The End o' January is here

Well, here 'tis 31 January, and I haven't posted any more reviews.
Heirloom posed more of a problem than I thought it would. What can
I say? It's an interesting book, but when I read nonfic, I seem to need
a certain amount of time uninterrupted. Fiction I can pick up, put
down, accidentally drop the book and restart. Nonfic wants me to pay
a bit more attention.

I'll give a quickie of the fiction I've been reading. Around New Year's I
picked up the latest paperback in Anne McCaffrey's Acorna series.
Having read it, I decided to re-read the rest of the series. So far, I've
tackled Acorna, Acorna's Quest, Acorna's People, Acorna's World, and
am half through with Acorna's Search.

I find McCaffrey incredibly readable. Not that it's brain candy. Her
writing style just happens to work and play well with my brain.

However....

Did you ever read a series in bits, as the books come out, then try to
read the whole flipping thing at one shot? Little plot twists that seemed
cool the first time round suddenly seem beyond implausible. I've got
to say, the time-jumping Friends of the Acorna series became one of
those twists, for me. The whole lost-in-time thing eventually got on
my nerves to the point that I just stopped reading. I'll pick them back
up eventually, but I certainly won't try the full-series read again!

It's funny. I didn't have that trouble with the Pern books. Even
blitzreading 'em didn't set my teeth on edge like the Acorna biz did.
Crazy.

So, I jumped over to re-read Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series.
Finished the first (Spellsinger) and second (The Hours of the Gate),
and am moving right on. Not having the improbability factor kick in
on this series, either.

Okay, that said, here's my Bonus Books o' the Month: Skippyjon
Jones, and Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble, both by Judy
Schachner. They be children's books, me hearties, and well worth
adult time. The artwork is a delight, and the whole idea of a Siamese
kitten who daydreams he's a sword-wielding Chihuahua hero named El
Skippito? Can't beat that with a stick! Look 'em over. Go to the
bookstore, and look for 'em. Go to the library. Go online. you've
really got to read these. Won't take long. You'll be glad you did.

Hurray! One down, 51 to go...! LOL!

Yes, it's true. I've finished reading Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. Okay, granted, it's technically classed as a "Young Adult" book by my local library, and I'm no way a young adult, but I'm still counting it.

Set on Discworld, though you'd hardly know it, it's seems to be the classic Pied Piper story. Seems to be.

Nothing Terry Pratchett ever writes is exactly all it seems to be....

It's also about developing awareness of oneself as a self, of responsibility to others, of how to manage when it's clear one's dream is never going to become one's absolute reality, but can still be achieved.

I shan't bother explaining how the Educated Rodents became as they are. You can read the book yourself, you know. It's not all that long. It's longer than, say, Where's My Cow?, but considerably shorter than Small Gods. I shall suggest that you consider the notion that there are rats, and there are rats, wherever you go.

I enjoyed it. Not as much as I enjoyed Nanny Ogg's Cookbook, but then, I'm just that sort of person. Overall, thumbs up for The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents!

Now, to finish Heirloom: notes from an accidental tomato farmer. I mean, really. I've gotta know. How does anyone accidentally plant tomatoes...?