Onward, friends and neighbors, to Part 2 of Things I Read 'N' Things I Thought 2011. See 2009 here, 2010 Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and 2011 Part 1 here.
Starting with #36...
36. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - Damn but that's one awesome dog.
36. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - Damn but that's one awesome dog.
37. The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird - Ugh, religious persecution is the pits.
38. Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken - I didn't realize how much this book bothered me until I started writing this. This what I get for reading random YA fiction. I shouldn't get so upset, but I can't help it!
- Grrr #1: You can't have a character say, "I'm not the man I was before" if your novel never actually has any character development.
- Grrrr #2: Please, authors, PLEASE stop trying to cram so much "interesting" crap into your story that you can't do justice to ANY of it. It's just annoying and a disservice to the few good ideas you might have that are overlooked and cowering in the shadows, terrified by the crowd.
- (Grr #3): This book is called Brightly WOVEN. The main girl is a WEAVER and a SEAMSTRESS. The male lead does magic using multiple colored CLOAKS. She has the ability to work with MAGIC in her weaving/sewing and she thinks, "What if I could make him a cloak with all the colors so he doesn't have to switch?" (I guess it's a revolutionary idea?). The cloak design is described in detail. She carries a fucking LOOM around for the entire book, working on the cloak. She shows up at the castle, makes friends with the weavers, and uses their loom to finish the damned thing. Then she ties it onto the magician and the cloak!.....looks...nice? Very dashing? WTF!?!?! NOTHING HAPPENS WITH THE CLOOOOOOOAK!!!!!!! NOTHING!
39. Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter - His words make my heart happy.
40. Dealing with Dragons; Searching for Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Books 1-2) by Patrica C. Wrede - Eff, I love this woman. So smart, so funny. "None of this nonsense, please."
41. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King - Aliens, I guess. I just like Jonesy, Henry, Pete and Beaver.
42. Graveminder by Melissa Marr - The Great Disappointment of 2011.
43. Hunger Games; Catching Fire; Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Books 1-3) by Suzanne Collins -Daaaaaaaaamn. Horrible circumstances that actually seem to scar the characters! Prickly, complicated, ultimately sympathetic female lead! Attractive teen love triangle that didn't make me want to vomit and tear out my hair!
44. Legacy; Beguiled (The Sharing Knife, Books 1-2) by Lois McMaster Bujold - Slow-paced but mildly pleasant general fantasy. The sharing knife concept is interesting. Somehow the male lead, Dag, was only ever Christopher Eccleston in my head. Go fig.
45. Powers (Vols. 4-8) by Brian Michael Bendis -Still rad.
46. The Princess and the Hound; The Princess and the Bear (Princess, Books 1-2)by Mette Ivie Harrison - Princess and the Hound: meh. Princess and the Bear: like a very long German fairy tale. Good, solid, subtle romance between flawed but decent and willing-to-work characters. None of this twirly-skirt-fake-"sassiness"-and-perfunctory-plot-that-still-ends-in-a-vomity-luuuuuuuuurve-fest bullshit.
47. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin - 1960's style house parties sound rad. Also, it sucks when Satan impregnates you, but I guess it's hard not to love your kid even when they are literally the devil's spawn.
48. The Thirteenth Child; Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, Books 1-2) by Patricia C. Wrede - Little House on the Prairie with magical spells. NOT a thrill-a-minute roller coaster ride. Best if you're interested in characters and the world-building skills of an author.
49. Why We Hate Us: American Disconnect in the New Millennium by Dick Meyer - Stop being an isolated, self-centered ass hole, it's not making you happy.
Reading Stats
I've had a definite fantasy/sci-fi/horror leaning, and this year it was also skewed toward YA level f/s/h. I guess I needed a fun, easy year?
36% YA fantasy/sci-fi/horror
23% fantasy/sci-fi/horror
18% general fiction
11% general YA fiction
7% comic books
5% non-fiction
Note: PLEASE read something by Patricia C. Wrede if you haven't - Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Mairelon The Magician and The Magician's Ward; Snow White and Rose Red; the Frontier Magic books, anything! Her stories and characters are just full of wit and intelligence and humor and sensibility and she writes about the use and working of magic in her worlds in such a wonderfully thought-out, practical and interesting way.
