Posting Delays Again

Yet again I was too distracted reading more/watching tv to post much about what I've read since the last post.

I plowed right through Shadow Kiss. I was happy with what Rose has been learning about herself and her abilities and with the way she and Lissa and Eddie and Christian have grown/developed more fully. However, I was not pleased with what happened to Dimitri - and I understand completely why Rose felt the need to leave St. Vladimir's Academy to find (and stake) him. I also understand how hard it will be for her - and how hard it was for her to leave Lissa and to not graduate. I hope she'll be allowed to finish school/graduate when she returns - I presume she will return. I wish that she had shared sooner what was happening to her, and that some of those in charge would have listened to her better. Oh, and Tatiania (sp?) is getting on my nerves too. I almost wish that Rose would be/have been kinder/friendlier to Adrian. He actually seems pretty cool, even if he has a bit of a bad reputation and can be annoying.

After finishing that I started Tillie Olsen's collection of four short stories, Tell Me a Riddle. I recognized the first story in it, but as I'd read it for class in college, I'd expected that. However, I also found much in the final story familiar too - I'm not sure if I'd read this book already or not. I think I may have read the title short story in another book (also called Tell Me a Riddle) that had this story and lots of commentary on it - I remember checking the book out from the library, but I also know I skipped the commentary. Perhaps I did read the story portion though. I enjoyed all of the stories, although I think the first one is my favorite. I wish I could remember which of the two characters was the one I had thought may have been based on Tillie Olsen's own life - when I'd commented on that to my prof, she was surprised as she'd always thought Tillie based the other character on her own life. I don't remember who I picked and who Sr. Mara picked. Maybe I should email her and ask - she should be able to tell me.

After quite quickly finishing that, I started a book I'd found while shelving: The Glass Maker's Daughter by V. Briceland. I was first drawn to it because the title reminded me of some other books I'd read (and enjoyed): the Glasswright's Apprentice series and The Apothecary's Daughter. I'd thought that this book would be a combination of both. It somewhat was, but not quite. I wish could have actually seen the bowl that Risa made - it sounds so pretty. I liked the characters; they were well-written (and felt real). A few of the characters were quite annoying though. I'm intrigued by the whole idea of the world of Cassaforte. I was not quite expecting the end as it was (although I did expect that saving Dom was going to be big - like the fairy tale theme of helping someone and finding out they weren't who you thought they were). I'm surprised that Milo doesn't guess/know what special task/job that Alessandro plans to give him is. It seems so obvious to me - although at one point, I'd thought that perhaps Risa was going to get it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hope that V. Briceland writes more - in Cassaforte or not.

After I finished this, I moved on to the next Vampire Academy novel, Blood Promise. Rose is now off in Russia and Siberia trying to find Dimitri. She has also met a new part of the Moroi world that she hadn't known about before - the Alchemists. I'm already entranced and hope to finish internet stuff quickly so that I can move back to it. However, with the Triduum this week, I'm not sure I'm going to have much time to read - especially as I have to work a lot too. We'll see - I'm sure I'll find ways to squeeze in a few minutes here and there.