Tonight is a double-dose.  I’ve also finished reading a fairly short young adult book about computer programming.  However, the author took a page from The Phantom Tollbooth and let the story teach the reader without ever being explicit about it.  So, we learn just as the main character does.

Lauren Ipsum by Carlos Bueno
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I adored this book. There, no beating around the bush for me.

This books is very short, and a nice quick read, and surprisingly informative. It’s about computer science and computer programming, without having a single computer in it. How do you do that? By showing the underlying principles. The basis of any computer programming is being able to apply logic and to break down complex ideas into simple ones. These are some of the principles that the book teaches.

Like one of my most favorite books, The Phantom Tollbooth, this book teaches you without being obvious. The main character, Lauren Ipsum, goes along on her adventures and learns lessons, and we end up learning right along side her.

Truly, I recommend this book to adults old and young who have any interest or curiosity about computers.

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I’ve been a bit busy, and so haven’t had a chance to finish any reading or get reviews posted, but hopefully things are back to normal now.  So, to celebrate being back to reading, I’m starting with some of what I like to call “elevated fanfiction.”  See, lots of people write fanfiction.  And if you write it about characters that are in public domain, you can get your work published and get paid to write fanfiction.  Personally, I think that’s one of the most awesome things ever.

So, today we have a mystery novel featuring Athos, Aramis, Porthos, and D’Artagnan, those dashing men from Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers.

The Musketeer’s Seamstress by Sarah D’Almeida
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second installment in the Musketeers Mystery series is just as strong a book as the first. Just as with the first book, the author assumes that the reader is at least somewhat familiar with the source material. And when I say source material, I mean the original book The Three Musketeers, not any film adaptations. I say this because she makes reference to the events of Dumas’ book periodically.

Because Dumas’ characters are some of my favorite literary figures, I really enjoy this series of books. I think the author does a very good job in keeping with the voice and characterizations that Dumas created. Moreover, she keeps to the same type of chaptering that Dumas used, breaking up the book into a great many chapters, most less than a dozen pages long. Rather than make the book feel choppy, it actually helps to move the action along, as well as hearken back to the original book.

My only complaint about the story itself is that the ending was a bit telegraphed, in my opinion. I was able to piece together the clues before the characters, so the big reveal wasn’t actually that big. Still, it was handled well, and made for another enjoyable tale from Ms. D’Almeida.

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Well, I’ve finished the translation of Desire: Dangerous Feelings, by Maki Kazumi.  This has been my lowest-rated book thus far, but I’m done with it (and I’ve had it since 2009, so it’s about time).  This contains spoilers, so fair warning!

Desire - Dangerous Feelings by Maki Kazumi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is a translation of a Japanese “light novel” - what we would call a novella. As such, it is rather short, if not sweet. The books is fairly well-written, and the translation does a good job preserving the tone of the interactions between the characters. The plot is far from complex, outlining a high-school romance between the two main characters. The reason I cannot rate it any higher than two stars is how the author treats some of the subject matter. Specifically, this book as sex scenes which involve either dubious levels of consent, or (in one case) active non-consent. She has one of the characters (Ryoji) coerce his friend (Toru) into sex. When they are in the middle of things, Toru changes his mind and tells Ryoji to stop, but he does not. And yet, because this is a romance novel, everything is okay at the end and they don’t have to deal with all that much emotional fall-out . I understand this may be a cultural difference in how such subjects are treated, but I personally just can’t say I found the book enjoyable.

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Book 5 in my Off The Shelf challenge is Hammered, by Kevin Hearne (Book 3 of the Iron Druid Chronicles).  This does not fulfill any of the What’s in a Name challenges, but I’m still plugging away at those too.

Hammered by Kevin Hearne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third book in the Iron Druid chronicles finds our protagonist, Atticus, in quite a quandry. As the story opens, Atticus is heading to Asgard to steal one of the apples of Idun, so that he can fulfill his promise to Laksha. Of course, this doesn’t go as smoothly as Atticus hopes.
The plot of this book revolves around Atticus’ need to fulfill his promises, despite the mounting evidence that doing so would be a very bad idea. I think this book, more than the others, very much highlights how Atticus’ character was formed in a much earlier time, despite his willingness to modernize his vocabulary and social interactions.
This is not a book that should be read out of sequence. The things that happen in this book are a pretty direct consequence of previous books, and the actions here set up reverberations for future books.
The book was very good overall, and continues the quality of the series. I did have two small complaints, though. The first is how he handled a few of the characters in the climax of the book, most especially Gunnar, the werewolf. However, I recognize this as a valid authorial choice (no matter that it galls me). The other small complaint is that he does not really tie up all of his loose ends. The book ends on a rather significant cliffhanger (that I’m sure will be a major plot point in the next book), and there are several smaller threads of the story that are not cleared up (again, it seems likely that he will address these in the next book). I know that it’s important to set things up for the next story, but I really dislike having a book end with so many things open, as it feels unfinished. For that reason, I have to give this book 4 stars out of 5.

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And another one bites the dust!  Book 4 in the What’s in a Name challenge, for “A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title”, as well as for the Off the Shelf challenge (I’ve had this book since late 2008, it really needed to get read!).  And now, the review:

Sanctuary Sparrow by Ellis Peters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is probably one of the most exciting books in the Cadfael series. As with most of the books of this series, it is not necessary to have read the previous books to be able to follow the actions and interactions of the characters.
The book opens with the peace of the monastery being disturbed during the evening prayers by a young man running in, pursued by the townsfolk. The man claims sanctuary, the right to be kept in the monastery for 40 days, and not turned over to the law. During these 40 days, Brother Cadfael begins to believe that the young man is not guilty of the crimes of murder and theft of which he has been accused.
The tension in this book mount subtly but steadily, as the violence in the town continues, and the time of sanctuary steadily ticks away.
All in all, an excellent read, and highly recommended.

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Sadly, I am all too familiar with what this feels like.

animalstalkinginallcaps:

HEY WHAT ARE YOU READING, THE GLASS CASTLE? IS IT ANY GOOD? AM I BOTHERING YOU? WHAT PART ARE YOU ON? DID YOU READ A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE BECAUSE I’M READING THAT RIGHT NOW AND IT’S REALLY GOOD. OH, HEY. HEY. WHAT ABOUT THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO DID YOU READ THAT ONE AND AM I BOTHERING YOU? IS THAT BOOK ANY GOOD? WHAT PART ARE YOU ON AGAIN? HEY. HEY IS THAT BOOK ANY GOOD?

And now 3 down, I’m 10% of the way through my Off the Shelf challenge (it’s been on my shelf for over a year now), and halfway through the What’s in a Name challenge, as this qualifies for “something you’d find on a calendar in the title”.  And on to the review:

Just Another Judgement Day by Simon R. Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very good addition to the Nightside series. This is not a good jumping-on point for the series, though. The relationships between the characters are too informed by events in past books. This book shows just what an impact the previous events have had on the Nightside, and how things are changing. It sets up a rather significant evolution in how the characters interact, and starts to wrap up the series (there are only three books beyond this). I was pleased, in the the ending did not play out as I expected. All in all, a rather quick and enjoyable read.

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And book number two down.  Again, this rather delightfully qualifies for both the Off the Shelf challenge, as this has been on my shelf for about 6 months now (received via PBS on 07/25/11), as well as for the What’s in a Name challenge, to fulfill the “Topographical Feature” requirement (Vesuvius is a rather famous volcano, which certainly makes it a topographical feature).  Finally, here’s my review:

The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Written with Mark Gatiss’ usual wit, this book made me laugh aloud several times. Imagine a novel written by the offspring of Oscar Wilde and PG Wodehouse, and you might come close. This book makes me want to crawl into Mr. Gatiss’ brain and see what other awesomeness lies therein. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series!

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Okay, I’ve finished the first book on my reading challenge!  This qualifies for both the Off-The-Shelf challenge (I’ve had this book for more than a year, after all) and for the What’s in a Name Challenge, to cover “A book with a type of house in the title.”  The book, as noted, is The Alehouse Murders, by Maureen Ash, and here is my review:

The Alehouse Murders by Maureen Ash
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an interesting historical mystery, and did keep my guessing for quite a while as to the identity of the murderer. However, by setting the events during a fair, we are introduced to a rather large cast of characters, and I occasionally had difficulty remembering who was whom. Still, once I became more used to the writing style and some of the language (the setting is the year 1200, and the names of items and places reflects this), I found this to be a good read.

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And, to help me decide *what* to read, I’m also joining the “What’s in a Name” reading challenge.  The challenge is fairly small - only six books.  But the catch is that you have to read one book for each of six categories.  And these are some odd and challenging ones:

1. A book with a topographical feature in the title.  For this, I’m probably going to read either Wyrmhole, by Jay Caselberg (because that’s definitely a topographical feature if you deal with more than three dimensions) or The Vesuvius Club, by Mark Gatiss (because there’s no rule that it can’t be the proper name of a particular feature). - Edit: Completed. Read The Vesuvius Club, by Mark Gatiss.

2. A book with something you’d see in the sky in the title.  This category is probably one of the easiest for me.  There’s the aforementioned Wyrmhole (assuming I don’t read it for the topographical feature), Black Wings by Christina Henry, Touched by an Alien, by Gini Koch, Mad Kestrel by Misty Massey, A Fate Worse than Dragons by John Moore (I’d rather see a dragon in the sky than on the ground about to eat me!), The Sanctuary Sparrow by Ellis Peters, Alien Taste by Wen Spencer, and Second Sunrise by David & Aimee Thurlo. Edit: Now completed - The Sanctuary Sparrow, by Ellis Peters was my choice!

3. A book with a creepy crawly in the title.  Pretty easy to narrow this one down: either Spider’s Bite, by Jennifer Estep, or Snake Agent, by Liz Williams.

4. A book with a type of house in the title. This one is probably going to be the hardest (since I do want to stick to books I own).  I could either go with The Sanctuary Sparrow (since sanctuary can refer to a monastery), or The Harem of Aman Akbar by Elizabeth Scarborough (It’s a type of home, even if not a type of house).  It’s funny, I’ve got books *about* houses, but barely any mention any type of domicile in the title. - Completed. Read The Alehouse Murders, by Maureen Ash.

5. A book with something you’d carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title.  Another fairly easy one: Mira, Mirror, by Mette Ivie Harrison, Dog Days, by John Levitt (okay, I don’t carry a dog in a purse, but there are plenty of people who do), The Mirror Prince, by Violette Malan, or Books Can Be Deceiving, by Jenn McKinlay (which is the only one I actually do regularly carry around - books!).

6. A book with something you’d find on a calendar in the title.  Well, in all likelihood, it will be Dog Days.  But I could also make the argument for Night Tides, by Alex Prentiss, or for New Moon, by Midori Snyder. Edit: Completed this with Just Another Judgement Day, by Simon R. Green.

Well, that’s all of them, along with my potential books.