The Secret History by Donna Tartt

*This was a book club selection

My typical genre preferences run to fantasy, mystery and science fiction, and a little less to the strictly "literary" novel, though I have been known to dabble. Still, this is not the typical book that I would read. And I'm having a very hard time writing a review about The Secret History, because I did like, but I didn't like it.

The story follows one person, Richard, in first person. He moves from California to Hampton college in Vermont and eventually falls in with a group of Classics students, all of whom come from wealthy families. Since you find out in the first pages of the prologue the what happened, reading the book, part of me kept wanting to say "OK, get on with it already!" There was a lot of what felt like dragging, but at the same time what was happening was interesting.

The biggest problem I had was with the ending. It got almost too melodramatic for me. It started like a movie from the 70s and ended up a soap opera.

I don't recommend it for the speculative fiction crew. I feel that we tend to like likable characters - be they villain  antagonist or hero, but these characters aren't really that likable. The setting of time frame was sort of flexible, which bothered me at times, and other times didn't. And that's what bothered me about this book, and is giving me fits in doing this review. It's very annoying to both like and dislike a book.

So I leave you with a challenge - try something outside of your comfort zone - and see what happens!

What Draws Us In?

All books try to draw in the reader. Some succeed. Some fail. Often we've heard a friend recommend a book by saying "Wow, it really drew me in!" But when we pick up the book, we don't feel the same way.

I've picked up several books that I wasn't able to finish. Why did I pick them up? Interesting cover art, the blurb on the back sounded good, the recommendations of authors I liked - all these are factors in getting you to open a book. Some of these books, sure, I got lost in the middle. It happens - you have a great opening and a sagging middle. But with many, it was the first chapter I struggled with.

I've gotten advice to try and get to page 50 of a book before giving up on it entirely. I don't know many of occasions where this worked for me. This may not be the best rule to follow. After all, why should I invest the time to read those 50 pages? Get me in 5, and maybe you'll win. Draw me in from the first sentence, thought, word - I'll probably be recommending you to my friends.

From a writer's standpoint, drawing someone in is how you sell a book. The subjectivity of the written work is why there are so many agents, editors and publishers, because what draws in one person may not draw in another. If you don't sell your book in your first few words, you aren't going to catch the attention of an editor or an agent. The rest of the story may be the greatest book ever written, but without that initial capture of attention, no one may ever know.

Whatever draws us in differs between one person and the next, even when you like the same genre. Not all fantasy appeals to fantasy lovers, not all mystery appeals to mystery lovers. I personally, tend to get drawn into books written in 1st person. Now, that's not to say I don't like a 3rd person perspective, because based on some of the books I love, I clearly do. But that 1st person look tends to draw me in. Especially when I'm not expecting it. (The Magic of Recluce (Saga of Recluce), which is the book that made this topic jump to mind, did this to me very recently and quite unexpectedly.)

So what else besides that 1st person perspective works on me? Sure writing style is a good part of it, but, I'm looking for witty dialogue, interesting characterization from the start and I love things that start in "medias res." I always loved Farscape for this reason. You jump in and have to figure out what the hell is happening, compared to Star Trek: TNG where you get a Captain's Log to explain everything. (Oh, I love TNG, but that was the thing that made Farscape a better TV show.)

So, throw your character or setting or whatever in the middle of a crisis and I'm going to keep reading. Explain later. Act now!


I really want input on this topic, because the only resource I have here is myself. I rarely force myself to read something in don't like (book club as the exception here), but since taste does vary, having other opinions on what it was about a book draws you in is very helpful. Not only does it help me examine what draws me into a book, and from the other seat - what does the writer need to consider when writing?

How about you?

"The Color of Magic" by Terry Prachett

OK, so I read it. I picked up The Color of Magic and actually read it. It was very confusing, and read much more like 4 separate short stories put together. I was OK actually until the end of the third one, though I could have done without some of the repetition (re: Discworld (spoiler, it's a Disc), Turtle (spoiler, there are elephants on its back), Death (spoiler, he always shows up in person for Wizards).)

So, I tried to think of this in terms of 1983, when it was published. My conclusion would be that Terry Pratchett had a good time in the '70s and now we have Discworld. But, I honestly do think that my modern reading sensibilities have colored my perception of this book. Obviously it was good enough in its time to make people of the time read it and enjoy it enough he's still writing.

Anyway, this book follows Rincewind the wizard, and Twoflower the tourist (who works in inn-sewer-ants). And that's pretty much the plot, stuff happens to them. Of course, the best character is the Luggage. Honestly, it's pretty awesome Luggage. I wish I had some Luggage like the Luggage. Of course, if everyone had the Luggage, we'd have a very different world. Oh well.

I think, because I read another Discworld novel before reading The Color of Magic, I might give some of the Discworld novels a chance. I recommend reading the The Color of Magic, but honestly, I wouldn't make it your first Discworld novel, unless you go in knowing it gets much better.

PS - I really think I might have actually liked this as an e-book. (And that's pretty amazing coming from me, because I am fighting tooth and nail against the e-book revolution.) But, I can't say exactly why. Which does bother me.

Characters - Who do you love?

So I haven't done much reading the past few weeks. Been busy, and yes, you can also blame Doctor Who. Of course, Doctor Who also led me to this blog topic. How does a reader relate to characters?

Science Fiction and Fantasy are a special breed - but in all honesty, a novel contains three main things, regardless of genre: Characters, Plot and Setting. Everything else hangs on these things.

What brought me to characters from Doctor Who is the character of River Song. She certainly brings out opinons from viewers - some (like me) love her, some hate her. With TV it's a little different, because you can base your feelings for a character a bit on the actor's portrayl. Doctor Who does this very well, because you have a main character which has been played by 11 different actors. People tend to like a certain actor better than others, and a lot of that depends on who you first saw playing the role, because they tend to define the character for you. A new actor comes in and plays things just a bit differently and you say, that's different - Doctor Who is built around change. You know, if you watch the show, that the doctor will change again and again. But some people can't let go of a certain "doctor."

In a book, you don't have to worry about that. The character is who the character is, and you, the reader, get to define that character based on the information in the book. Descriptions, dialouge, internal thoughts other character's views of the character all build the character in your mind as you read. And you get attached.

I've cried over books because of what happens to the characters. Some people have been known to throw books or stop reading them because of something that happens to a character that they love. Characters can drain you emotionally. You love them, hate them, fall in love with them, laugh at them, laugh with them. At least, with the goods ones you do. And characters are really what make us love a book. Rarely does one hear about how great the plot of the book was without some mention of the characters. Rarely does one praise a setting by itself - even if you do, you tend not to care for the book unless the characters made a good impression on you.

We want our characters to be real people, but at the same time, they have to be somewhat larger than life. Important things happen to our characters, regardless of the scope of the novel. They might be saving the world or just saving their own lives, but if the reader doesn't care about the characters, they aren't going to care about the novel.

On the other hand, a great character can let you get away with a lot. This is very apparent in Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy series, and sometimes even in Epic Fantasy series - if you like a character, you're going to keep reading, and if the author isn't giving you the best (or at least something good) it might even take you a while to notice it. This happened to me in the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I loved her character, and it took me a while to notice that the rest of the book wasn't really holding together. (I gave up at Danse Macabre if anyone cares - because the lack of forward motion, and typos, made me realize that I had spent my hard earned money on something that neither the author NOR the publisher cared about. Many people, who also love the Anita Blake Character gave up before or after that point, and some still love the character so much it just doesn't matter to them.)

You can't have a good novel without characters that evoke some emotion from the reader. Of course, people differ on this point- for instance I could never get into Wizards First Rule, because I didn't find the characters interesting - obviously many, many people have picked up the book and followed the main characters through so many more adventures. But those characters just weren't for me. Some of my most beloved characters aren't for others, either. People get very defensive about their favorite characters (thus the ultimate "hatred" many have for the Star Wars prequels.) For instance, I stopped reading the Star Wars: New Jedi Order books when I found out what eventually happened to my favorite characters, because it was stupid, and MY characters wouldn't never have done that.

Often, sucess or failure rides on the characters - take Sherlock Holmes for instance - sometimes people get it right, and sometimes they don't - I mean, this character is so beloved that his author had to "bring him back from the dead" because of public outcry.

So, who are your favorite literary characters? Currently my favorites are: Sherlock Holmes (in many incarnations), Oberon from Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, and Mat & Perin from The Wheel of Time.

"Raven's Shadow" by Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs is pretty well known for her Mercedes Thompson Urban Fantasy Series. I picked up one of her older books to see how she did in the more traditional fantasy setting. I was not disappointed.

I had picked up Raven's Shadow a while ago, and it's been siting in my "To-be-read" pile. Feeling bad for my TBR pile, since I keep adding to it, and not really making much progress on it's size, I picked this particular book up as it had been sitting in the pile for a long time. I wasn't sure I could read a traditional fantasy story - I mean, looking back, I've read dark fantasy, comedic fantasy, and urban fantasy - all very contemporary explorations of the genre. I tend to "like" a specific sub genre for a while, sort of get addicted to it. So after my "high" of Hounded (see previous entry), I wasn't sure  could read the "traditional" fantasy and not "get bored." (Nothing to the actual book, you see, most of the books I put down are very good books, I'm just not in the right mind frame to read them at that point in time.)

I am very glad, however, that I picked up Raven's Shadow! It was a fast read, which is always nice in a genre that tends to be dominated by epic tomes and the Mega!Series. It is by no means a stand alone book, and I raced to the ending even though I had "peeked ahead" (more on this in a different blog). The book was well written, the story was pretty fast paced, the characters were flawed: the heroes are good, the villains are evil, but with their own traits that makes them more than just caricatures. The magic is presented in a fashion that, if not unique, was definitely organic to the world Ms. Briggs created.

While I did enjoy the book, there were certainly parts where I wished we had more. A few things that happen get thrown an "oh, here's an explanation" and while the explanations make sense in the worldview, they are a bit convenient and not foreshadowed at all (or at least not well, because I didn't pick up on them at all), which is a bit of a let down.

What I liked most about the book however, were the characters. I enjoyed reading about them, and I'm excited to see more of them, so I will be purchasing the sequel, Raven's Strike, once there is some more money in my book buying fund. (Which is woefully low for a good long while as I sort of went on a shopping spree last weekend....don't judge!)

"Hounded" by Kevin Hearne

Urban fantasy is a large sub-genre of fantasy, and there are some big names writing it: Laurel K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, and many more. The three I have named all have one thing in common: they write the "alternate" earth urban fantasy - some aspect of fantasy is living among the humans. Vampires, werewolves, magic, fae live and work in "real" cities like St. Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati.

A new voice has entered the field. Hounded is the first book in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles. Set in Tempe, Arizona, the usual elements of urban fantasy are here: werewolves, vampires, witches and faeries. And gods. Oh, and did I mention our hero is a 2100 year old Druid?

Atticus is our main hero, a Druid that would like nothing more than to live in peace with his wolfhound, Oberon. However, it's hard to live in peace when the gods are looking for you.

Hounded has a rich mythology, a hero that's fun and flawed, and the world's best Irish Wolfhound - Oberon. It is Atticus' relationship with Oberon that really makes the book. Atticus has taught the dog how to speak, and they communicate mentally. Oberon, however, does not stop being a dog. He is still excited about life, sometimes single minded, and hungry.

And this is why I HATE reviewing books that I loved. I don't know what to say. I laughed out loud on several occasions, and the book kept me up well past my bedtime. I'm planning to go out and buy Hexed and Hammered, the next books in the series, as soon as possible.

Okay, so what exactly did I like about this book? I enjoyed the fact that the entire Celtic pantheon was involved. The story was full of conflict - non stop as most urban fantasy - which left you out of breath, and in typical "Irish" fashion, the slow parts usually involved drinking. Oberon is a great character, you don't for a moment forget he's still a dog, even though he can mentally speak with Atticus.

There is a little bit of "first book" - ness? - to this book. Somethings get repeated that maybe don't need to be. Specifically referring to some of the talk of the gods, but while some of it makes it clear that hey, these guys don't get out much - some of it is a bit over the top. Also, the fact that "women" are Atticus' weakness is pointed out a few too many times. They could have just showed it, instead of everyone commenting on it time after time again.

So, while there are some faults, it's a very fun book: it's intended purpose is to entertain, and on that order it certainly delivers. I look forward to more of the adventures of Atticus and Oberon.

"Goblin Quest" by Jim C. Hines

*This was a book club selection (it happens to be my selection for the club this year.)

I was introduce to Jim C. Hings through his Princess books. (A good series. Start with The Stepsister Scheme.) So, when I picked up Goblin Quest, I expected a bit of tongue-in-check to the genre. There were some humorous moments, certainly, but I feel like any person who has ever played Dungeons and Dragons would enjoy this twist on the typical D&D adveture, a bit more than those who hadn't played the game, or read the books set in that style.

Our hero (or anti-hero) is Jig, a goblin (hence the book title). While we are constantly hit over the head with the fact that Jig is pathetic even for a goblin (in normal goblin traits), he's certainly a fun protagonist to follow. He may be near-sighted, cowardly, small, and inexperienced, but he's intelligent (or perhaps just more imaginative.) Now that I'm thinking about it, he does tend to approach things with a child like mind - not stupid, or dull witted, but instead everything for him is full of wonder, and he therefore thinks more "outside the box" than the "more experienced" and single minded characters who are billed as the "heroes." (Your typical adventuring party: The Noble Prince on a Quest, the Powerful Wizard, the Dwarven Cleric and the Elven Thief.)

Jig also has a small companion, a Fire Spider named Smudge who is a very useful pet. Jig's care of the creature shows more about his character than all his negative thoughts about himself and his race. Jig may not be perfect, but he's certainly shown to be more than just another Monster. While this type of story certainly isn't new, I think Goblin Quest does a really good job of telling a fun "adventure" story with a fun POV character. However, there are serious dark overtones, especially considering the character that Jig deals with - there's certainly a quality about it that makes you think - the winners are the Heroes, but I think we all tend to associate "good" qualities with those that claim to be heroes. Goblin Quest turns that on it's head a bit in a way that makes you think about what "good" and "evil" really mean: Who's the hero and who is the Monster?

While this certainly isn't a MUST READ NOW kinda book, I do think it's one any fantasy lover should consider adding to his or her library. Goblin Quest is the first book in a trilogy, but it can certainly be read and enjoyed on it's own. But, I think I see Goblin Hero in my future.

"Among Thieves" by Douglas Hulick

The saying goes, don't judge a book by it's cover. However, we all do so. That's why cover art is such a big deal in the publishing world. This is especially true for a new author. Good cover art gets your book noticed.

Good writing gets your book read, reviewed, blogged about, tweeted, shared on Facebook, etc. (Of course, really bad writing does as well, but it's the good I'm talking about in this case, so the statement stands.)

The cover art got me to pick up Among Theives. As did the title. The blurb from Brent Weeks on the front put this book in my "buying now" stack. I'm really glad I picked it up.

For a first novel, the setting is fantastic. It's definitely urban fantasy, but not your typical modern day urban. Instead of vampires and werewolves, we find ourselves surrounded by Noses (people within a criminal organization that "sniff" out information) and Mouths (people within a criminal organization that use Glimmer (magic)).

Our anti-hero is Drothe, who is also our story-teller. He's a Nose for an Upright Man (Mob Boss) named Nicco. The story really begins as Drothe heads into Ten Ways to determine what is happening. And, he finds more than he ever thought, and gets himself in the middle of a War. Which I made sound much less complex than it really is. This story has more twists and turns than a really good roller coaster.

I'll admit, this was a book I did put down during "the middle" but once I picked it back up, I had trouble trying to put it back down again. It kept me up way past my bed time more than once. I'd say, push through, there is some "info dumping" of character/world info that you probably need setting up a location for a series of books. (This is "A Tale of the Kin" so I'm assuming there may be more than one.)  As a first novel, I think it does just fine. It's not epic in length by any means, so forge on to the action and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I highly recommend this book to any who like the more down and dirty types such as The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch or The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. There is no good or evil, right or wrong here. There is intrigue, fighting, betrayl and everything you'd want out of a good mobster movie, with a little bit of magic thrown in.

The "TBR" pile & Reading multiple books at once.

So this week, I wanted to look at a habit of mine that is both helpful and a hindrance. I read a lot of books, and several times, I will be reading more than one book at a time. Usually this means, I start one book, then start another, and possibly a third, before finishing the third, then one of the others I'm part of the way through. Sometimes this works just fine. Other times, I'm not sure how much I remember or where I stopped. (BAD HABIT WARNING: I DON'T USE BOOKMARKS!! BAD JADA!)

Most of the time I have a reason - for instance, needing to switch to read the book club book of the month before the meeting. Or, I buy a new book I've been waiting for, and jump right into it. Or the more likely scenario - I get bored. This isn't always the case. I've done this to books that are very good books. Books I liked when I finished them. So what makes me put the book down? Usually confusion, or the dreaded middle. Everyone knows the middle of books, even good books, can drag a bit. It's the Middle, it's meant to drag. It's the "LORD OF CHAOS" of the book. It's the part of the movie where you go, "if you'd just speak to each other, the movie would be over by now!" It's past the exciting beginning, where you are meeting or greeting characters, and absorbing a setting. It's not the conflict resolution (and usually interesting and quick) ending.

I also have, what I've casually coined, an ADD addictive personality. I don't really have ADD, but my addictive personality means just this: I tend to get obsessed about certain things very easily - and sometimes those "addictions" change rapidly. I think this "addictive personality" is addicted to new books. Doesn't matter if I finish the book. But of course, it does matter. Reading a book means finishing the book, unless I find that impossible. (There have been a few, and it's usually writing style.) But sometimes it's nice to have something "I can't control" to blame for my quirks.

So, does anyone else read more than one book at a time? Or am I the only one?

And, ironically that leads me to the TBR pile. TBR stands for "To Be Read." This is the pile of book that one buys at a bookstore, planning to read, and sit while you finish reading others - because one can buy more books faster than one can read them. Currently I have about 50 books in the pile, but I'm only reading about 3 right now (2 + next month's book club book.) Do you have more books or less? Are you good, and don't buy books until you are need of new things to read? Or do you stock pile in case of an emergency? (Book buying money all taken up by unexpected expenses.)

*For anyone who does not know, the sixth book of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (finished by Brandon Sanderson). Lord of Chaos is several times quoted as being the longest book of the series (even though it's not), and the hardest to get through.

"Guards! Guards!" by Terry Pratchett

**This was a Book Club Book Selection**

Guards! Guards! is my very first Discworld Novel. I wanted to hate it. I really, really did. The first few pages, I thought I would hate it, I thought about skipping the next Book Club Meeting, I thought about not actually buying the book (I read the first few pages on Google Books). Well, I found a "buyable" copy at Half Price Books, and I read again.

First - let me interrupt myself if I may - I don't buy books that look like crap. If I am buying a book at Half Price Books, then it must be in near mint condition. No spine creases (or at least not any major ones). I want my books to look like they've never been read. I hate when I accidently crease a spine. It physcially pains me when someone "dog-ears" a page in a book. I'm a book snob. I did buy a book once that wasn't up to my standards. I read it. I sent it right back to Half Price Books.

Now, let me also explain why I pick up ANY books at Half Price? Am I not, lowering the royalties of authors, am I not contributing to the pirating problems? Am I not making it harder on traditional book publishers?

Yes, I am. I am aware of the issues. I still pick up a good number of books at traditional book stores or on Amazon. But, part of the magic of books is sharing the tales, and while I refuse to lend out books to anyone - The two books I did lend out most recently were returned to me as brand new copies because the lendees destroyed the books. One was actually dropped in the Ocean! - There is a sense of community around books. I buy older books, or books of authors I haven't read from Half Price Books at times, because it gives me a chance to go in at a low invesetment. If I pay $4 for a book and don't like it, I don't feel like I wasted my time and my money. If I spent $24-30 on a hardback copy at a traditional bookstore and I didn't like it? Well, honestly, it's not much different from borrowing it from a friend.

But back to the topic of Discworld.

So, this was my first travel to this place. And as I said before I was prepared to not like it. Halfway through the book, I cursed the selectee of said book for Book Club and was actually a bit upset that I would now have to start reading Discworld novels.

There were some laughable lines. (I like it when a book can make me laugh out loud.) There was an interesting and not quite predictable story and plot. There were very interesting characters. And it all felt sort of... organic. Like it just grew there. I like it a lot when a book just sort of comes together because that's exactly what the characters would be doing and while there were some predictable points, nothing felt exactly forced.

For a book in a series, it did an admirable job of not needing to have read the books that came before it to be understood. (Not all series work like this - Wheel of Time for instance, while covering some reminder basics, isn't something you can just jump into at any point you wish.) And while some of the humor relied upon one character's naivete, it was still fun.

So, what has been your experiences with Discworld? Good, bad, indifferent? And where did you start your journey?

Who am I and What am I doing here?

Well, I'm a reader, mostly in the Science Fiction/Fantasy Genres (though I am branchng out.) I'm going to be blogging about every single book I read. Why? Because A) It'll let me know which books I'm reading as well as what types of authors I favor, and B) I don't always read "new" books, and I think older books - those which didn't just arrive on the shelf - deserve a look by those who have never read them and C) I like to read books by new or less established authors, which is a nice way to find someone at the beginning of their career, instead of waiting until they are super famous and everyone loves them.


Many of the books I'll be disussing are chosen by membes of my Book Club, and so occassionally there may be a discussion regarding a book I've read before. I think this will be great because sometimes you don't get everything the first time you read a book. A second look can be worth a thousand words.


A little about me - I am a budding writer (but honestly, who isn't these days?), and have always been an avid reader. I collect books, really just to collect them. I do prefer to read all the books in my library, and while I have given up some books, I mostly give up those that I couldn't get thorugh. However, if there is a book I am unable to get through, I will be posting it on here and explaining why.

A little about this blog - I am not the best at reviewing a book. What I'm here to do is get all my thoughts out, get my impressions out, try not to give out any spoilers, and basically work out how the book as changed my point of view. If I can't finish a book, I need to know WHY I couldn't finish it - was it the writing style, the story, the characters? Let's find out together! If I love a book, I also need to know why - and I need to know what I'm going to do next - am I going to pursue the series (most Fantasy/Scifi books do tend to run in series)? Am I going to be a loyal follower of the author from this point forward? Am I going to try again? Am I going to never again pick up a book from this author? IF so on any of the above - WHY?

So, let's begin!