Archive of Finished Books
for 2001
(41+ books total)
|
The
Fire Dragon by Katharine Kerr |
| Brigid's
Charge by Cynthia Lamb [BookCrossing] This book was recommended by one of my Sisters. I agree with her assessment. It was an excellent book that I couldn't put down. It is about a young woman who journeys to America to marry a man she doesn't know. He's a Quaker; she's a pagan. She must balance following her own beliefs with those of her neighbors so that she isn't accused of witchcraft. |
| Ladies
of the Lake by Caitlin and John Matthews This books traces nine ladies of Avalon. It goes through various aspects of each lady and her story and gives a meditation for each one at the end. I highly recommend this book, as it had a lot of good insights. I know it is on my reread list because I know there are still many things that I have to pick up through each additional read. |
| Grass
by Sheri Tepper [BookRay] This book is usually chosen by Tepper fans as their favorite of her works. I am still going to stick by Beauty being my favorite, but this one was definitely very good. Not only was the plot and characterization excellent, but it offered a number of theories and ideas, especially on the nature of God, that I thought were very intriguing. |
| Practical
Magic by Alice Hoffman This book was made into the recent movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Rarely have I ever said that the movie was better than the book, but I think I'm going to have to make that statement in this case. The events in the movie and book were markedly different and I just liked the way they played out in the movie a bit better. Plus I felt that the book left out the theme that I felt was most important in the movie - the community of women coming together, united in a common goal, even though they had shunned the Owens women before. This part just isn't in the book at all. The Owenses take care of their problems all by themselves. But the book was good for itself, as long as you don't have the movie to compare it with. |
| Where
the Heart Is by Billie Letts [BookCrossing]
[BookCrossing]
[BookCrossing] This is another book which was recently made into a movie starring Natalie Portman. The first time I saw the movie I thought it was good if not a little cheesy. I saw it again and realized under the cheese it was really great. I happened upon the book at a library book sale and decided to give it a try. Boy am I glad I did. First of all, the movie, although changing a few details here and there, was very true to the book, even down to exact sections of dialogue. But the book went even further and expanded Novalee's life and the lives of those around her. It's been taking me a while to get through books these days, but I just sped through this one; I couldn't put it down. |
| The
Celtic Tradition by Caitlin Matthews This was a very good overview of, as the title states, the Celtic tradition. Very brief and doesn't go into a lot of detail but it would definitely be good for you to get a basic idea of things and what you might want to learn more about. |
| The
Jesus Mysteries: Was the 'Original Jesus' a Pagan God? by Timothy
Freke This is a really amazing book. Since I haven't done a lot of studying on this subject on my own, I can't tell how sound their scholarship is, but so much of what the authors put forth makes a heck of a lot of sense. Basically, it states that Literalist Christians (Christians of today) have missed the whole point - that the Christ story is not meant to be taken as a historical truth but as an allegorical study. Christians of today are missing the Inner Mysteries and only have the surface Outer Mysteries. Of course, there's so much more and so much explanation; you really have to read this book for yourself. Definitely a highly recommended book on my list. |
| Skies
of Pern by Anne McCaffrey The Red Star's path has been diverted. This Pass will be the last time Thread will fall on Pern. What will Dragonriders do after this Pass is over? F'lessan and Golanth have a major part in developing the future of Dragonriders. This is another great Pern book, full of laughs, shocks, sadness, surprises, and best of all, a happy ending. |
| Priestess
of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley Of course none of the other Avalon books have quite measured up to the level of Mists of Avalon, but they are all very good books anyway. This one definitely follows that. It's a bit disappointing that so much of the book takes place away from Avalon, but Eilan (Helena) is a wonderful character and I greatly enjoyed the book - even though it was so frustrating that she went through so much heartache and sorrow. |
| The
White Raven by Diana Paxson [BookCrossing] In reading Priestess of Avalon, which was co-written (and finished) by Diana Paxson, I decided to give Diana Paxson a chance with one of her own books. This one was a retelling of the Tristam and Iseult story. Very very good. With the added character of Branwen, this was a wonderful new rendition of the story. I'll be reading more of Paxson's books. |
| Star
of Danger by Marion Zimmer Bradley I've only read about half of the Darkover books so I thought I'd read another couple in the series. This one wasn't the best Darkover book that I've read but it was very good. My only problem was that it was a bit too short. I really liked the characters of Larry and Kennard and would have liked to read more about them. |
| The
Winds of Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley I've picked back up with reading the Darkover books and I'm reminded again why Marion Zimmer Bradley is my favorite author. |
| The
Kingmaking by Helen Hollick This is the first book of a wonderful Arthurian trilogy. I've read the first two several years ago but had trouble locating the third book. Now that I've found the third book, I am rereading the first two to remember all of the details. Takes the Arthurian legends back to the 5th century and no courtly romance influences here - you'll not find Lancelot or anything of that sort. Definitely well worth the read. Now I remember why I tried to hard to find the third book. These are absolutely excellent reading. |
| Pendragon's
Banner by Helen Hollick The second in this Arthurian trilogy - see above for more info. |
| Power
of Myth by Joseph Campbell I've just added this to my recommended reading page. I first heard of Joseph Campbell almost 10 years ago, but I had not read anything of his until I decided to give this book a chance. Am I glad that I did! I read through it very slowly, savoring the wonderful words of Campbell (and his guest Bill Moyers - this was taken from transcripts of a series of interviews). I underlined many passages and wrote several comments in the margins. This will undoubtedly be a book that I turn to again and again. I just found myself nodding over and over and saying "yes!" so many times. This is a must read for anyone that has an interest in their spirituality, whether Pagan, Christian, or other. [10/14/2001] |
| Sorcery
and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer This book is really hard to find (gee, I've been saying that a lot lately, haven't I?) but well worth the find (or the additional price). It takes place during regency England (think Jane Austen) but magic is something that is quite normal. The two main characters - Kate and Cecelia - write letters back and forth to one another (Kate is in London while Cecelia is back home). They discover something sinister going on and through their combined efforts find themselves involved right in the middle of things. After reading the book (which was absolutely wonderful - I read it in one evening!), I read the authors' note at the back. The two authors actually never intended for this to be published as a book. They were just playing the "Letter Game" where they each have a character and write letters back and forth as those characters. The plot is never discussed and it is only through the letter just received that the other person discovers how it is moving forward. When they finished their "Game" they realized that they actually did have a book. They tidied up a few things and sent it off to their publisher, who delightfully published it. What a wonderful way to write a book - and especially such a good book. [10/26/01] |
| Shadow
of the King by Helen Hollick The third and final book in this Arthurian trilogy - see below for the other two books. It took me a while to finish this one because I enjoyed it so much. How did that work? Well, whenever I was putting the book down, I would flip ahead some pages and see what would be happening, flip ahead a few more, etc. So I have to leave myself enough time in between readings to "forget" what I had read so I could be more surprised in what was coming up. Did it work? A little. Well, perhaps a lot - even though I knew what was going to happen (both from my knowledge of Arthurian literature and in what I had skimmed ahead), there were many tears that I shed at the end of it. Very very good trilogy of books. [10/28/01] |
| Once
a Hero by Elizabeth Moon This was a book highly recommended to me by a very close friend. I liked it and I didn't like it. What I didn't like - it reconfirmed to me that I'm just not a sci-fi reader. I couldn't really get into the action very well. What I did like - the characters, especially Esmay. That was definitely worth the read. [11/8/01] Recommended by Emily |
| Mabon
and the Mysteries of Britain by Caitlin Matthews Another extremely hard to find book. I finally picked up a copy from eBay. It explores the first four branches of the Mabinogion, the Taliesin story, and Culwoch and Olwen. It begins with a literary exploration and then continues to explore the mysteries of Mabon and Modron (the Son and the Mother). Full of information and ideas...definitely going to be a book on my reread list so I can make sure I get everything I can out of it. [11/9/01] |
| Celtic
Book of the Dead by Caitlin Matthews I don't have the card set that goes with this book, but the book itself contains a lot of useful and interesting information. It follows along a Celtic Otherworldy journey. This is both a literary book and a spiritual book. [11/14/01] |
| Gibbon's
Decline and Fall by Sheri Tepper Speculative fiction at its best. I can't even begin to describe the plot as it is very involved, but this book definitely stayed in my hands and I couldn't stop reading it. [11/24/01] |
| Northanger
Abbey by Jane Austen I had yet to read this one and Persuasion and since I greatly enjoyed the other Austen books, I decided to give this one a read. While I don't think it will ever be among my favorite Austen books, I rather enjoyed it. [11/26/01] |
| Born
of the Sun by Joan Wolf [BookCrossing] I had previously read another Joan Wolf book - The Road to Avalon - and quite enjoyed it. Actually, quite enjoyed it is not saying enough. It was absolutely wonderful and I laughed and cried and cheered and cursed and lived along with it. That was an Arthurian book. This book takes place almost 100 years after Arthur's death when the Saxons and Britons really start mixing, peacefully and at war. Definitely an engaging book, one that I could barely put down. [12/4/01] |
| Persuasion
by Jane Austen [BookCrossing] After reading Northanger Abbey, I decided to round out my Austen reading with Persuasion. About halfway through this book, I wasn't really thinking that it would be on the same level as the other Austen books (in my mind at least). I didn't feel anything much toward the characters or their situations. But the second half of the book changed my feelings and I grew more agitated reading it - will Anne and Captain Wentworth ever realize that they still love each other? There it was! I felt for the characters and their situations. And the letter Wentworth writes to Anne absolutely melted me. What girl wouldn't want to receive a letter like that! [12/6/01] |
| Myths
to Live By by Joseph Campbell How should myths be used in our personal lives? Are they important? What Campbell did for this book was to take a bunch of lectures he had given in the 60s and early 70s and collect them for this book. Therefore, to my mind, they seemed a bit disjointed. Some chapters were much more interesting and relevant than others (heck, some of them I didn't really feel even related to the theme of the book). But overall, there were a lot of good ideas and thoughts in this book, especially the chapter on schizophrenia. [12/6/01] |
| Jane
Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin [BookCrossing] After reading the two Jane Austen books, I decided to pick up my copy of this one and find out more about Jane Austen herself. Although she and her family have claimed that she lived a rather dull life, I don't agree. Sure, it's not as exciting as some perhaps, but it was far from dull. This author did an excellent job of researching Jane Austen's life as well as those around her and in her family. She put things together in almost a story format which made for very enjoyable reading. [12/15/01] |
| The
Meri by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff A friend recommended this book to me (and loaned me her copy). It was excellent. A very different and interesting concept and some good ideas on religion. The romantic relationship part of me wanted Meredydd to end up a little differently, but the ending was wonderful and I had some tears flowing down my cheeks while reading the last pages. [12/15/01] Recommended by Kendra |
| Those
Endearing Young Charms by Marion Chesney I'm still in my Regency period. My friend loves Marion Chesney's books and this one is her favorite. It was easy reading (one evening) and very enjoyable. [12/22/01] Recommended by Emily |
| When
the King Comes Home by Caroline Stevermer After reading Sorcery and Cecelia, I wanted to read another of this author's books; the library had this one and so it was the first. Pretty good, but not quite up there with S&C. There was only one line that really made me laugh (quite silly and unstopably for several minutes) and the action drug on a bit. Plus I didn't think as much of the epilogue was needed. But it was definitely better than a lot of things I've read in the past - just not on the excellent side. [12/27/01] |
|
There were also books that I read for my classes that I did not include on this list (I don't know why I didn't include them). They were: Arthurian Literature: Milton: Bibliography and Literary
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for 2002 |
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