Orgies

Of reading, obviously.

I plowed through a ton of books this week/end, at least that's what it feels like.

Started Justice Sotomayor's memoir, but I was taking cold medicine for most of the last week, so I didn't want to really get into it, excited as I was to get my hands on it. So more on that later, when I really read it.

What I DID read, and is perfect for when you're not feeling great and spending a lot of time curled up in bed, was the latest Agent Pendergast book, Two Graves. It's pretty much what you'd expect - actually, it's exactly what you'd expect - but that's just fine - it's what I wanted. I will say, I give Preston & Child credit for not recapping the first two books in the trilogy (to say nothing of the entire Pendergast series), and basically just jumping into this particular story. It was schlocky, belief-stretching fun, although way over the top, of course. But who doesn't love when a Nazi hive gets blown up?

After Two Graves I continued on in the same vein with The Third Gate, by half of the same duo, in this case Lincoln Child. It was...fine? It's set at an Egyptian archaeological dig site, so maybe I was extra harsh, given my childhood love for the subject, but I felt like there were a lot of flaws. like the Preston & Child books, a LOT was crammed in - lots of different plot strands, random comments about cars and guns and machines that are maybe boy-brain-action-porn, but weren't doing it for me, and waaaay too much description of the man-made physical setting. Now, about that last maybe part of that is how I read. I generally don't "see" what's being described in my mind's eye, at least not always at the level of detail given, so when you go on and on about how the joists of a particular platform are connected, I get bored. But I think most people would have in this case.

The biggest problem was the huge twist at the end, or at least what I suppose was meant to be a huge twist, was super obvious and I saw it coming right away. Then again, I saw it coming because of clues in the text, so maybe we were supposed to get it, and then saying "you idiots! Don't you see?" to the characters would have ramped up the tension. But instead I just said "you idiots" and then was mildly annoyed when the revelation hit them, because I had been waiting for so long.

The end of the book, too, just seemed very abrupt and unsatisfying. Well, not unsatisfying, because I didn't want anything more, but not satisfying either.

Finished that yesterday, Saturday late afternoon, then started a book called The Apothecary's House (Adrian Mathews) - fine, about art stolen by the Nazis, but it was sloooooow going, so I gave it up, since I started it around 11 p.m. (stayed in last night, long story), and wanted something fast and easy.

So then I flew through another book with NO twist (although, again, when it's that obvious, is it even meant to be a twist?) and a really abrupt and in this case very unsatisfying ending, The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood (and inspired by, or something, the work of the Duchess of Northumberland). It's a slim YA book about a girl in eighteenth century England whose father is an herbalist who keeps a locked garden of poisonous plants and about a mysterious young man (heh, I feel cheesy just writing that, but there's no other way) - who's also hot, obviously - who comes to live with them. The main character, even the two main characters, are appealing, and there's so much room in the plot to really explore, but virtually nothing happens and what does happen is incredibly obvious.

And, maybe this is a YA thing, but much like when I watch The Vampire Diaries or Pretty Little Liars on TV, I just want to scream/scold "you stupid adolescent idiot - just TALK to him/her/them and you'll get this all figured out a million times sooner than if you run around trying to do everything on your own and secretly." I guess wisdom comes with age.

Then the end is just like "okay, and now we're done. The end." Dunno. Found myself wishing a better author had taken the same story and made an adult novel out of it.

So then it was 1:30 a.m. (I read it in under 90 minutes), and I had napped from 5:30-7 p.m., so I was awake, so I sped through Lauren Willig's The Mischief of the Mistletoe, which is just such a sweet, adorable little thing (well, almost 400 pages, so maybe not that little...but they are small pages), and then I was happy again, so I went to bed. 

N.B. - looked up The Poison Diaries to the author, and it looks like it's the first in a series. So that may account for the abrupt ending.

read a while ago:

Cold Vengeance, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Latest Pendergast book.

Funny, at least if you're me, and given my last DP/LC:P post:

One one page someone says "Special Agent Pendergrast" and Special Agent P. interrupts, "Pendergast." Then a few moments later (in the story; same page of the book) the guy says "I suggest you call the police, Mr. Prendergast," prompting SPA to reply "Pendergast." Basically, it's confusing.

weekend reading

Started with Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.  Not awesome, but so, SO much better than the last couple of books in the series.  I suspect because the super stupid brother character is gone.  Thank God.  Second-most annoying character appears infrequently, although I suspect she will be more, if not entirely, front and center in the next book (which, as usual, Misters Preston and Child not only hint at constantly throughout the story proper, but plug shamelessly, if ever there was a shameless plugging, in the end papers of the book). 

Next came Sovereign by C. J. Sansom.  I liked this one even better than the last Matthew Shardlake mystery I read - huzzah for authors who get better.  The kinks are clearly being worked out, and I really appreciated that while the author refers to events in past books, he does not ram ads for the previous installments, in the guise of plot, down the reader's throat.

After that (Monday-Tuesday, hooray long weekend!) was "An Abigail Adams Mystery" by Barbara Hamilton called The Ninth Daughter.   I was hoping it'd be good, given the character/setting, but it was...meh.  Not bad, not good.  This may be the "first in a new series!" but I'm not going to be searching out the next one. 

I was wrong

About a plot issue in Dark Fire.  But still rather enjoyed it; I'll probably continue to read the series, but not this weekend, since the library has the latest Agent Pendergast installment for me - although since I am neither sick nor travelling, it seems a bit weird to read one of those!

Yay!

For once I practiced some restraint - I got one of my regular emails from Barnes & Noble the other day, and in it was a 40% off coupon for Fever Dream, the latest in the Agent Pedergast "series" by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston.  At first I was sooo excited - since a neighbor gave Dad one (Cabinet of Curiosities) after his surgery, we have passed them all around the family and enjoyed the ridiculous exploits.  They've actually been steadily declining in quality, but I am still excited whenever I see a new one has come out, especially if I have a flight or something ahead of me (they're perfect travel reading).  So to get a brick-sized, brand-new hardcover for $17?  Great!  But I HELD OFF.  Because it's still $17 that could be spent on something that would last more than a couple hours, and will be available at a library soon enough, or in mass market paperback.  So, for once I actually did the fiscally responsible thing, whoo-hoo!  We'll see if I break down and buy it before my trip to New York next month (yay!  so excited!  taking two vacation days, going to see R, S, and - hopefully - C.S.!), but I don't think so.  Given that I seem to be able to read about two regular-to-large size novels per bus ride, the last thing I want to do is drag along multiple, heavy hardcovers.  I'm thinking paperbacks, maybe something one or more of the girls might like, at least for the ride out, so I can leave them behind & not drag back dead weight, so to speak.  Ha.  I'm planning out my trip reading for 3-4 weeks from now rather than doing the actual work I have to do tonight - so much for being responsible!