Books what I have read
Jan. 20th, 2008 03:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pebblerockerIt looks like a lot, but I've been reading short books lately. And I've been saving them up until I had time to write something about each book, rather than just listing the titles.
The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda
My brother got this for Christmas. We've enjoyed the Deltora Quest and Rowan of Rin books by the same author. It's good to read Australian fantasy--it feels more real, maybe because of the characters being more like us. After reading the wedding chapter in the Rowan story, where all the foods at the feast were listed and there was no meat at all, I've been paying close attention to what the characters eat in Emily Rodda books. I wonder if she's a vegetarian. In Rondo there was mention of a butcher's shop, and hams hanging in a storeroom, but they ate bread, cheese and a stew, which could involve meat or not. In the Deltora books, characters usually eat "a meal" or "food", leaving it up to the reader's imagination.
Contact Lost by Leif Hamre
Lieutenant-Colonel Hamre of the Norwegian Air Force wrote exciting adventure stories about, funnily enough, the Norwegian Air Force. They've always been some of my very favourite books; the three I read over and over again were Otter Three Two Calling, Blue Two... Bale Out! and Ready for Take-off. (Quick google reveals no slash fandom for these books. Must be because they're very obscure, because the slashiness is not hard to see!) Contact Lost has been in my bookshelf for ever and ever, but I never read it. I think I was scared off because it was about seal hunters; there was nothing about actual hunting of seals in the story, only brave Norwegian Air Force pilots rescuing stranded seal hunters, but it did get a little gory... heard of erysipelas? You might prefer not to find out.
The Pirates' Mixed-Up Voyage by Margaret Mahy
I got this one out of the library over and over again when I was young. I saw it for sale while browsing Trademe just a couple of days after I'd been trying to remember how the story went, so I just had to grab it; I wasn't disappointed. Captain Wafer, as hairy as he is handsome and as handsome as he is hairy, sails off with his crew, Brace-and-Bit, Toad, Winkle the octogenarian cabin boy and Toothpick the parrot, to steal a millionaire's diamond doorknob... it's hilarious.
Raging Robots & Unruly Uncles by Margaret Mahy
The pirate book came with two others by the same author. Robots, runaways and false moustaches!
Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy
I'd seen the TV series and enjoyed it very much. Post-apocalyptic fantasy, with people who talk like and look like the people I see every day! Not like Hercules and Xena with the (real and fake) American accents and NZ scenery, and not like boring old Shortland Street. The book and the TV show were written at the same time from an outline, rather than one being based on the other, so the website says, which means there are some divergences. Wonder if I can get hold of a DVD of the series to compare; I missed the first few episodes when it was shown and that was a while ago.
The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda
My brother got this for Christmas. We've enjoyed the Deltora Quest and Rowan of Rin books by the same author. It's good to read Australian fantasy--it feels more real, maybe because of the characters being more like us. After reading the wedding chapter in the Rowan story, where all the foods at the feast were listed and there was no meat at all, I've been paying close attention to what the characters eat in Emily Rodda books. I wonder if she's a vegetarian. In Rondo there was mention of a butcher's shop, and hams hanging in a storeroom, but they ate bread, cheese and a stew, which could involve meat or not. In the Deltora books, characters usually eat "a meal" or "food", leaving it up to the reader's imagination.
Contact Lost by Leif Hamre
Lieutenant-Colonel Hamre of the Norwegian Air Force wrote exciting adventure stories about, funnily enough, the Norwegian Air Force. They've always been some of my very favourite books; the three I read over and over again were Otter Three Two Calling, Blue Two... Bale Out! and Ready for Take-off. (Quick google reveals no slash fandom for these books. Must be because they're very obscure, because the slashiness is not hard to see!) Contact Lost has been in my bookshelf for ever and ever, but I never read it. I think I was scared off because it was about seal hunters; there was nothing about actual hunting of seals in the story, only brave Norwegian Air Force pilots rescuing stranded seal hunters, but it did get a little gory... heard of erysipelas? You might prefer not to find out.
The Pirates' Mixed-Up Voyage by Margaret Mahy
I got this one out of the library over and over again when I was young. I saw it for sale while browsing Trademe just a couple of days after I'd been trying to remember how the story went, so I just had to grab it; I wasn't disappointed. Captain Wafer, as hairy as he is handsome and as handsome as he is hairy, sails off with his crew, Brace-and-Bit, Toad, Winkle the octogenarian cabin boy and Toothpick the parrot, to steal a millionaire's diamond doorknob... it's hilarious.
Raging Robots & Unruly Uncles by Margaret Mahy
The pirate book came with two others by the same author. Robots, runaways and false moustaches!
Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy
I'd seen the TV series and enjoyed it very much. Post-apocalyptic fantasy, with people who talk like and look like the people I see every day! Not like Hercules and Xena with the (real and fake) American accents and NZ scenery, and not like boring old Shortland Street. The book and the TV show were written at the same time from an outline, rather than one being based on the other, so the website says, which means there are some divergences. Wonder if I can get hold of a DVD of the series to compare; I missed the first few episodes when it was shown and that was a while ago.
