Books: 2nd Edition

[fantasia]

As you all are speaking so highly of the Ashtown Burials I'll have to remember to read that at some point. But that will probably have to come after Christmas due to the busy Holiday season.

I'm also quite intrigued by the Mistborn series that has been quite highly recommended on here.

[ValiantArcher]

Mel, that chart helps me with names but everyone still blurred together. Well, everyone but Grandma Anastasia. It's been a while, so please remind me: what are the known facts?

SA. I own the three Ashtown books, but haven't found The Chestnut King at a booksale yet, so...

fk, I do recommend Ashtown Burials, but they're different from 100 Cupboards. I'm not sure this is the best way to put it, but the feel of Cupboards is more like Narnia meets Oz with a good blend of children's fantasy while Ashtown is more of a mix of classic adventure stories, Percy Jackson, and something else I can't quite put my finger on.
Mistborn is good too. It's more big-picture fantasy, but it keeps pace pretty well.

I finished The Mill on the Floss. Does anyone know why it was lysander's favorite, or did I somehow mix it up with Middlemarch? What a depressing book. All the good intentions had terrible results. I knew something was going to go sideways with Stephen but I didn't guess the semi-forced elopement. I was glad that Lucy and Maggie reconciled just fine; that was very nice. I didn't like Philip much through the book, but his final letter seemed to indicate he finally got things straight. And then Tom and Maggie reconcile and THEN THEY DIE IMMEDIATELY??? LIKE WHY??? UGH. I'm sure there was some important message in the story, but mostly it felt very futile and a terrible picture of life without Christ...

I've stuck Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates in my bag to go to work next. I'm a little leery to stick The Way of Kings in may bag and haul it back and forth. I left the dust jacket with my friend, but the book still looks too nice to carry about...

[MeadowMaid]

Ooh, Ashtown Burials and the 100 Cupboards series! I've read both of those and am about to listen to The Dragon's Tooth.

Mel, thanks for sharing Henry's family tree! Quite helpful.

fk, I enjoyed the Mistborn series. I may or may not have binge-read the series over the summer. It is long but enjoyable.

SA, I've read Notes From A Tilt-A-Whirl . Have you read Death by Living ? It's a bit more fine-tuned and he lays out his worldview well. It's been neat to see how that translates to his books. Outlaws of Time tied in particularly well, I thought.

Finished Anna Karenina recently. Has anyone else here read it? If so, what did you think?

[Meltintalle]

Valia, based on my most recent re-read of the 100 Cupboards trilogy I'd say the facts are thus: When one door opens, two boys tumble through . . . bringing with them a battle with the undying witch-queen, Nimiane. Hyacinth, together with the boys, must use her newfound magic and all of her courage to journey straight into the witch’s kingdom in a daring plan to trap evil and kill the immortal. So, basically, the new info is 1) Hyacinth is actually a Smith and 2) she was there when Nimiane was imprisoned so 3) no wonder Nimiane wasn't fond of the family.

Meadow, I've read Anna Karenina a few times. I tend to forget the Levin/Kitty plotline entirely, which is sad because it's the more hopeful thread winding through the story.

I just finished the Mistborn series. It's... not my favorite example of the death of a god genre, but it did have a few interesting twists.(Favorites are Patricia McKillip's Riddlemaster and David Eddings' Elenium)--and it felt like there were some nods towards Eddings (Breeze and his lady-love in particular reminded me strongly of Silk and Velvet's romance) that could have been pushed further into originality. Overall, it was a fun read, but I think Sanderson's later work improves in leaps and bounds.

I'm still working my way through Ben Hur. If I buckled down, I could finish it.

[ValiantArcher]

Hope you enjoy your listen to The Dragon's Tooth, Meadow!

Mel, thanks for the bolding, though I actually meant: What are the facts in The 100 Cupboards that line up with your theory? Besides, I guess, didn't Nimiane say something about Mordecai being weak? Or maybe not. That said, I always thought it was Dot and Frank who had the run-in with Nimiane before? Nimiane said she had known Dot before, when she was young, and that it was always their family (perhaps Frank's, though?) who had caused her trouble. ...don't suppose Dot was a Smith? And in writing that, I think I figured out one of my hesitations with the synopsis: it's sounds like it's going to be a story about Mordecai and Hyacinth (and Caleb?) and I really wanted a story about Dot and Frank. Also, how sad it will be if Mordecai and Caleb DO come through, quite possibly looking for Frank, and not knowing they found his world and he can't let them know?

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Hans Brinker. Years ago, I had read a copy that I was pretty sure was abridged and now I'm certain: I am quite unclear as to why it's called Hans Brinker when half the book has ignored Hans and instead has focused on the history and culture of the Netherlands through the lens of a skating trip and an English cousin. Don't get me wrong, it's interesting and fun, but it really seems like two different books/stories that got smushed together---even the Silver Skates subtitle doesn't tie it together very well.

[Meltintalle]

Valia, the bolded text IS what I remember of the details mentioned in two and three. ...But you're right in the first one it is implied that Frank and Dotty had a run in with Nimiane and were saved by Grandfather. Huh. Also, I seem to remember that the twins were only, like, twelve, so...

[fantasia]

Does anybody know anything about 'Wingfeather Tales' ? I just ran across it by accident this morning.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0986381896/re ... UTF8&psc=1

[SnowAngel]

Conspiracy of Silence (the Tox Files #1) by Ronie Kendig arrived in the mail early last week and I made myself read through it slowly (that means in two and half days instead of one day). It was awesome! Nobody writes action-packed fiction like Ronie Kendig. Conspiracy of Silence already has a spot on my special bookshelf. Now I just need to finish writing my review and post around.

I can't get my sisters to read the four books I have by Ronie Kendig, so I am seriously thinking about driving them crazy with a countdown to Crown of Souls' (the Tox Files book 2) release which should probably included reading one of Ronie Kendig's other books every month. But Crown of Souls doesn't have a release date yet!

SnowAngel

[ValiantArcher]

Mel, ah, gotcha. I can't check anything in Dandelion Fire because I can't figure out where it is: I look at my shelves at the house and think it must be at the apartment, then look at the my shelf at the apartment and think it must be at the house... Frank and Dotty may've also had a run-in with...ummm...the sons of Endor? or whoever it was that Henry and Richard ran into in 100 Cupboards who didn't want them to leave and who knew Henry wasn't a York. Wait, are Caleb and Mordecai twins? I do not remember that, yet wikipedia informs me it is true. Wikipedia also informs me they traveled to Endor to imprison Nimaine when young.

Huh, fk! I haven't read any of the Wingfeather books, but it sounds like an interesting collection.

SA. Do you think a countdown will actually change their minds?

I finished Hans Brinker, Or the Silver Skates. It was interesting, but lacked focus or coherency. My earlier comments still stand and then the book ends with praising Gretel. Which I don't have anything against, except it kind of comes out of nowhere as she isn't the focus of any of the plots and her brother is the titular character... But, little me liked the Hans Brinker storyline, and older me liked the skating trip storyline, so I suppose it worked out.

I may get distracted by some smaller books along the way, but I think I'm going to start The Way of Kings next. If I can finish it before the New Year (*laughs at self* If you want to read over holidays, don't make plans over them...), that would be fantastic.

[shastastwin]

Does anybody know anything about 'Wingfeather Tales' ? I just ran across it by accident this morning.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0986381896/re ... UTF8&psc=1

FK, I believe that was originally released as part of the Kickstarter project for the Wingfeather animated movie/series that Andrew Peterson did this summer. I haven't looked into it yet though as I still need to finish the original 4 books (I have book 2 on the shelf but I'm reading very slowly at the moment, which I know you appreciate. )

[mm1991]

Reflecting on the books I read this year, I have to say a standout for me was the Welcome To Night Vale book. But I like those types of weird stories.

[ValiantArcher]

I don't know who's seen it and who's interested, but Megan Whalen Turner is running a giveaway for an ARC of Thick As Thieves. Entering looks pretty straightforward/simple and it ends January 15.

I haven't started Way of Kings yet, but I did make two short diversions for a couple of kids books I had sitting around.

[Bookwyrm]

Has anyone else read The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman? It's about a librarian who works for a library that preserves books from across the multiverse. In it, she's sent to retrieve a unique copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales from an alternate earth with vampire, werewolves, and mad scientists. There's also evil Fae and an eldritch abomination who used to work for the Library. And dragons. It's pretty awesome.

[waggawerewolf27]

Has anyone else read The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman? It's about a librarian who works for a library that preserves books from across the multiverse. In it, she's sent to retrieve a unique copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales from an alternate earth with vampire, werewolves, and mad scientists. There's also evil Fae and an eldritch abomination who used to work for the Library. And dragons. It's pretty awesome.

Oh dear! Really I should read this book, having been on the other side of the library counter. I'd want to find out if calling someone "who used to work for the Library", an "eldrich abomination" is really a bit too harsh. Or what did he/she do to deserve such a description? Feed those who refused to pay library fines to the dragons? Or only those library users with outrageously late loans? Now that does sound a tempting idea.

The author of one of my favourite books, Watership Down, died on Christmas Eve. I've also read and enjoyed The Plague Dogs. I'm not too sure about his other books though, since I haven't come across them casually.

[mm1991]

Could I ask a book-related question? How much time do you guys tend to read each day? Do you speed read or do you take your time? How many books do you tend to read in a year?

[Bookwyrm]

I'm at a little over 60 books read for the year. That's down from last year when I read about twice that, but that number was padded pretty heavily with graphic novels. I have a Kindle, as well as the app on all my devices, so I tend to read in bits and pieces throughout the day. Breaktime at work, waiting for the water to boil for tea, between Overwatch matches, during commercial breaks during TV shows. Stuff like that. So I'd say it probably adds up to an hour or two a day.