Reading List Update: # 66 - 69
Nov. 9th, 2008 02:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupFour books in this batch: one historical fantasy; one epic fantasy; one graphic novel; and one work-related non-fiction.
66. Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey. Paperback, 384pp. 5th of the Elemental Masters. Well, it was better than 4, but that's all I can say for it. Part of the problem, again, may be that "Puss and Boots", the base fairy tale, is not a favorite; and sad to say Grace Livingston Hill did a better job writing a dirt-poor girl shamming respectability, without needing talking felines to help out her characters. That said, however, the world these stories is based in continues to intrigue me-- I'd love to write a crossover with, say, Jane Austen storylines mixed up with this type of magic-- and the story at least kept me turning the pages. (I know, faint praise; if it wasn't a fairy tale adaption series, I'd probably have stopped at Book 3, but the genre is a definite weak spot of mine).
67. Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 608pp. 1st of the Firekeeper series. This one, on the other hand, totally lived up to its promise. I don't often read stories about children raised by wild animals, except of course for the classics (Jungle Book and Tarzan), because often such fantasies have serious realism issues. This one? Totally absorbing. Lindskold doesn't take the easy way out of any of the problems such a childhood causes the main character while still managing to make Firekeeper's POV sympathetic, and the secondary cast are all unique and interesting in their own ways as well. (♥ Derian Carter!) The intrigue, action, mythology, and characterization are all well-done, and enough to make me run out and buy the next one immediately.
68. The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher and Ardian Syaf. Hardback graphic novel, 160pp. The storyline here takes place before the first book, Storm Front, and only a few of the series regulars turn up. A pretty standard early Harry adventure, where several random people die in ugly circumstances, things aren't as they seem at first glace, Harry spends considerable time running around being chivalrous, Bob gets to snark at Harry, and Harry resolves the matter by using basic magic in creative ways.
69. Facebook Marketing: Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business by Steven Holzner. Paperback, 288pp. A rough guide to Facebook, especially to how one might use it to advertise on the internet without resorting to that most hated of tactics, spam. Assigned by my boss, believe it or not; I get to put it into practice next week on work time! Informative, and mostly new to me, as of all the social networking systems online I'm basically only familiar with Livejournal, which does not lend itself well to marketing.
Next book: Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart, by Jane Lindskold - 2nd of the Firekeeper series.
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66. Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey. Paperback, 384pp. 5th of the Elemental Masters. Well, it was better than 4, but that's all I can say for it. Part of the problem, again, may be that "Puss and Boots", the base fairy tale, is not a favorite; and sad to say Grace Livingston Hill did a better job writing a dirt-poor girl shamming respectability, without needing talking felines to help out her characters. That said, however, the world these stories is based in continues to intrigue me-- I'd love to write a crossover with, say, Jane Austen storylines mixed up with this type of magic-- and the story at least kept me turning the pages. (I know, faint praise; if it wasn't a fairy tale adaption series, I'd probably have stopped at Book 3, but the genre is a definite weak spot of mine).
67. Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 608pp. 1st of the Firekeeper series. This one, on the other hand, totally lived up to its promise. I don't often read stories about children raised by wild animals, except of course for the classics (Jungle Book and Tarzan), because often such fantasies have serious realism issues. This one? Totally absorbing. Lindskold doesn't take the easy way out of any of the problems such a childhood causes the main character while still managing to make Firekeeper's POV sympathetic, and the secondary cast are all unique and interesting in their own ways as well. (♥ Derian Carter!) The intrigue, action, mythology, and characterization are all well-done, and enough to make me run out and buy the next one immediately.
68. The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher and Ardian Syaf. Hardback graphic novel, 160pp. The storyline here takes place before the first book, Storm Front, and only a few of the series regulars turn up. A pretty standard early Harry adventure, where several random people die in ugly circumstances, things aren't as they seem at first glace, Harry spends considerable time running around being chivalrous, Bob gets to snark at Harry, and Harry resolves the matter by using basic magic in creative ways.
69. Facebook Marketing: Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business by Steven Holzner. Paperback, 288pp. A rough guide to Facebook, especially to how one might use it to advertise on the internet without resorting to that most hated of tactics, spam. Assigned by my boss, believe it or not; I get to put it into practice next week on work time! Informative, and mostly new to me, as of all the social networking systems online I'm basically only familiar with Livejournal, which does not lend itself well to marketing.
Next book: Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart, by Jane Lindskold - 2nd of the Firekeeper series.
~
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 03:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 05:55 pm (UTC)And #66 - I love that series though none of them are the most incredible adaptations ever but I like her twist on it. Mostly, I'm still annoyed that "Fire Rose" is never counted as part of the series even though it's a very interesting take on Beauty and the Beast. "Puss in Boots" isn't my fav but I look forward to checking this one out at some point.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-09 06:00 pm (UTC)