Reminiscent of Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle. A clockmaker’s apprentice is visited by an angel and told the planet is winding down unless he can rewind the “Mainspring”. And off on adventures he winds up going. There’s a flying Navy (reminiscent of the Naomi Novik books but without dragons), and a lot of watch/clock imagery going on. I liked it, but I felt it wandered about and here, a month and a half later, when I flip through the end pages, I can’t quite recall some of the characters in the final chapters.

Another collection of his “what I read vs. what I bought” essays for The Believer (yes, the very essays I refer to every month when I show you my lists! albeit without commentary).

I always find these fun (see here for one I read last year). I also find they are dangerous because I always wind up adding to my “something I should read” someday lists, which are dangerous things for a person with my shall we call them “spending propensities” when she walks by a million bookstores every day. Dangerous!

Just a little reminder to myself to go pick up “Skellig” by David Almond, apparently voted the third greatest children’s book of the last seventy years. Here’s what Hornby had to say: “I can tell you that it’s one of the best novels published in the last decade, and I’d never heard of it. Have you?”

More vampire fantasy. Takes place in modern day NYC so you know I’m lovin that. I would say it’s better written than the Meyer books. Also a female main character. Not quite as emotional. And more “good guys”; girl is not as much of a loner. But still feels very true to “teendom”.

If you like reading vampire fantasy type stuff, I can’t think of a reason you wouldn’t want to read this(these).

Although there’s one twist that I’m pretty sure is a lie; i.e., the characters all believe it, but I definitely don’t. I’ll be interested to see how that plays out as the trilogy continues.