Thursday, June 28, 2007

Book Round Up

It's been awhile, hasn't it? Here are my recent reads.

Flower Confidential
by Amy Stewart
Sort of like Kitchen Confidential, but less immediately disturbing. She takes you through various aspects of the flower industry. I really enjoyed it, although it made me rethink smelling roses (dipped in pesticide, you say?).

A Killer Stitch Maggie Sefton
This is fourth in a series. They are not that good, but I am still reading them. I guess it's the knitting, because it's sure not the writing, plot or characters.

Furies of Calderon, Academ's Fury, Cursor's Fury Jim Butcher
This is a series recommended by a friend, as another fantasy that might make me stop mourning the finish of the R.R. Martin. I have read 4.5 of his books in a different series (I didn't blog about them, because I thought they weren't that good. I didn't finish the last one).

These are enjoyable, though. About a world where people can "call" furies to help them. (Hence the flurry of furies in the titles.) There are a lot of battle scenes -- really well done, though. And multiple species -- I always like the interactions that come from different species interacting.

Peculiar Beauty, edit. Bonnie Downing
A bunch of random beauty tips/advice from old books. Fun. For her Own Good by Barbara Ehrenreich is a more serious look at this subject.

Garden Design for Small Spaces Keith Corlett
I got this from the library based solely on the title. It's not bad, but there is basically only one idea here: scale things down. Oh, and use mirrors. I guess I lean towards more modern gardens, so I was hoping for more options.

Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are Brooke Kroeger
Looks at a bunch of people who, at one time or another passed as something they are not: Jewish, White, Straight, a Woman, etc. Really interesting and well-written.

Gods and Pawns Kage Baker
Book 10 or something of the Company Series, which deals with a company that invents time travel and then immortality. The books deal with the immortals that they create to do their dirty work. Great idea, yes? This one is short stories about various characters that we've come to know and love/tolerate. I love Kage Baker and I love this series. I want to go back and reread all the old ones now.

Year of Yes Maria Dahvana Headley
Snarky memoir about girl who decided to say yes to all offers of dates for one year. I like snarky, so that was fun. She has a way with a words, for sure.

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