| 1 | Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner |
| 2 | A Cold Treachery by Charles Todd |
| 3 | Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead |
| 4 | Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley |
| 5 | Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley |
| 6 | Child of a Rainless Year by Jane Lindskold |
| 7 | Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal |
| 8 | Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness by Bryan Lee O'Malley |
| 9 | Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O'Malley |
| 10 | Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley |
| 11 | Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey |
| 12 | The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins |
| 13 | The Silver Bough by Lisa Tuttle |
| 14 | The God Engines by John Scalzi |
| 15 | The Murder Stone by Charles Todd |
| 16 | The Charm School by Nelson DeMille |
| 17 | A Long Shadow by Charles Todd |
| 18 | Madam Xanadu 1: Disenchanted by Matt Wagner |
| 19 | Madam Xanadu 2: Exodus Noir by Matt Wagner |
| 20 | The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany |
| 21 | Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale |
| 22 | Trouble on Titan by Alan E. Nourse |
| 23 | Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees |
| 24 | Uglies by Scott Westerfeld |
| 25 | Pretties by Scott Westerfeld |
| 26 | Mainspring by Jay Lake |
| 27 | Lucifer 1: Devil in the Gateway by Mike Carey |
| 28 | The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club by Maeve Binchy |
| 29 | Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin |
| 30 | The Fallen 1: The Fallen and Leviathan by Thomas Sniegoski |
| 31 | The Ruby Key by Holly Lisle |
| 32 | A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George |
| 33 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson |
| 34 | Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester |
| 35 | How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell |
| 36 | The Domino Men by Jonathan Barnes |
| 37 | Lieutenant Hornblower by C.S. Forester |
| 38 | Hornblower and the Hotspur by C.S. Forester |
| 39 | White Cat by Holly Black |
| 40 | The Seance by John Harwood |
| 41 | Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris |
| 42 | The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon |
| 43 | City of Dragons by Kelli Stanley |
| 44 | The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson |
| 45 | A False Mirror by Charles Todd |
| 46 | Bangkok 8 by John Burdett |
| 47 | The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King |
| 48 | Hornblower During the Crisis by C.S. Forester |
| 49 | Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett |
| 50 | A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King |
| 51 | Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett |
| 52 | A Pale Horse by Charles Todd |
| 53 | Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O'Malley |
| 54 | The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin |
| 55 | The Affinity Bridge by George Mann |
| 56 | The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber |
| 57 | Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan |
| 58 | Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers |
| 59 | Lords of the Middle Dark by Jack Chalker |
| 60 | Pirates of the Thunder by Jack Chalker |
| 61 | Warriors of the Storm by Jack Chalker |
| 64 | Masks of the Martyrs by Jack Chalker |
| 65 | Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love by Chris Roberson and Chrissie Zullo |
| 66 | The Grave Gourmet by Alexander Campion |
| 67 | The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larson |
| 68 | Jumper by Steven Gould |
| 69 | A Matter of Justice by Charles Todd |
| 70 | What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris |
| 71 | Hornblower and the Atropos by C.S. Forester |
| 72 | Beat to Quarters by C.S. Forester |
| 73 | When Gods Die by C.S. Harris |
| 74 | Why Mermaids Sing by C.S. Harris |
| 75 | Where Serpents Sleep by C.S. Harris |
| 76 | Magick Charm by Jennifer Wells |
| 77 | What Remains of Heaven by C.S. Harris |
| 78 | Dreadnaught by Cherie Priest |
| 79 | The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch |
| 80 | Escapement by Jay Lake |
| 81 | Flora Segunda by Ysabeau Wilce |
| 82 | Flora's Dare by Ysabeau Wilce |
| 83 | Perdido Street Station by China Mieville |
| 84 | The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Cat Valente |
| 85 | Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld |
Books Read in 2010
Post VP craziness
So Viable Paradise was everything I had hoped it would be. Supportive. Creation of a peer support group. Being taken seriously when you start talking about your faerie story. I've been working on my VP short story, "Paper Dream" in the two months since. Today I finally submitted it to Clarkesworld. As Uncle Jim said at VP,
"submit it 'til Hell won't have it!"
Well, OK, then.
"submit it 'til Hell won't have it!"
Well, OK, then.
VP - 20 days and counting
Okay, so since I got into Viable Paradise, I've not added anything to what I've written. I think I've been more freaked out by the knowledge that I'm going than I thought. It makes me hesitant to write anything else.
With 20 days left, I'm down to the wire. There are certain scenes I wanted to have written before I went. Even though we will not be workshopping those, I wanted to have additional material ready to go. I just need to buckle down.
With 20 days left, I'm down to the wire. There are certain scenes I wanted to have written before I went. Even though we will not be workshopping those, I wanted to have additional material ready to go. I just need to buckle down.
Holy Moley
I'm alone in the house for the first time in a long while. I can't decide whether I should sleep or write.
Will decide and fill you in later.
Later update - Sleep won out.
Will decide and fill you in later.
Later update - Sleep won out.
End of Summer - Back in Action!
So, haven't posted since the beginning of the summer. Given a six and eight-year old, I'm sure you can all understand. Let's cover a few major summer changes.
We got a puppy! After nearly a year of talking about getting a dog, we've finally done it. This is a huge step for me, since I didn't have a dog growing up. For all the companionship, I'm not sure I was ready to tie my life down to a dog. S_ told me to get over it. Which was probably a decent strategy.
Here he is. Milo the Maltese. He's nowten eleven weeks old.
But we will keep his hair short. One of my conditions to S_ for getting a dog.
1. I must be able to PICK UP the dog in case I must run out of the house in a fire.
2. I will not be the portly gentleman walking "Puffball" or "Pookie" or "Mr. Anything."
3. With the exception of Halloween and, perhaps, a jingle bell at Christmas, no cutesy clothes. And this extends to barrettes for the Maltese. Thus, the short hair.
Not housebroken yet, but we're working on it.
School starts tomorrow. L_ in first grade and I_ in third grade. We know L_'s teacher, so no worries there, but I_'s teacher is a bit of a mystery. Even after meeting her, I couldn't tell you anything about her. Underwhelming is the best word, I suppose.
Included in this post is my 18 millionth resolution to post more often. (sigh) I will update the summer reading sidebar, at least.
We got a puppy! After nearly a year of talking about getting a dog, we've finally done it. This is a huge step for me, since I didn't have a dog growing up. For all the companionship, I'm not sure I was ready to tie my life down to a dog. S_ told me to get over it. Which was probably a decent strategy.
Here he is. Milo the Maltese. He's now
But we will keep his hair short. One of my conditions to S_ for getting a dog.
1. I must be able to PICK UP the dog in case I must run out of the house in a fire.
2. I will not be the portly gentleman walking "Puffball" or "Pookie" or "Mr. Anything."
3. With the exception of Halloween and, perhaps, a jingle bell at Christmas, no cutesy clothes. And this extends to barrettes for the Maltese. Thus, the short hair.
Not housebroken yet, but we're working on it.
School starts tomorrow. L_ in first grade and I_ in third grade. We know L_'s teacher, so no worries there, but I_'s teacher is a bit of a mystery. Even after meeting her, I couldn't tell you anything about her. Underwhelming is the best word, I suppose.
Included in this post is my 18 millionth resolution to post more often. (sigh) I will update the summer reading sidebar, at least.
Viable Paradise
Earlier this year, I set myself a goal to submit something to the Viable Paradise writing workshop. This was a big step for me. I talk about writing but it's hard to set time aside for it. I suppose a therapist would say that I don't treat myself as important or I don't value putting time aside for me. Anyway, I set out to finish three novel chapters, 8,000 words, by June 30th and submit them for consideration to Viable Paradise.
And yesterday, I sent it off. Honestly, it was a weird emotional high. I think I really believe that something was going to happen at the last minute and I wasn't going to finish, I wasn't going to get to the post office, the post office was going to explode... I don't know.
Thanks to S_ and to L_ for reading the first and second drafts. I cut a lot to fit it to 8,000 words, but it is much better and tighter for the cuts.
I don't really, or can't really to be more honest, imagine myself actually at the workshop, hobnobbing with John Scalzi and Elizabeth Bear and other luminaries. I'll have to deal with that if it comes to it.
And yesterday, I sent it off. Honestly, it was a weird emotional high. I think I really believe that something was going to happen at the last minute and I wasn't going to finish, I wasn't going to get to the post office, the post office was going to explode... I don't know.
Thanks to S_ and to L_ for reading the first and second drafts. I cut a lot to fit it to 8,000 words, but it is much better and tighter for the cuts.
I don't really, or can't really to be more honest, imagine myself actually at the workshop, hobnobbing with John Scalzi and Elizabeth Bear and other luminaries. I'll have to deal with that if it comes to it.
Back in from the Cold...
Haven't posted in awhile. Work was super busy and we had the run of family events. Liliana, my youngest turned six, and we had a birthday party for 19 girls at the rec center. Isabella, my oldest, had her First Communion with 8,000 associated events and family in town. Once we got through that, I had the Kindergarten field trip to Great Country Farms. 100+ six year-olds at the farm was awesome but a little fraught. I was in charge of four kids and I probably counted my four 150 times in the course of the day.
Right now I am also updating this blog since I had to find something to do before I strangled the children.
Right now I am also updating this blog since I had to find something to do before I strangled the children.
Book Review: Lud-in-the-Mist
Funny that I had never heard of this book until recently, as it's been around since 1926. To me it falls into the same category as The King of Elfland's Daughter by Dunsany. In either case, they inspire me to include a more timeless or perhaps, time-blind, element to my fiction.
Nathaniel Chanticleer hears a musical note from Faerieland as a child and it haunts him for the rest of his life. He sometimes finds the facts of life to be a little too overwhelming and this melancholy settles on him. I can definitely relate to that feeling, though I'm not certain how I feel about that fact. It hit very close to home. When he confronts the crisis and finally looks up from the bottom of the metaphorical well, he sees The Way Ahead like a shining path. At that moment, reading the book, I was totally with him. I've felt that certainty, though not very often, and I can relate to the tenacity with which he clings to that path.
I had twenty pages left when I got off the Metro, so I went into my office, shut the door and finished the book in 15 minutes or so. Of course, I cried right at the end. I hate it when they make me cry at work. Stupid book...
Both S_ and I agree that there is a dreamlike quality to this book, in the sense that both of us felt that this book came to the author fully formed in a dream or vision. It is not like anything else she's ever written. It makes me wonder if something is waiting out there for m in the ether, that will rush into my brain at some point.
ether brain rushes.
That's a funny phrase. :)
Nathaniel Chanticleer hears a musical note from Faerieland as a child and it haunts him for the rest of his life. He sometimes finds the facts of life to be a little too overwhelming and this melancholy settles on him. I can definitely relate to that feeling, though I'm not certain how I feel about that fact. It hit very close to home. When he confronts the crisis and finally looks up from the bottom of the metaphorical well, he sees The Way Ahead like a shining path. At that moment, reading the book, I was totally with him. I've felt that certainty, though not very often, and I can relate to the tenacity with which he clings to that path.
I had twenty pages left when I got off the Metro, so I went into my office, shut the door and finished the book in 15 minutes or so. Of course, I cried right at the end. I hate it when they make me cry at work. Stupid book...
Both S_ and I agree that there is a dreamlike quality to this book, in the sense that both of us felt that this book came to the author fully formed in a dream or vision. It is not like anything else she's ever written. It makes me wonder if something is waiting out there for m in the ether, that will rush into my brain at some point.
ether brain rushes.
That's a funny phrase. :)
OK, Missed my daily pages yesterday...
not the greatest way to start this new regime. I did them this morning, though. (Yea, me.) I also updated my Facebook page for the first time in forever, so I'm feeling particularly full of virtue.
Now, I'm off to color the remaining 600 lollipop stems for the elementary school's spring carnival tomorrow.
(Awesome.....)
Now, I'm off to color the remaining 600 lollipop stems for the elementary school's spring carnival tomorrow.
(Awesome.....)
Daily Writing Exercise
So in conjunction with Mur Laferty's I Should Be Writing blog and podcast, I have decided to follow along with her walk through of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I've danced around this book f or a few years but I finally checked it out of the library so I could follow along.
Cameron's big idea is that man is an inherently creative being, but often blocked by his own fears and doubts, the mundanity of daily life, etc. You need to open yourself to the creative spirit of the universe, and the book talks about how to unblock yourself. It's a little new age-y, but I can run with that. Cameron advocates writing three pages daily - not actual creative writing, per se - but literally, let your hand take a pencil and write through three pages every morning. It's an exercise in getting the negativity out of your head and onto the page - a venting of emotional bile and vomit onto the page in written form. I'm going to give it a try. Daily writing is something that I've tried before, but I'm going to give it a go again. At the very least, I believe that putting myself in a position where I am writing as a structured exercise rather than waiting for creativity to strike will be good for me.
Cameron's big idea is that man is an inherently creative being, but often blocked by his own fears and doubts, the mundanity of daily life, etc. You need to open yourself to the creative spirit of the universe, and the book talks about how to unblock yourself. It's a little new age-y, but I can run with that. Cameron advocates writing three pages daily - not actual creative writing, per se - but literally, let your hand take a pencil and write through three pages every morning. It's an exercise in getting the negativity out of your head and onto the page - a venting of emotional bile and vomit onto the page in written form. I'm going to give it a try. Daily writing is something that I've tried before, but I'm going to give it a go again. At the very least, I believe that putting myself in a position where I am writing as a structured exercise rather than waiting for creativity to strike will be good for me.
Book Review: Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
So S_ told me that listing the books I've read this year in the sidebar is no longer sufficient, that I need to write something about each one or at least the ones that moved me especially.
Fine. >.<
I read Wicked Gentlemen two weekends ago on my trip to Atlanta. Gay sex, steam punk and descendants of redeemed fallen angels sounded like a good antidote to attending a convention of 3,000 Applied Linguists.
It's a set of two novellas, each from a different POV. In an alternate, steampunk-lite world where the Inquisition convinced the Fallen to repent and leave Hell, their no-longer-fallen-but-still-in-disgrace descendants are now loving among us as the downtrodden lower caste members of society. I love the concept and the writing is good. In short order, we are introduced to the two main characters, and they begin a professional relationship with some fringe sexual benefits. The fact that the two main characters are in a gay relationship seemed perfectly normal in the course of the story, but perhaps I am enured to this sort of thing after Sarah Monette.
I love that you see the relationship, and what it means, from each side - one POV in each novella. The fact that they spar with each other in humor and sarcasm seems right to me for two men. They also don't really discuss their relationship that openly or easily, which I also think reads right. It was exactly right for a novella - I felt the world was much wider that what we were given to glimpse, I wanted to know and read more, but I actually did not need more to understand and appreciate the story.
There, S_. I hope that is sufficient for the required literary analysis.
Fine. >.<
I read Wicked Gentlemen two weekends ago on my trip to Atlanta. Gay sex, steam punk and descendants of redeemed fallen angels sounded like a good antidote to attending a convention of 3,000 Applied Linguists.
It's a set of two novellas, each from a different POV. In an alternate, steampunk-lite world where the Inquisition convinced the Fallen to repent and leave Hell, their no-longer-fallen-but-still-in-disgrace descendants are now loving among us as the downtrodden lower caste members of society. I love the concept and the writing is good. In short order, we are introduced to the two main characters, and they begin a professional relationship with some fringe sexual benefits. The fact that the two main characters are in a gay relationship seemed perfectly normal in the course of the story, but perhaps I am enured to this sort of thing after Sarah Monette.
I love that you see the relationship, and what it means, from each side - one POV in each novella. The fact that they spar with each other in humor and sarcasm seems right to me for two men. They also don't really discuss their relationship that openly or easily, which I also think reads right. It was exactly right for a novella - I felt the world was much wider that what we were given to glimpse, I wanted to know and read more, but I actually did not need more to understand and appreciate the story.
There, S_. I hope that is sufficient for the required literary analysis.
Havock at the IRS
Just got off the phone with the IRS after about an hour. Due to a social security number error, they have inappropriately garnished my wages by 15%. The guy on the other end was very nice and apologetic. We did fix the problem, but since the federal government is what it is, one or two paychecks will likely be garnished before the correction kicks in and the amount is returned. (sigh) Although I'm pretty pissed, I can't fault the guy on the other end of the phone. It's certainly not his fault. I've been in the federal government long enough to know that. All I could think about was how many people call him each day and begin by screaming at him.
Book Review: Trouble on Titan
Last time I was back home in Ohio, I pulled an old book off my bookshelf. Trouble on Titan, by Alan Nourse, published in 1954. It was one of the first science fiction books I ever read. It falls into the "rebellious space miners need to be brought into hand by representative of tyrranical Earth government who learns they are not so bad and, lo, in fact, they have been shockingly misrepresented over time" category of early scifi.
I loved it then and I loved it for the nostalgia now. Rocket mail. Seriously.
I loved it then and I loved it for the nostalgia now. Rocket mail. Seriously.
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