Books I Read in July

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (Claire North)
Thief's Magic

Two books for July:

Continuing with my temporary library addiction, I borrowed The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August following a recommendation. I had a vague recollection of skimming the back of the cover in a bookshop once but for whatever reason had passed over it. After a recent mention from a friend that they had read (and enjoyed) the book I figured I'd go and find a copy to read myself. I'm not too sure what to write about how I actually found it though... The concept behind the book is intriguing but it did take me some time to get into -- perhaps partly due to the way things bounce around a little in time (but that is a great thing about the way the story is told I think). The primary relationship in this book builds really nicely over time and is conveyed beautifully, but the more I think about it, the more I think I'd gain a lot more from the novel with a second reading -- in fact, I'm really tempted to give this another go again very soon!

My second book for the month was another read that stemmed from a recommendation (albeit rather further removed this time). As a student I was prompted to give fantasy a try and read a number of Trudi Canavan novels, starting first with The Black Magician trilogy and then later The Age of the Five trilogy (the final of which I mentioned reading back in 2007). Since then I've read little fantasy (bar the occasional Discworld) and so when I started exploring the library again I figured it was time to have another go. Thief's Magic is the first in The Millennium's Rule trilogy (and the library didn't seem to have the others...), and was a straightforward light read. I'm not sure if its my appreciation or her writing that has changed, but I didn't find this as engaging as I recalled her previous books being. I won't chase down the rest of the series, but if it turns up in the library next time I look I'll definitely see it through to the end.