Waiting for book #2

It's possible that my librarian's superpowers have already failed the test. It's just as likely that I'm not quite as patient as I need to be. I suppose as I move into the more recent books on the list, they'll be easier to get... I hope so.

Because books are almost as essential to me as air, I've been filling my time since finishing The Demolished Man on 1/14 with some titles that aren't on my list. In the past several days, I've read the following books, some great, some OK:

Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card--a direct sequel to Ender's Game, which is on my list of books to read for this project. If I'd been smarter, I'd have saved it to read after re-reading the first one. Oh, well. I like most of OSC's books, although I bogged down in some of his uber-political Peter/Valentine books and eventually tired of reading about Bean. I loved this one. Loved it. Loved it! Great writing, great plot, interesting views of things we've heard about in other books, but this time from other characters' perspectives. Great book! Rating: 5/5

An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris--the 3rd book in the Harper Connelly series. More in the mystery genre than any other, although the main character has the ability to sense dead bodies (gained from a lightning strike rather than a more typical supernatural source). Quick read, but much better written than her Sookie Stackhouse books. Rating: 4/5

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris--the 4th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Very quick read in the supernatural mystery genre, but this one (like the entire series) falls firmly into my "vacation reading" category (quick read, not too heavy, doesn't require or provoke much thought). Rating: 3/5

Old Man's War by John Scalzi--a novelist friend heartily recommended this one, so I finally tracked it down. It's in the military sci-fi genre, and was a Hugo nominee. It's heavily inspired by Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers, and takes a few good-natured jabs at the modern movie cliche of drill sergeants. Despite the recognizable inspirations and homages, this book is very original and very enjoyable. As with many other works in the military genre, in print and on film, I enjoyed the training scenes more than the battle scenes (Full Metal Jacket is a prime example of this for me--the entire movie is great, but I'd be just as happy if it ended when the left training). This book is great, and I'm looking forward to starting the sequel, The Ghost Brigade (which is waiting on my reading table downstairs...). Rating: 4/5

Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn--Ms. Vaughn was also recommended by my novelist friend, who recently headlined a local fan convention with her. Since Vaughn is from Boulder, which is just a stone's throw from me, I'm surprised I hadn't heard of her before. Ah, well. Her writing fits in well with several other authors I enjoy (Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, Glen Cook, and others), and is pretty entertaining and well written. The world features werewolves and vampires, which haven't yet "come out" to the world at large at the onset of the first book. Not quite what I classify as vacation reading, but pretty close; there's nothing that bogged me down or slowed the pace. I've just started the 2nd book in the series, Kitty Goes to Washington. Rating: 4/5

I probably need to take a step back and decide what to do about the 2nd book on my project list. The 3rd book on the list is on my shelf downstairs, so I could just skip to it. I could bite the bullet and purchase the 2nd book. I could try to be more patient. I could just keep reading whatever strikes my fancy and attempt to preserve the project as laid out in earlier posts. I'll let you know what I decide to do...