I don't know what the heck to call this thread!

[Slam_Bradley]

Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett

Another very strong entry after what have probably been my two favorite books in the series. Pratchett brings us a classic look at elves that hearkens to folk tradition and not Tolk tradition. And that makes it much more interesting than the cookie cutter fantasy that we normally see. We also get a good look at the different motivations and methods of the three witches. Very good read.

[Expletive Deleted]

Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore.

The cloak of the Virgin Mary is blue. Sacred blue. It was not always so, but beginning in the thirteenth century, the Church dictated that in paintings, frescoes, mosaics, stained glass windows, icons, and altarpieces, Mary’s cloak was to be colored blue, and not just any blue, but ultramarine blue, the rarest and most expensive color in the medieval painter’s palette, the source mineral, more valuable than gold. Strangely enough, in the eleven hundred years prior to the rise of the cult of the Virgin, there is no mention in Church liturgy of the color blue, none, as if it had been deliberately avoided. Prior to the thirteenth century, the Virgin’s cloak was to be depicted in red—color of the sacred blood.

Medieval color merchants and dyers, who had been geared up for red since the time of the Roman Empire, but had no established natural source for blue, were hard-pressed to meet the demand that rose from the color’s association with the Virgin. They tried to bribe glass-makers at the great cathedrals to portray the Devil in blue in their windows, in hope of changing the mind-set of the faithful, but the Virgin and Sacré Bleu prevailed.

The cult of the Virgin itself may have risen out of an effort of the Church to absorb the last few pagan goddess-worshippers in Europe, some of those the remnants of worshippers of the Roman goddess Venus, and her Greek analogue Aphrodite, and the Norse, Freya. The ancients did not associate the color blue with their goddesses. To them, blue was not even a real color but a shade of night, a derivative of black.

In the ancient world, blue was a breed of darkness.

A young French painter/baker, along with his sidekick Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, investigates the "suicide" of Vincent Van Gogh and uncovers an ancient secret behind some of history's greatest masterpieces. It's fantasy, mystery, comedy, and alternate (art) history all rolled up into a charming little package. Think Tim Powers' The Stress of Her Regard, but funnier. Sacré Bleu lags a little in places, getting occasionally bogged down in exposition and dragging out certain mysteries a little too long, but that's fairly minor given how well it flows the rest of the time. It's Moore's strongest work in a while; not quite his best, but very, very good.

If you read it, I'd recommend either the print version or a color tablet. The book is packed with art, and, as much as I like my Kindle, it loses a lot in grayscale.

[Libaax]

The Book of Dreams by Jack Vance. Not as fluffy,happy as the title sounds. Another grim,smart revenge story in Demon Princes space opera series. This last book and the one before made me respect the series even more.

[Slam_Bradley]

Some Women Won't Wait by A. A. Fair

Another nice entry in to the Cool & Lam series. Donald and Bertha are hired to go to Hawaii to protect a young widow from blackmail. The change of scenery is nice and adds an interesting look at the way the new state was perceived at the time. Gardner brings in another intelligent out-of-town cop with the Honolulu police chief. And we have another little legal issue of the type Gardner loves to throw in. Good easy read again.

[CaptainCanada]

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

I came across this book in discussions of the representations of non-white/Europeans in fantasy novels. In this case, as you might expect, this is set in Medieval Arabia. The author has written some stuff talking about his desire to represent the setting as more than a desert full of hardened nomads, which is what usually crops up in European-centric stories, and I'd say he succeeds at that. The setting is fairly strong. As a story, it's better than competent, though not really exceptional; has the advantage of novelty. I'll be interested to see what comes of his plans to tell more stories in this setting.

[Libaax]

Labrava by Elmore Leonard


The setting of South Beach,Miami is handled very well, in colorful 80s style. The writing, characters are so far 240 of 400+ pages not the top level Leonard book.

[Grigoris]

Scar by China Mieville

The second book set in the Bas-Lag world. I loved Perdido Street Station, and Scar was even better. Think steampunk at sea filled with bizarre fantasy. He continues to present fresh ideas and characters with captivating energy. Looking forward to Iron Council - and any other great weird fiction recommendations.

[Michael P]

Mark Twain's autobiography is the best read I've had in a while.

[Slam_Bradley]

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard.

I'll admit I never gave James Garfield much thought beyond the fact of his assassination and the trivia that he was the last President born in a log cabin. But Millard's book about his life, assassination, death and the attempts to save him shed a lot of light on a nearly forgotten man. Garfield really was almost the embodiment of the American Dream. Raised in abject poverty by his mother after his father died when he was 1, he worked his way through college, rose to the rank of Major General with no formal military training and reluctantly went from Congrss to the Presidency. He was the type of progressive/liberal Republican that seems to have died out with Teddy Roosevelt.

And his death was tragic and probably avoidable. Because, while Charles Guiteau (clearly insane) fired the bullet, Garfield's "medical care" did more than the bullet to kill him. And it wasn't as if the shouldn't have known better. Joseph Lister had lectured extensively on antiseptic procedures and his practices were sweeping through England and in to Europe. But old-guard American doctors couldn't be bothered to take the time. So the inept medical work introduced a continuous supply of bacteria in to Garfield's body which eventually killed him.

And we have Alexander Graham Bell inventing the metal detector in an attempt to locate the bullet. Unfortunately the doctor in charge would not allow him to check the area where the bullet was actually lodged, but only the area he had convinced himself it had traveled.


This is a very well written and compelling read. Millard does tend to puff the importance of Garfield and his effect on the nation. There's no doubt he was a champion of civil rights for the newly freed blacks, but it did not rub off on the nation at all. Still, forgiving it's minor short-comings, it is good that Garfield is getting his due as he was a truly incredible man.

[CaptainCanada]

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

Continuing my review of the Booker Prize winners, this is last year's winner, by Julian Barnes. Fittingly, it sits on my alphabetized book shelf right next to The Sea by John Banville, which was also about an old guy ruminating on the past. However, this was much better.

[Moriarty]

Sea of Glory by Nathaniel Philbrick

[Libaax]

Collected Poems by Chinua Achebe

Pretty thin book apparently he is much more prolific novelist than a poet.Thankfully Achebe is also a powerful poetry writer. Mango Seedling poem was immense.

[CaptainCanada]

Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian (Nobel Laureate #51)

Well that was...something. This is less a novel than a collection of weird story fragments. It's very fluid and pleasant to read, but at the end I was left wondering what it all amounted to.

[Libaax]

Im also reading Wise Blood by Flannery O'Conner.

A writer im very interested in, i have heard alot of good things about her from other readers i respect. Plus for some reason when i read general fiction american authors the themes of southern authors interest me much more.

[Deathstroke]

I finished reading the Iris Johansen novel "Eve".