Books: 2nd Edition

[fantasia]

Though I'm sure to be risking a chorus of horrified gasps by uttering this in such an estimable, well-read group, utter it I shall: I'll be reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings for the first time this autumn. Yes, it is quite criminal that I've never read them before now, but I never got around to it in my teens and I haven't been reading very much fiction since I reached my 20s. It's high time I rectified this situation and I'm really looking forward to properly meeting Middle-Earth and all of its characters. I've never even seen the films, so I think I'm in for quite a treat. I'll have to check out the Tolkien thread once I'm finished!

I cannot wait to hear what you think. I hope they have not been over-hyped for you but I know I personally love them (Hobbit is my favorite book of all time). Are you starting with The Hobbit or LotR?

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

I've got a bit of a funny story to share.... Early this morning I couldn't sleep, so I picked up The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and read a few chapters of that before switching over to my eReader to read a transcribed economics lecture. The lecture was very stream-of-consciousness and had a lot of "And do you know why that is? I'll tell you why that is" in it. Between that and my fatigue and having just been reading VDT, I suddenly got the very strong sense that I was reading the Chief Dufflepud talk about competition and monopoly. I may now think twice before switching between reading something so fantastical and technical so early in the morning.

Those middle grade books sound like fun, Mel! Thornghost sounds especially interesting.

I cannot wait to hear what you think. I hope they have not been over-hyped for you but I know I personally love them (Hobbit is my favorite book of all time). Are you starting with The Hobbit or LotR?

I expect to like them a lot! The most criticism I've seen from people is that he's rather thick on the description, but I've always loved lots of description, so I think Tolkien and I will get along fine. I'm planning on starting with The Hobbit. Is that generally regarded as the way to go? (I figure I ought to make sure after what HarperCollins did with MN and LWW. )

[ValiantArcher]

How're you liking The Lunar Chronicles, stwin? The stories are nothing new, of course , but I really enjoyed the characters and setting. Plus I love fairy tales, so!

Hope you enjoy LotR and The Hobbit, Rose. It would probably help to read The Hobbit first, but it's not essential, and they have pretty different feels about them, if that makes sense.

Oooh, memory validation from Mel! *high-fives* I've only read one Kate Milford book, but it appears she has written at least two others, so perhaps I will try to hunt down The Broken Lands.

So, my thoughts on The Grand Sophy: I would've enjoyed it probably quite a bit more if I didn't find the titular character so aggravating. Her total disregard for propriety and manners combined with her constant and extravagant meddling were infuriating. She is also never wrong and suffers no consequences for her actions and even her "faults" are endearing, namely her meddling. So, emm, ditto to everything you said, Mel. Plus the prejudices were irritating. And I don't like the "I hate you, you're terrible and I want to ring your neck: let's get married" trope at all. Not to mention the cousins getting married.
Also, I know Miss Wraxton had to be gotten out of the way for Sophy to be with Charles but there was no need to make her so disagreeable, and especially to make it such a terrible thing she was a bluestocking. I finally went and looked up what a bluestocking was and, unless I am very much missing something, it just means a woman who favored literature and intellectual things??? So why does Heyer use it so derogatorily? I guess just to be historically accurate?

At any rate, on the positive side, it's helped me realize that I think one of the things I like about Steris Harms (Wax & Wayne series by Brandon Sanderson) is that she subverts the typical treatment of a prim-and-proper/bluestocking-type of character. (Likewise, Marasi Colms is framed more as a convention-breaking main heroine of this sort, but also subverts that. ) (I don't think those really need to be in spoilers, but just in case!)

And it wasn't quite as bad as A Lady of Quality: no "well, if you ever have an affair, it shall be quite my own fault because I will have grown boring" line.

[fantasia]

I'm planning on starting with The Hobbit. Is that generally regarded as the way to go?

I'd vote for The Hobbit first but I don't think it's required. Most people start with The Hobbit as it's a children's book and a much faster read. Chronologically, it does come before LotR.
But I can't think of too many reasons why you HAVE to read Hobbit first if you didn't want to. Hobbit will introduce you to a lot of characters in LotR, but the way Tolkien writes, being familiar with the Hobbit characters is not necessarily required.

[SnowAngel]

Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed the O'Malley series, SA! And, ahaha, isn't a bit hard when a book makes you cry and you can't just go sit off by yourself? I believe she's since written a prequel about the youngest O'Malley but I haven't read it. Did you have a favourite book (or sibling)?

Yes, I love this house, but the more open layout is not so good for a reader.

Mmmm, I think Rachel was my favorite, I enjoyed how Rachel and Cole's story started in Jack's book. I liked how that paced their story, more time to grow together. But I thoroughly enjoyed each siblings' book, that style is very similar to the Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey (which I love!).

I realized the library system has Jennifer's story after I had read half the series. I might include it in my next batch of library books whenever we go to the library again. My stack of library books is down to three, but I have a huge stack of my own books to read which is the direct result of too good of sales at Christianbook.com. I am so prepared for a long, cold winter.

Oh, definitely start with The Hobbit, Rose.

I am nearly done with The Domino Effect. It's not the action packed story I was starting to expect from Davis Bunn, but it has still been an enjoyable read.

SnowAngel

[shastastwin]

How're you liking The Lunar Chronicles, stwin? The stories are nothing new, of course , but I really enjoyed the characters and setting. Plus I love fairy tales, so!

I'm enjoying them. The reader does a good job with the voices and I'm a big fairy tale fan as well. That was one of the main reasons I picked this series up (the other being all the recommendations I'd received).

Cinder bothers me sometimes because she's so dense about some things. Kai, Scarlet, and Wolf are my current favorites. Thorne and Iko are close seconds. Special mention for Granny Benoit. I'm really looking forward to Cress especially after her cameo in Cinder.

[Meltintalle]

Rose, the mental image of the Chief Dufflepud talking about economics made me grin like this: Let me know if you pick up Thornghost, I'd love to hear a second opinion on it. And for what it's worth, I say start with The Hobbit, the switch in narrative style won't be as surprising that way.

Valia, which Kate Milford did you read? (My impression of 'bluestocking' is that it had political implications, which is neither confirmed nor denied by the basic definition of the term.)

Cress is a really fun retelling, and I enjoyed it a lot.

[ValiantArcher]

Rose, fk pretty much summed up what I tried to say re: reading The Hobbit first, with Mel adding a better explanation of my last sentence.

Rachel's book/story is my favorite too, SA. Though I may've been a bit biased when reading it. But I did appreciate the difference in pace, and the fact that hers was the only one where we didn't have a big conversion scene.
Oooh, nice! Hurrah for that stack of books and being prepared for the winter.

Glad you're enjoying the Lunar Chronicles, stwin. All your favourite characters are great. I hope you enjoy Cress; I really liked it.

Mel, I read Greenglass House. I remember liking it fairly well, though I also don't remember how it resolves.
(I'm sure 'bluestocking' has some sort of political implications, though I have no idea what they would be. )

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

The Hobbit it is, then! Hoping to order a boxed set of both The Hobbit and LotR very soon.

I was wondering—has anyone has read Airborn by Kenneth Oppel? I was listening to an instrumental album by Adam Young (Owl City) the other day that was inspired by that book, and it made me curious to read it.

[ValiantArcher]

I've read Airborn, Rose, though it's been years. I think a few things bugged me but I don't remember anything major. For some reason I never picked up the sequels, though; whether that was because I found the book okay but not that engaging or if characters/plots bugged me, I don't recall. (And only reading the first book in a series for one reason or another is not as uncommon with me as I'd like, for some reason, so!)

I just finished No Time on My Hands by Grace Snyder; it's her autobiography (memoir?), though it mostly focuses on the first half of her life growing up on the Nebraska prairie through her early married years. But it was quite interesting (reminded me of the Little House books some) and kept me reading consistently, even though it was over 500 pages long (which is long for me nowadays ).

I haven't really decided what to read next; I've picked up a fluff kid's mystery book (A Biff Brewster?) to read while I make up my mind (it's so light and quick it doesn't really count...).

[SnowAngel]

Rachel's book/story is my favorite too, SA. Though I may've been a bit biased when reading it. But I did appreciate the difference in pace, and the fact that hers was the only one where we didn't have a big conversion scene.

Oooh, nice! Hurrah for that stack of books and being prepared for the winter.

I am on my last library book, so I should be starting on my stash soon even if it's not winter yet.

Aren't there some Sigmund Brouwer fans on here? I am currently his latest release, Saffire, and it's very good. Loving the sarcasm of the main character in the first few chapters.

SnowAngel

[Reepicheep775]

Since I'm writing a children's book for NaNoWriMo, I figured I should read some children's literature as it's been a while since I've read some (not including Narnia ). I'm currently reading Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver and once I'm done, I'll read Kenny & the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi. The former is pretty good so far. It's about Bronze Age Greece during the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations. I'm fascinated by the Minoans and I didn't even know they were in it, so that was a pleasant surprise.

@Rose: I've read Airborn and its two sequels - Skybreaker and Starclimber. I enjoyed them quite a bit. They're really fun adventure stories - kind of a throwback to earlier authors like Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne etc. The fact that I was going through a big airship kick at the time probably had something to do with my enjoyment of them.

[fantasia]

I'm a complete newbie when it comes to N.D. Wilson. Hope I got that name right. I'm curious about this author and saw several of you guys have read his books. I was wondering if anyone would like to recommend something of his?

[ValiantArcher]

You got the name right, fk! If you're looking at his fiction, there are several options. Mel might have a different opinion, but I would probably recommend 100 Cupboards to start with (okay, maybe she won't ). For one thing, it's obviously influenced/flavored by MN & LWW, but is also very American in its setting (Kansas, so there's a bit of the Wizard of Oz flavor there). It's also a relatively quick read, and it stands fairly well on its own, so if you hate it, you can walk away without reading the other two books in the series.
If you want a non-magical adventure story, Leepike Ridge is a standalone book. My personal favorite (so far at least) is the Ashtown Burials series, which is...I guess it deals more with myths and is about an organization of explorers. The fourth and final book is currently hung up in some sort of publishing limbo, though, and so no one knows when it's going to come out.
There are a couple of other fiction books by him out there but I haven't read them yet.

Wilson has also written a couple of non-fiction books, Notes from a Tilt-a-Whirl and Death by Living. I haven't had a chance to read either but I've heard excellent reports from those who have.

Hope this helps and didn't make it more confusing.

[Meltintalle]

Mel might have a different opinion, but I would probably recommend 100 Cupboards to start with (okay, maybe she won't ).

Yeeeeeah, since my all-time-pry-from-my-cold-dead-fingers-favorite is Dandelion Fire, the middle book in the trilogy, I'm not going to recommend starting with it.

I'd suggest starting either 100 Cupboards or Boys of Blur (stand-alone and shortest) for his fiction (since my tastes skew toward fantasy) and Notes from a Tilt-a-Whirl for non-fiction. Wilson melds Americana with a microscopic explosion of the everyday into the fantastic and a boyish fascination with dirt and baseball. Or something like that. I can't replicate his prose off the top of my head.

[ValiantArcher]

Figured as much, Mel. (Though maybe you're missing a "not"?)

I am currently reading The Women Who Wrote the War by Nancy Caldwell Sorel, about women war correspondents during WWII. My reading time has been rather sparse this past week, and the pace is a bit slow anyhow, but I'm about a quarter-way through now. It's interesting, but also disheartening: practically every (perhaps every!) new correspondent has been introduced with a bit of biography that includes this unhappy marriage or that love affair. :/

I'm thinking I'll need some lighter fare when I'm finished, and am considering my options. Though I'm not sure it'll matter much as I'll probably just pick up whatever book I have on hand when I finish. I have also brought up the last two books in the Riddlemaster trilogy in the hope that I can (after...5? 6? years) finally finish that series off; I'm hoping to muddle through without resorting to rereading the first book (I remember a quest and a harp and a riddle and some Gandalf-like-mentor, plus a lady in a hall, which is pretty decent for the length of time, so I think I shall sort it out).