Science Fiction Additions

Currently I'm still reading A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Following that are Queen of Swords by Judith Tarr and Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott. I must say that at the rate I'm going, getting through A Game of Thrones will take a while but thankfully I renewed my library books for a few more weeks. (^_^)

After noting that I've been reading mostly fantasy and historical fiction lately, I've decided to add some science fiction to my reading list. A few fantasy authors I hadn't heard of before or hadn't had the chance to read yet also made the cut. I've compiled these authors from several websites, including those recommended by my public library. Most likely I won't be able to read all of them but I like having variety. and there are many subgenres within SF. Science fiction is a new genre for me, both in terms of reading and writing so this will be a bit of an adventure! This list is as follows (alphabetically):

1. Douglas Adams
2. Isaac Asimov
3. Iain Banks
4. Alfred Bester
5. Ray Bradbury
6. David Brin
7. Lous Master Bujold
8. Jim Butcher
9. Orson Scott Card
10. Arthur C. Clarke
11. Philip K. Dick
12. Gordon R. Dickson
13. Stephen Donaldson
14. David Eddings
15. Harlan Ellison
16. Steven Eriksen
17. Philip Jose Farmer
18. David Gerrold
19. William Gibson
20. Terry Goodkind
21. Peter Hamilton
22. Harry Harrison
23. Robert A. Heinlein
24. Frank Herbert
25. Robert Jordan
26. Guy Gavriel Kay
27. Gregory Keyes
28. Ursula K. Le Guin
29. Stanislaw Lem
30. Laurie Marks
31. Elizabeth Moon
32. Larry Niven
33. Frederick Pohl
34. Terry Pratchett
35. Karl Schroeder
36. Robert Silverberg
37. Dan Simmons
38. E.E. "Doc" Smith
39. Neal Stephenson
40. Theodore Sturgeon
41. Harry Turtledove
42. Jack Vance
43. Jules Verne
44. David Weber
45. H.G. Wells
46. Tad Williams
47. Jack Williamson
48. Connie Willis
49. Gene Wolfe
50. Roger Zelanzy

Oi, that's a lot of authors! When I started searching, I really wanted about 10-15 but obviously I found a lot more! In any case, I have lot of material now and hopefully I'll learn more about the SF genre.

Now how about some appropriate mood music to go along with this science fiction collection? Personally when in a SF writing mood I tend to listen to/be inspired by: Juno Reactor, The Prodigy, KMFDM, early Powerman 5000 (not the recent punk stuff), Vapor Transmission by Orgy (although several songs from Candyass and Punk Statik Paranoia work well too), Amphibious Assault, Linkin Park, Razed in Black, and electronica-influenced Japanese musicians such as Takuya Angel, DJ SiSeN, Schwarz Stein, and GPKISM. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! I love mood music!

Three Books of Interest

Egads, I have been very busy lately! I've been preoccupied with various teaching commitments and a generally busy summer so please bear with me. Unfortunately I haven't been able to read as much as I would like, but I still endeavor to read as often as I can.

Currently, I have three books of interest checked out from the library: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott, and Queen of Swords by Judith Tarr.

At present, I am reading A Game of Thrones. I must admit that while I am only a few chapters into the novel, (and consequently the series), I'm thoroughly confused due to the steady onslaught of names and references to wars, political factions, and geographical locations in addition to the wildly shifting point of view characters. From these first impressions, this will be a challenging read. I'm already resorting to Wikipedia articles on the series in order to clarify relationships between characters and historical events. I'm hoping that as I become more familiar with the world and its denizens (as well as Martin's style of writing) that I'll be able to keep track of everything better. I'll blog about my progress with the novel and other issues I encounter.

Updated Reading List

I have returned! The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy because I've been studying for certification exams and starting my teaching assistantship. Lately I haven't been working on my novel much due to work commitments and various projects, and accordingly, I haven't been able to read for pleasure or update this blog as much as I would have liked. Things have calmed down for a bit, for now at least.

Since I've read several books from my original reading list, I've had to modify it. Here's the original list:

1. Arrows of the Queen (The Heralds of Valdemar, Book One) by Mercedes Lackey
2. The Borgia Bride: A Novel by Jeanne Kalogridis
3. Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle (Book One) by M.C. Scott
4. Bridget Jones' Diary: A Novel by Helen Fielding
5. Colman by Monica Furlong
6. Dealing With Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book One by Patricia C. Wrede
7. The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis
8. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
9. Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening by Stephen Kuusisto
10. The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson
11. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice, Book One) by George R. R. Martin
12. Homer's Daughter by Robert Graves
13. Japan Took the J.A.P. Out of Me by Lisa Fineberg
14. Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
15. The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
16. My Lady of Cleves: A Novel of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes
17. The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles, Day One) by Patrick Rothfuss
18. The Nanny Diaries: A Novel by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin
19. Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty
20. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

So far, I've read (or reread in some cases) #6, #7, #8, #16, #17, and #18. I checked out #14 but had to return it before I had a chance to read much of it. So far, I have not been able to locate #12 at any library so I think I might have to take it off the list due to unavailability.

In addition to the books on this list, I've found others: Dragonsbane by Barbara Hamly, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, The Widow of Jerusalem by Alan Gordon, and The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory.

For now, the modified reading list will look something like this:

1. Arrows of the Queen (The Heralds of Valdemar, Book One) by Mercedes Lackey
2. The Borgia Bride: A Novel by Jeanne Kalogridis
3. Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle (Book One) by M.C. Scott
4. Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening by Stephen Kuusisto
5. The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson
6. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice, Book One) by George R. R. Martin
7. Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty
8. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

At present, I put a hold on #1 and #6 and #3 is apparently available at the local library, so I will be picking that up as soon as possible. With that said, the list may expand to include subsequent series titles (i.e. Lackey, Scott, Martin) if they catch and hold my interest. Due to my recent boredom (and perhaps saturation) with the chick lit and historical fiction genres, I have decreased the selections from these two areas to one each.

I will remain rather busy this summer with various projects and commitments, but I will do my best to update this blog as often as I can and continue to work toward my reading goal. Once I read the eight books from my new reading list, I'll have to find new ones! Won't that be exciting?

Books Happened!

Hooray! My requested books from the library came in today, and while I was there I picked up an additional two. It seems that finishing The Boleyn Inheritance last night was opportune. I admit I probably could have read it a little faster but I wasn't sure when the requested books would come in, and I didn't want to be bored in the interim.

Now I have Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, My Lady of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes, The Devil's Queen by Jeanne Kalogridis, and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert along with The Widow of Jerusalem by Alan Gordon and Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly. That means I have a gothic novel, two historical fiction novels, a memoir, a historical mystery, and a fantasy novel. I think that's a decent mix in terms of variety. Plus I have until June to read them all.

I chose The Widow of Jerusalem firstly because it involves Isabella of Jerusalem (the titular widow). She was the Queen Regnant of Jerusalem from 1190/92-1205 and the daughter of King Amalric I and his second wife Maria Comnena; this made her the younger half-sister of King Baldwin IV and Queen Sibylla. (This Sibylla is perhaps better remembered as depicted by Eva Green in Ridley Scott's film The Kingdom of Heaven, albeit historically inaccurate with regards to her life in some respects i.e. notably her marriage to Guy de Lusignan and a highly romanticized relationship with a fictionalized Balian of Ibelin.).

Isabella attracted my attention because she contested her half-sister's rule of Jerusalem and eventually succeeded her, married four times (producing seven children in total from her cumulative marriages), and lived during the tumultuous Third Crusade. Secondly, The Widow of Jerusalem is classified as a historical mystery rather than simply a historical novel set during the Third Crusade. This intrigued me and I wanted to see where the author would take the plot, given historical events flavored by mystery. Thirdly, the novel takes place during the Crusades, a time period I've read little about in fiction, and I felt that it would balance Tudor heavy novels I've been reading along with a selection on Catherine de Medici.

Having investigated the royal house of Jerusalem, I must admit I'm interested in reading about Sibylla and her grandmother Queen Melisende in addition to Isabella. To do so, I'll be looking into Queen of Swords by Judith Tarr, The Knights of Dark Renown by David Gemmell, and Jerusalem by Cecelia Holland. While I'm aware of the various inaccuracies depicted in The Kingdom of Heaven, I found the extended edition of the film to be quite engaging (and making better sense than the trimmed theatrical version), largely due to the portrayals of Sibylla (Eva Green) and Saladin (Ghassan Massoud).

My second new selection, Dragonsbane, was selected for three reasons. Firstly, I thought a fantasy novel would bring variety to my current reading. I've been a fan of the genre for many years and would love to find a book I can't put down (which I haven't been able to find with the genre since I read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss in 2007). Secondly, I'd seen the book years ago and wanted to read it, but for some reason, never got around to doing so. Thirdly, the book is about dragons. This is of great interest to me since my own novel involves dragons (hence why I read Dealing with Dragons), and I felt that reading other books about dragons would give me a taste of what's out there. I'm familiar with the dragons depicted by Patricia C. Wrede, J.R.R. Tolkien (what fan of fantasy isn't?), Christopher Paolini, Jane Yolen (through her Dragon's Blood series), J.K. Rowling, Patricia A. McKillip (The Forgotten Beasts of Eld), and Michael Ende (The Neverending Story). Let's see what Barbara Hambly does with dragons and medieval fantasy.

All in all, I think my trip to the library was quite successful, and I'm very excited about reading the books I currently have. I'm not sure which to read first, though, because I could go a variety of ways. For example, I could stay in the Tudor vein and read My Lady of Cleves since I just read about Anne in The Boleyn Inheritance. Or I could stay in the general historical fiction genre with The Devil's Queen but have a different protagonist, time period, and setting. Dabbling in mystery with The Widow of Jerusalem would also be a change, along with the shift of time period and place. Moreover, I could read one of three unrelated genres: gothic, fantasy, or memoir with Rebecca, Dragonsbane, or Eat, Pray, Love, respectively.

Decisions, decisions! Let's see what happens...

Rainy Day Reading Material

Due to a bout of boredom, I ended up reading both The Nanny Diaries and Dealing with Dragons last night. Of course, when I awoke this morning, it was pouring outside--perfect reading weather. I have one library book left (The Boleyn Inheritance) which I hope will get me through the weekend and until the books I placed on hold arrive. I must admit I was surprised by how fast I ended up reading. I wonder if the pace will continue or if it varies according to the genre.

The Nanny Diaries is just over 300 pages but I found it to be an easy read. After all, it satirizes the self-absorbed, neurotic mega-wealthy Manhattanites who don't work but still require nannies to essentially raise their children on their behalf (to make jetting off to hair appointments and spas easier). While I saw the point of the book--tongue-in-cheek satire--I had difficulties really rooting for the protagonist (conveniently named Nan/Nanny) who seemed to have a masochistic need to work for people who treated her badly. The kid she cared for, Grayer, was only four, but he was also a whiny, violent, moody, irritating brat. His mother (called Mrs. X) was a great antagonist because she was so selfish, arrogant, and capricious--indeed, quite a horrible boss. However, midway through the book, it seemed to get rather repetitive and my interest began to wane. Nan kept visiting her family who only said the same thing to her every time ("Quit your job!") and this detracted from colorful appearances of Mrs. X and her friends. Maybe it was because I haven't read much in the chick lit genre, but I could take or leave this book, and am content with the fact that I borrowed it from the library rather than buying it from a bookstore. I'll have to see how I feel about subsequent reads in this genre.

Dealing with Dragons was also an easy read but for other reasons. First of all, it's a young adult book that just passes the 200-page mark. Second, it's a satire (turning traditional fairy tale tropes on their heads) and lightweight by the generous helping of humor lacing every page. That's not to say it lacks substance. Quite the contrary, I found the book to be just as enjoyable to read as an adult as I did when I read it when I was younger. Wrede's creativity shines with the character Cimorene, a stubborn, intelligent, "improper", and proto-feminist princess who is thoroughly likable because rather than being a vapid ditz who embroiders all day and can scream on cue when carried off by a giant, she's interested in fencing, Latin, magic, cooking, and absolutely not marrying an idiot prince she does not love, like, or even respect all that much. And Wrede conveys this strong, feminist slant with a light touch and doesn't end up bashing the male gender and becoming preachy (as say, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley does frequently); the stone prince character is quite important to the story and quite amusing with his own array of quirks. Additionally, Cimorene's relationships with other females, ranging from the dragon Kazul to the princess Alianora, do not remain static nor does the protagonist champion her friendships with women over men. But she does have a tendency to avoid male company if they're overly persistent knights trying to rescue and marry her because they're "supposed" to do so. Using wit and holding her ground when she knows she's right, Cimorene doesn't take crap from anyone and it doesn't matter if that person is a prince/princess, wizard, or dragon. Really, she's an admirable character while she entertains. What's not to like about that?

I must admit that Wrede's book influenced me as a lover of fantasy and as a writer. The idea of my current novel certainly shows some lasting effects of her work on my imagination--both in terms of creating dragons and a strong-willed but likable protagonist. Of course, the original influence by Wrede became adulterated by simultaneous exposures to historical fiction and Greek mythology...At least I'm eclectic.

I'm going to stop that tangent where it lies before I go considerable off-topic. So, as I stated earlier, it's perfect reading weather (thunderstorms now) and I have one thick historical novel left. The Boleyn Inheritance is just over 500 pages (and thankfully not in a minuscule font). I hope it's a good read. I was mildly disappointed by Gregory's obvious bias against Anne Boleyn (as portrayed in The Other Boleyn Girl); even if sisters are competing for the same man (King Henry VIII notwithstanding), they should be equally three-dimensional characters. I found Mary Boleyn to be a bit simpering and sentimental while Anne was just bitchy because she could be. I hope that Gregory fleshes out her characters (Anne of Cleves, Katheryn Howard, and Jane Rochford) a bit better, although I probably guess the direction she's going to take with the infamous Jane (Anne Boleyn's sister-in-law). I'll see what Gregory does and promptly report my findings here!

Until later...

Athenaeum Field Trip Results

After finishing Howl's Moving Castle, I started itching for something else to read. I browsed through the beginning of Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen last night, but the book about dragons that I really wanted to read was Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. I must give Yolen credit for putting a fantasy trope (dragons) against a science fiction setting and having the dragons' role in the story be based on blood sports like cock fighting. It's certainly an original idea.

Armed with a list of twenty books, I figured that I'd be able to bring home a few books I wanted. In the end, I had mixed results. While I did find some of the books I was looking for, some of them were either checked out or at other library branches. Five holds later, I'll be expecting Eat, Pray, Love, Julie & Julia, The Devil's Queen, My Lady of Cleves, and one that wasn't on my original list, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, by the middle of next week.

I did, however, bring home three books, including one that wasn't on my list. After finding Dealing with Dragons and The Nanny Diaries (the latter after some searching and the help of a librarian because we both were convinced that book imps had hidden the book from us), I decided on a historical fiction book called The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory.

For those unfamiliar with Gregory's work, she is the author of the Tudor series of which The Boleyn Inheritance is the third. I chose this particular volume because (a) my original choices (The Devil's Queen and My Lady of Cleves) wouldn't arrive until next week, (b) I had read Gregory's more famous book (now a film) The Other Boleyn Girl, and (c) I'm interested in reading portrayals of both Anne of Cleves and Katheryn Howard. Anne of Cleves is often overlooked because her marriage was brief and her personality dwarfed by more charismatic (and at times, notorious) figures like Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. She hadn't been Henry's mistress, she did not bear him children, and she didn't cause a scandal to merit her beheading. Katheryn Howard is somewhat a tragic figure considering her age and her ill-fated mistakes, but at the same time, her marriage with Henry was the product of his midlife crisis--she made him feel young again. With that said, from both a historical and narrative perspective, all six of Henry VIII's queens are incredibly interesting and remarkable as individuals and as women of the Tudor era.

I have until the beginning of June to finish the three books I checked out today, and next week I'll have five additional books to keep myself occupied. I think I might have to stock up on tea to accompany my reading routine. (^_~)

Reading List

In order to be a good writer, one must read. A LOT. It makes sense, really. How can one be a writer but not a reader as well?

Since I graduated from college, I got out of the habit of reading regularly (for fun). because I was busy doing so many other things (i.e. grad school, being depressed about being in grad school, being a complete fangirl for certain musical genres). I'm not talking about anything I read for research (i.e. nonfiction, Greek mythology, world history, etc.). I mean good old fashioned pleasure fiction reading that requires curling up, a blanket, a mug of tea, and possibly a rainstorm outside.

I used to read voraciously in high school, and somehow I managed to read at least a half hour before bed. Now I'm trying to get back into the habit of doing just that. Also, being a regular patron of my public library is also good, karmically speaking. Libraries rock.

This evening, I've made a reading list of 20 books that I plan to get from the library over the next few weeks. Right now I'm slightly more than halfway through Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. Given that at my current rate, I'll most likely finish the book this week, and I'd like to have another book ready to go. Hence the list-making...Fantasy, historical fiction, chick lit, and poetry is a good mix, right?

1. Arrows of the Queen (The Heralds of Valdemar, Book One) by Mercedes Lackey
2. The Borgia Bride: A Novel by Jeanne Kalogridis
3. Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle (Book One) by M.C. Scott
4. Bridget Jones' Diary: A Novel by Helen Fielding
5. Colman by Monica Furlong
6. Dealing With Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book One by Patricia C. Wrede
7. The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis
8. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
9. Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening by Stephen Kuusisto
10. The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson
11. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice, Book One) by George R. R. Martin
12. Homer's Daughter by Robert Graves
13. Japan Took the J.A.P. Out of Me by Lisa Fineberg
14. Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
15. The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
16. My Lady of Cleves: A Novel of Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves by Margaret Campbell Barnes
17. The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicles, Day One) by Patrick Rothfuss
18. The Nanny Diaries: A Novel by Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin
19. Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty
20. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Hopefully those should keep me busy for several weeks. My ultimate goal is to read one book a week like I used to, but since my teaching classes won't be done until the beginning of June, I might end up reading at a slower pace due to other commitments. In any case, I hope my library has all of these books. It's so much cheaper to borrow than buy!

To the athenaeum I will go, questing for brain candy!