Book ADD

[mllelaurel]

Argh, I can't seem to read more than two chapters of the same book at a time lately. And I'm in the process of reading some seriously, seriously awesome books, folks. James Morrow's Shambling Towards Hiroshima is likely going to end up on my Amazing Books of the Year list. But. My concentration appears to be shot to hell. Maybe it's just 'semester's finally over' burnout. I hope so.

For the record, the other books I've read so far this year that I'd give five stars and a rave to are:

The Stepsister Scheme, by Jim C. Hines. Awesome, awesome female characters, and an engaging plot that manages to be fresh while still resonating with those old fairy tale themes.

Memory and Dream, by Charles de Lint. Thanks so much to nevacaruso and londo for urging me to read it. I'd actually started this book last year then put it down. It's definitely not a book for when you can't handle intense and frequently dark. But the fact that it got to me that much, alone, speaks volumes. One of de Lint's most powerful, up there with The Onion Girl, I think.

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. This was actually a re-read, but I appreciated this book much more now than I did last time. Ironically, since I was closer to the age aimed-at, back then.

Comments

[nevacaruso.livejournal.com]

My copy of The Stepsister Scheme just came into the library, squeeeee! We can talk about it this weekend. :D

[freetobeme18.livejournal.com]

Well fuck...I don't think I've ever been able to concentrate on more than 20 pages of a book at a time (or rather, more than 20 pages of reading period at a time, before I have to go run amuck or otherwise do something more active, physically or social or something artistic with my hands. I can usually return after a break, but still, 50 pages/day of any reading is about my cap. And that's when I'm in "school mode". Summers, forget it.) Is this, like, not normal or something? Honestly, I never really thought about it before. I guess I just got used to working around it.

[londo.livejournal.com]

I was given a copy of Memory and Dream many years ago by a woman I was very much in love with at the time, and recently my entire life shattered in a painful-but-becoming-more-magical kind of way, and while sorting out some things, I stumbled on the book I hadn't read in years.

Having read it recently, I think you'll appreciate what a literally Fantastic backdrop is for rereading that book. It was an experience.

[mllelaurel.livejournal.com]

Definitely an experience, and a powerful one.