“The Grass King’s Concubine” by Kari Sperring. I think I was intimidated by the fatness of this book. I’ve had it around for years, and finally ran out of excuses so picked it up. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters and they sometimes seemed willfully stupid. It also seemed like there were too many boring details and a lot of repetition. Not the book for me?
LHC #36: “Haxan” by Kenneth Mark Hoover. People who read this blog regularly might get the idea (not through anything I’ve said, but perhaps you might intuit) that I care pretty strongly about public libraries. It seems like some government types don’t particularly value them. It’s not all about me, it’s about maintaining everyone’s access to books. Anyway, I currently have 78 books on my inactive holds list (from whence the Library Hold Challenge books are chosen). I’m reading all the ones that only have one or two copies available next. This one came up first. It was fun!
LHC #37: “The War for the Oaks” by Emma Bull. Years and years ago, my former team leader recommended I read Emma Bull but if I recall correctly said specifically to avoid this one. I read some other thing and it was good but whatever. Everyone talks about this one being the one to read so I don’t know what was up with my team lead, contrarian or something.
I think I read this before, actually, but a really long time ago, like 20 years. And I bet my team lead didn’t like it because a lot of the musical references weren’t for her. This seems like a book that would have a pretty specific audience, which is probably why it’s so beloved by a certain group of people. She wrote it for them (or is it us?).
LHC
#38: “Fire on the Mountain” by Terry Bisson. Only copy, get it
while it lasts! I’m not worried about this one, actually. The book was in very
good shape when I had it. I might have had an easier time with it if I knew anything
about US civil war history. The part where they discuss our timeline (as a
nasty, hateful novel) was really funny. It was neat – a small story telling a
very big one that came together tidily in the end.
LHC #39: “The Carpet Makers” by Andreas Eschbach. The fact that it’s the only one makes me so nervous. Once again, no clue why I requested it. It was originally written in German, and Orson Scott Card said disparaging things about “other books in translation” which was off-putting. This book has a cool structure and it is absolutely fantastic. Everyone should read this book. I’m not sure the cover copy does it justice, it makes it sound weird. And it is weird! But the question I asked myself at the beginning, how does this economy make sense? That question was answered.