Eschewed Obfuscation

As of January 1st, 2010.
- denotes incomplete readings.
* denotes flocked review.

1. Divine Misdemeanors by Laurell K. Hamilton
2. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
3. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (reread)
4. Branded Sanctuary by Joey W. Hill
5. Mercenary by Trista Ann Michaels
6. The Truth by Terry Pratchett
7. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett
8. Darkborn by Alison Sinclair
9. Violet in Private by Alison Sinclair
10. A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer
11. Transformation by Carol Berg
12. Revelation by Carol Berg (reread)
13. The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine (reread)
14. Crossing Over: One Woman's Exodus from Amish Life by Ruth Irene Garrett with Rick Farrant
15. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
16. The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett
17. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
18. Everyday Asian by Marnie Henricksson
19. Ice Queen by Joey W. Hill
20. Kings and Assassins by Lane Robins
21. Demon Princess by Michelle Rowen
22. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
23. Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
24. A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay (reread)
25. The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan
26. Rough Canvas by Joey W. Hill
27. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
28. The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat by Tal Ronnen
29. Almost Vegetarian: A Primer for Cooks Who Are Eating Vegetarian Most of the Time, Chicken & Fish Some of the Time & Altogether Well All of the Time by Diana Shaw
30. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
31. Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton
32. Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton
33. Insatiable by Meg Cabot

I've read barely anything these past few weeks and months, but today I finished Guy Gavriel Kay's newest novel, which didn't fail to awe me. And with that, I think it an appropriate time to quickly write up my backlog of reviews and start afresh, hopefully more on-time. (Note that the updated master booklist is on DW.)


Everyday Asian
by Marnie Henricksson
193 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Cooking

Actually useful. I am supremely picky, enough to modify most of the Southeast Asian recipes beyond recognition, but that's just me. I especially appreciated the ingredient explanations (e.g. onions vs. shallots vs. garlic vs. scallions) and the genuine home-cook approach to Asian cuisine.


Ice Queen
by Joey W. Hill
211 pages
Genre: Fiction/Romance

Depicts a powerful romantic chemistry, but the ending left me unsatisfied. It does not illustrate how I perceive a switch relationship--Marguerite should be able to Master Tyler just as he Masters her, a uniquely equal give-and-take in a world ruled by unequal power... but when a (female) switch is paired with a (male) Dominant-only, and is portrayed as happy with this, it strikes my intuition the wrong way. Fundamentally, I am unconvinced that Marguerite can be a Mistress if she allows Tyler to utterly Dominate her.

Other than that quirk, it's a lovely romance story and recommended with the usual Joey Hill caveats. I do prefer her Vampire Queen series to this one, for the plotty intrigue and fantasy aspects.


Kings and Assassins
by Lane Robins
353 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy

The sequel to Maledicte--more bloody, enigmatic, and divine gods. This one focuses on Janus rather than Miranda, although other characters get POV time as well. I'm not sure how I feel about Lane Robins's work. I liked this novel enough to earn it a spot on my limited bookshelf space, yet I don't remember very much a few months later, and memorability can be telling.


Demon Princess
by Michelle Rowen
? pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/YA/Fantasy

Plot: girl discovers she is faerie half-demon royalty, must also decide between two competing love interests... what else is new? I expected and received fluff--a brief skim-type read while sitting in Borders--but still I was disappointed by the triteness of it all. Don't bother.


Change of Heart
by Jodi Picoult
447 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/Literary/Mainstream

I'm not sure how to characterize this by genre--mainstream? It's not really "literary," but my tagging system doesn't distinguish. Oh well.

I had this on my TBR list but not very high-priority; a friend gave me a hardcover for my birthday, so I started reading on a whim (as usual) and got sucked in. Picoult is good at compelling reader attention, even if her work is of questionable literary merit. If you're interested in having heartstrings tugged about religion, the death penalty, and female self-esteem--this is the book for you!

The Fifth Elephant
by Terry Pratchett
321 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy/Humor

My friend, who is a fellow ardent Pratchett fan, thrust this library book into my hands with the damning words, "Carrot and Angua." I didn't have the time to read it, but I did anyway, because those two are just that cute.

This is one stop amongst many on the Discworld tour; my fannishness started with Small Gods, which I of course highly recommend. I find it difficult to describe the novel without resorting to Discworld shorthand, but let me try... Carrot is a long-lost heir who has contrived to remain lost, a six-foot-tall dwarf, and a scarily good person. Angua is a female werewolf with--interesting--familial relations. Together they fight petty crime and treason as members of the Watch, and are all-around awesome.

That's not quite right; it makes the book sound like a thriller, which it's not, though there is a fascinating mystery element of the plot. So, um, in Discworld shorthand: Carrot/Angua in Uberwald, with a healthy dose of Vimes and politics, plus a sprinkling of Vetinari on top.

I have realized what I love so much about Terry Pratchett, to the point where he deserves a place in my personal gallery next to Guy Gavriel Kay, Ellen Kushner, and George R.R. Martin: he is consistently great. (Sylvia Kelso and Alison Sinclair have the potential for greatness, with Amberlight/Riversend and Darkborn respectively, but they haven't proven consistency yet.) There are some Pratchett books that I adore, some that I love, some that I merely like... but each has enthralled me as I read them for the first time. A rare and valuable quality, consistency--few authors can I trust as I trust Pratchett to always write a worthwhile book.

Crossing Over: One Woman's Exodus from Amish Life
by Ruth Irene Garrett with Rick Farrant
192 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir

The pedestrian prose of this semi-ghostwritten memoir with an eye-catching premise does capture Irene's voice; it's only that her voice is not particularly compelling. Thankfully, I can't say the same for her story. This was a quick and enlightening read. I've always been fascinated by the Amish--I've seen buggies go by on the road, when I drive to Lancaster--and their "bubble" of traditional life in such a modern world.

The Two Princesses of Bamarre
by Gail Carson Levine
293 pages (paperback)
Genre: Fiction/YA/Fantasy

Twin princesses Meryl and Addie are close opposites; timid Addie depends wholly on Meryl's bravery. When Meryl falls ill with the cursed, fatal Gray Death, cowardly Addie must find her courage in order to save her beloved sister.

After finishing Carol Berg's Revelation and feeling like I'd been hit with a sledgehammer, I had to cool down. So I turned to reread a childhood favorite. The Two Princesses of Bamarre is not my favorite of Levine's novels--Ella Enchanted remains the only one developed enough beyond folkish fairy-tale to touch me to tears--but it was sufficiently light, breezy, and satisfying. On this second read, I much admired the dragons and focused less on Addie and Meryl, who serve as wonderful childhood role models. This is a fable in truth, with obvious morals, but nonetheless offered with a light touch.

A College of Magics
by Caroline Stevermer
468 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy/YA

In alternate 1800s Europe, with the British Empire and Austria meddling in political affairs of small nations like Ruritania, Faris Nallaneen is the Duchess of snowy northern Galazon, currently ruled by her conniving-but-not-really-wicked Uncle Brinkar. He sends her to Greenlaw College (where the graduates are called witches behind their backs) to await the turning of her majority. What follows is a prototypical school-of-magic story, clearly modeled off the modern-day university rather than boarding school. Faris befriends various interesting people, Jane Brailsford in particular, and makes one significant enemy: Menary of Aravill, whose involvement I can't describe further without spoilers.

I picked this up as a light read, and finished it satisfyingly in one sitting; in that respect, and in the "neatness" of the plot, it's a classic YA novel. But this is very mature YA, in all respects save explicit romantic development; the political intrigue that I love so much in adult fantasy novels is not dumbed down. The ending is almost deus ex machina, but at that point I was too carried away emotionally to mind.

Darkborn
by Alison Sinclair
348 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy

I had an inkling, from Jia's complimentary Dear Author review and from the cover blurbs--Carol Berg, Sharon Shinn, Lane Robins--that Darkborn might be my very favorite kind of book: densely political, yet romantic and idealistic. It is.

Balthasar Hearne is a Darkborn physician, born to that class of impoverished old blood so well-popularized by Austen; his wife Telmaine, of similar but non-impoverished blood, is an untrained mage. (The Darkborn, unlike the Lightborn who live in the same city for the other half of the time, prefer to ignore the existence of magic.) When a very pregnant Tercelle Amberley shows up on Balthasar's doorstep at the sunrise bell, his physician's instincts and old acquaintance lead him to take her in. She gives birth to twin boys who are Darkborn yet sighted... and so the plot begins.

Of the plot--it is difficult to follow at times, not much helped by Sinclair's tedious habit of recapping every explanation made by the characters. The narrative, told in multi-third person, fails to distinguish character voices from the author's own voice. However, these minor flaws are easily brushed aside in favor of realistic, unusual characters. Balthesar and Telmaine are parents, with Telmaine's maternal instinct a vital catalyst of the story; and in a tale with so many secrets, it's refreshing to see that people talk to resolve them instead of experiencing convenient Misunderstandings. Moreover, as far as political fantasy goes, I would rate this equal to Sylvia Kelso's Amberlight and subsequent Riversend--not the poetry of Kay, nor the epic style, but more in the extremely satisfying manner of Ellen Kushner and fantasy of manners plus magic. Bravo.

 I have, unfortunately, fallen out of the LJ habit. That said, I went to update my woefully short list of books read in 2010 and got hit with a full-page interstitial ad.

Um, no. I don't think so.

Going to import everything here wholesale; I apologize if it spams anyone.

As of January 1st, 2009.
- denotes incomplete readings.
* denotes flocked review.


1. Amberlight by Sylvia Kelso
2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (reread)
3. Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools You Should Know about Even If You're Not a Straight-A Student by Loren Pope (reread)
4. The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by André Comte-Sponville
5. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
6. The Duchess, Her Maid, the Groom & Their Lover by Victoria Janssen
- Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology by Nick Gevers (ed.)
7. Fat Envelope Frenzy: One Year, Five Promising Students, and the Pursuit of the Ivy League Prize by Joie Jager-Hyman
8. Fruits Basket vol. 21 by Natsuki Takaya
9. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
- Looking beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You by Loren Pope
10. The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates by Daniel Golden
- Worlds Apart?: Dualism and Transgression in Contemporary Female Dystopias by Dunja M. Mohr
11. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
12. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
13. Chalice by Robin McKinley
14. Westmark by Lloyd Alexander
15. Forever Princess by Meg Cabot
16. *Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater
- Perspectives on American Politics by William Lasser
- Rugg's Recommendations on the Colleges (2008) by Frederick E. Rugg
17. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
18. Interfictions: An Anthology of Interstitial Writing by Delia Sherman and Theodora Goss (eds.)
19. *Keeper of Light and Dust by Natasha Mostert
20. The Kestrel by Lloyd Alexander
21. *Midwinter by Matthew Sturges
22. Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly
23. Questions and Admissions: Reflections on 100,000 Admissions Decisions at Stanford by Jean H. Fetter
24. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
25. Natural Law by Joey W. Hill
- Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians and Writers by Elaina Loveland
26. Rock Hard Apps: How to Write a Killer College Application by Katherine Cohen
27. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy by Nicholas Lemann
28. *Wildfire by Sarah Micklem (ARC)
29. *The Betrayal by Pati Nagle
30. His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls
31. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
32. What Colleges Don't Tell You (and Other Parents Don't Want You to Know): 272 Secrets for Getting Your Kid into the Top Schools by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross
- The Shape of the River: Long-term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions by William G. Bowen & Derek Bok
33. Diamond Star by Catherine Asaro
34. Acing the College Application: How to Maximize Your Chances for Admission to the College of Your Choice by Michele A. Hernandez
- Documentary Expression and Thirties America by Bill Stott
35. Rosa Lee: A Mother and Her Family in Urban America by Leon Dash
36. Stranded with a Spy by Merline Lovelace
37. The Black Jewels Trilogy: Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop
- The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm
38. Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton
39. Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right Colleges--and Find Themselves by David L. Marcus
40. *When the Tide Rises by David Drake
41. *In the Stormy Red Sky by David Drake
42. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
43. The Dark Reaches by Kristin Landon
44. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
45. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
46. Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
47. Chronicle of a Blood Merchant by Yu Hua
48. L'etranger (The Stranger) by Albert Camus
49. Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
50. Beloved Vampire by Joey W. Hill
51. Rhinocéros (The Rhinoceros) by Eugene Ionesco
52. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
53. Maigret et la vieille dame (Maigret and the Old Lady) by George Simenon
54. The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins
55. Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
- Jhegaala by Steven Brust
56. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
57. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
58. Dreams Made Flesh by Anne Bishop
59. Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) by Molière
60. Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks
61. The Family Trade by Charles Stross
62. Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
63. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
64. Riversend by Sylvia Kelso
- Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton (reread)
65. Mort by Terry Pratchett

A Wild Sheep Chase
by Haruki Murakami
353 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Literary/Fantasy

On first glance, this novel just seemed dang weird. Then I met a dear friend who adores Murakami and assured me that he was indeed dang weird, in a good way. Then I read A Wild Sheep Chase and personally confirmed that Murakami writes dang weird stuff--in a very good way.

The nameless narrator works in a small advertising agency, has a normal ex-wife and a strange girlfriend, and is one day sent upon a quest: to find the sheep with the black star on its back, as depicted upon a postcard from an old friend. What happens after that doesn't make much sense, but it's so glorious that I don't care. I mean, there's a picture of a sheep man. Murakami is at the epitome of both Japanese mainstream popularity and Japanese magic realism; I, of course, loved his existentialist themes.

That said, many of my friends are just bewildered by this book. Read it with an open mind; being familiar with magic realism conventions helps a lot. I am reminded of A Hundred Years of Solitude without the emphasis on folklore or family, or for that matter the sheer density.