Maria V. Snyder: Magic Study
Since I'd been avoiding blogging, I wasn't keeping you up-to-date with my reading list. And, when life gets funky, I dash for a book.
I've read many, many books lately.
The last time I told you what I was reading was back on March 11. Yikes. Yeah, I've read a few books since then.
Here's what I've read:
And I came to the end of the Anita Blake series, until Blood Noir is published this fall. I swear I was depressed.
Martha Grimes to the rescue with The Deer Leap. After that, it wasn't easy. From my shelf of unread books, I needed a book that I could fall into and would keep me safe. I had already read Poison Study, and I had its sequel, Magic Study, still unread. I had enjoyed Poison Study quite a bit, and I knew it would give me that instant book blanket I needed: suspenseful plot, great characters, and a need to keep reading. I finished Poison Study in a day, and now it's on to Magic Study. And I won't get too depressed when I'm done with Magic Study, as evidently there's a third in the series, Fire Study. Sometimes, it pays not to read everything on one's unread shelf.
From now on, I'll try to keep up-to-date.
Laurell K. Hamilton: Obsidian Butterfly (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 9)
I finally finished Northanger Abbey. It was a trial, and if it hadn't been Jane Austen, I wouldn't have stuck with it.
I have gotten better about not finishing books that don't grab me. It used to be that I could count on a hand with missing fingers the number of books I wouldn't finish. Now, I've realized life is short, I want to love what I'm doing, and bad books aren't worth my time.
Is Northanger Abbey worthless. Nooooooo, but....
Northanger Abbey is one of Austen's earliest works, and it shows. Her characters aren't as well developed as those in her other books, and she spends five pages on Catherine trying to find Isabella to show her her newest boy interest. (Sounds a bit like junior high, huh? Yep, that's what I thought, too.) The last fifty pages are the best in the book, and they made it somewhat worthwhile to have slogged through the novel. I can now say I've read Northanger Abbey, and I never have to read it again, something I would never say (the never reading part) about Pride and Prejudice.
Now I'm on to the next Anita Blake book, Obsidian Butterfly. I'm trying not to rush through it, but I have spent the last four hours reading. Oops.
Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey (Barnes & Noble Classics)
I finished The Hunt and Bloody Bones, and before I weakened and bought the next Anita Blake book, I started Northanger Abbey. As always, I read the introduction before I started Chapter 1, and I learned more about Jane Austen. Northanger Abbey is actually a younger novel, although it was published after her death. I haven't gotten very far into it, but the forecast looks clear. :)
In researching Jane more, I came across the Jane Austen's World blog.
Because it's about Austen, and the writing is excellent, I was hooked. Here's the beginning of Ms. Place's post on a film adaptation of Mansfield Park:
I’ve wracked my brains trying to come up with kind things to say about
this 2007 production of Mansfield Park. ‘Nice mansion.’ ‘Pretty
garden.’ ‘Glad they shot this film in England.’ ‘Where can I get a red
Jezebel parasol like Mary Crawford’s?’ ‘Cute pug.’ ‘Great cleavage.’
Laurell K. Hamilton: Bloody Bones (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 5)
I didn't finish The Hunt as quickly as I thought I would. I was having a grumpy day a few days ago, and the only thing that sounded good was to read the new Anita Blake book, The Lunatic Cafe.
Bad Dawn. I read The Lunatic Cafe, but before I would let myself start Bloody Bones, I HAD to finish The Hunt.
Really. And I did.
It wasn't bad. An interesting enough mystery with fairly likable characters, but none of the draw of Laurell K. Hamilton's plot, characters, or writing.
So, two books for the price of one "What Dawn Is Reading Today" post, and I'm off to Bloody Bones. After this, I have two classics to delve into: Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and James Joyce's The Dubliners.
Classics. Shocking, I know, but if you review my books posts, you'll see that every so often I enrich my mind.
OMG you’re BLOGGING! Woohoo! I love, love, love your posts, your voice, your design, your photo, your links, your passion for writing...okay, I love it all! Welcome to the Blogosphere! Bravo for sharing and writing from your heart.
Your power words are indeed powerful. What an awesome list! Here are words that hold power for me:
Laughter
Miracles
Magic
Intention
Purpose
Happiness
Heart
Peace
Passion
Soul
Home
Freedom
Bliss
Sanctuary
Service
Inspiration
God
Names of people I love
Blessed
Posted by: Laura Allen | June 14, 2006 at 12:51 PM
I love your words!!! I have to be careful not to poach words from others!!!! Not that there aren't words that I might have missed, but it doesn't seem right to add others' words to my list just because I go, "Oh yeah!!! THAT'S a good one."
There's something about the power of the moment and what those words meant to me when I wrote it. My words of power could be different next week, next month, next year.
So, I'll resist the urge to poach!!!!!
Posted by: Dawn Goldberg | June 14, 2006 at 01:19 PM
I read your words when you first posted them, and haven't yet read Laura's, because I really wanted my words of power to be MINE (not poached). Here they are (and I think you have a good thought about how they might change, so we'll see!):
Love
Sacred
Three
Surrender
Continue
Tikkun
Sanctuary
Silence
Grace
Be
Intensity
Communication
Family
Service
Integrity
Gratitude
Comfort
Knowing
Aha!
Simplify
Moxie :)
Contented
Girlfriends
Thanks for the great topic!
S
Posted by: Stacy Brice | June 19, 2006 at 01:58 AM
Asking for people to help or offering help is psychologically very powerful.
I like to end informal pitching letters and emails with "let's talk" rather than a more formal 'Please contact me if you have any questions' or whatever.
A friend of mine was involved in a major company's website and changed the 'feedback' link to 'have your say' and they got ten times as much feedback as a result of that one simple change.
Posted by: mstibbe | June 28, 2006 at 02:05 AM