January Reading Wrap-up

As we close out a snowy cold January, I've managed to finish a few books that I've enjoyed a lot. Have I mentioned that I keep track of my book collection on Librarything? I have not participated much in the discussions over there yet, but they look pretty lively.

Anyway, on to the book reviews...

My recent Patrick O'Brian post was inspired by the completion of H.M.S. Surprise, the third in his series. Jack Aubrey, given command of the H.M.S. Surprise, pulls off a rescue of his friend, Stephen Maturin, from a Spanish prison and they set sail for the far east. We get some anticipatory promises of closure to their respective love lives (one good and one bad), Jack finally clears his debt, and they both have some great adventures. Another satisfying tale in the series.

As I mentioned, O'Brian has a definite rival in Bernard Cornwall when it comes to writing Napoleonic era military fiction. Sharpe's Trafalgar has to have the best description of the Battle of Trafalgar that I've ever read. The battle scene lasted for some 100 pages, and I don't think I blinked as I read through them. (pictured above is The Battle of Trafalgar, as seen from the mizzen starboard shrouds of the Victory by J. M. W. Turner (oil on canvas, 1806–1808))

On the lighter side, I finished the third book in the Artemis Fowl series, The Eternity Code, by Eion Colfer. My son read through these last year and really liked them. They are a nice easy light read, and very enjoyable. Colfer's writing is similar to Jonothan Stroud's Bartimaeous trilogy in his tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and humor, and boys especially love Mulch Diggums, the dwarf because he... well, I won't ruin it for you.

Finally, I gritted my teeth and read the second book in Stephanie Meyer's vampire love triangle trilogy, titled New Moon. I say gritted my teeth because I read the first book (Twilight) on a recommendation by my wife and by many many students who absolutely loved it. I should've known better. Think teenaged Dark Shadows crossed with Lost (and here). To be fair, I enjoyed the second book a lot more than the first, mainly because the main vampire boyfriend wasn't really around very much. My 12 year-old daughter will like them I think. I have the third book, which I hope wraps things up a bit, on my shelf to read in February.