Books for June, 2003

[pegkerr]

The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman. I don't know exactly why, maybe because of all the stress I was under this month, but this book felt very loooonnngg to me. This doesn't mean that I didn't I enjoy it, but I kept almost putting it down and not picking it up again. It felt as though it just took a long time to get the story rolling. Of course, with Delia and Ellen, you spend so much time enjoying their language that you almost don't notice, which is why, I suppose, I kept picking it up again. I did finish it, and found the ending to be mildly surprising. I expected to like it better, but again, I think this was just me and life stress this month, not Ellen and Delia.

Granny the Pag by Nina Bawden. One of the collection of YA novels that sdn sent me. Enjoyable.

The Other Ones by Jean Thesman. Again, YA from sdn The problem was, the ending of the story seemed so clear. Girl who has magical/psychic skills which she has been repressing must, of course, come to embrace her true self. No real surprise there.

Notes from a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko. Ditto YA. Lively. Pretty irresistible first person narrator.

A Year Down Under by Richard Peck. YA from sdn. Newbury winner. Um . . . this won the Newbury? Really? Pleasant, sure, but much less memorable than other Newbury books I've read.

Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood by Meredith Ann Pierce. I found myself savoring her word choices, like an unusual wine. This is an author whose style definitely calls attention to itself, but at the time I read it, this suited me.

Tithe by Holly Black (blackholly). It will be my great pleasure to get this book autographed when I go to Nimbus 2003. I enjoyed it. I found myself very aware of her sure touch with word choice, metaphor, etc. If you liked Borderlands or War for the Oaks, try this one.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. Twice.

Cheers,
Peg

Comments

[blackholly.livejournal.com]

*wipes brow*

WHEW.

So glad you liked it.

But, sadly, you're going have to wait for WFC for me to scribble in it. O_o

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

I read Fall of the Kings in eensy little bits, too. I mean, until a certain point, after which I couldn't put it down. But mmmmm was the writing gorrrgeous.

It's not a book I'm fond of. I respected it a lot, though.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I got you to scribble in my copy at this past WFC. And I agree with Peg that it's good. More, please? Ply you with sparklies and strange bone beads?

[sdn.livejournal.com]

oh, interesting comments! and i like what you say about meredith. (pedant moment: title is treasure at the heart of the tanglewood.)

[akamarykate.livejournal.com]

Hi Peg,

Fourth-grade teacher-type person popping in here...

What an impressive reading list, given all that's been going on for you! In my totally subjective opinion, the thing about A Year Down Yonder winning the Newbery, is that Richard Peck actually deserved it for the book that immediately preceded it, A Long Way from Chicago, but the committee realized it too late, or had had some other book they wanted to give the award to that year. After years of writing good, "sturdy" YA fiction, it was like Peck found the thing he was meant to write about all along in ALWfC. I've used it as a read aloud and my students literally roll on the floor laughing.

Every once in a while (like this year, perhaps, but again, this is strictly my opinion), the Newbery turns out to be more of a "lifetime achievement award" than a recognition of a particular book's merits. A work might not necessarily be an author's best, or the best book published that year, but for whatever reason, the committee decides it's time to reward a body of work. They're not so different from pop culture awards in that respect.

[megancrewe.livejournal.com]

Meredith Ann Pierce wrote one of the all-time favourite books of my teen years: Birth of the Firebringer. Can be hard to find these days, but I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on it--the realism of the world she created and its mythology never fail to enchant me. And I didn't find her style there was at all intrusive, though that could just be me. :)

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Rats! You won't be there? Well, I won't be at WFC. Nimbus is blowing our budget for the year. Well, I'll hang on to it, of course, and we'll just have to keep each other apprised of our con schedules. Eventually, we'll hook up.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Oops. I made that entry late last night when dead for lack of sleep. I'll edit it to correct.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for this comment. I haven't read A Long Way from Chicago, but I'll give it a try.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

intrusive wouldn't be the word I'd use. Noticeable or distinctive or something. The language reminded me a bit, at times, of Pamela Dean's work pameladean)

[heinous_bitca.livejournal.com]

No, she will be busily signing MY copy of Tithe at GenCon. :)

[splagxna.livejournal.com]

if i'm remembering the name right, meredith ann pierce wrote the 'darkangel' trilogy which i so adored during my angsty high school years (vampires and magic on the moon, except it's a cooler world than that sounds like) - the title of one was just 'darkangel' and i don't remember the other two. i never found more books by her - cool to know that such do, in fact, exist. will have to see what the chicago library system can provide for me. (love having a library card... hee hee!!!)

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Actually, the entire Birth of the Firebringer trilogy just got reprinted in paperback last month. Nice covers, too: they manage to make unicorns look fierce and passionate, rather than twee.

[megancrewe.livejournal.com]

Omigod! I didn't know! No one told me! *runs around squeeing like a crazed fangirl*

*deep breath*

Thanks for mentioning that. I loved the first book so much but by the time I read it the other two were out of print and very very expensive, so I've never read the rest of the trilogy. This makes my day. :)

[queerasjohn.livejournal.com]

Tithe was superb, wasn't it? I'm definitely looking forward to my eventual reread of it -- while NOT waiting for OOTP on June 20th!