October 2011

LOOK!  I reviewed every book I read this month.  I deserve a cookie.

1. Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott (50%)
2. The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Ellen Datlow (35%)
3. City of Veils by Zoë Ferraris
4. The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier (30%)
5. The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
6. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip
7. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
8. The View from the Seventh Layer by Kevin Brockmeier
9. The Company by K. J. Parker
10. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
11. Look to Windward by Iain M. Banks
12. Little Red Riding Hood and Other French Fairy Tales translated by Jack Zipes

I abandoned 3 books.

I read 3 short story collections.

I read 10 books from my TBR list.

I read 10 fantasy or science fiction books.

I reread 1 book.

My favorite book was The Borrower.

My least favorite book was Flatland.

15. Little Red Riding Hood

TBR #15.  Little Red Riding Hood and Other French Fairy Tales translated by Jack Zipes.

First sentence: “A miller bequeathed to his three sons all his worldly goods, which consisted just of his mill, his ass, and his cat.”

So begins “The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots.”  All of these fairy tales are intriguingly odd–kidnapped or cursed princes and princesses, arbitrarily good and evil fairies, and talking animals abound.  While these are all a bit courtly and sometimes bizarre, they are lovingly translated and most enjoyable to dedicated readers of fantasy.

Now I want Beauties, Beasts, and Enchantments, the longer work from which these are selected.  There’s something about a lovelorn king and the youngest of three sisters that makes for delightful reading.

So long and thanks for all the books

It’s the final five days of the Borders closing sale in the city where we live.  My husband coaxed me down to the store one last time (not that I took much convincing, as I have grading to put off), and we bought thirteen books.  At a final sale price of $55.40, we spent an average of $4.26 a book–a nice number in and of itself.  But since most of the books were 70-80% off, we saved $140.10.

One hundred and forty dollars, people.

Here’s the loot:

• Bernheimer, Kate, ed.  My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales.  A lot of big-name authors have contributed to this collection that has been on my wishlist since its release.
• James, P. D.  Talking about Detective Fiction.  These essays about the art and craft of detection are said to be a must-have for every writer’s shelf.
• King, Laurie R.  Touchstone.  I understand this to be a stand-alone mystery novel (something increasingly difficult to find) by the author of my favorite Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series.
• Makkai, Rebecca.  The Borrower.  I’ve enjoyed Makkai’s short stories every time they appear in the Best American Short Stories series, and I’m very much looking forward to her first novel about a librarian.
• Marillier, Juliet.  The Well of Shades.  This is the third book in a series I haven’t started reading yet.
• McKillip, Patricia A.  The Bell at Sealey Head.  I saw McKillip’s Od Magic at the closing sale and was attracted to the cover art; what was inside was just as pleasurable, and I hope the trend will persist.
• Shakespeare, William.  Henry V.  For the giant price of sixty cents, I picked up a Folger paperback edition of one of my favorite plays.
• Wells, H. G.  The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds.  Though I own two of these novels already, this hardback Everyman’s Library copy has an introduction by Margaret Drabble that I’m quite looking forward to.
• Zipes, Jack, trans.  Little Red Riding Hood and Other Classic French Fairy Tales.  While I’ve read the Norton fairy tales collection with several of these tales included, I couldn’t resist this portable edition with its focus on French tales.

Can’t wait to read them!