Overdue books

Man, did I not post the list of books I read in October? I don’t think I did. In fact, I didn’t read many in November either – I started quite a few which I ended up chucking out the window before I finished them. Plus, what with being busy not doing NaNoWriMo and all, it takes a lot out of a girl!

~ Carey, Jacquelin. Kushiel’s Justice (7.5)
I’d been waiting for this one for quite a while, and not patiently either. It was good, and I look forward to the sequel.

~ Chelminski, Rudolph. The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine (8)
Very good biography of the French chef Bernard Loiseau. Also good insight into the high-stress world of haute cuisine, especially in France, and an explanation of where the Micheline Guide came from. Excellent!

~ Lukyanenko, Sergi. Night Watch (6)
It was good at first, and then it started to repeat itself over and over again. The second book isn’t a whole lot better – I’ve been stuck on it for over a month for the same reason.

We’re to the end of October here. I recall that there were a few other books started and discarded around this point, including a few I started and put down and ignored.

~ Gabaldon, Diana. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (8)
The first thing I want to say is that there was a plot…twist? [1] that left me gobsmacked for the better part of a day. That said, I’m glad she’s writing books from the perspective of one of the darker characters from the Outlander series and making him so very human and sympathetic. There’s also a book of short stories about Lord John which I just got this week. I might save it for the trip home at Christmas.

~ Strohmeyer, Sarah. The Sleeping Beauty Proposal. (5)
Why oh why did I finish this book? It frustrated me at the time, so I must have been bored.

~ Cabot, Meg. Size 14 is Not Fat Either (6.5)
Also heavy on fluff, but soothing, brain-numbing fluff. And it’s not just that – I like Meg Cabot, and I wish she would write faster!

~ Barker, Clive. Mister B. Gone (3)
It was like a grown-up version of There’s a Monster At The End of This Book, starring Grover. It can be summed up thusly: “Oooooh, I’m a scary demon – boo! – and I really live in this book, and I want you to burn it! Why aren’t you burning it? I know where you live and I’ll come and get you! Oh, not really – just kidding!”

And I think there was another abandoned book in here, and I can’t remember it. Wait – got it…

~Moore, Christopher. The Stupidest Angel. (9)
It’s a Christmas book, featuring a dead Santa and zombies! What’s not to love about that!?!? (And it’s Moore, so you know it’s going to be funny.)

So I suppose at some point I’m going to have to go through and pick which ones I liked the best. Okay… check back next week and I’ll see what I’ve come up with.

[1] It wasn’t a twist, really, but a surprise.