Did · you · know · you · could · fly

If you're here to read my stories, here are the links to the sections/chapter for both ongoing works. This post is unlocked, but the entries themselves are friends locked, in case I want to publish these some day. If you're not on my friend's list, but want to read the stories, either friend me and let me know, or email me and I'll send you an electronic copy.

Keeper of Secrets (AKA The Liath Story)


( Contents )
Dear Pinny

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Also, I have recently succumbed to the siren call that is fanfiction. If you want to read my poor contributions in that area, they are over in gwyns_fics.

Comments, encouragement, *constructive* criticism, etc. are *always* desired and appreciated! Also, since several people have told me I should, I'm including a Paypal button at the bottom of this page. If you like my writing, and you want to help keep me in a position to continue writing, please feel free to donate. Donations are IN NO WAY REQUIRED to read the fiction. If you're not on my able to access the chapters, either reply to this post with your LJ name or send me an email - I'll see to it that you have access.

#33 Ursula K. LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness, 320 pages.

First of all, I can't believe I got this far into my life as a geek without having read this seminal book. And it's not like people haven't recommended it to me before. It's not like I haven't sat in shame when I'm forced to tell other geeks that I've never read any LeGuin, no, not even Left Hand. It's just that hard sci-fi that makes you think is something I'm not often in the mood for. But finally I got around it it.

To be honest, while I can see why it's as well-regarded as it is it didn't bowl me over the way Roadside Picnic did. For one thing, the politics bored me. It was intellectually interesting from a philosophical point of view, but political intrigue has never really been my thing. The gender-stuff, while definitely the best part of the book, isn't nearly as groundbreaking to someone reading it in 2012 as it would have been to readers in 1969.

That said, it *is* a great book, and I'm glad to have read it. LeGuin is a wonderful writer (no surprise there) and I definitely need to make an effort to read more of her stuff.

#34 Rebecca York, New Moon (The Moon Series, Book 6), 336 pages.

Another book in the horrible werewolf porn series I'm addicted to. We've now graduated from werewolves to add psychics, magic-users, and shapeshifters from another dimension. They're like candy corn -- horrible, but addictive.

#35 Kimberley Pauley, Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe), 304 pages.

I would have never believed anyone could do a unique teen vampire novel, but Pauley's pulled it off. Mina Hamilton's parents are blood-sucking fiends. Literally, not figuratively. Actually they're quite nice - they're just vampires. Mina's known for ages, but now the Vampire Council has found out and she has to decide if she will join her parents in undeath - or live a mortal life believing her parents are dead once the Council's mind-wipers are through with her.

#36 Amber McRee Turner, Sway, 320 pages.

Cass idolizes her mom, who does disaster recovery and travels a lot. Cass's life is marked by long stretches of time alone with her boring father in between mom's visits home. But when Mom comes home this time Cass immediately senses something's not right. Seems Mom's decided to get herself another family. Cass blames her father - maybe if he wasn't so boring, Mom would have stuck around. The last thing she wants to do is take a road trip in the beat-up RV her father's been restoring. But Dad's insistent. Cass wants to go convince her mom to come home, not spend time with her boring dad. Then again, maybe Dad's not as boring as she always thought. Enter M.B. McClean and his amazing magical historical soaps.

This is one of those sappy, feel-good books about kids dealing with difficult family issues and learning about what's really important in life. And it's a good one.

Progress toward goals: 102/366 = 27.9%

Books: 36/100 = 36.0%

Pages: 11517/30000 = 38.4%

2012 Book List

cross-posted to 15000pages, 50bookchallenge, and gwynraven

#32 Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic (Rediscovered Classics), 224 pages.

( spoilers )

Progress toward goals: 88/366 = 24.0%

Books: 32/100 = 32.0%

Pages: 10237/30000 = 34.1%

2012 Book List

cross-posted to 15000pages, 50bookchallenge, and gwynraven

#27 Gail Carriger, Timeless (The Parasol Protectorate, No. 5), 416 pages.

A satisfying conclusion to the series, with a lot of nagging questions answered, but I'm very sad to say goodbye to this one.

#28 Celia Thomson, The Stolen (Nine Lives of Chloe King), 288 pages.
#29 Celia Thomson, The Chosen, 245 pages.

I think I really just had to get past the huge differences between the books and the TV show. Once I got over the whole different=bad thing there were definitely some things about the books I liked better than the show. Brian not being clueless and having a backbone being one of them. As was the Mai leaders not being . . . perfect. To say the least. Still cheesy teen-wish-fulfillment, but enjoyable cheesy teen-wish-fulfillment.

#30 Barbara Else, The Travelling Restaurant. Barbara Else, 300 pages.

I've definitely got some interesting things to say about this one. So much complexity in a deceptively simple package. One of the things being that it took me halfway through the book to suddenly have this brain flash: This is a dystopian novel! And it is, absolutely. That fact is just a little obscured by the fact that it's not actually a future dystopia -- the world of the Restaurant is not our world at all, but a typical high fantasy world suffering from The Accident in which all magic was lost from a world that depended on it - a loss that coincided with the loss of the rightful rulers leaving the land in the hands of a 'provisional' Queen with a penchant for giving sickly sweet speeches about how wonderful everything is under her benevolent rule and making sure that anyone who doesn't immediately agree and tell her how wonderful she is mysteriously disappears. Said Queen is also determined to remove that pesky 'Provisional' from her title by any means necessary. Enter Jasper, the twelver-year-old son of one of the the kingdom's most eminent scientists -- now permanently reassigned to brewing ever increasing dosages of the kingdom's version of Botox for the Queen. The Queen seems to have taken an unhealthy amount of interest in Jasper and his little sister Sibilla, and in the family's flight from the city Jasper is left behind. What follows is Jasper's quest to reunite with his family and to save his little sister from the clutches of the Evil Queen. As in all good quest narratives, along the way he meets a variety of helpers and antagonists, and some who seem to fit in both categories. Secrets are shared and pasts are revealed, but it's all secondary to the main objective -- get to Sibilla and protect her at all costs.

And this is where I think this book really shines. It definitely falls into the category of 'kid has to save the day because the adults can't be trusted to do it right'. But all the adults in this book are *realistically* flawed. They're not stupid, or naive, but they are all damaged, with emotional and mental wounds that often impair their better judgement. Reading this, you're constantly reminded that the adults *remember* a time when things were good. There is a certain overwhelmed helplessness to their actions - you get the feeling they are constantly looking around in bewilderment -- how did we go from normal to *this*?

For the children, this *is* normal. There's anger, absolutely, but there's none of that paralyzing disbelief and denial. It is this very acceptance -- this almost protective attitude toward the adults -- that is most heartbreaking. I was struck particularly by the scene in which Jasper almost tells his aunt that the man she loves - who she believes is dead - was instead captured alive. He starts to say something, then catches himself. The man was captured. He's going to be dead soon anyway. No need for her to grieve twice. No twelve-year-old should have to think like that.

From my description at this point you're probably imagining some dark depressing narrative along the lines of The Hunger Games. That couldn't be further from the truth. The genius of this book is that the story, in all its dystopian anguish, is told in a straight-forward, fairy-tale style narration that, much like Jasper himself, downplays the darker events in favour of focusing on the next step toward achieving the goal. And, of course, there's quite a bit of humour sprinkled in for some much needed comic relief.

#31 Kate Coombs, The Runaway Princess, 288 pages.

Princess Margaret is incensed. Her father has offered half the Kingdom and her hand in marriage to the prince who defeats the dragon, withers the witch, and beats down the bandits who are 'terrorising' the Kingdom. Honestly, the dragon hasn't eaten anyone since Margaret's great-aunt, the witch is mostly harmless -- good luck charms and love spells and the occasional metamorphosis into a frog, but only for those who really deserve it. And Meg can't help but admire the bandits' whole 'rob from the rich to give to the poor' schtick. Meg doesn't even want to marry a prince -- they're all so boring -- and as a final indignity she is to be 'sequestered' in the highest tower of the castle until the contest is won. As if! However, warning the witch, defending the dragon, and backing the bandits is harder than Meg thought it would be with all those princes in the way, not to mention having to maintain the illusion of her presence in the tower, with only a garden boy, a maid, and an over-eager junior guardsman as accomplices. And then things get *really* complicated . . .


Progress toward goals: 86/366 = 23.5%

Books: 31/100 = 31.0%

Pages: 10013/30000 = 33.4%

2012 Book List

cross-posted to 15000pages, 50bookchallenge, and gwynraven

Yes, this. All the time. Particularly from my father, and to a lesser extent, my brother.
"C'mon, Jen, it's just a joke."
"You're overreacting."
"You're taking this way too seriously."
"I have a right to my opinion."
"Why are you getting upset about this? I'm just trying to have a rational debate."
"You'd make your point better if you didn't take it so personal." And on and on and on and on.

"It's just words, it doesn't mean anything." But yes, oh yes it does. And then they wonder why there's a part of me that dreads every family visit.

The Terrible Bargain We Have Regretfully Made

Kitten has a name: Meira!

Pictures here:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/101676606690088344910/albums/5722861591227462817

We've got a kitten! Or we will, tomorrow evening, after she's been spayed. Isn't she adorable?!

#24 Ann Finnan, The Sorcerer of Sainte Felice, 360 pages.

Michael de Lorraine is to be burned at the stake as a sorcerer when he is saved by a strange monk and a conveniently timed rainstorm. Abbot Francis takes Michael back to his abbey in Sainte Felice where Michael discovers that all the monks there are sorcerers, hiding in plain sight under the nose of the Inquisition. But Abbot Francis has made some powerful enemies -- will their luck hold out, or will the Holy Office discover their secret? I really liked this one - it reminded me of Judith Tarr's The Hound and the Falcon trilogy (which I totally need to reread).

#25 Eoin Colfer, The Arctic Incident (Artemis Fowl, Book Two), 292 pages.

Second in the Artemis Fowl series - and already you can see the cracks in Artemis' ruthless facade. Not to mention it's just great fun.

#26 Gail Carriger, Heartless (The Parasol Protectorate), 400 pages.

I'm so sad there's only one book left in this series.

Progress toward goals: 76/366 = 20.8%

Books: 26/100 = 26.0%

Pages: 8476/30000 = 28.3%

2012 Book List

cross-posted to 15000pages, 50bookchallenge, and gwynraven