Jenn's Books

Title: Whiskey and Water

jenniferward — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:36:11 +0000

Whiskey and Water: A Novel of the Promethean Age
By Elizabeth Bear
This post has been a long time the making. My deepest apologies to the author for the delay in this post. Elizabeth Bear is becoming a contender for my favorite modern fantasy author. Neil Gaiman is still number one, but just barely. Bear brings back many of our old dear friends, and enemies, in the sequel of Blood and Iron. This book primarily focuses on Matthew, crippled Mage and guardian of New York. Bear also introduces some new, or old depending on how you look at it, players to the struggle. Michael the archangel make an appearance, as do several Princes of Hell, chief among them is Lucifer. Elaine still holds the horn throne of Arcadia, much to her son Ian’s dismay. Whiskey, our beloved steed, comes back with all of the power and majesty that he commanded in the last book, and just when you though the Promethean club was done for, here comes Jane for round two. Bear makes you see one thing while making three others change behind your back. In this writer’s humble opinion, Bear is not only one of the best writers in the fantasy genre, but one of the best fiction writers out there right now. Like the last novel, it is so full of detail, that you must read every word or you will soon be lost. Skimming is not recommended.

Real life things and stuff

jenniferward — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 22:24:00 +0000

So it’s been awhile since I posted anything. Or read anything. Or done anything that I wanted to. On the big plus side to things, I have a new job that requires me to bus about one hour each way. That means two glorious hours every day of reading and working on homework and posts. So you will get to see more from me!! Still trying to find a new apartment in the bay area (wee fun in the not so fun sense). I have so much on my plate, it feels like I have a few plates going. Anywho, that is why you haven’t seen a new post from me in a while.

Red Seas Under Red Skies

jenniferward — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 07:20:59 +0000

Red Seas Under Red Skies

Scott Lynch

This book is quite possibly even better then the first. Starting from an introduction where Jean is about to kill Locke, to some of the most kick ass ship fights since Pirates of the Caribbean or Master and Commander. Locke and Jean are at it again in a different city, but yet again, they find themselves being the ones that are conned. To the high seas they flee to start thinking how they are going to get out of this one, and come out ahead. In the process, Lynch explores the character Jean further. We knew from Lies of Locke Lamora, Jean is a romantic, a skull-cracking, ax-wielding romantic. One of the sweetest and saddest romances is played out in the book with Jean. I had people asking me if I was alright after reading that chapter because I was crying so hard, and I rarely get emotional over books. Lynch is currently writing the third book in the series, and he had better finish it soon because the bastard leaves you on such a cliffhanger. Locke is also a bit more flushed out, and finally embracing what it means to be the Thorn of Camora. This is a rare series for me, as I hope that it never ends. I gave up on any series of books that was more than five books, thank you Mr. Pierce Anthony and your never ending Xanth series.

Hooray for Jury Duty!

jenniferward — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:46:24 +0000

So I have always wanted to serve on a Jury. I find the whole process interesting, plus it gets me out of my normal job. This is day two of picking a jury out of the mass of us. But at least I got stuff done. Like a book recommendation, and some homework.

EDIT: So day three is when a deal is reached and we are all sent home. Sigh.

Title: Library Lion

jenniferward — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:57:55 +0000

Library Lion By Michelle Knudsen.
I am a sucker for beautiful art in kids books. This one is full of acrylic and pencil drawings that will just melt your heart. The story is just as beautiful and heartwarming. It is centered around this lion, no one knows where he came from. He walks into a library, and starts looking around at the books, sniffing the shelves, and finally finds the children’s sections. He decides to take a nap and when he wakes up, story time is going on. He loves every minute of it. When it is done, he becomes upset and roars. Well, we all know the number one rule of the library: no loud noises. So, the head librarian makes him a deal; if you don’t roar, you may come back for story time every day. It is such a cute book. I went over to the children’s section of my store one day, sat down to read it and by the end I had six children sitting around me. My family has a tradition to give books out at baby showers as we are all big readers. This may become my next gift book.

August 1st, 2007

jenniferward — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:54:37 +0000

So, I have finished HP7. I would like to review it, but I don’t want to be killed by anyone who hasn’t read it. So I may wait another week before reviewing it. Let me just say it was really good and ended in a way that I liked. I am currently reading Whiskey and Water: A Novel of the Promethean Age by Elizabeth Bear. This is the sequel to Blood and Iron: A Novel of the Promethean Age. So far, really good. Little different from the first, but same world and same characters. The other one I am reading is Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch. I seem to be in a sequel mood this week. This is the sequel to The Lies of Locke Lamora From what I have read so far it seems to pick up shortly after the last book. Scott, if you read this, my mother demands a third book. Hopefully I will have those out soon.

Title: Heart Shaped Box

jenniferward — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:44:28 +0000

Heart-Shaped Box: A Novel
This is the best ghost story I have read in a long, long time. All of the characters are very real and believable. Georgia reminds me a bit of one of my coworkers even. The think that I like is that it isn’t “oh no! We are haunted! Quick let us run for the little old lady in the middle of the swamp ’cause she is a voodoo priestess and she will shake some bones and make it go away.” No, it’s more like “Fuck the ghost. Fuck his family. I am going to take care of this myself. And he is going to regret the day he died.” Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son, but he writes much more like King’s alter ego Richard Bachman. If you liked Thinner, you will love this book. I really hope that Hill continues to write and turn out many more amazing works like this one. A word of warning: the story centers around sexual abuse of many kinds. While I still think that this is a great work, some people may be very offended by it. If you think that you are one of these people, just remember I have warned you.

Ugh! It’s been a year!

jenniferward — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:28:29 +0000

It has been nearly a year since I wrote anything. I very much suck. A year ago I decided to go back to school. I had forgotten how much fun college is. I have new information and new thoughts everyday. Also a year ago, I found that I have osteoarthritis in both of my knees. I was 22 at the time. I mean, I should not have knee problems this young. And to top off my medical journey, in March I found out that I have hypothyroidism. Basically, without a medication to control how much hormones my thyroid is making (or not making) I am cold, tired and cranky all the time. Once I was put on Levothyroxine, I felt fantastic. I wasn’t sleeping for 12 hours and not feeling rested. I wasn’t bundled up in two sweaters and six blankets. I wasn’t falling asleep in class. Now with classes under control, I can try to get back to writing. I miss writing. I do need your help though. Please email me the title and author of a book that you just read. You don’t need to tell me your opinion of it, just the title and author. I need to find more things to read.

Book Quote for August 16th

jenniferward — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:25:04 +0000

Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.

~Henry Ward Beecher

Posted on August 16th, 2006

Book Quotes for August 15th

jenniferward — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 01:50:41 +0000

If you resist reading what you disagree with, how will you ever acquire deeper insights into what you believe? The things most worth reading are precisely those that challenge our convictions.

~Author Unknown

Posted on August 15, 2006