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I finally read The Court of the Stone Children<...

2012-05-26T07:51:09.056-04:00
I finally read The Court of the Stone Children last night and it's definitely not the book I remember, but it struck me as a fairly thoughtful children's book. It would also be quite hard to classify: mystery? ghost story? coming of age? The plot is almost incidental, a way for the author to show the various relationships Nina develops with people in her new home (and a sweet French ghost).

I appreciate you trying to fix it haha. Oh techno...

2011-05-19T14:03:35.004-04:00
I appreciate you trying to fix it haha. Oh technology...sigh...

Interesting. I got that just now too, but it alway...

2011-05-19T12:16:28.778-04:00
Interesting. I got that just now too, but it always used to work for me. They must have changed something about it. Whatever the case, I just changed my settings to allow searching and no longer get that error, but also don't find any results for things I know I've posted about. It may take a while (hours? days?) for the search index to update...

I overlooked that last night but today when I went...

2011-05-19T11:50:34.140-04:00
I overlooked that last night but today when I went to try it, it comes up with a message like "The search feature is limited on this blog by owner's request. Show all posts" so I have to view all posts anyways...

I see a search box at the top-left of the page, ne...

2011-05-19T08:17:44.346-04:00
I see a search box at the top-left of the page, next to the blogger 'B' logo; does it not show up for you?

Could you add a "search this blog" gadge...

2011-05-18T23:40:49.894-04:00
Could you add a "search this blog" gadget so I can see if you've written anything about specific authors and/or books? That'd be much easier than scrolling the entire thing. You've written so much!

Thanks for the update. You'll have to let me k...

2011-05-13T12:53:33.365-04:00
Thanks for the update. You'll have to let me know what you think when you finish -- or if you don't. Someone else I recommended it to couldn't really get into it.

I received the book in the mail today. I've o...

2011-05-10T14:43:47.430-04:00
I received the book in the mail today. I've only made it through the intro and first 2 chapters so far but I think I'm really going to like it and hopefully get something out of it :) so thank you again

I'm glad I could help - I think this is the fi...

2011-05-05T08:23:22.078-04:00
I'm glad I could help - I think this is the first time anyone has said this little project has actually helped her.

I'd also recommend Walking on Water as mentioned above -- I think it is really a book for all Christians, not just artists -- and I just read C. S. Lewis's The Four Loves which demands a lot of thought from the reader but is also pretty good (though I find myself disagreeing with parts of it). Of the three, though, I'd say Searching for God Knows What was the one I read in the right place at the right time in my life, and had the largest impact.

I'm so glad you left a comment on my blog beca...

2011-05-04T23:41:06.496-04:00
I'm so glad you left a comment on my blog because it led me to yours. This morning I posted a blog expressing the fact that I read a lot and have decided to devote this summer to reading inspirational books. I didn't know where to start looking so I got ahold of an extensive list of recommended books. This list was intimidating to me so I was asking for suggestions from my readers...However, for whatever reason I deleted the post...never done that before but I did it. But I'm so glad I found this post because Donald Miller's book "Searching for God Knows What" was on this list. I'm going to read this book next. Thanks for unintentionally helping me narrow down an intimidating reading list :)

Please excuse my book of a comment...I'm wordy :)

They did come out kind of slowly, I think... the l...

2010-06-30T18:07:42.782-04:00
They did come out kind of slowly, I think... the last one just came out last October. But I read them all for the first time this past week. (I had checked out The Sea of Trolls before but returned it before starting it.)

I only read the first book, and it's been a wh...

2010-06-29T21:49:04.834-04:00
I only read the first book, and it's been a while, but my recollection matches what you have written.

You really paid attention to details. It's a ...

2010-05-06T07:26:54.377-04:00
You really paid attention to details.

It's a good movie.

LOL, I had forgotten that there were two sc...

2010-01-21T17:21:30.284-05:00
LOL, I had forgotten that there were two scenes with a gun. Never mind! *whistles innocently and scuttles away*

I am afraid that must be a different scene with a ...

2010-01-21T17:14:02.070-05:00
I am afraid that must be a different scene with a gun, since I'm thinking of the one earlier with the crow... I must not have gotten as far as you think.

I realized a while after posting this list that I left something very important off it: Uganda! I am tempted to cross off the silly #7 and put Uganda in instead, but I suppose I should wait and see how much it plays into the story...

The scene with the gun was one of my favorite part...

2010-01-21T09:45:00.187-05:00
The scene with the gun was one of my favorite parts too. I suspect you can tell.

Although I'm actually very fond of that whole chapter, in which it is basically everybody pwning Rob (who by that point, totally deserves it).

Anyway, glad you're enjoying it so far!

Well, maybe you'll find a good one soon.

2009-11-23T06:40:27.080-05:00
Well, maybe you'll find a good one soon.

I think you're right about what she found in t...

2009-07-25T14:45:28.443-04:00
I think you're right about what she found in the past. The people she found there were probably my favorite section of the book. Unfortunately the near-future scenes with annoying people (even if her mentor isn't one of them) and bad Christmas music were mostly uninteresting to me, except for the resolution of the mystery.

I did read Faery Rebels and had a similar complaint, although my feelings have mellowed somewhat since. And in this case I really want to like the book!

The other strange thing is that I came away from Wings feeling like I had liked it. Your comment makes me wonder if I really should when I found so many things wrong. I think she started off with some great ideas (the nature of faeries) and subversions, but didn't really like where she took it.

Re: Dull Boy, by your definition I don't read too much YA at all. I doubt I would finish one of those books unless it was compelling for some other reason.

You are right on in comparing the two works. They ...

2009-07-22T07:41:18.413-04:00
You are right on in comparing the two works. They almost demand it. Your conclusion is right on, I think, except for two points:

1) Willis's story strikes me as more believable, allowing, of course, for time travel. No aliens.

2) In Willis's story, the time traveler really did find something amazing, namely a truly good man. That wasn't dark, it was light, even though he died. (We all will!)

I didn't much care for Wings either. Go...

2009-07-21T03:24:31.880-04:00
I didn't much care for Wings either. Go read Faerie Rebels by Anderson to wash the bad-fairy taste out of your reader-ly mouth!

The problem with Dull Boy is that I read too much YA fiction :-) I was sure it was going to turn out to be one of those gay/cancer-stricken/mental-disorder guy-who-IMAGINES-he's-got-superpowers stories. I loathe those books.

But it isn't of course, and as you say, once Our Heroine, the Girl Genius appears on stage, one can't put it down: what a riot!

I should be honest, if I wasn't fixated on the...

2009-07-18T17:12:19.602-04:00
I should be honest, if I wasn't fixated on the memory thing I would probably have mentioned some other things I found annoying:

God is mentioned once if I recall (in the phrase "Thank God!") while evolution is mentioned several times. Faeries are the pinnacle of evolution and they know it, even if they don't how to buy a map. Not contrived at all.

The faerie version of the birds and the bees. THIS IS SPOILERIFIC. OK, I do actually like the direction the author took this in, but there's a couple flaws and one of them is that faeries can have sex, it just doesn't have anything to do with reproduction IF you buy the line Laurel is fed. (I'm not sure I do.)

A minor correction: I actually meant Lirael...

2009-07-18T15:08:06.272-04:00
A minor correction: I actually meant Lirael, the second book in the series.

I meant that you have to wait a long time after re...

2009-07-18T15:05:02.729-04:00
I meant that you have to wait a long time after reading the first one, which is normally the time when I'd go read everything else by the author (if I enjoyed the first one).

I did enjoy Dull Boy although it reminded me powerfully of The Incredibles (and also Soon I Will Be Invincible since that's the only other superhero book I can think of). I'm not sure why you wouldn't have liked it except that his problems (juggling washing machines? who doesn't know better?) were ridiculous at first. But once Darla and co. entered I couldn't stop laughing. ("I sometimes... role play...")

As far as that thing I don't like: I really hate when memory is erased and minds are manipulated, especially when the people so afflicted never recover what they lost (see: Sabriel, The Witch Queen (which has the worst ending ever), Exiles, that Cordwainer Smith story although that would be bittersweet either way). I don't buy that it's necessary in most stories, either.

Spoilers follow!

In Wings, it's not only a critical part of the plot, it's also tossed in as a weak explanation in the last couple chapters for why no one (especially Laurel) noticed anything strange about her life before she entered high school. Other than that she only eats vegetables and drinks Sprite, that is. The contortions that would have been necessary to pull it off break my suspension of disbelief more than a little, unless I misunderstood the mechanic for the erasures: it's basically just a potion. If there were, for example, hypnotic suggestions involved, I could understand her family not realizing anything, but I would like it even less.

Just followed the link to the books: I know that ...

2009-07-18T14:39:13.401-04:00
Just followed the link to the books:

I know that you don't have to wait for either Dull Boy or The Season because I checked them out from my local library. The former was pretty good, though I almost didn't give it a fair shake after I read the first chapter (two guesses why :-)

The Season: meh. Not entirely the author's faul: The cover gives fair warning. The young teen heroines are very much the reticule-cum-sneakers type (the which I cannot STAND but I know the vast majority of romance readers like just fine.) But that extended corset scene: faugh! And you call yourself an historian, madame author!

Very silly quibble, you percieve, but it put me off the entire book.

Bookroll

I finally read The Court of the Stone Children<...

I appreciate you trying to fix it haha. Oh techno...

Interesting. I got that just now too, but it alway...

I overlooked that last night but today when I went...

I see a search box at the top-left of the page, ne...

Could you add a "search this blog" gadge...

Thanks for the update. You'll have to let me k...

I received the book in the mail today. I've o...

I'm glad I could help - I think this is the fi...

I'm so glad you left a comment on my blog beca...

They did come out kind of slowly, I think... the l...

I only read the first book, and it's been a wh...

You really paid attention to details. It's a ...

LOL, I had forgotten that there were two sc...

I am afraid that must be a different scene with a ...

The scene with the gun was one of my favorite part...

Well, maybe you'll find a good one soon.

I think you're right about what she found in t...

You are right on in comparing the two works. They ...

I didn't much care for Wings either. Go...

I should be honest, if I wasn't fixated on the...

A minor correction: I actually meant Lirael...

I meant that you have to wait a long time after re...

Just followed the link to the books: I know that ...