This was more of a reading orgy

[angela_o]

For whatever reason, I was consumed by the need to read over the long weekend. I haven't had the urge that strongly in a long time and it was sort of fun to wallow in. I don't know if it's the feeling of summer that is beginning to creep in or what, but it's nice to revel in once in a while.

#73 is Smart Boys & Fast Girls by Stephie Davis(May/07). I'd seen this author recommended, but found the book to be fairly lacking in depth. There are a lot of other YA genre authors that I'd read first.

#74 is All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris(May/07). My hold on the latest Sookie Stackhouse came in at the library. Perhaps I'm getting less critical in my old age because I enjoyed it. Sookie's suitor juggling does have a tendency to get a little tiresome, but I'm willing to go with the flow for now. There does need to be more Eric though!

#75 is All the Possibilities by Nora Roberts(May/07). See below.

#76 is One Man's Art by Nora Roberts(May/07). These were combined into one volume and once again I'm realizing that early Roberts has more of the "strong man overcoming a woman's no because she doesn't really mean it" than I'm comfortable with. The first more so than the second.

#77 is Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson(May/07). An attempt to create a southern version of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants built around a Georgia peach orchard. Somewhat uneven, but it does have occasional whimsical moments of magical realism and I was interested enough to read the sequel.

#78 is The Secrets of the Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson(May/07). Sequel to the above and written in exactly the same vein.

#79 is Little Jordan by Marly Youmans(May/07). Technically this one should probably be listed as a novella, but I quite like Youmans writing. I think this was her first published work. She's a local writer and I read "Catherwood" by her several years ago and found it haunting.

#80 is For All the Wrong Reasons by Lousie Bagshawe. While there were things I enjoyed about this one, it too fell victim to the "he man overpowering the heroine" that I find so offputting. Is there some anti-feminist trend in chick lit that I was unaware of because unlike the Roberts, this is a title published in 2000. I hope that it's not on the rise because I find it very disturbing.


I need something wonderful and totally engrossing to read now. Hmmm. Off to look for possibilities.

Comments

[janajoh.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...I picked up The Society of S, City of Shadows (based off of Mel's recommendation), and Water For Elephants (yet again) from my library. I also bought Catch A Mate by Gena Showalter today.

Other than that, I'm outta ideas.

[angela-o.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendations Jana. I'll check them out and see if they appeal. :)

[marcolette.livejournal.com]

Looks like lots of fun reading! I haven't been doing much reading lately, though I did finally read The Time Traveler's Wife on Friday, a long time after your (and several other people's) recommendation of it. I bawled my eyes out, and then I turned around and wanted to be absorbed all over again in a similar way in other books, but I haven't decided where to go next.

I've been realizing that I miss reading books, actually. I haven't read much for pleasure since grad school, actually, aside from airport books and intensive amounts of fanfic. ;-) Time to re-focus, I think.

[angela-o.livejournal.com]

That's one reason that grad school never truly appealed. I hated the thought that reading could become a chore rather than a joy.

I'm so glad that you loved The Time Traveler's Wife. I immediately read it again upon finishing it and caught nuances that I'd missed the first time through. Still bawled my eyes out though. :)

Let's see, have you ever read Possession by A.S. Byatt? That's one of my favorite books ever. Plus, you might like The Eight by Katherine Neville. It's not as literary as Possession, but it's engrossing and a lot of fun and perfect as summer nears. For fun brain candy there are the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich. They're a numbered series and #13 is due out in a few weeks. They made me laugh out loud in places and the heroine's choices in male companionship leave little to be desired.

What are your favorite genres? I'll try to tailor some recommendations for you if you'd like.

[marcolette.livejournal.com]

Although I usually clear out my inbox very regularly, this comment has stayed in it for a while because I really appreciate the recs!

You know, I've never read Janet Evanovich, and I have absolutely no idea why not. My cousin, with whom I share quite a bit of common book preferences, has recommended them as well. I will keep them in mind for summer reading.

I'll also check out the other two.

As for favorite genres, I've been more interested in SF/F these days, but that's fairly new to me. As a child I devoured pretty much every single book I ever came across, regardless of the genre. As an adult, I've mostly stuck with total fluff, just romance and suspense. I'm feeling myself getting thinner and thinner on substance, though, and I think it's time to start putting the library card to good use. ;-)

[angela-o.livejournal.com]

I hope that you enjoy them. Please let me know what you think.

SF/F huh? I've never been a huge fantasy lover, but I can recommend some sci-fi that I've loved and reread.

The Novels of the Company by Kage Baker. The last of the series is due to be published next month. Both my husband and I have loved these. The basic premise is time-traveling cyborgs, but it's much richer and engrossing than can be quickly explained. The first is called In the Garden of Iden. I'll be sad when the series wraps up.

The Sparrow and its sequel Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. Humans discover transmissions from another sentient species and send out a first contact mission with the best of intentions which leads to both wonder and tragedy.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. This one is considered cyberpunk, but I prefer Stephenson to Gibson. Brash, exuberant, and sometimes hysterical it's one view of a not-too-distant future. I highly recommend it.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. This one mixes time travel, Victoriana, WWII, and romance for a mind-bending heady brew. Not nearly as dark as some of Willis's other works, which are also worthwhile, but not nearly as much fun.

And finally, for sentimental reasons, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series. The second in it, Speaker for the Dead is my favorite.

I did think of another series which I suppose is technically fantasy that several in my household really like. Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series. Harry is the only wizard listed in the Chicago phonebook and gets tapped to solve a variety of supernatural crimes involving everything from the various vampire courts to the Courts of the Faerie. Always entertaining.

Hopefully one or more of these will tweak your fancy and I can't promise that I won't inundate you with others. :)