Mega Book Update

[alobear]

It's been a long time since I last posted - or rather, two and a half weeks, which is a long time in book-reading terms.  So, I have a backlog - seven in total!  I also have a play, a gig, four films, four riding experiences, Center Parcs, and three Bear posts to talk about, but don't worry, I'm not going to do them all in one post!  Just the books for now...

Sirius by Olaf Stapleton - when he heard I was going to read Flowers For Algernon (more on that later), Dave gave me Sirius to read.  It turned out to be the story of a dog granted human intelligence by a scientist as a result of a complicated breeding program.  Parts of the book are quoted from writing by Sirius himself, but most of the story is narrated by the husband of the dog's childhood friend.  The concept was interesting (particularly when dealing with Sirius' frustration at not having hands), and the story itself quite compelling.  However, it was let down by a very dry tone, which detracted from the emotional aspects of the tale and made the whole thing read more like a text book than a novel.

Music To My Sorrow by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill - this is the fourth in the Bedlam's Bard series, following the adventures of Eric Banyon, a magically gifted musician who helps protect America from the machinations of the Unseleighe Sidhe.  The series has reached the point where there are rather too many characters, and it's started to feel more like a soap opera than a fantasy novel, but the plot was interesting (evil elves trying to cause chaos in the mortal realm by inciting fundamentalist Christians to hate crimes through the medium of enchanted rock music) and I like most of the characters enough to be interested in their subplots.  It's not great literature, but it passes the time very pleasurably.

Preacher: Gone To Texas - ever since reading V For Vendetta and Watchmen, I've been trying to find more comics to explore, and I'd heard a lot of good things about Preacher.  Dave kept telling me it was very icky and that I wouldn't like it, so of course it went straight to the top of my wish list.  It is indeed extremely icky, though probably not really any ickier than some of the other comics I've read in the meantime.  However, the other icky stuff I've read, such as Sandman and Lucifer, has power and purpose to its ickiness, while Preacher seems to be icky just because it can.  So, since the ickiness is just about on my tolerance threshold, and the story isn't compelling enough to counteract it, I'm going to give the rest of the series a miss.  Shame, really, because I loved the character of Cassidy and would have like to read more about him.

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction - this was also on my list of comic series to try, but is another one I won't be pursuing.  Very low on the ick factor, unfortunately, it's also low on the interest factor.  It was mildly entertaining, but not enough to warrant the expense of buying the other collections.

Hello Kitty Everywhere - this was a present from  corone  and lareinemisere, as a counterpoint to and potential inspiration to Bear.  It's a collection of photos of Hello Kitty in various locations, with haiku poetry to accompany them.  It's very cutesy, very twee and very, very pink.  Bear was extremely unimpressed, since it's clear Kitty isn't actually at some of the places (he prides himself on all his photos being genuine).  Plus, in the ones where she is really where she's supposed to be, the background is invariably blurred, making Kitty the focus of every shot, whereas Bear generally showcases his locale.  So, he's not worried about the competition, though it's always useful to keep abreast of what's going on in the toy travel sphere.

By Slanderous Tongues by Mercedes Lackey and Roberta Gellis - book three in the series about the Sidhe interfering with the succession after the death of Henry VIII, I thought this was going to be the conclusion of a trilogy, and now I really wish it had been.  When the first in this seris came out, it became my favourite current series of books - intriguing, clever, fun and well-written.  However, Lackey's politics and fantasy gave way very strongly to Gellis' romance in this book, which was a serious let-down.  Not only was the introduction of the romance incredible tedious and reptitive, but the pairing they picked made no sense whatsoever, and ruined previously very interesting interaction between a young Elizabeth and her elven guardian.  I'm intrigued enough to keep reading, but severely disappointed by the turn the narrative has taken.

Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keys - Lindsay recommended this book to me, and several people who saw me reading it commented that it was a very good book but that it made them cry.  I found it extremely well written, but not particularly emotionally affecting, since I disliked the protagonist throughout his acquisition of intelligence, and thought he was much better off with an IQ of 68.  The change in attitude towards him on the part of the bakery workers at the end made no sense at all, but at least meant that Charlie's life was improved overall by the experiment.  I did feel sorry for Algernon, and I enjoyed the book as an impressive feat of writing skill, but it's not one that's going to stay with me.

That's it for the books I've completed lately - my next one is Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn, the next in my current favourite series, and the one that focuses on my favourite character.  It arrived in the post last Tuesday, and it's so gorgeous, I want to eat it.  I've been hugging and stroking it a lot in the last few days - must remember not to do that on the train tomorrow...

Comments

[corone.livejournal.com]

I liked Preacher, but not as much as Sandman or Lucifer.
You may like to know that Cassidy doesn't have much of an origin.
What I liked was that there is no society of vampires or conspiracy, he just got bit by one.
Mind you, in the later stages of the story the relationship between Cassidy, Jessie and Tulip gets very complicated and very interesting.

[cholten99.livejournal.com]

> Charlie's life was improved overall by the experiment.

*boggle*

I was under the impression that by the end of the story he was in the home he visited earlier with a virtually sub-conciousness IQ.

[alobear.livejournal.com]

That's not entirely clear - he takes himself off to the home to be with other people like him, rather than suffering his friends' pity, but he doesn't seem to be regressing any further back than he was at the start of the book.

Besides, intelligence only made him miserable.