by Elizabeth Knox
ONE-LINE SUMMARY: Laura is a dreamhunter; someone who can step into the mysterious Place to catch dreams to be later broadcast to others, and must use her skills to complete her father’s mission.
I vaguely remember a time when books just had titles and not series titles. The series title might eventually show up around the time that the 2nd sequel came out, but nowadays it seems like every book has a series name from the beginning. The “Dreamhunter Duet” is one of the first series names I’ve heard that only involved two books, but once I read them, I realized why they belonged together.
Book one, Dreamhunter, does have an ending and not one that leaves you hanging mid-action, but I was glad I had checked out both books at once because I needed to start book two immediately.
Dreamhunter sets up the world — an early 1900s version of this one, with the exception of the Place. The Place exists outside of normal boundaries and only a certain few can enter, and even fewer can “catch” dreams which they bring out to the regular world to perform, so that others can experience them.
Dreamquake begins a bit slowly, though it starts right where Dreamhunter ended. But by the time the book ended, it had gone in a direction I hadn’t expected at all, and found satisfactorily fulfilling.
I wouldn’t mind reading more books set in this world, but the Dreamhunter Duet pretty much covered everything. Highly recommended.
by Daniel McGinn
ONE-LINE SUMMARY: America is obsessed with square footage, renovations, House Hunters, and flipping houses.
After three houses in nine years and a realtor with a fondness for embezzlement, my lust for housing had begun to wane. Sure, I still checked ZipRealty daily, had registered for various MLS alert notifications under numerous aliases, and knew sale prices for every house in our neighborhood that had gone on the market during our time here, but my heart wasn’t really into it. (Yes, you should see me when my heart really IS into something…just stay out of my path of destruction, is all I can say.)
The hideousness of our last real estate transaction had pretty much beaten out what little optimism I’d had in life, and I had just about resigned myself to merely making catty comments about housing ads and pictures (”You think your living room looks best with your giant dog sprawled on the couch? Really?”) when I read this book, and immediately all my lust was back.
On nearly every page, I came across something interesting that I saved to tell Chris later. (I’m sure Chris appreciated my thoughtfulness.) The book is well-written and enjoyable. Best of all, it made me realize that I am not alone in my obsessive need to look at housing.
If this book had photos, I would have immediately shelled out the $24.95 ($16.47 on Amazon) to buy it. Those of you who are less obsessed can find it in a library.
by Naomi Novik
ONE-LINE SUMMARY: A British Naval captain’s life is turned upside-down when he accidentally bonds with a dragon.
I do not normally like historical books, nor is my geography very strong (yes, I get lost driving in my hometown). So I looked at the first page of His Majesty’s Dragon, the first in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, about five separate times before I actually made it to the second page. Rather surprisingly, I found myself caught up in the plot.
Imagine the war (don’t ask me which war; one with Napoleon) with the usual attacks — by land, sea, and air. Except the air attacks involve captains on dragons carrying large crews armed with guns and bombs.
Most aviators begin training at age 7 or so, but Captain Laurence becomes an aviator only after he has already captained several ships. When he captures a French ship that contains a dragon’s egg on it, however, he becomes the unplanned partner of the dragon Temeraire. In book one of this series, Captain Laurence begins to understand what it means to be an aviator as he and Temeraire join the war.
In book two, Throne of Jade, Laurence and Temeraire journey to China where Temeraire’s egg originated and his species live. The Chinese originally gave Temeraire to the French and Laurence must figure out how to keep from being separated from Temeraire. This proves to be more difficult when he and Temeraire see how well dragons are treated in China, where they are not used as soldiers but exalted and respected.
In book three, Black Powder War, Laurence and Temeraire are about to go home from China when they are suddenly give the task of collecting three dragon eggs from Istanbul and transporting them.
The dragon warfare in all the books is fascinating, but don’t get too attached to any of the ground/air crew — people die like crazy.
I’ve already got book four on request, and book five is on its way later this year. These are books that normally I wouldn’t like, and instead, I’m completely fascinated.
by Gabrielle Zevin
ONE-LINE SUMMARY: Naomi, a high school student, suffers a head trauma and consequently cannot remember the last four years of her life.
This is a terrific book. I was a big fan of Zevin’s Elsewhere which has an unusual and moving twist on what happens when you die. Zevin writes the kind of books that make you feel fulfilled after you finish it, but nervous about starting it because you know the book will bring up some deeper stuff that frankly, you don’t want to think about.
It’s difficult to explain the book — somehow, not much happens, but at the same time, everything happens. A teacher once told me that a short story is about the most important event in a person’s life, and a novel is about the most important time period of a person’s life. Memoirs isn’t driven by particular events or conflicts, but covers the most important time in Naomi’s life.
by Karen Marie Moning
ONE-LINE SUMMARY: When Mac’s sister is mysteriously murdered in Ireland, MacKayla (Mac) discovers that she has the power to see the Fairy Court and becomes engaged in a battle against evil.
In order to read this book, you have to first get past the half-naked bodies on the cover and the author’s apparent history of writing romance books. Once you accept that the author still hasn’t quite found the line that would bring her more solidly into the fantasy realm, the book is actually entertaining enough to pick up further sequels.
But you do have to be open-minded. There are numerous descriptions of Mac’s clothing as “pretty,” which doesn’t seem so irritating until you realize that there is no reason for all these mentions. Do I need to know that the silver sandals Mac props on a coffee table are pretty? No. In fact, I don’t even need to know they’re silver.
One of the most unintentionally hilarious bits in this book is when Mac gets caught in a rainstorm and goes into a bookstore. She explains, “I love books…way more than movies. Movies tell you what to think. A good book lets you choose a few thoughts for yourself. Movies show you the pink house. A good book tells you there’s a pink house and lets you paint some of the finishing touches, maybe choose the roof style, park your own car out front.”
Less than twenty pages later, this description appears: “This morning I’d awakened to find a wide band of bruises across my torso, just beneath my breasts. I couldn’t wear a bra because the underwire hurt too much, so I’d layered a lacy camisole trimmed with dainty roses beneath a pink sweater that complemented my Razzle-Dazzle-Hot-Pink-Twist manicure and pedicure. Black capris, a wide silver belt, silver sandals, and a small metallic Juicy Couture purse I’d saved all last summer to buy completed my outfit. I’d swept my long blonde hair up in a high ponytail, secured by a pretty enameled clip.”
No, no, no. We do not need this kind of detail in this kind of book. Are you a movie, or a book? (That being said, this has probably already been optioned for a movie. Gorgeous young male immortals, ugly special-effects type monsters, hot young fighting woman on a personal revenge mission, AND fairies that can MAKE YOU HAVE SEX WITH THEM. This is a winner by Hollywood standards.)
However, despite the occasional foray into cheesy paperback romance description, I still enjoyed the book. The plot is enough to keep me interested, and the second book in the series, Bloodfever, is much improved in the romance description department. I’ll be following this series — cautious, but hopeful.
by Ted Kerasote
ONE-LINE SUMMARY: Merle, a dog who wanders into the author’s life, enjoys life in rural Wyoming.
Okay, I realize the one-line summary is lame, but it’s hard to describe a book which is essentially the autobiography of a dog. I don’t usually read books about dogs’ lives anymore because I cry too much if the dog dies. Marley and Me, for example, sat on my bookshelf for over a year before I finally re-sold it on Ebay, unread, because I was afraid to read it.
As usual with dog books, I flipped to the end of this book at the library to see if the dog dies at the end. Yes, the dog dies at the end. Yes, I used up half a box of Kleenex during the last 30 pages; what’s it to you?
Despite the waterworks, I still enjoyed this book. Merle had a very unusual dog life–an owner who cared for him, but was also willing to let Merle lead his own life. Merle was able to walk around town, unleashed, unbothered, mainly because of the town where the author lives.
Merle is quite a character, but there is more than just a dog’s story here. Kerasote also offers interesting scientific studies on animals’ brains. For example, he describes a study in which it was found that it wasn’t exercise that mattered so much for increasing the size of a rat’s brain, but more that the rat had complex, engaging exercise. What does this mean? It means I have to build that agility course for Stanley.
This book is recommended, but only if you buy your tissues from warehouse clubs and are in no danger of running out.
by Ursula K. Le Guin
ONE-LINE SUMMARY: Gry and Orrec are Uplanders and must decide how to use the gifts of their lineage.
This is a terrific book, and I’m only sorry that it’s taken me so long to read it. I saw book three in this series on the New Young Adult Fiction shelf at the library, and it looked interesting. So being the type of person I am, I put the new book back on the shelf and went to look for the first book. Because reading books out of order will destroy the world as we know it.
Gry and Orrec in Gifts reminds me of the protagonists in Sharon Shinn’s Dream-Maker’s Magic. Gifts pass from mother to daughter and father to son, so Orrec is expected to continue in his father’s footsteps by wielding his gift of “unmaking” to secure their lands. Gry has inherited her mother’s gift of being able to call animals to her, and while she likes using her gift to train horses, she is not happy about being asked to call animals to hunters to be slain.
Terrific book — I finished it in one sitting and wish I’d taken out the other books in the series at the same time.
Day Five: Chapter 19 - end
To my surprise, I finish Harry Potter today. The last chunk of book is action-packed, and although I find myself unmoved by most of the deaths that follow, I am almost saddened by the death of a house-elf. Granted, I had to ask one of Chris’s friends who the elf was because I couldn’t remember, but his role was quite touching, short as it was.
I do not completely understand the logic of how Voldemort is defeated (and this does not constitute a spoiler because, hello, this is the last Harry Potter book, Voldemort’s gonna be defeated) but am willing to chalk it up to reading too fast.
While I enjoyed the book, most of the allure of the early Potter books is missing. There is no time for new characters or even old characters; this book is all Harry, all the way. There are no new magical discoveries for us in this book like the first time we encountered the Hogwarts Express and, my personal favorite, the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. There is, in short, very little fun going on in this book, and a heck of a lot of fighting. Magic, it seems, is relegated in this book to shouted spells and much wand-waving, and not really to…being magical. For that, you have to go back to the first Harry Potter book.
Day Four: Chapters 14.5 - 18
With Ron, Hermione, and Harry out on their own hunting Horcruxes, I don’t need to keep track of all the characters I can’t remember and reading is progressing faster. (Fortunately, the book is willing to remind me what Horcruxes are.)
I begin to wish that Hermione were the main character — she’s resourceful, skilled, and certainly the glue that keeps Harry and Ron together. Sure, it’s tough being Harry — but it must be tougher being Hermione, who does everything Harry is doing, except without the benefit of that scar. She’s the real hero of the story because she’s choosing the path in front of her, while Harry has no choice.
In SAT terms, Harry : Frodo :: Ron : Sam :: Hermione : Legolas.
Day Two, Part Two: Page 3 - Chapter 5
By page 30, there have been two mentions of Harry’s “bright green eye.” Why do I need to know his eye is bright green? And why only one eye? Surely I would have remembered Harry Potter having only one eye, green or otherwise.
Day Three: Chapter 6 - 14.5
Things are picking up. Three action-packed fights fly by. We lose a few characters, and even though one’s an animal, I barely flinch because I don’t really remember either of them. (But thank goodness Harry doesn’t have a pet puppy.)
The rapid death rate makes me suspect J.K. Rowling is trimming detritus in an effort to wrap up this series within a reasonable page length. As it is, my wrist is already in pain from holding the book and I think longingly of Stephen King’s serialized Green Mile, which I never read, but admired from a distance because of its portability.
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