Gimme More Books!!!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

2011-09-05T20:56:00.000-04:00

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

The Maze of Bones
Rick Riordan
(39 Clues: Book 1)

I'm reading this as part of 39 Clues Reading Project.

Welcome to the Jungle
Jim Butcher
(Original Dresden Files Graphic Novel)

I love the Dresden Files and I love Graphic Novels. No brainer.

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things
Randy Frost and Gail Steketee

Basically, I don't want to be a hoarder.

The 39 Clues Redux (and Continuation)

2011-09-05T17:07:00.000-04:00

I read a lot of series, most of which haven't been finished yet. The downside to this is that I often can't remember a lot of the details when the next book comes out. This is definitely the case with the 39 Clues series.

If you haven't heard about this series, you should check it out (especially if you have young children). It was created by Rick Riordan--the author of the Percy Jackson series and the Kane Chronicles (spoiler alert--I am a huge fan of Riordan's). However, different children's authors write the different books. (It can be an interactive experience as well, as there is a pretty extensive website with games and such that go along with the books. It's all meant to be learning-based, as Rick Riordan used to be a teacher.)

I've previously read the first 10 books. I started reading Book 11: Vespers Rising when I realized I didn't remember enough about the previous books to keep going. This book marks a break in the series from the original clue hunt to the "Cahills vs. Vespers". So, I think its a good place to backtrack, reread, and then continue on into the new part of the series. Also, I think I'm going to go through the games on the website as well, to see how that adds (or doesn't add) to the whole experience.

First up is The Maze of Bones.

Reading Journal: Side Jobs, Stories from the Dresden Files

2011-08-27T12:35:00.000-04:00

Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files
By Jim Butcher

From Amazon:

Here, together for the first time, are the shorter works of #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher-a compendium of cases that Harry and his cadre of allies managed to close in record time. The tales range from the deadly serious to the absurdly hilarious. Also included is a novella exclusive to this collection that takes place after the cliff-hanger ending of the April 2010 hardcover, Changes. This is a must-have collection for every devoted Harry Dresden fan as well as a perfect introduction for readers ready to meet Chicago's only professional wizard.

My Thoughts:

I quite enjoyed this compilation of stories. I had been missing this series after I finished Changes back in May. When I first started reading the Dresden Files (which begins with Storm Front) on the recommendation of a seriously enthusiastic Barnes and Noble employee, I really wasn't so sure about this series. I didn't think the writing was that great, and I just didn't really get the appeal. But, I thought, she was so convinced the series was amazing...maybe I'll give it another shot. By the time I was in the middle of the fourth book (and if I'm being 100 percent honest and not a stubborn hold-out, by the middle of the third book as I found the character Michael to be an excellent addition) I totally understood why she loved the series so much. Butcher does a great job of making you care about Dresden and his friends. Yes, some of the stuff he gets into is ridiculous, and, despite being a wizard, some of the battles he gets into (and subsequently out of) still test the believability boundaries. But by the forth book Butcher has accomplished some excellent world and character building.

Because of that, this compilation of stories worked for me. As the series goes on, the situations Dresden gets into become more and more dire, so the short and fun stories were a nice relief from that gloom and doom. I really enjoyed the novella "Backup" from the point of view of Dresden's White Court Vampire brother Thomas. And the final novella "Aftermath" was an excellent segue into the most recent novel Ghost Story. (Which I will review later.)

As always, the nerd-culture humor was on point and I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions. Also, the short annotations before each story that explained why Butcher wrote each story and where the story appears within the series timeline was very helpful.

Recommendation: Worthy addition to series.

Reading Journal: City of Fallen Angels

2011-08-15T11:42:00.002-04:00

From the Mortal Instrument's site.

City of Fallen Angels

Book Four of The Mortal Instruments

by Cassandra Clare

You can read the first chapter on the series website.

From Amazon:

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She's training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price. Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary's best friend, Simon, can't help her. His mother just found out that he's a vampire and now he's homeless. Everywhere he turns, someone wants him on their side—along with the power of the curse that's wrecking his life. And they're willing to do anything to get what they want. Not to mention that he's dating two beautiful, dangerous girls—neither of whom knows about the other one.

When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. The stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

My thoughts: (possible unintentional spoilers)

I read the first three a while back--and the first book in the sister series, A Clockwork Angel, after that. So, I didn't remember a lot of details, just main plot points. I'd love to go back and re-read all of them, but who has the time for that? I wish they'd release these things closer together.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this one. I liked how it gave us a break from the Clary/Jace drama by following Simon. I'm a sucker for the star-crossed lovers bit, but it does get tiring after a while. Jace was his normal withdrawn and angsty self, but I suppose we can't fault him for that. I'm not sure I understood why his nightmares would warn him that he would do something bad. If I were the demon/creature trying to control another person--why would I warn that person of what I was doing? But maybe it's like a side effect the possessor can't control. And I also liked how Clary realizes that maybe she's been a little self-absorbed because she has no idea what's going on in Simon's life. Hopefully, she will grow up a bit and realize there's more to life than trying to get Jace to quit acting a fool.

I enjoyed delving into the love triangle between Simon, Maia, and Isabelle and I'm satisfied with where that stands at the end of the book.

This one was a lot of set-up, since it is introducing a new story arc for the final three books. I thought Clare did a good job balancing wrapping up this book while leaving open ends for the series. I won't go into the ending because I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but it was enough of a cliffhanger to make me excited for the next one.

Recommendation: Worthy. (But should be read as part of the series, not as a standalone.)

Fear Street Saga: The Betrayal (Book 1)

2011-08-11T19:56:00.001-04:00

Yeah you can't look inside here, I yanked this pic from Amazon

I don't know how many of you out there read R.L. Stine as a kid, but this little subseries was one of my favorites. The Betrayal is the first book in the Saga and tells the story of why so many terrible things happen on Fear Street.

The Betrayal begins with Nora Goode watching in horror as the Fear mansion burns. Quickly you realize that the man (boy?) she loves, Daniel Fear, is trapped in the mansion. In her grief, she runs towards the mansion to save him, but is paralyzed with fear when she sees visions of people burning in the flames. One person in particular stands out: a young girl screaming in horror and pain. Nora quickly realizes that this young girl is tied to a stake.

The main plot of the book is Nora's written version of the vision she saw in the flames: the betrayal of the pious Goode family by the Fier brothers and the subsequent destruction of both family lines in their search for revenge. By the end it is clear, these two families are doomed play out the same love-story-with-a-terrible-death-and-misery-filled-ending. At the end we are left with the third-generation Fier son, Ezra, leading the way into the second book.

These books are very simple and quick reads and, as long as you know that going in, the book will be enjoyable. There's not much in the way of detail or characterization, which is a shame really because it has a rather enjoyable revenge plot set in the time of the Salem witch trials. I could totally see this basic plot being expanded into a tome-like trilogy. Despite being simplistic, it is still a fun read and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the second book.

Fear Street: Revisited

2011-08-07T16:11:00.001-04:00

(from Wikipedia)

I don't know if it is because my brain is totally fried, or just because these books are generally EPIC and deserve a revist, but I've decided I want to read all the R. L. Stine Fear Street books. I know I read a bunch when I was younger, but I'm sure I didn't get through all of them. My favorites were the Fear Street Saga spin-off.

I'm going by the list on Wikipedia and I'm going to start with the original series and the three Saga spin-off books.

And yes, I did go on a used book search and rescue mission today. I managed to pick up books 1 and 3 of the Saga and the first book The New Girl. So this party is getting started NOW!

I'm Back...I hope.

2011-08-06T08:20:00.001-04:00

I haven't updated this site in a loooong time because I've been focused on school and other things.

I have to finish my thesis by Spring 2012, but I'd like to start this up again. It won't be at a fierce pace and I probably won't be joining any reading challenges...since a lot of my reading will necessarily be academic. (Which I won't review here unless it is somehow insanely interesting.)

I'm starting a thesis blog as well, to track my progress and just talk through things. My thesis will be on visual rhetoric/communication, public culture, images, protest, and WikiLeaks. If you are interested you can check it out.

Updates to come soon!

(Oh and when I started using Google+ I deleted all the photos on the account not thinking how that would affect the blog. So, sadly, all the pictures up to this point are gone.)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2010-03-22T11:03:00.000-04:00

I think the title of this post should be: It's Monday...What Am I NOT Reading?

March has not been so great for reading. I killed in January and February, with 22 books each month, I have only finished 2 so far this month! TWO! That's just terrible!

I'm currently in the middle of a gazillion books, I just can't seem to finish any of them.

Classics I'm working on:

Bleak House
Armadale
Mansfield Park

Young Adult:

Shiver
Ballad

Novels:

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag
Let the Right One In

Books that I'm dying to get to:

Incarceron
The Dead-Tossed Waves
Shutter Island
The Semantics of Murder

Reading Journal: Bleak House (Serial #2)

2010-03-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

Per usual I'm behind on posting, and I'm actually in serial part 4--and stalled there at the moment. So I guess I'll work on catching up here. I've tried so hard to finish a Dickens' book, but I always seem to get stalled. I did not have this problem when I read Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White. And I started Armadale a few days ago, and I'm totally hooked. Dickens just can't hook me in the same way.

In the case of Bleak House, whenever Dickens' deviates from Ester's narrative I begin to lose interest and the story looses its forward momentum. The second serial part (chapters 5 through 7) spent two chapters in Ester's narrative. Chapter 7 was set at the Dedlock house again, but was interesting because it dealt with a ghost story.

Chapter 5: A Morning Adventure

Ester, Ada, Richard, and Miss Jellyby go on a morning walk and run into the crazy lady that sits in on Chancery Court every day. She insists that they visit to her room. She lives above a bizarre shop, the owner of which knew Tom Jarndyce (of the Jarndyce suit) and told the group the story of Tom's suicide.
It's also becoming clear that Richard and Ada have a thing for each other. Meaningful glances and all that.
They also learn that the old lady has a male neighbor who rarely leaves his apartment and is commonly believed to have sold himself to the devil.

Chapter 6: Quite at Home

The group travels to Bleak House, the home of Mr. Jarndyce. He sends a note to greet them along way begging them not to mention the kindness he has done for them and to greet him as an old friend.
Ester is given the housekeeper's keys. I suppose this was to be expected, as she is not a relation, but I still rather taken aback as she was told she was to be a companion to Ada, but I don't remember a mention of her being a housekeeper.
Ester gives a description of the house, and her first impression is that the name does not do it justice.
They meet Mr. Skimpole, who is described by Mr. Jarndyce as a child. He seem to dote on Mr. Skimpole and enjoy his company, but as far as I'm concerned it can never be good when a man will not own up to his responsibilities just because he wants to be able to do whatever he wants to do in that moment.
And I was right about Mr. Skimpole who tricks Richard and Ester out of thirty pounds, an amount I understand to be significant to people of their means. Even Mr. Jarndyce was upset when he found out.

Chapter 7: The Ghost's Walk

This chapter takes us back to the Dedlock's home Chesney Wold in Lincolnshire. The Dedlocks are away in Paris, but the housekeeper's grandson and attorney's known to the Dedlock's attorney Mr. Tulkinghorn are given a tour of the house.
Ms. Rouncewell relates the story of a previous tenant during the King Charles era. The wife and husband disagreed who should be ruling England, and one day his actions led to her becoming crippled. She would walk back and forth on the walkway using the stone balustrade. One day she fell there and proclaimed that she would walk there even in death until the house is taken down in shame.
The walkway is now known as The Ghost's Walk as her footsteps can be heard and, as Mrs. Rouncewell says, "must be heard".

Reading Journal: Bleak House (Serial #1)

2010-03-04T19:47:00.000-05:00

After a month-long spate of YA paranormal romance, I've decided to delve into a chunkster classsic (one of the goals I set for myself in 2010). I thought about trying Middlemarch again, but I thought maybe for my first chunkster I'd try a book I hadn't failed at twice already.

So I chose Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. Last year I read The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, which, along with analyzing one of the first "trial of the century" phenomenon, also analyzed the new obsession with detectives and crime solving in the 1800s. This book pulled heavily from Collins' The Woman in White and The Moonstone as well as Inspector Bucket from Bleak House.

I've only just finished the first four chapters of the novel, which was the first section published as a serial. I'm going to try and write about each section of the serial, for your benefit, but mostly for mine--I've got to try and keep everything straight!

Chapter 1: In Chancery

The most noticeable (and interesting) part of this chapter is the pains Dickens went through to set the scene. Close to six paragraphs are dedicated to describing the fog-laden, dreary weather. We get it.
This chapter introduces the on-going and never-ending suit of Jarndyce and Jarndyce. It's apparent that, other than tons of paper, a name of infamy, and misery to those involved, this suit has produced nothing substantial over the years.
There is mention of two young people who will be given to the care of their cousin--but it's not really clear what is going on.

Chapter 2: In Fashion

Introduces us to Lady Dedlock and Sir Leicester Dedlock.
Mr. Tulkinghorn, the Deadlock's lawyer, arrives to discuss matters dealing with Jarndyce and Jarndyce. We learn that Lady Dedlock has some kind of claim in the suit.
Mr. Tulkinghorn is about to tell the Dedlocks what has occured in the suit, but Lady Dedlock interrupts by fainting.

Chapter 3: A Progress

And with chapter 3, I feel the story has finally begun. Or at least a true narrative begins to take shape.
Dickens moves into first person and begins the story of Ester Summerson. She is a character clouded in mystery, but she is not aware of it. Her godmother tells her that she and her mother were a disgrace and ruined her life--she is a bastard and an orphan.
When her godmother dies, Ester learns from Mr. Kenge that she was actually her aunt. She is told that Mr. Jarndyce has arranged to place her at a school where she will be educated and learn to be a governess. At this school, Ester is well-liked.
After about six years, Mr. Jarndyce arranges for Ester to become a companion to a young lady he is taking on as a ward. She is taken to Mr. Kenge's law firm where she meets Ada Clare and her distant cousin Richard Carstone, both of who are orphans.
This is where the narrative intersects and the reader realizes that this is the meeting the Chancellor refers to in the first chapter. The Chancellor approves Mr. Jarndyce's request to have Ester and Ada live at Bleak House.
As they leave they are accosted by an old lady that is clearly familiar with the suit they know nothing about.

Chapter 4: Telescopic Philanthropy

The group spends the night at Mrs. Jellyby's, a woman who dedicates her life to causes at the detriment of her children and home.
Much of Ester's nurturing nature is revealed in this chapter, as the Jellyby children fall for her immediately and she feels compelled to mother them.
The oldest Jellyby daughter comes to Ester in the night and confides that she is unhappy and cries herself to sleep at Ester's side.

Generally,

I'm really still waiting for the main plot to begin. And what is with the secrecy of the Jarndyce suit? If it is so well known, why don't any of the main players seem to know anything about it? Where do the Dedlocks fit into the Ester narrative? When will something happen?

Reading Journal: Icelandic Mystery Kick

2010-02-22T12:10:00.000-05:00

As usual, I’m reading way more books than I have the patience to diligently review. I’m not sure I’ll ever find a great way to combat my lazy blogger complex. I love blogging, but the bottom line is I love reading more. And as I’m basically a hibernating book bear during winter—and this winter has been a very serious winter—I feel like I’ve done nothing but read. Suddenly, I woke up and it’s the end of February, I’ve read 39 books, and I’ve only reviewed 4!

In January, I was on a huge mystery kick, looking to fill the void left by The Likeness and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Luckily, I stumbled onto Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason’s Erlendur Sveinsson series, which currently consists of five books (at least that are published in English): Jar City, Silence of the Grave, Voices, The Draining Lake, and Arctic Chill. I plowed through these bad boys thanks to the library across the street from my house and the first Mystery Read-a-thon of the year.

This series is listed on bn.com as the “Reykjavik Thriller Series” and I can’t say that I agree at all with this moniker. I’m no expert, but these books just don’t have the quick-paced, solve-it-or-die-trying plots of what I would consider a “thriller”. But that’s not to say that the books aren’t engaging and consuming. Jar City caught my interest mainly because the setting is so different than any I’ve encountered in my reading. It was interesting to learn about Iceland, its policing system, and personalities. The book was a quick read, which I want to distinguish from quick-paced, as nothing Erlendur does ever seems very urgent. I read this back in the beginning of January and nothing in particular stands out to me about this book, other than one interesting twist dealing with genetics and the explanation of the title. But the beginning of a very intricately drawn character was in the making, and that convinced me to continue reading the series.

I was hesitant after Jar City, after reading Silence of the Grave I was hooked. In this second installment, Erlendur is charged with identifying a body found at a construction site. Literarily, this is arguably the best in the series. The story shifts back and forth between the present investigation and the unfolding story of the victim at the construction site. As Erlendur slowly unravels the mystery in the present, the tragic details of the family that once lived on that plot of land unfold.

The rest of the series is excellent as well, delving further into the unforgiving past of Erlender while engaging in a series of interesting murder mysteries. In Voices, a former boys choir prodigy is found murdered (in a rather compromising position) in a hotel basement. In The Draining Lake, Erlender must figure out why a body with a hole in its head was tied to a Russian spy radio and dropped into a lake, taking the reader into an East German communist school well before the wall came down. In Arctic Chill, an immigrant boy is stabbed and killed outside his apartment home—throwing the people of Reykjavik into an us versus them scenario.

Individually, I rated each book four out of five, but over all I give the series five out of five. The continuing character development throughout the series adds immense value to the reading experience. Overall, this is a must-read for mystery readers and I recommend it to any reader, generally.

SNOVERLOAD 2010

2010-02-09T12:26:00.002-05:00

Well so much for updating during Snowtorious B.I.G. I got a little lazy (is anyone shocked?) and just read through the weekend.

Here's what I put down:

Prophecy of the Sisters
Blacklands (which I'd already started)
Wondrous Strange
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Y: The Last Man Volume 1: Unmanned
The Talented Mr. Ripley (which I'd already started)
Marvel 1602

I made it into work today, but we are supposed to be getting hit by ANOTHER 10 to 20 inches starting sometime today. Twitter is still undecided about what to call this storm, but I like Snoverload over Snoverkill. It sounds less abusive.

Here's to another 7 books!

Snowtorious B.I.G.

2010-02-05T23:38:00.003-05:00

Apparently twitterville has named this storm. Thanks to my local nbc station for perpetuating that.

As this storm is possibly going to be worse than the "Snowpocaplyse of 2009" I have made sure that this time I am uber-prepared. Namely:

33 books from the library
trail mix with m&ms
mac and cheese
pasta and alfredo sauce
netflix movies
project runway on the dvr (and hopefully an svu marathon)
a shovel (and two shoveling trips already under my belt)
the good sense to stay put

I plan to do some blogging tomorrow to break up the reading. And I'll have some pics to post too. Let the snow-a-thon begin.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2010-01-25T13:23:00.002-05:00

Read Last Week:

Voices, Arnaldur Indridason (1/18)
In the Shadow of Gotham, Stefanie Pintoff (1/19)
The Draining Lake, Arnaldur Indridason (1/20)
Arctic Chill, Arnaldur Indridason (1/21)
Everlost, Neal Shusterman (1/24)

Started/Currently Reading:

I had a hard time latching onto a book after I finished the Arnaldur Indridason books. I'm currently in the middle of Most Evil, by Steve Hodel, but I've put that on hold because I realized I really need to read The Black Dahlia Avenger first, which I'm a few hundred pages into. So far, ok. Hodel's writing leaves something to be desired--its very repetitive--but the subject matter is interesting enough to keep me going. I also started Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan, which bloggers seemed to love or hate, so I had to check it out. (I'm already slightly disturbed by it, but intrigued.) I've also picked up Oryx and Crake, because, well, it was time to pick up a book off my shelf and who doens't love a good dystopian novel? I'm also in the midst of the graphic novel Books of Magic.

Up Next?

Probably Everwild, the next book in Shusterman's Skinjacker Trilogy. Then I think it's going to be time to hit up my TBR shelf and maybe get another Booker or NBA book in. Also, I'm planning on starting the Y graphic novel series and getting back into Gaiman's Sandman series.

Reading Journal: Gretchen Lowell, serial killer

2010-01-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

After an inspiring post by Heather from Tales of a Capricious Reader, I ordered the first two books in the Gretchen Lowell series by Chelsea Cain: Heartsick and Sweetheart. Luckily, I received them really quickly. Once I picked them up I couldn't put them down!

Heartsick is an interesting book because, although you know that the series revolves around the serial killer Gretchen Lowell, capturing her is not the plot of the book. At the start of Heartsick, Gretchen is in jail. The criminal that Archie Sheridan is trying to catch has been abducting young girls and murdering them. Interwoven into this plot line are flashbacks to the circumstances surrounding Gretchen's capture and torture of Archie. There is also another plot line based on the reporter Susan Ward, who has been brought in by the police department to profile Archie Sheridan.

The flashback plot line is the most compelling part of the book and, in my opinion, overshadows the present-time detective work. Gretchen Lowell's torture of Archie and his inability to break away from her is psychologically compelling. The present-day killer is just no comparison. And while I found Susan's character to be interesting--a extra-lite Lisbeth Salander type (if Salander were concerned about morality)--in the end, her involvement seemed too coincidental. It really pushed the boundary of what I was willing to accept.

Despite these things, I really enjoyed the book. It was a quick read but well-paced, and left me wanting more. So (after a small detour into Icelandic crime fiction, which I'll write about later) I picked up the next book in the series: Sweetheart.

Again, there were multiple plot lines--Gretchen Lowell's escape and Senator Castle's affair and cover-up. And again, Gretchen's plot line was better developed and more compelling. Cain only hits the surface of Archie's suffering--and this is my biggest problem with these books. Whereas, they are thrilling and I want to know badly what will unfold, Cain doesn't manage to delve deeply into either the psyche of Archie or Gretchen. It's all surfaces. This is a shame, because she has really begun the creation of two very psychologically interesting characters--and a very, very messed up relationship.

Cain also skirts the journalist-exploitation issue. She makes Susan conscious of it, but Susuan just sets the issue aside--she never faces it head on. She reassures herself and continues on without truly tackling the issue. Nor does Cain give us any indication of what Susan's stories are like once written. At the very least we could be allowed to judge Susan's skils for ourselves.

The end was somewhat more satisfying than that of Heartsick. **SPOILER ALERT** Her escape was too easy. Thoughts from other readers are very welcome. She and Archie came to an interesting agreement at the end--it will be interesting to see what happens as the catalyst for the next installment. Also, the Buddy-as-bad-guy reveal was rather coincidental--a problem I had with the first book as well.

Heartsick:
***3 out of 5**
3/50 Novels
3/130 Total read

Sweetheart:
***3 out of 5***
5/50 Novels
5/130 Total read

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (On Tuesday)

2010-01-19T09:22:00.002-05:00

Apparently, my blog was closed for MLK day. So I'm catching up today. :)

Books completed last week:

The Man Without a Face, Isabelle Holland
Silence of the Grave, Arnaldur Indridason
Voices, Arnaldur Indridason

Books I gave up on:

Out, Natsuo Kirino (Nothing wrong with it at all, I'll probably pick it up again sometime soon. Other books just caught my eye.)

Books I'm currently reading:

In the Shadow of Gotham, Stefanie Pintoff
Flyte, Angie Sage (working on this one slowly on my kindle when I'm at the gym)

Books I still need to review:
I don't even want to talk about it!!!

Up Next:

I've got the next Indridason book in my bag with me: The Draining Lake

Mystery Read-a-Thon: Library Recon

2010-01-16T10:49:00.002-05:00

I haven't been doing such a great job of keeping track of the time, but I suppose my personal goal is to try and crank out some of these books since I keep checking more and more out from the library.

I just went to pick up Arctic Chill before anyone else could get to it and I ended up checking out two other books and like 4 graphic novels. The good part is some of them are mysteries! I currently have about 700 books checked out from the library, so I need to crack down!! I guess its good that I didn't buy them. My mom would drive up here, tie me down to my recliner, and point her index finger generally in my direction while scolding me.

The good news: I finished Silence of the Grave. It was quite enjoyable. Different enough from Jar City to be interesting, but similar enough to be clearly part of a series. I'm thinking I'll write one long journal post later when I finish all the books so I can give a clear overview.

Mystery Read-a-Thon: Introduction Post

2010-01-16T09:03:00.002-05:00

1) Give us five fun-facts about you. (Things that are so trivial you wouldn't think of them right away, but that might make others smile.)

I still have my Christmas tree up.
I'm obsessed about checking my mailbox, and get sad when there's nothing interesting.
I love ballet flats.
I hibernate like a bear during winter.
I drive a beige Camry that my sister and I lovingly named Poo to rhyme with my previous car's name "Blue" (It was blue) and my sister's car "Bu" (it is a Malibu).

2) What is on your TBR stack for the next two days?

I've got books 2-4 of Arnaldur Indridason's Reykjavik Thriller series and I'm going to walk over to the library at 10 and pick up the fifth book. Also, I have Tokyo Year Zero and some of Charlaine Harris' Lily Bard books if I need a change of pace.

3) Do you have any specific hopes and plans for this read-a-thon?

Just to have fun reading.

4) Did you participate in the Mystery Read-A-Thon in the past?

I haven't participated before.

5) If you already participated, can you give the new participants any tips on what to do and what not to do?

6) If this is your first Mystery Read-A-Thon, how do you plan to go ahead?

I'm just going to read in my spare time. The books I've picked are quickly paced so other than wanting to nap, I'll probably just be reading until I hang out with Katie (of the Bitterness Blog and You're So Vain).

Reading Journal: Mystery Read-a-Thon

2010-01-15T21:34:00.002-05:00

Well, technically the Mystery Read-a-Thon starts tomorrow, I'm starting tonight because my plans fell through and well...dammit I just want to read these books!!!

Here's what I've got:

Books 2 through 4 of Arnaldur Indridason's Reykjavik Thiller series

Silence of the Grave
Voices
The Draining Lake

and Tokyo Year Zero by David Peace.

I'm super excited about all of these!!! If I need a change of pace I have some of Charlaine Harris' Lily Bard books around here somewhere.

Reading Journal: Outlander (Challenge Book)

2010-01-11T12:49:00.003-05:00

This series was first recommended to me by my boss. She had a very hard time describing it to me, it was a little bit of everything: romance, time travel, historical novel, adventure. I didn't really know what to think of it. But then I started realizing that my blogging friends were completely gaga for this series, so I just had to see what the fuss was about.

I read this chunkster on my Kindle so I wouldn't break my back getting it to and from work. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one because everyone loves it so much. I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. I wouldn't call this high-literature, but it is definitely well-threshed out, well-written, and well-researched. Once I got into this book, I couldn't get out of it. When Claire is propelled into the past, I felt as though I went with her. (Possible Spoilers alert: This post is really meant more as a discussion with those who have read the book, so I might give some things away. If you haven't read it, DO IT! then come back here!)

I loved Claire's character because she was a believable mix of strength and weakness. She needed some "saving" in a time period completely unknown to her, but was also able to prove herself useful many times over. It's clear that Claire has a good head on her shoulders. She doesn't bumble around, even though she certainly makes some stupid mistakes.

And who couldn't love/want Jamie? His character is a little more predictable, but still enjoyable. I really find it hard to believe that a man like Jamie would be a virgin. But that's his appeal, I suppose: a sexy, hardened warrior on the outside, but a soft little teddy bear on the inside.

The sex scenes are enjoyable and never felt like they were pornographic or overly cheezy. My feminist side bristles at Jamie's need to posses Claire through sex--but the hopelessly romantic in me wants that same thing--so I think this is a strength of the book.

I'm really hoping that Gabaldon will start to unravel the time travel mystery in the next book. I'd really like to know about Gellie Duncan and why certain women are pulled through the rocks. So far this issue is a little shaky and coicidental, so I'd like to see more of an explanation for that. I'd also like to know what Frank is up to during this time.

What did you love about Outlander?

Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
*5 out of 5 rating*

2/50 Novels
2/130 Total Read
Source: Amazon, for my Kindle DX

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2010-01-11T12:05:00.003-05:00

Books completed last week:

(1/4) Heartsick, Chelsea Cain (#3)
(1/5) Jar City, Arnaldur Indridason (#4)
(1/5) Sweetheart, Chelsea Cain (#5)
(1/8) Shades of Grey, Jasper Fforde (#6)
(1/9) The Unit, Ninni Holmqvist (#7)

Books I gave up on:

None!

Books I'm currently reading:

Out, Natsuo Kirino

Books I need to review:

This is list is always longer than I want it to be. All the ones listed above plus Outlander and I still want to review American Salvage.

Up Next:

Probably one of these

The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann

and then a YA book.

Reading Journal: First book of 2010

2010-01-07T10:30:00.005-05:00

Well, we are officially well into the New Year and I'm officially off to a great start with my reading. This is thanks mostly to a ridiculous number of days off, ridiculously cold weather, and ridiculously strong winds that kept me in about 3 layers of pajamas and 2 blankets for about 5 days straight. So as of today, I have read 5 books and I'm currently working on the sixth, Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey.

Now, to be fair, two of the five I started at the end of 2009. But I'm counting them for 2010 because otherwise I get too confused! The first book I finished was Ring by Koji Suzuki. This is the Japanese book that the movie The Ring was based on (first a Japanese movie, then an American one). From what I can remember of the movie, the plot is similar enough with the main change being the gender of the main character.

The book itself was rather underwhelming. It never really seemed that suspenseful and the language was very bland. I don't know if this is the author or the translator's fault. Certainly Murakami isn't translated that way.

My biggest problem with the plot is the psychic photo phenomenon. We were just supposed to take that ability for granted, as if it were a common psychic occurrence. I for one I have never heard of it and I watch tons of paranormal shows on tv. (I'm not claiming to be an expert, my point is that even with some general knowledge I'd never even heard of it.) There wasn't enough build up of her powers--and it was mostly just conjecture anyway.

Overall it was interesting, but not that exciting or thoughtful. I'd read the next one if I got it through a swap, but I wouldn't buy it.

Ring, Koji Suzuki

*3 out of 5 rating*

1/50 Novels
1/130 Total Read
Source: paperbackswap.com

Teaser Tuesday

2010-01-05T15:45:00.003-05:00

From Sweetheart, by Chelsea Cain (the second in the Gretchen Lowell series)

--"Quite upsetting. That was one way of putting it. The funny thing was, at the time, it had been nice to have someone to talk to. Too bad she carved up people for fun. 'She was a good listener,' Archie said."

(Ok, not two sentences, but the whole paragraph is crucial to the beat.)

Mailbox Monday

2010-01-04T15:19:00.004-05:00

Well I've been in a state of hiding for the last few days as the temperature in my area is in the teens and the wind has been blowing at what I swear is hurricane force. So, I managed to get out of the apartment today. Where did I go, you ask? Oh that's right. Barnes and Noble. Oops.

I went specifically to get Jasper Fforde's new book Shades of Grey as I've been waiting not-so-patiently for it for quite some time now. Well I got it. And I might have also bought:

The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Unit, Ninni Holmqvist
Jar City, Arnaldur Indridason
Out, Natsuo Kirino

And when I say "might," I mean that I did.

When I got home from this unexpected spending spree (Mom--I had a giftcard for part of it so don't yell at me when you read this) there were two paperbackswap books waiting for me at my door!!! I received Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott and Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain--the sequel to Heartsick, which I'm reading now.

Sidenote: While I was at Barnes and Noble, I got to play with a Nook for the first time. Now, I own a Kindle DX (the big one) and I LOVE it, so when BN came out with another e-reader with e-Ink, I was like OH SHIT. I really prefer searching and buying books from bn.com. "There's no reason I need both," I chanted to myself. Then my cousin-in-law pre-ordered one. And I became a little jealous. Well, after playing around with it, I'm happy to say that I still think I made the right decision. I prefer the larger screen of my DX, and they don't have a Nook that size yet. Plus the color touch screen is a little cumbersome--especially if you are like me and have fat-finger syndrome. I would say that those of you who are iphone users probably wouldn't find it as cumbersome as I did, and the Kindle's purchase screen certainly leaves much to be desired. But after playing with the Nook, I didn't see anything special about it that makes me regret getting a Kindle.

Reading Journal: Post-semester reading

2009-12-29T14:38:00.002-05:00

This past semester I took a class on the short story with Alan Cheuse. I learned so much about the short story, and I’m grateful to Cheuse for that, HOWEVER the man is crazy. He assigned us close to 20 books asking us to read all of the stories in each book. Even for me—this was a very daunting assignment. I tried very hard to read them all, but I wasn’t always successful. (One can only read so much Hawthorne before one wants to throw oneself off a roof.) We followed the progression of the short story from the early French and Russian writers (de Maupassant, Flaubert, Chekhov) to modern writers (and post-modern if you aren’t a Cheusite—he doesn’t believe in post-modern) and the evolution was exhausting. By the end of the class, a part of me never wanted to see a short story again. But I think I’ve gotten past that now. I’m SO SO glad I took the class because I feel like I’m in a much better position to review short stories on this blog, which is a direction I’ve been wanting to take for some time now.

By the end of the semester, I couldn’t read anything but the books for class as I had gotten way behind after my move (oh PS I moved into a one-bedroom apartment!!! My first time living alone). I was really excited to finally have some time to read something of my own choosing. My friend Katie, of The Bitterness Blog, gave me an early Christmas present of Scott Spencer’s Endless Love--with the note that this was her favorite book of all time--and I dove in quickly right after I was finished. (Ok, I might have taken a peek before I was actually finished with my papers.) I can definitely attest that this is an excellent book. The jist of the novel is David's obsession for Jade Butterfield. One night, soon after being banned from the Butterfield home, he sets a small fire on their porch and--much like his love for Jade--the fire ends up burning completely out of control, destroying not only the Butterfield home but eventually the family as well. The thrust of the novel is centered around that moment, but the pull is Spencer's description of David's longing, lust, and love for Jade. Years in a mental institution and serious therapy do nothing to dispel his love for Jade. He is sure they belong together and he risks everything and turns his back on his family to be with her. In one of the most erotic scenes I've ever read, Jade and David's reunion is traumatic, defenseless, hopeless, hopeful, and covered in menstral blood--a dark foreshadowing of the destructiveness of their relationship. It's a long read, close to 450 pages in trade paperback, but Spencer so clearly illuminates reckless, hopeless longing, passion, and madness that I didn't want to the book to end. David's longing for Jade is so powerful it ignites the same furious nature in the reader--beware to those who have had a relationship that even barely approaches this madness--you'll find yourself reliving it in David's story.

After this I decided I needed something lighter and I started the first in one of Diana Wynne Jone's series, Howl's Moving Castle. It was an enchanting book, with a nice little romance mixed in. I read it in one day (while I was snowed in); I couldn't put it down. I plan to read the next books in the series as soon as I can get my hands on them. I also read The Arctic Incident, the second in the Artemis Fowl series. There was some character development in this book, which seems promising. This series isn't my favorite of the YA fantasy series that are out there, but I have them all and they are still enjoyable reads and I think I'll eventually plow my way through the series.

While I was at my parents for Christmas, I picked up The Dark Lord of Derkholm, the first in another series by Diana Wynne Jones. I LOVED this book. The premise is that a Mr. Chesney (presumably from our world) has captured a demon which allows him to control a magical world, and, essentially, he has turned it into a theme park. He requires the leaders of the various areas and species to pay tribute and join in the "pilgrim parties" and each year a magician is given the job of Dark Lord and is required to fulfill certain duties and let groups of these pilgrims kill him. (None of it is real of course, it is all done by illusion.) But this year, the leaders of this magical world have started a plan to stop Mr. Chesney and Derk and his son are thrust into the middle of it.

I also read the National Book Award shortlister American Salvage and I just now finished Black & White & Dead All Over, which I plan to write about in a later post.

Damn! It feels so good to read freely again!

2010 Reading and Blogging Goals

2009-12-26T00:21:00.006-05:00

2009 was a rough blogging year for me. I got bogged down in the 9000 challenges I signed up for and rarely completed any of them. I LOVE these challenges, but I think I need to try a different approach this year. So, here are my goals and I hope they will be more conducive to me actually posting regularly on my blog.

Reading Goals:

Read at least 130 books, 50 of which should be adult novels.
Read 50 individual short stories (unrelated to a collection) and post.
Finish reading the Canongate myths series, and other seek out other myth-related books.
Read the shortlists for the 2009 Man Booker Prize and National Book Award.
Read 30 books I already own.

Challenges:

2010 Graphic Novels Challenge

I'm going to go for the intermediate level (3 to 10), as I ran this challenge last year and didn't even finish!!! Thanks to Nymeth and Chris for taking over. They've got some great things planned for this challenge so please please please join up!

The Outlander Reading Challenge

Not only has my boss recommended this series to me, but it seems as though all the bloggers love it too! So I have to find out what it's all about! I'm probably going to read these on my Kindle so I don't break my back getting back and forth from work.

Outlander
Dragonfly in Amber
Voyager
Drums of Autumn
The Fiery Cross
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
An Echo in the Bone

The Chunkster Challenge 2010

I've got a few big boys on the shelf I've been wanting to get to, so I'm going with the Chubby Chunkster level (3 books over 450 pages). Here's a list of choices:

Bleak House
Middlemarch
The Quincunx
Crime and Punishment
Middlesex
Great Expectations

Other goals:

Take written notes for books so I don’t forget things as quickly
Post Reading Journal entries that discuss the stylistic merits of the book as well as why I liked/didn’t like it (ie don't focus so much on a formal review)
Participate in It’s Monday! What are you reading?, WWW, Short Story Sunday and Monday, and Wondrous Words Wednesday
Keep up with a new post: Potent Quotables (on Fridays)

Reading Update: The Snowpocalypse of 2009

2009-12-19T23:53:00.002-05:00

It has officially stopped snowing. I don't know the official inch count, but just looking from the window I'd say a foot or a little over. That's pretty much unheard of here. It's pretty now, but I'm not looking forward to the melt-freeze-melt-refreeze.

I read Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones and watched the movie Clue. Howl's Moving Castle started off a little slow, but once it picked up, I couldn't put it down. My sister couldn't believe I finished it as she was reading Twilight and hasn't come close to finishing it. What can I say, once I get started--if it's good--I don't want to stop! I wish I had the next books in the series!

If I can keep my eyes open, I'll try to work on The Ring but I don't know if I'll be awake much longer.

Reading Update: The Snowpocalypse of 2009

2009-12-19T12:11:00.003-05:00

I'm snowed in right now, in what looks to be about a foot of snow, which might as well be the end of the world for the DC metro area. So I'm having a bit of my own personal read-a-thon right now.

I'm currently in the midst of The Ring (the Japanese book the movie was based on), Lie Down in Darkness by Styron, and Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. When I manage to make it outside, I'll try to take some pictures so you can all see how ridiculous this snowstorm is.

I haven't seen snow like this since 2003 when I was snowed into my dorm room for 5 straight days. And before that, I'd never seen snow like it!

Teaser Tuesdays

2009-10-27T08:25:00.003-04:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Salander looked at her watch and realized that although she was sitting perfectly still, in the shad, she was drenched with sweat. It was 10:30.

--From The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson (pg. 16)

Read-a-Thon Wrap Up

2009-10-25T19:50:00.004-04:00

How much fun was that!

I seriously slept like all day today, even though I took liberal naps during the Thon. Reading and cheering is hard work!

I didn't keep track of exact time and page numbers because I was cheering and reading and because I read off of my kindle. But I wrote down was I was generally doing each hour.

Hour 1:

Started Beyond the Grave--made it to chapter 8.
Cheered on blogs 86-88
Posted Hour 1 update.
Ate a birthday brownie.

Hour 2:

Continued reading Beyond the Grave--made it to chapter 12.
Cheered on blogs 89-93.
Napped (it was a late night for me)

Hour 3:

Napped. Oops.

Hour 4:

Participated in mini-challenge
Ate an Asiago cheese bagel that my roommate bought me. So good.
Continued reading Beyond the Grave--made it to chapter 22.

Hour 5:

Cheered blogs 94-115
Finished Beyond the Grave
Posted update

Hour 6:

Cheered on Twitter
Posted update
Started Magyk (on my kindle dx) at location 3594, read to 4237

Hour 7:

Read Magyk, 4237 to 4515

Hour 8:

Napped.

Hours 9 and 10:

Read and finished Magyk
Cooked and ate part of Red Baron pizza.

Hour 11:

Started and read 89 pages of The Black Circle
Posted update

Hour 12:

Finished The Black Circle

Hour 13:

Posted update
Cheered on Twitter
Cheered blogs 116-129

Hour 14:

Cheered blogs 130-135
Visited readers of the hour
Started Flyte on kindle dx, read to chapter 7

Hour 15:

Napped

Hour 16:

Cheered blogs 176-204
Started The Strain
Ate the rest of the pizza

Hour 17:

Read The Strain
Posted update

Hours 18 to 21:

Made the mistake of moving to my bed, and zonked out.

Hour 22:

Started cheering blogs, then cheered all the awake readers that commented on the official blog
Cheered on Twitter

Hour 23 and 24:

Read to location 1891 of The Strain (on kindle)
Finished up by cheering on Twitter
End-of-event post

I think it was a success!

Read-a-Thon Hour 24: The Final Countdown

2009-10-25T07:01:00.003-04:00

Even though I slept, I'm hurtin! My eyes want to be shut! I'm reading The Strain. I'm having mixed feelings about it. The idea is compelling enough to push me through it --I really want to know what happened to those people on the plane--but, MY GOD, the writing is terrible. Hopefully I'll stick it out when the read-a-thon isn't compelling me to keep reading.

End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

This hour, even though I slept.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

I don't know about high-interest, but I think the 39 Clues books are great for the thon. Short, sweet, and action packed.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Trish had a great comment for the cheering squad---to have readers post that they are awake during "dead" hours so that the cheerleaders know who to focus on.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

It was my first time participating, but I thought the cheering went really well.

5. How many books did you read?

I read two, finished one I had already started, and started two others.

6. What were the names of the books you read?

Beyond the Grave, The Black Circle, and Magyk

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

Hmmm...they were all about the same...middle grade reading!

8. Which did you enjoy least?

I enjoyed them all.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

I don't have any advice! I was so surprised at how time consuming cheering was!

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I will DEFINITELY participate again. This event is so amazing. I'll probably read and cheer.

Read-a-Thon Hour 23

2009-10-25T06:10:00.001-04:00

Well I slept through hours 18 to 21, but I cheered in hour 22 to those who were still awake, so I'm counting that as a WIN!

I'm going to spend the last two hours reading The Strain on my Kindle! Here's to hoping the suspense will keep me going!

Read-a-Thon Hour 17

2009-10-24T23:50:00.002-04:00

Wow I can't believe we're on hour 17 now! I've spent the last few hours mostly napping and cheering. The cheering isn't going as quickly as I would like it, I'm not covering nearly as many blogs as I'd like to, but I'm trying to read a least one post on each one, so that slows me down. I've also done some cheering on Twitter as well, but there are just soooo many people tweeting it's very difficult to keep up!

I started Flyte the second book in the Septimus Heap series, but I'm seriously tempted to switch to The Strain as I think a scary book might help keep me awake.

I'm pretty sure my roommate is over me lording over the living room, so I've moved into my bedroom which is a VERY DANGEROUS place to be this time of night. But hopefully, I've napped enough today to be able to do some cheering in the later hours. (That or I'll fall asleep on the computer, drooling).

Read-a-Thon Hour 13

2009-10-24T20:05:00.004-04:00

Halfway done! And as @bookladysblog tweeted: Ohhh we're half way there! Ohhh reading in my chair!!

I just finished the 5th book in the 39 clues series: The Black Circle. And I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It so cool that this series is written by all different authors and yet doesn't feel that way at all. The mystery is really picking up! I wish the next one was out! I'll probably save them up again for the next read-a-thon because they are perfect reads for this.

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?

In between books at this moment. I'm trying to decide between the second Septimus Heap book or something else entirely.

2. How many books have you read so far?

I've read two books (Beyond the Grave and The Black Circle) and finished Magyk which I had started earlier this week.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

I'm looking forward to starting The Girl on Who Played With Fire, even though I don't have hopes of finishing it.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Nope, just didn't make plans. I'm lucky, I don't have many weekend responsibilities.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Nothing major. Just naps, but I'm tooootally ok with that!

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

How much fun cheerleading is! I didn't do this last year, but I'm loving it now.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

No clue. I love that they organized the cheerleaders though.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

I think I would do what I did this time, take it easy, instead of what I did last time, which was to approach it as a a perfectionist's challenge to actually read as much as humanly possible during the entire 24 hours.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

I'm good now because I've already napped a few times.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

Not really. Just have fun!

Read-a-Thon Hour 11

2009-10-24T17:59:00.003-04:00

In hours 9 and 10, I finished reading Maygk, the first book in the Septimus Heap books. I have to say, I found it quite enjoyable. It got off to a slow start, but really picked up for me in the end. I'm very happy that Amazon has the rest available for the Kindle. I might start another one today.

I think I'm going to keep reading now, and save my cheering for the later hours when the readers' enthusiasm begins to wane. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to start reading now, I've got so many good books to read!

Read-a-Thon Hour 6

2009-10-24T12:59:00.002-04:00

WHEW! I just spent the last 40 minutes cheering and I still haven't finished my first group of readers! I didn't have any goals for cheering when I started, but now I'm feeling the urge to hit everyone! I might see how close I can get!

I finished my first book in Hour 6: Beyond the Grave, Jude Watson (#4 in 39 Clues series). I really enjoyed it. These are great books for the read-a-thon. I have the #5 book, which I might pick up next. But I'm going to browse my TBR before i decide.

Read-a-Thon Hour 5

2009-10-24T12:04:00.003-04:00

It's now Hour 5 of the Read-a-Thon. I'm still working on Beyond the Grave, as I've been mixing up reading and cheering time. I also ate an Asiago cheese bagel that my roommate got me from Panera (YUM!).

I took a nap, because I couldn't keep my eyes open. (Mornings are bad for me.) I participated in a mini-challenge over at Trish's blog and put myself on that google map, which was a REALLY COOL idea!

I've cheered on a few blogs, but I think I'm going to spend a good portion of this hour getting through the rest of my 85 blogs for this section. Then I'll get back to reading for a bit!

Read-a-Thon Hour 1

2009-10-24T08:53:00.001-04:00

So Hour 1 is almost over and I'm already having so much fun! I've started Beyond the Grave the 4th book in the 39 Clues series. For some reason there aren't any page numbers around where I'm at in the book, but I made it to Chapter 8. I've also visited a few blogs to cheer readers on! I'm glad I decided to to that this time. It's so much fun!

Hour 1 Meme:

Where are you reading from today: Specifically in my recliner under my Snuggie. :) I'm in Arlington, VA!

3 facts about me: (1) I just turned 26 this past Tuesday! (2) My favorite (currently) TV show is Psych and (3) I work for the U.S. Senate!

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? I only have two specifically picked out: Beyond the Grave and The Black Circle, the 4th and 5th books of the 39 clues series. Other than that I've left it open to whatever is on my bookshelf or whatever I want to download onto my Kindle!

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? My only goal this time is to participate! I signed up for 2 hours of cheerleading, which is something I didn't do last time and I'm really excited about it.

If you're a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? I think there are two approaches to this: Either go BIG and try to read the 24 hours, or just try to participate. I tried the go BIG approach last time and had lots of fun---I suggest having a plan for recording process and a template for your posts. I'm just participating generally this time, so my plan is to just take it easy and meet some new bloggers.

Read-a-Thon Prep

2009-10-24T07:43:00.003-04:00

Ok, I'm ready and raring to go.

I've got books, water, notebook and pen, cheerleading team assignment, and a blue read-a-thon snuggie purchased by my roommate especially for this read-a-thon.

Let's do this.

Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-Thon

2009-10-22T11:33:00.003-04:00

YES! The read-a-thon is back! Earlier this year, I participated and raised around 300 bucks for a charity. I was dying of allergies that day, so I didn't read as much as I think I could have. This time, I can't commit to reading the entire day, as I have so much school work to do, but I'm going to read as much as I can.

I don't know yet what all I'm going to put into my TBR pile. I have the last two 39 Clues books that I know I'll crank out pretty quickly. Then I think I may work on the Setimus Heap books, since I need to power through those to review the most recent book. I have TONS of read-a-thon worthy books on my shelf and of course my KINDLE(!!!) will be charged and ready to go in a pinch. I think I'll also take the time to work on some of my lit mags. I'm really quite excited. It will be a day of reading and napping. Can't ask for a better Saturday.

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEE

2009-10-20T09:17:00.003-04:00

I'm officially 26 today.

Time for some (froggy-like) monkey business.

*pic via Cake Wrecks

Reading Update: 10-1-09

2009-10-01T12:31:00.004-04:00

I'm still not finishing any books, as I'm skipping around different authors to try and keep up with my short story class.

Here's what I'm in the midst of for class:

1. The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol
2. Great Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
3. Stories (Anton Chekhov)
4. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
5. Dubliners, James Joyce

Whew! I'm also working on The Pine Barrens by John McPhee, but that's for my own benefit and it typically takes backseat.

Gogol: I've enjoyed Gogol's stories for the most part. I definitely appreciate his humor, but his most well-known stories ("The Nose" and "The Overcoat") pretty much blow my mind (in the wtf-did-I-just-read way, not the omg-that-just-changed-my-life way). I'd say go for his "Ukrainian" stories (is that how you spell that?). They are more like folk stories or fairy tales, and make more sense to me. There is so much Russian bureaucracy in his Petersburg stories, I just get lost. But if you are interested in the "absurd" (a la Camus), I suppose they could be considered precursors to that.

Poe: I enjoy Poe for the most part, but his detective stories really bore me. "Murder in the Rue Morgue" reminded me so much of Sherlock Holmes (I'm not sure who came first). Seriously, a rogue orantugan? Really? His stories are amazing because of the dark and depressing detail, but for me, they don't hit the mark. Except "The Fall of the House of Usher". I really enjoy that story. Gothic perfection. Still need to read "The Pit and the Pendulum".

Chekhov: I commented on this in my last update. Shockingly enough, I got stuck on a story entitled "A Boring Story". So you can extrapolate from there.

Hemingway: We are focusing on the "In Our Times" series of his stories. I LOVE "Indian Camp". That's an excellent story. And, as I mentioned before, "The End of Something" is also excellent. Hemingway can be pretty dense, but when he focuses on people and not on the outdoors or horse racing or something else I don't know anything about, I enjoy his work.

Joyce: Four stories into Dubliners. Once I read an analysis online and then reread the story, I start to get it a little more. Part of it is my Joyce block, which I've had since I tried (and failed) to read and understand A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man back in AP English in high school. Part of it is Joyce and his desire to describe everything in detail and yet somehow obsure all meaning. This is me reading Joyce: "Whaaaaa?"

Sunday Salon: The 2009 National Book Festival OR I get my nerd on

2009-09-27T18:33:00.012-04:00

One of the things I love about living in a big metro area is that authors come to visit on their book tours. Well, you don't get much bigger than the National Book Festival, and this year I didn't miss it!

There were so many amazing authors there it was really difficult to decide who to see and who to skip.

The crowds were HUGE even though it wasn't that nice of a day and it started raining really hard around 2 pm. It was especially exciting to see how many kids were there and how excited they were over some of these authors.

The first thing I did was walk past the book signing lines and decided right away to ditch that idea. There were so many people! I figured I'd see more authors if I didn't stand in line.

So, I walked around a bit and hit up the Fiction and Fantasy tent and caught the end of Jodi Picoult. The last question asked was: Did you agree with the changes they made to the movie My Sister's Keeper. She said: The acting was amazing but they shouldn't have changed the ending. And everyone cheered. I haven't seen the movie or read the book yet, but I can understand the crowd's sentiments completely.

Then I headed over to the Children and Teens tent to wait for Shannon Hale, who I was super excited to see because I LOVE her work. And I love that she's young and a mom and writes amazing fairy tale books. What's not to love?
She spoke mostly about how hard she had to work to become a published author, and rolled out this huge roll of laminated rejection letters. It was pretty gigantic. In some ways this is disheartening because how many great authors are getting turned down and discouraged by this process? But at the same time it's inspiring, because this is the reality of a writer and she succeeded even though no one was accepting her work.

But before I was able to see Shannon Hale, I had to wait through Paula Dean. Now, I like to watch Paula on the Food Network, and I think she's a really sweet woman, but I'm not like obsessed with her or anything. This crowd was. And after watching her work the crowd, it was really easy to see why. She's charming, especially with that accent, and she's funny, really funny. As an audience member you're just so sure she loves what she's doing that her good humor is just infectious. I'm glad I stumbled upon her chat.
After Paula and Shannon, I booked it over to see Lois Lowry, the REAL reason I came out to the book festival. The Giver is my favorite book of all time and to see her, wow, that was an experience. She spoke about how her new children's book came into being. It began as an autobiographical short story written and published years ago and was transformed into The Crow Call. Her crowd was huge as well, and I sat on the ground blocked by tons of standing people for most of it. I managed to snap a few pictures though.
The best part was hearing her say for sure that Jonas and Gabriel were alive. She said she meant for the ending of The Giver to be uplifting, and all I can say is "I KNEW IT!". In response to another question, she also said that Jonas's world came about partly from wondering "what if we had a way of changing human memory" and that it was NOT a world she would want to live in (which I think is clear from the overall message of the book).

After that, I had some time to kill before Rick Riordan so I skipped back over to the Fiction tent and sat through Julia Alvarez and John Irving. Julia's talk was interesting because she spoke about growing up in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo and then coming to America and diving into the treasure trove of the public library. She stressed the importance of our public library system and how it is really a symbol of the freedom we have as Americans. She said, and rightly so, that the first things to go under a dictatorship (or similar system) are the books and the right to assemble.

John Irving was every bit as egotistical and snarky as I knew he would be. His talk was interesting because the lady from the Post "interviewed" him. He writes everything out long hand in spiral notebooks and only after the entire novel is written will he then have an assistant type it for him. He said he only uses a computer to communicate with his children and family.

Then after Irving, I walked back to the Children and Teens tent, caught the very end of Kate DiCamillo, although her mike went out, and then...RICK RIORDAN!!

He was awesome! It is so apparent that he loves kids and is great with them. He knows how to talk to kids to really connect. I bet he was a great middle school teacher. He talked about the next series of Camp Half-Blood books that will be coming out, and a new series centered around Egyptian gods, which was oh-so-exciting news for me. He answered some questions, the funniest of which was probably, "Why does Grover like enchiladas so much?" and said that his favorite character was probably either Grover or Tyson. Tyson! I knew it! He said he identified most with Grover because he would be the one shaking in his boots as opposed to being the one swinging the sword and saving the day. He said he was taken to the camp set for the movie at night and it was just like he was being driven to Camp Half-Blood. I'm really excited for this movie, I think it is going to be very entertaining.

He really worked the crowd and he had me, as well as hundreds of children and their parents eating out of the palm of his hand. Very cool guy. I respect him so much for the work he's doing in children's literature. It was so awesome to see the crowds of kids excited about his books. He even read the beginning of the new Egyptian series, and said that not even his family had heard it yet! So cool!

After Riordan, I left because it was freezing and raining and I was exhausted. But overall, I'd say the festival was a major success!

Me Want! OR Ishiguro has a new book out

2009-09-25T13:22:00.003-04:00

Kazuo Ishiguro is seriously one of my favorite authors. Of his books, I've read, Never Let Me Go, Artist of the Floating World, A Pale View of Hills, and The Remains of the Day. I loved each of them to the point of bursting. I still need to read When We Were Orphans and The Unconsoled.

Now he has a new book out! And it's short stories!! That is what I like to call a twofer.

Read the Barnes and Noble Review here.

See the Paris Review interview with Ishiguro here.

Reading Update: 9-24-09

2009-09-24T13:25:00.004-04:00

Since I'm not really finishing any books at the moment, because I'm jumping around short story collections for class, I'm going to try some general updates on what I'm reading. Hopefully, this doesn't bore anyone to tears.

I just started reading Hemingway stories today. I've got the Finica Vigia Edition, which claims to be the "complete short stories" of Hemingway. My professor has us working on the "In Our Time" series of stories, which as far as I can tell is centered around this guy Nick.

I really like reading Hemingway stories, but I'm often left with this blank feeling after them. I always feel like I just missed some really important meaning. In my head, I'm thinking "Wait...what?" Does anyone else have this feeling? And is this a good thing? Should I immediately "get" the story, or should I have to go back and reread and reconsider? Am I just slow? Hemingway makes me doubt myself as a reader.

I'm also starting on Chekhov's stories (and whenever I say or think "Chekhov" I think of the guy from Star Trek). I had an email conversation with my friend Katie, from The Bitterness Blog, and I liked her take on it:

It just doesn't feel like there's a point. But maybe therein lies the genius, because life is futile and pointless as well...Some days life is lovable but it's still ultimately pointless and futile. And the lives that Chekhov writes about are usually not lovable. There's a lot of poverty and peasantry in there. That's not lovable.

Well said. But of course, she writes a blog about being bitter, sooooo...there's that.

Do short stories always have to be so sad? Hemingway's story "The End of Something" (a relationship) is just devastating. The lack of expressed emotion during such an emotional event simply escalates the depressing moment. But I suppose if writers wrote about rainbow and butterflies, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

Found: Electric Literature

2009-09-20T12:35:00.004-04:00

I have to give a shout out to the Virginia Quarterly Review blog for this find. Electric Literature is a new short fiction journal that publishes in all forms: paperback (on-demand), kindle, iphone, and online.

Here's their blurb:

Electric Literature is just that, electric—five great stories that grab you. We are a bi-monthly anthology of short fiction. We select stories charged with wit and emotional gravity right from the first sentence. You choose how you want to read them. We deliver content in every viable medium.

I'm going to download this to my kindle ($4.95 as opposed to $9.95 in paperback) and check out the stories. The first issue has Michael Cunningham (who i LOVE) as well as others I'm not familiar with, but I'm looking forward to.

Update to follow when I can get to these. Always love an exciting new lit journal.

They also publish one-sentence animations on youtube. They are kinda artsy for me, which just means it goes over my head completely, but still a very cool and enjoyable concept. Here's the one for Michael Cunningham:

100 "Shots of Short" Reading

2009-09-18T11:42:00.002-04:00

My Kinsman, Major Molineux
by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Ever since I "read" The Scarlett Letter in high school (I use quotations because I don't think I ever finished) I have steered clear of Hawthorne. Boring. Boring. Boring. What could possibly be more boring than Puritans? Well, for my short story class I had to read a book of Hawthorne's stories, and I was seriously dreading this. And I did have a hard time getting through it. His language is very thick and formal, not my favorite at all.

But in class we discussed this story, and I have to admit, it's a pretty genius and well-crafted story. It's a very interesting and nuanced take on coming-of-age and the rough-and-tumble birth of American independence. Some great allegorical and symbolic things happening in this story. I really suggest a reading of it and you can find it easily online. Here's one link.

I wrote a short journal entry for class on this story, which I'll copy here, in case anyone is interested. If anyone has read the story, I'm totally up for any discussion.

****

After the in-class nudge towards the mythological context of the story and my subsequent rereading of “My Kinsman, Major Molineux,” the story, which at first just seemed to be a boy’s desperate search for his kin in a strange place, suddenly bloomed into a complicated story. I was struck by the recurring light and dark images that contrasted the Edenic country with the hellish city, which underscored Robin’s coming of age journey.

In the first scene where Robin has crossed the river, a ferryman and a solitary passenger, immediately called to my mind Charon ferrying the dead across the river Styx into the underworld. Without knowing anything else, we can see that Robin’s journey begins at the gates of hell. The ominous nature of his entrance is underscored by Hawthorne’s use of light and dark imagery. Robin has arrived at night and his entrance is lit only by the moon. However once the ferryman raises his lantern, this man-made light combines with the moonlight to reveal Robin’s physical features to the reader: a curly-haired, bright-eyed country boy.

Throughout Robin’s coming-of-age journey, Hawthorne uses moonlight, man-made light, and the dark to reveal Robin’s psychological state. This interplay between light and dark is most prominent when Robin encounters people in the city. When Robin meets the old man with the sepulchral hems, he is only able to get the man’s attention as they step into the light escaping from the barber shop. In the inn, he exchanges glances with a man whose eyes glowed “like fire in a cave” only to meet him again later on the street in the shade of the church steeple (30). But Robin only recognizes the man when he steps out of the shadow and into the moonlight revealing his singular countenance. Similarly, when Robin meets the prostitute all he sees is “a strip of scarlet petticoat, and the occasional sparkle of an eye, as if the moonbeams were trembling on some bright thing” until she steps out into the moonlight fully revealing herself (33). The watchman who threatens Robin with the stocks and ignores Robin’s entreaties carries with him “a lantern, needlessly aiding his sister luminary in the heavens” (35).

Despite being literally and figuratively illuminated at each meeting, Robin misinterprets the situations. He assumes that the old man isn’t well-bred enough to act civilly, that the men in the barber shop think he’s naïve for questioning the old man, or that the innkeeper values money over a good name. It is only after Robin begins to break down from exhaustion, hunger, and rejection that he begins to approach the meetings with less naivety: he recognizes the prostitute for what she is and almost forgets to ask the watchmen for his kinsman he is so distracted.

This combination of illumination and misinterpretation ends once Robin begins his revelation at the church’s steps. He looks into the church for comfort, but does not find it. This is in direct contrast with the scene of his childhood worship in the outdoors where the “golden light that fell from the western sky” illuminates the Scripture, because in the city church even the moonbeams trembled and only “one solitary ray had dared to rest upon the open page of the Bible” (38-39). There is nothing familiar about this place of worship, his faith being his basest instinct during desperate times, and it is therefore no comfort for Robin. He daydreams of his family so clearly that he becomes confused as to what is real and what is imagined. It is only then, when he’s given in fully to disillusionment, that he discerns a man in the shadows of the Gothic home across from the church. He calls out to the man in an unsure, peevish, and desperate cry, which is very distinct from his earlier confidence. The man comes to him in the shadow of the church and, unlike previous strangers, this man is kind to Robin and wishes to help him.

The final revelation comes to Robin when the crowd of familiar figures presents his uncle to him: “There the torches blazed the brightest, there the moon shone out like day, and there in tar-and-feather dignity, sat his kinsman, Major Molineux” (45). Finally Robin can no longer misinterpret the situation. The truth is lit up so bright by both fire and moonlight he finally breaks into uncontrolled mirth as his past misinterpretations are revealed.

If this coming-of-age journey is used to describe the burgeoning nationalism in America in the period of the story, then Hawthorne is making an interesting comparison. It suggests that he perceived America’s journey to independence as inevitable, yet fraught with chaos and darkness. As America grew into a nation, the journey was hellish and wrought with mistakes. He seems to be condemning the vigilante justice of the period by highlighting its horrific nature, while at the same time emphasizing that to truly come of age one must face difficult and hellish truths.

Ugh I'm the worst book blogger ever.

2009-09-14T12:44:00.003-04:00

Ok so I haven't been doing such a great job keeping up here. And now I started a class on the short story that is totally monopolizing all of my time!

Here are some updates:

I saw Kelly Armstrong and Melissa Marr speak at the Borders near my home, back in June. I have a picture, which I'll post later and hopefully talk about the experience. I was so nervous to meet them, but they were both so awesome and confident.
I went to LA with my sister to visit my uncle. This was a very big deal for me. My uncle moved out to West Hollywood in the early 90s because he needed to be involved in the gay community--in our area it wasn't (and still isn't) really that acceptable. I'm sad that he wasn't a bigger part of my life growing up, but I'm really happy for him because he has a great life out there with lots of great and supportive friends. Getting to spend time with him and meet his CA family was such an amazing experience.
He convinced me to walk into LA Ink--and I ended up getting a new tattoo! Best of all, he suggested a bird, and I found a Japanese silk screen with a bird, which was PERFECT. The birdie is kinda hard to see in this pic, but he's perched on the branch. The tattoo was amazing, a guy named Adrian at the shop did it for me, and he was totally cool and fun.
I read some books, which I'll post on in groups (probably) soon.

Where the Hell have you been??!

2009-07-06T14:34:00.011-04:00

Eek! I haven't posted in so long! I've been crazy busy (in my own spastic way). Here's what I've been up to:

First was my trip to Las Vegas with my college roommates (I'm in the black dress)

AND I won 100 bucks on the penny slots! yay!

Then about a week later I saw NO DOUBT in concert. OMG! I've been waiting to see them since I was like SIXTEEN!

GWEN! Why are you so awesome?!?!

Here's Gwen and the man that inspired the song Don't Speak

I also went to see Rent with my sister, but I don't have any pictures of that. For father's day I went home and saw my family.

Here's my mama and sister

And part of the fam eating dinner:

And, of course, the LUMPIA!

So, as you can see, I've been so busy! I managed to read only 6 books.

Oh oh oh, and I BOUGHT A KINDLE DX!!!! It's pretty much awesome. I worried I wouldn't like reading on it, but I really do. I forget that I'm reading on it. And it is so easy to download books. Too easy really!

So many things are coming up as well, and I'll hopefully post more later today or tomorrow!

The "Hi There! Yes, I'm Still Alive" Post

2009-06-29T13:24:00.003-04:00

I've been up to lots of great things this month, so the blog has fallen to the wayside. I was planning on writing up a post to let you all know what I've been up to, but then I got super sick this weekend. Hopefully, I'll be getting my shiz together and posting this week.

My calendar says I'm supposed to be participating in The Devlin Diary blog tour today, but clearly, I'm not prepared. I can say that I'm about 100 pages into and I'm really enjoying it. Check it out here.

Reading the Myths

2009-06-01T10:51:00.003-04:00

I've got one participant so far (Vasilly) and that's good enough for me! My personal goal is to make my way through these books. I'm not giving myself a timeline, as I don't want to rush through them.

Here are the books in the Canongate Myths Series (as listed on the website):

A Short History of Myth, Karen Armstrong
The Penlopiad, Margaret Atwood
The Fire Gospel, Michel Faber
Lion's Honey, David Grossman
Dream Angus, Alexander McCall Smith
The Hurricane Party, Klas Ostergren
The Helmet of Horror, Victor Pelevin
Girl Meets Boy, Ali Smith
Binu and the Great Wall, Su Tong
Baba Yaga Laid an Egg, Dubravka Ugresic
Where Three Roads Meet, Salley Vickers
Weight, Jeanette Winterson

In celebration of this project, I'm going to give away one paperback copy of Lion's Honey. (You don't have to join the project to enter in the giveaway.)

Synopsis of Lion's Honey (from bn.com):

Israel's most lauded contemporary writer retells the myth of Samson, one of the most tempestuous, charismatic, and colorful characters in the Hebrew Bible. There are few other Bible stories with so much drama and action, narrative fireworks and raw emotion, as we find in the tale of Samson: the battle with the lion; the three hundred burning foxes; the women he bedded and the one woman that he loved; his betrayal by all the women in his life, from his mother to Delilah; and, in the end, his murderous suicide, when he brought the house down on himself and three thousand Philistines.

To enter you must leave your email in a comment. For additional entries you can:

Tell me your favorite myth.
Recommend a book or series based on myth.
Post about the project/giveaway on your blog--include the link please!
Follow my blog (through blogger or another reader)
Follow me on Twitter (@gimmemorebooks)
Tweet this post (be sure to use @gimmemorebooks so I can find it!)

Giveaway ends on June 17, 2009!

This Just In: Reading the Myths (or I've got a book buying problem part 999,999)

2009-05-30T15:51:00.004-04:00

I've decided to read the Myths series books. I've made some progress so far with The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber (review forthcoming) and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, which I read last year.

From the website:

Myths are universal and timeless stories that reflect and shape our lives — they explore our desires, our fears, our longings, and provide narratives that remind us what it means to be human.

The Myths series brings together some of the world's finest writers, each of whom has retold a myth in a contemporary and memorable way. Authors in the series include: Margaret Atwood, Karen Armstrong, AS Byatt, David Grossman, Milton Hatoum, Natsuo Kirino, Alexander McCall Smith, Tomás Eloy Martínez, Victor Pelevin, Ali Smith, Su Tong, Dubravka Ugresic, Salley Vickers and Jeanette Winterson.

The series launched on 21st October 2005 and is the most ambitious simultaneous worldwide publication ever undertaken.

I'm in the middle of Karen Armstrongs A Short History of Myth and I just purchased:

Lion's Honey, David Grossman
The Helmet of Horror, Victor Pelvin
Weight, Jeanette Winterson

If anyone wants to join in let me know. I'm trying buff up on my mythology.

Currently Reading: The Sorceress

2009-05-27T22:10:00.004-04:00

The Sorceress (Book Three of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
by Michael Scott

Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Pub. Date: May 2009
ISBN-13: 9780385735292
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 512pp
Genre: Fantasy (with some mythology)

bn.com synopsis:

Nicholas Flamel's heart almost broke as he watched his beloved Paris crumble before him. The city was destroyed by Dee and Machiavelli, but Flamel played his own role in the destruction. Sophie and Josh Newman show every sign of being the twins of prophecy, and Flamel had to protect them and the pages from the Dark Elders.

But Nicholas grows weaker with each passing day. Perenelle is still trapped in Alcatraz, and now that Scatty has gone missing, the group is without protection. Except for Clarent—the twin sword to Excalibur. But Clarent’s power is unthinkable, its evil making it nearly impossible to use without its darkness seeping into the soul of whoever wields it.

If he hopes to defeat Dee, Nicholas must find an Elder who can teach Josh and Sophie the third elemental magic—Water Magic. The problem? The only one who can do that is Gilgamesh, and he is quite, quite insane.

Pre-reading thoughts:

YAY! It's here! I wasn't completely sold on this series until the second one (I read them last year) but these are really fun and interesting. I'm a big sucker for retellings of mythologies of all kinds. I had a hard time at first getting past my preconceptions of Nicolas Flamel from Harry Potter, but once I did that, I was fine. It appears that there will be six books in this series, which makes me sleepy just thinking about it. I do love reading series, but sometimes they wear me out! I can't ever just read A book any more. They only come in multiples!!!

I'm starting this one tonight!

Review: Darkest Powers

2009-05-27T18:27:00.010-04:00

The Darkest Powers Series
by Kelly Armstrong
1. The Summoning
2. The Awakening
3. The Reckoning (due in 2010)

The Gist: Muy muy interesante.
The Recommendation: For fans of paranormal YA fiction.

Chloe Saunders is a sort-of-normal 15-year-old. She lost her mother when she was young and her father travels a lot for work, so she is left alone with minimal supervision from nannies, housekeepers, and her Aunt Lauren. Despite this lack of supervision, Chloe is a good kid, she obeys rules, works hard at school, has interests in film. But one day, Chloe starts seeing ghosts. She sees them and they see her. Chloe has a breakdown at school, after being chased by burned-up janitor, and is sent to a group home, the Lyle house, for treatment and recovery from schizophrenia.

Once at the Lyle house, Chloe begins to realize that things are not what they seem. The other kids also show signs of supernatural powers, and Derek, a diagnosed antisocial, prods Chloe into realizing her true nature, a necromancer.

That's the basis for this series. The big plot arc revolves around the group running the Lyle house and the kids' struggle against them. The Summoning is the escape; The Awakening is the chase. My guess is that The Reckoning will be the confrontation, a fight to the death (gotta love those).

I would definitely say that most of The Summoning was world-building/set-up. But, I didn't find it to be boring at all. I flew through it, reading it in one day without even realizing it. I had one major issue with the book (J. Kaye had the same issue) and that was the cliffhanger ending. That's really doing it more justice. The book simply ended mid-scene. I find this SO ANNOYING. "I have to tell you something." The End. I kept flipping the last page back and forth thinking my copy was messed up. Authors, end your books please. Even though it's a series. BECAUSE it's a series. They ARE separate books, are they not? Cliffhangers like this one are bordering on insult. It's a gimmick. I feel a rant post coming on.

I also agreed with J. Kaye, that Chloe didn't seem to try very hard to find out about herself. Maybe the author intended her simply to be reluctant, as she was clearly a timid teenager, but she came off as naive. I may be jaded, or out of the loop, but the "timid teen" persona is hard to pull off in the world of Google and internet. The FIRST thing I would have done was to google "seeing ghosts" or something.

I gave The Summoning 4 out of 5 despite these annoyances. I simply enjoyed reading this book. It's really easy to go on and on about the things that bothered me, but there were more things that I liked. I thought the book was well-paced, the characters were developed, and the plot had me guessing (there was one point when I was convinced that Derek was a ghost--I was wrong). Even though plenty of questions went unanswered, plenty were. I wasn't in the position I was in Bones of Faerie where all the important questions went unanswered or unsatisfactorily answered.

I also gave the The Awakening 4 out of 5. Despite my annoyance over the cliffhanger, I was out the next morning purchasing a copy of this book. I guess the cliffhanger served it's purpose, even though it pisses me off to admit that. (I've got problems, I know this.) This book was on par with the first. Most of the book was spent escaping from the Edison Group stronghold and running to the home of a friend of Simon and Derek's father. I've never been a teen on the run, so I don't know the realities of that, but it just seemed too easy for them. The last bit reminded me a little bit of the Hunger Games, with the tree climbing. Thankfully, this book had an actual ending.

I'm excited for the next book. There aren't any details available on her website (that I could find) but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it.

Review: The Luxe Series

2009-05-18T08:12:00.004-04:00

The Luxe Series
by Anna Godbersen

Since I read these in quick succession without writing reviews, I figured I do a kind of series review in one post.

The gist: Loved it.
The recommendation: Read it.

This series currently consists of three books Luxe, Rumors, and Envy. A fourth (and I believe, final) book is due out in 2010. These aren't stand alone books at all, when you finish the first you'll be grappling for the next and if you start in the middle (although, why would you do that?) you'd be very confused.

These books follow the New York debutantes Elizabeth Holland and her younger sister Diana, their treacherous friend Penelope Hayes, the Holland's servant girl Lina Broud, and, the man-in-the-middle, Henry Shoonmaker. These books are a drama for sure: absoultely ridiculous wealth, beautitul handmade gowns, star-crossed lovers, illicit sex, betrayal, death. Seriously, what more can you ask for?

Beth from BethFishReads wrote a great review of the first book, Luxe, here. She's much better at the summarizing thing than I am, so I urge you to check that out. I also agree with her, these are a nice change from the supernatural YA books that have taken over the market. Like I said before, the other books are mainly a continuation of the story, but if you're looking for summaries look here for Rumors and here for Envy.

I gave these all a 5 out of 5 rating. Are these amazing pieces of high quality literature? Um, no. But dammit, they are entertaining. I pretty much couldn't put them down. I have nothing really to complain about in the books, the dialogue was fine, I had no issues with the writing style, there were no glaring plot holes, they had believeable, well-rounded, dramatic characters, and interesting plot twists. I suppose my only complaint is that the ends of the books aren't very satisfying: Big cliffhangers. But I'm pretty much a sucker for that tactic, despite the fact that it drives me crazy. And just look at those covers. It makes me want to squeal, I want those dresses so badly!

One Story (#118) "Hurt People" by Cote Smith

2009-05-15T16:01:00.003-04:00

People, if you haven't subscribed to One Story, click over there and do it now. It's $21 for 18 issues, one story about every 3 weeks.

Hurt People is the third story I've read published by One Story, and just about the only thing that makes sense to say is to subscribe to this publication because these are some of the best stories I've personally read. Now, I'm no short story expert. I was really only recently introduced to them; I never really understood before why you would read short stories if you could read an entire novel.

But, I get it now. There is something so perfect about reading a good short story. When they are done right they leave you with an impression that has a different impact than the novel.

One moment in Hurt People that really made an impression began like this:

"Turn it off," someone said. Rick stood, sleeveless, arms crossed. Before they could say sorry, Rick put his hands on the boys' heads. He waited a second then knocked the brothers' heads together. Stunned each boy rubbed his temple.
"Think about your mother," Rick said. "What would happen if something happened to you shits?" Rick walked away without answering his own question.

Then the younger brother tried to tell his mother what happened:

The mother exhaled. She put the broken part on the counter. She wiped her forehead, smudging some of the ink. When the mother's reply came a moment later, she did not look up.
"I've told you before. Rick has got his own hurt," she said. "And hurt people hurt people."

Oh boy. That line really gets me.

Another excerpt and author interview here.
One Story Blog post on Hurt People here.

(#12 for 100 Shots of Short)

Short Stories for Short Story Month

2009-05-11T18:32:00.005-04:00

Ok, I've gotten off to a poor start, but in my defense, I was writing my own short story to turn in for class. But now that is done and I can finally get down to the fun!

To start off with, I read a few stories out of The Best American Short Stories 2008. You know, the one edited by Salman Rushdie, whose work I haven't read any of and who has a name my mouth can't seem to pronounce. However, I have a dilemma. How do you review stories that have already been deemed the best? Let's just assume they are good, and I'll give some highlights. :)

Admiral, by T.C. Boyle (originally published in Harper's Magazine) (#9, 21 pages)

She knew in her heart it was a mistake, but she'd been laid off and needed the cash, and her memories of the Strikers were mostly on the favorable side, so when Mrs. Striker called--Gretchen, this is Gretchen? Mrs. Striker?--she'd said yes, she'd love to come over and hear what they had to say.

This was an interesting story that dealt with a lot of issues. Namely, animal cloning, cancer, quarter-life crisis, heartbreak, and loneliness. I definitely sympathized with the narrator, not the dog-sitting for millionaires part, but the disappointment and sadness and heartbreak.

The Year of Silence, by Kevin Brockmeier (originally published in Ecotone) (#10, 13 pages)

Shortly after two in the afternoon, on Monday, the sixth of April, a few seconds of silence overtook the city.

Wow. Very cool. Moments of complete silence start to overtake the city. The people begin to find solace in the silence, begin to crave it, and then create it for themselves.

Galatea, by Karen Brown (originally published in Crazyhorse) (#11, 14 pages)

I married William in upstate before he turned out to be the Collegetown Creeper.

Hmm...I think that probably says it all.

May is Short Story Month

2009-05-08T09:21:00.003-04:00

...and I'm already way behind. Dan at Emerging Writers Network has declared May Short Story Month and his goal is to read three short stories a day and review them. Yeah, I'm not that good. BUT, I'm going to try and read and review more than I have in the past. I'm not sure that's really much of a challenge, but I've fallen head over heals for short stories (thanks to Rob from RobAroundBooks's influence) so I have to join in.

Today I'm going to try and read some stories from 2008 Best American Short Stories and hopefully come back here and talk about what I've read.

April Wrap Up

2009-05-04T19:46:00.003-04:00

Books Read:

This One is Mine, Maria Semple (4/3) ****
The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau (4/4) ***
Book of a Thousand Days, Shannon Hale (4/8) *****
Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut (4/16) *****
The Sword Thief, Peter Lerangis (4/18) ****
Tithe, Holly Black (4/18) ***
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson (4/18) *****
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, Ann Marie Fleming (4/18) ****
Fade, Lisa McMann (4/19) ***
The 13 Clocks, James Thurber (4/19) ***
Enna Burning, Shannon Hale (4/21) *****
The House on Mango Street (4/21) ****
Drown, Junot Diaz (4/21) *****
Wicked Lovely (4/25) *****

Reviews: I only wrote 2 reviews this month. Hmmmm.....maybe I need to work on that.
Total Pages: 3,293

Short Stories Reviewed:

A Splendid Life, Carrie Brown (4/6)
Meterology, Adin Bookbinder (4/13)
The Hollow, James Lasdu (4/25)
At the Zoo, Caitlin Horrocks (4/26)

Total Short Stories: 8
Total Pages: 66

Lit mags finished:

The Paris Review, Spring 2009 (4/30)

Total pages: 170

Total Pages in April: 3,529
Year to Date Pages: 15,068

New Authors: 10

Fiction: 13
Nonfiction: 1
Young Adult: 6
Middle Grade: 2
Adult: 3
Short Story Collection: 2

From TBR: 7
From Library: 5
Review Copy: 1
From Friend: 1

Female authors: 9
Male authors: 4

In translation: none (boo!)
As part of a series: 6

Challenges:

Finished: Young Adult Challenge
Unfinished: Jewish Lit Challenge and Latin American Challenge

In Progress: (I'm ashamed of this list)

The Moonstone
The Russian Debutante's Handbook
The Paris Review Interviews, Vol. 1
A House for Mr. Biswas
Sum
Ink Exchange
Olive Kitteridge
Middlemarch
Rumors

Young Adult Challenge Wrap-Up and Mini-Reviews

2009-05-02T14:00:00.007-04:00

I actually finished a challenge ahead of the end date! Well, considering this one goes to December, I suppose I was always going to finish it early. :)

J. Kaye sponsored this challenge, which required you to read 12 YA books. Because I've been a lazy blogger, I haven't written reviews for most of them yet, but I'm going to list them all here and write mini-reviews/recommendations for each.

1. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. (1/5) 5 out of 5

A must read. That's all there is to say.

2. Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson. (1/5) 5 out of 5

I definitely think this is must read for teenage girls and boys.

3. Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year, Amy Belasen (1/18) 4 out of 5

This book was absolutely hilarious. It is about Jenny Green a New York JAP (Jewish American Princess) attending a boarding school in Montreal. Don't think you will relate? I didn't either. But as Jenny starts break down into a murderous rage (due to several questionable boyfriend choices), her humorous outlook on her situation and her ridiculous nature in general will keep you hooked. I recommend it for a quick and humorous read.

4. The Goose Girl, Shannon Hale (3/6) 5 out of 5

Oh Shannon Hale, how you have stolen my heart. Excellent fairy tale retelling, although the beginning was slow.

5. Wake, Lisa McMann (3/15) 3 out of 5

I didn't love this as much as everyone else seemed to. I liked it, I didn't love it. The language was very choppy and it didn't seem like a style choice as a much as a defect in her writing. It would have been clearer if there had been a style change from the regular text to the dream text. I also thought the ending was odd, but I won't spoil it. I didn't find it to be believable. The book did, however, leave me wanting more and I read the next book, Fade, and I'll read the next as well. If you follow YA fads, you'll probably want to read this series.

6. Paper Towns, John Green (3/22) 4 out of 5

What can I say about John Green that hasn't already been said? I enjoyed this book, but I found Margot to be incredibly selfish and obnoxious, not to mention unbelievable. Quentin's obsession with her is understandable and of course the mystery she leaves in her wake is intriguing. It was a good read, I couldn't put it down. Green is good at writing sidekick characters; Quentin's friends are probably more interesting than he is. I would recommend this, but you've probably already read it.

7. Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson (3/3) 3 out of 5

On the heels of Speak, and The Heretic's Daughter (which isn't really a similar book, but I couldn't help but compare the voices in my mind), this book didn't do it for me. That's not to say it isn't a good book. It is. I just couldn't help but think it wasn't good enough. I know the narrator is young, but the her voice was just too childish for me. Sometimes, for me, period pieces with heavy topics like plague and death aren't epic enough. That is to say the depth and the tone don't match the topic. I still recommend this as a quick read, and definitely fans of Laurie Halse Anderson should read it.

8. The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau (4/4) 3 out of 5

I was so excited to read this book. I even went out and bought all the available books in the city. It was such a cool idea, a community constructed underground and dependent on electricity (which they don't fully understand) that is coming closer to their "apocalypse" because they are running out of supplies and their electricity source is aging quickly. Oh boy. I was disappointed! Something was just missing for me. I'm really not sure if it was just the reading mood I was in or if it was the book. I'll be eventually finishing the series, so maybe my opinion will change.

9. Book of a Thousand Days, Shannon Hale (4/8) 5 out of 5

Shannon Hale has yet to disappoint me. This is the tale of a lady's maid, a former mucker (a kind of country healer), who is locked up in a tower for 1000 days with the lady she is bound to serve. Once they escape the tower, they are forced to hide in a neighboring kingdom until her lady can claim her rightful place. Swoon. Great love story, strong woman character, interesting fantasy world, all the characteristics of a great retelling. I highly recommend this one.

10. Tithe, Holly Black (4/18) 3 out of 5

This was the second book I read for the Read-A-Thon and it took me forever to get through. I wasn't a big fan of it after finishing it and then after finishing Wicked Lovely, I realize that it is definitely not one of the bettter faery books. If I were in the habit of changing my ratings, I'd probably go back and change it to a 2 out of 5. One thing that really bugged me was the "bad kid" attitude, especially toward the beginning of the book. It wasn't really all that convincing. It was too much. And, she smoked cigarettes with her mom! I'm pretty sure she was only 16. Now, I'm not for censoring teen books, I think teens can read about all kinds of things, and YA has always been a category not an age group for me. But parental approval of smoking is something I just can't condone, book or no book. Ugh! If you're looking for a faery book, try Wicked Lovely. It was much much better.

11. Fade, Lisa McMann (4/19) 3 out of 5

I landed in about the same place with Fade as I did with Wake. I missed the novelty of Janie's ability but I thought the undercover police thing was handled better in this book than in the first. It was actually the plot, instead of the plot twist, which worked better. But the way Janie learns to manipulate dreams from the dead old lady (whose name I can't remember right now) was just really weird. And the magical element it brings to the book is out of place and seems like a deux ex machina. BUT, it is an entertaining read. Gone comes out in 2010 as far as I can tell. I'll most likely read it to finish out the series.

12. Enna Burning, Shannon Hale (4/19) 5 out of 5

Shannon Hale writes the books I would write, if I were a writer. This is the second book in the Bayern series after The Goose Girl. This book is focused around Enna, a minor character and friend of Isi in The Goose Girl. Similar to Isi's control of the wind, Enna surepitiously learns how to control fire. She must learn how to control the fire's power over her and help Bayern in their war against the Tiran army without destroying herself or her loved ones. This was a great book. I can't say much more than that. I've got the next one, River Secrets, ready to go. There is also a fourth coming out soon, Forest Born. What are you waiting for!?! Go out and get them!

I'll be reading many more YA books this year, so maybe when I hit 24 I'll do another wrap up post.

Short Story Reviews

2009-04-27T08:30:00.005-04:00

Today I have two short stories to share, both of which are from the Spring 2009 Paris Review, my newest obsession.

The Hollows, James Lasdu (#7, 11 pages)

The Hollows is the story of Rick Parker told through the point of view of his long-term neighbor. The neighbor is a passive observer, although he has interactions with Rick, which serve characterization, he is not active part of Rick's overall story. Rick is a hard working rural laborer. He meets Faye, a somewhat disinterested mother of two, and eventually has children with her and marries her. Not long after, Faye runs off with the father of her first children. Rick's job performance and personality take a deep nose dive, and others are left with the consequences.

The overall tone of this story was subdued and reflective, but tense with meaning. Here's an example:

And by the same token I go back to the look on Faye's face at their wedding and find in it, beyond the general sadness, the specific expression of a person observing that nothing after all, not even the charm of one's own wedding day, is powerful enough to purge the past or stop its taint from spreading into the future.

I definitely recommend this story. It is available online here.

At the Zoo, Caitlin Horrocks (#8, 10 pages)

I really really enjoyed this story. It is centered around a family trip to the zoo. The mother is a busy patent lawyer taking time off to accompany her son and her father to the zoo. The story fades in and out of the present trip, her past with her father, and a bizarre patent client who believes he has created a time machine. The story focuses on the relationship between the mother and the boy's grandfather: the grandfather has a callous outward manner, but is acting with good intentions; the mother tries to deal with the father she perceives to be harsh and to protect her son from him; the son is simply exploring the world around him and is learning from his grandfather and mothers actions. The time machine story line brings the present to light through the family's history and underscores the ingrained misunderstandings.

I highly recommend this story. It is available online here.

Challenges

2009-04-25T12:03:00.002-04:00

2009 Challenge Statuses:

1st in a Series (9 of 12)
9 in 2009 (1 of 9)
999 (44 of 81)
A to Z (35 of 52)
ARC (8 of 12 committed)
Audiobook (3 of 12)
Casual Classics (3 of 4)
Countdown (43 of 45)
Decades (2 of 9)
Diversity Rocks! (2 of 6)
Dream King (5 of 7)
Graphic Novels (5 of 24)
Jewish Lit (2 of 4)
Latin American (3 of 4)
Pub (1 of 9)
Reading Dangerously (1 of 12)
Scott Westerfeld (0 of 2)
Series (9 of 12 committed)
Spring Thing (4 of 11 committed) (25 of 30 total)
Unshelved (1 of 3)
What's in a Name (4 of 6)
World Citizen (0 of 3)

Finished Challenges:

Once Upon a Time Challenge (5/6/2009)

(Fantasy) Grip of the Shadow Plague (3/26)
(Folklore) Enna Burning (4/19)
(Fairy Tale) Tithe (4/18)
(Mythology) The Last Olympian (5/6)

Young Adult Challenge (4/19/2009)

The Hunger Games (1/5)
Speak (1/5)
Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year (1/18)
The Goose Girl (3/6)
Wake (3/15)
Paper Towns (3/22)
Fever 1793 (3/30)
The City of Ember (4/4)
Book of a Thousand Days (4/8)
Tithe (4/18)
Fade (4/19)
Enna Burning (4/19)

Well-Seasoned Reader (3/31/2009)

Ethnicity: DeNiro's Game, Rawi Hage (2/8)
Place: A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway (2/17)
Culture: The Lonely Londoners, Samuel Selvon (3/3)

Books About Food (3/29/2009)

Twinkie, Deconstructed (11/5/2008)
The Omnivore's Dilemma (3/17/2009)
The Fruit Hunters (3/21/2009)
Julie and Julia (3/29.2009)
Oranges (3/29/2009)

Cornelia Funke Challenge (3/1/2009)

Inkheart (1/4)
Inkspell (1/29)
Inkdeath (3/1)

Review: Wicked Lovely

2009-04-25T10:19:00.004-04:00

Wicked Lovely
by Melissa Marr

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: April 2008
ISBN-13: 9780061214677
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Faery
Pages: 352pp

Synopsis from bn.com:

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faerie intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning 21^st century faery tale.

My thoughts:

Yes! This is everything I want from a teenage romance. Aislinn is a strong female protagonist, but stills shows weakness at the appropriate moments. There is a good balance between relying on herself and relying on others. She has the right reasons for falling in love; love is not treated flippantly in this book. I really appreciate the more adult and realistic take on love and falling in love. The Twilight version of love is fun, but this time-tested version is so much more realistic.

This was a relativley quick read, mainly because I couldn't put it down and not because the writing was simplistic or at a lower reading level. There were actually several times I had to double check the meanings of words. I really liked that about this book, it is very "genrey" book, but it doesn't sacrifice its writing style (or intelligence level).

Here's a passage from the beginning of the book, one of the first descriptions of the faerys only Aislinn can see:

A doe-eyed faery eased across the room; bone-thin with too many joints, she was vulgar and gorgeous all at once. Her eyes were far too large for her face, giving her a startled look. Combined with an emaciated body, those eyes made her seem vulnerable, innocent. She wasn't.
None of them are.

I love this description because it is specific enough to give the reader a clear picture of the faery's face and body shape, but leaves room for the reader's imagination to fill in the rest. Marr's descriptions of the main characters are much more fleshed-out, but this is a good example of how she begins to create the invisible faery world that only Aislinn can see.

Side note: I love that the faery men discussed the "modern" ways of mortal women and how best to woo them. That cracked me up.

The ending was definitely satisfying, but of course, left enough open for the next book Ink Exchange, which is waiting impatiently by my beside for me to pick it up and read it.

Recommendation: This book is a must read for fans of teen romance, teen fantasy, or those interested in faery mythology. (The epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter had me wondering if it was possible to check out the books on faerys from the 1800s from my local library.) 5 out of 5

Fill in the Gaps 100 Project and "Middlemay" Book Club

2009-04-23T09:39:00.003-04:00

The Fill in the Gaps 100 Books Project is a 5-year reading project that challenges you to name 100 books you feel you should and must read and then complete at least 75 of them in 5 years.

Also, Moonrat from Editorial Ass is spearheading Middlemay, a book club reading of Middlemarch in May (cute name, right!). I don't think you have to be a member of the blog to join in, as you can just leave comments, but I recommend joining because it's a great project.

I actually signed up for this a while back and forgot to post. I've already read three! Here's my list:

	Last Name	First Name	Title
1	Anderson	Laurie Halse	Wintergirls
2	Anderson	Laurie Halse	Twisted
3	Anderson	Laurie Halse	Catalyst
4	Anderson	Laurie Halse	Chains
5	Armstrong	Karen	A Short History of Myth
6	Asher	Jay	Thirteen Reasons Why
7	Atwood	Margaret	Oryx and Crake
8	Austen	Jane	Persuasion
9	Austen	Jane	Mansfield Park
10	Austen	Jane	Northanger Abbey
11	Austen	Jane	Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
12	Auster	Paul	The New York Trilogy
13	Barbery	Muriel	The Elegance of the Hedgehog
14	Brock	Pope	Charlatan
15	Buck	Pearl S.	The Good Earth
16	Camus	Albert	The Plague
17	Camus	Albert	The Stranger
18	Carman	Patrick	Skeleton Creek
19	Collins	Susanne	Catching Fire
20	Davidson	Andrew	The Gargoyle
21	Dickens	Charles	Great Expectations
22	Dickens	Charles	Bleak House
23	Dostoevsky	Fyodor	Crime and Punishment
24	Duey	Kathleen	Sacred Scars
25	Dumas	Alexander	The Count of Monte Cristo
26	Dumas	Alexander	The Three Musketeers
27	DuMaurier	Daphne	Rebecca
28	Eagleman	David	Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
29	Eliot	George	Middlemarch
30	Eliot	George	Adam Bede
31	Enright	Anne	The Gathering
32	Eugenides	Jeffrey	Middlesex
33	Faber	Michel	The Fire Gospel
34	Faber	Michel	The Courage Consort
35	Faber	Michel	Under the Skin
36	Faber	Michel	Some Rain Must Fall
37	Faber	Michel	Vanilla Bright Like Eminem
38	Faber	Michel	The Apple
39	French	Tana	The Likeness
40	Gaiman	Neil	Stardust
41	Gaiman	Neil	Interworld
42	Gaiman	Neil	Eternals
43	Gaiman	Neil	M is for Magic
44	Garcia Marquez	Gabriel	One Hundred Years of Solitude
45	Garcia Marquez	Gabriel	The General in His Labyrinth
46	Guevara	Che	Motorcycle Diaries
47	Hale	Shannon	Enna Burning
48	Hale	Shannon	River Secrets
49	Hale	Shannon	Forest Born
50	Hanif	Mohammed	A Case of Exploding Mangoes
51	Harrison	Kathryn	While They Slept
52	Horwitz	Tony	Baghdad without a Map
53	Humes	Edward	The Monkey Girl
54	Humes	Edward	Mississippi Mud
55	Ishiguro	Kazuo	When We Were Orphans
56	Ishiguro	Kazuo	The Unconsoled
57	Ishiguro	Kazuo	Nocturnes
58	Jackson	Shirley	The Haunting of Hill House
59	Jackson	Shirley	We Have Always Lived in the Castle
60	Jackson	Shirley	Witchcraft of Salem Village
61	Jackson	Shirley	The Lottery and other stories
62	Larson	Erik	The Devil in the White City
63	Larsson	Stieg	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
64	Marr	Melissa	Wicked Lovely
65	Martel	Yann	Life of Pi
66	McCarthy	Cormac	All the Pretty Horses
67	McCarthy	Cormac	The Crossing
68	McCarthy	Cormac	Cities of the Plain
69	McCarthy	Cormac	Blood Meridian
70	McCarthy	Cormac	Outer Dark
71	McCarthy	Cormac	Sutree
72	McCarthy	Mary	The Group
73	McPhee	John	The Pine Barrens
74	Moore	Christopher	The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove
75	Moore	Christopher	The Stupidest Angel
76	Moore	Christopher	Coyote Blue
77	Moore	Christopher	Fool
78	Palliser	Charles	The Quincunx
79	Phillips	Caryl	The Atlantic Sound
80	Pollan	Michael	In Defense of Food
81	Preston	Douglas	The Monster of Florence
82	Prose	Francine	Goldengrove
83	Roth	Phillip	American Pastoral
84	Roth	Phillip	The Human Stain
85	Roth	Phillip	I Married a Communist
86	Russo	Richard	Empire Falls
87	Schlink	Bernhard	The Reader
88	Scott	Michael	The Sorceress
89	Susann	Jacqueline	Valley of the Dolls
90	Thackeray	William M	Vanity Fair
91	Thompson	Hunter S.	Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
92	Tinti	Hannah	The Good Thief
93	Vargas Llosa	Mario	The Feast of the Goat
94	Vonnegut	Kurt	Slaughterhouse-Five
95	Warren	Robert Penn	All the Kings Men
96	Waugh	Evelyn	Brideshead Revisited
97	Welsh	Irvine	Trainspotting
98	Wolfe	Tom	The Right Stuff
99	Woolf	Virginia	Mrs. Dalloway
100	Yates	Richard	Revolutionary Road

Review: The Sword Thief

2009-04-22T11:00:00.004-04:00

The Sword Thief (Book 3 of The 39 Clues)
by Peter Lerangis

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Pub. Date: April 2009
ISBN-13: 9780545090599
Pages: 160pp

In the third installment of The 39 Clues, the Cahill siblings, Amy and Dan, team up with Alistair Oh and travel to Japan and Korea to track down the third clue. Amy and Dan have to put trust in untrustworthy relatives and, although they come through in the end, they don't make it through this adventure unscathed.

It's difficult to write a synopsis of these books because they are so short and action packed. I don't want to give anything away! But if you've started this series, you don't really need a synopsis because you already know they are searching for the next clue. That's the basic plot arc of the entire series.

This is the first book I read for the Read-a-Thon. This would be a great series to read together in the next one, if you haven't started them yet. By then the next one will be out, and possibly even the one after that. They seem to come out every few months.

What is interesting about this series is that each book is written by a different author. This book was written by Peter Lerangis, who has written tons of kids books including the series Spy X and the series Drama Club. The other two were written by Rick Riordan and Gordan Korman. Despite being written by different authors, the characters are seamless from one book to the next. The characters stay true to themselves, but also grow and develop in complexity as the adventure continues.

The next book is Beyond the Grave, by Jude Watson, who has written a bunch of Star Wars books, and it is due out in June.

I definitely recommend this series to younger kids and anyone interested in Middle Grade series. It's a great learning tool because each book is focused around a central historical character or culture. I give this a 4 out of 5.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-22T10:41:00.004-04:00

Do I have an obsession with tulips? I can't help it that there are so many blooming right now.

For more, click here.

Wondrous Words Wednesday

2009-04-22T09:41:00.005-04:00

Wondrous Words is hosted by Bermudaonion, see others here.

Today's words all come from A House for Mr. Biswas, by V. S. Naipaul, a book which is testing the boundaries of my vocabulary. Some of these I understood through context, but still went and looked them up. Can't hurt, right?

pleasance (noun) a pleasant rest or recreation place usually attached to a mansion.

The buffaloes pleasance was a muddy, cloyingly sweet pool not far from the factory... (pg 22)

passespartout (noun) (1) a method of framing in which a picture, a mat, a glass, and a back (as of cardboard) are held together by strips of paper or cloth pasted over the edges (2) a strong paper gummed on one side and used especially for mounting pictures.

Mr. Biswas never owned a copy of the photograph and he did not see it until 1937, when it made its appearance, framed in passespartout, on the wall of the drawing room of Tara's fine new house... (pg 33)

ferrule (noun) a ring or cap usually of metal put around a slender shaft (as a coin or a tool handle) to strengthen it or prevent slipping.

...they examined Raghu's walking-sticks, taking out the ferrules, Raghu's only extravagance... (pg 35)

foolscap (noun) a size of paper formerly standard in Great Britain, broadly, a piece of writing paper.

He took out a sheet of foolscap, tore it in half... (pg 42)

disputation (noun) an academic exercise in oral defense of a thesis by formal logic.

...he took [the coins] to Pundit Jairam, who might then be engaged in some philosophical disputation. (pg 50)

querulous (adjective) fretful, whining

Bhandat's voice, even when low, was a whine with a querulous edge. (pg 58)

prognathous (adjective) being or having the lower jaw projecting beyond the upper part of the face.

The news of the girl at Arawacas spread and Mr. Biswas enjoyed some glory at Pagotes until Bhandat's younger son, a prognathous, contemptuous boy, said "I feel you lying like hell, you know." (pg 79)

Teaser Tuesdays

2009-04-21T14:12:00.003-04:00

See more Teasers here.

Around the back is a yard, mostly dirt, and a greasy bunch of boards that used to be a garage. But what you remember most is this tree, huge with fat arms and mighty families of squirrels in the higher branches.

--pg 22, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Book Blogs Galore

2009-04-20T13:25:00.004-04:00

I'm currently in the process of adding new book blogs to my reader. All those wonderful bloggers that participated in the Read-a-Thon MUST now be on my reader. Which of course means that my google reader will become completely unmanageable.

I seriously love this blogging thing and I love this community. The Read-a-Thon was totally awesome (yes I am 25 and I still say things like "totally awesome") and it is so amazing to see all these people who love books as much as, and more than, I do.

I just want to thank everyone that stopped by and left comments during the Thon. It definitely helps to know that people are at least scanning my updates and taking the time to comment.

I also want to thank my family, friends, and coworkers who sponsored my reading. Because of them, I'll be donating almost $350 to Action Against Hunger. Pretty amazing, huh?

Musing Mondays

2009-04-20T12:01:00.003-04:00

See other musings at Just One More Page.

Coming towards the end of April, we’re a third of the way through the way through the year. What’s the favorite book you’ve read so far in 2009? What about your least favorite?

I'd have to say my #1 favorite so far is The Hunger Games. I also really enjoyed The Fruit Hunters, The Woman in White, The House of the Spirits, and The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher.

My least favorite is probably Blonde Roots, and, similarly, Heart of Darkness. When I finally write my review of Blonde Roots, you'll see why.

Final Read-a-Thon Update

2009-04-19T11:45:00.004-04:00

Final Read-a-Thon Update

Books Finished:

The Sword Thief (156 pages, 1 hour 41 mins, 1.5 pg/min) (4 out of 5)
Tithe (331 pages, 4 hours, 31 mins, 1.3 pg/min) (3 out of 5)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (146 pages, 3 hours 16 mins, .74 pg/min) (5 out of 5)
The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam (156 pages, 1 hour 45 mins, 1.6 pg/min) (4 out of 5)
Fade (248 pages, 2 hours 40 mins, 1.6 pg/min) (3 out of 5)
The 13 Clocks (124 pages, 1 hour 5 mins, 2 pg/min) (5 out of 5)

Books Partially Read:

Interworld (52 pages, 5o mins, 1 pg/min)

Total Pages: 1222
Total Time Spent Reading: 15 hours 40 mins

Genres:

4 Young Adult
1 Novella
1 Middle Grade
1 Graphic Novel

Author Gender:

4 women
3 men

Total Donation to Action Against Hunger: $335

End of Event Survey:
1. Which hour was most daunting for you?

The last hour I was awake (5-6 am eastern) because I knew I couldn't make the next 3 hours. And when I was reading The 13 Clocks. I was absolutely dying then.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Short young adult or middle grade books. Fade was probably my quickest read

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

Not really, it was awesome.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

The dedicated blog with updates every hour was great. I also the cheerleaders did an AWESOME job.

5. How many books did you read?

6 finished, 1 started

6. What were the names of the books you read?

see above

7. Which book did you enjoy most?

We Have Lived in the Castle. So creepy and wonderful/

8. Which did you enjoy least?

Tithe. It wasn't awful but it felt like it took forever.

9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?

N/A Thought they did great.

10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

ABSOLUTELY will participate again.

Read-a-Thon Update

2009-04-19T04:57:00.001-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Currently reading: haven't decided
Just finished: The 13 Clocks
Up next: ?

Total books finished: 6
Total pages read: 1170

Total time spent reading: 14 hours and 50 mins

I think I'm starting to get a little delirious. I had to take a quick nap in the middle of this one because my eyes have been crossing. And my allergies/cold is getting crazy bad. Almost there. Then I'm sleeping for a week.

Read-a-Thon Update

2009-04-19T02:52:00.003-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Currently reading: The 13 Clocks
Just finished: Fade
Up next: not sure

Total books finished: 5
Total pages read: 1046

Total time spent reading: 13 hours and 45 mins

Mini challenges completed: 6

Fade was good. I have some of the same issues I had with Wake, mainly with the choppy sentence style. But you get used it after a while so it doesn't affect the plot too much. Cabel kind of annoys me a little. But maybe I'm just cranky because its late. :)

Read-a-Thon Update and Stop the Reading Madness Challenge

2009-04-18T23:42:00.004-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Currently reading: Fade
Just finished: The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam
Up next: maybe The 13 Clocks

Total books finished: 4
Total pages read: 798

Total time spent reading: 10 hours 52 mins

Mini challenges completed: 6

Stop the Reading Madness Mini Challenge:

Option 1: Peeps War
Put your leftover Peeps to war! Place two or more Peeps facing each other on a microwavable plate (paper, if you want easy post-battle clean up). Stick a toothpick sword in each Peep, getting them poised and ready for battle. Turn on the microwave, and see which Peep evades the sword! Write a post about the battle and include a photo if possible.

The warriors face each other for the duel:

The duel, held behind a closed door for propriety's sake, ends in a draw.

Apparently, I pick the Peep warriors that have a pacifist side. They have even joined *hands* in protest of the forced duel.

Sigh.

Read-a-Thon Update

2009-04-18T21:20:00.004-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Currently reading: The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam
Just finished: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Up next: ? hmm, maybe Fade? I think I'm going to pick up the living room first, I've made a huge mess of it.

Total books finished: 3
Total pages read: 633

Total time spent reading since last update:
Total time spent reading: 9 hours 7 mins

Mini challenges completed: 5

Nod to Nonfiction Mini-Challenge:

What is you favorite non-fiction book and why? What genre(s) do you enjoy and are there particular writers that you would recommend to others? If you don't read non-fiction, why not?

I'd have to say The Liar's Club by Mary Karr. It is a definitive work of literary memoir and lyrically written. I like memoirs in that vein, and long form journalism such as Jon Krakauer. Although I have strong feelings against Alex McCandless, I LOVE Into the Wild. I would recommend either of these authors or any of the nonfiction authors I've reviewed in the past.

Read-a-Thon Update and Mid-Event Survey

2009-04-18T20:07:00.004-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Currently reading: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Just finished: Tithe
Up next: The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam

Total books finished: 2
Total pages read: 582

Total time spent reading: 8 hours 23 mins (I think I might have messed up calculation somewhere. Where did like 4 whole hours go? Have I been slacking that much? I might have to double check this.)

Mini challenges completed: 4

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

2. How many books have you read so far?

2, almost done with the 3rd

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Fade and Wintergirls

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

Not really, just told people not to call.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Just of my own doing. I've been slightly drugged with decongestant which made it difficult to concentrate earlier. But, I'm getting a second wind now. I'm really not a morning person either.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

I'm surprised that I haven't read more. Also, by how many book bloggers are out there that I've been missing out on.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

I think everything is great. Our coordinators have been AWESOME. I even won a prize. I really have no complaints.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

I would have a better way of keeping track of the time I was reading vs. taking breaks. I've confused myself somehow and I'm not sure I've got it right.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

I was much more tired this morning. I'm really a night person. I think I'm about to hit a stride.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

I definitely think that reading shorter books helps with a sense of accomplishment. Tithe took me much longer than I thought it would and it was frustrating to not be completing books.

Read-a-Thon Hour 12

2009-04-18T19:03:00.004-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

12 hours down!

Currently reading: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Just finished: Tithe
Up next: The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam

Total books finished: 2
Total pages read: 539

Total time spent reading: 7 hours 30 mins

Mini challenges completed: 3
Prizes: 1

I am loving We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I'm definitely going to have to read more of Shirley Jackson's books.

Read-a-Thon Update

2009-04-18T16:44:00.003-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Just finished: Tithe
Up next: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Total books finished: 2
Total pages read: 487

Total time spent reading since last update: ugh I don't know, it's starting to get confusing. too much math. I'm just going to record total time spent reading (total time - breaks)
Total time spent reading: 6 hours 4 mins

Mini challenges completed: 3
Participants visited: 3 (but about to visit more)
Prizes: 1

I'd say Tithe is probably about 3 out of 5. It was good, but not overly compelling. And the "bad teen" stuff was a little over done.

Read-a-Thon Update: Walking Challenge

2009-04-18T14:33:00.002-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Still working on Tithe. I'm a little past halfway.

I went for a short walk outside. It is absolutely gorgeous. There weren't many people out back of my apartment, but I did get to see some kids playing. Always cute.

Here's the view from the bench I sat on:

Read-a-Thon Update

2009-04-18T13:17:00.002-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Currently reading: Tithe pg
Just finished: 125 pgs of Tithe
Up next: Maybe Shirley Jackson

Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 281

Total time spent reading since last update: 1 hour 38 mins
Total time spent reading: 3 hours 19 mins

Mini challenges completed: 2
Participants visited: 3 (but reading more on my google reader)

Prizes!!!!!: 1, I won the hour 4 challenge. Woo hoo!

Read-a-Thon Update

2009-04-18T11:14:00.003-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Currently reading: (just starting) Tithe
Just finished: The Sword Thief
Up next: maybe Shirley Jackson

Total books finished: 1
Total pages read: 156

Total time spent reading since last update: 1 hour 20 mins
Total time spent reading: 2 hours 41 mins (first post wasn't quite right)

Mini challenges completed: 1
Participants visited: 3

Feeling much better now. The Sword Thief was a nice, quick start. On to the next!

Read-a-Thon Update and Introduction Meme

2009-04-18T09:59:00.002-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update

Currently reading: A Sword Thief
Just finished: n/a
Up next: Tithe

Total books finished: 0
Total pages read: 65

Total time spent reading: 1 hour

I've gotten off to a slow start. I had to take some decongestant this morning and it made me very drowsy. I had to sleep it off for a bit. But I'm feeling much better now, and ready to kick butt.

Introduction meme:

Where are you reading from today?

Currently in my recliner in my living room. Or did you mean geographically? Arlington, VA

3 facts about me

I've never stayed up for 24 hours straight, and I've already screwed it up this time. :)
I can't drink a lot of caffeine because I'm very sensitive to it. It sometimes even makes me sleepy.
I bought my recliner in college for 60 bucks at the Salvation Army and its the best purchase I've EVER made.

How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?

The narrowed down list is around 11, but really anything is up for grabs depending on my mood.

Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?

At least 1000 pages.

If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time?

It's my first time!!!!

Read-a-Thon!!!

2009-04-18T07:40:00.002-04:00

I'm ready to go!

About Me and My Blog

2009-04-17T13:07:00.004-04:00

Hello, my name is Laza. I am a book addict. I'm addicted to buying books, reading books, borrowing books, writing about books, thinking about books, obsessively databasing my books, and reading book blogs.

A bit about me:

I'm in my mid-twenties and I work a full-time job in the Senate where I proofread and edit legislation and a part-time job writing minutes. I'm also a grad student at George Mason University. I've been a voracious reader all my life, despite a slow down during high school and undergrad. I started picking back up my near the end of my sophomore year of college. But it has really been the last couple of years that I have begun to hit a stride.

Why blog?

I started this blog to become part of the community. When I started I had NO idea what I was getting myself into! There are so many book bloggers out there and so many different things to participate in. When I started, I didn't really give much thought about the purpose of this blog. (Much in the way I do most things in life). I created it because I wanted to. I don't have many friends that read like I do, so I wanted to meet and communicate with people like me.

I realize now, that just by being a book blogger, I've become part of this larger question of purpose and legitimacy. This larger discussion (and because of this post) has made me think about why I'm doing this. And I believe my answer is still the same. Because I love it. Because I love books and talking about books. And that has become a love of blogging about books. And because I love the people.

Amy from My Friend Amy, made a great point about the demands of blogging. She says:

I've read that the average time a person blogs is 6 months. Then they get bored, start neglecting it, see it as a chore to continue, and give up. I remember an excellent blog I subscribed to...after six months, they said it was starting to feel like work and they just wanted it to be fun. So they quit.

Blogging is not just my hobby, it's my serious hobby. I consider blogging to be a serious hobby. Yes, sometimes it feels like work. Sometimes I don't feel like doing it. But I keep it up, because I know I can only get better if I keep working at it.

Even in the short life of my blog (I'm in and around that six-month mark), I've sometimes felt like it was work. But I really strive to keep it simple and fun. I post when and about what I want and nothing more. I work has hard as I want to at it. Some people will read, and some won't. Trish, from Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?, compared it to a high school popularity contest. In many ways I definitely think she is right. Everyone has those moments of "Am I good enough?" But I approach this much the way I did in high school, and definitely the way I approach life now: You will like me or you won't. You will read me or you won't. Does that mean that some publishers or authors won't want to send me ARCs? Probably. Oh well. I'll probably read it at some point anyway.

So, I hope you'll read me. If you think I've missed you, and I need to add you to my reader, shoot me an email. I'll gladly add you.

Had to Share This Friday

2009-04-17T11:53:00.004-04:00

Today I'm going to try and start something new. It is mostly for me, but I want to invite anyone to participate, book blogger or not.

Did you come across something you just have to share? If so, leave a comment or leave a link to your post. I can't wait to see what you've got.

I've got two quotes from Slaughterhouse-Five that I thought were totally awesome and shareworthy:

pg. 213:

Trout, incidentally, had written a book about a money tree. It had twenty-dollar bills for leaves. Its flowers were government bonds. Its fruit was diamonds. It attracted human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer. So it goes.

pg. 218

She was a dull person, but a sensational invitation to make babies. Men looked at her and wanted to fill her up with babies right away. She hadn't had even one baby yet. She used birth control.

And lastly,

I've been messing around with the look of my blog, thanks to inspiration and direction from Melissa from Melissa's Bookshelf. Check out her instructional posts here and here. Also, in the drama that was changing my background, I got significant help from Issac Yassar. He responded to my question immediately and knew exactly what the problem was. So visit his site. It's basically beyond description.

Blog Construction

2009-04-17T10:07:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone, I'm in the middle of fooling around with my blog, so if you notice that things aren't right, well it's probably because I don't know what I'm doing. So give me some time to figure it out. Thanks!

Wondrous Words Wednesday

2009-04-15T19:49:00.003-04:00

...or the "I swear I'm not reading the 'A' section in the dictionary Wednesday".

This weekly even is graciously hosted by BermudaOnion.

This happens to be my first Wondrous Words post, and for some strange reason all my words are "A" words.

avoirdupois (noun) weight, heaviness

"...screaming, straining and cleaning-and-jerking, as they raised the avoirdupois above their heads, their bodies shaking from side to side, in uncertainty, until they can stand motionless for three seconds, before they hear the sound of victory, and see the flag of legitimacy."
--p 132 The Polished Hoe, Austin Clarke

apocryphal (adjective) of doubtful authenticity

"The anecdote is apocryphal. I never wrote baseball for the Star."
--p 58 The Paris Review Interviews I

avuncular (adjective) suggestive of an uncle especially in kindness or geniality

"But the officer's contempt is not, as in other armies, avuncular theatricality."
--p 166 Slaughterhouse-five, Kurt Vonnegut

Hemingway is a God

2009-04-13T23:57:00.005-04:00

I had to share Hemingway's answer to this question from The Paris Review Interviews Vol. 1 (pg 42):

Interviewer:

What would you consider the best intellectual training for the would-be writer?

Hemingway:

Let's say that he should go out and hang himself because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult. Then he should be cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can for the rest of his life. At least he will have the story of the hanging to commence with.

What? He is my hero. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this, but I'm pretty sure it means that Hemingway is genius.

One Story: Meteorology

2009-04-13T20:19:00.010-04:00

While I was reading this story today, I was interrupted by an evacuation drill, so that's why I'm so late posting today. At least it was nice outside and I got to take pictures of some absolutely gorgeous tulips.

The story I read today comes again from One Story, the publication I mentioned in my last short story post. Their goal is to publish one really amazing short story every three weeks, and damn if they aren't holding to their word.

Meteorology, by Adin Bookbinder (an amazing last name), is the story of Sunny, a 21-year-old college dropout working at her former college's library. She is dealing (and not dealing well) with her former weatherman father who has a penchant for climbing on the roof of their home and has been diagnosed as a schizophrenic. The meat of this story is Sunny's struggle to gain independence from her all-consuming father without feeling as though she has abandoned him.

This story is all about characterization. It always amazing me how writers can fully develop characters in so few words. But in this story, I felt Sunny's love for and frustration over her father and his condition. I also felt her desire to escape and live a life. I felt her guilt over betraying her father to a home and her denial of the extremity of his condition. Absolutely stellar characterization.

I think I'm cutting the ratings from my short stories. It doesn't seem to make sense, at least for me. I'll just say, I recommend this story.

Check out the One Story website to see an excerpt and an interview with the author.

And since tulips are a sign of spring and therefore weather, here's a picture I took today.

Read-a-Thon Details

2009-04-12T20:47:00.004-04:00

This coming Saturday, April 18, 2009 is Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!!!

As I've said before, this is my first Read-a-Thon. I'm so excited to participate. I have no idea how much I'll be able to read or how long I'll actually stay awake. But I'm prepared to go all out.

I absolutely loved the idea of reading for a cause, so I decided to get my friends and family to sponsor me. I'll be donating proceeds to Action Against Hunger, which is an organization committed "to saving the lives of malnourished children and their families while ensuring access to safe water and sustainable solutions to hunger". Action Against Hunger operates in over 40 countries across the globe and has been assessed top marks from several independent organizations, including the Better Business Bureau and the American Institute of Philanthropy.

I've got a few pledges already, and I'll do a more comprehensive post closer to the actual event. If you are reading this, and are interesting in sponsoring me, shoot me an email or leave me a comment.

I'm following the lead of several other bloggers and creating a list of "possibles". I'm planning on reading mostly shorter YA books. I don't want to get bogged down or sleepy, which happens sometimes with longer or more difficult titles. Anything is really up for grabs that day, but I'm going to have a "ready-to-read" stack next to me.

Here's the list:

Blood and Chocolate
The Hunter's Moon
The 13 Clocks
Tithe
The Sword Thief
Graceling
Wintergirls
Gods Behaving Badly
Shakespeare's Christmas
The Pine Barrens
A Wizard of Earthsea
Fade
The Arctic Incident
Murder in the Latin Quarter
Uglies
M is for Magic

I've also ordered some books from the Library of Congress, so if they get delievered to me on time, I'll be adding those to the list too. I think I ordered the Luxe series and some Shannon Hale books, along with Shirley Jackson and a couple of short story collections.

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!

¡Escándalo! or My Take on Quirk's PR Snafu (TSS)

2009-04-12T11:46:00.005-04:00

¡Escándalo! There is scandal afoot in the book blogging world. Quirk books, who I've never worked with before, sent out this form letter (click on the picture to see the original post with the letter) with SOME of its review copies of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. If you haven't seen the ensuing posts (and their extensive comments?) here's a breakdown:

A number of complaints have been made about this letter. Some are:

The tone is condescending, which is mainly perceived as a slap in the face to a blogger's credibility.
The publicist assumes bloggers don't know publishing terminology (i.e. embargo), which, again, questions bloggers' credibility.
The not-so-nicely worded demand for embargoes on reviews and excerpts, which disregards fair-use laws and offers no reasonable explanation.
The insinuation that the blogger won't give proper credit to the publisher.
The threat to cut off the relationship if the publicist's demands aren't met.

My first reaction to this letter was pretty much general shock and disgust. I believe that in the comment I made on Flavorwire I wondered if this publicist had ever heard of "being polite". Because this letter is certainly far from using even the most basic manners. For someone that has worked in customer service and now with attorneys, any communication from a company to a client should be as polite as possible. Even set that aside. Any communication between people (especially those who have never met) should be polite.

This was Quirk's reply to the general outrage:

I just wanted to say that I’m sorry to have offended so many of you with my letter. I realize now that it came off as condescending, but it was actually meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Clearly, that tone was lost. There are good explanations for the other complaints, such as why we had the embargo, and I also understand your concerns with fair use. The way I discussed the embargo and excerpt practices in the letter came off all wrong. I sincerely respect and value what bloggers have done for the book publishing world in general and in particular — with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Without independent blogs and bloggers, our book would not have been such a success. I hope you can all accept my apology. It won’t happen again. And please, know that in no way was Seth involved in any of this.

I just really can't understand this publicist's thought process (or apparently lack thereof) when writing this letter. I could understand a letter written in a conversational tone. If this publicist really meant to be tongue-and-cheek (which, for the record, I do think is a plausible explanation, but not a good excuse), this is really just a piss-poor attempt at it. Agent00Soul, commenting on the Flavorwire post, says: "it's such a transparent attempt to write in "blog lingo," or whatever it's called, that makes it worse". I have to agree. No offense, but leave the creative writing to the creative writers.

Even taking into consideration the cut-off part of letter ("Okay, enough of the serious stuff. If you have any questions, my contact information is below. Thanks again, and thanks for your support!"), there is really no indication within the letter that the tone is meant to be humorous. And it doesn't seem at all appropriate to take a humorous tone in a form letter, especially one that has a number of important requests.

Good intentions gone wildly wrong. So, strike one Quirk. Tighten up your business writing skills and get back to us.

But here's the real ISSUE, quoted from Still Life with Book Maven:

A true and full discussion of book blogging as a professional activity with professional boundaries has yet to be made. I do not say that lightly. A few weeks ago, I attended the annual National Book Critics Circle Annual Meeting and Awards, and I was astonished how little many print-based critics knew about blogs and social media and how hostile many of them were to the idea that book coverage, book reviews, and publishing news could be covered properly in any medium other than a newspaper column or a magazine page. It is my sincere hope that this kerfuffle over one PR's flippant approach to book bloggers will be the catalyst for a debate about how the entire publishing industry -- publicists, editors, marketing managers, salespeople -- treat book bloggers and literary web sites.

Book bloggers, especially those really driving for a wide audience, are generally sensitive about this credibility issue. And rightly so. Bloggers work really hard to write thoughtful reviews, maintain good working relationships with publishers and publicists, and gain a faithful audience. Even those like me, who do this for fun, want to be taken seriously at a certain level.

Ok, so I don't really try all that hard at this blogging thing, but that doesn't mean that I don't have some valid ideas and thoughts about books. Not to mention the fact that I'm a voracious reader--so not only do I read these blogs, and then buy ungodly amounts of books based on their recommendations and promote the good ones to everyone I know, without any incentive from publishers. And as a reader, I really prefer book blog reviews because they aren't 3,000 words long, weighed down by pompous literary references, or boring. (Ok, maybe that's not a fair assessment. Maybe I'm exaggerating. Book blog reviews are different, and their differences are part of what makes them so good, but that doesn't negate traditional reviews.)

I don't read many traditional publishing outlets. Especially from newspapers. I've never read a newspaper in my life. It's called the INTERNET, ever heard of it? There is way way way more information available on the Internet, and guess what I'm actually semi-intelligent and I can tell the difference between a good source and a bad source. (Wait, was that too flippant?)

Really, the point is that something will need to happen in the future to dictate the boundaries in which publishers and publicists (etc.) work with book bloggers. This interaction needs, what Paula points out, mutual respect. "Mutual respect, in which book bloggers are not seen as lackeys who take orders from PR people but book lovers who put a lot of time and effort into reviewing books and creating a dynamic online community that showcases books in a variety of ways."

We ARE book lovers after all. We ARE your audience.

Booking Through Thursday

2009-04-09T21:49:00.004-04:00

See other answers here.

Some people read one book at a time. Some people have a number of them on the go at any given time, perhaps a reading in bed book, a breakfast table book, a bathroom book, and so on, which leads me to…

Are you currently reading more than one book?

Pretty much always. I have a bad habit of juggling way too many books at once. Then I get behind on one of them and forget stuff. Then I finish a bunch at once and can't keep up with the reviews. It's vicious cycle I tell you!

If so, how many books are you currently reading?

4 books: The Russian Debutante's Handbook, Ghandi, The Moonstone, and the Polished Hoe. I'm also listening to The Crimson Petal and the White on CD in the car and Gathering Blue on my mp3 player at the gym.

Is this normal for you?

Sigh. Yes. It's probably less than normal considering I just finished a book.

Where do you keep your current reads?

They spend a lot of time commuting in my work bag. Other than that they are on my desk at work or in bed with me. :)

Review Policy

2009-04-06T15:37:00.006-04:00

I've seen a bunch of these go up lately, and after reading this post referred by Farm Lane Books, I figure I need to jump on the bandwagon as well.

Contact me at: gimmemorebooks10 at gmail dot com

Policies:

Pitches: By all means, pitch me your book. I love reading new things and I love getting free things. So try me. See below for a list of my favorite genres/subgenres. I typically don't read "chick" lit, romance, or self-help books. But maybe your book is amazing, if so, I'd hate to miss it.
Reviews: I'm into completing these challenges I've started, and one is to review every book I read. So, I'm going to review it whether I like it or not. But, I won't be disrespectful toward an author. I'll criticize the book, not the author. And, most books usually have redeeming qualities, I won't leave those out.
Timeframe: This one is tough. If you absolutely have to have it by a certain time, let me know. If I'm honest, I have to say that it is possible I might not get it done on time. I work two jobs and I go to grad school, so I fall behind. (Not to mention, I'm a procrastinator.) I write this blog for fun and to be a part of a community. I won't kill myself over these things.
Compensation: I don't get monetary compensation of any kind for writing on this blog. Review copies are the only thing I receive. I don't want compensation either. Then it would be a job.
Review copies/ARCs: I'm stingy, I keep them. Unless you beg me to give them away. I'm a book hoarder by nature.
Site traffic: I have no idea. I'm a part of the community, that's all that has mattered to me.
Review posts: When I'm being a good blogger, I post links to my reviews on Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Twitter. I've had one post picked up by Basil and Spice for republishing.

Genres I'll definitely read (but I'm not limited to):

Young Adult or Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction. I LOVE YA/MG fantasy series. (fantasy, fable, folklore, magic, fairies, please please puhleeeeese gimme me.)
Young Adult Literature. (Preferably not gossip girl type books)
Contemporary Literature. (Western or world lit)
Dystopian Literature.
Graphic novels.
Long-form journalism and literary nonfiction. (I'm not an expert in any field. I typically review these on their literary merits.)
Literary memoirs.
Books adapted into films.
Short story anthologies or collections. (I'm really trying to up my intake of short stories. I'm even taking a grad class in Fall 2009)

I love being introduced to new things, so even if I didn't list it, give me a try. You can check out my goodreads profile to see what I've read over the last few years. If you're giving away review copies of Kathleen Duey's next book in the Resurrection of Magic series, or the next in the Hunger Games series, I'm absolutely DYING to read those.

One Story: A Splendid Life

2009-04-06T12:42:00.006-04:00

A while back I subscribed to this really cool publication called One Story. They publish one story (get it) every three weeks. Their goal is to publish a new author in each issue (no repeats!) and to find the best stories for their readers. Check out their "about" page; this publication really sells itself.

Like all other things to do with this blog, I'm behind on reading this publication and on reviewing it. So up for today is Issue number 116, January 30: A Splendid Life by Carrie Brown.

As the title suggests, A Splendid Life is a story that looks back over a life, or in this case three lives: Peter Duvall, the main character, his sister Neely, and a childhood neighbor Mary Danger. Peter has just retired from his psychiatric position at the Balm of Gilead, a home for the mentally retarded and goes to visit his childhood home and his sister Neely who now lives there.

As Peter reflects upon his retirement he finds out that Mary Danger, a neighbor girl who had a crush on him when they were younger and who was teased cruelly and unrelentingly in school, has returned to her home across the lake. This causes Peter to remember his embarrassment over the girl's attentions and his feelings of pity for her social standing and appearance.

There were a few things I really liked about this story:

The language. Sometimes writers just get it right. I'm not much better at explaining it than that. The scenes flow well, the dialogue is great, and the descriptions are vivid and well done.
The ending. It's not a cliffhanger-type story, but I won't give away the ending. I'll just say that the ending was right.
The combination of introspective thinking and in-the-moment action was well balanced. Sometimes a writer can make a character be a little too selfish in their thoughts and there isn't enough story "right now".
The use of the lake throughout the story. I like how we saw Peter's different views or ideas of the lake throughout his life.
I also love the dinner-time scene with the young boys. Very funny, and very telling.

5 out of 5. Check out an interview with the author on One Story's website.
(100 shots of short #4)

Subscriptions

2009-04-06T11:21:00.006-04:00

So, I've been in a online frenzy lately and I recently purchased a few new literary subscriptions. Does anyone subscribe to these? Are there any publications out there that you consider must haves?

Virginia Quarterly Review:
From the website:

Each issue has contained work both moving and memorable; each has sought to provide the best that contemporary literature can offer...And VQR has not only published the most celebrated names of contemporary writing; equally it has welcomed writers whose names were unknown until they appeared in its pages. VQR hews to one simple standard in its selection of writers: excellence. VQR has thus made good its purpose of becoming a national publication of popularity and prestige, of independence and integrity. Readable and responsible, it is also entertaining. Though fresh as tomorrow's newspaper, each issue—read cover to cover upon publication—will still have value a decade later.

World Literature Today:
From the website:

Six times a year, World Literature Today brings you the whole world in every issue. It features interviews and original poetry and fiction, lively essays on writers representing dozens of major and minor languages, special coverage of transnational issues and trends, book reviews that span the globe, authors on books that changed their lives, travel writing, a column on children’s literature, author profiles, and coverage of the other arts, culture, and politics as it intersects with literature.

Other publications:

New York Review of Books (I got a professional discount for some reason)
One Story
Bookmarks

Quarterly Challenge Progress

2009-04-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

Because I'm a lazy blogger, and it takes way too much effort to keep up with all my stats, I'm instituting a quarterly challenge update post. And after my first three months of 2009 challenging, I believe I'm off to a relatively good start.

100+ Reading Challenge (130 personal goal)

I've read 40 books so far, and the list can be seen, along with links to completed reviews in the middle sidebar.

A to Z Challenge (29 out of 52)

By Title:

A: Artemis Fowl
B: Blond Roots
C: Cairo
D: DeNiro's Game
E:
F: The Fruit Hunters
G: Ghost World
H: The Hunger Games
I: Inkheart
J: Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year
K:
L: The Lonely Londoners
M: The Misadventures of Oliver Booth
N: Neverwhere
O: One False Note
P: People of the Book
Q:
R:
S: Speak
T: The Tales of Beedle the Bard
U:
V: Violent Cases
W: The Woman in White
X:
Y:
Z:

By Author:

A: Allende, Isabel
B: Bronte, Charlotte
C: Conrad, Joseph
D:
E: Eisner, Will
G: Funke, Cornelia
H: Hemingway, Ernest
I:
J:
K:
L: Lowry, Lois
M: McMann, Lisa
N:
O:
P: Powell Julie
Q:
R:
S: Summerscale, Kate
T:
U:
V:
W:
X:
Y:
Z:

Countdown: (37 of 45) I'm not going to list these, just what I need to complete.

2009: 2 books
2008: completed
2007: 1 book
2006: completed
2005: 1 book
2004: 3 books
2003: completed
2002: 1 book
2001 Completed

Casual Classics: (3 of 4)

The Woman in White
A Moveable Feast
Villette

Latin American: (1 of 4)

House of the Spirits

The Pub: (1 of 9)

Blonde Roots

Decades: (2 of 9)

Villette (1850s)
Heart of Darkness (1890s)

Jewish Literature: (2 of 4)

Sarah's Key
People of the Book

Well-Seasoned Reader: (2 of 3)

DeNiro's Game
A Moveable Feast

What's in a Name: (4 of 6)

Profession: The Fruit Hunters
Body Part: Heart of Darkness
Building: The House of Spirits
Medical Condition: Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party
Time of Day:
Relative:

Young Adult: (7 of 12)

The Hunger Games
Speak
Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year
The Goose Girl
Wake
Paper Towns
Fever 1793

Series Challenge: (6 of 12 committed) Listing what needs to be completed

Dead and Gone
The Last Olympian
The Sword Thief
War and Pieces
Breaking Dawn
The Kingdom on the Waves

1st in a Series: (5 of 12)

Inkheart
The Hunger Games
Artemis Fowl
The Goose Girl
Wake

Reading Dangerously: (1 of 12)

Villete

999: (33 of 81) (no repeats within list) See LT post for completed list. Need to complete:

5 graphic novels
2 YA
5 classics
4 nonfiction
5 new authors
7 works in translation
8 books into film
6 women authors
5 review copies/arcs

Audiobook: (3 of 12)

Coraline
Octavian Nothing: The Pox Party
The Giver

2009 ARC: (7 of 12)

Life After Genius
Little Giant of Aberdeen County
Sarah's Key
Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year
The Misadventures of Oliver Booth
A Reliable Wife
People of the Book

Graphic Novels: (4 of 24)

Violent Cases
The Contract With God
Ghost World
Cairo

Diversity Rocks (1 of 6 from a committed list, actually much more)

House of Spirits

Dream King: (4 of 6)

Neverwhere
Coraline audio
Coraline movie
Violent Cases

Spring Reading Thing: (4 of 11 committed, 8 of 30 total)

The Fruit Hunters
Julie and Julia
Oranges
Paper Towns
A Distant Shore
Grip of the Shadow Plague
Secrets of the Dragon
Fever 1793

Once Upon a Time III: (1 of 4)

Fantasy: Grip of the Shadow Plague
Folklore:
Fairy Tale:
Mythology:

Challenges I haven't started:

Scott Westerfeld (2 books)
9 books for 2009
Unshelved Reading
World Citizen

Completed Challenges: (still working on the reviews and wrap ups)

Cornelia Funke (3 books) (3/1/2009)
Winter Reading (13 books) (3/20/2009)
Books About Food (5 books) (3/29/2009)

**I grabbed this cute little hedge from www.loosetooth.com

March Wrap Up

2009-04-01T10:45:00.005-04:00

March has been a pretty successful reading month, especially on the heels of February, which is a historically tough month for me. Here are my current stats:

Read: 18 books

Inkdeath (3/1) ****
The Lonely Londoners (3/3) ***
One False Note (3/3) ***
The Goose Girl (3/6) *****
Villette (3/7) ****
Wake (3/15) ***
The House of Spirits (3/15) *****
The Omnivore's Dilemma (3/17) ***
People of the Book (3/18) ****
The Fruit Hunters (3/21) *****
Paper Towns (3/22) ****
A Distant Shore (3/23) ****
Grip of the Shadow Plague (3/25) *****
Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (3/26) *****
The Giver audiobook (3/29) *****
Oranges (3/29) ****
Julie and Julia (3/29) ****
Fever 1793 (3/30) ***

Reviews: I've written 12 reviews/thoughts this month, including the ones linked above. I'm still woefully behind.

Pages read in March: 6,082
YTD pages read: 11,539

New Authors: 11

Fiction: 13
Nonfiction: 4
Middle Grade: 4
Young Adult: 5
Adult: 9

From TBR: 8
From Library: 8
For School: 2

Male authors: 8
Female authors: 9

In translation: 2 (German, Spanish)

as part of series: 6

Completed Challenges: Books About Food, Winter Reading Challenge (wrap ups coming soon)
New Challenges: Spring Reading Thing, Once Upon a Time III, Dewey's Read-a-Thon

In progress:

Ghandi
The Moonstone
The Polished Hoe
This One Is Mine

Review: Julie and Julia

2009-03-31T15:03:00.003-04:00

Read my thoughts on Julie and Julia at the Books About Food Challenge blog. I've got two more review to post there to complete the challenge.

Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

2009-03-30T14:33:00.003-04:00

Read my thoughts on The Omnivore's Dilemma at the Books About Food challenge blog.