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Reading Post #14
Feb. 28th, 2006 11:43 amBait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich was a good book, even if it wasn't about what I thought it was going to be about, exactly. I was expecting more of an overall look at why people with good educations and good degrees are having problems finding jobs commensurate with those educations, degrees, and pay expectations. What it was was more of a look at the hellish world of job search. I have to tell you, it made me seriously want to think about staying in the Army. I am interested in checking out more of her books, however.
Brunswick Gardens by Anne Perry - another one of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. They recommend this one if you're interested in trying the series, but they're aiming that rec at people who like to jump right into the middle of things. Personally, I prefer to start at the beginning, to better understand the whole series. But it was a pretty smashing mystery, and I figured this one out ahead of time (the old rule about the most unlikely person).
Forgiving by LaVyrle Spencer was also pretty good. I picked it up in the UBS, as it was one of her titles I hadn't read. I wouldn't call her books 'romances', as such - they're more about people's lives and not so much the romance.
Last Days of Henry VIII by Robert Hutchinson was interesting, an emphasis on the end of Henry VIII's reign as opposed to the marriages and beginning. Wouldn't really recommend it if you're not already into the period of history.
Lost World by Tom Koppel was interesting - not so much about the theories about how people came to the Americas, but more about researching the theory. It deals more with the idea that people either came over along the coast alone, or in conjunction with the land bridge. However, due to the melting at the end of the Ice Age, the sites where we would look are all under water. This is a complication, obviously.
Lord Ashford's Wager was a Regency by Marjorie Farrell, picked up at Goodwill. It was one of those books that isn't the book you read about on the back - but it's better.
Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton. I'm not spoiler-marking this, as the book has been out for awhile. I know there were some LKH/Anita Blake fans who were disappointed with this book, and I understand why. Lots of blood, gore, sex, and NOT a lot of plot. Was I the only one who felt like the plot points were really disjointed, and just tossed in because she needed something there? While there were some worthwhile lines (I especially liked the one about how men are like ducklings about sex), the only thing that this book did was give Anita more complications. Also, am I the only one who is starting to feel like LKH's sexual kinks are being written up as Anita's sexual kinks? (I see it in the Merry Gentry books, as well.) I have this thing about sex scenes in books - if they don't give me a little thrill, they're embarrassing. These ones were embarrassing. I have no desire to read all the in-loving-detail fellatio scenes, and how much she just loves doing it. I am going to pick up the next one because it's coming out only in PB, but I think the series and I are through.
A Worthy Wife by Barbara Metzger - pretty typical for her smaller stuff. I had read this one before, but liked it much better this time around.
With Liberty and Justice for All by Kate Michelman (former president of NARAL Pro-Choice) was an excellent, inspiring book about choice, and why we need it, and how this person helped work for it. Definite recommend for the pro-choice people on my list. It is a HC, but I thought it was worth the price. Her overall message is that it is not the government's job to regulate what women do with their reproductive lives, but the government's job to protect our rights to have those choices, and allow us to make them. I could not agree more.
Off to Amazon now....
DV
Brunswick Gardens by Anne Perry - another one of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. They recommend this one if you're interested in trying the series, but they're aiming that rec at people who like to jump right into the middle of things. Personally, I prefer to start at the beginning, to better understand the whole series. But it was a pretty smashing mystery, and I figured this one out ahead of time (the old rule about the most unlikely person).
Forgiving by LaVyrle Spencer was also pretty good. I picked it up in the UBS, as it was one of her titles I hadn't read. I wouldn't call her books 'romances', as such - they're more about people's lives and not so much the romance.
Last Days of Henry VIII by Robert Hutchinson was interesting, an emphasis on the end of Henry VIII's reign as opposed to the marriages and beginning. Wouldn't really recommend it if you're not already into the period of history.
Lost World by Tom Koppel was interesting - not so much about the theories about how people came to the Americas, but more about researching the theory. It deals more with the idea that people either came over along the coast alone, or in conjunction with the land bridge. However, due to the melting at the end of the Ice Age, the sites where we would look are all under water. This is a complication, obviously.
Lord Ashford's Wager was a Regency by Marjorie Farrell, picked up at Goodwill. It was one of those books that isn't the book you read about on the back - but it's better.
Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton. I'm not spoiler-marking this, as the book has been out for awhile. I know there were some LKH/Anita Blake fans who were disappointed with this book, and I understand why. Lots of blood, gore, sex, and NOT a lot of plot. Was I the only one who felt like the plot points were really disjointed, and just tossed in because she needed something there? While there were some worthwhile lines (I especially liked the one about how men are like ducklings about sex), the only thing that this book did was give Anita more complications. Also, am I the only one who is starting to feel like LKH's sexual kinks are being written up as Anita's sexual kinks? (I see it in the Merry Gentry books, as well.) I have this thing about sex scenes in books - if they don't give me a little thrill, they're embarrassing. These ones were embarrassing. I have no desire to read all the in-loving-detail fellatio scenes, and how much she just loves doing it. I am going to pick up the next one because it's coming out only in PB, but I think the series and I are through.
A Worthy Wife by Barbara Metzger - pretty typical for her smaller stuff. I had read this one before, but liked it much better this time around.
With Liberty and Justice for All by Kate Michelman (former president of NARAL Pro-Choice) was an excellent, inspiring book about choice, and why we need it, and how this person helped work for it. Definite recommend for the pro-choice people on my list. It is a HC, but I thought it was worth the price. Her overall message is that it is not the government's job to regulate what women do with their reproductive lives, but the government's job to protect our rights to have those choices, and allow us to make them. I could not agree more.
Off to Amazon now....
DV
