Four books in 2 weeks

I just finished four books, plus one I'm not really going to dwell on here.
Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller was a delight, with their usual intricate plots and insanely fascinating characters from the Liaden Universe.
This particular story was about a teenager named Theo Waitley who is, as are most teens, trying to get her bearings both physically and mentally, while struggling for independence from her mother and yearning for time with her father. I enjoyed Theo's journey and that of her mother somewhat less so, as Kamele, who is a professor, is something of a cold fish toward her offspring, while Jen Sar, Theos father, seems much more compassionate, kind and understanding. The story will continue in Saltation, which is set to come out next year, and I look forward to reading it once it hits the shelves of my local branch of KCLS.
I also read the second in Devon Monk's "Magic" series, Magic in the Blood, which had an even crankier Allie in it than Magic in the Bone. Fortunately, we do see the return of the delicious Zayvion Jones, hottie magic man who smells of mint, and we see even more of the unsavory side of magic use and repurcussions, as an insane doctor uses Allie's dead father to try and suck the magic power from a host of young girls he's kidnapped for that purpose. Allie does her best to stop him, but in so doing encounters possession by the shade of her evil father, who was a ruthless businessman, and a lousy parent. I look forward to reading the third book in the series, if only to see how Allie gets her dead Da out of her head.
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Cruisie and two other authors, was a joy of a book to read, though it was yet another retelling of the Witches of Eastwick with a bit of the TV show "Charmed" thrown in for fun. No one can replicate the fine prose of John Updyke, of course, but the authors of Miss Fortunes managed to update it with a light and frothy touch, lots of hot romance and a satisfying storyline.
Today I finished Call of the Highland Moon by Kendra Leigh Castle, and though I enjoyed the steamy scenes with Carly and Guideon, I found myself wishing that there were more of them, and less of the self doubt, the lying and breaking up and getting back together bits, and more dealing with the paranormal aspect of falling in love with a werewolf stuff. But as paranormal romances go, it was a pretty decent read, though I winced at the use of the traditional "petite blonde who is fiesty yet ultra-feminine and sexy" protagonist, paired with the big hulking Scotsman who is totally enchanted with wee blondie the minute he sees her, and of course she can barely suppress her lust for his throbbing manliness from the moment he uses his husky Scottish accent on her. Insert eye roll here. I wish romance novelists would jettison the stereotypes and cliches. Still, this was a fun novel to read, the plot was swift and sure, and the line between good and evil clearly delineated.
I picked up a rather formulaic novel by Katherine Stone called "The Other Twin" that I read and didn't enjoy, so I will just note here that it was read, and leave it at that.
Now, I am on to Wen Spencer's "Tinker" which should prove to be interesting, as the last book I read by this author had the usual gender stereotypes reversed. I hope this book proves to be equally as inventive.

An Atrocity of a Best Books List from Publishers Weekly

This blog post was written by Kamy Wicoff of SheWrites.com, and I had to post it here, as I was so appalled by Publishers Weekly I could barely see!

Wow, did I feel good yesterday. 5000 women writers here. A depth and breadth of talent that takes my breath away. We write fiction, we write memoir, we write scifi; we are bestsellers, we are award winners, we are just starting out; we are working hard, we are writing well; we are...not as good at it as men are.

Or at least that seems to be the opinion of Publishers' Weekly, which published its "Best Books of 2009" list on November 2nd and could not see its way to including a single book by a woman without destroying its integrity or betraying its unassailable good taste. Apparently books by women just aren't as good. Sorry, girls! Poor PW, they felt really badly about it. According to the novelist and journalist Louisa Ermelino, the editors at PW bent over backwards to be objective as they chose the Best Books of the year. "We ignored gender and genre and who had the buzz. We gave fair chance to the 'big' books of the year, but made them stand on their own two feet. It disturbed us when we were done that our list was all male."

It "disturbed" you? In what way exactly? Like, did it make you think, "we are insane?" Try to imagine if they had come out with a list of the Best Books of 2009 and it had included ZERO MEN. Try to imagine if Amazon had released its Best Books of 2009 and it had included only TWO men. I know it's hard. But just try.

And in case you think ALL men got the star treatment from PW, you should also know that only ONE of the men on the list isn't a white dude. Naturally he is the dude on the cover. (More on that in a post to come.)

I have never felt clearer about why I started She Writes. It is time to start making our own lists. On that note I am issuing our first She Writes call to action. Tell us what YOU believe are the top ten best books of 2009 thus far. Written by men or women, please -- fiction or nonfiction. Be as objective as you can, with the awareness that lists of the "best" anything are subjective in the end. We are not trying to generate a list of books only by women. I'm guessing there will be some overlap with the lists Amazon and PW put together. I am also guessing we will somehow, some way, find a book or two by a woman that can stand on its own two feet.

Click here to give us your list of the Top Ten Best Books of 2009.

We will announce our She Writes Top Ten list two weeks from today.

In the meantime, I will be featuring posts from our membership on this subject. Please feel free to share your lists and alert me when you do. Cate Marvin and Erin Belieu, co-founders of the much needed new literary organization WILLA (Women in Letters and Literary Arts), will be discussing their reaction to PW's list (and Amazon's) in a conversation we will post on She Writes in the next few days.

A parting thought: my friend and colleague Gloria Feldt, who also happens to be one of the most inspiring and important thought-leaders on women and leadership in the country, likes to cite a pair of statistics that speak volumes: women make 85% of the consumer buying decisions in this country; women are 17% of Congress.

Here's another one for you: 65% of books sold in the U.S. are purchased by women; women wrote 0% of the Best Books of 2009. Really?

Skin Game by Ava Gray

This is Ann Aguirre, writing as Ava Gray's latest book, coming out tomorrow.
Here's the blurb and the gorgeous cover shot:

SKIN GAME by Ava Gray
Berkley Sensation (November 3, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0425231534
ISBN-13: 978-0425231531



A beautiful fugitive—wanted dead or alive.
Kyra is a con woman and a particular kind of thief. She steals with a touch, but she only takes one thing: her target’s strongest skill. Which means she can be a fighter, an athlete, a musician, an artist—anything she wants… for a limited time. Heartbroken, she turns her gift toward avenging her father’s murder; with deadly patience, Kyra works her way into casino owner Gerard Serrano’s inner circle. After pulling off the ultimate con, she flees with his money and his pride.

A hit man who never misses the mark.
Reyes has nothing but his work. Pity for Kyra, he’s the best and mercy never sways him once he takes a job. He’s been hired to find out where Kyra hid the cash—and bring her back to face Serrano’s “justice.” Dead will do, if he can’t locate the loot. He’s never failed to complete a contract, but Kyra tempts him with her fierce heat and her outlaw heart. So Reyes has a hell of a choice: forsake his word or kill the woman he might love.

The Burgeoning TBR Stacks

Since I've been to three book sales in recent weeks, I've added to my To Be Read (TBR) stacks, until now I have three of them, containing about 60 books total.
On top of that, I have two library books that I've just finished, both of which need to be reviewed here so I can turn them back in at the Maple Valley Library.

Here's the list of what is looming in my stacks, threatening to topple over on me while I sit at my computer and type. The first two listed are the library books I've completed.

1) Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
2) Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk
3) Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
4) Patches of Godlight by Jan Karon
5) Don't Count the Candles, Just Keep the Fire Lit by Joan Rivers
6) The Other Twin by Katherine Stone
7) The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
8) Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
9) Natural Blonde by Liz Smith
10) Treasure Forest by Cat Bordhi
11) Personal Pleasures by Rose Macaulay
12) The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
13) In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
14) Enchanted, Inc by Shanna Swendson
15) One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
16) Body Surfing by Anita Shreve
17) A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena De Blasi
18) Queen of the Tambourine by Jane Gardam
19) Daisy Bates in the Desert by Julia Blackburn
20) The Librarians of Alexandria by Alessandra Lavagnino
21) Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer
22) Little Pink Slips by Sally Koslow
23) One Sunday Morning by Amy Ephron
24) The Lepers Companions by Julia Blackburn
25) The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman
26) Passion by Jude Morgan
27) Pinkerton's Sister by Peter Rushforth
28) Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
29) Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
30) The History of Love by Nicole Kraus
31) My Sherlock Holmes by Michael Kurland
32) There's No Place Like Here By Cecelia Ahern
33) No One Noticed the Cat by Anne McCaffrey
34) Afternoons with Emily by Rose MacMurray
35) Olive Kitteridge By Elizabeth Strout
36) Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
37) The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
38) The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice
39) The Artist's Way at Work by Julia Cameron et al
40) The King of Sword and Sky by CL Wilson
41) The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Crusie et al
42) Cybele's Secret by Juliet Mariller
43) Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe by Jennie Shortridge
44) If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern
45) Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
46) An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor
47) The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir
48) The Glory Cloak by Patricia O'Brien
49) The Bride Stone by Tom Williams
50) The Tailors Daughter by Janice Graham
51) Faery Moon by PR Frost
52) The Book of Joby by Mark J Ferrari
53) Icefalcon's Quest by Barbara Hambly
54) Winterlands by Barbara Hambly
55) Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
56) Firebird by Janice Graham
57) The Spooky Art by Norman Mailer
58) The Sex Life of Food by Bunny Crumpacker
59) An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor
60) Harriet and Isabella by Patricia O'Brien
61) The Cranberry Queen by Kathleen DeMarco

Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre

J Young wrote on Amazon.com "Sirantha Jax is finally on Ithiss-Tor, feeling way over her head as an ambassador for the Conglomerate. The Conglomerate needs her to bring the bug-like aliens, the Ithtorians to their side because they need an ally against increased attacks by the Morgut (a species of violent, frenzied eaters that see everyone as food). The Ithtorians are the only species the Morgut have ever respected. A "jumper" and former party-girl, Jax doesn't feel in her element as someone responsible for such an important task, and March, who has always been at her side isn't himself to help her."

That's a nice graph-long summation of the third book in Ann Aquirre's Grimspace series, which began with Grimspace, moved on to Wanderlust and has progressed to Doubleblind.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series mainly because of the extraordinarily well drawn characters and the warp-speed plots that Aguirre crafts effortlessly. My only problem with the first two books were the amount of horrific bloodshed and the swearing, which are mercifully trimmed to a few flashbacks in the third novel.

In Doubleblind, we find Sirantha Jax at a disadvantage, as she's on an alien planet surrounded by giant bugs who find humanity crude, ignorant and disgusting. Add to that her "mouth off and hit first, ask questions later" attitude, and you can almost hear bookies around the universe taking bets on how long before Jax gets herself and her crew incarcerated, exiled or killed.

Fortunately, Jax is at her best under pressure and underestimated, and she comes through in her ambassadorial duties with amazing sang froid. Meanwhile, the love of her life, March, is suffering from a severe case of post traumatic stress disorder, and can't seem to reconnect with Jax at all. Due to her "all or nothing" view of love, however, Jax manages to fix her beloved, just in time for him to be arrested by the Ithtorians. Mayhem ensues, and once again, Jax finds the real perpetrator and saves the day. However, we're left on a cliffhanger that had me yelping "Oh no you didn't!"

I won't spoil it for you by telling you what happens at the end of the book, but suffice it to say that I read this page-turner of an SF novel until the wee hours of the morning, hoping that all the loose ends would be tucked up neatly and I could stop worrying about the fate of the universe. But no, instead I was treated to what can only be described as a hasty retreat. Now I have to wait at least a year for the next installment to find out what happened! Frustrating! Yet for Aguirre and her fine cast of space-faring misfits, I am willing to rein in my impatience and wait. But just this once, Ann! Do you hear me! Get cracking on that manuscript, amiga!

I highly recommend this novel to those who have read Grimspace and Wanderlust. Be prepared to sacrifice your meals, exercise regimen and sleep to finish Doubleblind, however...it is just that good.

Magic to the Bone and Gwenhwyfar

This past weekend I finished reading "Magic to the Bone" by Devon Monk and "Gwenhwyfar" by Mercedes Lackey, mainly because they're library books and I want to get them back as fast as possible for the next person in the hold line to enjoy.

I read an excerpt of Magic to the Bone in a sampler paperback that my friend Renee Stern picked up at a Science Fiction/Fantasy convention last year. Then, a Facebook friend of mine, Phil from the UK, reviewed it favorably on Goodreads, and that was all it took for me to grab a copy from the KCLS web page, ASAP.
Here's a summation of the story:
Allie Beckwith, the estranged daughter of a ruthless and wealthy businessman, lives in a Portland, Oregon that is rife with magic and mayhem. It seems that Magic has 'come out of the closet' and is now regulated and used by everyone for everything from 'influencing' business deals to remaining young looking when past their prime. The problem is, as Allie puts it, "Using magic meant it used you back. Forget the fairy tale, hocus pocus, wave a wand and bling-o, sparkles and pixie dust crap. Magic, like booze, sex and drugs, gave as good as it got."
When anyone uses magic, the price is exacted from the user unless they can offload the cost to someone else, usually an innocent. And the price can range from painful bruises to memory loss, migraines and worse.
Which leads us to Allie's profession; she's a 'hound' or a person who tracks down illegal offloading of magic by identifying the spell caster's signature and then tracking them down and bringing them to justice.
Unfortunately, Allie finds that a young boy has been offloaded nearly to death by her father, or someone duplicating his magic signature, and, once her father is killed, she has to track down the forger and the killer before she herself is 'hounded' to death by a rival hound.
Having been to Portland more than once, I found that I enjoyed reading about a place where I was somewhat familiar with the environment, however, as this is 'urban fantasy' the author focuses on the seedy, ugly and impoverished parts of Portland, and its gritty inhabitants, leaving the reader to think of Portland as a frightening ruin of an urban landscape, which is far from the truth, from what I have seen of the city.
Allie meets up with a man named Zayvion Jones, who is initially hired by her father to keep an eye on her, but becomes her friend and lover as they work together to solve the mystery. I really enjoyed their relationship, and their sharing of power during intimacy. I sincerely hope that Jones and Allie stay partners and keep their relationship going in further books. I found the plot to be well paced and full of turns that I didn't see coming, plus I thought the prose was gritty and workmanlike enough to suit the earthy characters in their tough urban landscape.
The only real problem I had with the book is the same problem I have with Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse. Monk, like Butcher and Harris, puts her protagonist through the mill, nearly getting her killed at least twice and leaving her battered and bruised at the end of the book. Sadly, Allie also loses memory after she uses magic, and she loses a great deal of her memory of her relationship with Jones, and by the end of the book tries to reboot their relationship after her recovery. That just seemed more than a bit cruel to me, and I wonder if the aforementioned authors have a masochistic streak in them, to allow such noble and good characters to be beaten and bloodied so often. It's as if all three authors are saying "No good deed goes unpunished" or "Those who fight the good fight do not deserve any reward but to still be alive at the end of the fight." I feel these characters deserve more than that, they deserve a happy relationship, time without the weight of the world on their shoulders and more than one or two friends who believe in them and are willing to stand by them during times of crisis. In short, they deserve a break.
Still, I would recommend this urban fantasy novel to those who read Sookie Stackhouse and Harry Dresden novels, as they will find much the same rebelious and heroic protagonist herein, who is stubborn, brave and foolish enough to risk their own lives to save others much less deserving.

Mercedes Lackey's latest foray into the Arthurian legend is also a book about a strong woman warrior who attempts to triumph over the forces of darkness to aid her realm.
Gwenhwyfar is taken from the Welsh legends that say that there were actually three women of that name who wed Arthur, King of the Britons, and that all three ended up in different places after Arthur died of wounds given him by his bastard son, Mordred, or Medraut, as he's called in this version of the tale.
This book tells the story of Arthur's third wife, Gwen, who is a trained warrior, raised as the daughter of a king who was considered a giant, and a mother who was possibly one of the "Folk" or Fae people of Briton.
Gwen has an evil little sister, also named Gwen, but spelled Gwenhwyfach, to signify her status as a year younger than Gwenhwyfar. Though identical in appearance, little Gwen is the darkness of selfish evil to her older sisters bright and honest character.
Little Gwen falls in with Morgana and Morgause and learns to use spells to her advantage while good Gwen becomes a capable commander and soldier in her fathers army.
The knights of the round table come to respect her, and Gwen finds herself falling in love with Lancelin (Lancelot), a relationship that is only consummated in the final chapters of the book.
Though I enjoyed the re-telling of this timeless story of love and loss and a kingdom where justice and fair-minded values reigned, I found that Gwen's own love story taking a backseat to the machinations of the evil characters off-putting, and I wanted more time for the relationship with Lancelin to flourish before it was burned down like a useless building. I also didn't get much of a bead on Arthur as a man or a king, he seemed to be a background character in this tale, though he's supposed to be at the forefront, as it's his legend that remains strongly in the collective unconscious. I realize that in telling the story of the three Gwens, Lackey was trying to highlight the lives of these fascinating women and how they effected the kingdom and the king, but leaving the king as a two dimensional character that doesn't even speak until the final chapters is not giving the story its full due...we can't see why even one Gwen would fall in love with him, let alone three.
Yet again, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Arthurian legends, though I'd have to warn them that there is precious little about Arthur or Merlin in this book.

A Great Idea

"Why do they always name schools after politicians and movie stars? Why
don't they name a school after a teacher?" the late Frank McCourt often
asked. Now his wish may come true. New York
magazine reported Mayor
Michael Bloomberg "is expected to soon announce the creation of the
Frank McCourt High School of Writing, Journalism and Literature, an
application-only high school to open next fall on West 84th Street."

Shortly before his death, McCourt was told that the school project might
happen. According to Tom Allon, a former student, now a teacher, "I
said, 'It's looking very good, Frank, and there's a lot of good will
about it.' He said, 'What an honor. What a great thing that would be.'"

I think this is a great idea, to name schools for writers, but at the same time, I fear that there will be no jobs for those students once they graduate, as journalism is a dying art/skill/career.