Yes, I'm still here!

So, I bet you thought I'd abandoned this blog.... or maybe stopped reading altogether. Well, luckily (?) that isn't true. I just got kinda sidetracked from my blogging for a while. I guess I needed a break.

To help myself catch up, I'm just going to give you a very quick rundown on what I've read since September 23.

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner (an old favourite that I decided to re-read)

The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones (an excellent, thought provoking work of children's fantasy)

The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner (this is the sequel to "Weirdstone" above. I found it in a used book store in Scotland. Not nearly as good as the original.)

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Megan was right... the book really is way better, story-wise, than the movie, though I have no complaints about Miyazaki's adaptation)

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (Just as funny and exciting as the first two Percy Jackson books. Hurry up and write the next one, Rick...)

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (a very sweet, charming novel - great if you want some light fantasy)

The Owl Service by Alan Garner (I usually like Garner's books, but I couldn't finish this one.. it was boring :-()

Star Trek: The Next Generation and X-Men: Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman (Yes, this really was as hokey as the title sounds. But with a premise like that, how could I NOT read it? Geek alert!)

The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt (this was a very detailed fantasy novel that sounded so interesting but ended up being confusing because I couldn't keep track of the various characters, countries, political factions, etc. If only they had included a map and list of characters...)

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (I read this because Megan wanted me to but honestly, the film was so faithful to the novel that I didn't find it all that exciting of a read. Only read this if you haven't seen the movie.)

The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (book two of the Sally Lockhart series, well worth reading. I love his fiesty heroines)

The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman (another great installment in the Sally Lockhart series. I loved it!)

The Stone Book Quartet by Alan Garner (I'm not too big on short stories. These were very very loosely tied together, and really not action-packed, but sweet and well-written).

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay (I took my time getting to this one, but honestly, while good, it wasn't worth anticipating. I wish he'd just written his story instead of tripping over his fumbling attempts to be modern with references to "jpegs" and such. I did like it, but probably won't read it again... this is the first Kay novel that I've been disappointed with.)

The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason (this was nicely written, and well researched, but ultimately it turned out to be one of those depressing "literary" novels where the ending makes you feel like throwing yourself off a bridge. Geeeeeez why do so many good writers hate their characters and do awful things to them?)

The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman (It took me a long time to get over the fact that Sally Lockhart isn't the star of this book. I felt betrayed. But then I realized this was a great tale in its own right. But please bring back Sally, Philip Pullman!)

and last but not least, Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik. If you have even the least inclination toward books featuring dragons, or historical fantasy, you must must must read this series.