• “Angels Fall” by Nora Roberts. I just wasn’t in the right mood for it.
• “Gone” by Michael Grant. Could not get into it.
• “Darkship Thieves” by Sarah A. Hoyt. Was really looking forward to reading it, and then absolutely could not relate to the heroine.
• “The Veil of Gold” by Kim Wilkins. Ended up skimming it. Had some issues with the Russian and the writing style.
• “Heir To The Shadows” by Anne Bishop. I kept trying to read it, and then something would come up, and eventually I ran out of renewals at the library. Will definitely try again, since I greatly enjoyed “Daughter of the Blood.”

I have around 130 books on my “Want to Read” list at my friend’s library, another 80 at my library, 20 that have not yet been released, and 50 that are not in either library. These days, if a book does not interest me in the first 50-100 pages, it gets DNF’ed. Sad but true – so many books, so little time…

To add insult to injury, my book-reading experience in the last couple of months have been blah. Behold the 2011 evidence so far, sorted by category but without any particular order within the category. Most of the DNFs and Blehs happened in the last couple of months:

DNF
First Grave on the Right, Darynda Jones
A Bad Day for Pretty, Sophie Littlefield
I am J, Cris Beam
The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, Mayra Calvani
Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater
Dead Witch Walking, Kim Harrison
Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase
Fledgling, Octavia Butler
Bloodshot, Cherie Priest
The Death of the Necromancer, Martha Wells
Just the Sexiest Man Alive, Julie James

Meh
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, David Sedaris
Wither, Lauren DeStefano
Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern
Naked Heat, Richard Castle
Zombies vs. Unicorns, edited by Holly Black
The Desert of Souls, Howard Andrew Jones

OK – had a good time reading them
Trust Me on This, Jennifer Crusie
Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare
The Broken Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Charlaine Harris
Wheel of the Infinite, Martha Wells
Aftertime, Sophie Littlefield
Soul Screamers (Books 1 & 2), Rachel Vincent

Good – will buy a copy if I see it at Half-Price Books
Moon Over Soho, Ben Aaronovitch
The Ghost and the Goth, Stacey Kade
Ash, Malinda Lo
The City in the Lake, Rachel Neumeier
The Demon Trapper’s Daughter, Jana Oliver
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, Alison Goodman
The Moorehawke Trilogy, Celine Kiernan
The Curse of the Wendigo, Rick Yancey
Sandman Slim, Richard Kadrey
House of Many Ways, Diana Wynne Jones
The Cloud Roads, Martha Wells
Izzy Spellman Mysteries, Lisa Lutz
The Replacement, Brenna Yovanoff
Daughter of the Blood, Anne Bishop
I Am Not A Serial Killer, Dan Wells
The Hallowed Hunt, Lois Mcmaster Bujold
Chaos Walking (Books 1 & 2), Patrick Ness

Very Good – will pay full retail price if I have to
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks
Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch
Treachery in Death, J.D. Robb
Fever Series, Karen Marie Moning

Ig Perrish does something terrible while drunk, and when he wakes up, he has horns on his head. When he talks to people, they start saying what they really think (and trying to act on their inner thoughts).

The novel alternates between the past, where Ig and his girlfriend Merrin are happy together, and the present, where Merrin has been dead for a year and everybody believes Ig is the one who killed her. The book explores the mystery of who killed Merrin and why Ig is now Satan Jr.

The good: “Horns” is well-written, and raises interesting questions about the nature of good and evil, the (frequent) hypocrisy of the so-called “good people,” and how sometimes evil does good. Ig is a tragic hero, but there is humor, too.

The not-so-good: psychopathic bad guy; Merrin’s reasons for breaking up with Ig; and the overall feeling that the book was a little too long.

Joe Hill is definitely an author to watch, but unfortunately “Horns” was a bit of a miss for me.

Horns by Joe Hill
Publication Date: 2010 (US)
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
Source: Public Library
Rating: 3 stars (OK)

The book is a collection of fables, with animals doing cruel, stupid, and pathetic things that humans do. There is a mouse blinded by unconditional love, self-involved storks, selfish bear, holier-than-though lab rat. Unfortunately, Sedaris is no Aesop. He bludgeons the reader with the message of how bad human beings are – no subtlety there, and very little humor or hope.

I will try other books by David Sedaris, but this one was too misanthropic for my taste.

★★
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
Publication Date: September 2010 (US)
Pages: 159 (Hardcover)
Source: Public Library
Rating: 2 stars (Bad)

“Smart Bitches, Trashy Books”‘s Sarah made a post about Old-Skool Favorites and asked who wanted to join her in re-reading their oldest favorites. Well, since I have two diaper boxes of romance novels I am not sure I want to keep, I am in. This is not a formal challenge, but it should be fun.

And then I found out that I somehow missed Book Chick City’s 100 Books In A Year Reading Challenge 2011. I am pretty sure I can do that one, even though it means reading 2 books per week. Wish me luck!

I read Book 1 of The Moorehawke Trilogy, “The Poison Throne,” a few weeks ago, but haven’t gotten around to reviewing it yet. It was an OK read, but I started to wonder what all the fuss was about. Book 2, “The Crowded Shadows,” put my doubts to rest.

This is a road travel book. Wynter Moorehawke, the 15-year-old protagonist, is searching for Prince Alberon, the boy she grew up with who now is a threat to the throne, in an attempt to figure out what’s behind their enlightened king’s turning back to despotic ways. She is quickly reunited with her love interest Christian and Prince Razi, and together they make their way to Alberon’s camp. On the way they meet the terrifying Loup-Garou warriors and the Merrons, Christian’s adopted people. More character back-story and history is revealed, and tensions mount.

Like so many other reviewers, I loved the relationships Ms. Kiernan created. Razi and Christopher’s friendship, the romance between Christopher and Wynter, the brother/sister relationship of Wynter and Razi, are so very real. The secondary Merron characters, especially Solmundr, Ashkr, and Ulfnaor, are complex and have well-realized motivations and personalities.

What I did not like? Christopher not sharing pertinent information – there were times I wanted to smack him. Don’t just say, “We should leave, just trust me!”; explain, for god’s sake. I should clarify that I do like flawed heroes. Razi’s behavior at the end, for example, when he refuses to examine a patient, is understandable, if less than honorable, and I do think he learns a lesson from it, and won’t repeat that mistake. Christopher’s reticence, however, felt like a plot device to get the story where it needed to go.

This minor quibble aside, it was an absorbing story, and I can’t wait to read the conclusion, “The Rebel Prince.”

The Crowded Shadows by Celine Kiernan
Publication Date: July 2010 (US)
Pages: 474 (Trade Paperback)
Source: Public Library
Rating: 4 stars (Good)

In release date order:

Archangel’s Consort (Guild Hunter novel) by Nalini Singh will be released on January 25, 2011

The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 2) by Patrick Rothfuss will be released on March 1, 2011

Red Glove (Curse Workers novel) by Holly Black will be released on April 5, 2011

The Dark Enquiry (Lady Julia Grey novel) by Deanna Raybourn will be released June 21st or July 1st, 2011

• “Unholy Ghosts,” “Unholy Magic,” and”City of Ghosts” by Stacia Kane;
• “The Demon’s Lexicon” and “The Demon’s Covenant” by Sarah Rees Brennan;
• “Soulless,” “Changeless,” and “Blameless” by Gail Carriger;
• “Feed” by Mira Grant;
• The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher;
• “The Hunger Games,”Catching Fire,” and “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins;
• “Nevermore” by Kelly Creagh;
• “Pegasus” by Robin McKinley;
• “The Duke of Shadows,” “Bound by Your Touch,” “Written on Your Skin,” and “Wicked Becomes You” by Meredith Duran
• “Private Arrangements,” “Delicious,” Not Quite a Husband, “His at Night” by Sherry Thomas
• “The Spymaster’s Lady,” “My Lord and Spymaster”, “The Forbidden Rose” Joanna Bourne
• “Raised by Wolves” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes;
• “Silent in the Grave,” “Silent in the Sanctuary,” “Silent on the Moor,” and “Dark Road to Darjeelin” by Deanna Raybourn;
• “Under Heaven” by Guy Gavriel Kay;
• “Angels Blood” and “Archangel’s Kiss” by Nalini Singh
• “The Curse of Challion” and “Paladin of Souls” by Lois McMaster Bujold
• “The Spiral Hunt” and “The Wild Hunt” by Margaret Ronald
• “Fated” by S.G. Browne
• “The Poisoner’s Handbook” by Deborah Blum
• “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” by Michael Lewis
• “White Cat” by Holly Black”
• “Undead and Unwed” by MaryJanice Davidson

I started watching ABC’s show “Castle” because Nathan Fillion is in it. (He is dreamy, and I am still mad at FOX for canceling “Firefly”. Bastards.) On the show, Fillion plays Rick Castle, famous mystery writer who helps beautiful detective Kate Beckett solve murder cases. It’s an enjoyable piece of fluff, and is on my list of shows to watch whenever I can.

On the show, Rick Castle start writing books about Nikki Heat, who is based on Det. Beckett. ABC came up with a great idea to have someone ghostwrite the Nikki Heat books in real life. The idea paid off – “Heat Wave” and “Naked Heat” were New York Times bestsellers.

I do wish they found a better ghostwriter, though. The books do not do Rick Castle justice. While the investigation of the brutal murder of a gossip columnist is interesting, the writing itself is pedestrian. Both “Heat Wave” and “Naked Heat” make frequent allusions to the show; I haven’t seen many episodes from Season 2 yet, and so a lot of the in-jokes and tongue-in-cheek references in the book went right over my head.

I hope ABC will renew “Castle” for the 3rd season, and that the next Nikki Heat book will be better written.

Naked Heat by Richard Castle
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 290 (Hardcover)
Source: Public Library
Rating: 3 stars (OK)

The book is a slim 150 pages, with each chapter being Justin Halpern’s memories of growing up with his Dad, followed by a loosely-connected selection of his Dad’s sayings. Sam Halpern must not have been the easiest person to live with, but the affection Justin has for his Dad, and his Dad’s (at times well-hidden) love for his wife and children are apparent.

“Sh*t My Dad Says” contains (no surprise there) bad language. All the swearing and taking the Lord’s name in vain did not bother me, but it might bother others. Given how often Justin’s Dad used the word “fuck” in conversations with his children, I am amazed there is no mention of Justin being busted for using foul language at school

Why only three stars? All the funny sayings are available on Twitter for free, and while the background on the Halpern family is interesting, it is not necessary for enjoying stuff that Sam Halpern says. I cannot justify paying $15 for what is basically a short essay collection. Check it out from the library, read it in a couple of hours, and return it. Then follow Halpern on Twitter or Facebook to see what other shit his Dad came up with.

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 158 (Hardcover)
Source: Public Library
Rating: 3 stars (OK)