I do not appreciate casual slaps at the South for being racist. I do not mind delineations of particular racist things the South has done and continues to do (that’s fair, although I don’t know why the North always gets such a pass), but I just can’t stand this unsupported assumption that the South is [...]
Archive for April, 2009
Juniper, Gentian, and Rosemary, Pamela Dean
Posted in 1 Star, Heard about in a book, Reread, tagged fairy tales, fantasy, for young people, Juniper Gentian and Rosemary, not much plot, Pamela Dean on April 29, 2009 | 8 Comments »
The Case of Madeleine Smith, Rick Geary
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from the internets, tagged Dorothy Sayers, graphic novels, nonfiction, people I truly admire, Rick Geary, The Case of Madeleine Smith, Victorians on April 27, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Oh, dear, the plight of women throughout history has been really dreadful. The Case of Madeleine Smith is a graphic novel (graphic history, I guess) about real-life Victorian lady Madeleine Smith, who may or may not have murdered her lover Emile L’Anglier (though she probably did murder him, the book strongly implies). It’s a straightforward, [...]
War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
Posted in 3 Stars, Heard about from the internets, tagged Emma Bull, fantasy, Tam Lin, War for the Oaks on April 27, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I read somewhere (who knows?) that War for the Oaks is a retelling of Tam Lin. I’m on a mad craze to read all the retellings of Tam Lin that I can find, which is brilliant because Fire and Hemlock is waiting for me at the end. Also, I am interested in reading a whole [...]
The Shooting Party, Isabel Colegate
Posted in 3 Stars, Heard about from the internets, tagged Isabel Colegate, oscar wilde, the aristocracy, The Shooting Party, World Wars on April 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I read about this over at Imani’s blog – I miss Imani! Where did she go?? – and today curled up in my comfy old papasan chair to read it. The Shooting Party is set shortly before the start of World War I, with a large group of British aristocrats and their spouses getting all [...]
The Queen of Spells, Dahlov Ipcar
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from elsewhere, tagged Dahlov Ipcar, fairy tales, fantasy, Tam Lin, The Queen of Spells on April 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Blast. I wrote a nice, thoughtful review of this book, and then it somehow got lost when I reviewed Death: The High Cost of Living. Bother bother bother. Suffice it to say – The Queen of Spells is a retelling of “Tam Lin”, which is such a great story that I have checked out or [...]
The Court of the Air, Stephen Hunt
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from the internets, tagged alternate worlds, fantasy, steampunk, Stephen Hunt, The Court of the Air on April 26, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Oh, steampunk, why do you keep breaking my heart? I want to love you, I do. What’s not to love about steampunk? In theory it should be everything good: Victorians, and flying machines, and (usually) fantasy elements too. How can it be that I have never read a steampunk book and really loved it?
The Court [...]
Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Posted in 3 Stars, Heard about from the internets, Uncategorized, tagged Baltimore, creepy, diaries, fairy tales, Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, vampires, World Wars on April 25, 2009 | 4 Comments »
I read about Baltimore on Jenclair’s blog untold ages ago, and I put it on my list, but I didn’t leave myself a little note explaining what it was about. This is something I do now, but I didn’t always, and so when I would be at the library looking at my list of books, [...]
Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy
Posted in 4 Stars, Heard about in a book, tagged Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy, memoirs, nonfiction on April 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
(Finally getting around to reading some of the books I got at the book fair in early March. Stupid library, distracting me.)
Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with a Ewing’s sarcoma at the age of nine – at one point she reads about it and discovers it has a 5% survival rate. After ages and ages having [...]
