Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman

Rating: 3
Read for: TBR challenge, short story challenge

After enjoying Neil Gaiman's other short story collection, Smoke and Mirror, my hopes were perhaps too high and I was a little disappointed with this collection. Just as mysterious, dark and macabre as its predecessor, I found the stories in Fragile Things a little less involving, I just didn't become interested in many of the characters he had created. Although I generally like Gaiman's writing, I felt that I stood apart from most of these stories, they brushed by me without leaving much of an impact. It also felt like these stories had been thrown together with little thought to how they might affect each other, thus I found that they did not blend well, there was no smooth transition.

Having said all that, there were a few stories that stood out:

A Study in Emerald - A Sherlock Holmes-esque tale of mystery and murder in London with a dark side.

The Faery Reel - A short poem that Gaiman himself said, is enormous fun to read aloud.

October in the Chair - Storytelling from the months of the year. An entertaining story within a story.

Going Wodwo - A short exploration of becoming a wild man of the woods.

Bitter Grounds - I really didn't like this story. Well, it creeped me out, which was probably the desired effect! A tale of being lost and found and of things happening for a reason..

Other People - A tale of hell. Loved it! "Time is fluid here".

Harlequin Valentine - Based on a sculpture by artist Lisa Snellings, this is a tale of unrequited love that left me feeling so indescribably sad.

Monarch of the Glen - This was an interesting spin on the tale of Beowulf, but my appreciation of it would certainly have been greater had I previously read Gaiman's American Gods, as it features the main character, Shadow. I enjoyed it nonetheless and it actually made me more interested in reading American Gods.

Perhaps I expected too much from this collection, or they will improve upon revisting them, but it will not deter me from reading more of Gaiman's work.

Other blog reviews:
Melody's Reading Corner

Manga Challenge

This year Rhinoa is hosting her very first challenge..introducing us to the intriguing and creative world of manga! I am quite new to graphic novels in general, yet enjoy the odd anime movie now and then, so will take this opportunity to try out a few manga novels.

The rules are to read at least 6 manga novels in 2009 (cross overs with other challenges are fine as is reading more than 6!). Sign up with Mister Linky on the challenge page and keep your eye on Rhinoa's blog for a challenge post each month with a Mister Linky for your reviews. Books do not need to be selected in advance, just fill them in as you go if it's easier.

As I know very little about manga, I will be selecting books as I go, probably from perusing Rhinoa's collection! The Shakespeares look particularly interesting. Happy reading!

Challenge with Rhinoa

So my plan to do very few challenges this year is off to flying start as I have succumbed to yet another...This is different however. After getting back from a short holiday in Malta, I spent New Year with my best friend and fellow book/stationery nut, Rhinoa, mostly chilling out, playing with the kitties and talking about books. We are always recommending and buying books for each other, and this year she suggested doing a similar challenge that she partakes with Nymeth, choosing 5 books for the other to read. This turned out to be harder than either of us thought. My list for Rhinoa was well over 20 and I had to be quite ruthless to cut it down to only 5...and they are:

The Gift -Alison Croggon (my favourite fantasy book and I've been harping on about it for months!)
Lamb - Christopher Moore (if a book ever gets you close to wetting yourself with laughter, its this one!)
The Hours - Michael Cunningham (great book, great film, you made need a hankie..)
The Secret History - Donna Tartt (stunningly original debut)
Cry of the Icemark - Stuart Hill (fabulous kids fantasy romp with vampires, giant snow leopards and werewolves, and one of the books I inflicted on Rhinoa for her birthday this year!)

Rhinoa has selected the following 5 for me:

The Happy Prince - Oscar Wilde
Moon Called - Patricia Briggs
Piece by Piece - Tori Amos
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
The Last Unicorn - Peter S Beagle

I'm really looking forward to this challenge as we know each others tastes scarily well and Rhinoa is very well read. I'm especially looking forward to Lolita. Watch this space...

Review of the Year 2008

I actually celebrate the beginning of my new year at the solstice, but as seems to be the tradition here, I'm posting a little review of my reading in 2008. I'll try and be brief! I've been blogging for almost 9 months and am completely hooked. I read 57 books this year, which is a vast improvement on 2007 and hope to whoop 2008's backside in 2009! Many thanks to all you fabulous bloggers out there for providing much entertainment and many many excellent book recommendations.

Favourite Reads 2008
In no particular order. I'm including rereads here because I loved these books so much better the second time around!

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
The Gift - Alison Croggon (reread)
Persuasion - Jane Austen
The Singing by Alison Croggon
The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
The Ice Queen - Alice Hoffman
The Black Jewels Trilogy - Anne Bishop (reread)
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Books Read 2008

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Seeing Redd - Frank Beddor
The Gift - Alison Croggon
The Riddle - Alison Croggon
The Crow - Alison Croggon
The Last Family in England - Matt Haig
The Solitude of Thomas Cave - Georgina Harding
The Innocent Mage - Karen Miller
The Awakened Mage - Karen Miller
Persuasion - Jane Austen
The Warlock Lord - Terry Brooks
The Druids' Keep - Terry Brooks
The Secret of the Sword - Terry Brooks
Isolde: Queen of the Western Isle - Rosalind Miles
The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
A Perfect Day for Bananafish - J.D. Salinger
The Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
The Three Incestuous Sisters - Audrey Niffenegger
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
The Fall - Garth Nix
The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Danny Wallace and the Centre of the Universe - Danny Wallace
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
Snakehead - Anthony Horowitz
Here, There Be Dragons - James A. Owen
Big Fish - Daniel Wallace
A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Ice Queen - Alice Hoffman
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
Snow - Tove Jansson
Last Battle of the Icemark - Stuart Hill
The Singing - Alison Croggon
Brisingr - Christopher Paolini
Tangled Webs - Anne Bishop
Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman
The Vampire Diaries: Vol I & II - L.J. Smith
The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Stephen King
The Black Jewels Trilogy - Anne Bishop
Maus I & II - Art Speigelman
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
The Ebony Hand - Rose Tremain
The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J.K.Rowling
Watchmen - Alan Moore
My Daughter, The Fox - Jackie Kay
Nocturnes - John Connolly
War for the Oaks - Emma Bull
Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

Here's to some fabulous reading in 2009!

War for the Oaks - Emma Bull

Rating: 4
Read for: TBR challenge

Another book that seemed to have passed me by, this was given to me by a bookloving friend who after I gave him The Book of Lost Things, thought it would be right up my alley. How right he was.

War for the Oaks is an odd book that seems to have joined if not begun the urban fantasy category of books. The story of a rock musician who becomes embroiled in the battle between the two realms of Faerie, whilst attempting to reorganise her own shambles of a life. War for the Oaks is most definitely set in the modern day, in Minneapolis nonetheless, with rock music pervading every chapter.

Eddi McCandry quits her rock band and breaks up with her boyfriend, only to discover that she has been chosen to act as mortal overseer of the battle between the Faerie Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Until the battle commences, Eddi is assigned the phouka, a shapeshifting prankster faerie, as her bodyguard, to keep her safe from the evil Unseelie Court and its ruler, the Queen of Air and Darkness. Eddi finds the phouka insufferable and more than once it occurs to her to flee him and his protection, leaving behind the responsibilities of her role in the battle. But it becomes clear that the phouka has other motives for his involvement in Eddi's life.

While awaiting the battle, Eddie forms another band with her best friend and drummer, Carla, and meets the quiet Hedge, and the mysterious Willy Silver who she finds herself irresistably drawn to. The theme of music runs throughout the story and becomes vital in the final battle between the Courts. The phouka is probably my favourite character. Annoying yet chivalrous, deadly and seductive, you can never really guess what he will do next.

I did not love this book from the start, it took me a while to sink into the story. Bull's writing is not dazzling, but she has a musician's gift with words, evocative and intense, slowly drawing you into this little world she has created. I would be interested to hear her music. But what I loved most about this book is all the nods to British Folklore: phouka, glaistig, brownie and redcaps. The Seelie and Unseelie Courts are Faerie as I remember from folklore, but transported into the modern world of the United States. The meld of the two is not seemless, and I was left with many questions, but it is most definitely an entertaining and gripping story. I'll certainly never look at a rock gig the same way ever again!

Other blog reviews:
Valentina's Room

Challenges 2008

I thought I should probably post an update on the challenges I participated in this year, as I am still quite new to blogging and my "year" began in April. I completed the TBR Challenge, Short Story Challenge, RIP III Challenge and tl;dr Challenge. I've enjoyed all the challenges but they have definitely taught me that I am not a reader who likes having fixed choices. My reading is fluid, I never know what I will be reading next and find it very difficult to plan ahead. Thus I will allow my reading to be what it wants next year. I am limiting myself to challenges that have smaller or unfixed expectations, or ones that will introduce me to new genres.

Having said that, I read a lot of wonderful books this year! My favourites from challenges were Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Crimson Petal and the White, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Rebecca. My least favourites, Clan of the Cave Bear and The Gunslinger.

Thanks to all those who hosted challenges, it looks like a lot of fun and I hope to do so myself in the future! Happy reading!

Details in my original post. This was a good way of getting through some of my massive to be read pile which is growing far too quickly, I can't keep up! Books read:

Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman
Nocturnes - John Connelly
Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean Auel
The Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber
Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman
The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke

War for the Oaks - Emma Bull

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Stephen King

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

Details in my original post. I didn't quite complete this challenge as I couldn't get hold of Snows of Kilimanjaro and didn't ever seem to be in the mood for Kafka's Metamorphosis! I enjoyed reading more short stories than usual, though I stil prefer novels, as they give me far more time with the characters. Stories read:

The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke (collection)

A Perfect Day for Bananafish - JD Salinger

Snow - Tove Jansson

The Ebony Hand - Rose Tremain

My Daughter, The Fox - Jackie Kay

The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter

Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman (collection)

Nocturnes - John Connolly (collection)

additional title:

Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman (collection)

Details in my orginal post. I really enjoyed all these titles and am grateful for all the great recommendations! Books read:

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer

The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Details in my original post. Brilliant challenge, I'll definitely participate next year! Books read:

Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Stephen King

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Dewey's Books Challenge - reading list

Oops. I chose my list but completely forgot to post it. Well, it was quite hard, seeing as Dewey read and reviewed so many fabulous books over the years, but I have decided to go with the second challenge option and read 5 books over all 6 years of her reviews. Well, I've actually gone with 6 books, as its possible I may not be able to get hold of one of two of them (Into the Forest and The Lost Years of Merlin have proved elusive!). So, the list:

How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff
Looking for Alaska - John Green
The Lost Years of Merlin - T.A. Barron
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Vol 1 - M.T.Anderson
Into the Forest - Jean Heglund
The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett