January's reading list

[geekchick]

I didn't do nearly as much reading last year as I normally would, and I hope to reverse that trend this year. January started out reasonably well, hopefully I can keep up the trend. In reverse chronological order, here's what I made it through last month:

• The Lord of the Rings Weapons and Warfare by Chris Smith - Oh, what fabulous geekery. The book is broken down into chapters devoted to individuals (Gandalf, Eowyn, Aragorn, Faramir, Legolas, etc.) or groups (the Rohirrim, the Uruk-hai, the Rangers of Ithilien) and discusses in great detail the types of weapons they used, the armor they wore and their fighting styles, all with tons of pictures. If you have any sort of interest in the weapons, the costuming/armor or just general LotR movie geekishness, pick this one up.


• Toward Commitment by Diane and John Rehm - Subtitled "A Dialogue about Marriage", each chapter deals with a particular topic, such as "In-Laws", "Parenting", "Anger", "Retirement", and consists of short essays by both John and Diane on the given topic followed by a short dialogue between the two. This isn't necessarily one to read if you're looking for great universal truths, but it is an interesting look inside one particular marriage. They don't seem to sugarcoat too much, there are several references to how things really have not been perfect (and I was impressed by the candor in at least one entry where he admits that while he loves his wife and kids, perhaps marriage really wasn't the best idea given some elements of his personality). I liked the format of the book, but sometimes it felt like discussions were getting cut off because of space limitations.


• Girl Genius #8 - #10 by Phil and Kaja Foglio - I ran into this title while browsing through my local comic store after I snagged the latest issue of Neil Gaiman's "1602"). I must snag the earlier issues, as I adore this. How can one not love "A Gaslamp Fantasy with Adventure, Romance and Mad Science"? (Okay, granted, I've been on a bit of a steam kick lately, as you might guess by the two following entries.)


• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1 by Alan Moore - No, I hadn't read it yet so I felt compelled to do so. Not much of a review here, although I did enjoy it quite a lot.


• Steam Detectives Vol. 2 (the link is to the anime, not the manga) by Kia Asamiya - A fun little romp in a world that runs on an advanced steam technology. The main characters are a detective, his butler, a nurse and her megamaton (steam-powered robot) that contains her father's brain. You can probably guess just from that cast list that we're not talking "Lain" here. ;) Think more like "steam-powered Inspector Gadget".


• 1602 by Neil Gaiman - Frankly, I'm reading this mostly because I'm a fangirl and I'll read nearly anything Neil does. I do recognize many of the characters, but I'm quite sure I'm missing out on a whole honkin' lot by not being more familiar with the Marvel Universe than I am. I will continue to buy the rest of the series, but I will confess that if this was planned to be a 75-issue run rather than eight, I think I'd probably get bored and wander off about halfway through.


• The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper - I've been hearing about this book for years, so I picked it up when I had some credit to use at a local used book store. I will confess that I wasn't expecting to really like it all that much, since the idea of "a post-holocaust feminist dystopia" just seems ripe for all sorts of offensive sexist ramblings; I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it once I got into the story though. I might wish some of the characters were more fully developed; Michael in particular seemed quite one-dimensional to me. I realize you're supposed to dislike him and making him seem even remotely human and multidimensional would sort of defeat the purpose, but I just can't make myself believe that any character could really be so lacking in any redeeming values. I also don't personally buy the idea that a world run by women is any better or less prone to conflict than one run by men (I suppose having gone to a girls' high school may color my thinking on that. ;) ) Other than some of that sort of quibbling, I found it to be a pretty enjoyable read, although not enough to make me a diehard Tepper fan. I think I may again pick up a title or two when I have a bookstore credit and if I happen to be thinking about it


• This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman - This I picked up because I really enjoyed "The Coldfire Trilogy" (Black Sun Rising, Crown of Shadows and When True Night Falls) and because I had that credit to use. ;) This was a very different book than the Coldfire books, it's filled with references to interstellar travel and brain enhancements and computer networks rather than some mysterious fae. This was another engrossing read that I finished in a couple of days; my main complaint was that it seemed for a good while that it was telling two separate stories that didn't seem to be entirely related. I also kind of wished for more background on how and why the mutations occurred, but that's really a minor complaint.


• Legends 3 edited by Robert Silverberg - This is the third volume in the original "Legends" series, containing stories by Robert Jordan (Believe it or not, Mr. Jordan does appear to be capable of writing something related to "The Wheel of Time" in under 850 pages -- although he did turn around and expand this into a 370-page novel.), Ursula Le Guin (an Earthsea story), Tad Williams (a story related to the "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" books but capable of standing on its own), and Terry Pratchett (one for the Granny Weatherwax fans). I would rate them in roughly reverse order, with the Pratchett story being my favorite. The Jordan prequel entry would be my least favorite of the four, although I did enjoy getting some of the backstory on the Moiraine/Lan relationship. I think it's more a symptom of my getting utterly burned out on the series than it is anything inherently unenjoyable about his story.

In between all that I started on William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties, but haven't quite managed to settle in to finish it.

Comments

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

I've been eyeing the LOTR weapons book since I first found out about it. I'm glad to know it's worth waiting for!

Tell me more about these "steam" sci fi books..

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

If patgreene's women's college was any indication... slightly differently run, perhaps, but no better run. To me, seven books in one month would be a large amount of pleasure reading... personally, that's more than I read in all of 2003.

Re:

[geekchick]

personally, that's more than I read in all of 2003.

Yeesh. I'd go insane if I read fewer than seven books in an entire year.