The Books I Read in September, October, and November

My sad little neglected blog will be sad and neglected no more! But still probably little . . . Anyway, I do love my blog, and I want to keep it up. I want to jumpstart it now instead of waiting until the first of the year and calling it a resolution. So! To start off the resurgence, it's time to catch up on my book reviews. Don't worry--the fall was kind of lean.

A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin

Yes, I drank the Kool-Aid, but not completely. I'm not falling all over myself raving about the book. I thought there were way too many viewpoints, even though he did restrict himself to one per chapter. And [SPOILER] it's kind of a jerky move to get your readers to completely invest in the only character whose redeeming qualities outweigh his flaws and then kill him before the book is over. How are we supposed to continue the series? I don't have an answer to that question, but the second book is waiting for me on my bed. :P

Favorite Quote: “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”

The Help, Kathryn Stockett

I didn't want to read this. It was historical, which is a genre I mostly dread, unless it involves magicians. And it was also extremely popular at the time. It's the tale of a group of maids in Jackson, Mississippi at the height of the civil rights movement, and the white girl who wants to write their story. In case you hadn't heard. Or seen the movie. I really enjoyed it, though. It wasn't the height of literary fiction, but it kept me riveted to the very end.

Favorite Quote: “No one tells us, girls who don't go on dates, that remembering can be almost as good as what actually happens.”

Brimstone, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

I'm sure I've said previously that I'm re-reading the Pendergast novels this year. And next year too, since I have five more to go. :P This book was my first introduction to Agent Pendergast. It's kind of in the middle of things, so I felt a little confused at the time. But this is such a delicious introduction to the kind of guy he is. In this installment, the first in the so-called Diogenes cycle, Pendergast and his NYPD cohort D'Agosta investigate a series of murders with creepy touches: hoofprints burned into the floor, spontaneous combustion, sulfur, etc. Pendergast knows from the start that this isn't supernatural, but perpetrated by a human. D'Agosta, on the other hand, is not so sure.

Favorite Quote: “He found Pendergast's cool gaze on him, and he fidgeted. He'd forgotten about those eyes. They made you feel like you had just been stripped of your secrets.”

Horoscopes for the Dead, Billy Collins

As soon as I found out my favorite poet had a new collection, I jumped on the library website and put it on hold. I was first on the list! There were some absolute gems in this book. A few that weren't such gems. A few that went over my head--that disappointed me a little. What I love about Billy Collins, usually, is that he never goes over your head. You don't have to be a poetry scholar to figure out what he's trying to say.

Favorite Quote: (actually an entire poem entitled "Feedback") "The woman who wrote from Phoenix / after my reading there / to tell me they were all still talking about it / just wrote again / to tell me that they had stopped."

Girl at Sea, Maureen Johnson

I got on this Maureen Johnson kick and checked out every book of hers from the library that I could find. Then November happened, and this was the only one I finished. The main character is a teenage girl who is super excited to get her first summer job at an artist where the boy she's crushing on works. When she gets home, her mom informs her that she'll be spending the summer on a boat in Italy with her father instead. Maureen Johnson never fails to make me laugh. Out loud, and usually loudly.

Favorite Quote: “Something about this boat screamed, 'I am a very popular model in the world's oil-bearing regions. I cost more than your soul!" ”

Grave Peril, Jim Butcher

The third book in the Dresden Files series. I'm re-reading them very slowly. In this installment, we're introduced to Michael, Knight of the Cross, who is awesome ("Don't yadda-yadda the Lord, Harry"). Harry has enlisted Michael to help him fight a vicious ghost who is going after babies in the hospital. It turns out that all ghosts are acting kind of wonky because the barrier between this world and the Nevernever is . . . soft. Harry has to fight ghosts, demons, and vampires in order to save everyone. So, just another day in the life of Harry Dresden. :P

Favorite Quote: "I'm amazing and studly, but I have limits."

There you go! Once NaNoWriMo really got going, I had to slow my reading down to almost nothing. Now it's picking back up again, so maybe I'll actually have more than one book for December. And more blog posts to come! On things besides books.