The December Book list

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde: A re-read. Always fun. Highly recommended for all of you bookworms out there.

Dancing Shoes by Noel Streatfeild: Not my favorite Streatfeild, but all of her books are comfort reads for me, so I’m not complaining.

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card: Reviewed here.

Silhouette in Scarlet by Elizabeth Peters: These books are definitely a guilty pleasure, but such a fun one! I think this is the one where John is introduced, but I could be wrong.

Moon-Flash
The Moon and the Face by Patricia McKillip: A sci-fi ish two book series by Patricia McKillip. Interesting but probably not my favorite books by her.

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild: I love, love, LOVE this book. Not so wild about the movie (although it’s okay).

Ombria in Shadow by Patricia McKillip: This, on the other hand, was beautiful. Absolutely one of my favorite McKillips.

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce: I read these in middle school and haven’t read them since. I thought I might as well give them another try. Major eh. I think it’s really Pierce’s writing style which tends to consist of short little scenes that aren’t very well connected. Also, I get tired of Young Girl Overcoming Oppressive Society by Proving She’s Just As Good as the Men (although Tortall is strangely enabling for an Oppressive Society).

Party Shoes by Noel Streatfeild: I don’t think I’d ever read this one but I ended up really enjoying it. While it maintains the shoes theme, it’s distinctly different than Theatre Shoes or Ballet Shoes.

Trojan Gold by Elizabeth Peters: Another awesome one. I can’t help it, I just love these books. John! Schmidt! Vicky!

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner: I think we all know how much I love these books by now, so I’ll just leave it at that.

In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce: Second in the Alanna series. I was massively confused at the beginning because I had assumed that it would pick up immediately after the end of the first book. Nope, it started a year later. Despite my abiding love for Jon, I just couldn’t like this book very much.

Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters: This book was pure gold (erm…). I mean, the other ones I enjoyed. But this one! Schmidt! The pure awesomeness that is Schmidt blew me away. I laughed myself silly in parts. And did anyone else catch the Busman’s Honeymoon reference?

The Throme of the Erril of Sherill by Patricia McKillip: A children’s book. Not particularly my favorite, but nothing wrong with it.

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie: Sigh. This is one of those comfort reads that I pick up when life is a howling wilderness. Can’t help it, I love this one. Although I quibble about the hero a bit more than I used to.

Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie
The Hollow by Agatha Christie
Nemesis by Agatha Christie
Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
The Murder in the Vicarage by Agatha Christie:
Oh gosh, I read so many Christies. I’m just lumping them all together. Besides Poirot Investigates which was decidedly EH, these are some of my favorite Christie novels and I enjoyed them ALL.

After Many Days by Lucy Maud Montgomery: Short stories. It’s not my favorite collection but it was to hand.

Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip: Lovely McKillip. One of those slightly dream-like stories that she’s able to weave so well. Also has a GORGEOUS cover painting. I envy her the cover artist.

The Richleighs of Tantamount by Barbara Willard: Slightly weird and lovely story of four children accidentally cast adrift in their ancestral home. Nuanced and beautiful.

The Collected Short Fiction of Ngaio Marsh: These were very fun! I’ve had a soft spot for Inspector Alleyn for several years and I’d never read any of these short stories. Several non Alleyn stories as well.

Unexpected Magic by Diana Wynne Jones: I’d read most of the short stories in this collection before, but the novella Everard’s Ride was new to me, and I loved it! It actually reminded me a bit of The Richleighs of Tantamount which I’d read just before.

Sylvester by Georgette Heyer: Mmm, Georgette Heyer. And I’m very fond of Sylvester, containing as it does an account of the trials of a young author.

The Foundling by Georgette Heyer: I like this one as well, mostly for Gilly who is probably the most sympathetic Heyer male ever.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones: I love Howl. He would drive me insane within a week, but I love him. And I love Sophie even more.

A Christmas Book by Elizabeth Goudge: I admit that I sort of skimmed this one because most of the selections were just excerpts from longer works and I’d rather read the longer works, thank you very much.

Ain’t Nothing but a Man by Scott Nelson: Nelson tells of his struggle to find information on the real John Henry. Fascinating story, and it would be especially valuable to anyone interested in the process of historical research.

The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones: I’m in the process of getting my sister hooked on Diana Wynne Jones. She liked Howl but I’m hoping that Dark Lord did the trick. Then I had to read it myself, naturally. Hilariously funny and yet deeply serious at the same time.

The Chaos King by Laura Ruby: I read The Wall and the Wing earlier this year and I was hoping this was a sequel. It was. Despite all appearances, Gurl and Bug’s troubles have not disappeared. What with the sudden loss of the Professor, snotty classmates, the trials of fame, and numerous misunderstandings, they have a lot to deal with.