I started reading Jane Lindskold quite by accident. I’d seen–and even picked up–her Wolf series, but was just never in the mood to start a multi-book series, so the books languished and I soon forgot about her.

However, at a trip to the bookstore I ran across Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls and was intrigued by the title. Then I read the paragraph:

“Morning falls on the just and the unjust,” I observe, and the nurse smiles politely and continues brushing my hair. Betwixt laughs from where I clutch him in my hands, Between, snores. He is not a morning dragon. “Turn us over Sarah,” Betwixt coaxes, and I do this carefully, balancing the four stubby legs in my pant leg just above the knee. Betwixt growls approvingly, “That’s a good girl. Now, be a love and scratch in front of my left horn, right above the eye ridge.” I do this, studying my friend as I do. Betwixt and Between are a two-headed dragon. They are small as dragons go, standing only ten inches long from barrel chest to tail tip. They also have blue scales, red eyes, and faintly smell of strawberries.

Sarah–and those with whom she has lived for years–are being released from the asylum after budget cutbacks have lead them all to be deemed capable of functioning on society. Her past is unknown, and she can communicate only by repeating verses (the bible, Shakespeare) that seem a suitable response to the situation.

I ended up reading the book in a single sitting.

I then looked for more books by Jane Lindskold, and came across Child of a Rainless Year.

Mira is the only daughter of Colette Bogaty, the town eccentric: She dresses in a style more fitting to a previous century. Mira also has an unusual childhood, growing up with such a mother, but when her mother disappears her life changes completely and absolutely. But for the most of the book, Mira is a frumpy middle aged woman who after the death of her adopted parents, decides she wants to discover her past and what happened to her mother.

Again, I didn’t want to put the book down, and was completely engrossed in the story.

Now both of these stories, as well The Buried Pyramid, despite their descriptions, are fantasy. The world of these books is almost–but not quite–our world. These are not multi-book epic fantasies, but instead are stories told over the course of a single book.

I love books like this.

I still haven’t read her wolves series, again, because I’m not in the mood for “epic” fantasy. And I’m one book into a series her Thirteen Orphans series, but I’m moving slowly, because I had getting into an unfinished series.

But the two books I’ve mentioned above? Both are absolutely fabulous, and you should check them out if you are looking for something different to read.

Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls (1994), The Buried Pyramid (2004), Child of a Rainless Year (2005), Thirteen Orphans: Breaking the Wall (2008)

Sometimes I get in the mood for a specific type of book. Recently, it’s been mysteries. But not cozies. Sorry cozy authors. My grandmother may love you, but you’re generally not my thing. I’d much rather have blood and guts and action. Kinda like the opposite of my life.

Anyway.

In my search for something I like, I stumbled upon Dana Stabenow‘s Kate Shugak series.

I’d read anthologies edited by Dana Stabenow, but had no idea she wrote mysteries, so when I stumbled across A Taint in the Blood I decided to pick it up and see if I liked it.

I did.

Kate Shugak lives in “The Park” in Alaska. Earlier in the series apparently she lived in Anchorage working for law enforcement, but at the point I wandered into the series she’d moved back to Niniltna and was working occasional investigations as her services were needed.

She’s a strong and independent woman who decides what she wants and goes after it. My favorite kind of heroine. She’s got flaws, and she recognizes this fact, but doesn’t let that keep her from being herself.

She’s also not afraid to bend the law in her search for justice. That always makes for an interesting moral dilemma when well done.

The secondary characters are also well done–they are distinct personalities, and I can usually tell by the dialog which characters are which. Always a strength in any book.

Now I’ve got a thing about series. I don’t often like to go backwards in a series (unless the series is written in such a way that book order is immaterial) and seeing that there were Bad Things in Kate’s past made me even more reluctant to go back in the series. However, after having read forward as far as I could, I decided to go back to just after the Very Bad Thing and work my way forward. That worked out quite well, except for the fact that I am now, once again, out of Kate Shugak books to read.

Grandmom hasn’t read any of these books yet, and I’m not sure if she will or not. There is boinking–although not a lot, and it’s not an all consuming part of the story. I think she might like them though; we’ll have to see.

The other nice thing about this series is that you can easily pick up any book and start the series. Kate does grow and change through the series, but you are given enough background that you don’t get lost without knowledge of what has gone previously. Again, another sign of good writing.

I have no idea how her portrayal of Alaska is–Dana Stabenow obviously loves where she lives–and I almost don’t want to know, because the mysteries are thoroughly enjoyable, and if they’re not as good as I hope, I don’t think I want to know.

Kate Shugak: Midnight Come Again (2000), The Singing of the Dead (2001), A Fine and Bitter Snow (2002), A Grave Denied (2003), A Taint in the Blood (2004), A Deeper Sleep (2007)

So far this year I have read 119 books. That’s more books that I read during the years of 2004 and 2007. That’s an average of 11.9 books a month.

Pretty good.

A couple months ago I picked up a supernatural fantasy with one of the best covers I’ve seen in a long time, Faith Hunter‘s Skinwalker.

There, see? Isn’t that fabulous? That is not a woman who needs a man to care for her, not matter what life (and un-life) throw at her.

Kudos to Roc who manages usually has very good covers for its fantasy books. But I’m not here to talk about covers–I just like to point out excellent covers when I come across them.

Skinwalker is about Jane Yellowrock, a vampire hunter and a skinwalker–the only one of her kind as far as she knows. She’s been hired by a local vampire council to take out a rogue zombie, lest the reputation of vampires be further sullied. OK, Jane wouldn’t actually use the term sullied, but I like it. Jane is what I love best about good supernatural fantasy: she’s a strong heroine but is far more than a male action hero with breasts (as opposed to heaving bosoms).

Because I enjoyed Skinwalker so much, I decided to pick up Faith Hunter’s “Rogue Mage” series. This series was good, but I didn’t like it nearly as well. Partially because it was in some ways a kissing/boinking book. As much as I liked the story, one of the twists was that mages have an environmental estrus that they cannot control. And of course the main character almost goes into heat multiple times, and at the worst possible moments. That just bugged me. I got over it, and I saw what Faith Hunter was trying to do, but unfortunately it ended up somewhat reducing my enjoyment of the story.

Which is too bad, because it was a fascinating story, set more than a century in the future, after wars and plagues have destroyed a good part of the world.

So the Rogue Mage series was good, but not one of the best I’ve read. I found Jane Yellowrock to be a much stronger character, and the world in which she lived was a bit easier to understand.

Jane Yellowrock: Skinwalker (2009)
Rogue Mage: Bloodring (2006), Seraphs (2007), Host (2007)

OK, almost everyone I know has been feeling crappy and miserable recently. So I propose a challenge: A Vogon Poetry Slam.

That’s right, give me your worst poetry. And the winner… loser… poem receiving the most acclaim will win… something. No idea what, but something. With a value of a LEAST ONE DOLLAR! ($1.00)

Here’s something to get you started.

For Jeri—

Arky-Sue
Don’t be blue
I’ll stick to you
Like Elmer’s glue
Or gum on your shoe

It’s banned books week again, the time when we recognize that individuals throughout the country attempt to stifle free thought and intellectual freedom by keeping books out of the hands of children.

Here are the top 10 most challenged books of 2008:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
8. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper

(more…)

I was first introduced to Sean Russell when a friend loaned me a copy of The Initiate Brother and Gatherer of Clouds. Except that it ended up being a trade. I had loaned him a volume of The Year’s Best in Fantasy and Horror (Volume 6 perhaps?) and then he moved and that was it. So I still have his copies of The Initiate Brother and Gatherer of Clouds.

I’m pretty sure I got the better end of the deal.

Sean Russell is fabulous at world building. His worlds are not full of dragons or demons or fairies or vampires. The worlds he builds are lush and beautiful. The are akin to our world, but somehow at right angles, and with a subtle magic throughout.

Even better, he has also written several duologies, which I have always preferred to trilogies.

When I read a Sean Russell book, I read unusually slowly (for me). I am drawn into the stories and enjoy the details and the scenery and the journeys. His characters are complex and there is never simply good versus evil–in fact sometimes it’s hard to see who is acting for good and who is acting for evil.

He reminds me somewhat of Guy Gavriel Kay, who also writes amazing stories with complex stories that are often classified as fantasy simply because they occur in a world that is not ours.

He has also written two mysteries with Ian Russell under the pseudonym TF Banks, about the Bow Street Runners–the precursors to Scotland Yard. Unfortunately, there are only the two books, and as the last was written in 2003, it doesn’t look like there will be any more coming, which is unfortunate.

I love just plain love Sean Russell’s writing, and if you’re looking for something different to read, I highly recommend checking out something by Sean Russell.

The Initiate Brother (1991) and Gatherer of Clouds (1992)
Moontide and Magic Rise: World Without End (1994) Sea Without a Shore (1996)
The River into Darkness: Beneath the Vaulted Hills (1997), The Compass of the Soul (1999)
The Swans War: The One Kingdom (2001), The Isle of Battle (2002), The Shadow Roads (2004)

I’m out of sorts. I don’t know what I want to do. I don’t have a thing to read.

OK. That last bit ins’t true. Would you believe I don’t know what I’m in the mood to read?

I was 20 when I stopped eating mammals.

Since that time, I have become only more aware of industrial food production in the United States, and the problems it causes, for those who eat it, for those who produce it, and for the land.

At this point, nearly twenty years later, most people have heard passing complaints of the food industry, but it’s often hard to listen to those who are evangelical vegans and PETA supporters. Which is why I’d like to talk about some books that are not written by extremists or with an agenda. The following books are extremely well-researched, and present the results of that research in an even-handed manner.

Of course, since some areas of the food industry are be litigious, they need to be.

The first author is the one I read most recently, Michael Pollan. He’s written The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. The first, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, details Michael Pollan’s experiences as he tries to follow food from the fields to the table. He even bought a single calf, and spent time with that calf over various parts of its life’s journey. He was not, however, allowed into the slaughterhouse to see the conditions there.

He details the life of a calf raised for commercial slaughter, as well as the conditions of the animals on a strict organic farm. He looks at the fertilization of commercial fields as well as the field conditions on the same organic farm. And he even spends some time as a hunter gatherer, creating a meal with ingredients he had gathered himself.

In Defense of Food looks the Western Diet and its affect upon our health. As with The Omnivore’s Dilemma, this book did not hold any surprises for me, but did contain a comprehensive review of the current research on health and diet.

Both of these books are well-written, and present his discoveries through personal experience, which makes the information far more relevant (and interesting) than you would read in a medical or agricultural journal.

Another book is Andrew Weil’s Eating Well for Optimum Health. This book is not quite as accessible as Michael Pollan’s books, but takes a deeper look at the research regarding diet and health, including talking about some of the studies that were quite surprising. (Including, IIRC, a study that was halted when it discovered that beta carotene supplements actually increased the incidence of cancer, when dietary research saw a link between a diet high in beta carotene and a reduction in cancer.

All of which points to the fact that whole foods are almost always going to be better for you than processed foods and supplements–a theme of Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food.

One of the best books I’ve read about the American Food Industry is Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation. He looks specifically at the fast food industry, and follows a meal from the field to the paper bag, and looks not just at the treatment of animals, but also the safety of the food and the treatment of food workers along the way.

One of the most disturbing chapters was on slaughterhouses. Although the treatment of the animals is of concern to me, far more disturbing was the treatment of the humans who work in these slaughterhouses. In order to keep costs down, these individuals work under horrific conditions and are frequently injured–often severely–in the line of work.

This book is why I refuse to eat at any fast food restaurant unless that restaurant is specifically known to treat its employees well. And is also why I will never eat commercial beef, even if I one day decide to start eating mammals again.

Food is a necessity for us, but it is also something that should be enjoyed. And for me, that enjoyment is greater if I believe that the food I am eating is not just good for me, but good for the world as well.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma (2006), In Defense of Food: An Easter’s Manifesto (2008), Fast Food Nation The Dark Underside of the All-American Meal (2002)

Every time I looked at the cover, I kept thinking Ben Browder was about to be attacked by mini-glowy-eyed hyenas and extra tall, extra skinny jawas.

Lots of stuff. Too tired to write anything right now however. So here are some of the supernatural fantasy books I’ve enjoyed recently:

Mercy Thompson: Homecoming (2009) Patricia Briggs, David Lawrence, Francis Tsai, Amelia Woo

Hunting Ground (2009) Patricia Briggs

Skinwalker (2009) Faith Hunter

Skin Deep (2009) Mark del Franco

Have read mysteries and comics as well, but I like to promote good fantasy. Even if it has vampires and werewolves.

Still here.

Still sickly.

Going to try work today.

Meanwhile, you could amuse yourself reading my recent book reviews.

I started reading Nina Kiriki Hoffman when I came across A Fistful of Sky in a bookstore and picked it up on a whim.

I read it in a single sitting.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman writes what I consider Urban Fantasy, which is very different from Supernatural Fantasy, which is full of vampires and boinking. Her stories remind me a bit of Charles de Lint. Her characters live in our world, except that they can see or manipulate magic. In A Fistful of Sky, Gypsum comes from a family that can manipulate magic, only for Gypsum, the powers she receives are neither simple nor easy, and she must come to terms with those powers, as well as her family and herself. It is a coming of age book, only without the angst–well, without too much angst.

But what makes the story for me is that Gypsum is a real woman. She is plus sized. She likes to eat. She considers “Ultimate Fashion Sense” a horrible curse. She has a difficult family, yet loves them despite the problems. I love Gypsum, and wish she was a real woman, because I bet she’d be a lot of fun to hang out with.

And that sums up most of Nina Kirki Hoffman’s books. Her characters are teenagers or are coming of age–she also has this in common with Charles de Lint, but although these may be categorized as Young Adult books, they are most definitely a good read for actual adults, though you should share them with the youths in your life.

Although she as written multiple books in similar worlds, books that occur in the same world are not necessarily part of a series, but may contain characters that recur in multiple books–in other words, you can pick up any book and dive in, and not have to worry whether the book you are reading has a sequel or a prequel.

She also writes short stories, and her stories have appeared in many of the anthologies I own, including Swan Sister (2003), The Repentant (2003), Children of Magic (2006), and The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales (2007). Like her books, characters may or may not appear in multiple tales, and the worlds she creates may or may not appear in multiple tales, but what you can count on is that she can build a world and create complex characters in a short story just as well as she can in longer stories.

She has also, apparently, written Star Trek books, but I have not read any of those.

If you are looking for an author who consistently writes excellent stories, in both the long and short form, then you won’t go wrong reading Nina Kiriki Hoffman.

The Thread that Binds the Bones (1993), The Silent Strength of Stones (1995), A Red Heart of Memories (1999), Past the Size of Dreaming (2001), A Stir of Bones (2003), A Fistful of Sky (2004), Spirits that Walk in Shadow (2006)