Re-Read #1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Title:	American Gods
Author:	Neil Gaiman
Genre:	Fantasy/Mythology
Synopsis:	Released from jail after his wife's death, Shadow finds himself cast adrift. When he is offered a job by the mysterious Wednesday, a job that leads him into the path of strange and dangerous new people, he doesn't realise the magnitude of events that will follow or the part he himself will have to play in them as opposing forces face off for the very soul of America.
Verdict:	I love this book. Absolutely love it. The rich depiction of the various pantheons and their modern incarnations, the cutting between the stories of arrival and the modern encounters, the hints, the revelations, Shadow! Neil Gaiman is a master story teller and if I had to choose one book to have when I was stranded on a deserted island, it would be this one.
Pages:	635
Read:	March 2012

 
Disclaimer: Technically this isn't the first thing I've re-read since starting this Reading Journal but it's the first thing I've decided to record as such.

#139. Lost In A Good Book by Jasper Fforde

Title:	Lost In A Good Book
Author:	Jasper Fforde
Genre:	Alternate Reality/Crime
Synopsis:	Thursday Next is trying to get on with her life and avoid the celebrity that followed her altering of Jane Eyre when her new husband is suddenly erased from history and she has to do what she can to get him back whilst foiling a conspiracy, joining a secret society and once again being threatened by corporate toadies.
Verdict:	Lovely playful language, good pacing and fun characters continue to make this series swift, enjoyable reads. I hope the tone and atmosphere continue on through the sequels.
Pages:	372
Read:	February 2012

#138. Tortall And Other Lands by Tamora Pierce

Title:	Tortall and Other Lands
Author:	Tamora Pierce
Genre:	Short Stories/Fantasy
Synopsis:	These short stories based in the lands of Tamora Pierce’s fantasy world follow up on events in her novels, round out a picture of the world’s different cultures, explores the history of some characters and introduces us to new ones.
Verdict:	I quite liked finding out what happened after certain events and how certain characters got to be who they became. Some of the stories felt slightly underdeveloped but for the most part it was quite good. Pierce’s trademark strong female characters were well represented. There seemed a fair few poor male role-models this time around but violent or neglectful parents and the like aren’t scarce in our world so I should hardly expect Tamora Pierce to underrepresent them in hers.
Pages:	369
Read:	February 2012

#137. Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford

Title:	Jane Goes Batty
Author:	Michael Thomas Ford
Genre:	Fiction/Humour/Supernatural
Synopsis:	Jane Austen is still undead and running her bookstore, her newly published book is being made into a movie, and romantic and other problems abound to keep her busy.
Verdict:	This continues to be a fun series that likes to poke fun, even during moments of drama, at both classical literature and the modern supernatural romance books that it is drawing from.
Pages:	285
Read:	January 2012

#136. Mastiff by Tamora Pierce

Title:	Mastiff
Author:	Tamora Pierce
Genre:	Fantasy
Synopsis:	In the bustling city of Corus, guardswoman Beka Cooper must tackle her most important hunt yet to rescue the kidnapped heir to the throne and uncover the conspiracy that allowed him to be taken.
Verdict:	Another great book but let down by its ending which has marred the series somewhat with a couple of points found difficult to reconcile with previous events or characters’ natures.
Pages:	581
Read:	January 2012