Meandering Along

    I’ve been reading quite a lot lately. Let’s see…  There was The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Graceling, Impossible, Chalice, How to Build a House, and Princess Ben.

   I don’t have a whole lot to say on Disreputable History. I mean, it was interesting. I enjoyed reading it. It amused me. But, in the end, it didn’t feel particularly memorable.

   Graceling,however, I thought was quite good. It really snapped me out of my reading funk. It was the first book in a long time that had kept me reading to the point where I didn’t want to stop. (Maybe adventure/fantasy/romance is the way I should go next time I fall into a reading funk.) I only had a few problems with this book, but they didn’t hinder my enjoyment. Okay, so I totally snorted when the prince said his name was Po. What kind of a name is that? I honestly wonder if the author truly liked that name or if she was just lazy. Anyhow… Second problem was with Katsa. She’s not me. She has a right to live as she sees fit. But…I just got so annoyed with her when she was all “I want to have the power to just leave him at any time that I want.” Yes, I understand whyshe would feel that way. I just can’t imagine feeling that way myself. Sorry, but to be romantically involved with a person, I’d want to be perfectly sure and confident of him. Po and Katsa can’t be perfectly sure of each other if they’ve agreed that they can leave whenever they please. But, hey. That’s their call. My third problem was with King Leck. He was supposed to be scary. He should have been scary. (They talk about freaky things that he does.) But he never felt scary or intimidating to me. His character could have used some better development.

   I just had an afterthought… Maybe the real reason Katsa doesn’t want to marry Po is because of his name. *snickers*

   Anyway, I really did enjoy this book and I’d recommend it. I’m definitely looking forward to Fire and Bitterblue in the future.

   I didn’t think Impossible was that great. It wasn’t bad. It’s just that it was weird (not in a good way) in places. I really hate it when books switch POVs between several characters. Sometimes I don’t mind. Such as with East or No Shame, No Fear.

   Oh, and there was this one line that really made me kind of gag. I don’t know if I’d recommend it or not. Most people would like this book, I think. I’m just…not a fan. So I don’t really recommend or not recommend it.

   Okay, I love Robin McKinley. Yes, she has written stuff that I have not liked. (Deerskin and Sunshine.) But The Blue Sword is one of my favorite books of all time. Thankfully, I was not disappointed in Chalice. (And the cover is so pretty!) It had a very Robin McKinley feel to it. That’s about as coherent as I’ll be able to be about this book at this given time.

   Mmm, How to Build a House.Well, it wasn’t anything special, and it wasn’t anything horrible. Just meh.

   Gaaaah, Princess Ben.This book was just so… I don’t know. Annoying. I didn’t care for the voice, the story, the characters, or the “romance.” I still have Dairy Queen sitting on my nightstand, and I fully intend to read it. I just hope it’s considerably better and won’t leave me feeling like I wasted reading time.

   And right now I’m reading Suite Scarlett. I like it all right so far. It’s just that authors like Maureen Johnson and Meg Cabot all start to feel the same to me.

   Lastly, Ink Magegave me an award on her blog. Thanks, Ink Mage. I’m flattered. So, I shall now award five others.

Maya : Because she’s sweet and thoughtful and writes wonderful poetry.

Summermoon Because she’s so amusing in everything she blogs about.

Danielle Because she always puts a smile on my face.

Q Because she’s always fascinating.

Madison Because she is just so fabulously snarky.

This is what you guys are being awarded: