Mmmmm book.

[kyrielle]

My father loaned me the latest Pern book, Dragon's Kin. I'm glad for the loan and I quite enjoyed it. At the same time, it felt...a bit contrived, really. It meandered and then rushed and then spun about and landed neat and pat and tidy.

And just a touch unreal. Oh, well. It was still a nifty enough story in its own right. Just not quite to the level of some of the others.

Other than that I've read Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed book, about the journalist's foray into living on the sort of minimum-wage or near-minimum-wage jobs that many people must subsist on. It's...a very sobering read.

Comments

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

I thought so, too, about Ms. Ehrenreich's book. The situations she described remind me a lot of some of the people profiled in "Bowling for Columbine". I can't help thinking that Nickel and Dimed should be required reading for every political leader... ^-^;;

[oneira.livejournal.com]

Now, I've read Dragon's Kin, and I despised it. I hated the blind character, who seemed to be able to do things inexplicably. This isn't saying that the character couldn't have done them, but a few lines about how she got around would have been great, and let me tell you, counting steps in a place like a mining camp, where things would be under transition frequently, just doesn't seem practical. Then again, counting steps isn't practical, either.

I read the book to learn about whers, and didn't like the information she provided. I suppose what frustrated me was the comment about how there was no loss of quality with her son assisting in the writing. I completely disagree.

Other recent reads have included: A Maiden's Grave, by Jeffrey Deaver, and Brightly Burning and Exile's Honor, by Mercedes Lackey.

This is all really just a way to say hi, I'm back, and I've even written in my journal.

Missing ya

Oneira

[kyrielle]

Heyyyy, welcome back! *hugs* Very cool.

And I didn't know about the comment that there was no loss of quality. On that I must, as you do, disagree. This is not to the same standard as any but the weakest of her books, and that comparison's questionable.

I haven't heard of A Maiden's Grave; is it good? Part of a series, or a stand-alone? Exile's Honor I enjoyed, and Brightly Burning as well.

[oneira.livejournal.com]

Mmm, bordering on sleepy now. Jeffrey Deaver is the author of Bone Collector, which they made a movie of. A Maiden's Grave is standalone, as far as I can tell, and it's all about hostage negotiation. Three escaped convicts kidnap eight deaf students and two of their teachers, and we see the hostage negotiation, which I found rather interesting. I didn't like the ending, but I won't say why unless you read it.

I did like Brightly Burning, and I like anything with Albarich, so Exile's Honor was good. I wonder if you've heard The Face Within. It's a filk about Albarich. Anyway, I may crawl off to bed now.

[kyrielle]

Thank you - have made note of book.

Alberich rocks. I have not heard (or else have forgotten) The Face Within.

Have you read Sun In Glory? It's a collection of short stories in that world, and it largely stinks (my opinion). But the last piece is a short by Lackey, and it involves Alberich.

Of course, I swear there's a continuity break with statements made in the Storms series in that short story (and another that is tied to it). But hey, what's a continuity break among friends, right? *sigh*