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What I read -- August 2013



"River of Stars” by Guy Gavriel Kay. Awesome, of course. IIt left me wandering around my office in my stupid-high heels thinking about foot binding. This is the first one of his books where I’ve really noticed how much stuff happens off-stage. It’s an epic the scope of which some people would take six or ten books to tell. He manages to fit it into one volume -- an example of “if I’d had more time I would have written it shorter.”

“Heartless” by Gail Carriger. This was never going to show up just on the shelf at my local library, so I requested it. I had a hard time getting started, possibly because it had been so long since I’d read the previous ones. Once I got going, though, what fun!

“Some Kind of Fairy Tale” by Graham Joyce. It was mentioned so many times in Locus, and reviewed in Salon. When I started reading, I was thinking it seemed kind of thin, and I couldn't see how it would sustain over a whole novel. However, the characters were fabulous, and the story moving back and forth in time. You never have to believe Tara for the story to work, and that's a great thing. This would be a good gateway fantasy novel.

“Tishomingo Blues” by Elmore Leonard. When he died someone linked to Margaret Atwood’s review of this. It reminded me of my dad’s writing style. I wonder if that’s an age thing? Satisfying.
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