Y S Lee

Author of Young Adult, Historical and Mystery Novels

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Writing & reading

April 15, 2010 By Ying 13 Comments

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been crashing inelegantly towards the end of the third Mary Quinn novel, The Traitor and the Tunnel. I’m seeing progress, at last, and it feels good. I can tell I’m near because I’ve started making lists of things to do and books to read A.D. (After Delivery). Now, this is still a couple of weeks off, but it’s never too early to list. So far, I’ve got (in no particular order):

YA & genre:
Perchance to Dream, by Lisa Mantchev
The Hunchback Assignments, by Arthur Slade
In the Serpent’s Coils, by Tiffany Trent
Hearts at Stake, by Alyxandra Harvey
The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag, by Alan Bradley

Sairius Littricha:
Empire of the Sun, by J G Ballard
Changing My Mind, by Zadie Smith (yes, a foray into non-fiction)
Romola, by George Eliot

So, bookish friends – what am I missing? What else would you recommend?

This week, in reviews:

Lynn Rutan of Bookends (Booklist’s children’s & YA blog) calls Spy “terrific… intriguing… enticing” and demands, “More more!”

Teens Read Too gives Spy a Gold Star Award for excellence! Reviewer Jennifer Rummel says it’s “pure magical entertainment. A great feisty heroine, lots of danger, plenty of mysteries to untangle, and a little romance creates a wonderfully perfect first edition to a new series.”

At Pipedreaming, Vikki VanSickle says, “A Spy in the House is the love child of Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy and Ally Carter’s Gallagher series and then some”!

Thank you so much, you enthusiastic librarians and booksellers. I’m honoured.

Filed Under: Books, The Traitor and the Tunnel Tagged With: reading, reviews, The Agency, The Traitor and the Tunnel, Writing

Comments

  1. mrslarkin says

    April 15, 2010 at 7:56 am

    Hi Ying! Our library system is getting a copy of your book! I put a hold on it, so I should have it in the near future.

    As for book suggestions, I just finished 2 great books: The Bread of Angels by Stephanie Saldana; and Horns byJoe Hill. Two totally different books, but both thoroughly enjoyable.

  2. Admin says

    April 15, 2010 at 9:00 am

    Hi mrslarkin! YAY for libraries that still have book-buying budgets! Hope you enjoy Spy. And I’ve never even heard of your picks – thank you so much!

  3. Colleen says

    April 15, 2010 at 10:50 am

    David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas is missing from your second list.

    Good luck on the home stretch!

  4. Steph Burgis says

    April 15, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    Eee! I can’t WAIT to read The Traitor and the Tunnel! Good luck and have fun with the final bits.

    You’ve got a fabulous reading list already (and I’ve just put the Zadie Smith collection on my own TBR list!), but my two other reading suggestions, if you haven’t read them yet, are Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree (a very funny collection of his columns about reading) and Jo Knowles’s Jumping Off Swings (one of my favorite YA novels – SO beautifully written and real).

  5. Becky Earl says

    April 15, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Can’t wait to read your book.

    Suggestions for you to read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks – amazing and they’ve made a film.

    ‘Study’ trilogy by Maria V Snyder, just finishing book 3 and they are really good. ‘Poison Study’, ‘Magic Study’ & ‘Fire Study’

    House of Night series by P.C & Kristin Cast.

    Shadow Web by N M Browne – very good and set in an old fashioned London too.

    enjoy your reading.

  6. Khai says

    April 15, 2010 at 5:57 pm

    I was in Chapters this past weekend and almost bought this book: http://www.amazon.com/Moo-Baa-Sandra-Boynton/dp/067144901X

    It’s more fun with the kid, though…

  7. Ying says

    April 15, 2010 at 5:59 pm

    Colleen: Yes. I was feeling cowardly. Should I? Really?
    Becky: Oh, I’ll enjoy all right. Thanks for the titles!
    Steph: How could I have forgotten Jo Knowles? Yes, yes. I stopped reading Hornby with How to Be Good. Maybe non-fic is a good way of dipping back in?
    Khai: Guess you’ll just have to make your own…

  8. Ari says

    April 15, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    The Black Canary by Jane Louise Curry is MG, time travel set in England during the Elizabethan age. I know it’s not your normal time period, but just a thought. I read it awhile ago, and I remember liking it, but I don’t remember much else (besides the plot). Oh and read Liar by Justine Larbalestier if you haven’t yet as well as Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves 🙂

    Yay for all the great reviews! Even more excited for the Body in the Tower and then the Traitor in the Tunnel!!

  9. Colleen says

    April 15, 2010 at 8:00 pm

    Yes, really, read Cloud Atlas. I just re-read it. Mind-blowing!

  10. Admin says

    April 16, 2010 at 5:45 am

    Ari! I do like time periods other than the Victorian, so thanks for the recs. And I’m glad you’re excited!

  11. MelodyJ says

    April 16, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    I’m glad you are seeing progress on book 3. I can recommend some books.

    Auslander by Lewis Kelley. It’s about a black soilder during WWII.

    Death By Bikini, Death By Latte and Death By Denim by Linda Gerber. This is a YA mystery series.

  12. Admin says

    April 17, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    Thanks you, Melody!

  13. Steph Su says

    May 6, 2010 at 6:42 pm

    I am embarrassed to say that it took me about a minute before I figured out what “Sairius Littricha” meant.

    =X

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