My Year in Reading

"Everything Men Know About Women" by dailyinvention

It's the end of the year, which means it's time to start reflecting on my year in reading.  I guess.  The only problem is, 2009 pretty much sucked on the reading front.

I read very few books, even fewer of which I liked.  I burned out on two of my favorite sub-genres, historical romance and urban fantasy.  But on the plus side, I started book blogging, made a lot of bookish friends, and discovered new books.

So, instead of doing a top-ten list of books, which would only serve to torture me as there were barely three books I loved that much in 2009, I decided to do a montage o' highlights.



Favorite new author:  Meredith Duran

Duran is definitely an author to watch.  I've really enjoyed all her books so far, and Bound By Your Touch is probably my favorite historical romance of 2009.



Favorite new genre:  Manga

OMG, so addictive!  Manga is my new crack.  Seriously, you can't stop reading the stuff; it should come with a warning label.

Favorite challenge:

This is a tie between Jenner's Take a Chance Challenge and Galleysmith's Harry Potter Reading Challenge.  The Take a Chance Challenge was really fun and creative, but I think reading-wise the Harry Potter Challenge has been the most rewarding.



Things I ignored:

Dystopian fiction, m/m romance, e-books, chick lit, and most of my challenges.

Things I didn't ignore (completely):

Angels, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, YA, erotica, Jane Austen adaptations



Jumped the shark:

Christina Dodd.  The books she published this year that I read (Danger in a Red Dress, Storm of Visions) were pretty all-around horrible.  It's like she's not even trying anymore.

Subcategory--Authors who are going to get one more shot:  Gaelen Foley.  My Wicked Marquis was simply a train wreck.

Chunksters:

Despite my loathing of overly long books, I managed to read Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Drood, and The Lost Symbol.

Things I wish I'd read more of:

I read hardly any sci-fi/fantasy this year, I don't know why.  Usually that's my second-favorite genre after romance.



Biggest surprise (in a good way):

Water for Elephants, which I read as part of A Buckeyegirl Reads' bookclub (when are we going to read another book for that, btw, Colette?).  I was pretty sure this book was either going to be horribly boring and/or depressing, but it was absolutely brilliant.  I also read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for Colette's book club, and that was really good, too.



Hmm, now that I've broken it down, it doesn't seem like my reading year was that horrible after all.  What were the highlights of your year in books?

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Storm of Visions

Storm of Visions by Christina Dodd

This book is basically a mess.

When I first started it, I thought it looked promising.  No prologue (always a good thing), no annoying miles of backstory; we're just dropped straight into Jacqueline Vargha and Caleb d'Angelo (or is it D'Angelo?) meeting in California.  They obviously know each other.  But then the book feels like it starts again a little while later in New York City, and again when we get into the whole unnecessary backstory (flashback alert! doodly-do, doodly-do, doodly-do) o' Caleb and Jacqueline.  In fact, I could tell that part was the beginning of the book at some point, because all the introductory information about Jacqueline and Caleb that we'd already received was repeated!  Great editing, btw.

So, what is this book about?  Well, when kids are abandoned by their parents, they receive special powers, and they either work for the Devil or The Good Side [insert favorite deity here].  The good guys are called The Chosen Ones and the baddies are called The Others.  What separates the good from the ugly bad?  Well, I'm not entirely clear on that--I think it's the people who find them and raise them.  But basically, there is ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE between The Chosen Ones and The Others, other than the fact that one is good and ruled by... (? I'm guessing capitalism), and the other is evol and is ruled by the Devil.  And they hate each other.

Pop quiz time!  Given the above set-up, what romantic relationship do you think is rife with the most potential drama and angst?

1. A Chosen One and an Other
   
2. Two ex's (both Chosen Ones) who can't keep their very ugly arguments under wraps in front of other people--awkwardness
3. A human and a Chosen One who have known one another since they were kids
4. Some random character from Dodd's last paranormal series (because God forbid we start a new series without bringing in someone from the previous one) who's not even a Chosen One OR an Other, and whoever else.

If you answered 1, then you're in for disappointment, because that is the only thing not going on in this book.  The main romance--if one could call it that--is totally lame and not really the focus of the book, anyway.  Which is kinda-really annoying, since I'm 98% sure it says romance on the spine of the book.

Aside from the dead-in-the-water romance, the rest of the plot does not make much sense.  There are characters in the book that have zero purpose, I have no idea what half of The Chosen Ones' powers are, I'm utterly confused about how the organization of The Chosen Ones works (is Irving a Chosen One?  Do only the 7 leaders have powers?  Why do they operate out of a travel agency, of all things?), and all the characters spend 3/4ths of the book literally doing nothing.  NOTHING.  So that's pretty damn exciting.

Wait a sec, this is starting to sound familiar--a plot that's a complete mess and an unromantic romance.  Weren't those the same issues I had with Dodd's last book?  (Aha!  They were--thank you, book blog.)  Wow, two really bad books in a row.  It looks like I might have to find a new favorite author.



Other reviews I found, in case you're curious:
Darque Reviews

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Book Zombie Quiz

Another reading meme from The Book Zombie:

1. What author do you own the most books by?
Well, I'm not going to count them.  But off the top of my head I'd say Christina Dodd and Lisa Kleypas, since I tend to read them obsessively and they've both written a lot of books.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?
I own three copies of Treasure Island.  Why, you ask?  I really have no idea.  I like the book, but I don't like it that much.  I also own 3 versions of the story on DVD.

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
The first one didn't bother me, but the second one really did.  That might be because I've just spent the last 5 hours grading essays, though.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Haha, I have to pick one?  Hmm, Mr. Darcy is probably number one in my heart.  But there are really so many choices....

5. What book have you read the most times in your life?
Wellllll, I don't know.  It comes down to The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart, Here Comes the Sun by Emilie Loring, and The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith.  The one that I've read the most of all of those is probably Here Comes the Sun, since I've read it at least once a year since I was 7.  That book is crazy, y'all (not really).

6. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
I loved this book called The Ghost Wore Grey by Bruce Coville when I was younger (I've always had a thing for stories involving the supernatural).  It was about a ghost from the Civil War who recruits two pre-teen girls to help him do... something.  It had this great line in it:  "What a hunk!  Too bad he's dead."

7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
There are so many to choose from.  Probably Dark Thirst by Sara Reinke.  That was book was terrible.

8. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Year as in since January?  Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles has probably been my personal favorite so far.

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
Lord, I don't know.  In all honesty, I'd probably make them read Giorgio de Chirico's Hebdomeros, because I'm evil like that, and because I could use it to create my de Chirico zombie army.  Alternative reading assignment would Nadja by André Breton.

10. Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
When I start reading "literature," I'll let you know.

11. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Well, I'm reading Drood right now, and I think it would make a great movie!  But you never know with that.  I used to really wish The Vampire Diaries would be made into a TV show (head writer would be Joss Whedon, natch), and now they ARE making it into a TV series, and I'm completely convinced they're going to fuck it up.  I heard the other day that they're changing Stephen and Damon's last names from Salvatore to Witcombe, or something really dumb like that.  WTH?  Stephen and Damon are from Italy, why would you mess with that (very important, trust me) part of the plot unless you're a total d-bag?!?!  Anywayyyy, /rant.  People are trampling on my childhood memories yet again. *grumble grumble*

12. What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Ha, just about any romance novel.  I really don't want to see most of that stuff on-screen.

13. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
No idea.  I can't remember stuff like that (at least, nothing's springing to mind at the moment), although I have dreamed about Giorgio de Chirico, who is technically a writer.

14. What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
Um, just about every book I pick up is considered "lowbrow" by some person.

15. What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Difficult how?  I'd have to say trying to read Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire in the original French was pretty damn difficult.  I'm amazed I survived that semester, in all honesty.

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I've never read anything by a Russian author, so I guess the French win by default.  Yay for them.

17. Roth or Updike?
I'd rather gouge my eyes out than read Updike again.  As for Roth, I honestly have no idea who that is, unless you're talking about the lead singer for Van Halen.

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
I've heard of David Sedaris.  I think I might have read one of his books.  So I'm going to vote... Sedaris.

19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare FTW.

20. Austen or Eliot?
Austen, duh.

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
I still have not read Tolkien.  And I have to admit I haven't read the entire Austen catalog, either.  I know; I feel bad about it.

22. What is your favorite novel?
Jane Eyre is my favorite novel of all time.

23. Play?
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen--that play is amazingly good, full of drama and yet very insightful about gender roles and the way the sexes interact.  And the female lead has a great last scene.

24. Short story?
Don't have one.

25. Epic Poem?
Oh, yes, what is my favorite epic poem???  Well, I would say Childe Harold's Pilgrimage by Byron, but I never actually finished it.  Or The Odyssey, except I never actually read it, just watched the miniseries.  Or The Epic of Gilgamesh, except I have also not read that.  So I suppose one can conclude from this that I don't read epic poems.

26. Short(er) poem?

Strephon kissed me in the spring,

     Robin in the fall,

But Colin only looked at me

     And never kissed at all.

Strephon's kiss was lost in jest,

     Robin's lost in play,

But the kiss in Colin's eyes

     Haunts me night and day.

--Sara Teasdale, "The Look"

27. Work of non-fiction?
Hmm, I only read non-fiction for work.  I don't really have a favorite, since I don't read it for enjoyment.

28. Who is your favorite writer?
I really couldn't say.  I hate just about anyone's writing if I'm not in the mood for it.  LOL  Probably LJ Smith if I had to pick one writer.

29. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
This question is funny to me, because I don't think there are many contemporary writers who are "rated" (by whom?) at the same level as Charles Dickens was in his lifetime--just to use an example.  I think Nora Roberts is really overrated, if you want to know the truth.  I have never seen the appeal of her books.

30. What is your desert island book?
Taking just one book to a desert island would be a torturous decision.  No matter what it was, I would get really tired of it.  I guess I'd pick Robinson Crusoe, because if you're ever going to connect with a guy who's stranded on a deserted island, it'd be then, amirite?

31. And ... what are you reading right now?
Drood by Dan Simmons

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Danger In a Red Dress

This book was terrible.

Christina Dodd is one of my favorite authors and one of most popular writers in romance. Her nickname in Romancelandia is "La Dodd"--that's how huge she is. I remember the first time I opened my first Christina Dodd book... but that's a story for another day. Dodd used to write strictly historical romances; but recently (2003), she switched to contemporary and paranormal novels, of which this book is one of the former.

Danger in a Red Dress wraps up her two contemporary series: Lost Texas Hearts and The Fortune Hunters. Don't ask me to sum up those series or how this book is supposed to wrap them up, exactly, because quite frankly I don't remember anything about them.

The "plot" to this book is sort of all over the place: a nurse named Hannah accepts a somewhat sketchy job taking care of a rich old lady, due to circumstances which are outlined with unnecessary detail at the beginning of the book. A security guy named Gabriel is hired by said old lady's son to keep an eye on Hannah. As soon as he sees her photo, he's in lurve. Ah, l'amour. So while she's under surveillance, he watches her do things like take showers and sleep (stalker much?); and then they finally move on to talking over the phone! Wow, this romance is steamy--NOT! Then something happens that I can't tell you about (just in case you decide to read the book after this review), and Hannah goes on the run. Gabriel chases her down and they finally meet and fall into bed together. Blah blah blah, Hannah decides to forgive him for being a total dork and they live happily ever after.

One of the things I really liked about this book was the Gothic feel of it: an orphaned nurse, alone in the world, living in an isolated and mysterious mansion and never knowing who she can trust, is a classic set-up for a Gothic suspense novel à la Rebecca. However, I was frustrated by how Dodd wouldn't let the story be Gothic. You don't write a Gothic novel by revealing at the start of the book who the bad guys and good guys are; that takes away all of the suspense. I know she wanted to put Gabriel in there as a good guy because he's the carry-over character from her other contemporary series--but in all honestly I could care less about Gabriel and his role in the series (see above). Is this a good book, does the story flow naturally; that's what I care about. And quite frankly, I thought both the suspense plot and the romance were dumb (I searched for another descriptor, but that sums it up the best).

The main problem with the romance for me is that there isn't one. Gabriel sees Hannah's photo and is attracted to her--all right, I can believe that--but then he gets way stalker-y with the watching her sleep. Meanwhile, he doesn't bother to know her, her personality and character, at all! His brother/client/evil doer tells him that she's an unprincipled nurse who seduced her client for fifty thousand dollars and then killed him to collect the money, and Gabriel just believes him. Hmm, maybe you could investigate that claim, mister investigator man.

There are also a lot of inconsistencies in the book that I just didn't buy into. The biggest one is in the latter half of the book when Gabriel asks Hannah--who's on the run and has just been shot at--to move into his condo and nurse him back to health. Er, one--lame; two--I can see him luring her into his apartment, but I don't see her falling for that excuse when he already has his EMT-trained security specialist living with him and his doc doing house calls. And how does Gabriel have so much money, anyway? Apparently security is the greatest money-making business since making and selling upside-down loans, because the guy is rolling in dough (of course; every romance hero HAS to be rich. He can be ugly, he can be uncouth, but poor? Das ist verböten).

And, when they finally "get together" (re: have sex), the scene essentially runs like this: "Gabriel pulled her down to the bed and DOT DOT DOT." Huh? I don't require sex scenes in my romance novels, by any means, but I have never read a Dodd book without a sex scene in it. Furthermore, there was an awful lot of build-up to how Gabriel wants her sooo baaaaaad, yeah baby; and then dot dot dot?!?!? I feel cheated.

I could really go on, but I feel like I've made my point. This book was terrible. It is NOT worth eight dollars. This might be something to pick up if you deeply feel the need to close the series, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend it.

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