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Wednesday, January 08, 2014

January Musings

I've finished several books this week and still have December reviews to get caught up on.  Sometimes I find it difficult to write and then schedule a review for several months in the future.  I delay, I procrastinate.   Of course, months down the line, when I don't have anything to post, those pre-scheduled reviews are nice to have.

Here are some of my recent finishes from December:


The Revenant of Thraxton Hall by Vaughn Entwistle.  :)  A.C. Doyle has just killed Sherlock Holmes in The Final Problem and finds both the public and The Strand (which serializes his stories) very angry at him.  He has been asked by a medium to prevent her death, and Doyle and his friend Oscar Wilde are on the case.  Fun!  I've begun a draft, but the book is scheduled for publication in late March, and I've delayed finishing the review which I'll schedule for April.  NetGalley ARC

A Cry in the Night by Tom Grieves is a strange police procedural that kept me pondering whether or not I liked it.  At one point, I was about to abandon it, but something kept me intrigued to the point that I had to know how it turned it out.  Complex and twisty.  Don't know how I'm going to review this one.   NetGalley ARC

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon.  Paranormal.  Review is already scheduled, but McMahon is not my cup of tea.  Scheduled for Jan. 16.   NetGalley ARC

Some January finishes but not yet reviewed:


The Blood Maidens by Barbara Hambly (James Asher series) Purchased for Kindle.


The Silent Tower by Barbara Hambly (Windrose Chronicles)  Purchased for Kindle.
The Silicon Mage                "             "             "
The Dog Wizard                  "             "             "

Antigo Nick - a translation of Sophocles' Antigone (with a few additions) by Anne Carson (recommended by Gin Jenny at Reading the End)  Oh, lovely words to be read aloud! Sent me researching Anne Carson and the original version by Sophocles.  Loved it. My first reading of Antigone had little individual impact because I had about 30 plays to read that semester.  It Was A Long. Time. Ago!  I've matured since then.  Purchased because it is a beautiful book, and one that I suspected I'd want to keep.  So right.  I'm tempted to read it again right now.  Aloud.  Again.  

The Truth Against the World by Sarah Jamila Stevenson (YA and very good) Publication set for June.  NetGalley ARC

One May Smile by Penny Freedman (a good mystery, literate, set in Elsinore).  Gina Grey, the protagonist is a university lecturer, a linguist, and a feisty, funny woman.  I will read more more by Freedman.  NetGalley ARC

Some recent DNF:


The Lost Boys by Lilian Carmine (YA)
The Arnifour Affair by Gregory Harris
Hetty Feather by Jacqueline Wilson 
When Shadows Fall by J.T. Ellison 
The Stargazer by Michele Jaffe
Mrs. Lincolns Rival by Jennifer Chiaverini

Some recent finishes, but won't review:


Well, I won't name them--would not be a positive reflection on either the books or the reader, who doggedly finished them.  They should have been relegated to the abandoned pile.




8 comments:

  1. Man, you are just churning out the books. I think I have some Barbara Hambly books I bought in a Black Friday sale. I should check. I started a series about Sherlock, too. I think Sherlock looks like he is going to be one of the fads or themes of 2014. It's considered Steampunk by Emma Jane Holloway. Last I checked book 1 was 99 cents for Kindle.

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  2. Kelly, escape literature has a purpose. Sometimes real events are things to be avoided and what better way than fiction!

    I should write a post about Sherlock and all of his incarnations, including links to all the Sherlock/Watson blogs!

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  3. Wow! You really are reading up a storm. Good for you.

    I'm dreadfully behind in reviews. I'm the queen of procrastination. Besides, I can read faster than I can write and find that reading is much more rewarding/relaxing than writing a review, especially if I didn't enjoy the book that much.

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  4. Marie - Exactly. Reading is fun, writing requires effort. I'm not so good at effort, but I'm great at procrastination!

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  5. Much of the time I'd much rather be reading than writing too. :-)

    I have to pre-schedule my posts, but I don't read fast enough (or have the time to read as much as needed) to pre-schedule many reviews, unfortunately. I try though.

    I do want to finish posting my journal reviews that never made it to my blog (because I hadn't started blogging yet). It's been a year or two since I last did a "From the Archives" review. Maybe I'll finish that this year.

    I am glad you are getting in quite a bit of reading in!

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  6. I think I'm going to have to find a copy of that Ann Carson translation of Antigone. It sounds wonderful!

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  7. My problem is that if I don't review a book pretty soon after I finish reading then I find it's harder and harder to get back to it. Sometimes it is fun to do little quickie posts on books. I may need to do that soon! That's a bummer you've had quite a few DNFs recently. I had a pretty good year last year with few DNFs.

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  8. Wendy - I have to pre-schedule so many books because they are ARCs, but it is easy to put them off. :) I like the idea of "From the Archives," but imagine you have your time pretty much circumscribed by Mouse! Just keeping up is a problem, isn't it?

    Stefanie - I think you'd love it. The book is a beauty, too. Glad it was so affordable. Beautiful books like this are usually more than I want to pay.

    Iliana - I know. The longer I put a review off, the harder it is to get back to it. I usually do a draft with title, author, image and a note or two. Then come back when I can.

    I have a lot of DNFs because I have not been very choosy. NetGalley's ARCs are so easy to download. This year, I hope to be a bit more discriminating. Or not. :)

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