Princess Frances I'll see your Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys and raise you Trixie Belden and Tom Swift Jr. and Sr.

I know the Hardy Boys the best, and I read more New Bobbsey Twins than the originals.

*takes note of fantasia's and Arwenel's recommendations* I've been reading a lot lately, but not making a lot of headway on the recommendations I've taken down so far. I picked up Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett off the shelf at the library since Discworld and railroads seemed an interesting combination and enjoyed it. (And because I like to torture myself I also reread Hero and Crown by Robin McKinley and I'm STILL frustrated by the ending...)

My sisters love the original Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys books. I have read a few, but only in the last few years. So my interest in reading them is limited to when I run out of my own books to read.

This morning I finished reading Devotion by Adam Makos. Excellent book about two navy pilots during the Korean war. It was definitely well written and the story seriously engaging. I tried to get my brother to read it, but he claims he doesn't have time to read. Who can't make time to read? Anyway, I put a hold A Higher Call also by Adam Makos, maybe I will be able to talk my brother into reading that one after it comes in at the library.

I have a couple more library books to read and then I plan to start Water From My Heart by Charles Martin which finally arrived in the mail yesterday. Water From My Heart is the only Charles Martin book I haven't read yet, but that will change very soon.

SnowAngel

The Painter's Daughter was disappointing. The story started out okay, but the "flashbacks" killed for me. I finished it, but it's not a book I would read again. Every time I read one of Julie Klassen's books I expect it to be better than her other books and then they aren't.

Thank you! I said something similar in my Amazon review last year and got an internet slap. I can't believe Klassen fans liked this book.

H. G. Wells: any recommendations? I haven't read any of his books, but I've been researching one-world government theories and documents for weeks now, which led me to Wells (Anticipations, The New World Order, etc).

The Painter's Daughter was disappointing. The story started out okay, but the "flashbacks" killed for me. I finished it, but it's not a book I would read again. Every time I read one of Julie Klassen's books I expect it to be better than her other books and then they aren't.

Thank you! I said something similar in my Amazon review last year and got an internet slap. I can't believe Klassen fans liked this book.

Nice job on the review, 220.

I finally read Water From My Heart a few weeks and it was really good. I'd give it 4.5 stars, not because the book itself was lacking, but because I have read The Dead Don't Dance, Maggie, and When Crickets Cry so I know what Charles Martin can write. The first part of the book moved a little slow switching between present and past, after about a quarter of the book it really started moving.

I was super excited to see a release date for CM's next book Long Way Gone.

SnowAngel

I'm currently reading The Martian by Andy Weir, the source for the recent movie of the same name, and enjoying it. So far the movie seems like a pretty good adaptation of the book. As was noted in the Movies thread, there is less science in the movie than in the book but that works well for issues like pacing and not overloading the viewers with technospeak.

I had a lot of family members that really enjoyed 'The Martian', including my husband. I didn't give it a try as it just seems like more of the same ol' sci-fi. Anyways...

I was wondering if anybody has read 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'? And if so, did you like it?

I've read the first one, fk. I wasn't overly fond of it, but I think Summer liked it pretty well. It's been a few years, so I'm little fuzzy on why I didn't like it... I think it had a different vibe than from what I was expecting? And I remember there being a slight romantic-ish subplot that bugged me. But if you're interested, I don't remember anything that would make me dissuade you from it.

I'm currently reading God of Liberty by Thomas Kidd, per Adeona's recommendation. It's about the role of religion in the American Revolution. I'm only a few chapters in, but so far it's done a pretty good job of neither being "there was no religious aspect at all!!!" or "it was completely religious!".

Thanks for the review Valia. I've put it on my 'interested' list and maybe someday I'll get around to it.

Moving onto another book I'm curious if anybody has read... 'Cordelia's Honor' by Lois McMaster Bujold? It's one of my aunt and uncle's very favorites. Well... favorites that I haven't read yet. They tried to get me to read it a few years back and I shied away because it's sci-fi. But on vacation last week it was foisted on me as a gift. Just wondering if anyone else has read it/liked it?

I've often heard Bujold mentioned; usually in the context of, "If you liked King of Attolia..." She's on my to-read list. All I think I know about Cordelia's Honor is that it might be first chronologically in the timeline thought it is one of the much later additions to the series and is supposed to be good.

Last week I read Paper Crowns by Mirriam Neal. It's a fun fantasy with an origami folding heroine and nods to Howl's Moving Castle while the antagonist is like The Snow Queen. I frequently found myself grinning at the wry humor used by the characters as they faced dire situations. I thought the weakest element was

I will be quite happy to return to the world and its characters in the future.

This week I finished catching up with Drive by Dave Kellet. It's a sci-fi comic about a diverse crew in the La Familia fleet. Their goals include finding out where their pilot is from; saving the world; and drinking coffee.

Cordelia's Honor is chronologically the first book (about the main characters, anyway). It is actually an omnibus edition of Shards of Honor and Barrayar. (Shards of Honor was actually written first, and Barrayar was added after some of the later books).
For the later books

start with The Warrior's Apprentice and after that The Vor Game. There's a whole lot of books in this series. I haven't read them all yet.
A partial list, in chronological order, is Falling Free (earlier book, about different characters), Shards of Honor, Barrayar, The Warrior's Apprentice (a favorite of mine), The Vor Game (another favorite), Brothers in Arms, Cetaganda, Mirror Dance, Memory, Komarr, A Civil Campaign (haven't read this one), Diplomatic Immunity, Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, and Cryoburn. There's a side book or two, including Borders of Infinity, which is a collection of short stories. The best of those are "The Mountains of Mourning," and "The Borders of Infinity."
I think the books were recommended for Attolia fans for two reasons:
If you can't tell, I really like this series. Cordelia's Honor is a good place to start, and it's a really great read.

Is Bujold straight sci-fi, or sci-fi with political intrigue, or more like space fantasy???

Did you enjoy Drive, Mel? I should probably do a re-read from the beginning so I remember the significance of everything that's happening. Also, what did you think of "That Time the Veetans Defeated the Tesskans...FOREVER"?

Speaking of things I should reread, I probably should've reread Mistborn before I tried to read the second and third books of the trilogy; I remembered a decent amount for three or four years having passed, and Sanderson does a good job of bringing up the important stuff again, but I feel like I'm missing a lot anyhow. Which probably hasn't been helped by reading a lot while traveling, partly to distract myself, so... I'm about 60? 70? pages away from finishing The Hero of Ages and I'm struggling a bit to get there. Don't get me wrong, I'm interested and enjoying it but it's also hard to see how this will end well (or, at least happily), which isn't encouraging. I have been very interested by

I hope to get Calamity from the library sometime soon (after I place a hold on it ) and finish off the Steelheart series (...which, now that I think about it, may be hard to end well or happily too...), and then I have a few books I've been lent/will be lent (hopefully ) to read soon. First, though, I'm finally going to sit down and start a book my sister and brother-in-law got me for Christmas , The Girls of Atomic City, about the women who helped create the atomic bomb.

It depends on the book. Some have more technical stuff than others. I like to describe them as 'people-focused' science fiction. The focus is more on the characters, and the technology is described as it becomes relevant. But they are definitely political sci-fi as well, at least most of them.

Huh, interesting. Thanks, Lady Haleth!

I finished The Hero of Ages.
I'm probably about a quarter of the way into The Girls of Atomic City and it is quite interesting too. I knew very little about the Manhattan Project and nothing about the work in Oak Ridge, so it's been very enlightening.

And Calamity was actually on the library shelf (!) so I picked it up today. I've been thinking it was the end of the trilogy but I actually haven't confirmed that...

Did you enjoy Drive, Mel? I should probably do a re-read from the beginning so I remember the significance of everything that's happening. Also, what did you think of "That Time the Veetans Defeated the Tesskans...FOREVER"?

I am enjoying it! Thanks for the recommendation! As for the short story...

*bounces happily* Ooooh, yay! You found a copy of Calamity! I shall be interested in what you think of the way this one ends...

I've been on a bit of a mystery kick lately, starting with listening to a slew of Agatha Christie audio dramatizations with a friend, and picked up Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham. I believe she wrote at about the same time as Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie but this was the first time I'd encountered Albert Campion. He reminds me of Sir Percy Blakney.

Valia, regarding the end of your spoiler comments for the Hero of Ages: