Sci Fi and Fantasy

Going Postal

2015, Books in Bed, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

So, I’m not a Terry Pratchett fan. And, I really really don’t like Discworld very much at all. I know. Some of you are confused by this. Some of you just cannot believe that can be true. Some of you would probably like to argue with me about why I MUST be a Terry Pratchett fan. Some of you are probably feeling physical pain at the idea that I just don’t like Discworld.

It’s ok. I understand why you love Pratchett and Discworld. I support your feelings, completely.

I have a lot of respect for you folks and even greater respect for Terry Pratchett (may he rest in peace.) That’s why I went ahead and grabbed Going Postal from the library display of his books the day he died. It was the least I could do. Really.

I picked this one because a) I’d never read it b) I liked the cover c) I knew there was some movie or TV series or something made from it and I figured I could watch a little to stem my boredom, should it occur, while reading the book.

Turns out, it’s not easy to watch Going Postal online without paying actual dollars (not stamps) for it. So when I got bogged down in all the words and all of the … Pratchetty Discworldness of it, I watched a trailer and was amused and went back to reading the book.

I didn’t hate it. I don’t hate Pratchett or Discworld, I just don’t love either of them. I didn’t love it. I was amused in places. Several places. I don’t feel compelled to find more Discworld books I’ve missed (which is most of them, probably) or re-read any that I’ve read in the past. I am also not sorry I spent a few nights reading it. I also kind of wish I still had my childhood stamp collection and am glad I never got into pins. Also, Golloms are cool.

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The Boys of Blur

2015, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

First… OMG I read a book. A real live book with pages and stuff! Yippee! It had been so long, I wasn’t sure I actually liked reading anymore. (Kidding. Mostly.)

Anyway, Boys of Blur is from the Cybils shortlist and it was good. Also creepy, as books set in the swamps of Florida can often be. It was a quick read and exactly right for my still not quite back from vacation/caught up at work attention span.

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Evil Librarian

2015, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

Who can resist a book called Evil Librarian? Not me, that’s for sure.

It was cute. YA cute. It was also a little slow for me. The first half of the book just slogged along, which it shouldn’t have since a lot did happen. It just wasn’t compelling. Or maybe I was just tired from a really hectic work week? I dunno. It was good. I didn’t hate it. Not sure whether I’ll read the next two books (there have to be two more because, well — I can’t imagine there wouldn’t be because of the deal with the demon…)

Oh, the book also made me want to see Sweeney Todd so there’s that. lol

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St. Nick (x2)

2015, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Do you find yourself reading books that are completely unrelated but have odd connections between them? It doesn’t just happen to us, does it?

Like the audio book, St. Nick, that I grabbed from Amazon just because I didn’t have any other audio books and it seemed like it would be a fun listen in the car (even though Christmas just ended) and the Sandman Slim #6, The Getaway God, with the very evil Saint Nick character. Never in a million years would have expected a connection between those two books but there you go. It was also a little disconcerting to be reading them both at the same time. One St Nick was super good and the other so very not good. Very weird.

Anyway, I loved both books…

St Nick — a depressed and struggling cop turned mall Santa is just as you’d expect. The magic of Christmas etc. etc. etc. It was awesome.

The Getaway God, #6 in the Sandman Slim series, was just as awesome (maybe more awesome than some of the other books in the middle of the series) as you’d expect. Stark saves the world (again) and sorts out all of the broken Gods (and Lucifers, for that matter.) The only downside for me with a Sandman Slim novel is the lack of chapters. I need chapters. Why does Kadrey hate chapters? Hmph.

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Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches

2015, Books in Bed, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Women /

I love Cherie Priest. Loved Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches. It was excellent. Creepy, but excellent. I’m interested in the fact that I keep seeing it as “book one” — what the heck is going to be book two? I guess I’ll find out, eventually, right? Oh, I see — not a sequel, Chapelwood. Nice. Can’t wait!

If you love Cthulhu, you’ll want to read this.

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The Boy at the End of the World

2014, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I have no idea how The Boy at the End of the World ended up in my library bag. So weird. It’s an older book, so it wasn’t from me just randomly surfing the new arrivals stack or anything like that. I can’t remember seeing it mentioned in a recent blog post. It just… randomly made its way to me and that’s awesome.

It was really good. I didn’t want to put it down. And, that was only in part due to the appearance of mutant prairie dogs. MUTANT PRAIRIE DOGS.

I really enjoyed it and the only sad thing is that there’s no sequel. Wah! I wanted more stories about Fisher, Protein, Click, and Zapper!

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Jim Hensen’s Labyrinth: The Novelization

2014, Books in Bed, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Don’t ask me why I impulsively tossed Labyrinth: The Novelization into my library bag. Nostalgia probably. Or maybe I’d seen some weird buzzfeed quiz that pushed me over the edge. Whatever. I did it. I read it. I almost enjoyed it. Sort of.

The novelization isn’t as good as the movie. The drawings and notes in the back were the best part. I also found myself wanting to watch Labyrinth again. Maybe when all of the kids are home in a couple of weeks, that would be fun.

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2 Awesome Non-Cybil YA Books

2014, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Steampunk, Women /

Since I can see the end of my Cybils shortlist challenge tunnel, it seemed like a good idea to reserve some of the new books in YA series I’ve started but hadn’t quite kept up with.

First, the third book in the Cahill Witch series, Sisters’ Fate turned out to be better than I expected. After a rough few pages when I barely remembered what the series was about, I settled in and really enjoyed it. I’m not a big fan of Cate, which is too bad since she’s the narrator — but I love all of the other characters and eventually found myself appreciating Cate, too.

And, the third book in the Finishing School series, Waistcoats & Weaponry was possibly the best book in the series. I need some sort of family tree thingy though to see where all of the tie-ins to the Soulless series are. Some are obvious, some are less so (particularly since I read the Soulless books so long ago.) I also need another book in the series — quickly. This one was so much fun.

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