Bright Lilim's journal
(Latest 20 entries) (Calendar) (Friends) (User info)
Navigate: (Previous 20 entries)
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Part of my 1st in a series –challenge and the first in the Crossroads fantasy series. I won this one and the next in the series in a contest from Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. It’s written in the third person and has multiple point-of-view characters.
Most of the book is set in a fantasy land called the Hundred which has several lords who reign over a part of the land but no high king or ruler as such. Once the mysterious Guardians kept the justice but they seem to have vanished and now only the Reeves are trying to keep up the peace. The Reeves are people who fly on giant eagles and live in their Halls mostly apart from other people. They serve as judges during town councils. However, lately the ordinary people have lost faith in them.
( Read more... )
Saturday, November 14, 2009
This is first book in a historical mystery series about Kamil Pasha who is a magistrate in Istanbul in 1886. It’s part of my 1st in a series challenge. A second book has been published and a third is coming out next year.
( Read more... )
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Booking Through Thursday
“Life is too short to read bad books.” I’d always heard that, but I still read books through until the end no matter how bad they were because I had this sense of obligation.
That is, until this week when I tried (really tried) to read a book that is utterly boring and unrealistic. I had to stop reading.
Do you read everything all the way through or do you feel life really is too short to read bad books?
The latter. I'm also pretty quick to drop a series which doesn't interest me. I try to avoid books I know I don't like by reading reviews first.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
5:35PM
Happy birthday, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) iosef!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Seasons 2 and 3 are still my favorites but season 4 has two episodes I rewatch often, so it’s definitely a very good season.
( Read more... )
Monday, November 9, 2009
My newest review: Karl Schroeder’s Pirate Sun
Book three of Virga. The very good fantasy steampunk series continues.
4 and half stars from 5
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The second book in the urban fantasy series called Hollows.
It’s also the last book in my 2nds challenge . The final book list turned out to be somewhat different that the one I started with but I had fun! If this challenge is done next year, too, I’m likely to join again. Of course, I already have quite a few series now to get through...
Much to my surprise, this book was in my local library. As far as I can tell, it’s also the only book of the Hollows –series which is in the Finnish library system. Sigh.
( Read more... )
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Booking Through Thursday
Which do you prefer? Biographies written about someone? Or Autobiographies written by the actual person (and/or ghost-writer)?
I've never read an autobiography, so I guess I prefer biographies.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Part of my 2nds challenge. I’ve only read the Doomsday book from Willis before.
What a great book! It combines comedy, time travel, Victorian times, theories about history, detective novels, romance, and lots more.
( Read more... )
Monday, November 2, 2009
By John Byrne and Jerry Ordway
Collects Fantastic Four #276-284, Secret Wars II #2, Thing #23.
In these issues Ordway is inking Byrne’s pencils and to me, at least, the change is noticeable. Ordway has a very distinctive style.
In the first two issues a couple of earlier subplots are tied up: Reed, Sue, and Franklin’s stint as a normal family in Connecticut, and Ben’s return. Next, Dr. Doom steals the Baxter Building and the FF head to Microverse.
( Read more... )
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Booking Through Thursday
Suggested by Jennysbooks:
Something I’ve been thinking about lately: “What words/phrases in a blurb make a book irresistible? What words/phrases will make you put the book back down immediately?”
Ah, the back cover blurbs! One of my pet peeves. Warning: this will be long and has spoilers for Lois McMaster Bujold’s Shards of Honor and Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s the Disappeared.
( Read more... )
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The second book in the Company –series and part of my 2nds challenge.
This time the main character is Joseph who is one of the oldest immortals around. He was made into an immortal in the Stone Age. The previous book’s main character, Mendoza, is a secondary character here.
( Read more... )
1) Post a list of up to 20 books/movies/anime/TV shows/video games/bands [fannish etc.] that you've had an obsessive fannish love or interest in at some time in your life.
2) Have your f-list guess your favourite character/member from each item.
3) When someone guesses correctly, strikethrough the item and put the name of your favorite character next to it.
1, Star Trek: The Next Generation Data, guessed by wgarv
2, Elfquest comics*
3, Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Jadzia Dax, guessed by wgarv
4, Sandman comics Death, guessed by wgarv
5, X-Men (Claremont era)* Storm (later Gambit), guessed by wgarv
6, Avengers (before Bendis)
7, Vorkosigan books
8, Amber books
9, Arthurian tales (edited kids' version)
10, Xena: the Warrior Princess Xena, guessed by wgarv
11, La Femme Nikita TV-show
12, Star Wars
13, Farscape
14, Buffy: the Vampire Slayer Spike, guessed by wgarv
15, The new Battlestar Galactica*
16, Amelia Peabody-series
17, Vlad Taltos-series
18, Stargate SG-1*
19, R.A. Salvatore's books
20, Dragonlance
* I started liking one character then later I started to like another character more. Either qualifies, I guess.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
I had a wonderful time even though I wasn't able to keep awake the whole time. I'll definitely have to think about time management more the next time. I even won a prize at Dana’s challenge!
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
After 4 AM here which would have been hour 17. Fell asleep.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
That would depend on what the reader is interested in. But I'd definitely recommend "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Willis. Of course, it's not short.
( Read more... )
Update: I had to cave in and slept for some hours. But now I'm back up and reading!
Dana’’s challenge is:
In honor of Miss Adison who is 4, I'd like you to tell me 4 of your favorite books. To play along you need to link and/or post pictures of your favorite 4 reads either from childhood or from now.
I’ll take now.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s Cordelia’s Honor. It’s character centered science fiction.
Steven Brust’s Book of Jhereg. One of my favorite fantasy settings.
Anne Logston’s Shadow Hunt. The second book in one of my favorite fantasy series.
Roger Zelazny’s Guns of Avalon. The second in his Amber series.
Book count: Spirit Gate: 102 pages, so I reached my goal there! Empress of Mars: 30 pages, To Say Nothing of the Dog: 4 hours of listening.
1. What are you reading right now?
Right now I'm writing this survey. ;) Okay, enough with the lame jokes. Kage Baker's Empress of Mars.
2. How many books have you read so far?
Finished? 0
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Tough one. I like them all. Maybe the Hellboy albums and Harrison's second book.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
I live alone, so no.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Nope
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
It takes a lot of time to follow the challenges and write the posts. Also, how quickly I became tired. I used to be able to stay up all night!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
None, you're doing a great job!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I would definitely pick shorter books!
9. Are you getting tired yet?
It's around 3.30 AM here, so yep.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
I'll leave that to more experienced readathoners.
Erika at Reading with Momma is asking
What book or books do you return to read again and again and why?
I admit that I not likely to reread about 90% of the books I read. However, I have some favorites:
Steven Burst's Vlad Taltos series which begins with "Book of Jhereg" (fantasy) and Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan -series which starts with "Cordelia's Honor" (SF).
Both have interesting characters and settings. They also have humor and there's just something in the writing style that I click with. Of course, when I read a series the characters start to feel like old friends and it so it's comfortable to return to their company (so to speak).
For some reason, I rather enjoy rewatching favorite TV shows and rereading favorite comics more than rereading books. Maybe it's because shows and comics take less time than books? I don't know.
Nymeth’s challenge is Time for Comics.
My mini-challenge is simple: what I suggest is that you take a break from your book and spend at least 10 minutes reading a webcomic.
I have a couple of favorite webcomics (the Order of the Stick which is a fantasy comic aimed at roleplayers and the steampunk adventure comic Girl Genius) but I'm woefully behind with them. So instead I read a new comic suggested in Nymeth's post: No rest for the wicked.
It’s a fantasy tale with elements of quite a few fairy tales in it. The main character is the youngest princess who has an allergy to peas and hasn’t been able to sleep well no matter how many mattresses she has. It looks fun!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Hello everyone!
I started lightly with the audiobook, Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog which is very funny. I almost want to know more about the Victorian times so that I can get more of the jokes.
Where are you reading from today?
Tampere, Finland where I live.
3 facts about me …
This is my first 24 h Read-a-thon.
English is technically my third language although I don't really remember much about my second language which is Swedish.
I love ebooks and audiobooks.
How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
9 books and 7 comic book trades.
Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
Since this is my first time and I'm a slow reader, my goals are on the light side. Hopefully, I can read 100 pages of both the Spirit Gate and the Empress of Mars.
If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Not a veteran.
Read-a-thon 2009 starts later today in my time zone (Helsinki) and I decided to join it. I’ve never read for such a long time at once.
I've decided to give myself some breaks for watching DVDs while I eat but even when I hang out in Facebook, I will be listening an audiobook.
The book pile is a mix of those that I need to read for my reading challenges and some other intriguing ones:
Kate Elliott: Spirit Gate
Baker: Empress of Mars
Harrison: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
Butcher: Fool Moon
Cherryh: The Pride of Chanur
Willis: To Say Nothing of the Dog (the audiobook)
Zelazny: This Immortal
Moon: Sporting Chance
Brockman: Unsung hero
Comic book trades:
Authority vol. 1 and 2
52 vol. 1, 3, and 4
The two Finnish Hellboy albums
I’m going to try and not sleep but we’ll see if I can pull that off.
I don’t know yet if I’ll update during the thon because I feel a bit weird commenting a book I haven’t finished yet but writing a full review would probably take too long.
Navigate: (Previous 20 entries)
|
|
