While She Knits: Friday!

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend
(What have you read lately that is AWESOME LIKE A LONG WEEKEND?  Sorry if you don't have one)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend
(Yeah, stupidest song ever but whatever)
Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin’)
(Just in case you weren't sure about the order of the days of the week now you know.)
Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes after...wards
(What books are you singing the praises of, on this Friday?)

Comments

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

And I will go first because I can't express how much I liked Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. First in a series. Sooo good.

[chubbyleng.livejournal.com]

Well, I've taken everyone's advice, and read "The Eagle of the Ninth" by Rosemary Sutcliff.

OMGSUFDOIDjlkwejrR!@#$9sP&*F98auodfjk It was AWESOME!

I cannot express in words how much I loved it. I love Marcus. And I think I'm in love with Esca.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

HAVE NOT YET GOTTEN TO THIS, SO EXCITED TO DO SO. I'm bad, though, my mother's been telling me to read Rosemary Sutcliff for YEARS and I just never had.

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

Oh, I need to get around to this one too!

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

Yay! Glad you liked it. :)

[ricardienne.livejournal.com]

I just read Heart of Iron, by Ekaterina Sedia. It's a Steampunk alternate history, where the Decembrists were successful and Russian had major social and economic reform early in the 19th century, such that by the 1850's she is a major industrialized power and the trans-Siberian railway is already in place. Sasha Trobetskaya's formidable aunt gets her one of the first places open to women at St. Petersburg University, which Sasha is at first not thrilled to accept, especially when it becomes clear that she, with the other female students, is expected to fail. But when her only friends -- a group of students from China -- are suddenly deported, helping them turns out to involve not only involving herself in the fate and direction of the Russian Empire, but coming to terms with what she wants and how she wants to be a woman.

Basically, this is an adventure-story romp that involves traveling in disguise, traveling through Siberia and China, traveling, occasionally, by submarine and airship, frantically trying to evade enemy spies and agents, a bit of the supernatural, and a very understated love triangle. But it's also a really neat alternate history because it is also intensely focused on Russia between East and West in a very different way: it becomes clear early on, for example, that the English are the bad guys, while internal Chinese politics (esp. the Taiping Rebellion) and Chinese characters have an important and sympathetic role.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

I have A BOOK by Ekaterina Sedia that I've been meaning to read for years. Thanks for the reminder--I'm going to have to pull it out and finally get to reading it when I'm back in the states!

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

I finally read Temeraire by Naomi Novik recently, and I am starting the second book. I'm glad I finally did, because Laurence is so STALWART AND GOOD AND SLIGHTLY TOO GENTLEMANLY and so on, and it's great, and Temeraire is the best precocious dragon. <3

Also because I am without focus I am reading Master and Commander (thematically linked to Temeraire by involving the 18th century British navy!), still slowly working my way through some delicious H.P. Lovecraft, and reading a popular history of ILLICIT BEHAVIOURS IN LONDON by Katharine Arnold.

I just finished rereading Magicians of Caprona and Howl's Moving Castle.

Today I am going to read a book called Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness: Manners and Morals from Lock to Austen by Jenny Davidson. You probably underestimate how excited I am about that.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOODNESS (also linked to Termeraire because Naomi Novik started writing Termaire because she was doing so much research for her Master and Commander fic) MOM AND I LISTENED TO THE HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON AUDIO BOOK ON THE WAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND

omg Temeraire's voice was the cutest. THE CUTEST.

I cannot convey the cuteness for you here but omg I still go around saying, "Laurence, I think I did that" in my best surprised-proud dragon voice omg.

I have the first like three books in a big hardback; I need to pull it out and go through them.

THESE BOOKS SOUND SO AWESOME.

also

Temeraire.

<3<3<3

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

I MISS YOU, CHECKERS. THIS IS THE BEST.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

MISS YOU, TOO. I miss everyone who doesn't come around here much anymore. Gah, I need to get back into chatzy sometime, too.

Remember back when there would be over 100 comments to a post like this? I would get all my book recs from sounis. I CHALLENGE Y'ALL TO LEAVE A COMMENT ABOUT AN EXCELLENT BOOK WE SHOULD ALL READ.

[chocolate-smash.livejournal.com]

EVERYONE should read the name of the wind.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I STILL have not read that!

[(Anonymous)]

I've FINALLY gotten around reading Elizabeth Marie Pope. And OMGHOWINCREDIBLE. It's been looooooong time since I've felt so swept up by such a good book.

The Perilous Gard very very good but since I'm not familiar with the original Tam Lin story (I know! What's wrong with me?) I probably missed a lot of references. :/

The Sherwood Ring was all kinds of wonderful. Peacable Drummond Sherwood, anyone? <3<3

I'm now off to read The Glassmaker's Daughter by V. Briceland. Sounds promising. :)

-mems-

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

YES. Elizabeth Marie Pope is amazing. I re-read The Perilous Gard every single November, and I re-read The Sherwood Ring every year, too.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Well . . . I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series. How's that for a rec? :P I'm currently on Chamber of Secrets.

I also recently read Drops Like Stars by Rob Bell which was an interesting look at creativity, spirituality, and suffering (from a Christian perspective).

[lizzyazula.livejournal.com]

Potter Potter Potter Potter Potter Potter WEASLEY WEASLEY

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

The book of the week for me is Entwined by Heather Dixon. One of the best, if not the best, retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, that I've read. So much fun! It's slightly macabre and has horses jumping through windows and inscrutable men getting slapped... and villains getting their cumupance and...! If you like fairy tale retellings, don't miss this one. :-)

I'm also looking forward to getting Arrow by R. J. Anderson from the library and the first book in the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy to see if it is as good as it sounds... but since I haven't read them I can't recommend them yet.

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I have Entwined on my latest book order! It sounds great.

[philia-fan.livejournal.com]

I've enjoyed all my recent reads, which were:
FOREST BORN, Shannon Hale
SAINT IGGY, K.L. Going
A LONG WAY FROM VERONA, Jane Gardam
OCTAVIAN NOTHING, part I, M.T. Anderson
WITCHES ABROAD, Terry Pratchett

None of these is going to be terribly new to Sounisians, except maybe the Gardam, which I do recommend, (and I recommend ANYTHING by KL. Going, she is awesome).

[willow-41z.livejournal.com]

Men At Arms. CORPORAL CARROT.

I think I read one other Terry Pratchett book at some point, and it was good, but it was not nearly this good. MORE DISCWORLD PLEASE.

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I liked this one. Along with Going Postal, which I loved.

[agh-4.livejournal.com]

Haha, keeping with the whole Terry Pratchett thing, I'm reading Monstrous Regiment right now, and of course it's GREAT. I'm reading it so fast, and I don't want to stop, but I also don't want it to *end*...

I also recently read a good graphic novel called Page by Paige. Good things about life and growing up and being inspired -- it's nothing incredibly new, but it's true. I think the art in it is very beautiful, too.

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

I feel bad for not having a good suggestions for you guys..but i just wanted to say NICE post checkers.

Summer really has had me forgetting all the days of the week ya know ;-)

*steals book suggestions*

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking yesterday it had been a while since we had one of these and then here it is. Thanks Checkers!

The Dragon's Tooth by ND Wilson
This one pretty much has everything you could want in a book, including a sneaky brilliant honorable thief as a secondary character. Wilson is a MWT fan too so there's that.

The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier (Hope I spelled her name right, too lazy to look it up right now.)
If you like Hilari Bell's Farsala Trilogy this is might be one you would enjoy.

Thresholds by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
It is a bit bizarre but in a good way. An interesting meld of sci-fi and fantasy.

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

Wait, a new ND Wilson? How did I not know about this? !!!

Recs and Question

[(Anonymous)]

The Hollow Kingdom, by Clare B. Dunkle was recommended here a while back, and in the meantime I read it and really liked it. Now to get my hot little hands on 2 & 3. (Thanks Lady Jane, and whoever else recommended it. :) )

Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel. Steampunk adventure in an alternate early 20th Century setting. In the vein of Treasure Island, but they're on airships.

Just read Mairelon the Magician and its sequel Magician's Ward, by Patricia Wrede, this weekend. Regency Fantasy, for anyone who doesn't know (though I think many of you do).

Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen. Chapters alternate between the first-person POVs of the two main characters, a boy and a girl. The girl likes the boy, but the boy is just annoyed by her, but then things get...flipped. Contemporary setting.

The Stolen One, by Suzanne Crowley. Historical fiction (with a hint of paranormal, but it's *not* fantasy) set during the rein of Queen Elizabeth.

The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov. It's Russian, and literary, and weird. It alternates between Pontius Pilate in Judea at the time of Christ and 1930s Russia (yeah, strange combo). There's satirical commentary on Stalin's purges. And there are demons (in the modern setting), but they're not stereotypical red dudes with pitchforks nor nightmarish shadowy forces (which is not to say that they're good). It's a bit violent in a few spots (not generally my thing). And the theology is off. But it has been nearly three years since I read it, and it still stands out in my memory. Did I mention that it's weird?

Lastly, has anyone here read anything by Mary Hooper, and, if so, what did you think? I will probably be reading something of hers for the first time before long (Fallen Grace, if you're wondering) and am just curious about general impressions of her work.

--Handmaiden

Re: Recs and Question

[chubbyleng.livejournal.com]

Yes!! I'm glad you recommended "Mairelon the Magician" by Patricia Wrede. I saw a very good recommendation of it on Goodreads, and it has finally arrived in my library! Well, what arrived was "A Matter of Magic", which I believe is a re-publication of "Mairelon the Magician". I cannot wait to read it!

"Flipped" sounds interesting. I'd like to take a look at that, even though I'm not much for contemporary novels.

As for your question, I'm afraid I cannot help you there. I haven't read anything by her as of yet.

[lizzyazula.livejournal.com]

I've recently been reading loads of Sharon Shinn. I read her Twelve Houses series as fast as I could, and I loved it! And then I reread Summers at Castle Aurburn, which I think has become one of my favorite books

OverDrive library e-books

[(Anonymous)]

Not absolutely on topic, but definitely related:

Does anyone here with a non-Kindle e-reader use http://overdrive.com to get electronic library books from their local library system? I have since the beginning of the year and love it.

--Handmaiden

Re: OverDrive library e-books

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

I use it on my ipod and absolutely love it.

Manga

[chocolate-smash.livejournal.com]

if manga also counts as a book, then i highly reccomend fullmetal alchemist. i am still waiting for 7,as my library is really slow on requests but it is AMAZING so far.

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

Cinda Williams Chima, y'all. I don't know why she's not more famous. Her Seven Realms series is my favorite fantasy series currently being written. (Patrick Rothfuss just doesn't hold up on rereads for me.) I just read The Gray Wolf Throne and it was fantastic. I was literally at the edge of my seat for part of it - I can't remember the last time that happened.

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

I have had these on my TBR for a while. You saying this means they get bumped WAY up the list. :)

[sgwordy.livejournal.com]

I will include my non-fiction which I never got around to last time because it was right around the time that LiveJournal began it's anti-sgwordy campaign. :)

Dark Alliance, Moneyball, and Blood and Thunder are all really good and about totally different topics.

Fiction I've read recently that I really liked: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Shibumi, The Known World, The Main, and The Hakawati.

I haven't been reading what I would consider "sounis-type" books lately but I think a lot of folks here have really varied reading interests like me so I don't mind including some of these titles.

[readingisgoodforyou.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

If you enjoy books that make you think and don't mind being a bit unsettled while you read, I'd suggest giving Andrew Smith's The Marbury Lens a try. I've heard it described as frightening, but after reading The Monstrumologist (there's another good book), nothing really seems quite so terrifying anymore.

I quite enjoyed The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley, even though I figured out the mystery behind the main character really early on. It helps to be familiar with Scottish folklore, I suppose. I think I would have liked it even more if I hadn't read and adored Chime beforehand (Billngsley's going to have to work really hard on her next book to top Chime, though I have every confidence that she can do so).

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

Something that was said at a teacher workshop made me to decide that my next library display is going to be miniatures - my dollhouse, the diner set that American Girl made for a while, a doll room, a doll-sized shop (rather than dollhouse) that I just built from a kit I bought some years ago - and I'm trying to find a model railroad enthusiast who's willing to loan me a couple of train things in different scales.

Which brings me to a recommendation: ON THE BLUE COMET, by Rosemary Wells (I love time travel books and the artwork on the cover alone would make it worth reading).

And I'm compiling a list of doll and dollhouse and miniatures books while I'm thinking about it. If you have any titles for me, let me know. Meanwhile, I recommend

MINDY'S MYSTERIOUS MINIATURE (aka The Mysterious Shrinking House) by Jane Louise Curry
MAGIC ELIZABETH, by Norma Kassirer (illustrated by Beth and Joe Krush, two other favorite illustrators)
MOVEABLE MABELINE, by Karen Ackerman
THE BORROWERS and its sequels, by Mary Norton (also illustrated by the Krushes)
MISS RENEE'S MICE, by Elizabeth Hoffman
MYSTERY OF THE SILENT FRIENDS, by Robin Gottlieb

There are more - lots more. I'm having fun pulling out my copies and re-reading.

Also rereading the Georgette Heyer books, because they are delightful. And FRIDAY'S CHILD makes me laugh and laugh and laugh.

I need more time for reading!!!