14.12: The Demi-Monde: Winter (Book 1 of the Demi-Monde Saga), by Rod Rees

Downloaded in SFO and read on flight to and in NYC in March.

13.12: The Last Bookstore in America, by Amy Stewart (Kindle edition, Pub 2009)

First off, let me say that I have not failed to notice the irony that I read a novel about the decline of the bookstore on my iPad. Added to my guilt is the fact that Stewart is a local author and does, indeed, own a bookstore in my hometown. In fact, it's pictured on the front cover of the book. My guilt is slightly assuaged by the fact that I plan to purchase copies of the book in print as Christmas gifts for a number of people, but I've never been as aware of the issue of eBooks than I was while reading this book.

With that said, I have to say that I fully enjoyed this book. I downloaded it in the airport when traveling and found myself chuckling aloud at many parts. Much of the reason for my hilarity was the thinly-veiled discussion of small-time life in Eureka and surrounding Humboldt County. I recognized a good number of the characters--or at least parts of some people cobbled together to make a single character--places and settings were familiar, and social norms and attitudes were spot on.  While I think we likely come off a bit more charming and quaint in the book that we are in real life, reading this can give folks some idea of what it is like to live in rural, liberal, environmentalist, and--yes, of course--marijuana-influenced Northern California. I'd be curious to hear what folks that don't live here thought of the book.

As an aside, I want to mention that this is Stewart's first fiction release, but she has a number of amazing books on gardening: The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms (2005), Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful (2008),

Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities (2009), and Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects (2011). They make excellent gifts for the gardener, botanist, or nature lover in your life. Go buy them now. At your local bookstore.

11.12: A TeenLit novel that I currently can't recall

When middle age gives me a break, I'll post this entry. I'll remember--in the middle of the night, when I am doing the dishes, or another time I least expect it.

10.12: Goliath (Leviathan Book 3), by Scott Westerfeld (2011 hardcover)

This is the final book of Westerfeld's Steampunk trilogy and it doesn't disappoint. The WWII-with-a-twist setting continues to fascinate, and this volume brings in additional historical figures from the United States and Mexico in addition to new Clanker and Darwinist contraptions that are sure to please. An added bonus is that Westerfeld continues a thin vein of romance to keep the girls reading, while not letting it overwhelm the plot as so many other (primarily female) teen authors do. You can read more details about the underlying premise in my review of the second book in the series, Behemoth, but be sure to start with Leviathan in order to grasp the underlying concepts--and the kick of of WWII.

9.12: Crossed, by Ally Condie (2011 hardcover)

Fresh off the heels of complaining about the romance in my previous TeenLit read, I picked up this  teen romance. It seems a bad choice in retrospect, but I couldn't help myself; I read the first volume in the series some time ago and had been looking forward to the release of the second. In Entry 62, I discuss the first book, Matched, which I liked enough to call a teen version of 1984 or Brave New World. The Society (Yes, with a capital ess) depicted in Matched was interesting, allowing the romance to mellow in the background as readers were exposed to additional infringements on freedom taking place behind the calm, white-washed surface of Society.

In Crossed, though, Society takes back stage as Cassia and Ky struggle to define themselves, find each other, and survive in the Outer Provinces and beyond. There are only limited glimpses of the world they are escaping and the world they are fleeing to (likely not as ideal as Cassia believes), and during the remaining time were are stuck with the two young lovers, yearning, and long meaningful glances. The end of the book, however, left me with hope for the future of the franchise, as it is clear we are going to get dumped back into Society and unSociety in the third book. Please, Condie, tip the scales back to social commentary and away from moony teens.

8.12: Daughter of Smoke & Bone, by Laini Taylor (2011 hardcover)

I've been seeing this book on reading lists since it came out last September, and it has (literally) looked down at me from the shelves of bookstores. In the spirit of my read-the-books-on-my-shelves-and-only-buy-new-ones-that-continue-a-series-I-started pledge, however, I resisted the desire to buy it for four months. Then I stopped by Northtown Books a couple weeks back to get a few new volumes in some series I'm reading, and I added this to the pile as well. 

I have mixed feelings about the book, and not just because it was the book that led me to break my pledge. I'm realistic enough to know that was an inevitable event, and I'm a bit surprised I went as long as I did. Baby steps, and all that.  Rather than stemming from book-buying angst, my mixed emotions come from the fact that I really wanted to like the book and only sort of liked it. It has a lot of my favorite elements: good and evil, warrior angels, a battle between supernatural beings going on right outside human sight--chimera, in this case. Alas, what it also has--in spades--is romance. 

Per usual, the romance involves a teen (apparently) girl who is on the edge of society, in this case because she is an orphaned human (apparently) raised by chimera--beings of mixed human and animal traits. Of course, there's more to this odd picture than even Karou knows, and the truth begins to unfold when she encounters Akiva, a warrior angel. That in itself isn't a bad thing, but the ensuing focus on the love between Karou and Akiva is a bit too formulaic--even for someone who generally tolerates the teen romance formula to get some good fantasy/SciFi. It's the same complaint I made in my recent discussion of Cassandra Clare's newest book, and I'm wondering if it's simply time to take a bit of a break from TeenLit for a while. There's a sequel in store, of course, and we'll see if I've recovered from romance overload before it's released.  

7.12: Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, Book Two), but Cassandra Clare (2012 hardcover)

Cassandra Clare has a skill for creating a rich fantasy world, replete with angel protectors, vampires, werewolves, demons, warlocks, and just about any supernatural being you can imagine. It's interesting packaging for her novels, which essentially boil down to teen romances. In theory, the supernatural/combat layer may be of interest to male teens, but I suspect that her readership is predominantly teen girls--with middle aged women like myself thrown in for good measure--all the better to brood over the stunningly handsome teen boys involved. 

Clockwork Prince is the second in a prequel series published after Clare's City of Bones books (The fourth of which I reviewed in Entry 35) were under way. Set in Victorian England, Infernal Devices  series readers are introduced to the fact that the battle between good and evil has been waged for a long time (as measured in teen years, at least), and provided the opportunity to explore the mores and clothing of the Victorian era along the way. I reviewed the first in the prequel series in Entry 7, so you can check out the premise there. In this second volume, Tessa's search for who she is--and who she loves--continues. Is she a warlock or something closer to her angelic friends? Will she end up with the angry, brooding, gorgeous angel or the kind, ill, gorgeous angel? Decisions, decisions...