Andare, Partire, Tornare ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A feast of books Spent Saturday blissfully rolling in books - first a trip to a well-beloved used book store that has changed hands, but is still full of stuff I want, then, later that evening, went and lounged in a nearby Borders to read the newest Diane Duane Young Wizards book that I just don't have the cash to buy at the moment. Next month, sez I, next month. My haul from the used book store - several more Marcia Muller's, which feature the investigator Sharon McCone. She writes one of the best hardboiled female PI series around. She's a similar, but not in the least identical type with Sue Grafton's creation Kinsey Millhone, who I also enjoy reading, although I've kind of strayed away from them as of late. Plus, she manages to get accross her political views (or, at least, those of her character) without being preachy or assuming that everybody agrees with her - a problem I had with the VI Warshawski books. Plus, I picked up the two first Harry Potters, which I enjoy as pure fun - although I vastly prefer Diane Duane's take on the whole thing. They're really two different beasts, and I don't know why I compare them. The definition of "wizard" in Duane's books is pretty unique, and comparing them to the Potter "boardingschool days" model is useless. The new Duane, _A Wizard's Dilemna_, is fabulous. She's gotten over the two (in my opinion) weaker books that preceeded it - _High Wizardry_ featured Dairine, who I didn't like that much, and _A Wizard Abroad_ which was enjoyable, but felt a little fluffier. The new one has a much more comprehensible Dairine, and has Kit and Nita facing some interesting challenges - ethically and emotionally. Very heady stuff, especially for books that get shrugged aside as "kid stuff." Bah. If people only knew how much valuable stuff was contained in "kiddy books." 12:48 p.m. - 2001-07-23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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