February Reads

(Complete: February 28)

(%) = New
(!) = Do Not Own

1. Moon Called - by Patricia Briggs
2. Blood Bound - by Patricia Briggs
3. Iron Kissed - by Patricia Briggs
4. A Grief Observed - by C.S. Lewis
5. Deadeye Dick - by Kurt Vonnegut (%)
6. The Last Unicorn - by Peter S. Beagle (%)
7. The Graveyard Book - by Neil Gaiman (%)(!)
8. The Warlord's Daughter - by Susan Grant (%)
9. Promises in Death - by J.D. Robb (%)
10. Stardust - by Neil Gaiman
    
    

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Month in Review:

1. Total: 10
   
2. New: 5
   
3. Reviews: 4
   

Year in Review:

1. Total: 18
   
2. New: 12
   
3. Reviews: 7

Stardust

Author: Neil Gaiman

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02/28/09

[Not so much an actual review as it is a collection of thoughts prompted by the book.]

I will admit to having seen the movie before reading the book and while I really like the film adaptation and believe that it is about as good as a movie based off of a book can be, I like the book better. (This is nearly always the case for me, but I like the movie a lot, so I thought I should specify.)

This book is fantastic. (At some point I'm going to have to review a book that I didn't really like, I know, but today is not that day.) I like the fairytale-for-adults feel that it has. I love the witty and sarcastic tone in which Gaiman writes. I get a kick out of the chapter titles. Without spoiling anything I will say that I like the end and prefer it to the changes that the movie made. (Though I will say that I think that the movie's ending works better for the story it told.)

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that this is the first Neil Gaiman book that I ever finished.

This is my favorite line from the book. Also, everyone now knows just how bad I am at Photoshop.

Promises In Death

Author: J.D. Robb

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02/26/09

I think it's pretty impressive how much I look forward to a new Eve Dallas book to come out. Especially considering that this was the 28th book in the series. I've been reading this series since high school and it's one of the few from back then that I still enjoy at the same level as I always have. I know there's nothing particularly groundbreaking about it, and I'm not deluded enough to think that it's an example of literary genius, but as far as comfort reading goes, this series is up at the top for me.

I felt like this had a fairly even balance of focus between Eve's personal life and her case. I really liked that Morris, the medical examiner was the minor character that Robb decided to highlight this novel. He's one of my favorite minor characters, and I always like it when I get to see more of him.

Every time a new book in this series comes out, I have to say once again how much I love that this series is following a relationship after whatever it was that originally brought the couple together. As a reader who is interested in characters first and plot second it's really cool to have the insight into both the major and minor characters that 28 books has given me.

Overall: This wasn't one of my favorites in the series either in terms of the mystery or the view the reader is given into Eve's personal life, but it is exactly what I want and expect from a book in this series and so I'm pleased with it.

The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

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02/23/09

I love Neil Gaiman.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way...this was a fantastic book. It was funny and serious and deliciously creepy and I loved pretty much everything about it. I thought it was awesome how much of the world Gaiman tells the reader about without actually saying "this is how things are." There are a lot of things you can figure out by inference by the end of the book and that really worked well for this particular novel.

Also? the illustrations are awesome and totally add all sorts of awesomeness to the book.

Overall: I totally get why this book has gotten so many positive reviews and why it won the Newberry Award. I can't wait until it comes out in paperback so I can buy it.

The Last Unicorn

Author: Peter S. Beagle

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02/22/09

This book was like...reading a piece of art. (I suppose this is ironic because I totally only bought it because I liked the cover.) The writing was lyrical and perfect for an old-school fantasy/fairytale. I've never actually seen the movie so I can't make any plot comparisons, but I can't imagine liking the movie more.

I thought there was a good balance between the serious storyline of the last unicorn trying to find others of her kind and the parts that I found to be laugh-out-loud funny. I love it when characters in a fairy tale are aware of the fact that they live in a fairytale world which is how this book is written.

It reminds me a little of Stardust by Neil Gaiman, so if you've read that and liked it I think you'd like this and vice-versa. The Last Unicorn is cleaner and maybe less witty than Gaiman's book, but they both have the same narrated-fairytale feel.

Overall: I think that anyone who likes fantasy should like this book. I certainly did.