Elantris

In a depature from the usual children's fare I've been consuming, here are my thoughts on Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.

Another one of those books I first spotted in the local megabookstore and thought, "Hm, I'd like to read that", I had to procure this one from the Alameda County Library system as the San Jose system still doesn't have it in their inventory yet. I started reading it yesterday and finished it off this night: A fantasy story told in 1 book (but leaving a few things hanging for future developments at the end) by a new author. The story follows 3 characters: The exiled "zombie" prince who struggles to build a society in the empty shell of a great city (I think it was the mystery of the "empty city that used to be occupied by gods" part that hooked me in), the foreigner princess that suddenly finds herself widowed, and the sole warrior priest out to convert a whole city to prevent its violent death. I think the story's pretty good, enough that I was distracted at work by it, and that I also finished the ~487 page book in 2 days. The structure has the book divided into 3 parts (although I couldn't really tell too much difference between them) and the main characters take turns having their chapter narratives told. Things move at a quick enough pace. I recommend this book to fantasy readers.

Nice to have put this under my belt, now I'm ready for some short, light fluffy kiddie book reading.

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism

I finished this book by Georgia Byng yesterday or the day before. The story revolves around the stereotypical unpromising orphan who stumbles upon their own method of going from rags to riches. However, the method Molly uses (guess. hint: note the book title) means the things she acquires are not through honest means. And instead of dealing solely with Molly's guilt, the story also has a villain thrown in, wishing to use Molly's new power for crime. But things end happily has Molly overcomes her guilt, her villain, and her miserable past.

I'm not too fond of this book (or maybe I'm not fond of the character or hypnotism myself), although I did finish it. There is a 2nd book out featuring Molly Moon, but I'll only go borrow it and read it if I'm feeling bored for a read.

David Sedaris

On account of this Lifehacker post, I tried borrowing some of David Sedaris' stuff from the library. Not all were available in audiobook format so I tried reading some Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. I haven't gotten very far, and I'm not too interested in it; I think I need a consistent plot to devour a book. Hopefully his audiobooks are better.

Magyk

After seeing this book in a book store, I put a request hold on the library's copies that were not yet disseminated to the branches.

I finished the virgin book in 2 days. The hardcover comes with a mini-CD loaded with a little Flash fun. It's pretty much identical to the web site.

Septimus Heap is the 7th son of a 7th son, and early on, I could guess what was going on. The story follows a hidden princess and some other youths that are threatened by a deposed necromancer bent on regaining his position and power. As this is Book One of the Septimus Heap series, and the children are near a decade old, I expect the kids to become embroiled in more adventures in the next book, explore exotic lands with their special dragon boat, and learn and regain old magyks. I wasn't totally entralled with the book, but I'll read the next one whenever it comes out I guess.

Stories

Not too long ago, I saw a journal for bibliophiles(?): For them to write down their impressions of the books they read. Not a new idea, certainly, but for some reason, I've never really thought of it before: Blog about the books you read. Surely would be spoilers for those of you who haven't read the book, but I'll try my hand at this because even though I remember I may have read a book, my memory of the story and impressions fade to fuzzy quickly.

The last book I read was The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman...

A recent publication, I had already forgotten the story although it hasn't been a couple weeks yet since I've read it; I had to consciously remember what was going on: An adventurous mayor's daughter seeks a way out of some connected but physically walled communities. After the death of a great man, she solves mysteries, is gifted with the ability to talk to animals by a glowing stone, and has to deal with tunneling criminals. My feelings are that I won't mind reading the next book when it comes out but I don't think I took anything away after I finished the book.

In other news, I tried reading a few pages of The Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale, but the 1st person narration and the way it started just turned me off.