Reading List Update: # 70 - 79
Dec. 6th, 2008 08:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedibuttercupWell. About a month since my last reading post. Ten-ish books consumed in that time, including: seven epic fantasy, one psychology-related non-fiction, one religious work, and what I'm calling "one book's worth" of urban fantasy short stories.
70. Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 768pp. 2nd of the Firekeeper series. Wow, these are long books; but well-written and complex. This one was mainly about a particular Quest for magical objects, but also very much about the main characters' continuing to grow into adults, and both threads were very well done. I liked that Firekeeper still made an effort to retain her identity as a Wolf even while learning more about her human heritage-- despite pressures from both human and Beast authorities. I also appreciated that all of the characters in this 'verse have different perspectives on the situations which don't always mesh, and that while the heroes certainly try, they don't always do the right thing, or even agree on what the right thing might be (while still progressing to a satisfying conclusion).
71. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 502pp. 1st of the Codex Alera. Reread.
72. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 529pp. 2nd of the Codex Alera. Reread.
73. Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 442pp. 3rd of the Codex Alera. Reread.
74. Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 451pp. 4th of the Codex Alera. Reread.
75. Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 386pp. 5th of the Codex Alera.
It's a good thing I've known ever since I picked up the 3rd book in this series that Butcher was planning a total of six, or I'd have screamed at the end of Princeps' Fury, which I picked up the day it came out. This series is, I suspect, why I had so much trouble rereading David Eddings' work-- the plot complexity, the characterization, the worldbuilding, etc., I could go on about it for hours if you'd let me. The problem with the penultimate chapter of any series like this, however, is that things tend to get very, very dark in preperation for the hero's ultimate triumph; though I enjoyed reading "Princeps' Fury" very much indeed, and was both surprised and pleased by some of the plot elements and character development in it, overall it was a very, very depressing novel, and set up ridiculously high expectations for the last one.
76. The Dragon of Despair by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 729pp. 3rd of the Firekeeper series. On one level, this book was a bit of a disappointment after enjoying the first two so much; the main characters didn't develop much more than they already had, and they journey to the same land to fight the same enemy as in the second book, leaving most of the first book's intriguing secondary cast behind. On another level, however, it did more deeply explore the mythology of the world, revisit the continuing minor subplot of Humans vs. Beasts (which seems likely to build to a major conflict sooner or later), and continue to present all its cast as actual, three-dimensional, fallible beings, something still relatively rare in fantasy fiction. I liked it enough to pick up the next-- at least, whenever I next have a Borders discount coupon.
77. The Shack by William Young. Paperback, 256pp. I read this one at the behest of my mother; our friends and family have been passing it around for months in the aftermath of Derek's death. It's about one man dealing with grief, and experiencing a transformational vision/visitation of God; it's also about that eternal question "Where is God in a world filled with unspeakable pain?" I found it moving, thoughtful, and thought-provoking; I can see why it's been compared to John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress". It's a lot closer to my actual idea of God than what I usually experience in church; I liked the concept that God prefers living verbs (doing) to dead nouns (being), and that while all roads might not necessarily lead to Jesus, he will go down any and every road to find you.
78. Five Dredsen-verse short stories, comprising a total of 222 pages, as follows:
79. The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks by Al Siebert, PhD. Paperback, 225pp. I borrowed this one from the work library, and found it both interesting and helpful in explaining some things I've observed in myself, my family, and my friends in the aftermath of traumatic, life-changing events. Not just Derek's death, which was nearly ten months ago now, but several other, and in many cases much older traumas. He talks a lot about escaping the victim mentality-- establishing an internal self-directed locus of control rather than an external one, which depends on other people to define your reality-- and escaping the "good child" lessons a lot of us were taught as kids, which trap folk in self-defeating "should" modes of behavior rather than doing what's actually necessary to be healthy and happy. Other points include the fact that humans are programmed to keep learning and changing our entire lives, and that "stress" is a total myth-- it's the strain of trying to cope with things we aren't emotionally prepared to deal with that causes so many problems.
Next book: Haven't decided yet. Either O'Brian's The Fortune of War, or Morgan Howell's A Woman Worth Ten Coppers-- or more likely a mixture of both, because while I adore O'Brian dearly his extensive and exhausting nautical language often drives me to find something lighter to relax my brain for awhile. =)
~
70. Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 768pp. 2nd of the Firekeeper series. Wow, these are long books; but well-written and complex. This one was mainly about a particular Quest for magical objects, but also very much about the main characters' continuing to grow into adults, and both threads were very well done. I liked that Firekeeper still made an effort to retain her identity as a Wolf even while learning more about her human heritage-- despite pressures from both human and Beast authorities. I also appreciated that all of the characters in this 'verse have different perspectives on the situations which don't always mesh, and that while the heroes certainly try, they don't always do the right thing, or even agree on what the right thing might be (while still progressing to a satisfying conclusion).
71. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 502pp. 1st of the Codex Alera. Reread.
72. Academ's Fury by Jim Butcher. Paperback, 529pp. 2nd of the Codex Alera. Reread.
73. Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 442pp. 3rd of the Codex Alera. Reread.
74. Captain's Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 451pp. 4th of the Codex Alera. Reread.
75. Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher. Hardback, 386pp. 5th of the Codex Alera.
It's a good thing I've known ever since I picked up the 3rd book in this series that Butcher was planning a total of six, or I'd have screamed at the end of Princeps' Fury, which I picked up the day it came out. This series is, I suspect, why I had so much trouble rereading David Eddings' work-- the plot complexity, the characterization, the worldbuilding, etc., I could go on about it for hours if you'd let me. The problem with the penultimate chapter of any series like this, however, is that things tend to get very, very dark in preperation for the hero's ultimate triumph; though I enjoyed reading "Princeps' Fury" very much indeed, and was both surprised and pleased by some of the plot elements and character development in it, overall it was a very, very depressing novel, and set up ridiculously high expectations for the last one.
76. The Dragon of Despair by Jane Lindskold. Paperback, 729pp. 3rd of the Firekeeper series. On one level, this book was a bit of a disappointment after enjoying the first two so much; the main characters didn't develop much more than they already had, and they journey to the same land to fight the same enemy as in the second book, leaving most of the first book's intriguing secondary cast behind. On another level, however, it did more deeply explore the mythology of the world, revisit the continuing minor subplot of Humans vs. Beasts (which seems likely to build to a major conflict sooner or later), and continue to present all its cast as actual, three-dimensional, fallible beings, something still relatively rare in fantasy fiction. I liked it enough to pick up the next-- at least, whenever I next have a Borders discount coupon.
77. The Shack by William Young. Paperback, 256pp. I read this one at the behest of my mother; our friends and family have been passing it around for months in the aftermath of Derek's death. It's about one man dealing with grief, and experiencing a transformational vision/visitation of God; it's also about that eternal question "Where is God in a world filled with unspeakable pain?" I found it moving, thoughtful, and thought-provoking; I can see why it's been compared to John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress". It's a lot closer to my actual idea of God than what I usually experience in church; I liked the concept that God prefers living verbs (doing) to dead nouns (being), and that while all roads might not necessarily lead to Jesus, he will go down any and every road to find you.
78. Five Dredsen-verse short stories, comprising a total of 222 pages, as follows:
- "Something Borrowed", from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, by Jim Butcher. 32pp.
- "Heorot", from My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon, by Jim Butcher. 47pp.
- "It's My Birthday, Too", from Many Bloody Returns, by Jim Butcher. 47pp.
- "Day Off", from Blood Lite, by Jim Butcher. 26pp.
- Backup, by Jim Butcher. 70pp.
79. The Resiliency Advantage: Master Change, Thrive Under Pressure, and Bounce Back from Setbacks by Al Siebert, PhD. Paperback, 225pp. I borrowed this one from the work library, and found it both interesting and helpful in explaining some things I've observed in myself, my family, and my friends in the aftermath of traumatic, life-changing events. Not just Derek's death, which was nearly ten months ago now, but several other, and in many cases much older traumas. He talks a lot about escaping the victim mentality-- establishing an internal self-directed locus of control rather than an external one, which depends on other people to define your reality-- and escaping the "good child" lessons a lot of us were taught as kids, which trap folk in self-defeating "should" modes of behavior rather than doing what's actually necessary to be healthy and happy. Other points include the fact that humans are programmed to keep learning and changing our entire lives, and that "stress" is a total myth-- it's the strain of trying to cope with things we aren't emotionally prepared to deal with that causes so many problems.
Next book: Haven't decided yet. Either O'Brian's The Fortune of War, or Morgan Howell's A Woman Worth Ten Coppers-- or more likely a mixture of both, because while I adore O'Brian dearly his extensive and exhausting nautical language often drives me to find something lighter to relax my brain for awhile. =)
~
no subject
Date: 2008-12-07 08:47 am (UTC)I can't get rid of them yet-- the nostalgia factor is too strong-- but I'm not sure I'll ever reread them again, either.
But if you're sure you'll never re-read them, why keep them?
no subject
Date: 2008-12-07 09:23 am (UTC)For the same reason several other books have stayed on my shelves though I haven't reread them in at least a decade: I can walk along the bookshelf, touch a spine, pick up the book-- and am instantly reminded of not only the major plot points, no matter how long ago I read it, but how I felt about it at the time, where I read it, who introduced me to it, and so on. Some of my books I value because of the time period or the person they remind me of, not because they're excellent books in and of themselves, and that makes them really hard to get rid of.