Days 26-30 -- Better late than never

While I did really well with the beginning of this meme, I've slipped on the job lately. I'm going to wrap this up as much as I can today, and will perhaps search for another such meme. It's been good to write most days -- well, the last week being a notable exception -- and I've enjoyed, mostly, the topic, although there were some questions that were a bit off-putting.

So to the end...


Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Actually the book I just finished, Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler's Wife) had an ending that was rather WTF.

I don't know that it was awful, mind you, but it felt abrupt. While it wound the story into some semblance of resolution in some respects, there was a huge gap between the story as it had developed and the hasty ending. I'm still pondering. No question that her character development was engaging and quirky, and there were some interesting twists to the plot. I'm just not sure that the ending fit the rest of the book.


Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
I'm not sure I can categorize my reading habits quite this way: I'm an eclectic reader and always have been. While I like some romances, I don't especially enjoy the 'happily ever after' ones unless there is some quirkiness thrown in there -- Nora Roberts has some trilogies, for instance, that are certainly 'happily ever after' types, but with some enjoyable occult turns...for instance,
the three sisters island trilogy, the garden trilogy, and the key trilogy are pretty similar stories but with nice touches of magic. They're easy, beach-y-type reads, total escape novels. Now that I think about it, these trilogies are pretty formulaic, but they are fun reads.

I like magic. That's one of the appeals for me of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I think -- all the lovely magic and fantasy thrown in there, the amazing development of the cultures.


Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
I'd have to say that one of my favorite series is the Kushiel series, beginning with Kushiel's Dart, by Jacqueline Carey. A friend recommended these books several years ago, and they aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I was hooked from the first chapter and obsessively read my way through them. Carey develops an interesting world that has elements of ours, but a completely different culture -- several cultures, actually. It's erotic, it's entertaining, it's surprising, with lots of action and some royalty thrown in to boot.


Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Of the more recent books I've read, hands down it is Dumbledore's death in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

I've written more about that elsewhere in this meme.

Definitely the saddest.


Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?
Just last night I finished Her Fearful Symmetry.

I've got an Oprah magazine I have barely touched, a Writer's magazine that I haven't even cracked, and a few others around here that will do for a while. I'll probably start in on the pile next to my bed, perhaps beginning with Crichton's Next.