Wednesday books (after hiatus)

I've missed several weeks' worth of books, so this is my attempt to catch up. Doubtless I will miss stuff.

What I've read lately:

The Silver Stallion, by James Branch Cabell, as a bathroom book. Finally finished it. I'm glad I started with Figures of Earth, since I enjoyed that one, and this was considerably more of a slog.

Owlflight, Owlsight, and Owlknight, by Mercedes Lackey, on the iPhone. All the characters seem to be special snowflakes of one sort or another. Mostly light and fluffy (despite the village takeover of the Bad Guys in the first book), but generally enjoyable reading.

The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, and Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett, all as audiobooks in the car or while exercising. These are all rereads (relistens?), but there are a number of the later books I haven't read.

Grave Peril, by Jim Butcher. The third of the Harry Dresden books. It's really remarkable how when he's surrounded by enemies and has used up all his possible resources, he keeps (and keeps and keeps) finding some inner strength to come roaring back. I know he's not going to get killed off, since there are another bunch of books with him as character, but he must be part cat. Or someone up there likes him.

The Rhino with Glue-On Shoes: And Other Surprising True Stories of Zoo Vets and their Patients, edited by Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima. From guppiecat. Enjoyable animal anecdote fluff.

Finished listening to the amateur podcast of a Harry Potter novel, Transfigurations, by Resonant. The audio quality improved noticeably at about chapter 9, which made listening to the rest of it much more pleasant.

The Enchantment Emporium and The Wild Ways, by Tanya Huff. The first one was a reread, because I didn't remember it well enough to launch into the sequel. These two are similar enough to Sean McGuire's Discount Armageddon that I do confuse them a bit, but they're all good.

Windows on the World, by Andrea White. One of the Wiscon YA ARCs I picked up last year. Ye gods, this is just bad. The author has a tin ear for slang, the time travel plot is one of those obvious circular ones, and the plotting has holes you could drive the World Trade Center (which figures prominently in the story) through. Seriously not recommended.

Ashes and Shadows, by Ilsa J. Bick. One of the Wiscon YA ARCs I picked up last year. Okay, I don't believe the science behind this one for a minute, either -- a nuclear exchange kills most of the adults in the world, gives brains plus psi-like abilities to Alzheimer patients and some teens, and children turn into flesh-eating zombies when they hit puberty. Yeah, right. But the characterization is good, and the writing kept me reading. In fact, I hunted down the sequel, which also kept me reading, though not as avidly as the first one. The third of the trilogy is due out this fall, I believe. Warning: This has some seriously gory and disturbing bits, graphically portrayed.

A Need So Beautiful, by Suzanne Young. One of the Wiscon YA ARCs I picked up last year. This one is just plain creepy. The main character, a previously mostly-normal teen girl, discovers that this ability she has to find people who need her and fix them is going to leach all of her away until she disappears. She has to decide whether to accept this lovely fate, or fight it, thus becoming evil. Sheesh.

Guardian of the Green Hill, by Laura L. Sullivan. One of the Wiscon YA ARCs I picked up last year. Sequel to Under the Green Hill, which I picked up the year before. It's set in a community in England where the humans interact with the Fair Folk, and the children who have come to visit are learning about it all -- and one of them is going to have to take on the role of protector from her great-aunt. I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one, which I was a bit lukewarm on. The previous one was her first novel, and it had a lot of first-novel features. This one showed more mastery of her craft.

A Coalition of Lions, by Elizabeth Wein. Sequel to The Winter Prince, though it has very little claim to AU Arthuriana at this point. It mostly takes place in an imagined 4th-century or so Aksum, which (IIRC) is modern-day Eritria and Ethiopia. There are three more books in the series, which the library just informed me are now available for me to take out.

I also read a bunch of knitting- and spinning-related books from the library: High Whorling by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts, about using a drop spindle (not much I didn't already know); All New Homespun Handknit by Amy Clarke Moore (turned out I wanted the non-new one); and Get Spun by Symeon North, about making art yarn. The last was the most interesting and potentially useful.

What I'm currently reading:

carried over from previously:
Battle Cry, by Leon Uris, as a kitchen book. Yes, still -- only 100 pages or so to go.

Jurgen, by James Branch Cabell, as a bathroom book. Less of a slog than The Silver Stallion, and I keep seeing where Heinlein picked up some of his riffs. When I finish this, I'll be done with Cabell.

Summer Knight, by Jim Butcher, on the iPhone. The fourth Harry Dresden book.

Sourcery, by Terry Pratchett, as a car/exercise audiobook. Read slightly out of order, since I didn't have a copy of Mort when I started it.

Best Erotic Fantasy & Science Fiction, edited by Cecilia Tan and Bethany Zaiatz. This was in the Wiscon pile from last year as well, but I don't remember if I bought it or it was a giveaway. Honestly, I'm finding this one a bit of a slog, which is not what I expected. The authors' names are mostly unfamiliar to me, except for Vylar Kaftan, whose story I did like -- plus a couple of names I see on the blogosphere, but don't know as writers. I still have almost half the book to go, though, and remain hopeful.

What I plan to read:

The Arm and the Darkness, by Taylor Caldwell, as the next bathroom book, once I finish Jurgen.

More Dresden Files, on the iPhone.

The three Elizabeth Wein books from the library.

More books from the pile by the bedside.

More Diskworld books for car/exercise audio.