Monday, April 5, 2010


Well, the library emergency is pretty much over. I returned a few books unread, two of which I had wanted to read, one of which is on hold again. Now I just have to keep from celebrating by checking out a dozen more... I still have to jump a bit because some books are new and not renewable, but I'm hoping to manage my hold stream better. Yeah.

I'm still reading 90% library books, but I'm looking at some of my home library as well. Which is good, because the piles of books in my bedroom are getting a bit hazardous to my health. I started clearing them up, which helped me locate the lost library book, just in time to notice that I've lost two picture books. Hmm.

So, I have many of my own books with bookmarks, but they all still doomed to the bottom shelf while I scurry about with due dates. I am actively reading:
  • Eagle Strike, Anthony Horowitz. My son has already finished this series, so I'd better hurry up here.
  • NurtureShock, Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman. One of the non-renewables. I'm enjoying this kind of freakonomics for parenting book.
  • The Prisoner, Carlos J Cortes. I think Jo Walton recommended this on tor.com. Although I don't think she's read it -- I think it was from an award list. Pretty good so far, but also all action.
  • An Echo In the Bone, Diana Gabaldon. A chunkster that I shouldn't have checked out yet. Good airport reading while I waited for my sons' plane to take off.
  • Chameleon, Charles R. Smith, Jr. YA book about Black boys that I've just started.
  • And Falling, Fly, Skyler White. Written by a friend of a friend, so I hope I like it.
  • Kris Longknife: Undaunted, Mike Shepherd. The Longknife books are getting a bit creaky, but I still enjoy them. This is MY book.
I'm currently on spring break, so I hope I get a lot of reading in. I have no idea how long it's been since I last updated, so here are some books I've finished in living memory:
  • Blaze of Memory, by Nalini Singh. I didn't buy the relationship, and I found the plotting silly.
  • Alex and Me, Irene M. Pepperberg. A woman and her parrot --for SCIENCE. Well, not really science. Science is icky.
  • Spellbent, Lucy A. Snyder. Fairly fun.
  • Wintergirls, Laurie Halse Anderson. Famous book. Depressing. Silly paranormal twist.
  • The Year of the Bomb, Ronald Kidd. Strong sense of place, with a protagonist I found unconvincingly sensitive.
  • The Mark of the Demon, Diane Rowland. Second in the series, decent read.
  • Irreligion, by John Paulos. Short defense of the rational approach to the supernatural.
  • Enigma, C.F. Bentley. Second in a series, but I never read the first. Interesting space story.
  • Banana Heart Summer, Merlinda Bobis. Philippian story of growing up. I find books with abusive mothers very hard to read, but the writing was delicious.
  • Don't Hurt Laurie, Willo Davis Roberts. See above, but without the tasty writing.
  • Into the Tangle of Friendship, Beth Kephart. Engrossing memoir about relationships and parenting.
  • Dazzle of Day, Molly Gloss. Quakers in SPAAAAACE.
  • Flirt, Laurell K. Hamilton. Silly story, pasted onto a silly anecdote. Not as much about flirting as Hamilton seems to think.
Well, that's a few weeks worth. I shall try to take better care of my blog. And my fish. And my cat.

2 comments:

kmitcham said...

I enjoyed the book club book. Fiction is fun. I needed another New Yorker break, so I read part of "Sethra Lavode". Brust as Paarfi is fun.

Kristen said...

Hey, I just finished Into the Tangle of Friendship this week after procrastinating on it for a shameful amount of time.

I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on NutureShock. A non-parent friend of mine read it and thought it was quite good.