desert_vixen's lair

There were no catalog-related errors this month, thankfully.  However, apropos of a conversation xinef and I were having at the luncheon to honor Meg Justus' life about how the Kindles have plenty of space.  Partly due to my acquisition and auto-download of the Fairy Tail manga, I ran out of space. :)  The manga titles don't stay on the Paperwhite, but I also removed 300-plus titles to Amazon Cloud.  I also found a few misplaced titles.

August Kindle reading:

I read 26 Kindle titles this month on the Paperwhite, and deleted 25.  I forgot to count up how many I added, but it wasn't 51, so coming out ahead!

A Dead Liberty by Catherine Aird – An interesting mystery featuring a suspect who won’t speak on their own behalf and corporate scheming.

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen – The classic play,  Depressing but worth reading.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle – The SF/F childhood classic.  Good read – I see why people didn’t like the movie (which I quite enjoyed, but this was not one of my childhood classics) and I enjoyed it.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell – I didn’t intend to read everything by this author this month, it’s just how it worked out.  This is her first novel, and it shows a little, but still a good read and love letter to being who you are.

Behind the Curtain by PC Zick – I’d read one other by this author, and this one was not as good.  The situations were just not all that believable, and required characters to act stupid.

Fly: Goose Girl Retold by Demelza Carlton – Another of the retold fairytales, this one links up to her Cinderella one.  It ended up being a good read, but the beginning of it does have some graphic violence and sexual violence – more than I really preferred.

From Twisted Roots by SH Cooper – A collection of creepy and/or thought-provoking stories, some sad and some lighter.  I would recommend it.  There’s a good and creepy one about a carnival, one about bullying, one about a little girl and her spiders (that one was sad), and a few supernatural savior type stories. 

Girls Who Rocked the World by Michelle Roehm McCann – This covers a lot of the same ground of Rejected Princesses but is aimed at a younger crowd.  Okay read.

Horror Movie a Day: The Book by Brian W. Collins – Pretty much what it says on the cover.  Interesting read through not-super-well-known horror flicks.

Pieces of Granite by Brenda Anderson – Christian fiction about a family dealing with some issues, pretty decent read.

Sealed With A Kiss by Leeanna Morgan, Leeanna – Modern romance with an overprotective father and a little girl who wants help finding a new mother.  It was good but not great.

Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews – Another in the author’s Innkeeper series, this one was a great deal more entertaining. 

“She wishes to obtain a small predator.”

“A small predator?”

“Yes.” Nuan Ara nodded. “The silent, stealthy, vicious killer that prowls by night and mercilessly murders its victims for food and pleasure.”

Um… What? “And she believes she can find this predator here?”

Nuan Ara nodded. “She has seen the images. They have glowing eyes and razor claws and are renowned for their cruelty.”

As she goes on to note, small predators are available at your local Petsmart.  We call them kittens.

Taming Natasha by Nora Roberts – An older one that I have read before, but picked up in a Kindle sale.

The Case of the Late Pig by Margery Allingham – A Campion mystery involving an old classmate who isn’t as dead as she seems.

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold – A re-read of one of LMB’s best fantasy novels, bought at the Kindle sale.  Must say  I enjoyed it much more this time around, knowing where the story is going.

“What’s the matter with him?” he heard the maid’s voice, as their footsteps trailed off down the corridor, and the tears trailed down the inside of his nose.

The page answered disgustedly, “A madman, I suppose.”

After a short pause, the maid’s voice floated back faintly, “Well, he’ll fit right in here, then, won’t he…”

The Earl's Defiant Wallflower by Erica Ridley – A decent little Regency, with a heroine who’s a bit shaky on how dowries work and a husband who makes it not matter, as well as a nice resolution.

The Electra Story by Robert J. Serling – Story of the Electra plane and its downfall, written by the brother of Rod Serling.  Solid writing and interesting story.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Douglas - Mostly harmless.  Know where your towel is. Be a hoopy frood.  And be kind to mice.  Obviously a re-read.

The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte – The title story is good, along with “Outcasts of Poker Flats” and a few of the satires (especially the one with children trapped in chambers and explosions).  Some are not as good.

The Odd Job by Charlotte MacLeod – A pretty standard outing with the Kelling and Bittersohn crew, enjoyable read.

The Picnic by Marnie Hanel – A cookbook aimed at picnics, a nice little read.

The Recycled Citizen by Charlotte MacLeod – An involved story featuring the Kelling and Bittersohn crew, with a whole crop of Kellings.  Well worth reading.

Top Secret Recipes by Todd Wilbur – More focused on candy and desserts, not restaurant dishes, but worth reading.

Waiting for Nick  by Nora Roberts – Re-read of an older title, picked up on Kindle.  I really enjoyed this one when I was younger but it’s not aged as well.  But a bad day with Nora is still better than a good day with others.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – Classic and creepy, and the reveal packs a punch.

Indiana  by George Sand – Rambling historical set in Paris, with plenty of infidelity, moralizing, and overplayed emotions, with a slight twist at the end.

Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell – Long tale of a fallen woman who gets in bad through no real fault of her own, although this one features a male character who actually stands up for the injustice of her situation.  The end is somewhat predictable and Victorian.

Mini - 17 titles read, 21 added this month.  I basically use the Kindle app on my iPad Mini for graphic/color titles.

So, having discovered that there are only 3 Master’s Collections of Fairy Tail, and the individual volumes are 10.99 in paperback vs. 7.99 on Kindle, I might have decided to go with the Kindle versions.  (People don’t seem to be getting rid of their Fairy Tail collections on PBS or at used-book stores.)

Fairy Tail Rhodonite by Mashima/Shibiani – Side story that follows Gajeel, Levy, and Pantherlily.

Fairy Tail S Volume 1 by Mashima – Collection of side stories, funny and a little naughty in a few places.

Fairy Tail S Volume 2 by Mashima - Collection of side stories, funny and a little naughty in a few places.

Fairy Tail Volume 13 by Mashima – One of the better volumes of the Battle for Fairy Tail arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 15 by Mashima – Also a great volume of Battle for Fairy Tail arc, with the final showdown between Laxus, Natsu and Gajeel.

Fairy Tail Volume 24 by Mashima – The end of Edolas and the beginning of the S-Class trials.

Fairy Tail Volume 25 by Mashima – More S-class trials.

Fairy Tail Volume 26 by Mashima  - Still more S-class trials.

Fairy Tail Volume 32 by Mashima – The Grand Magic Games, which I think is my favorite arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 34 by Mashima – The Grand Magic Games, which I think is my favorite arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 35 by Mashima – The Grand Magic Games, which I think is my favorite arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 36 by Mashima – The Grand Magic Games, which I think is my favorite arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 37 by Mashima – The Grand Magic Games, which I think is my favorite arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 38 by Mashima – The Grand Magic Games, which I think is my favorite arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 39 by Mashima – The Grand Magic Games, which I think is my favorite arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 40 by Mashima– The Grand Magic Games, which I think is my favorite arc.

Fairy Tail Volume 49 by Mashima – The end of the Tartaros arc.

Aug Dead Tree Reading:

I read 6 titles off the pile and 4 new titles.  I discarded 28 books off the pile and 2 newer ones as well.  Progress!

28 old discards and 2 new discards          

Cirak's Daughter by Charlotte MacLeod – YA mystery by the author of the Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn, decent little read.

Fairy Tail Master's Collection 2 by Hiro Mashima – Volumes 6-10 of the series (of 63).  Not my favorite part of the series but worth having.

Fairy Tail Master's Collection 3 by Hiro Mashima – Volumes 11-15 of the series, which does include part of one of my favorite arcs.  However, I was quite disappointed to find out that this one was the last of the master’s collection set finished. 

Accident by Danielle Steele – An interesting story that deals with both parents dealing with their children being in a bad car accident and the fact that one of the fathers was not where he said he was going to be…because he’s having an affair with someone.  It was an excellent read.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell – So I loved the whole angst of going away to college and trying to function without the comfortable things you’re used to, and writing fanfic.  But she didn’t tell us if she killed off the Draco-character…  It was a really good read.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell – Read it last year on Kindle and really enjoyed it, enough that I got a dead tree copy of it.  I think I liked it better knowing where the story was going, and I still really loved the relationships.  And now I need more.

The Serrano Sucession by Elizabeth Moon – Omnibus of Change of Command and Against All Odds.  A fitting end to the Serrano series.

Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick – I used to really enjoy her Regencies and the Arcane series, but some of these the stories just got old.  This one is Victorian but I liked the plot of the mystery, and more importantly, I liked the couple.

BSC #6: Kristy's Big Day  by Martin/Galligan – The latest of the Baby-Sitters’ Club novels to be turned into a graphic novel.  This is one of my favorites, so I was excited to see it finally come out.

The Private Life of The Cat Who by Lilian Jackson Braun – Snippets of the Siamese from The Cat Who series.  It’s very short and fluffy.