Medlem: bibliojim

Hi Jim. just thought I'd let you know that my copy of 'The Seventh Heart'arrived today. Not sure how long it will be before it reaches the top of my TBR pile though! ;-)

inlägg gjort av kehs vid 9:28 am (EST) Dec 10, 2009

Sure. You are quite welcome. :)

inlägg gjort av bluetyson vid 2:26 am (EST) Nov 8, 2009

i don't think we're in any sort of major disagreement here ;-) Tolkien's glory and genius was the creation of a fully formed physically/geographically plausible and culturally/anthropologically complex world wherein the settings(landscape, language, history) are every bit as important as the plot and characters (go through our library and - while no where near the obsessiveness of same fanboys/girls - we DO have a good bit of "extraneous" books, essays and the like.) I reread the LoTR frequently, and, as i imagine many reader do, have my favorite themes/characters, and other i can pass over, knowing the basics pretty well and not caring about rehashing the minutiae again. My "sin" is skimming lightly over the major epic - Sam and Frodo's journey to hell and back again; whereas I get totally caught up w/ the dysfunctional royal family squabbles, the whole Rohirrim saga, the "other" hobbits - contrary to many fans and critics, i find the whole Faramir/Eowin story very moving.

Certainly JK could have benefited from editing; but i think the same problem emerges w/ any author whose sales go far beyond genre expectations. Neal Stephenson seems to have escaped editor free ever since "Snow Crash" - while i do like "Cryptonomicron" it could have been 20% shorter and I got really tired of the Baroque cycle. I was relieved that I DID enjoy the lengthy Anathem a great deal - all those pages provided social and individual background that (akin to Tolkien) enhanced rather than detracted from my interest.

In re YA books - again the "big" series tend to get away scot free; but there're many amazingly good and tautly constructed books as well. Play around in our library w/ the YA tag and i might be able to help in deciding whether a book might appeal. From the brief (97pp), beautifully written WWII gem, "I had seen Castles" by Cynthia Rylant; to the Australian derived fantasy universes created by Garth Nix in the Sabriel series or Isabelle Carmody's "Obernewtyn" sequence; and back to the delicately traced, emotionally fraught later "non-sf" books by Margaret Mahy ("Memory" delineates the friendship growing up between an old woman falling into Alhzheimer's and a young man who wanders the urban NZed nights trying to cope with his sister's death.)

Cheers!~ and off to work i go.

Delighted to read your review of "Alchemy of Stone" - i keep trying to get the "sci-fi group read" LT group to pick it as I think, unlike several books picked so far, it's both very well written and has, within, a relatively slight volume, a number of themes well worthy of thought and discussion.

I like much of Gaiman very much indeed - but happen to think he's at his very best when he's at his most visual. So, for me, the Sandman series, Stardust and Neverwhere (which started life as a BBC tv series) are my favorites - w/ Sandman possibly achieving "greatness." I generally enjoy, but am not nearly as enthralled by his straight novels.

Hmm..we could set up our own little LT group if a reasonable title and "statement of purpose" could be decided. (only half kidding - i'd enjoy others sharing thoughts on these and similar matters - but don't want to find myself in a group where I'm either annoyed by constant OTopic postings, or, a group that has a LOT to offer - too much, really, for me to successfully follow (club read). And, as politically inclined as I am, i'd rather not have book talk become shredded into political talk - unless a book invites a political response - Melissa Scott's complexly constructed SF social worlds in books like "Dreaming Metal," "Shadow Man" or "Night Sky Mine"(the last being YA) all of which feature gendered based sociological settings - along w/ the usual religion/technology/space opera tropes. As much as i like some of Le Guin's earlier "anthropological" SF books, i think Scott, when she's on, does the same sort of thing, but better; extremely well thought through cultural environments are her among her many strengths.

inlägg gjort av bobmcconnaughey vid 8:45 am (EST) Nov 6, 2009

in re Rowling - often(for many people) good stories and character development + cliffhangers can overcome serious problems in style*. Childrens and YA fiction being one of our pleasures (I grew up on the "classic" in the 50s since my mom would order books SHE knew about from Blackwells in England; my wife not no much - everything in the local public library was her purview though). And there's no question that both the quantity and quality of childrens/YA lit has mushroomed extraordinarily since we were kids. One of the major pleasures of having a kid who loved/loves reading (helped along by no tv..bad parents..). If you flip though our tags - you'll note a quite a large # of kids and YA books. Among other sources - i got to know the kiddie/YA lit specialist at UNC's library school a bit when i picked up a side degree en route to my geography degrees,. Sadly, she died quite young and over the year before she died a large number of her books went into the used bookstores in Chapel Hill and I certainly took advantage~!

*as best i can tell by an N of 1.5 some other very popular writers get by very well by creating exotic characters and then creating repetitive pulp romance novels in somewhat non-traditional guise (Ann Rice - to a not so egregious extent Stephen King come immediately to mind). I did try to see what so many readers like about her books - and failed - I could see where King has something to sell, just not to me, especially - He's actually a pretty good analogue for Rowling in re novels ostensibly of adults. (My sister's been an AP reporter in NOrleans forever and got to interview and write something of a snarky interview w/ Ms Rice when she made her big reveal that .....NO MORE VAMPIRES; since the the AP has editors, the final review was less obviously sarcastic than Janet's initial takes) And there are some, like Arturo Perez Reverte who often (though not every time out) manage to write very well and tell best selling stories (at least in Spain, i don't know how well his books sell in translation).

inlägg gjort av bobmcconnaughey vid 8:35 am (EST) Nov 5, 2009

I've just heard/read a few interviews with him post His Dark Materials where he comes across as a bit, i dunno, almost jealous of the success of Harry Potter and unnecessarily hateful towards CS Lewis. He's a better writer than JK Rowling and not as didactic (though he inclines that ways,esp. in the 2nd volume of the series) as Lewis but both have their own well earned place in English lit. Maybe he's cooled off some since the last time i heard him on the bbc, but he seems a bit of a pillpot at times. There's nothing wrong with being a first rate story teller (Rowling). And i'm sure he's made a lot more money than CS Lewis did off of the Narnia or his SF books, which were surely his most popular (not that i've checked, mind you!)

inlägg gjort av bobmcconnaughey vid 12:39 am (EST) Nov 5, 2009

I think you're right - not even the majority of the essays - but certainly some of the better essays assess HOW Pullman's tries to pull off his audacious goal. And, as much as I've enjoyed and appreciated Pullman's writing (long before His Dark Materials) he seems to be someone i'm glad who's in the world, writing but that i might rather not want to know personally.

inlägg gjort av bobmcconnaughey vid 6:18 am (EST) Nov 4, 2009

Hey Jim-
I actually just reread "Navigating the Golden Compass" and enjoyed (most) of it a lot. It's collection of essays on various themes/topics that are both embedded in "His Dark Materials", as well as critiques and evaluations by the various authors of how well Pullman accomplished his various (perceived and explicit) tasks. Sarah Zettel's essay on how Pullman manipulated classic fantasy tropes to his own purposes is one of the best; Michael Chabon's piece (first printed in the NY Review of Books) examining Pullman's use of metaphor and his invention of "demons and dust" is very good as well. Actually the only really lame essay in the book is one by Don Debrandt(?) on the use of psychoactive substances in the series - almost all the others have something of interest/value to offer. Some are very positive, a couple quite critical but w/ the exception of two, i can think of off the top of my head, all have substance. Given that there are 18 essays in all, that's doing pretty well.

Given an interest in His Dark Materials, i'd give the set 4.5 or maybe even 5 stars..If one didn't esp. care for the series, there'd be little point in reading the essays.

inlägg gjort av bobmcconnaughey vid 1:05 am (EST) Nov 4, 2009

Hi Jim, thankyou for such an interesting post and for taking the time to tell me that you enjoyed my review. I do also love Charles de Lint and only discovered him thanks to a Canadian friend who regularly sends me copies of his books. I'm sure I have War for the Oakes but if I'm wrong then it'll be on my daughter's bookshelves. I know one of us has it. Lol! You've peaked my curiosity about Marina Fitch and I have tracked down copies of both of her books. Your favourite I can only find from an American seller but that's okay. I'll just have to wait a little longer for delivery. It's not as if I'm in danger of running out of reading material any time soon! I'm also going to get hold of her other book titled The Border as that is available here in the UK. Both are scarce on the ground now so I better place my orders fast. Thanks for the heads up. :-)

I'm not sure how I got into receiving ARCs. Some I get by applying to publishers, some I get from taking part in Amazon Vine and some come direct from the authors after they've read my reviews. I've had a few from authors on this site!

Thanks for such a great chat.
Take care, kehs.

inlägg gjort av kehs vid 7:02 am (EST) Nov 3, 2009

Oh, also, there's a details page :-

http://www.librarything.com/work/6411057...

For example for a recent story - see under 'book information' and it tells you it is from 'The Gardens Of Tantalus and Other Delusions'.

Sometimes there won't be a publisher - lots of this may well have 'freesf' links in the review section, where you can click to go and find the story.

inlägg gjort av bluetyson vid 2:52 am (EST) Nov 3, 2009

I likely will write some more about favorite stories one day. Maybe! Still got a lot to read, though.

However, the publication I can help you with.

Those are entered as tags. E.g if you see a particular story, look at the tags and it will tell you where it came from - if it has too many tags for it to be obvious, then find the copy in my library, and the tags will tell you.

If you look at my tags overall you can pick one that looks like an anthology - e.g. hard sf renaissance, and find all that are in that.

Writing something detailed on every story is impossible. 40,000 x 200 say 8 million words of 100 books. :)

bt

inlägg gjort av bluetyson vid 2:48 am (EST) Nov 3, 2009

Hi, Jim. Thanks for your kind words. Unfortunately, I have no news about new novels at present, though I am waiting to hear back from a publisher about the last one I wrote.

I do still write short fiction, but not even as much of that - too busy making a living as a bookseller and writing tutor.

Best,

Stephen Dedman

inlägg gjort av StephenDedman vid 4:13 am (EST) Nov 2, 2009

Hey, Jim,
Thanks for the note. Actually I'm a slow reader, I just read all the time. Years of dogged persistence result in large read collection. :)
I like your books, too. I'm going to fave your collection.

I see you went surfing and found my writing site. I just updated my urls here so my other websites will be easier to find. You (and others who read this) can see updates about my writing at my fiction website.

Re Truthsayer and that trilogy: the trilogy is on hold, probably will not be continued by Tor, however, I am exploring alternatives to get the rest of the series in print. It's not a quick process though. Go ahead and read the book.

inlägg gjort av Teramis vid 12:06 pm (EST) Oct 30, 2009

Wow, thanks for the recommendations - I appreciate that you took the time to post all that info! I'll definitely add your choices to my list. I've got a page and a half (pretty small type!) to take with me to the bookstore. The long list has also caused me to renew my long unused library card since I'm spending so much money on books lately. Even if most of what I buy are used.

I do like Nelson DeMille. Gold Coast is my favorite of the ones I've read. The sequel, The Gate House, is not quite so interesting after reading the first one.

I'm finding Cyteen rough going, but I'm still under 100 pages. I hope it catches my interest soon, otherwise the 600+ pages will be pretty daunting!

Thanks again. I will be looking for some of your suggestions and will post my impressions in the original thread.

inlägg gjort av etrainer vid 1:09 pm (EST) Oct 16, 2009

i thought that Iolanda hoped to use the "making" to ensure that Loharri would end up on the side of the revolutionaries, maybe? (though she hoped that his background, growing up in the orphanage, would suffice).

inlägg gjort av bobmcconnaughey vid 3:06 pm (EST) Jan 4, 2009

i agree about The Alchemy of Stone. Quite an extraordinary book and, i thought, both very well written and very humane. The author's empathy for all her characters was esp. notable. SF is rarely so emotionally gripping. (neither is fantasy, for that matter)

inlägg gjort av bobmcconnaughey vid 6:52 pm (EST) Dec 31, 2008

Hi Jim --

I just logged in to LibraryThing for the first time in months and saw your comment on my profile. Thanks for the note, and I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner!

You asked about the Bloomsbury Group and how they knew one another. Several of them were siblings, and most of the rest were students at Cambridge who met because they were either there at the same time or members of a secret society called "The Apostles". The group cohered when several of them were living in a shared house in the Bloomsbury area of London (thus the name people often used disapprovingly to label them), and they continued on as friends and/or lovers for the rest of their lives. Some of their names are quite obscure now, but a few are more famous now than they were then. (Virginia Woolf (novelist) and John Maynard Keynes (economist) are the two I'm thinking of.) All of them were articulate and valued correspondence a great deal, which accounts for the huge reams of primary written material biographers and historians have at their disposal.

They were free-thinking aesthetes at a time when those weren't so common. (Oscar Wilde's imprisonment for sodomy was fresh in the memory of the several homosexual members of the group.) My interest in their lives has a lot in common with my interest in feminist science fiction and WisCon in particular!

About that stomach flu... I felt a little poorly one afternoon at the con, but it passed quickly. The many victims had my sympathy.

inlägg gjort av therem vid 10:05 pm (EST) Oct 27, 2008

I'm glad you like David's book and will look into his others. He's married to my niece and I expect those signed copies I have to be worth something someday!!!!

I got into Andrew Greeley because of his sc-fi novels, one of which is called God Game. His "Irish" series is great as far as I am concerned. The couple, she's from Ireland, set about to solve two mysteries (usually), one in their time and one from the past. Try one, you may like it. I find the library is a good place to "try out" books and authors. You ight even try another Anne McCaffrey that way - you never know what just might hook you!

I love YA books and one of the best series is definitely Harry Potter. I also love the Warriors series that you mentioned. It's published my HarperCollins the company I used to work for as a Customer Service Representative. I was one of those people bookstores call to order books or complain about a shipment!

Colleen McCullough is great. Have you tried her series on Caesar?

inlägg gjort av koalamom vid 10:55 am (EST) Jul 28, 2008

I noticed that you have read Twilight of the Fifth Sun by David Sakmyster. I am, now, the only other person in LT who has done so. I hope you liked it. David has a lot of promise and I recommend you try his other books as well.

I have just joined LibraryThing and am enjoying it immensely.

inlägg gjort av koalamom vid 12:36 pm (EST) Jul 26, 2008

Hello there Jim,

Sorry for the long delay in responding. I do not check my profile page that often since I stopped updating it with currently reading information. Time Spike included a lot of talk about Grantville and the "events" that happened there. The first book I read by Flint is called 1632 and involves the West Virginia city/town of Grantville being sent back in time through some unknown means to 1632 in the middle of the 100 Years War, and in the middle of the Germanies (not Germany at the time). I rather enjoy Flint's alternate history books, and they are on the same "entertaining" level as Time Spike and less of a "serious" type of fiction. But then I like entertaining. Other than mention of Grantville, Time Spike was a stand-alone book, of the same universe as the 1632 series of books, but not necessary to read the others first (though all that talk about the events of Grantville and the cover-up might be confusing without having read the other books). If you liked Time Spike, I highly recommend the 1632 series of books, but also highly recommend reading them in order. If you liked the trail of tears element, Flint also has an alternate history series called Trail of Glory that is interesting. Not part of the 1632 universe, though. It is a straight forward alternate history series without bringing in people of the future being thrown around time.

Politics/Politically conservative aspect: A well-written book will be read by me regardless of politics. The "poppycock" in Time Spike did not bother me. Wish you had asked me at the time, as I might have a deeper response, but I can't really recall it now. I did just finish a book that is in a series that involves the rise of a Democrat President (the Will Lee series by Stuart Woods). Heavy-handed politics of any stripe can be annoying. I do not recall either of the Flint series or the Woods series books to be too heavy-handed.

I really enjoy the books by James Rollins. I received the next Rollins book through the Early Reviewer program on here. As I knew I'd be writing a review I looked a lot deeper into the book and into Rollins. That lead me to realize that Rollins (aka Jim Czajkowski) first book was actually [Wit'ch Fire] under the name James Clemens. So I acquired all of the Clemens books and over a very short time read all of the Banned and Banished series (the Witch series). I am not a big fantasy reader, but I do occasionally read fantasy and enjoy fantasy. The series looked to have been plotted out from the beginning, with all five books seeming to be five volumes of one book, as opposed to some fantasy series that appear to just be a series of connected books that were continued just to keep getting paid to write. I actually came to the conclusion that I like Clemens books more than the books written under the name Rollins. It is hard for me to describe the books, to put them into context within fantasy, because I do not normally read fantasy. A lot of magic is used. Each book in the series was interesting and readable, which does not always happen in fantasy series. A lot of the time, fantasy series seem to break down as they continue. The books include elves, giants, orcs, dwarves, witches and sorcerers. I see mention of Tolkien on your profile page. I am not sure if you would like the series more or less because of your enjoyment of Tolkien. I read the Tolkien books, but a real long time ago, so when I read the Clemens books I could see connections between the two series but I could not really recall Tolkien and so just noticed similar themes/creatures in passing. Well I recall Tolkien has the elves cross over the ocean to somewhere else, well Clemens has elves returning after having left across, I believe, the western ocean. Sorry I can't be more helpful. - Mike

inlägg gjort av MikeBriggs vid 2:22 pm (EST) Jun 19, 2008

I actually got my copy of Life on Earth directly from the publisher (four-sep.com). I have no idea anymore where I found out about it to know to go order it from them.

And I do have Greg Bear and Tim Powers in my physical library, but I've still got a long ways to go to finish cataloging everything :)

inlägg gjort av andyhat vid 1:24 am (EST) Jun 1, 2008

Hi, Jim. Glad to hear you've liked some of my books, and very glad to hear that someone has read The Dirty Little Unicorn - we only printed 200 copies!

I've read Caitlin Kiernan's Silk and loved it - so much so that I was a tad disappointed by A Murder of Angels - but I've not yet read Daughter of Hounds. I'm working part-time in an sf/f bookshop, so we should have it in stock, and I'll buy a copy when I have time to read it.

I finished my PhD thesis last year, and recently graduated. The scholarship actually enabled me to keep on with full-time writing (well, almost full time) for another few years. Now I'm teaching the subject, but I still write as much as I get time for - short stories by preference, though I'm about 80% of the way through a new novel at present.

Best,

Dr Stephen Dedman

inlägg gjort av StephenDedman vid 5:51 am (EST) Apr 20, 2008

Thank you for pointing this out. I am aware of this book, and have seen it. The company I work for subscribes to Nature, and I read many of the stories there when they came out. The authors certainly are stellar, and the current ones perhaps even more interesting, because Nature has been trying to find talented newcomers. However, I'm not much of a fan of the extra-short length - seems to me it's too short really to state an sf idea or to do anything with it. I end up admiring the author's cleverness while being relatively unmoved. YMMV of course, and if you like it, you should be sure to check out any sequel as maybe a good way to spot the impressive new writers of the next decade.

inlägg gjort av dukedom_enough vid 9:50 pm (EST) Dec 12, 2007

Thank you for the compliment; please point me to your review of In War Times when you've read it. Maul certainly looks interesting, but I had been thinking of trying her Double Vision first, since I'm trying to keep up better with the newest books. Do you know which might be better?

inlägg gjort av dukedom_enough vid 8:41 am (EST) Dec 5, 2007

Hi Jim!

Sorry for the delay in response time... it's been a hell of a month and I swear (have you ever read "Spirits in the Wires" by Charles de Lint?) that there is some sort of pixie playing on our computer lines because they have been hopping up and down all the time. * whispers: "Very mercurial" *, so as not to upset them if they are listening; which they usually are, those mischeivous pixie ears always pricked & alert to all wanderings and ponderings. So, I've basically been without internet for a month or so.

Anyways, before I respond to the plethora of items in your comment I would firstly like to state that I LOVE your review of "A Case of Mistaken Identity" by L. Timmel Duchamp! I have never even heard of it before, but your review sparked such a vital sense of interest in me that heart-in-hand I immediately rushed for a pen and paper to write down the title, and promptly let the Library Angels (from the German "Wings of Desire" movie) help me make the book's journey to the comfort of my library. I gave you a "thumbs up" on a couple of your reviews, BTW. I would have given you Two Thumbs Ups on that review, if I could have. *chuckle*

OK! Onto the response bit:

"Thanks for adding my library to your 'interesting libraries' list! What was interesting about it?"
What ISN'T interesting about your library? :) You have all sorts of jems and jewels on pages that make my already green eyes a tinge greener with envy! My Egyptian Mau raven kitten Gabriel is jealous, too. He just jumped up onto my lap while I was saying that. He can't type coherently yet (in our language). But he's fluent in cat and says "meow" to you. You can take that any number of ways I suppose. But a greeting, nonetheless. He's a book lover too, he loves the smells of books almost as much as I do! The older the book, the more interesting it becomes, to us both.

"I saw you recently read 'Ruined by Reading: A Life in Books'. What an interesting title! What did you think of it?"
I liked it: short answer. It lagged in a few areas, and didn't talk so much about books as about her life. I much preferred "How Reading Changed My Life" by Anna Quindlen, "Ex Libris" by Anne Fadiman (the famed Clifton Fadiman's daughter) and "So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading" by Sara Nelson. I would heartily recommend all three of those to you without a whit of hesitation. The Lynne Schwartz...? Well, I think it's one I could have passed on. Perhaps because the standards of the above mentioned books puts her book in a slightly harsh perspective. ;)

"Also, I keep noticing 'The Good Fairies of New York' in the book store and am tempted to buy it. How did you like it?"
I loved "the Good Fairies"! Very Gaiman-ish. In Fact, he writes the Intro to it in my copy. Read it one sitting, I did. Very humorous in that dark, satiric way that urban faerie tales can take a shade of. It's the first I've read of Martin Millar's work. But, I'll keep an eye out for his other works now that I've had the pleasure of that one. You should buy it, especially if you keep seeing it: that's a sign in my bibliophiliac mind!! Or maybe a rationalization? lol.

"I read your reviews. They're very nicely done! Really makes me want to read some of those. I loved your review of 'Walking Tour of The Shambles'. I'm going to have to get it."
Thank you!!! Feel free to give them a "Thumbs Up" click on them if you like, it's a nice little ego-stroke that someone else appreciates what you write that I never tire from. I really should write more reviews though, it's just that I have to write them right after I finish the book and if I don't do it Right Then... it somehow slips sideways in my head and is buried under a hearty but lopsided list of things "To Do". *sigh* Ah, the penalties of having such a creative side and yet so scatter-brained at the same time! I am, undisputedly, The Queen of Procrastination. I rule my country with langourous ease and let every being do what they want as long as it isn't what they Have To Do, then that act is strictly forbidden till the Very Last Second. Welcome to my world.

Anyways, enough of this rambling and ink marks on your page. I am off to do things that don't need to be done, just because it's Thursday.

Cheers!
~Pandora~

inlägg gjort av PandorasRequiem vid 5:56 pm (EST) Nov 29, 2007

Great review on Maul! I'll give it a bump up in the queue... :D

inlägg gjort av readhead vid 11:04 am (EST) Nov 29, 2007

Hi Jim. I just finished Arranged Marriage and absolutely loved it. I was so captured by the characters and stories that I was sad to see them end so soon. If you have any other suggestions, please send them my way! Thanks again, Kim

inlägg gjort av thairishgrl vid 8:44 pm (EST) Nov 26, 2007

Hi Jim,
Your review of Arranged Marriage provides a lovely discription, thank you for letting me know you entered one. I am in the last 1/4 of Splendid Suns so I am already anticipating my next read. I can see you have been very busy adding to your catalog! I look forward to reading your other reviews and expanding my reading list. Thanks again! -Kim

inlägg gjort av thairishgrl vid 10:59 am (EST) Oct 19, 2007

Hello there! :)

Thanks for the comment. There is nothing quite so sublime as a comment on one's library from another book-lover to make one's day. Yes, I agree, we do share some lovely books in common! I am a HUGE fan of de Lint's works, and I can see that you are as well. He has such a gift for urban mythic storytelling- his words really make the dance between reality and fantasy and always leave me somewhere inbetween, always a bit adrift in my mind, but the characters live on through my thoughts and ponderings. Neil Gaiman does the same to me. What a brilliant man! One of the few authors I would say is as witty and erudite in person as he is on the page - not something I would easily say about a lot of other authors in the trade.

So, how are you enjoying LThing? Careful, it's addictive! Before you know it you'll be dreaming about ISBN's like the rest of us incurable addicts.

Much bliss & happy reading!
~PandorasRequiem

inlägg gjort av PandorasRequiem vid 3:24 am (EST) Oct 19, 2007

Sorry, Eat Pray, Love is actually by Elizabeth Gilbert. -K

inlägg gjort av thairishgrl vid 11:33 pm (EST) Oct 8, 2007

Hi Jim,
Thanks for the recommendation, I will check it out. I just finished reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Berg and am about to begin A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I seem to have a middle eastern/ Indian theme going on. I actually read Mistress of Spices several years ago and remembered enjoying it but I can't really remember much of the details. It's interesting that it's considered fantasy and science fiction but I understand the rationale. I think there can be a real warmth and humanity to books in this classification that can be overlooked because of the category it falls under, which is unfortunate.

Happy Reading!
Kim

inlägg gjort av thairishgrl vid 11:12 pm (EST) Oct 8, 2007