fiercebunny | (no subject)

Persuasion - Jane Austen (reread). Jane Austen's novels just make me really happy.

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova. A ginormously long novel in which (several) historian(s) try to track down Vlad Tepes (the real life historical figure Dracula was based on)who actually really is a vampire. There was a bit of hype for the book, comparing it to The DaVinci Code and saying it was a return to old-fashioned thrillers, so I was really anticipating it. However. . . good lord, but it's boring. I will say that Kostova excels at creating a wonderfully detailed setting and atmosphere,(she must have done tons of research and I've read several people say the way she depicts Istanbul dead on), but the plot is terrible. The basic storyline is pretty intriguing, but the pacing is off. It just goes on and on forever and the climax and denouement suck. It was so boring that I stopped in the middle of it so I could read . . .

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling. I'm not even going to bother to hyperlink this one. I really liked this, much better than Order of the Phoenix. (Less moody Harry!) And I've already done a lot of OMGWTFBBQ!!111!!1 about the ending, so yeah. I suspect the ending's not as transparently simple as it seems. I like

catnapcat's theory. What was also really fun about this book is that it was really quiet the day after it came out and then a massive tidal wave of psycho fans descended upon the internets. It was like a Black Plague of Crazy. Fun times.

Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami. This one's really difficult to explain. It's split into two narrative with alternating chapters, one in a sort of cyberpunk futuristic Japan (Wonderland) and the other in a rather fantasy-like dream world (the End of the World). (And in a way, they both involve data processing.) I really enjoyed the Wonderland chapters, but the End of the World kept throwing me off. I have to say that I find Murakami a challanging writer; I don't entirely love his stories, but there are moments of profound beauty and humor in his writing. I may have to try another one of his books.

The Little Friend - Donna Tartt. I really liked The Secret History so I was looking forward to reading Tartt's second book. (And I found it for .99! Woohoo!) The Little Friend is an awesome Southern Gothic. Like Harriet the Spy if it involved real crime, was set in the messed-up South and written for a cynical grown-up audience. I wish Tartt was a little more prolific (there was a 10 year break between novels) because I've really enjoyed her books.