The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

I am exhausted after the holidays, and feeling a bit burnt out on blogging. The solution? Lots of short posts, I hope. I got this meme from On a Pale Star , who got it from Waiting For Fairies .... I can trace it back to livejournal, but I don't know where it came from before that. I like this meme, and it doesn't require me to read anything new in a hurry. I'll be continuing the weekly comics posts, dropping in occasional reviews, working on other projects and of course reading in the background, building up a new backlog. Here's the schedule. Posts start Tomorrow! As it appears, each post will be linked in the schedule below for easy browsing. Day One – Your favorite series of books (with more than 3 in the series) Day Two – A book that you wish more people had read Day Three – Your favorite recent book Day Four – Your favorite book ever Day Five – A book you hate Day Six – Your favorite writer Day Seven – A writer you don’t like Day Eight – Your favorit...

The Kinshield Legacy K.C. May, 2010 Premise: Gavin Kinshield is haunted by his family's history; his ancestor had been the bodyguard and champion of the last King, who died tragically and alone.  Now he is further haunted by a possible destiny, for it is beginning to seem like he is the only one who can decipher the King's Runestones and claim the throne to unite the land. This is a solid light epic fantasy, if that's not too much of a contradiction in terms.  It's nothing ground-shaking or mind-blowing, but I enjoyed reading it, and I had trouble putting it down by the end. The story isn't particularly strong on politics, and the world has a generic fantasy economy. I eventually figured out that the land hadn't been in anarchy for 200 years, but rather a 'king and lords' feudalism had devolved into a petty 'local lords' feudalism. It's a mostly human fantasy land, with a D&D-esque multiverse: (there's some sort of demon ...

Favorite Book this week: Green Lantern Larfleeze Christmas Special All books were new in stores on 12/22/10 American Vampire #10 (The Way Out, Part One) Writer: Scott Snyder, Artist: Mateus Santoluco This is the start of a new storyline, and a great jumping-on point if you haven't been following American Vampire yet. And you should be, because it's awesome. This issue sees the return of Hattie, and some of Pearl's day-to-day life.   Batman Inc. #2 Writer: Grant Morrison, Penciller: Yanick Paquette, Inker: Michel Lacombe Maybe this would be interesting if I knew anything about Mr. Nobody or any of the newer “worldwide” heroes. But I don't, so this series is leaving me pretty cold so far.   Green Lantern Larfleeze Christmas Special Writer: Geoff Johns, Artist: Brett Booth This one-shot special was really fun. The style, the humor, and the “activities”are all great. The art is really lovely: highly detailed and quite amusing. The main plot involves Lar...

A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens, 1843 With all the different adaptations I've been watching recently , I thought it was time to re-read A Christmas Carol. I remember reading this in grade school, although I think that we read the dramatization, not the prose. The most striking thing to me is how little is different. There are plenty of cute turns of phrase, clever bits of writing, but most adaptations of the story really do hit all the high notes. Particularly having just recently seen the Muppet Christmas Carol, I didn't think I added much to my understanding by reading the actual text. A few nice moments are missing from the films. I liked the sweet moment between Scrooge and his sister in the past, it really pushed the early softening of the character. There is a good comedic moment in the narration that precedes the second spirit. Now, being prepared for almost anything, he was not by any means prepared for nothing; and, consequently, when t...

This is the Book Blogger Hop, hosted at crazy-for-books.com This week's question for discussion: "What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the characters?" Wow. What a silly question.  If you want to get into the nitty gritty, plot is the most important for some author's styles, character for others. A great plot will carry me through an otherwise uninspiring book, and great characters will make me interested in reading another book about them. I can't do without either, although good characters can disguise the lack of plot slightly longer than good plot can disguise the lack of characters. Series are more dependent on characters, short stories and stand-alone novels are more dependent on plot. I often think that I enjoy character-driven work more than plot-driven, but I usually can't stand works that have no plot to speak of, that rely solely on style or character. What I consider the most important is... the author. ...

Favorite Book This Week: Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #1 All books were new in stores on 12/15/10 Birds of Prey #7 Writer: Gail Simone, Penciller: Ardian Syaf, Inker: Vicente Cifuentes I haven't been picking this up for a while, but I saw the preview for this issue online and decided to jump back in. In general I love the Birds of Prey, and this was a fairly solid issue. I think the preview I had already seen was the best part, though. ( See it here .) Darkwing Duck #7 Writer: Ian Brill, Artist: James Silvani, Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse Check out the awesome retro cover (Cover B) on this issue! The Crisis on Infinite Darkwings continues, bringing in more references from old episodes (and other Disney properties...) and propelling our heroes toward confrontation with the bad guys. Of course, it ends on a big cliffhanger and a character reveal. Bringing back and upgrading an obscure villain doesn't always work, but I think this next part could be good....

The Complete Persepolis Marjane Satrapi, 2007 I don't read much biography or autobiography because I really like plot, and real life is often lacking in that.  However, I'm very glad that I finally got to this work. In case you've been living under a rock, Persepolis is a graphic novel relating the author's personal account of growing up in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution. This was one of those fantastic books that really made me think about how much I don't know, and how much I don't even know that I don't know. The book starts when she is quite small, and follows her through war and destruction, through travel and return, from a child's understanding to an adult life. One particularly striking bit was when she left to attend school in Austria, and seeing how many parents sent their children away once they saw what was happening to the country. She has a variety of typically teenage experiences in Austria, but the people she...

This is the Book Blogger Hop, hosted at crazy-for-books.com This week's question for discussion: What is the thing you like most about reading book blogs? Is it the reviews, author guest posts, articles, giveaways, or something else entirely? Book reviews and articles, definitely. I like when a blogger reviews a book I haven't heard of in a way that makes me interested in picking it up. A great blog can even recommend a book that the blogger liked in a way that makes it clear that I would not like it. That's helpful. It's fun to read negative reviews as well, particularly of books I also disliked. I like when a blogger reviews a book I've read, because that can become a discussion. I appreciate well-thought out articles about reading, writing or bookstores, again, particularly when it inspires further discussion.   If that sounds like what I try to do here, you're not far off. As far as blogging is concerned I write what I would like to read. --...

Now that I've had my Kindle for a while, I thought I'd tell you all a little more about it. First, the positive. I like reading on the Kindle. It feels natural. I love that I can search the book for the part I'm looking for. I feel no hesitation about making notes in my Kindle books, while I almost never write in real books. The contrast on the Kindle 3 is sharp and clear. It usually refreshes very quickly. I adore the standby screens, most of them are really pretty. I like that it doesn't feel like a gadget. I don't worry about forgetting to turn it off and running down the battery or it making noise. When I put it down, it feels like a book. I just set it down, maybe I remember to turn it to sleep, maybe not, and it'll be waiting for me when I get back. I do have a few criticisms. I can use the keyboard with little difficulty, but the keys are very small, and I don't like the texture of them. I don't like using the symbol submenu, it is far t...

Favorite Book This Week : Star Trek: Khan Ruling in Hell #3 All books were new in stores on 12/8/10 Batgirl #16  Written by Bryan Q. Miller, Pencils by Dustin Nguyen, Inks by Derek Fridolfs This was a very fun issue. Solid writing, good art. I liked seeing more of Wendy, and I enjoyed the banter. I also like that these villains are just crummy punks with one good gimmick. Dark Tower: The Gunslinger- The Little Sisters of Eluria #1 Written by Peter David & Robin Furth Pencils by Luke Ross When the comic adaptations of the Dark Tower started with The Gunslinger Born a few years ago I collected the first arc, then quit. This seems like the start of a decent version of the novella The Little Sisters of Eluria. I like the art in this issue much more than the art in the earlier issues. I didn't like that they revealed the look of the Sisters in the first part! Way to defuse the suspense, guys. Star Trek: Khan Ruling in Hell #3 Written by Scott & David Tipton Art by Fabio Manto...

The Atheist's Guide to Christmas Edited by Robin Harvie and Stephanie Meyers, 2010 I loved this book. I didn't love every last one of the 42 essays, a few covered the same ground and a few I didn't completely understand because they depended too much on British Christmas traditions for the humor. But I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. The general vibe is what I expected: Christmas is much more about presents and food and family than anything else these days, and it's okay, as a nonbeliever, to enjoy presents and food and family, and not to be a nuisance unless the other person starts it. Simple. ...by way of summary let me say this: if only practicing Christians can use the word “Christmas,” then only Vikings can use the word “Thursday.”  -  Mitch Benn,“How to Stop Worrying and Enjoy Christmas” There are some compelling cases made for everything from why humans have celebrated midwinter since time immemorial to why one might want ...

This is the Book Blogger Hop, hosted at crazy-for-books.com This week's question for discussion: "What very popular and hyped book in the blogosphere did you NOT enjoy and how did you feel about posting your review?" Well, considering that though I'm now over 100 posts, very few of my reviews are about currently popular books, I'm not sure this question applies to me.   There are definitely books it feels as though everyone liked, that I didn't.  Actually I have an article I've written about that that I was thinking about posting today anyway... I guess I'll link it here as my answer. Literary Heresy -------------------------------- Also check out my holiday-themed blog: Mainlining Christmas Looking for a gift for a reader who has everything? Find a unique book in indie publishing!  ( Like, say, this one... )

Everyone has those books that you know you're "supposed" to like, but you just don't. Most of them are books you read in high school.  I've come around on some of those volumes since that time, understanding that I didn't have the mental architecture or context to appreciate them at that point. I mean, I'm not in a hurry to re-read Grapes of Wrath to find out whether it's any good, but I will admit that my complete and utter hatred of it had much more to do with it being assigned for summer reading than with anything in the text. There are plenty of books that are technically good, but just don't click for everyone. If you've gone all the way back in the archives, you probably saw my disappointed disdain for Little Women . But it can feel like you're the only one who doesn't like whatever the newest 'modern classic' is. I'm not a fan of One Hundred Years of Solitude , surprisingly.  I found it well written, but to...

It's a lucky week for me.  Due to Thanksgiving, New Comic Day was pushed to Thursday this week, which is great because I had to work for 12 hours straight on Wednesday. Also, it's a good crop of books. And of course, I don't see any contradictions in buying and loving an issue “suggested for mature readers” and one targeted for “All Ages” on the same day. The wide range is what I love about reading comic books. Favorite Book this week: Too Close to Call! All comics were new in stores on 12/2/10 American Vampire #9 (Devil in the Sand: Conclusion) Written by Scott Snyder Artist: Rafael Albuquerque A great wrap-up to this storyline. Well plotted, well drawn, with some kick-ass moments, awesome lines and new revelations. The ending was dark and lovely, and the little flashback at the top of the issue ties this entire arc together. Great issue! Chip 'N' Dale Rescue Rangers #1 Writer: Ian Brill Artist: Leonel Castellani, Colorist: Jake Myler After...

The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf should continue to update as normal.  If I miss a post, it'll be because of the new holiday blog I'm co-writing with my husband! http://www.mainliningchristmas.com/ Come visit!

Outlander Diana Gabaldon, 2004 This was a Kindle freebie, and the longest book I've read on my Kindle yet. Premise: Claire Randall is visiting Scotland with her husband in 1945 when she tumbles through a time-portal to 1743. Unable to return home, she falls hard for Jamie, a fugitive Scotsman.  This book felt uncomfortably caught between genres. The time travel aspect was somewhat clumsily added to the romantic plotline, and so I was left unsure how much fantasy is possible in that world. Some things, like time travel and possibly the Loch Ness Monster, are real, but witches are an obvious myth? Really? It just feels like it wasn't completely thought through. Claire bugged me as a heroine at times, because she was sometimes clever, and sometimes PAINFULLY dense and naive. Maybe I'm just used to YA style world-travel, but she comes from the 40's, after the start of science fiction, after the publication of The Time Machine and Princess of Mars . If I fell ...

This is the Book Blogger Hop, hosted at crazy-for-books.com This week's question for discussion: "What is your favorite book cover?" I have to say, I am a sucker for covers with pictures of the characters, rather than abstract images.  When I was young, I took all my favorite ones to the color copy place, got them copied and enlarged, and decorated my bedroom with book covers.  Mostly of Dragonlance Books.  A few Redwall and Mercedes Lackey here and there too.  One of the best of those was The History of Dragonlance, which features this painting on the cover: On the other hand, our hardcover of Lord of the Rings is lovely. It's this edition: The dust jackets have beautiful Alan Lee paintings, while the cover itself is a lovely dark fabric with the Eye of Sauron inlaid in foil. Of course, I'm also proud of the book covers that I worked on, although neither depict characters: See Facsimile and For Love of Children on Amazon.  (Hint, ...

With Tangled opening, I thought it would be a good time to touch on fairy tales again, this time to talk about interpretations thereof. One of the complaints I've always heard about Disney flicks is that they 'tone down' or 'sanitize' the old stories. While I understand where the idea is coming from, sometimes I want to ask, tone down compared to what? Fairy tales and folk tales have been altered, changed, made more or less sexual, more or less violent, etc. throughout time. The people who finally collected and wrote down the stories had their own agendas and made their own changes.  Tales change from region to region. There is no true “original” version, just the oldest we have extant. I'm not saying I always approve of Disney's editorial decisions, just that you can't fully justify the argument that the writers are being “untrue” to the “original” story. Well, not when the story is a fairy tale.  When it's a history, okay.  Then I comple...

Favorite Book this Week: Batman Beyond #6 First three books new in stores on 11/24, Avengers was new on 11/10. Action Comics #894 (1st story) Writer Paul Cornell, Artist Pete Woods (2nd story) Writer Nick Spencer, Pencils by RB Silva The first story, Vandal Savage's obsession with Luthor, was entertaining and clever, but I think I needed some more background in what's been going on in DCU proper to fully understand.  I kinda skipped that whole Black Lantern thing.  Of course, I bought the issue to get the rest of the story with Jimmy Olsen and the partying aliens.  It didn't disappoint; lots of fun was had by me.  (I am including this, my favorite, panel for my super-knitting friends.) Batman Beyond #6 Writer: Adam Beechen, Pencils: Ryan Benjamin Inker: John Stanisci Art continues to be up and down, (faces could use a little less detail in some shots, actually) but the story really came together for the last issue of this miniseries.  A litt...

Mirror Kingdoms: The Best of Peter S. Beagle Peter S. Beagle, 2010 Premise: Collection of short fantasy works by Peter S. Beagle. Mirror Kingdoms is a collection of short works, but not quite a book of short stories. Many are a little long for that term, and I find that I am not properly appreciative if I think of them as short stories. Most are more like modern fairy tales than anything else. The writing style is loose and dreamy in some, tight and present in others. I must admit, I didn't feel in the mood to read a whole book of them this week, though that's a fault in me, not in the writing. I'm glad I stuck with it, though, as the stories saved for late in the book are phenomenal. Let's get the main thing out of the way first: what did I think of "Two Hearts", the "coda" to The Last Unicorn ? Mixed, honestly. The tone is fine, the voice is great, but I'm just not sure of the point, either of the story itself or the reason fo...

Kiss for a Killer G. G. Fickling, 1960 I picked up this book because: 1) It was $1.00 2) Awesome cover art 3) Back cover copy claimed: “The Ficklings are widely credited with creating American fiction's first female detective” Premise: Honey West is a private investigator, and like most, she has a talent for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.  This time, however, her sometime flame Rip Spensor is messily dead, and Honey heads the list of suspects.  The rest of the list includes a Italian movie starlet, a reporter, and the leaders of a nudist cult. I'm a fan of classic noir and pulp, but I haven't read any in a while, and most of what I've read was from the 30's and 40's, not the 60's.  In short, I had to readjust my brain to get into this, but then I flew through it.  It's really short. I was disappointed with this book.  It starts strong, and has some good parts, some clever turns of phrase, but it's just not great.  I like ...

Only a couple notable books for me this week. Favorite Issue of the week: The Last Unicorn #6 All comics were new in stores 11/17/10 Batman Inc. #1 Writer: Grant Morrison, Penciller: Yanick Paquette Shrug.  This was okay (I also skimmed Batman: The Return, which had better art, but was way overpriced), but I could have done without the hentai joke in the middle, or the...well, any of it. I'm kinda bored with most of the Bat-verse just now. (Did not purchase issue) Darkwing Duck #6 Writer: Ian Brill, Artist: James Silvani, Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse This is such a fun book, and it always makes me laugh. Magica De Spell and Negaduck's evil plans proceed apace. Although not a lot of plot was covered in this issue, there was room for lots of fun little easter eggs in the art. The Last Unicorn #6 Written by Peter S. Beagle, Adapted by Peter B. Gillis Art by Renae De Liz, Color and Ink by Ray Dillon This is the final issue of the comic adaptation of the bo...

Bullet (Anita Blake 19) Laurell K. Hamilton, 2010 This book is definitely NC-17. My review is merely PG-13, but I'm sticking it behind the cut anyway because it is slightly spoiler-ish, but mostly for the general trend of the series.

This weeks Book Blogger Hop is twofold: a challenge and a question.  I sadly have to admit that, while I put several new blogs on my reading list last Friday, and have read their posts this week in my RSS feed, I was very busy with work last weekend and Monday. Since then I have been catching up on other tasks (cleaning the apartment, formatting Facsimile (see sidebar) for ePub...) and didn't post five comments on any one blog.  Ah well.  I'll stick to my tactic of only commenting when I really have something to day, I guess. ;) Now today's question: "If you find a book that looks interesting but is part of a series, do you always start with the first title?" I am fairly inconsistent about this, actually.  Sometimes I am stubborn about reading the first book first, or reading all the books in a series. For example, I own all of Fleming's James Bond novels because I was reading them in order from the library and I just could not get the library...

I learned the most delightful bit of fanspeak the other day. Watsonian Vs. Doylist. (Time-Sink Warning, that is a TVTropes link.) In short, this means the difference between rationalizing a story element within the context of its own continuity, or within the context of its author's purpose or circumstances. For example, a Watsonian might say: "I guess the character is right that they never noticed the vampires before because they were hiding", when a Doylist might say "I bet the author is just jumping on the bandwagon, there weren't any vampires in this series before!" Another example: whether a character was 'meant' to die in a particular TV episode vs. whether the actor wanted to leave the show. I am personally quite Doylist, more and more so as I get older. I am fascinated by authors, and the larger stories behind, for example, making movies. Audio Commentaries are often a Doylist's dream come true. But few people are always one...

Wide assortment of books this week, and they were all good to great issues. My Favorite Book of the week is American Vampire #8, even though Return of Bruce Wayne #6 and Khan #2 were both awesome. All issues were new in stores on 11/10/10 American Vampire #8 , (Devil in the Sand Part Three) Written by Scott Snyder Artist: Rafael Albuquerque Yay! More Pearl! (If you've missed this series, check out the graphic novel of the first arc. Pearl Jones, flapper era actress turned new breed of vampire, is one of my favorite things in comics right now.) This entire issue was really solid, I thought. All the parts of this arc are coming together nicely, and the art was pretty fantastic. I know I've said that I don't like “scratchy” art, but the heavy blacks really work for the tone here. Batgirl #15 Written by Bryan Q. Miller, Pencils by Dustin Nguyen, Inks by Derek Fridolfs Bought this one because I enjoyed the Batgirl issue of the Bruce Wayne: Road Home so much....