Saturday, October 27, 2007

Big 10,000! And recommendation request




At some point yesterday afternoon I received my 10,000th visit. I embarked on my blogging adventure to write more and broaden my community. I've certainly found community in abundance!

Thank you everyone who stops by and reads - faithfully or occasionally.

So readers, I'm in the mood for fun YA fantasy, does anyone have an opinion on Garth Nix's Sabriel or the Artemis Fowl series? Or want to suggest anything else? I've read the Bartemaeus and His Dark Materials trilogies. Thanks.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love love love that you have started blogging. It's so awesome. And congrats on 10,000!

Ted said...

Thanks friend, due largely to you!

Eva said...

I've been on a YA urban fantasy run lately...
Tithe was fun (and there's a sequel, Ironside, that I'm waiting to get back to)
Twilight was much, much better than I expected (teenage vampire)
Marked was cotton candy (also teen vampire, but very different)
I've heard really good things about The Looking Glass Wars (a take on Alice in Wonderland), Wicked Lovely (urban faerie), and The Wee Free Men (more straightforward sci-fi/fantasy). I have them checked out, and I plan to get to them soon, so you'll be able to read my reviews!

Ted said...

Thanks, Eva - I'll take a look at some of those.

Sam said...

Congrats on turning that nice round number, Ted. I'm one of your regular readers and enjoy your thoughts. Thanks.

Ted said...

Thank you Sam! For the wishes and being a regular. I'm a fan of your site as well, you always have something interesting to say.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the 10,000 visit!
Regarding YA, I'll second Eva's recommendation of Twilight. I have read the first Aremis Fowl book and I wasn't very impressed but maybe that was just me.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the milestone Ted!

Imani said...

The Garth Nix Abhorsen trilogy, of which Sabriel is the first book, is pretty much excellent. Opinions vary on the strength of the second book, Lirael (I think it's pretty good, but not as excellent as the other two, my ex thought it was splendid), but the trilogy is worth your time and money.

William Nicholson's Wind on Fire trilogy is a real nice one as well. Great interpretation on bureaucratic education but just a lot of fun in general. He has another trilogy out now, but I haven't read it yet.

Edith Pattou wrote an incredible novel, East, a second look at the East of the Moon, West of the Sun Norwegian folktale. Besides the beautiful writing -- not something I come across very often in YA fantasy -- the characters are memorable and stick with you for a long time. The themes are well developed in this one too, linked to imagery and symbols in a wonderful way. It's a favourite.

I'm about to start a trilogy by Helen Dunmore, as the second book (Tide Knot) was on the New Statesman's Best books of 2006 as given by writers. I expect to like, from what I've skimmed. No doubt I'll mention it on my blog at some point.

Did you ever write about the Bartimaeus trilogy? I must search your blog. I adored it.

Ted said...

Wow - thanks Imani! Thanks for those several recommendations. That should keep me in fantasy for months. I haven't written on Bartimaeus actually, I read it before I started blogging.