Chunk 1: Wrede and Burroughs

paging through my remaining notes, I saw multiple series, and not-series but multiple books by the same author.  After some reorganization, here are some author chunks.

Searching for dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.  These books go by quickly; they are wonderful.  I especially appreciate the lack of fragments.
The scenes are described very well.  There are action and adventure but they aren't overbearing or gory.  Some of the bad guys occasionally get eaten or melted, but nothing worse than that. 
I think they are fun.

Talking to dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.  I didn't like this book as much as the others.  It was written in the first person, which threw me, and it had very litte, comparitivey, about the old characters from the previous books.
The grammar was amazing and conventional, so gold star.
Nothing else really seemed noteworthy, although this is a much better book than many I've read.

Tarzan of the apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The book, rather different from the movie versions, was full of action, but not as emotionally involved as I either expected or hoped.  There were parts when I did not want to put it down.  And as the first book in a series (something I did not previously realize), it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger that leaves the reader wondering.  Its two down points are that it was a touch gory and there were statements that would not be viewed favorably by current social standards.  I really appreciated the language; it's hard to find modern writers who measure up.
A good book, one that I would recommend.

The return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The story is exciting and suspenseful.  It doesn't spare anything: there's blood everywhere and death and all that stuff writers might shy away from.
One opinion of the author that comes out strongly is the idea that people behave a certain way, based on an innate quality bred into them, something in their genes.  Was that taken as fact at the time?  This innate quality covers ("justifies"?) all the author's more racist comments and saves Tarzan from "lowering" himself.  It acts kind of like a conscience, a little personal cricket.  This was also present in the first book.

The son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  The author persists in all his habits, good and bad.  Many "scientific" ideas of the time are present: that certain personality traits are genetic or hereditary, the social structure of elephants, certain concepts about humanity and race, etc.
He tried to reintroduce Tarzan and Jane as different people, giving them different names, trying to surprise the reader, but no, it did not work.  Ha ha, we are too smart for you.  I wouldnt necessarily recommend these books to anyone.  Never the less, I will do the Me thing and read them all.
There were a lot of errors in this book; little things that would have been caught by a good editor.  Those are the worst mistakes.

Tarzan and the jewels of Opar by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  This series has totally lost its hold on me.  There are only so many times one can read about the same things before it simply isn't entertaining anymore.
I wouldnt necessarily discourage anyone from reading these; I just don't enjoy them any more.