Reading List

In the past two to four weeks I have gone through more fiction then I think I have in my entire time at AU. This both upsets me (for the lack of reading) and makes me happy.

Lets see. It started with The Hunger Games which was brilliant -- fast paced, with a society and world that was built well. I actually appriciated the way Suzanne Collin's treated the end, and thought that there was a lot to be said for structure, characterization, and sheer creative power. Pacing, as every cropped up as an excellent point.

Once I got my Kindle, the reading really picked up the pace though. Last weekend I went through The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (interesting take on Alice in Wonderland, and great ideas for the plot, and a sense of good characters, unfortunately condensed in a way that left much wanting from the narrative. I liked it though, and plan on going on with the second book Seeing Redd soon).

Then I read Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, which was so good!!! Kat informed me while I was half way through that her interest in the book came from a comment a friend of hers who said that it was like Song of the Lioness except Jon and Alanna work out -- and the secondary comment of "Well more like Jon and George if George was the cross dresser." BRB LAUGHING FOREVER. I found this hilarious. Of course, now I have to wait for Kat to read it, or someone else I know, but somehow most of my friends have moved away from "young adult fantasy" as it were. SAD. Anyways, if you've read it and want to talk about it, hit me up.

Having finished Leviathan I wanted to go on to the second book Behemoth, but knowing that the next book doesn't come out till September, made me hesitate to dive into the next book so I started Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo... and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Then I got kind of impatient and went back and read Behemoth. Waiting for books is always exciting -- remember how it was with Harry Potter? I love that feeling. ANYWAYS, loved Behemoth. It was funnier then the first book, and I kept doing little anticipation dances. I think its a much stronger book then Leviathan, but can't talk much about it yet.

Anyways, moving on from that, I started The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I haven't finished it yet, and don't find it as riveting as many other people probably do. I think part of it is that while I find it easy to pick up on fantasy worlds, the real world is much harder for me to acclimatize to in novels. I think I'll get into it. Apparently the main female protagonist is awesome and I haven't yet met her (yes that is how far I got), so I'm excited to see where it goes.

I Capture the Castle is interesting to read. I haven't gotten that far into it either (for similar reasons to tGwtDT), but I think I will really like it. I have a thing for stories about writers. I am a tad annoyed with the amount of 'telling' going on the first pages, but the characters are going to be charming enough to carry me through my initial uncomfortableness.

Now, Percy Jackson. My supervisor wanted me to read it because he's older (not yet 30, but still, not young enough for these books) and so has never had the chance to talk about it I actually am thoroughly impressed with Percy Jackson. The plot moves at quite a clip, so I find myself most of the way through one of the books in a few hours and feel surprise that I'm at the end. I read The Lightning Theif in one day, and finished both Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse yesterday. I'll probably get through Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian in the next couple of days (have to slow down and do work or something). The characters are all good -- and despite the fact that he's the hero and very hero like (not my usual kind) -- I really enjoy Percy and think he's great. There are moments of Mary-Sueism, but for the most part I like him.

Hm. Anyways. I read Things White People Like, and have reread most of The Harperhall Trilogy by Anne McCaffery (okay, the first two books, when you get too far away from Menolly, much as I love Pimur, I start to get annoyed with the characters. Seriously Pimur, you're cute and all, but you are not supposed to be the hero of a story...). I also started to reread The Book of Night With Moon which I read ages ago, and am finding it much more entertaining now I'm older. I liked it originally, but now I can really get some of the stuff that happens in it. Also Diane Duane, you are a god of science fiction writing, I want to be you when I grow up.

I'm excited. I'm graduating soon, and in terms of time to read, this will be the best. I have started compiling lists for reading. My current reading list (as in books I have on my Kindle that I want to read, going to condense series behind the first book):

1. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
2. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
3. The Ill-Made Mute by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
4. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
5. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
6. Reckless by Cornelia Funke
7. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
8. The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
9. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (I have technically started this, but everyone keeps talking about it and I really should attempt it again when I start to have free time again. Maybe I'll like it the second time around).
10. Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
11. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (for some fluff)
12. Hidden Empire by Kevin Anderson
13. Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
14. The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard
15. Anansi Boys by Niel Gaiman
16. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
17. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett
18. Idlewild by Nick Sagan
19. Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
20. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
21. The Stand by Stephen King

I still need suggestions for reading. I'm a fantasy/sci-fi girl, as you may have noticed, and actually prefer young adult novels. Recently I've gotten into steampunk -- just for the sheer creativity that comes from this vien. If there's anything wants to suggest for me to read, let me know.