30 Days of Books - Day 30

A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t

I've been wanting to read The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas for quite some time. I've seen movies based on it and loved them. But I never seem to find time to sit down and read the book. The problem is I get distracted...by other books.

Is there a book that's been in your to-read pile for a while? What book is it and why haven't you read it yet?

30 Days of Books - Day 29

Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)

Oh geez...pick a major character's death in any George R. R. Martin novel and My feels be like:

What character death had the strongest impact on you? Leave a comment and tell Me the novel and name of the character.

30 Days of Books - Day 28

A book everyone should read at least once

Everyone should read Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card at least once. It's one of those books that will change your life. But, in order to understand what's going on in this novel, you have to read Ender's Game first. So, read them both, and consider them a single book in two parts.

30 Days of Books - Day 27

If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!

I tend to go through phases where I'll read a lot of books with a similar theme, but eventually the theme changes and I stop reading that type of book, so I can't fill in the blank. When I was a tween/teen, the theme was unicorns. Later, it was vampires (yes, even the sparkly ones). Other genres include novels set in prehistory, such as Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel, science/medical thrillers such as those written by Robin Cook, and novels with dystopian settings such as The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Right now, My reading habits are kind of all over the place and don't have an overarching theme, so I can't fill in the blank. However, I can say if a novel involves paranormal romance and/or has something interesting to say about the human condition, I'll be far more inclined to read it.

What's your go-to genre or theme in a novel? What type of story will you always read?

30 Days of Books - Day 26

OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending

In Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn, the protagonist, Evie Walker, is heir to a magical storage room that houses all the legendary items from mythology. Things like Excalibur of Arthurian legend and the skin of the Nemean lion killed by Hercules are locked in the basement of Evie's childhood home and the house is protected by a spell powerful enough to keep even a former goddess from gaining entrance.

Which is good, because Hera (yes, that Hera) is after the Apple of Discord and plans to use it to create a world where the old gods can be worshiped again. The entire book is dedicated to the story of Evie figuring out what the storage room is, keeping the Apple away from Hera and her cohorts, and falling in lust with an immortal guy named Alex who was one of Odysseus' companions at the battle of Troy, all while trying to care for her father who is dying from cancer. Just to raise the stakes, the story is set against the backdrop of a USA rapidly devolving into dystopia and poised on the edge of a third world war.

If Discord's Apple sounds like the sort of book that should include an epic battle between good and evil where one of the heroes sacrifices himself to save the world during the climactic scene, you'd be right. And that's where everything goes pear-shaped.

SPOILER ALERT
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Just at the moment the final battle is taking shape, the protagonists give up and let Hera have the Apple. Cut scene and the world as they know it has been destroyed. Hera drops by to say "thanks" and let the protagonists know she'll be keeping an ear open for them to say a prayer to her. As her first act as a goddess reborn, Hera gives Alex what he wants most by making him mortal again. Alex and Evie are left to figure out how to survive in the new world order Hera has created.

Have you read a book with an ending that made you say WTF? What was it and why did you feel that way?

30 Days of Books - Day 25

Any five books from your “to be read” stack

In no particular order:

• A Shiver of Light - Laurell K. Hamilton
• Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
• The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri
• The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
• Betrayer - C. J. Cherryh

What's in your "waiting to be read" pile?