Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Weekly Read: 21

Welcome to summer! I figured since it was June, it has to be summer, right? The weather here doesn't agree with me, though, and it's been pretty rainy all week, other than yesterday. Fortunately, that means more time for reading. :)

READ: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre | Amanda Grange
This is our book this month for our book club, and normally I would wait until the week before to read it so that the details stick in my head more, but I checked this one out from the library and needed to get it back. Plus, I wanted to claim some points for it in the spring challenge, so that meant reading it all on Monday. :) Luckily, it's a pretty quick read, and I enjoyed it for the most part. The main thing I would have changed is that I wish it had been paced differently. I wish Elizabeth had figured out/been told about Darcy's "curse" sooner, and they had spent more time on the action after that - evading evil relatives/vampires, finding out how to cure Darcy, etc. There was too much foreboding and angst going on at the beginning of the book, and it just didn't feel in-character for Darcy or Elizabeth to be acting that way. I liked the scenes in Venice, and the idea of a masquerade ball is so fun! I'd recommend this one to fans of Jane Austen and fans of vampire fiction, but probably not a general reader.

READ: Dead in the Family | Charlaine Harris
I love the Sookie Stackhouse series, and every time a new book comes out, I am excited to get it and read it right away! This one was just as fun as the others, and of course I love that Eric and Sookie are together, finally. FINALLY. :) They are surprisingly sweet together other. I thought it was interesting that for perhaps the first time, Sookie considered what her life would be like if Eric made her into a vampire, and she didn't necessarily see them staying together forever, like so many vampire romance books out there. Like anyone could break up with Eric, though! :P It was also nice to see a vulnerable and almost human side to Eric. Pretty much the only part of this I didn't like was all the vampire politics, like all the stuff with Victor. I agree with Sookie, it would be much more convenient if someone just killed him. Perhaps I am being heartless and desensitized to death along with Sookie. I'm already looking forward to book #11! Incidentally, I'd like to point out that this book is #50 of the year for me, so I am officially half-way done with my 100 book goal, yay! :)

READ: Fool | Christopher Moore
I've read a few books by Christopher Moore now and so far, they have all been hilarious. Guess what - this one is no different. It was so funny and bawdy and perhaps a bit more shaggalicious than I expected, but at least such things are used for humor, and to great effect. Pocket's story is both hilarious and heart-breaking, and he has perhaps become one of my favorite characters ever. It takes a pretty awesome guy to go through that crappy of a life and still come out on the other side full of humor and good will. The concept is really pretty interesting, too - a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear, told from the perspective of the King's Fool. Overall, this was a throughly entertaining and enjoyable read.

STARTED: Finding Lost | Nikki Stafford
I first heard of this episode guide/commentary to Lost from my friend Cait, who also loves the show. I tend to be kind of skeptical about the usefulness of books about TV shows for some reason, but to be honest, the Lost universe is so rich and deep, there are endless things to discover by examining the episodes over and over. So far, this book has been pretty interesting, point out moments in the first few episodes that I had never noticed as significant. And you know, maybe some things were incidental, but maybe not. :)

STILL READING: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln | Doris Kearns Goodwin
This book has been really enjoyable to listen to so far. I'm about a quarter through the book and right before the 1860 Republican convention were Lincoln is nominated instead of the front runners, Seward, Chase, and Bates, the "rivals" mentioned in the book title. I can't wait to hear exactly how the voting went during the convention, and how Lincoln actually managed to secure the nomination.

Up next week: I'll keep listening to Team of Rivals, and keep plugging my way through Finding Lost, and we'll see what else. I haven't really decided for sure. :)

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