Pants on Fire!

I've decided that if you're a young woman whose 2009 sophomore novel includes the word "fire" in the title... you pretty much can't fail. If only Twilight had ended with Breaking Fire instead of the-book-that-must-not-be-named... I digress.

Kristin Cashore's companion novel to her fantabulous Graceling, this one simply titled Fire, is a great follow-up attempt to the creative and highly likeable Graceling. Although I don't share my trusted goth book store girl's opinion that it's actually better than Graceling, it's certainly a worthy read. The book jacket boasts, "This romantic companion to the highly praised Graceling has an entirely new cast of characters, save one."

That one, frankly, I could have done without. I think I would have actually preferred this as a stand-alone novel, but we'll see if "save one's" presence in Fire was necessary to set the stage for Cashore's final book in the trilogy, tentatively titled Bitterblue with no set release date.

And just in case you haven't yet hit this year's OTHER fabulous sophomore firey feature, Catching Fire... read it. Read Hunger Games first, then read Catching Fire... but be prepared for as many sleepless nights as it takes you to finish these books because you will NOT be able to put either one down!

Jeff Woodman is my hero

I finished listening to the Queen of Attolia on CD last night and sat in my car with chills.

Jeff Woodman is my new hero. And aparently lots of other people find him heroic too, because if you Google him, not only do you actually find the seemingly obscure fellow... but turns out he won the seemingly obscure title of 2008 Best Voice in Fiction and Classics.

Despite being totally boggled as to who in the hell actually awards a Best Voice in Fiction and Classics designation, I am still delightfully in awe of Woodman's completely and totally awesome depiction of my favorite novel. His way with voices is unreal... Eddis, Attolia, Telius, and of course, Gen byootimus.

I'll say it again... Jeff Woodman = my hero. Can't wait for MWT's next book in the Attolia series, Conspiracy of Kings, to come out in 2010 so I can read AND listen to it!

Ommmmmmmm...

I'm in literary nirvana. I am concurrently reading and listening to two of my favorite books. I am reading Graceling by Kristin Cashore in anticipation of the companion novel Fire, which was just released this Monday and I'm super excited to start.

And I have returned to my favorite series of books of all time... Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia books. I am currently listening to the second book, the Queen of Attolia, on CD and I'm reminded why I adore these books so. The writing is simply wonderful: descriptive and creative without being too wordy or overindulgent and laced with acerbit wit. It's so subtle; every time I read the books I catch new hints or smart little tidbits squeezed in. The characters are well defined with very distinct personalities and the protagonist, Gen, is easy to love. And the plot... oh the plot... with its unexpected twists that are woven in early on but you don't realize it... it makes these books lovely to re-read.

It's not often I find a book I enjoy more on CD than on the page... I think I have found one. At first, I really wasn't sure I would like the narrator, but oh, he has proven himself. He brings so much to the characters and allows me to savor in this book instead of race through the pages because I'm enjoying my read so much. Even the ample pauses between sections and chapters are almost long enough to be annoying, but stop just short and allow me to take a deep breath and think, "Damn, that was good..." before he moves on. I find myself smiling, aching and laughing out loud at the recording. This is good stuff right here.

Which perhaps makes me even prouder to say that Megan Whalen Turner, or MWT, well, we're kinda besties. Yup. She sent me a note. And talked about me in a bunch of emails. I have proof. Reason #572 why I adore my bf? Because after seeing how much of a drooling geek I become when I met TA Barron, he wrote to MWT... he WROTE TO MWT... and she wrote back. And they talked about me... and she sent me a note. And now it is framed and sits on my bedside table. Man, I love these books!

May the Force Be With You

I finished reading/listening to T. A. Barron's Great Tree of Avalon: The Child of the Dark Prophecy.

It was good. Better than most, but didn't hit my favorites list. At first I struggled to get into the book, but once he started using common elements, such as where each character was when certain "world-wide" events happened, it was neat to see how their paths crossed.

In general, the characters were likeable in this traditional fantasy set in an MiddleEarth-esque world where elves, Eaglefolk, humans and wizards all co-existed (albeit not so harmoniously). The good versus evil, unsuspecting boy turned hero saves the world plot was engaging enough, but not a page-turner I couldn't put down. I did find the ending to be a little anti-climatic, but lightly sets the scene for what I imagine happens in the sequel.

And, I kept getting a Star Wars vibe. More than one character had a Jar Jar flare, including the annoying but good hearted freak sidekick with a slightly stuttery way of speaking. Another character (talking mud... seriously...) channeled Yoda. "Laugh you will."

I'd suggest it as a book to read when you don't have time to get consumed by a real page-turner but still want something that's better quality reading than Blue Bloods.