"Angel's Flight" By Nalini Singh

Angel's Flight is a collection of 4 short stories that fit into the world of Nalini's second series. We do not see, in any of them, much of either of the main characters Elena and Raphael, as the stories are ones based around things that are "back ground" stories in the main books. Thing's that we may hear hint's of but not get the actual details.
The first one, "Angel's Pawn" is about Ashwini, and her her irritating Cajun vamp as they visit the territory of Nazarach. An Angel who to a woman with the sixth sense like Ash, feel's like death and pain.
It's great because you never get to actually meet Janvier in the books. Only hear about him. So it's nice getting to see what he's like. It's a bit hard to place the timing of when the story happens, but I think it's just before the first book, "Angel's Blood".

Second story, "Angel's Judgement" is of Sarah, Ellie's best friend and Guild Director, and Deacon when they first meet. If that's not enough to entice you, I say 'You'll never guess what his job was before they got together.' Something about Slaying......!?

Third, "Angel's Wolf" is about Noel. A vampire that we meet in the second book who was found brutalised by the evil person. It's a miracle that he survived, and last we hear of him is I think in the beginning of the third book when Raphael tell's Elena that he's sent him to work for the Master Angel of Louisiana for a while, as it was a good place for him to heal. "Angel's Wolf" tell us what happens to Noel once he get's there. Something which I have been quite curious about for a while, and which made buying the book worth it almost all on it's own.

Last but not least is "Angel's Dance. This one is more a short Novel then a short story really, and takes up just over a third of the book. Not that I'm complaining. It is about how Galen first came to be one of Raphael's people, and how he and Jessamy -the Angel's Keeper of History- came to be together. A fact that is even less mentioned then anything about Noel. The only hint of it is when Elena see's him going in to visit her and draws the conclusion that they must be a couple. You also get to see what Raphael's Archangel Tower and the territory around it looked like four hundred years ago. Not to mention a glimpse of what it was like to be in his court only a century after he'd come into his power. We see Aodhan before whatever happened happened. It's nice to know he was once an innocent youth.
And if anyone was interested in finding out how Michaela rose to power, or who the Archangel who came before her was, then that's in there.

All around, good stuff.

"The Magicians of Caprona" By Diana Wynne Jones

You can tell I have had nothing much to do but read these past couple of days, since this is going to be my 3rd post in 30 or so hours.

The Magicians of Caprona is a very entertaining story that starts -note I say starts- off a bit like Romeo and Juliet, with to very respectable feuding families. But it's not about romance at all. It  focuses on the younger members of each family as they try to stop the adults from being stupid, and Chrestomanci is once again left with a big mess to clean up.

If it were juice I would have dipped in a straw, and sucked steadily down to the last dregs. Barely pausing to breathe.
I live for books.

"Charmed Life" By Diana Wynne Jones

This book is actually a few books ahead of "The Pinhoe Egg" in the Chrestomanci series that I posted about around a week back. It's the first one that Cat comes into in fact.

In contrast to the Pinhoe egg, this is not one of my favorite Diana books. This was actually the first time I've reread it. Not because it's a bad read or anything, but because of Cat's sister, Gwendolen. She's a nasty piece of work. I tell you.
And I don't like the way Chrestomanci deals with the whole situation. It's not one of his best moments..

One thing that is fascinating is that you see in detail a lot of Chrestomanci's dressing gowns. Quite amusing really. I'd almost forgotten just how extravagant they all are. By the time the other books come around, Cat has gotten somewhat used to them, and does not notice them so much.

"Black Maria" by Diana Wynne Jones

This is another book by Diana. One that I had put off reading for a while, because the title and cover promised that it would have a dark theme to it. I try to stay away from books like that, with psychological war fair and so on. My own brain doesn't react well to it.
But, I am out of money and new books to read. So, thinking of how I have yet to read a book by Diana that was actually mentally damaging, I went into my sisters room yesterday to pick it up.
And it was ok.
It did have a little scary bit with a ghost, (don't worry, that's not a spoiler. He gets mentioned in the first chapter) but even that can't really be classified as scary.

It will never be one of my favorite books, mainly because it's not my type, but Diana certainly demonstrated with it her ability to make engaging even that which you thought wouldn't interest you.

The Fellowship of the Ring. by J.R.R. Tolkien

Two days ago, (I didn't have a computer on me at the time, so I wrote what I thought down on a note book. Which I will now copy onto here.) I finished reading Part 1 of "The Lord of the Rings", and I tell you it was a bite and a half.
It took me 5 days to finish. Though even with the fact that it had small font, usually that size of book would only have taken me 2, maybe 3 days at most.
Having said that though I did enjoy it very much.

For years, people have been telling me that it is a great book but really hard to read, and that Tolkien rambled on a bit about scenery etc., taking ages to get to the point.
I did feel this a bit as I was reading. Though I think it does make sense, as he originally made these books as a place for his made up language (the eleven language) to exist. In a sense the world and the culture of the people where more important then the main characters.
In opposition to that theory however, there was a jarring note when it came to directions. To give you an example; In the beginning when the four hobbits are going through the Old Forest, they start off facing East, then turn 'right' towards North.
If you are facing East and turn right, you are going South.

This, among other things, makes me think that Tolkien was a person who "heard the words" (in his mind as he read) rather then saw the pictures that they represented.
What I mean, is that when reading most people(as far as I know most people) picture what is happening in their mind. This way, it can be almost as though they are watching the story rather then reading it.
Tolkien on the other hand was, I think, among those who enjoyed the flow of the words and how they formed ideas. - As I am not one of these people, I'm not rightly sure how it works. -

I must admit, the way he strung the words together was beautiful. Lord of the Rings is one story which I wouldn't mind getting in audio. Though usually I like to read the book myself, I have a feeling that it would be great to listen to.

I loved his songs. One person who told me about the books described them in the same category as his long descriptions of the scenery's, but I loved them. I could almost hear the people singing.
Every time I came to the songs, I would sing them out loud just to hear them, and they would make their own rhythm on my tongue. No effort required on my part.
-Side Note. Maybe Tolkien would have been able to become a great Bard if those things were still around.-

As to the movie, I haven't seen it in a while, but I still think it is one of the best book based movies ever to be made. And maybe Tolkien's slow but steady pace had something to do with that.

Agony 17/03/2009

Thunk. Tap. Thunk. Tap. Thunk. Tap. It was a rhythm that started early every morning, then continued, unbroken until late at night. Thunk. Tap. Thunk. Tap. Thunk. Tap. To me, it meant pain. It had been going on for years now. And I was starting to accept the fact that the Vampires were never going to accept that I’m never going to give them the information they want.

Never.

I had come to realize that I needed to accept another thing too. – My family was not coming for me. They never had been. From the second I was dragged into the center of the enemy, I was already a lost cause to them. Either that, or they had tried, and failed.

The first option seemed more likely to me. Because if they had done the second option, then they probably wouldn’t still need me to stick around.

Unless of course, you know… They just got some weird kick out of watching hunters suffer.

Gross. Even we don’t go that far. Hunters exist to protect our fellow humans from harm. Not to stretch them over some weird but incredibly effective – believe me. I should know. – machine, and watch while they dip into a world that gives a whole new meaning to the word “agony”.

Thunk. Tap. Huh… I guess my time here has paid off for something. I can almost ignore the pain now, I’m so used to it. It has taken on a sort of numb-like quality. I wonder if I can ignore it enough to go to sleep,

Thunk. Tap. Thunk. Tap. Thunk. Tap. Thun…

Notes...

I wrote this some time ago when I was not in a very happy place. 

"The Da Vinci Code" By Dan Brown

This book has the potential to deeply offend some, highly intrigue others, and simply not interest most of the rest.

Which opinion you'll have is based, I think, very much on your belief in religion(or lack of it). But either way, I can promise you that it is not a book to take lightly. And if you are of the religious kind, I would strongly suggest reading it with and open mind, and the knowledge that when push comes to shove this is a FICTION book, and that Brown never claimed that it was fact. Or you simply won't enjoy it.

The plot itself isn't hard to follow, but it can get a little heavy, for lack of better words. Because of some of the things it deals with. -love, religion- And the fact that it is based around what is to many of us, our own beliefs. Or at least something that we grew up hearing about, and were taught to take for granted.
I will not get into my own beliefs in religion, but I will say that I had to put this book down and walk away for a while half way through, and that I am not one to put books down lightly. - So that's saying something.
It is like the difference between eating a fudge cake, and eating a sponge cake I guess. Both are delicious, but one you have to eat slowly, and the other you can take it in at what ever pace you like.

On a purely technical note however, the story is written well, and I believe is well worth reading.
Brown did tend to drag on a bit with his descriptions, but then may a great authors do.

So, yeah.

I enjoyed it, and so did my acupuncturist.

Saaski.

Love

What is love?

I have heard people speak of it.

I have read of it in books.

But I know that that is not enough,

Not to those who don't already know.

So I'm forced to wonder at the difference,

To wonder what I'm missing out on.

I ask you God;

                      Will I ever know?

Or was I sent into this lifetime,

To learn how to live alone.