May books

[jinian]

The Bridge Across Forever, Richard Bach. Not a bad novel, just annoying. Not everyone's true love looks like that, and he seems to think it does. (Okay, I admit, I also think he's kind of a loser for going looking for a soul mate to fix all his unhappiness, even if it did work out for him. It's not a good bet, in my opinion.)

Through a Brazen Mirror, Delia Sherman. Queer in SF. Socially real-world-realistic rather than upbeat tolerant world, though. Interestingly done ballad adaptation.

Speaking Dreams, Severna Park. The author has such an interesting name, but three weeks after I'd read the book I forgot I'd read it. I can drag the details from memory, but I think forgetting is a statement in itself.

The Shape-Changer's Wife, Sharon Shinn. I remember reading this one, though. It's not a terribly original premise, but the unsettling way it plays out is extremely well done.

A Red Heart of Memories, Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Past the Size of Dreaming, Nina Kiriki Hoffman. I want a Hoffman concordance. It seems like all the novels I've read by her so far are in the same world, and I wonder how many of the short stories are too. These books should be read in immediate succession, because the story spans both. I liked them, though not as much as Fistful of Sky (which I also reread this month) because I didn't identify as much with the characters. The problem of people suddenly deciding they loved X or Y was more jarring, maybe for that reason. They're still written in the particular lucid Hoffman way, though, and people should read them.

Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales. I liked the little non-sequitur stories that left me going "what?" more than the fairy tales I already knew. Also, I found out the field bindweed is Our Lady's Goblet. Wonder if there's a book of plant name stories somewhere.

The Gift, Patrick O'Leary. A story in which the world is saved by magic and sacrifice, framed in a murder mystery. Very unusual angle on magic. Beautiful language.

Really Small Gardens, Jill Billington. Chiefly this is a book of pretty pictures, and they're not big enough. She does have many common-sense ideas that might not occur to a person until they'd set things up foolishly, so it's not a bad thing to read, and a reference for plants that do well in tight shady spaces is a good thing to have in the world, even if it's quite short.

Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties, Carol Deppe. Now this is more like it. That Seed to Seed book was all about getting rid of neat variations. They said "if you are growing blue squash and a pink one shows up, KILL IT KILL THEM ALL the seeds are CONTAMINATED you must not use them evar!!1!" Deppe says, dude, pink squash! and tries to get it into a fixed variety. Now, frankly, I would be just as happy to have random weird squash showing up as surprises every year if I knew they'd taste good, but that doesn't work so well, so Deppe's way is more like what I'd do. Really I don't have enough space to breed anything without ripping up this whole yard that isn't ours, but it's great to think about. She writes good genetics, too.

Black Wine, Candas Jane Dorsey. Foray into the Tiptree Award backlist. I've read most of the winners, but not the shortlists. This is excellent. It's not at all sequential, so it's hard to figure out what's going on at first, but it's definitely worth the effort to keep reading. My only objection is that some of the societies seemed too caricatured in their nastiness.

Lirael, Garth Nix
Abhorsen, Garth Nix. Wimpy Prince Sam is much less annoying when you are forewarned that he's going to be a twit.

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues, Ellen Raskin. This was great! (I've really got to start writing down where the recommendations come from so I know whom to thank.) Separate mysteries in sequence turn out to relate to a big mystery, and the kid fixes everything, much like in The Westing Game by the same author.

Twelve Fair Kingdoms, Suzette Haden Elgin
The Grand Jubilee, Suzette Haden Elgin
And Then There'll Be Fireworks, Suzette Haden Elgin. I was a little sad to lose Responsible of Brightwater's point of view after the first of these, but I suppose I can see why. She certainly wasn't telling us about anything she was supposed to keep secret, and the other two books are all about the big secret. These are a little dorky, as they are bound to be when the concept is this much like the Beverly Hillbillies in space, but I liked them quite a bit. What other books have the "magic works on this planet we got to by technological means" setup? The Coldfire trilogy is all I can think of at the moment, unless fire-lizards count.

Cookwise, Shirley Corriher. Lots of technical information on food science, backed up by recipes that are, alas, all too full of milk products to be tried in our household. The author thinks a little too well of herself, but she certainly does know a lot and researches what she doesn't know.

I Am Legend, Richard Matheson. I liked the title story, about a lone man in a world where everyone's turned vampire, quite a bit, though I was annoyed with how little he understood about epidemiology and how single-minded he was. I wonder if his problems with science were a function of how long ago the stories were written, though; maybe not as much was common knowledge (and I suppose I run with an educated crowd, so my perceptions are skewed anyway). All the stories were severely dated in attitudes toward women, too. dustbath, people might think those things now but they don't say them. :)

Walk to the End of the World, Suzy McKee Charnas
Motherlines, Suzy McKee Charnas. More Tiptree Award backlist. More caricatured societies. I liked the subtle ways that the men found to care about each other, and the relationships between the riding women.

Flying Cups and Saucers, ed. Debbie Notkin and the Secret Feminist Cabal. Loads of good stories in here. Must get a copy. Also, still need to read at least half a dozen of the Hwarhath stories. Where can I get them, though?

We Goddesses, Doris Orgel and illustrator Marilee Heyer. Back when I had spare money, I would buy books just because the illustrations were stunning. I hadn't read this one until now. It's pretty good, though the first-person Olympian goddess narration doesn't feel right in a few places. Skip the epilogue.

Interface Masque, Shariann Lewitt. This book (borrowed through the august recommendation of "it looked interesting on the shelf") turns out to be about a cyberpunkish Venice controlled by net-dominating septs and prescribed live choral music to keep people's thoughts in line. Most of the characters are a bit flat, and I wanted to hear more techie stuff than I got to, but the book was pretty enjoyable.

Comments

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Plant Names, Popular: 13 books in the Seattle Public Library System. Whee.

[eub.livejournal.com]

It's not at all sequential, so it's hard to figure out what's going on at first, but it's definitely worth the effort to keep reading.

My bookmark with teeny-tiny diagramming of Black Wine is hiding somewhere unlikely with many other bookmarks. I liked the book. I think I said it was pleasingly free of "California-In-Disguise Must Defeat Evil".

Would you say it moved into fantasy rather than pure alternate-world realism? My recollection is that it did, but just a little, and it wasn't telegraphed beforehand.

I liked the little non-sequitur stories that left me going "what?" more than the fairy tales I already knew.

I can't think of who's written alternate-world fairy tales. Lem? Borges?

Hoffman

[gwyneira.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I prefer A Fistful of Sky too (which I've just been thinking I should reread), but all of her stuff is good. There's also a prequel to Memories and Dreaming, called A Stir of Bones; it's worth reading, though rather short.

Re: Hoffman

[jinian.livejournal.com]

I was hoping the library would have that, but they're very short on her stuff.

You know, somewhere in there I also read her The Silent Strength of Stones, which I demanded from Eli after reading Fistful of Sky. I liked that one better than either of the Matt books, and it had the same "suddenly I love you forever" thing going on.

I don't suppose you're likely to make it into Seattle for her reading at the end of the month, are you?

Re: Hoffman

[gwyneira.livejournal.com]

I wish, but probably not - it's tough for me to make time to get over to that side of the water. Where's the reading going to be?

Re: Hoffman

[jinian.livejournal.com]

The University Bookstore in the U District. The reading is June 30th at 7pm. If you do get to come, please let me know. It'd be fun to meet you in person.

[marzipan-pig.livejournal.com]

what, how did I get dragged into this?

Severna Park is the name of a band too, I think it's an actual park in New Jersey or NYC or something like that.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

It just reminded me of stuff you've said about prejudice before.

[coyotegirl.livejournal.com]

Sean and I were talking about "The Bridge Across Forever" just a couple days ago. Apparently they got divorced a few years later.

Thanks for the Ellen Raskin heads-up -- I love The Westing Game!

[rubricity.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the Ellen Raskin heads-up -- I love The Westing Game!

Ditto what she said! :)