent) and I was trying to “write what you love and want to read”, these are they books I’d want to write. They just hit all my buttons, even if they terrify me a little bit as well.

Borrowing the blurb from www.fantasticfiction.co.uk:

Del was a rock singer. He was also the renegade son of the Ruby Dynasty, which made his career choice less than respectable, and gave him more to worry about than getting gigs and not getting cheated by recording companies, club owners, or his agent. For one thing, the Ruby Dynasty ruled the Skolian Imperialate, an interstellar Empire, which had recently had a war with another empire, the Eubian Concord. For another, Del was singing on Earth, which was part of a third interstellar civilization, and one which had an uneasy relationship with the Imperialate. Del undeniably had talent, and was rapidly rising from an unknown fringe artist to stardom. But, with his life entangled in the politics of three interstellar civilizations, whether he wanted that or not, talent might not be enough. And that factor might have much more effect than his music on the lives of trillions of people on the thousands of inhabited worlds across the galaxy.

As I read the book, I really wasn’t always sure if I liked Del or not. I certainly didn’t dislike him, but he could be an incredibly frustrating character at times. He could be pretty immature and needs to do some growing up. Most of her other characters have been much more mature and this is something new. It's done well, but I wanted to slap him occasionally. I think this is completely intentional, but he's still sometimes frustrating. Not annoying, because he's totally in character all the time, but frustrating because he has so much potential he isn't living up to yet.

Of course, that’s part of the power of the character. For a lot of complicated reasons I don’t want to spoil, he’s missed out of a childhood really and he’s a grown man who is still finding his way out of adolescence with all of an adult’s weight on his shoulders. I found it particularly poignant that, for him, all that his family has suffered (and we readers have suffered it with them through the earlier books) has happened all in one brief, crushing moment, where in reality it has been spread out over 40 years. For them, there has been time to come to some sort of terms with it all and move on, even if only to the next crisis. For Del, it’s all happened to him at once and I doubt he’s had time to work through any of it. That’s why he takes the action he does at the end of the book, full of anger and also confusion I think, and it works perfectly. It’s probably also the beginning of some healing of all the pain, so it will good to see where his character goes in the aftermath of that.

Apparently, Catherine’s next Skolian book is to be called Carnelians. “It's another stand-lone, like Diamond Star. However, it fits in with Diamond Star and another book called The Ruby Dice, because all three [sic] involve the same characters and universe.” (Catherine Asaro on Paraoddity)

Firstly, I’m not sure what the third book mentioned here is as Catherine has only named two, but I’m not sure that I care. More Del, more Kelric, more Jai. Yay, I’m going to be happy (even if that whole anxiety thing happens again). But my real point is that I can see Del needing another book. His story doesn’t feel finished here. This chapter of it is, but he’s still got growing up and healing to do, probably quite a lot of both, and his character arc has plenty more places to go. But now that I have finished the book, I find that I do like him. I’m well established in his corner and I want to see him do that growing and become the man he can be. He’s made mistakes, but he learns from them and I want to see that keep happening. (Although a bit from Kelric’s point of view, to see his real feelings for Del, not his always stoic reactions as interpreted by Del in his frustration and anger, would be good too.)

One other small comment – it was nice to have an aspect of the family tree that has always been confusing finally explained. Maybe in the next book we could have an update of the family tree and the timeline (with the “location” of the newer books added to it ).

This is a slightly jointed review – I apologise. I started with a bang, then rather ran out of steam. Rather than leaving the draft sitting around for months, I decided to post what I had, so here you are. I hope it was interesting and/or useful.

Diamond Star
Catherine Asaro
Skolian Saga, Book 13 (in publication order)
10/10

Qualifies for: 100+ Reading Challenge

Skolian Saga (in publication order):

1. Primary Inversion
2. Catch the Lightning
3. The Last Hawk
4. The Radiant Seas
5. Ascendant Sun
6. The Quantum Rose
7. Spherical Harmonic
8. The Moon’s Shadow
9. Skyfall
10. Schism
11. The Final Key
12. The Ruby Dice
13. Diamond Star
14. Carnelians (forthcoming from Baen in 2010)

Skolian hints

Not only has Catherine Asaro given a great interview over at Paraoddity (with another to come on Friday apparently), in the comments she’s dropped a whole bunch of hints about her plans for the future of the Skolian series. Do go over and read it all.

Catherine has kindly given me permission to repost those hints here as well.

Great question, too. Yes, I do plan to finish it. The fifty years in the future just happens to coincide with, um ... the events in Catch the Lightning. Althor, the hero in that book, is the son that Dehya and Eldrin have after the events of Spherical Harmonic. The big series finale is the book that follows Catch the Lightning in the chronology.

I also plan to visit what's going on with Soz and everyone on Prism in other books, too. In fact, I may even show some of that in the next book, Carnelians.

And also:

I do hope to do more with Rohka's story. She's one of my favorite characters of the "new" generation of Ruby Dynasty members. But Soz is definitely coming back. Big time. :-)

Jaibriol will find answers, but with so much for him to deal with, it will happen over the course of several books. In each one, he becomes more aware of the history that separates his people from the Skolians.

Don't worry about the ending of The Ruby Dice. It was actually rather triumphant. They finally got a peace treaty. Putting their ideas into action won't be easy, but don't worry, I'm not one for dark endings! Carnelians, the next book, looks at how they do that, and how they deal with the opposition.

Yay, more Soz. She is totally my favourite character in the series. Yay, Jai finding his answers – if slowly; how will I wait patiently? Yay, there will be an ending and it won’t be a dark one. This is series I both want to reach a conclusion and never to end. I can’t wait.

I’m also working on a review of Diamond Star that I hope will show up in a few days. I’m having a Catherine Asaro fangirl good time at the moment.

Edited to add this one:

I've definitely decided that Jai and Tarquine will have kids. Exactly how that is going to work, I'm not sure. I have some ideas, but I don't want to give away too many plot points. Tarquine is one of my favorite characters to write, along with Soz.

Follow up on “Grumble, Grumble”

Just a quick not to say I picked up the library system’s second copy of The Stars Blue Yonder and I was very happy to see that it included the pages the other one was missing.

I finished the book last night and highly recommend the entire series.

Now, I’m aiming to go back and finish Diamond Star by Catherine Asaro.

Musing on YA

Over at The Book Smugglers, Ana and Thea have been holding a YA Appreciation Month (that has stretched out to something over a month I believe). Today is their equivalent of an open mike night on the subject, with anyone with a blog free to join in.

I’ve always seen myself as someone who enjoys YA fiction even if it’s not my primary reading area, so I joined up to J. Kaye’s 2009 YA Challenge back at the end of last year, thinking I would easily read 12 YA books in 2009. So I’ve been rather surprised to find that it’s been more of a struggle than I expected. Here it is, now the middle of August, and I’ve managed to read just 8 books that I felt I could class as YA. In the interests of full disclosure I should add here that I’ve been in a serious reading dry spell since May, due to long, boring, health-related issues, but it has still been a bigger challenge that I originally anticipated.

Some of it has been that books that in my youth would have been classed as YA are probably now considered children’s books. So I reread Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising sequence earlier this year, but felt I couldn’t really include them on the list (all the same, they are fantastic books and still a great read for anyone, be they children, young adults or “official” adults). I also felt I was stretching it a bit to include Jeanne duPrau’s Books of Ember as they read as fairly young to me. I did include them on my list, but I’m still not sure if that was a correct judgement call.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Ana and Thea’s YA month, but I have to admit (and I feel kind of embarrassed doing this) that a lot of current YA books intimidate me. Something like Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, which is getting great reviews all over the place (as is its sequel, Catching Fire) scares me. It sounds like such a powerful, dig-at-your-soul kind of book that this boring old adult isn’t sure if she can face it. (The whole reading dry-spell, depression issues don’t help either, I admit.) I’ve been a wimp of late, and I’m sticking to books I don’t feel anxious about when I contemplate reading them.

YA books, on the whole, I think are more likely to invoke that kind of response – in me, at least. Everything often is intense when you’re a teen. Life is full of new (and old) issues to be faced; it’s a whole adventure waiting for you, ready to be lived with passion and power. This staid, middle aged woman with depression and a 20-year history of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome may have forgotten how to do that.

I am reminded of a quote from Madeleine L’Engle (another author I love; if you haven’t read her books, get thee to a library or bookstore and give them a read) that I’ve seen used often recently in relation to YA books:

"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children."

I think this is very true. There is a depth and a challenge to be found in YA (and also children’s) books that has been sacrificed in many (but definitely not all) adult books for blood, guts, sex and/or gore, which are actually all pretty simple. So perhaps the conclusion to this bit of stream-of-consciousness reflection is that I should rise above the anxiety and read more YA anyway. I still need four more this year to meet my challenge goal after all.

I can’t finish on as wishy-washy a note as that. So here’s a little rave about my current favourite YA series – Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn Chronicles. I’ve reviewed the first three books in the series, Obernewtyn, The Farseekers and Ashling, and I’ve also read the fourth, The Keeping Place, although I didn’t feel up to reviewing it (even thought I loved it and rated it 9/10). Let me quote the beginning of my Obernewtyn review:

I have a memory of standing in a bookstore in my hometown and seeing Obernewtyn on the shelf. I don't know exactly how long ago it was, but I'm pretty sure it was when this was a standalone book and not the first of six as it is now. I can't imagine why I didn't take it home with me as it was just the sort of book I loved at the time. Now, having read it many years later, I can safely say that it's the sort of book I love now as well.

These are post-apocalyptic books where Carmody set a perfect balance (for me, anyway) between the characters taking charge of the world they now live in and discovering just what the great disaster was, how it happened and how to stop it happening again. I love both aspects of post-apocalyptic tales, so I love how this series neatly blends both. It also has telepathy and other mind-talents (another favourite of mine), talking beasts and well-realised, complicated characters. I really do recommend these books and if you start now, you should just about be ready for the last book when it comes out next year.

Grumble, grumble

I really enjoyed the first two books in Sandra McDonald’s Australian mythology-based SF series (The Outback Stars and The Stars Down Under), so I was pleased to get a copy of the final book in the trilogy, The Stars Blue Yonder from the library last week. I’m still struggling with my reading (although hopefully we’re finally getting a handle on which medications aren’t playing nice with which other medications), but I found this one moving along very nicely.

So imagine my frustration when I was happily reading away, thoroughly enjoying myself, and the book jumped from p.194 to p.225 with nothing in between. It must have been misbound.

I'm so frustrated, as I really want to know what happens next, but not only is it a library book, I'm in New Zealand. So if the library’s second copy is also misbound (I'll be ringing the appropriate branch tomorrow to ask them to check) goodness knows how long it will take for me to get my hands on another copy.

It’s just not right. I finally get reading a book again and this is what happens? The book gods must be annoyed with me or something.

Once Upon a Time III Wrap Up Post

This challenge ended on the 20th June, 2009. I was partially successful with it, completing the books component, but not getting A Midsummer Night's Dream watched. I've been unwell since the 20th April or thereabouts and that impacted on my participation in the challenge. All the same, I'm glad I joined in and I'll be signing up again next year.

My Once Upon a Time III reading list (sadly no reviews as I haven’t been feeling up to writing them lately):

1. The Ordinary Princess - M. M. Kaye
2. Alphabet of Thorn - Patricia A. McKillip
3. The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan
4. The Night Bird - Catherine Asaro
5. Silver on the Tree - Susan Cooper

   Book component completed: 22nd April 2009

6. Giants of the Frost - Kim Wilkins
7. The Initiate - Louise Cooper

I didn’t manage to write any reviews, but I enjoyed the books.

I just loved my reread of The Ordinary Princess, which is actually a junior book, but it is such a lovely tale and it was a delight to visit with Amy and Perry again.

Alphabet of Thorn was another excellent McKillip book that I happily recommend.

I was disappointed with The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Giants of the Frost, neither turning out to be quite the book I was expecting. I was frustrated by the main character in Forest and the action in Giants was split into two locations each with a very different tone and voice – one I liked and the other frankly bored me silly.

Of the other books, two (Silver on the Tree and The Initiate) were very enjoyable rereads and I pretty much always enjoy the adventure in an Asaro title, as I did with The Night Bird.

June 2009 Reading

1. The Warlord’s Daughter – Susan Grant
   Borderlands, Book 2; SF Romance; eBook; 7/10
2. The Empress of Mars – Kage Baker
   SF; Library Book; DNF
3. Shards of Honor – Lois McMaster Bujold
   Vorkosigan Saga, Book 1; SF; eBook; 10/10
4. Inner Harbor – Nora Roberts
   Chesapeake Bay, Book 3; Audiobook; Reread; 7/10

Best book of the month = Shards of Honor

June Reading:
Books read this month = 3
DNFs this month = 1
10/10 reads this month = 1
New reads this month =  1
Rereads this month = 2
% paper books : % eBooks = 0 : 100

May Challenges Progress:
100+ Reading Challenge =  3
Support Your Local Library Challenge = 0 (Stage 1 Completed 3-04-09)
Romance Reading Challenge = 2 (Challenge Completed 25-02-09)
YA Reading Challenge = 0
eBook Reading Challenge = 2 (Challenge Completed 24-02-09)
Patricia A. McKillip Reading Challenge = 0 
Once Upon a Time III Challenge = 0 (Books Completed 22-4-09)

May Non-Challenges Progress:
SF/Fantasy books read = 2
Audiobooks listened to = 1

Sixty Four Blocks

With everything being so mucky at the moment, I’ve been flitting from project to project as I try to find something I can settle into. Knowing it was like this, Dave helped me set up my sewing table in the dining room/conservatory so I could sew up a quilt block or two when I felt like it.

This has worked pretty well in all and today I finished the last of the 64 blocks I need to make the main part of my Triple Irish Chain quilt. I’m really pleased with how it looks (even if I did have to pick it all up again because the cleaners were coming later) and hopefully I’ll slowly keep working on sewing the blocks together.

Depression Update

Since people have been so lovely as to leave me encouraging comments as I’ve dealt with this change in depression meds, I thought I’d post the latest update.

Basically, I went back to the doctor today and we both agreed the new meds haven’t yet done the trick. After talking around the options, we decided to increase the dosage of the current med and hope that that works.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed as I’m totally over this whole experiment already and starting to wish I’d never started the whole mess.

But I say that with my cross stitch sitting beside me as I continue to make slow but steady progress with part 1 of Illuminated Medieval Sampler. I’d pretty much stopped stitching on the old medication, as well as slowing hugely with my reading and stopping patchwork and writing completely. I’m still struggling with the reading, but I’m not at a complete halt, so that’s something.

Hopefully this latest change will be what is needed and things will go up from here.

2009 Cumulative Totals - May

2009 Reading:
Books read for 2009 = 50
DNFs for 2009 = 4
10/10 for 2009 = 3
New reads for 2009 = 41
Rereads for 2009 = 3
% paper books : % eBooks = 54 : 46

2009 Challenges Progress:
100+ Reading Challenge = 48
Support Your Local Library Challenge = 14 (Stage 1 Completed 3-04-09)
Romance Reading Challenge = 10 (Challenge Completed 25-02-09)
YA Reading Challenge = 7
eBook Reading Challenge = 22 (Challenge Completed 24-02-09)
Patricia A. McKillip Reading Challenge = 2
Once Upon a Time III Challenge = 7 (Books Component Completed 22-04-09) 

2009 Non-Challenges Progress:
SF/Fantasy books read = 30
Audiobooks listened to = 4

May 2009 Reading

Better late than never, here are my May reading statistics. Much to my frustration, I’m still struggling to read (and June has been even worse than May) and my totals are significantly down on other months. Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it but hope that it passes.

1. Monday Mourning – Kathy Reichs 
   Temperance Brennan, Book 7; Mystery; 7/10
2. The Initiate – Louise Cooper
   The Time Master Trilogy, Book 1; Fantasy; eBook; Reread; 8/10
3. Georgette Heyer’s Regency World – Jennifer Kloester
   Audiobook; 7/10
4. Undercover – Lauren Dane
   Romance; eBook; DNF
5. The Penderwicks – Jeanne Birdsall
   Childrens; Library Book; 8/10
6. Cross Bones – Kathy Reichs
   Temperance Brennan, Book 8; Mystery; DNF
7. It Happened One Autumn – Lisa Kelypas
   Wallflowers, Book 2; Romance; eBook; 7/10
8. Madam, Will You Talk? – Mary Stewart
   Romantic Suspense; 9/10

Best book of the month = Madam, Will You Talk?

May Reading:
Books read this month = 6
DNFs this month = 2
10/10 reads this month = 0
New reads this month = 5
Rereads this month = 1
% paper books : % eBooks = 60 : 40 

May Challenges Progress:
100+ Reading Challenge =  6
Support Your Local Library Challenge = 1 (Stage 1 Completed 3-04-09)
Romance Reading Challenge = 1 (Challenge Completed 25-02-09)
YA Reading Challenge = 0
eBook Reading Challenge = 2 (Challenge Completed 24-02-09)
Patricia A. McKillip Reading Challenge = 0
Once Upon a Time III Challenge = 1 (Books Completed 22-4-09) 

May Non-Challenges Progress:
SF/Fantasy books read = 1
Audiobooks listened to = 1

How rude do you think we are?

Marcus’ imaginary friend, Super Bear (aka one crooked index finger), came to the supermarket with us today. She was being very annoying, flying around the vegetables and generally being anti-social.

Dave said something rather sharply to Marcus about controlling Super Bear and that “she was being very distracting.”

The woman at the vegetable stand next to us looked over, worried, and said something.

Horrified, I realised that she thought we were talking about her. I was quick to explain, “We’re not talking about you; it’s our son’s imaginary friend.” (Just how rude did she think we are? Even if she had been distracting – and she wasn’t – we never would have said anything.)

I’m not sure if she believed me or not, but I sure hope so. Especially since we kept meeting her all the war around the supermarket aisles.

Emotional level vs. Academic level

For some reason, I decided it was time I set my mind to writing a blog post. But this isn’t the one I was going to write. Instead, it’s what came to me after following my way around some links.

I’ve just read a fascinating article called “All in the Timing” that suggests that children reading ahead of their age level isn’t always a good thing. Not that it’s bad children are advanced readers, but that by pushing their reading level, they miss out on enjoying books that they are deemed to have “gone past” or read books before they are emotionally ready for them. It’s a very interesting article that I recommend reading, and one with which I mostly agree.

It got me thinking about Marcus. Sure, he’s only five now and still learning to read, but the days are coming when Dave and I, as his parents, are going to need to start helping him read appropriate books, read with him and monitor his reading to some degree.

I can’t help but be proud that he’s in the highest reading group in his class, even if his reading material is still Honey for Baby Bear or Naughty Max Monkey. As a reader (who currently isn’t managing to read, which is the blog post I was originally planning to write) I want Marcus to know the joy of books.

But by that I don’t mean reading at as high a level as possible to show off how smart he is. I mean that absolute joy of getting caught up in a story and having it speak to your heart. I can do that with adult books, YA books and even children’s book and I’m not ashamed of reading any of them. Why should it be different for a child? (Although obviously in concept rather than with regard to the same books.)

And while I wouldn’t consider Marcus to be an immature five year old, he’s certainly still a little kid and I think it’s very important to cater to his emotional level as well as his reading level. Finding books that do both those things may well turn out to be a challenge. I guess it’s time to start making a catalogue of useful links and resources.

Half way along

I’ve been stitching steadily on Illuminated Medieval Samper – I guess one of the few upsides to stabilising on new antidepressants is a need to keep myself busy (or I’d climb in bed by about 7.30pm and hide there for the rest of the night) so I’ve been stitching. I find myself a little intimidated by just how MUCH border there is to this design, but I must say that what I’ve done so far is looking very nice. The photos aren’t great, but here’s my progress for this week.

For all that there’s still an awful lot of empty fabric, I’m starting to feel like I’m making my mark on the project and so long as I don’t focus on the enormity of the border, I’m enjoying myself.

Of course, Chatelaines tend to breed and now that I’ve started this one, I’ve gone and ordered the materials pack for Pompeji Garden. It won’t be started before this is finished, so we’re talking a few years ahead, but I have some money to spend on it now and it’s always nice to have the next project stashed away in a cupboard waiting for its time to come.

More IMS

Here’s my first scroll corner. It looks very impressive, doesn’t it…

 

… at least until you see it in context.

Fixing the Graffiti

This really tickled my fancy this morning: http://editorialass.blogspot.com/2009/05/editing-your-daily-life.html

Latest on IMS

Here’s my latest on Illuminated Medieval Sampler. The square-ish border has been filled in and I’m onto the swirly filigree border next.

I also put it on the scanner to do a close up of all the Rhodes stitches and the sparkly backstitching. The actual colour, IRL, is probably somewhere between the two pictures, but the bottom picture is definitely a little washed. Given scanners, cameras and the differences between everyone’s monitors it is so hard to get an accurate image.

I’m still enjoying myself stitching this, so I shall carry on with it while I am. It’s also been good as I deal with the whole depression medication thing as when I’m feeling less than relaxed, I can usually still manage to sit down and stitch a few stitches in a relatively calm manner.

Regarding the depression, it came roaring back Saturday and I immediately decided against toughing it out any longer. I’m now on a new medication and waiting for it to get up to full strength. Hopefully it won’t be too long. Right now, I’m feeling okay, but I also know that everything is a bit “off”. I figure when I forget to ask myself if I’m feeling better, that’s when I will be.

IMS – second line of border done

I’ve completed the inner line of the border for Illuminated Medieval Sampler.

While watching Doctor Who with a friend this evening (Planet of the Dead – yes, I’m running behind as always) I got started with the rhodes stitches and gold metallic back stitching that fill in the space between these two lines of the border. It looks really pretty, so when I get that done I’ll make sure to include a close up photo as well as the one of the whole thing.

I know it isn’t very exciting to look at so far, but to me it feels fantastic. My enthusiasm for my stitching was just fading away and so to be enjoying myself doing this even (or perhaps especially) when it is just border, it' feels fabulous.

So far on Madam, Will You Talk?

So I’m up to page 94 out of 368. I’ve made my predictions on who are the good guys, the bad guys and the spectators. I know, because I know I can trust Mary Stewart, that the protagonist will survive and most likely end up with a good man (and I’m confident I know who it will be).

There shouldn’t be anything to worry about, should there?

But boy, the suspense is getting to me!

Slow reads and fast reads

AKA A Book Ramble…

I have just updated my progress with the books I’m reading on Good Reads. It made me realise that three of the four books I’m currently reading are older books (all with a certain “classic” status – not actual classics but ones that have long time fans) that need to be read slowly and savoured and appreciated.

It made me think. I wonder if these days, with so many books saturating the market, we tend to look for fast reads so that we can get on to the next one. We have these huge TBR lists/shelves/piles/mountains/Everests where we have so many books we want to read that if we ever stopped to think about how long it would take to read them all we’d probably run screaming (I know I certainly would).

But for all their potential quick-read status, I’m currently not all that enthused by my TBR and finding great freedom in reading other things.

For me it’s Mary Stewart (Madam, Will You Talk?), Dorothy L. Sayers (Gaudy Night) and Dorothy Dunnett (Scales of Gold). And I don’t mind slipping between the books and spending some time in France, Oxford and Portugal (at the moment, although Nicholas is on his way to Africa). Instead of rushing, rushing, rushing I think I need to take the quiet reading time. If I decide to go through with reading some more Mary Stewart as I am so tempted to do, that’s okay. If I decide to continue following Nicholas around the world or join Harriet and Peter as they explore married life, what’s to stop me?

The only person who ever said I had to read books from the TBR and/or read them fast was me. Surely if anyone can change my mind, it should be me!

I also have all three of these books both as paper copies and audiobooks. In the past I’ve always tried to listen to the audiobooks pretty much on their own merit. Gaudy Night is my official current listen and I’m struggling with it because I only get to listen at night and I keep falling asleep. This morning, I added Madam, Will You Talk? to my PDA after I’d read one chapter of the book. So while lying down for my daily rest (aka sleep of the dead) I listened to that first chapter. It was a great way to do it. Instead of trying to concentrate really hard (I take in information many times better when it’s written that when I listen), it just gently reinforced what I had already read and was a much more relaxing experience. So maybe I need to do that instead. Again, it’s a case of going slowly and savouring the experience rather than trying to get more books read by listening to one as well as reading others.

Perhaps we’ve forgotten how to do that – take it slowly and enjoy the experience – in this fast paced world. I certainly think I had.

While I readily admit that the TBR is sure to obsess me again before too long, I’m going to enjoy this new way of looking at things for as long as it lasts.

Book in the Mail

Yay, I got a new book in the mail today. What a nice surprise, as I’d completely forgotten it was coming. I won a copy of Mary Stewart’s Madam, Will You Talk? from Angie over at Angieville.

I’ve always loved Mary Stewart’s books, although it is years since I’ve read one. This, however, is not one I either own or have read, so I decided to forget about the TBR mountain an started in right away. I’ve only read the first chapter so far, but I’d forgotten how evocative Stewart’s writing just can be. In that first chapter she’s already given me a detailed feeling for the main character, her friend, the hotel where they are staying and several of the other characters.

It’s making me want to go on a Mary Stewart reread, but I guess I should finish this one first, shouldn’t I?

Health Update

Things aren’t so good now. I’m dealing with a lot of anxiety and I keep feeling like I want to throw up – not in a my-stomach-is-sick way, but due to anxiety.

I’m getting more emotional (good in one way, as I hated being almost unemotional) but that’s turning into feeling down. Dave did point out that the beginning of winter, as the weather is going nasty, is not really a clever time to stop taking one’s antidepressants. Roll on, SAD. I guess I better make sure I get some sunlight whenever there is some.

I keep wanting to crawl into bed and hide, which also isn’t really a good sign. But I’m very tired and the rest is lovely.

I’m very tempted to just abandon the last few days of a quarter dose and go straight to nothing, so the drug can finish working out of my system and I can find out if feeling like this is due to the withdrawal or the depression. At the moment it could be either, which means making plans about what to do next is difficult.

It joined up!

I finished the first border on Illuminated Medieval Sampler tonight. To my great delight (and relief) it all joined up like it was supposed to do.

It’s not particularly exciting to look at right now, but it is satisfying that everything is in the right place. I get to use on of the variegated colours next. Yay.

Got to the hard part

Oooooh, I think I’ve hit the hard part of the withdrawal from the antidepressants. I’m dizzy and light-headed most of the time now and it is really disconcerting. I read some posts of forums about coming off Effexor before starting and they called these light-headed moments ‘brain zaps’, like your brain has just been zapped by fizzy electricity. That’s just what it feels like.

I’m also nauseous, light sensitive, headachey and very, very tired.

This is not fun at all.

But, so far so good, I don’t seem to be depressed. Long may that last.

Maybe that’s it?

In the post I just wrote, I typed

I guess I’m too invested in the hero

Maybe, at last, I’ve finally answered the question of why I don’t read the books I really want to read, and read the easy ones instead.

I get so invested in the characters that I don’t want to see them hurt – but that is often a part, even a huge part, of the things that befall main characters in fiction, and how they grow, survive and triumph.

So to avoid going through that with characters I love, I avoid reading the books.

When I’m reading a light book where I’m not invested in the characters (and as much as I love a good setting or plot, it’s all about the characters for me) then it isn’t so scary and its safer to read.

I’ve said before that I have what I call “book fear” and I suspect perhaps this is at the root of it.

Of course a book is better when we’re invested in the characters, but we go through their downs as well as their ups and that can be hard.

Any suggestions on how to use this new realisation to overcome by book fear?

The Perils of Rereading

So I'm reading this book. It's a book I've read in the past and loved, and I decided to reread it and the two that come after it in the trilogy. I'm not going to name it or any of the characters in it, because the last thing I want to do is spoil an excellent series for someone.

But I feel the need for a little grumble. It's only a very little one and really more of a reflection than anything else, or maybe a vent. I’m not exactly sure.

It is very rare for the fact I'm rereading a book to have a negative impact on my enjoyment of it. For one thing, thanks to CFS my memory is so poor I often can barely remember what happened anyway. (This is great for rereading mysteries as I can get through the whole book without a clue about who did it, no matter how many times I’ve read it before.) But I don’t forget absolutely everything, and sometimes knowing stuff ahead of time is great and sometimes it’s a (small) problem.

So, this book…

There’s this hero – a yummy, brooding, wonderful hero – and two women have been introduced into the story, both of whom could be a love interest for him. One is quiet and solid and perfect, and indeed she is who he ends up with in the finish and they are great together. The other is willful, fiery, fascinating and, when push comes to shove, rather a bitch. Since I’m halfway through book one, the hero is, of course, attracted to the latter. I, as the rereader, know she isn’t worthy of him. I know she’s going to fail him when he needs her and I know she is going to show her true nature before even the first book is over.

The problem is, he doesn’t. He’s in love with her – or thinks he’s in love with her – and I know how much she’s going to hurt him. I want to yell, “Not her! Not her!” at the hero and point out how much better the other woman is. Unfortunately, however real he is to me, the man is still words on a page and he isn’t going to listen to me.

I know it will be okay in the end, but first I have to read the last half of this volume where he’s investing so much in her and she’s going to throw it all in his face. And that’s making it hard for me to keep reading, as much as I love the books and want to enjoy the story all over again. I guess I’m too invested in the hero and I know how much pain the rest of the plot is going to cause him, without him wasting his emotions on a woman who isn’t worthy of spit.

As wonderful as it is rediscovering a great series – and that’s what these books are – sometimes rereading is hard on the emotions.

Why is it?

Why is it that when I have so many books to read – and they’re all books I want to read – I spend so much time mucking around doing other things and not reading at all?

Cool quote

So I’m playing around on Good Reads and find a quotes section. I hadn’t seen this one before, but totally agree with it.

"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children."
— Madeleine L'Engle

On Good Reads

One of my reading groups has moved over to Good Reads so I’ve finally got myself set up over there with the username of – you guessed it – rocalisa.

I had tried to import my Library Thing content into Good Reads a while back but it didn’t work to my satisfaction, so I have just deleted 400-odd books (manually, one by one) to get the catalogue the way I wanted it. Now it just contains my 2009 reading, by current books and TBR and each book I’ve read has at the very least a rating, tags and a finish date.

Yes, I know, it’s all kind of OCD having to make it just the way I wanted, but it would have totally bugged me every time I went over there otherwise.

Life carries on as normal here.

We went out and bought Marcus winter school shoes today. For some reason all the one with velcro straps were very girly-looking and the “boy” ones all had laces. Marcus totally isn’t ready for laces (we have enough trouble convincing him he can get dressed by himself – which he can, he just prefers to have Mummy or Daddy help) so it took a bit of hunting around before we found some suitable ones, but we did in the end.

I’m into my second week on a half dose of anti-depressants and it remains a case of so-far, so-good. I still get moments of light headedness and there are certainly moments when I feel more “down” or in a state of mind of think of as “not-care-y” where I’m rather lacking in motivation, but nothing has been really bad. I go back and see the doctor again on Tuesday, so we’ll decide then what step to take next.

April 2009 Reading

Once again, I find myself unable to write reviews. All the same, I had an interesting reading month. Several romances when I didn’t feel like reading anything challenging (I chose non-challenging romances deliberately) and some fantasy for the Once Upon a Time III reading challenge. Nothing blew me away in April, but nothing was really awful either.

Of my seven reading challenges, I have two fully completed and two partially completed (I’ve read 12 library books, which is the level of challenge I committed to, but I’ll see if I can hit the next level which is 25 and I’ve completed 5 fantasy books for Once Upon a Time III but still have A Midsummer Night’s Dream to watch).

Cumulative totals for the year so far are over on Lists and Such.

1. Alphabet of Thorn – Patricia A. McKillip
   Fantasy; eBook; 9/10
2. The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan
   YA Fantasy; Library Book; 5/10
3. Born in Fire – Nora Roberts
   Concannon Sisters, Book 1; Romance; eBook; 8/10
4. Smooth Talking Stranger – Lisa Kleypas
   Contemporary Romance; Library Book; 8/10
5. The Night Bird – Catherine Asaro
   The Lost Continent, Book 5; Fantasy; 9/10
6. Do Polar Bears Get Lonely? – New Scientist
   Non-Fiction; 9/10
7. Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches Guide to Romance Novels – Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan
   Non-Fiction; eBook; 8/10
8. Silver on the Tree – Susan Cooper
   The Dark is Rising, Book 4; Children’s Fantasy; Audiobook; Reread; 7/10
9. Born in Ice – Nora Roberts
   Concannon Sisters, Book 2; Romance; eBook; 8/10
10. Megan’s Mark – Lora Leigh
    Breeds, Book 7; Paranormal Romance; Reread; eBook; 7/10
11. Giants of the Frost – Kim Wilkins
    Fantasy; eBook; 7/10

Best book of the month = Alphabet of Thorn
Worst book of the month = In the Forest of Hands and Teeth
Disappointment of the month = Giants of the Frost

April Reading:
Books read this month = 11
DNFs this month = 0
10/10 reads this month = 0
New reads this month = 9
Rereads this month = 2
% paper books : % eBooks = 40 : 60

April Challenges Progress:
100+ Reading Challenge = 11
Support Your Local Library Challenge = 2 (Stage 1 Completed 3-04-09)
Romance Reading Challenge = 5 (Challenge Completed 25-02-09)
YA Reading Challenge = 1
eBook Reading Challenge = 6 (Challenge Completed 24-02-09)
Patricia A. McKillip Reading Challenge = 1
Once Upon a Time III Challenge = 5 (Books Completed 22-4-09)

April Non-Challenges Progress:
SF/Fantasy books read = 5
Audiobooks listened to = 1

Update

Well, so far, so good. I was feeling very dry eyed and light headed this morning. It’s still there tonight, but a little less I think. I’ve found that if I take things quietly it’s much better, but if I do lots and move around a lot, it gets worse. That seems to me to be a good excuse for going easy.

Another Marcus story…

We went to the doctor on Tuesday for me to talk about a bunch of things. One of these was to get a prescription for a course of B12 injections which should help my energy levels (and I think they have as I’m not as totally trashed as I could be). Once I’d done all that, I needed to get the nurse to give me the injection. So Marcus was playing with the toys in the waiting room again while I waited for my turn. She came to get me and I said something to Marcus like, “I’ll be back soon,” and went with the nurse, leaving him to play.

A little later I’m sitting in the nurses’ room (partially undressed so she can reach my upper arm) when the door opens and there is the receptionist with Marcus. He can’t have heard what I said and thought I’d gone without him.

I spoke to the receptionist later and she said he’s come up to her and said very seriously, “Excuse me, can I tell you something?”

“Of course,” she agreed.

“My name is Marcus,” he confided, “And I can’t find my mummy.”

She said he was so polite and serious about it, all when he thought he’d lost his mother.

Sometimes, my son is just so adorable.

Feeling Nervous

I took a half dose of my antidepressant this morning as the beginning of an attempt to come off it. Whether or not I’ll be able to come of the stupid things altogether, or whether I’ll need a new one remains to be seen. My doctor and I will work that out as time goes on.

I’ve been unhappy about some stuff in my life for a while – basically all my creativity seems to be abandoning me, from my creative writing (just gone with everything untouched for about two years) to my stitching (just don’t feel like doing it) and even my reading (getting harder and harder), along with some other stuff that doesn’t need to be mentioned in a public place.

I recently went to see a CFS specialist (something I meant to blog about but never did – maybe one day) and something she said made me wonder if these things related to the antidepressant rather than it being a case of “just me” as I had been assuming.

All the same, trying to go off an antidepressant is always rather scary as you never know if the depression will come back or what the withdrawal will be like. And the withdrawal from this one (Effexor) is supposed to be especially nasty.

So all in all, I’m feeling pretty nervous about it all. A few good thoughts would be appreciated and we’ll see how it goes as the days go on.

Twitter

I’m trying to get into the habit of using Twitter. I feel kind of silly, as I don’t really see that people would be interested in my boring life. All the same, I’m going to try, so if anyone wants to follow me, my username is – surprise, surprise – rocalisa.

P.S. If you’re on Twitter too, please do leave your username in the comments so I can follow you.

Out of the mouths…

Classic Marcus moment.

Since we’re getting ready to pack for our Easter holiday, I told Marcus he needed to think about what toys, books and movies he wants to take with him.

“Okay,” he told me. “I just have to change my normal brain for my toys-books-movies brain.” A moment’s pause. “Super Bear [his imaginary friend] helps me do it.”

“Oh,” I said. “Is Super Bear a brain surgeon?”

“Super Bear’s dog is a brain surgeon,” he told me seriously.

I almost collapsed laughing.

Progress on Once Upon a Time III

Since I’m not currently doing book reviews (a disappointing but necessary situation at present), I thought I’d do a quick follow up on my current progress on the Once Upon a Time III challenge. Since the start of the challenge on 21st March, I’ve read three books that fit the categories and I started on my fourth today.

The Ordinary Princess – M. M. Kaye

If I remember correctly, I got this book from on2 of the school book clubs, way back when I was about 12 or so. I loved it immediately. The story of Amethyst (commonly known as Amy), a seventh princess who gets given the gift of ordinariness by one of her fairy godmothers at her christening, is a delightful story. It’s just a short, little children’s book, that even has written inside the back page, in my 12-year old writing: My verdict – Supa. Why I decided to misspell “super” remains a mystery to this day, but the verdict remains the same. The Ordinary Princess is written with an almost sly wit as it makes fun of the usual fairy tale fare full of beautiful princesses, handsome princes and other archetypes. The king wanders around insisting inviting fairies is a RASH idea (often in capitals), while the queen tries in vain to remove her youngest daughter’s freckles and Amy decides to run away when the king considers hiring a dragon to lay waste to the countryside in the hope some rash young prince will slay it and be forced to marry plain Princess Amy. It’s a truly lovely story and it doesn’t matter in the least that it’s theoretically a children’s book; it’s a delight to all ages. My verdict this time around (and, okay I’ll admit it, 28 years later) is 10/10.

Alphabet of Thorn – Patricia A. McKillip

I went on a McKillip spending spree last year and bought most of her recent books that I hadn’t read (it helped that Lenneth over on LJ started up a Patricia A. McKillip challenge that I quickly joined). Alphabet of Thorn was one of these. It started out in what is typical McKillip style at present, with a varied collection of characters all apparently doing their own thing. The reader has to have faith that all the separate lines of the tale will come together in the end – and McKillip always comes through. The translator Nepenthe (a orphan so named because the librarians were up to N for names when she was found) finds herself obsessed with deciphering a book written in an alphabet of thorns. Slowly, she uncovers a tale of a mighty emperor 3000 years ago and his quest to conquer the world. At the same time, the new young queen of the kingdom finds her throne at risk, a young mage caught up in family politics meets Nepethene and the aged mage, Vevay, tries to counsel a queen she doesn’t really understand. All of these strands finish up making a beautiful story that enchants the reader. I did guess the general solution to one the the book’s mysteries fairly early on, but it didn’t matter in the least. The how of getting to the end and the beautiful, lyrical language McKillip uses to tell her tale are what the book (and indeed, all McKillip’s books) is all about. I really enjoyed the tale and I’m glad I’m having a year reading McKillip. My rating for this book is 9/10.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan

There’s been a lot of comment on this book on a number of the blogs I read and that comment has been all positive. So I feel I bit like Scrooge crying “Humbug” to say that the book didn’t work for me. This is a zombie book that doesn’t mention the word “zombie” and while that isn’t generally my reading (or viewing) preference, I have to say that that part of the book was very well done. Mary lives in a village ringed by fences where the “Unconsecrated” live outside in the forest and a forever trying to find a way through to the living on the other side. Mary is something of a misfit, not satisfied with the live she is expected to lead, either as a member of the Sisterhood that is the authority in the village, or as a wife and mother. Her own mother told her tales of the ocean and while no-one else really believes in it, Mary is haunted by the stories and wants to find the ocean. When the fences are breached, she and several others find themselves caught of fenced paths, trying to find their way to some kind of safety. I read on bottle_of_shine’s LJ that this book is an excellent zombie metaphor. Well, I readily admit that I wasn’t reading for metaphor but for story. And as a story, it failed for me. Mary is self-absorbed and annoying as she drags everyone else along on her obsession towards the ocean. She wails about her life and obsesses about her own feelings to a point I found it annoying. Since the book is told from her point of view, not identifying with her in any way wasn’t helpful. It was also frustrating that the author drops clues about the cause of the “Return” (such as Mary finding old newspaper clippings in an attic) but then chooses not to tell us what happened. Now, I can accept that in real life – often we don’t learn the answers we’d like to learn – but in a book where there is setup about the mystery of what happened to humanity, it’s annoying not to get the reward at the end. (And I admit, part of what I like about post-apocalyptic fiction is finding about about the apocalypse through the characters history and discovery.) So sadly, this wasn’t a great read for me – although I do love the cover – and I’m glad I borrowed it from the library rather than buying it. My rating is 5/10.

I’ve also had one DNF since I started the challenge. This was Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, which I received as part of the Christmas Blog Swap exchange. I was very excited about reading this as it sounded like it could be a lovely book (and the pretty cover didn’t hurt). Sadly, by about a third of the way through I was finding myself very ambivalent about reading it and wasn’t sure why. I finally figured out that I didn’t like any of the characters – of the two main protagonists, one was a whinger and the other was manipulating everyone (sometimes into very nasty situations) for her own ends. I just didn’t want to continue on the journey with them. I’m pretty sure I guessed what a big reveal was going to be, but I don’t really even care to know if I was right or not. I guess I should take a look at the back to see.

Right now, I’ve just started The Night Bird by Catherine Asaro, which has been sitting on the TBR shelf since it came out in July last year, so I’m delighted to have something push me to read it. While I prefer Asaro’s SF series to this fantasy one, I do enjoy the stories all the same and while I’ve only read two pages so far, I’m looking forward to the read.

Beautiful new pattern

It was a good mail day today. I got a second hand copy of Dorothy Dunnett’s To Lie with Lions from Trade Me (now I only need to find the last book, Gemini, to have the whole Niccolo series) and an envelope from Colours Down Under in Australia. Inside was this beautiful pattern:

Jeannie-Maree (aka Fudgey) sent me a gift certificate for my birthday and as soon as I saw this one on the front page of the site, I loved it. I spent at least another half an hour checking out other things in case I saw something I wanted more, but I think I knew all along that this is what I would be buying. Wonderfully helpful lady that she is, Jeannie-Maree is now converting the DMC colours it uses to Vicki Clayton’s beautiful silks for me.

I have to finish Second Chances at the very least before starting, so it won’t be worked on immediately, but I love it and I’m so glad to have it in the drawer waiting for me to get to it.

Thank you ever so much, Jeannie-Maree.

Our new toy

Lookie what we got:

Last week, Dave got a small bonus from his company to say “thank you for not leaving us”. After a little thought, we decided that we would use it to replace our ailing-but-not-dead-yet television, since the chances were that when it did die, we wouldn’t have any spare cash to replace it on the spot.

After looking around, we bought a 42” plasma, and I must say that I’m impressed with it. I didn’t realise how much I was missing while watching TV on the older, smaller one. I know my vision is poor without my glasses, but obviously it just generally not great with them as well.

Suddenly, I’m interested in watching TV again, which I haven’t been for ages. After Marcus tried it out with WALL-E (as shown above), I sat down and watched Mama Mia, which I’ve been planning to watch for ages. It was silly but great fun and the bigger screen definitely made a difference.

Oh no. Books, stitching and now TV as well. Where will I find the time?

March Reading

I’ve posted my March reading list and cumulative reading totals over on Lists and Such.

Sadly, I didn’t get everything I read reviewed in March, but since I’ve been firmly told to reduce all stress possible as part of managing my CFS, I decided to post the list regardless. Otherwise I’d be stressing about getting caught up with the reviews, which is exactly not the point. If I get them done (and I’d especially like to do reviews for Lear’s Daughters and The Ordinary Princess) then I’ll add in the links later.

I read 10 books in March (and considering Lear’s Daughters was 750 pages, I’m very happy with that) and had one DNF. That was Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, which I received for the Bloggers Christmas exchange swap. I read about a third of it and couldn’t figure out why I was feeling so ambivalent about it, until I realised none of the characters were likeable and I wasn’t interested in continuing with them. It was a disappointment as it looked like such a good book.

A read a lot of library books this month, swinging my paper : ebook ratio back towards paper books. We’ll see what effect my April reading has on it.

I’m still on track with all my challenges, with two finished out of seven and I’m still feeling confident I should finish them in plenty of time. All the same, in the name of reducing stress as ordered, I’m just going to read what I feel like and what I can manage and we’ll see what happens.

My total number of books read so far for the year is 33, with 27 of those being new reads and 6 being rereads. I now have 3 books rated 10/10, all read this month, of which one was a new read (Lear’s Daughters) and two were rereads (The Grey King and The Ordinary Princess).