I have been meaning to read A Certain Slant of Light, since it was recommended to me by Elizabeth Scott, whose name you should look for on YA books coming summer 2007; you’ll like them.

Now I am going back to do work.

I have not yet read beyond book one of the Temeraire series. I find it hard to read onscreen when my head is all congested. But hopefully I will have hard copy shortly . . .

I spent the weekend reading Temeraire bks two through 4.1ish, which I believe you have already read, and second the rec for Saiyuki, which I have successfully recommended to three or four people as a good first manga to read.

Did I ever recommend Susan Vaight’s Stormwitch to you? Very good YA fantasy with a neat approach to race and gender.

Speaking of the proper book to start with, this is highly amusing (you have to read the whole post): http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2006/03/paul_krugman_sm.html
I know for a fact that Krugman reads fafblog, too.

As it happens, the only two full-length works that I have finished since Alice was born are magic lessons and so yesterday, both of which i enjoyed greatly. Turns out that some of the qualities of YA fiction (notably the short chapters) make them good reads for mothers of young babes — made the inevitable frequent put-it-down-pick-it-up-find-your-place-again process much easier.

Nope, haven’t read Weather Makers yet. I hear it’s excellent. Scott says his fave non-fic at the moment is The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr. The only non-fic I’ve read lately have been cricket books and I can’t see you being into them, Marrije. Some really good ones, but.

I’m kinda enjoying Vellum, so far, also Murakami’s Norweigan Wood and The Buenos Aires Quintet by Manuel Vaquez Montalban, although I’m still early on it it… also, Porno by Irvine Welsh, which is… Irvine Welsh.

Have you read anything by Christopher Golden yet? His newest release is THE MYTH HUNTERS: Book One of The Veil.

Also just read a very good YA historical fiction set during Vietnam, “Amaryllis”. This is a great boy book in particular (althought I loved it a lot) and I’ll be including in my column next month at Bookslut. It’s so rare to find a good war book for YAs, so I was glad to see this one come my way.

And “THe Case of the Missing Marquess” by Nancy Springer – a girl detective who happens to be Sherlock Holmes’s much younger sister. The mystery is fun, but Enola Holmes is outstanding. I am very happily telling the world about this teen. She rocks!!

Bonus pretty art:

http://www.gensomaden-saiyuki.net/Gallery/Sanzo/Sanzo109.jpg

From the prequel series “saiyuki gaiden,” where the characters are all gods in heaven– not yet available in english:

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/saiyukifan/poster_gaiden.jpg

http://s22.iespana.es/mangas/saiyuki%20gaiden/volumen%201/saiyuki%20gaiden%20vol01%20contraportada.jpg

And a terrific gallery here:

http://www.gensomaden-saiyuki.net/index02.html

This essay on the art in saiyuki has lots of pretty pictures:

http://telophase.livejournal.com/90883.html

Complete set of “about manga art, layout, etc” links, by the same person, who is also drawing the manga I’m writing:

http://telophase.livejournal.com/113219.html#cutid1

The manga is called “saiyuki,” by kazuya minekura. There are nine volumes available in english, plus a continuation called “saiyuki reload.” You go to bookshop and ask for the manga section. Then look under “s.” They are alphabetized by title.

I have a long description of it in the comments to this entry (you must be logged in as justinelavaworm to read it, for reasons that will be obvious when you see it.) Do read the comments before you click on the link in the entry (should you decide to click on the link.)

http://rachelmanija.livejournal.com/287863.html

I’ve been hearing great things about the Vandermeer. Scott’s a huge Dawkins fan. I must get around to reading him some day.

Thanks for the good wishes! Any day now I will be well . . .

John H: Not sucking up—it’s lovely to know folks are enjoying my books!

Niall: Oh sure, when done badly it’s maddening. But I really don’t understand the US hysteria about it that holds that shifting pov is a sign of bad writing. That’s like saying using first person is a sign of bad writing. It ain’t the tools you use but how you use ‘em! But, clearly, you know that.

So I know nothing about The Accidental. Tell more!

Rajan K: Wild Seed‘s amazing. I’m pretty fond of the whole series. Especially Clay’s Ark which is one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. Deep dark secret: I’ve never read any Gene Wolfe. He has so many books that I’ve never known where to start . . .

Lewis: I can see what you’re saying, but it didn’t bother me. I’m a pretty lazy reader I just zip past the stuff I don’t understand. I figure I’ll work it out from context.

Hannah: I can see the erk factor of Fledgling it’s pretty much unfilmable, but it’s a shame you put it down the second half is heaps more interesting. Though I do think it’s one of her weakest novels. My favourite Nicola Griffith is Slow River which is just fabulous. Sewage of the future . . . So very cool.

Tansy: Yet another Melusine recommendation. I’ve yet to hear a bad word about that book. It’s definitely on my list.

Rachel Brown: That sounds amazing! A jeep that’s a dragon? Count me in. And that art is amazing. But, okay, I’m a total manga neophyte from what you’ve said I have no idea how to go about buying it in a bookshop. What’s it actually called? Help!

her website is in Japanese, but check out the gallery: http://www.minekura.com/main.html

Also, I have been reading books about climbing dangerous icy mountains. I have no wish to ever climb a dangerous icy mountain, but I like reading about it.

She makes alternating first person work…

But most of all, it’s impressive because the story is right there, staring you in the face from page one, dragging you along through all the luscious worldbuilding detail. The characters are fascinating and feel very real.

Sexy, strange & very compelling. I’m completely jealous. Everybody must read it now!

Recently, hmm. I’m okay with saying the above, because I just read Butler’s Dawn for the first time and was fascinated in the way that I get fascinated by somewhat creepy things. It was–just unsettling enough that part of why it was unsettling was that it was almost comfortable. And the post-disaster now-what? scenario is right up my alley, with crunchy social goodness. Yay! Adulthood Rites (and Parable of the Sower, but that’s a reread) are waiting for me at the library. Double-yay!

Currently reading Nicola Griffith’s Ammonite and loving it for similar reasons. And Reviving Ophelia (nonfiction), where the commentary on the case studies has gotten a bit repetitive, but it’s making me thoughtful, anyway.

I got 16 books at the library on Moday. Oof.

Started to read Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas. Brought back a lot of memories of the ’60s when everyone under the age of 30 seemed to be stoned. (The 60′s were a lot of fun – sex, dope, and rock and roll.)

I’m using it to take a break between Gene Wolfe’s Knight and Wizard. Knight was very good, much better than I thought the concept would allow and Wolfe is great at giving you only what you need in the story.

Anyway, my problem is not that Grimwood shifts around POV (if it was, I would have really hated Counting Heads, whereas in fact the sudden opening out in that book is one of the things I love about it) but that he does it sloppily.

As for the singular/plural posse–yes, it could have been caught by a closer edit, but when there are similar errors on almost every page it doesn’t create a good impression.

Anyway, I hate being cranky about books, so I’ll finish with something else good I read recently: The Accidental by Ali Smith.

i recently finished stephen king’s dark tower series – i had been reading them as they were published, but he took so damn long getting the final volumes out that i decided to start over when he finished.

not to be a suck-up, but the last book i read was magic or madness. it was a fun read, and i liked the change in vocabulary with the shift in pov. i was hoping to time it so i could jump right into magic lessons when i finished, but i have yet to see it at the local borders.

so i started reading christopher paolini’s eragon instead. i’m only through the first fifty pages or so, but it seems pretty good so far.

and i’m now reading richard dawkins’ the ancestor’s tale: very learned, somewhat hard at times (i’m so bad at imagining distances of millions of years) but also delicious because of the many sneaky digs at creationists.

oh, and I bought fledgling, because I read so many touching posts by you & yours about ms. butler and i haven’t read a single one of hers yet.

& get well soon!

Sense of place, otoh, is a major bugbear of mine. I can’t stand that kind of place description. Brand names as a short hand for anything drives me spare.

Okay, I will read Air before Counting Heads, I promise!

Scott: I can’t believe I forgot Master and Commander! That was the first of the illness books. I’ve been hearing about those books for so long that I felt like I’d almost read them. Now that I have read one I find I was wrong. They are not much like what I was expecting. They’re much funnier for one thing and the writing far more ornate (not sure that’s the right word). It turns out that all the over-the-top praise was too restrained. Master and Commander is easily one of the best historicals I’ve ever read. One of the best novels, too.