Reading Antics: What've you been reading?

[sweet_sparrow]

But first, a quick question for everyone: should I find a way to remember asking this every month, would people rather I stop asking alltogether, or should I just continue on and make it a bi-monthly thing as it's been the past few months?

I can make it a poll if people prefer, but it'd detract from the main reason I'm posting.
Basic gist, as always: what've you been reading the past two months and would you recommend it to others? Have you made any reading plans for this September? (Course work reading, perhaps.)

I've had an extremely productive July. I read 21 (!) books. So you'll have to forgive me if I link what I actually read. (It's a long post. Be prepared to do a little scrolling.) Most of the books were books for my courses and most of them were also sorely disappointing, but the non-course literature I read was pretty amazing. My favourite reads from this month include Potiki by Patricia Grace and Voodoo Dreams by Jewell Parker Rhodes, both of which are gorgeously written.

My August reading dropped back to the average amount of books I read in a month, mostly because I'm almost through my course books and decided to take a break that turned out longer than it was supposed to. (I'm still on break. Bad Shanra. Uni starts next week.)

- Clementine by Cherie Priest
- Chocolat by Joanne Harris
- Dracula by Bram Stoker (reread)
- In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente (dnf)
- The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
- Idylls of the King by Lord Alfred Tennyson
- Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
- The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
- Seven Men and Two Others by Max Beerbohm
- Perfume by Patrick Süskind (reread, dnf)

Of those, my favourite would have to be Clementine, I think. It was action-packed, it was fun, it was fast... I had a blast with it. It's not been a great reading month. I've enjoyed a fair few of the books I read, but fell head over heels for none of them.

Reading plans for September include finishing up Ancient Irish Tales by Tom Peete Cross and Clark Harris Slover, reading The Swan Maiden by Jules Watson, Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Oscar Wilde's short stories. Beyond that all's game. ^-^ I'm hoping to balance my genres a little better again too, though it probably doesn't seem it...

Comments

[akk]

I've read
Havemercy and its sequel Shadowmagic by Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett, a series I highly recommend if you like Steampunk, (mechanical dragons), and extremely well done character-driven 1st-person fiction, in July
and started August with
Sex at Dawn, a non-fiction book by Christopher Ryan & Cacilda Jethá about the prehistoric origins of modern (human) sexuality, written in a delightful tongue-in-cheek language that nevertheless is clear, precise and to the point with enough source material and standard texts referenced to allow a deeper look into the topics addressed if one is inclined to do so. I highly recommend this book, even if you don't agree with all of its conclusions, because it was one of the most entertaining reads I've had this year (including fictional texts).
I progressed August with
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning, which is not a bad book, given that it is urban fantasy with seelie and unseelie fae and a female lead, which turns from everyday girlie to kickass heroine over the course of the series, but it's not as captivating as the plot promised. It's more a "if you have time to spend (and nothing more thrilling at hand)" kind of book for me.
The same goes for Fey Born by R. Garland Gray, which I tried next (mostly because it kept cluttering up my "harmless afternoon" reading pile. Same verdict as for Darkfever, though.

Reading plans include a reread of the Sturmwelten (rough translation from German would be "Storm worlds") trilogy by Christoph Hardebusch, which plays in a fascinating world composed of parts taken from Caribbean pirates, dark magic, dragons, and a good dose of Horatio Hornblower and Captain Bligh navy yarn. I've yet to read the three books in one go, and I'll see where I go from there. :-)

[sweet_sparrow]

Books I've heard of! Well, half of them. ^-~ I didn't realise that the Jones/Bennett books were steampunk, though. ^-^

Are the Hardebusch books terribly difficult to read? They sound awesome, but my German isn't great. I'll get the gist of the book (er, probably), but not the nuances. They sound like good practice and fun reads, so I'm wondering what sort of difficulties I might have with them. ^-^

[akk]

It's extremely difficult to find appropriate tags for Havemercy and Shadowmagic. Steampunk is something that came to mind, because there are elements of 19th century (Russian and Chinese/Japanese) society, and magical driven mechanics and medicine for example - so there is a flavor towards steampunk, but any fan of that genre would probably say "not at all". I think it's a big plus for a book if it defies common tags (less nicely called "plot stereotypes") and Jones/Bennett's books certainly do. :)

I don't think Hardebusch's books are difficult to read (but please keep in mind that German is my native tongue). They are what's called entertainment books. Given the time and the topic, there may be a few words not part of the standard vocabulary (naval & pirate terms I guess), but those can easily be looked up with an online dictionary if the context doesn't give enough hint of what they are (most of the time, I think it does). Hardebusch writes a fast paced plot and his prose gives a feeling for the place he describes. I like it when a book "draws images behind my eyes", so probably a good book to try to up your level. And the language is certainly nowhere near Goethe or Kant. :-)

[sweet_sparrow]

Hmmm. We'll see what I think if I get around to reading them sometime. I have a fairly loose definition, but it sounds really interesting. ^-^

Well, if it helps any, I didn't have a nightmare of a time reading Das Parfum by Süskind, but that was a while ago now and I'm probably a lot rustier. I'll have to see if the local library has them and ask mum to borrow them for me if they do. ^-^ (If I'm really, really lucky, they'll have some Cornelia Funke as well. I must remember I've wanted to read one of her books in German to see if I like it better that way. ^-^ Someday...)

[akk]

In that case, I don't think you'll have any trouble with Hardebusch. :)

Regarding Funke... just keep in mind that the German originals are written for kids. :)

[sweet_sparrow]

I know. ^-^ I wasn't terribly impressed with the (English) translations I've read, but I enjoyed the stories enough to want to see whether I get along with the originals better. And truth be told, I'm probably better off with children's books for starters, no matter how awesome the Hardebusch sounds. It really has been a long time since I did more than quiz kids on their vocab.