Here’s my remarkably short reading list from January:

1. INITIATE BROTHER by Sean Russell (480 p.) Book one, set in a quasi-medieval, China-like world. The emperor, in an ill-conceived plot to bring down the Shonto house, has arranged for barbarians to invade . . . not realizing that the Khan plans to take the very throne itself. Shonto and Shuyun, his young Botahist Spiritual Advisor are determined to save the empire.

2. GATHERER OF CLOUDS by Sean Russell (604 p.) Book two. Civil war has broken out, with the Shonto trying to stall the massive barbarian army to give the emperor time to raise his own army. Meanwhile, the Botahist brotherhood has signs that the enlightened Master they’ve been waiting for for centuries has appeared . . . could Shuyun be the Master? These two books–the first by this author–are just remarkable. Great story, great writing, masterful, and interesting. I just gave you perhaps the most boring synopses, but trust me, these are fabulous books. Sean Russell is on my “Why can’t he write faster, for God’s sake?” list of authors

3. ACCOMPLICE by Elizabeth Ironside (355 p.) A gentle, English mystery, tying Russian emigrees to old, Russian royalty, and, oh yes, a child’s body discovered in the backyard . . .

4. PROMISED LAND by Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice (362 p.) Sci-fi, space-opera-ish kind of book. Delanna returns to her home planet for the first time in years, only to find that she can’t leave without forfeiting her inheritance . . . and that she’s been married by a long-standing contract between her father and her neighbor… Light, but enjoyable.

5. HELLSPARK by Janet Kagan (329 p.) Okay, imagine a universe where every, single culture has rules and taboos that are anaethema to some other culture–one society considers bare feet to be immoral, another is insulted by a person approaching from their right side–things like that. It would be chaos but for the Hellsparks, who can communicate fluently with each culture’s “tells.” Now, throw in a newly-discovered planet with a very-diversified exploration team, a mysterious death of one of the members, a possibly-sapient native species, and, oh yes, a computer who seems rather sapient herself. …

6. TIPPING POINT by Malcolm Gladwell (280 p.) Oh, this was interesting. An exploration of the factors that cause various trends, fashions, diseases, etc to “tip” into epidemic–whether it’s the popularity of Hush Puppies shoes, or Cabbage Patch dolls–something has to push or nudge the trend into full-blown epidemic. Really interesting, enjoyable read.

7. REDEMPTION OF ALTHALUS by David and Leigh Eddings (726 p.) A stand-alone fantasy book. Althalus, a master thief, is hired to steal a book from the House at the End of the World and ends up fighting to save the world from evil. Standard Eddings material and characters, enjoyable enough, but just “okay.”

8. ANGELICA by Sharon Shinn (485 p.) You already know I love Sharon Shinn’s world of Samaria, where angels are real people who pray to Jovah for medicines and weather changes, while Jovah communicates with his oracles by means of a glass-faced “interface.” Well, in this, the earliest book of the time-line, Samaria has been invaded by violent people who can throw destructive fire and destroy entire camps and villages in a matter of moments–will Gaaron and his new angelica, Susannah, be able to save their world?

9. BIG RED FEZ: How To Make Any Web Site Better by Seth Godin (111 p.) A short but very informative little book–on every left page is a picture of a website and on every right page is an explanation of what’s right or wrong about that page, and what could be done to make it better. Short and sweet.

10. THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON MUSIC: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin (267 p.) Exactly what it sounds like–an examination of what it is about music that hooks us so, why we get so caught up in the rhythm and melody, no matter what our culture. Well-written and fascinating.

11. ARCHANGEL by Sharon Shinn (390 p.) The original Samaria novel–Gabriel has been instructed to find and wed Rachel, who has been enslaved for the last five years. They continually fight but must work together to make sure that Raphael steps down as Archangel at the end of his term–something which he is determined not to do.

12. ANGEL SEEKER by Sharon Shinn (483 p.) Coming shortly after “Archangel,” the angel Obadiah meets and falls in love with the very-sheltered, Jansai Rebeccah….

13. JOVAH’S ANGEL by Sharon Shinn (389 p.) Second in the original trilogy–Jovah is having trouble hearing the angel’s prayers and so storms tear across Samaria, and in one, the Archangel is dashed to the ground, disabling her. Alleluia is named to replace her and must find some way to make Jovah hear them again.

14. ALLELUIA FILES by Sharon Shinn (474 p.) The final Samaria book–a century later, Samarian society is being torn apart by the radical idea that their god, Jovah, might actually be a spaceship…

15. MINDLESS EATING: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink (249 p.) Fascinating book that examines all the ways we eat more or serve more than we think we are–all the tricks that restaurants use, the ways our eyes fool our brains when judging portions . . . really fascinating. Not to mention entertaining and well-written, which made it a good read all on its own.

I know. Only 15 books. I haven’t had a month with so few books since November 2002! It sounds better by page count, though–those 15 books total 5,666 pages.

• Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading • Permalink:Books from January //